William Pickles (American Revolution)
William Pickles (died September 9, 1783) was an American military officer who served with the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War.
Commissioned on October 10, 1776, he was active on the
Pickles was then given command of Mercury, and charged with transporting Henry Laurens to the Dutch Republic on a diplomatic mission. The ship was captured off the coast of Newfoundland, and while Laurens were imprisoned in London, Pickles was imprisoned in Mill Prison in Plymouth. Pickles escaped from Mill on May 16, 1781, and eventually returned to Philadelphia.[4] He died in Philadelphia on September 9, 1783, after being assaulted by a gang of Italian sailors.[1]
The prosecution of his murderers was complicated by a legal question: whether statutes previously enacted by the British Parliament were still in force in the now independent state of Pennsylvania.[5] Two of the sailors were sentenced on October 8, 1783, to hang ten days later.[6]