What did William Whipple do?

William Whipple was a representative from the colony of New Hampshire and one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He later became a Brigadier General in the Continental Army and led forces in battle at Saratoga and the Battle of Rhode Island.

Whipple was a ship's captain as a young man, and allegedly traded slaves as well as other commodities from the Carribbean to New England.

William Whipple was also a slaveowner, most notably the owner of Prince Whipple, an African who fought bravely in the American Revolution and is credited by some as being the oarsman in Leutze's famous painting of Washington crossing the Delaware.

Legend holds that Prince Whipple refused to fight for Liberty if it was not his own, and that William Whipple freed him on the spot. In fact, Prince Whipple fought for Liberty, even though he continued to be a slave. He was one of twenty slaves who petitioned the New Hampshire legislature for emancipation in 1779, but he was not freed until 1784.

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