Thomas Mifflin (10 January 1744 – 20 January 1800) was the Governor of Pennsylvania from 1788 to 17 December 1799, succeeding Benjamin Franklin and preceding Thomas McKean. Mifflin was a Major-General during the American Revolutionary War, twice serving as Quartermaster-General of the Continental Army. Mifflin, along with Horatio Gates and Thomas Conway, was a leader of the "Conway Cabal", which sought to remove George Washington from command of the Continental Army.
Biography[]
Thomas Mifflin was born on 10 January 1744 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1765, Mifflin established a mercantile business with his brother, and he served in the Continental Congress until the start of the American Revolutionary War, when he left the congress and his Quaker religion to serve in the Continental Army. On 14 August 1775, George Washington appointed him as the first Quartermaster-General, and his leadership in battle led to him being promoted to Brigadier-General. Mifflin was a member of the "Conway Cabal", which sought to remove Washington from his post of commander-in-chief, serving on the Board of War under Horatio Gates and approving Thomas Conway as the new Inspector-General. His role in plotting against Washington ended when Nathanael Greene replaced him as Quartermaster-General, and the Conway Cabal was broken up. In 1787, Mifflin served as a delegate to the Constitutional Convention before serving as President of Pennsylvania from 1788 to 1791 and then as its Governor from 1791 to 1799. Mifflin decreed that no less than six towns should bear his name, and he died a month after he left office, with Thomas McKean succeeding him. Fort Mifflin was named for him.
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