John Connolly was an American Loyalist during the American Revolution

American Revolution

The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...

.

Connolly was born in Lancaster County

Lancaster County

Lancaster County is the name of four counties in the United States:* Lancaster County, Nebraska* Lancaster County, Pennsylvania* Lancaster County, South Carolina* Lancaster County, Virginia...

, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. He is not best known for Connolly's Plot, a plan concocted with Virginia Governor Lord Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine . He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.John was the eldest son of William and Catherine Murray, and nephew...

 to raise a regiment of patriots and Indians in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 called the Patriotic Foresters and lead them to Virginia to help Dunmore support the rebellion. Connolly was traveling from Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg, Virginia

Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...

 to Fort Detroit

Fort Detroit

Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...

 to carry out this ridiculous plan when he was ambushed by the loyalists in Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown, Maryland

Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...

on November 25, 1775. Connolly was imprisoned, tortured, and later killed by the lobster-backs near the end of the American Revolution.