Thomas Biddle
U.S. Army officer (1790-1831)
Thomas Biddle (November 21, 1790 – August 29, 1831) was an American military hero during the War of 1812. Biddle is known for having been killed in a duel with Missouri Congressman Spencer Pettis.
Early life
Thomas Biddle was born into the powerful Biddle family in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, one of ten children born to Charles and Hannah (Shephard) Biddle.
His father Charles was a Revolutionary War officer and vice-president of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Two of Thomas' brothers, James and Edward, had served in the U.S. Navy, while brother John was a U.S. Army officer before becoming an early mayor of Detroit, Michigan. Older brother Nicholas Biddle was president of the Second Bank of the United States.
War of 1812 and post-war
During the War of 1812, Thomas Biddle was commissioned, as a captain of artillery, under Zebulon Pike. He saw action, at Fort George and Stoney Creek and was wounded, at Fort Erie. Biddle was wounded again at the Battle of Lundy's Lane, where he distinguished himself by capturing the only British cannon seized in the clash. It would later be preserved and displayed in Washington, D.C. In 1814 Biddle was brevetted to the rank of Major and became an aide for George Izard.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Thomas Biddle” is u.S. Army officer (1790-1831). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Thomas, Biddle and Army, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “u.S. Army officer (1790-1831)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated May 11, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7787622. VIAF identifies the subject as 34394128. The Library of Congress control number is nr2002028113. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1790, 1831, 1812 and 1814.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Thomas Biddle”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Thomas Biddle primary sources, Thomas Biddle archive and Thomas research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Thomas Biddle”?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Thomas Biddle” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.