Draft:David Phips (Sheriff)

Colonel David Phips was a British Army officer and adamant loyalist who served as the Sheriff of Middlesex County from 1764 to 1775. He is best known for his involvement during the Powder Alarm of '75, where he was tasked by General Thomas Gage, the governor of Massachusetts to retrieve the keys to the powderhouse from William Brattle.

Life
David Phips was born on September 25, 1724 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the only son of Massachusetts Governor Spencer Phips, and his wife Elizabeth Hutchinson. Phips graduated from Harvard College in 1741 as a Bachelor of Arts, and in 1744 he received his alma matter.

Shortly after graduation, Phips received a commission in the Massachusetts militia during King George's War, and he was a captain during the Louisbourg Expedition in 1745.

When war ended in 1748, Phips was appointed a Justice of the Peace for Middlesex County, and in 1753, he served a single term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Phips later returned to service and he took part during the French and Indian War.

War concluded in 1763, and one year later in 1764, Phips was appointed high sheriff of Middlesex County, and he was anointed Colonel of the Governors Troop of Horse Guards in 1773.

On August 31st, 1774, Massachusetts governor Thomas Gage ordered Phips to retrieve the keys to the powder house in what was Charlestown, now Powder House Square in Somerville,