Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham (13 January 1746 - 19 November 1791), styled Lord Howard until 1763, was a British nobleman and Army officer, the son of Thomas Howard, 2nd Earl of Effingham. He is best known for resigning his commission in protest against the war against the American colonies.
The College of William & Mary owns his regimental sword, which bears the inscription "The Regimental Sword of Thomas Howard, Earl of Effingham, who refused to draw it in the Attempt of his Country to subjugate America in the year 1776." This sword is currently in the collection of the Muscarelle Museum of Art, having previously been on loan to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Preston Davie gave the sword to the College of William & Mary in 1939.
References
- Muscarelle Museum of Art