Thomas Burke (circa 1747 – December 2, 1783) was an Irish physician, lawyer, and statesman who lived in Hillsborough, North Carolina.

[1] Burke's neighbors made him a member of the Fifth North Carolina Provincial Congress that met in Halifax in 1776.

Burke, instead, went to join General Nash's North Carolina troops defending the city.

After a failed rescue attempt by patriot militia under the command of John Butler at the Battle of Lindley's Mill, Burke was imprisoned by the British on James Island near Charleston, South Carolina.

Burke was allowed to live freely on the island under parole, but he was subject to mistreatment and deplorable conditions and feared assassination.

Accordingly, many North Carolinians and Continental officers considered that he had broken his word and remained under a cloud of dishonor.