Joseph Spencer was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman from Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. During the Revolutionary War

American Revolutionary War

The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...

, he served both as a delegate to the Continental Congress

Continental Congress

The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....

 and as a major general

Major General

Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...

 in the Continental Army

Continental Army

The Continental Army was formed after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War by the colonies that became the United States of America. Established by a resolution of the Continental Congress on June 14, 1775, it was created to coordinate the military efforts of the Thirteen Colonies in...

.

Spencer was born in East Haddam, Connecticut

East Haddam, Connecticut

East Haddam is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,333 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....

. He was trained as a lawyer and practiced until 1753 when he became a judge. He was active in the militia

Militia

The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...

, serving in King George's War

King George's War

King George's War is the name given to the operations in North America that formed part of the War of the Austrian Succession . It was the third of the four French and Indian Wars. It took place primarily in the British provinces of New York, Massachusetts Bay, New Hampshire, and Nova Scotia...

 and as a Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

 of the Middlesex

Middlesex County, Connecticut

Middlesex County is a county located in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was created in 1785 from portions of Hartford and New London counties. As of 2010, the population was 165,676....

 militia in the French and Indian War

French and Indian War

The French and Indian War is the common American name for the war between Great Britain and France in North America from 1754 to 1763. In 1756, the war erupted into the world-wide conflict known as the Seven Years' War and thus came to be regarded as the North American theater of that war...

.

By the time the American Revolution began, Spencer had advanced to Brigadier General

Brigadier General

Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...

 of Connecticut’s militia, and in April 1775 he led them to support the Siege of Boston

Siege of Boston

The Siege of Boston was the opening phase of the American Revolutionary War, in which New England militiamen—who later became part of the Continental Army—surrounded the town of Boston, Massachusetts, to prevent movement by the British Army garrisoned within...

 as the 2nd Connecticut Regiment

2nd Connecticut Regiment

The 2nd Connecticut Regiment was authorized in the Continental Army on September 16, 1776. It was organized between 1 January - April 1777 at Danbury, Connecticut of eight companies from the counties of Fairfield, Windham, and Hartford in the state of Connecticut and assigned on 3 April 1777 to...

. In June, when these units were adopted into the national army, he was made a brigadier general in the Continental Army.

In 1776 Spencer was promoted to major general in support of William Heath

William Heath

William Heath was an American farmer, soldier, and political leader from Massachusetts who served as a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War....

 in the Eastern Department

Departments of the Continental Army

In the American Revolutionary War units of the Continental Army were assigned to any one of seven regional or territorial departments to decentralize their command and administration. This was necessary because the regiment was the largest permanent unit in the Continental Army...

. The following year his military career became difficult. He cancelled a planned attack on British forces in Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

 and was censured by the Continental Congress. He demanded a court of inquiry and was exonerated, but when the controversy was resolved, he resigned his commission on June 14, 1778.

Spencer first served on the Connecticut Council (or state senate) in 1776. Free of military responsibility, the state sent him as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1779. In 1780 he was returned to the council, and served there until his death.

Twice married, Spencer had sixteen children. He died in East Haddam and was buried in Millington Cemetery west of the Millington Green section of East Haddam near where he lived. Later he and his wife were reintered at the Nathan Hale Park of East Haddam and a monument was erected in his honor.

External links

• Spencer’s Congressional biography - bibliography of Spencer's Regiment in the Revolutionary Army