Joseph Spencer (1714–1789) was an American lawyer, soldier, and statesman from Connecticut. During the Revolutionary War he served both as a delegate to the Continental Congress and as a Major General in the Continental Army.

Spencer was born in East Haddam, Connecticut on October 3, 1714. He was trained as a lawyer and practiced until 1753 when he became a judge. He was active in the militia, serving in King George's War and as a Lt. Colonel of the Middlesex militia in the French and Indian War.

By the time the Revolution began he Spencer had advanced to Brigadier General of Connecticut’s militia, and in April of 1775 he led them to support the Siege of Boston. In June, when these units were adopted into the national army, he was made a Brigadier General of the Continental Army.

In 1776 Spencer was promoted to Major General in support of William Heath in the Eastern Department. The following year his military career became difficult. He cancelled a planned attack on British forces in Rhode Island and was censured by the Congress. He demanded a court martial 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 send 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 on January 13, 1789. He is buried in the Nathan Hale Park of East Haddam.

External link

• Spencer’s Congressional biography