Important Individuals | Revolutionary Heroes

Important East Haddam Individuals

Major General Joseph Spencer

Major General Joseph Spencer was one of the most patriotic figures from East Haddam. He was born on October 6, 1714, and died January 13, 1789, and it is said he had been engaged in the service of his country from an early age to the time he died. His first commission was in 1747 as Lieutenant of the Millington Trainband. In 1750 he was appointed Deputy from East Haddam to the Legislature and he became the Judge of Probate for the District of East Haddam in 1753. He was appointed Major in 1757 for the French and Indian War. He then served as Colonel of the East Haddam company for the Lexington Alarm April 19, 1775. He became Brigadier-General for the 2nd Reg. in June 1775, and then his final rank of Major General August 9, 1776. He served in the battle of Bunker Hill, and was present at the battle of Long Island.

By Charles Noel Flagg from a sepia sketch by John Trumbull

Captain John Willey

John Willey was born October 11, 1732 and died December 26, 1805. He was a descendant of one of the second wave of settlers of East Haddam. John Willey, Joseph Spencer, and Eliphalet Holmes must have been close friends at the time of the Revolution. All three served together from East Haddam for the Lexington Alarm. When the militia regiments were made official in the spring of 1775, John Willey and Joseph Spencer stayed together, along with most of the men who served under them in the Alarm. John Willey's highest rank was Captain.

Captain Eliphalet Holmes

Eliphalet Holmes was born February 3, 1746 and he died February 14, 1833. He was the son of Deacon Christopher Holmes of Hadlyme. After serving with Joseph Spencer and John Willey, he was Captain of the East Haddam Minutemen in 1776. He was also Captain under Colonel Samuel Selden of the 4th Battalion and later under Colonel Jedediah Huntington of the 1st regiment. Many East Haddam Patriots served with him, just as they stayed with Major General Spencer and Captain Willey. After the war, he was a farmer and owned a grist mill.

Captain James Green

Captain James Green did many patriotic services before and during the Revolutionary War. He was born in Barnstable, Massachusetts September 17, 1728 and died in East Haddam March 11, 1809. He was a blacksmith by trade and made guns and ammunition for the army. When he was teaching here in 1773, Nathan Hale stayed in James Green's house with his family. It is said that James' children loved Nathan Hale. James' son William became attached to Hale and was very upset when they heard the news of Hale's death. It inspired him to join the service. He joined the navy, but drowned on his way back to America after being imprisoned in England. In 1779 and 1780, James was the captain of the 2nd Reg of Light Horse dragoons with many other Patriots from East Haddam.

Timothy Smith

Timothy Smith is the only Patriot from East Haddam to have served in The Commander-in-Chief's Guard, or “Washington's Life Guards". This regiment was created in March of 1776 and was a hand-picked regiment for the protection of George Washington. General Washington's requirements for the officers included that they must be between five feet eight inches and five feet ten inches tall, well built, intelligent, and reliable. Evidently, Timothy Smith fit all those criteria.

Samuel Cone Jr. and Arune/Arunna Otis

Samuel Cone Jr. and Arune/Arunna Otis both helped with different aspects of the great cable that cut off the Hudson River at West Point to prevent British ships from traveling farther north. Samuel Cone Jr. was a blacksmith and helped forge some of the links on the chain. Links weighed from 140 to 180 pounds each. Arune/Arunna Otis was enlisted to help lay the cable at West Point in 1778. To do this, it was floated on large log rafts.

A map of the West Point Cable