Joseph Spencer, born at East Haddam, Connecticut, in 1714, was an officer of militia, with the rank of colonel, during the French and Indian War. He was appointed brigadier-general on the 22d of June, 1775, by the Continental Congress, and major-general on the 9th of August, 1776. When the British fleet appeared off the coast of New England, in December of that year, he was sent with Arnold to take charge of the militia in that section. Spencer was in command at Rhode Island in 1778. Admiral Sir Peter Parker having taken possession of Newport, Spencer had assembled his forces at Providence to dislodge him. After spending some weeks in marching and counter-marching, the enterprise had to be abandoned, as the Americans were too weak to attempt such an assault. General Spencer resigned his commission on the 13th of January, 1778, and though an earnest advocate of American independence, took but little part in public affairs during the remainder of his life. He died at his native place, East Haddam, in January, 1789. JOHN SULLIVAN. John Sullivan, born in Berwick, Maine, on the 17th of February, 1740, was of Irish parentage, his father having emigrated to this country in 1723. He was public-spirited, and hating oppression, as a zealous advocate of American rights proved himself so able a partisan that in 1772 he was commissioned major of the militia. In 1774, he became a member of the Continental Congress, but resigned his seat to enter the army, being appointed a brigadier-general, on the 22d of June, 1775. Employed for a time at Cambridge in disciplining the troops and securing supplies, he was sent to Canada in 1776 to command the survivors of the Northern army. Being superseded by Gates, he rejoined the army under Washington, and on the 9th of August of the same year was commissioned a major-general. He was made prisoner at the battle of Long Island, but was soon after exchanged. In 1778, he was assigned to the command of the forces in Rhode Island, and received not only the commendation of the wisest men throughout the country, but also the thanks of Congress for his conduct under very trying circumstances during this campaign. In 1779, he was selected by Washington to lead an army against the “Six Nations,” occupying the fertile region of northern Pennsylvania and western New York. The atrocities of these Indians demanding the severest measures, Sullivan, after defeating their chief, laid waste their fields and orchards, burned their villages, and drove them beyond the frontier to take refuge with their English allies. He resigned his commission on the 30th of November, 1779, and entered upon the practice of the law. He held several positions of national trust and responsibility, and served his State as attorney-general, as president, and as justice of its Federal Court. While discharging the duties of the latter office, he died at Durham on the 23d of January, 1795. Harvard College conferred upon General Sullivan the degree of LL.D.