Joseph Marsh (January 12, 1726February 9, 1811) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...

officer in the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...

and a government leader who served as

lieutenant governor of Vermont The lieutenant governor of Vermont is elected for a two-year term and chosen separately from the governor. The Vermont Lieutenant Governor's main responsibilities include acting as governor when the governor is out of state or incapacitated, presi ...

Biography

Joseph Marsh was born in

Lebanon, Connecticut Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly south of Willimantic, north of New London, and east of Hartford. The farm ...

on January 12, 1726. He moved to

Hartford, Vermont Hartford is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. It is on the New Hampshire border, at the intersection of Interstates 89 and 91. It is the site of the confluence of the White and Connecticut rivers; the Ottauquechee River also flo ...

in 1772 and was a prominent farmer, landowner and businessman. Marsh took part in the American Revolution, commanding a

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscripted ...

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

and

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

, and took part in the garrisoning of

Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French mi ...

after its capture from the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, as well as the

Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on a farm owned by John Green in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. A r ...

. In 1777 he took part in the

New York Provincial Congress The New York Provincial Congress (1775–1777) was a revolutionary provisional government formed by colonists in 1775, during the American Revolution, as a pro-American alternative to the more conservative New York General Assembly, and as a repla ...

. (At the time, authority over Vermont was the subject of dispute between

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

). In 1777 Marsh was a member of the Windsor convention that enacted the Constitution forming the

Vermont Republic The Vermont Republic ( French: ''République du Vermont''), officially known at the time as the State of Vermont ( French: ''État du Vermont''), was an independent state in New England that existed from January 15, 1777, to March 4, 1791. The ...

, and served as the convention's vice president. In 1778 he was elected Lieutenant Governor, the first individual to hold the office, and he served until 1779. Also in 1778 Marsh was appointed Judge of the Confiscation Court for eastern Vermont. (The confiscation courts were formed to rule on whether defendants were loyal to the United States. Those determined to be

Tories A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

had their property confiscated so it could be sold at auction to support the operation of Vermont's government.) From 1781 to 1782 Marsh was a member of the

Vermont House of Representatives The Vermont House of Representatives is the lower house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The House comprises 150 members, with each member representing around 4,100 citizens. Representatives ar ...

. In 1785 Marsh was a member of Vermont's Council of Censors. From 1787 to 1795 Marsh served as Judge of the Windsor County Court. He also returned to the Lieutenant Governor's office in 1787, serving until 1790. Marsh died in

Quechee, Vermont Quechee is a census-designated place and one of five unincorporated villages in the town of Hartford, Windsor County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the CDP was 656. It is the site of Quechee Gorge on the Ottau ...

on February 9, 1811. He was buried in Quechee's Hilltop Cemetery. Marsh's descendants included his son Charles Marsh and grandsons James Marsh and

George Perkins Marsh George Perkins Marsh (March 15, 1801July 23, 1882), an American diplomat and philologist, is considered by some to be America's first environmentalist and by recognizing the irreversible impact of man's actions on the earth, a precursor to the ...

.The University of Vermont: The First Two Hundred Years, by Robert Vincent Daniels, 1991, page 63

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Joseph 1726 births 1811 deaths People of pre-statehood Vermont People from Hartford, Vermont People from Lebanon, Connecticut Vermont militiamen in the American Revolution Lieutenant Governors of Vermont People of Vermont in the American Revolution Members of the Vermont House of Representatives Vermont state court judges Burials in Vermont