Joseph Plumb Martin
American revolutionary war soldier; farmer; public official
Joseph Plumb Martin (also spelled Joseph Plum Martin; November 21, 1760 – May 2, 1850) was a soldier in the Connecticut Militia and Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and was mustered out as a 23-year-old Sergeant in a Sapper company. His published narrative of his experiences, re-discovered in the 1950s, has become a valuable resource for historians in understanding the conditions of a common soldier of that era, as well as the battles in which Martin participated.
Early life
Joseph Plumb Martin was born in Becket, Massachusetts on November 21, 1760, to the Reverend Ebenezer Martin and Susannah Plumb. At the age of seven, he was sent to live with his affluent grandparents in Milford, Connecticut. Because his family was well-to-do (his father studied at Yale), Martin was able to receive a well-rounded education, including reading and writing.
Revolutionary War service
When Martin was 15, in 1775, he was eager to join the war effort following the Battles of Lexington and Concord. His grandparents initially opposed the idea, but agreed after Martin vowed to run away and join a naval ship as a privateer if he was not allowed to join. He joined the Connecticut Militia in June 1776 and was assigned duty in the New York City area, then under General George Washington's command, arriving just before the opening of the British Long Island Campaign. His first tour of duty ended in December 1776, and he returned home just prior to the Battles of Trenton and Princeton.
After a restless winter and spring back in Connecticut, the 16-year-old veteran enlisted in the Continental Army on April 22, 1777, signing on for the duration of the American Revolutionary War.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Joseph Plumb Martin” is american revolutionary war soldier; farmer; public official. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Joseph, Plumb and Martin, not as a finished interpretation.
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The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 22, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6286295. VIAF identifies the subject as 6612383. The Library of Congress control number is n93101489. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1760, 1850, 1775 and 1776.
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This entry incorporates text from “Joseph Plumb Martin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.