4th and 6th New Jersey Governor, War of 1812 United States Army Brigadier General, Revolutionary War Continental Army Officer, US Congressman. Born in Middlesex, New Jersey, his father as an ardent anti-slavery clergyman. Schooled in southern New Jersey, he read law, was admitted to the bar, and established a law practice in Bridgeton, New Jersey. After the Revolutionary War began, he enlisted in the Continental Army, and was commissioned as a Captain in the 3rd New Jersey Continental Infantry regiment on February 9, 1776. He was with his men as they garrisoned posts through much of the northern New York, including Fort Ticonderoga, and was promoted to Major and Judge Advocate for the Northern Continental Army in November 1776. However, sickness forced him to spend the ensuing winter recuperating in Morristown, New Jersey. In 1777 his regiment joined him in Morristown, and participated in the Forage War of 1777, when British and Continental forces fought a long series of skirmishes and raids all throughout New Jersey. At the September 11, 1777 Battle of Brandywine, Major Bloomfield was wounded as the Continental Army fought a valiant but losing engagement with the British Forces, who would advance and occupy Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Joseph Bloomfield was with the New Jersey troops of the line as they then endured the severe winter of 1777-1778 at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, and as the fought in the hot sun at the June 28, 1778 Battle of Monmouth. In October 1778 he was elected as Clerk of the New Jersey Assembly, and he resigned his commission. He married a native of Burlington, New Jersey in 1779, and established a law practice there. He would fill a number of government positions, including serving as New Jersey’s Attorney General from 1783 to 1792. From 1795 to 1800 he served as Mayor of Burlington, and was commissioned as an officer to lead the New Jersey contingent sent to help put down the Whiskey Rebellion. He was twice elected as Democratic-Republican Governor of New Jersey, serving first from October 1801 to October 1802, then from October 1803 to October 1812. He offered his services after the outbreak of the War of 1812, and was commissioned a Brigadier General on March 12, 1912. Too old at the point for field command, he was assigned to oversee the training of troops in Pennsylvania and New York, as well as oversee their defenses. He was honorably mustered out in June 1815 after the conclusion of the war. In 1816 he was elected as a Democratic-Republican to represent New Jersey’s 3rd Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives, serving two terms from 1817 to 1821. He was unsuccessful in a re-election bid for as third term, and died in 1823 two years after leaving office. The town of Bloomfield, New Jersey was named in his honor. His residence in Burlington, New Jersey still stands today on the town’s High Street.