Editing Jonathan Trumbull (section)

==Career==
Trumbull became a merchant with his father in 1731, participating more fully in the business after the death of his brother at sea in 1732. From 1733 to 1740, he was a delegate to the general assembly, and, in 1739–1740, was Speaker of the House. He was appointed lieutenant colonel in Connecticut's militia in 1739, and was colonel of the 12th Connecticut Regiment during the [[French and Indian War]].

He served as deputy governor of the Colony of Connecticut from 1766 to 1769, and, on the death of Governor [[William Pitkin]], became [[List of colonial governors of Connecticut|Governor of Connecticut]] in 1769, serving in that capacity until 1784, through Connecticut's transition from a colony to a U.S. state.

===Revolutionary War===
On May 13, 1774, British General [[Thomas Gage]] arrived in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]], a city with a history of violent protests against British policies. Given the problems he was inheriting from Royal Governor [[Thomas Hutchinson (governor)|Thomas Hutchinson]], within a week of arriving Gage contacted Trumbull and expressed a "readiness to cooperate" with him "for the good of his Majesty's service."<ref>Phelps, Page 48.</ref> When Gage sent Trumbull a request for assistance after the [[Battles of Lexington and Concord]] in April 1775, Trumbull refused and made clear his choice to side with the Patriots. He replied that Gage's troops would "disgrace even barbarians", and he accused Gage of "a most unprovoked attack upon the lives and the property of his Majesty's subjects."<ref>Eddlem, Thomas R. 25-AUG-03 The New American http://www.accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-24329109_ITM</ref>

On July 6, 1775, along with other officers, Trumbull commissioned [[Nathan Hale]] as a first lieutenant in the newly raised [[7th Continental Regiment|Seventh Regiment]] of the [[Continental Army]].<ref>Rose, Page 8.</ref> Hale was later executed by the British for espionage.

Trumbull was a friend and advisor of General [[George Washington]] throughout the Revolutionary period, dedicating the resources of Connecticut to the fight for independence. Washington declared him "the first of the patriots."<ref>Phelps, Page 59.</ref> When Washington was desperate for men or food during the war, he could turn to "Brother Jonathan".<ref>Lefkowitz, Page 232.</ref> Trumbull also served as the Continental Army's Paymaster General (Northern Department) in the spring of 1778, until the untimely death of his mother forced him to resign his post. As part of his resignation, he requested that the remainder of his back pay be distributed to the soldiers of the Northern Department.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.footnote.com/image/454501/#454617 | title = Misc Letters to Congress 1775–1789 }}</ref>

===Post-war===
Trumbull was one of only two colonial governors to continue in office after independence (the other was [[Rhode Island]]'s [[Nicholas Cooke]], who assumed office early in the war). Governor Trumbull was elected as an honorary member of the Connecticut [[Society of the Cincinnati]] in 1784. In 1782, he was elected a Fellow of the [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]].<ref name=AAAS>{{cite web|title=Book of Members, 1780–2010: Chapter T|url=http://www.amacad.org/publications/BookofMembers/ChapterT.pdf|publisher=American Academy of Arts and Sciences|access-date=July 28, 2014}}</ref> He received an honorary LL.D. from [[Yale University]] in 1775 and from the [[University of Edinburgh]] in 1787.