Cornell, Ezekiel, c. 1732-1800

Ezekiel Cornell (1732/33 – April 25, 1800) was a Revolutionary War general who represented Rhode Island in the U.S. Continental Congress from 1780 to 1782.

Born in either Dartmouth, Massachusetts or Scituate, Rhode Island, Cornell attended the public schools before being employed as a mechanic. Cornell served as Scituate's town meeting moderator in 1768, 1781 and 1785 and as a Deputy (Representative) from Scituate to the General Assembly in 1772, 1774 and 1775. In August 1774 he was commissioned as the colonel of the 3rd Providence County Regiment of the Rhode Island Militia. During the American Revolution Cornell, nicknamed "Old Snarl," was appointed lieutenant colonel in Hitchcock’s Regiment in April 1775 and was present at the Siege of Boston. On October 1, 1776, Cornell was appointed Deputy Adjutant General of the Continental Army. Cornell resigned from the Continental Army in December 1776 and returned to Rhode Island.

Cornell was appointed brigadier general of Rhode Island state troops on December 1, 1777 and served until March 16, 1780. He commanded a brigade of state troops consisting of two infantry regiments of eight companies each and an artillery regiment of four batteries. Cornell served as a member of the Continental Congress from 1780 until 1782 and chaired the military committee. After his service in Congress, he retired to his farm at Scituate, Rhode Island. He died in Milford, Massachusetts.