Joseph Messer Clough (June 15, 1828 – May 7, 1919) was a Union Army lieutenant colonel during the American Civil War, who was appointed and confirmed to the grade of brevet brigadier general of volunteers in 1866. Clough was born June 15, 1828 in Sunapee, New Hampshire. He attended Norwich University in Vermont. Clough led the City Guard of Manchester, New Hampshire, and was a member of the City Guard at Lowell, Massachusetts. He was a machinist and mill operator before the Civil War.