William Sprague Mansion in Cranston, Rhode Island, and pursued classical studies as a student.

He subsequently was elected as a Whig to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Nathan F. Dixon and served from February 18, 1842, to January 17, 1844, when he resigned.

He served as chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Enrolled Bills in the Twenty-seventh Congress.

The trial resulted in one of the defendants being sent to the gallows, and remains highly controversial for the amount of anti-Irish bigotry involved.

[3] Sprague died in Providence, Rhode Island, and is interred in Swan Point Cemetery there.