James Abercrombie (British army officer)

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For the member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Alabama, see James Abercrombie (congressman).

James Abercrombie or Abercromby (1706 – April 23, 1781) was a British general and commander-in-chief of forces in North America during the French and Indian War who met with disaster in the Battle of Carillon (1758). He was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, Scotland ^[1] to a wealthy family, and purchased a major's commission to enter the army in 1742. He was promoted to colonel in 1746, and major-general in 1756. Abercrombie commanded a brigade at Louisbourg in 1757 and became commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America after the departure of John Campbell in March of 1758 (see Commander-in-Chief, North America).

That summer, he led an expedition against Fort Ticonderoga. Abercrombie was a genius at organization, but vacillated in his leadership to the point where his troops called him Mrs. Nanny Cromby. He managed the remarkable feat of assembling 15,000 troops and moving them and their supplies through the wilderness. Then, on July 8, 2,000 of them were killed or wounded, which proved that 15,000 men cannot take a stone fort manned by 3,000 with artillery through frontal assault with bayonets. Eventually his force panicked and fled, and he retreated to his fortified camp south of Lake George. This disaster caused his replacement by General Jeffrey Amherst and his recall to England in 1759. On his return to England, he sat as a member of parliament, and supported the coercive policy toward the American colonies.