Richard Montgomery

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For the Tennessee House of Representatives member, see Richard Montgomery (Tennessee). For the high school, see Richard Montgomery High School. For the ship wrecked off the British Isle of Sheppey, see SS Richard Montgomery.

Richard Montgomery

Richard Montgomery (December 2, 1738 – December 31, 1775) was an Irish-born soldier who first served in the British army. He later became a a brigadier-general in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, and is most famous for leading the failed 1775 invasion of Canada.

1 Birth and service
2 American Revolution
3 Death
4 Legacy
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Birth and service

He was born in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, the son of Thomas Montgomery (a member of Parliament) and Mary Franklin Montgomery.

Montgomery was commissioned into the 17th Foot in 1756. He served in the Seven Years' War in both Canada and the Caribbean. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1758 and captain in May 1762. In 1763, when peace was concluded, he went with his regiment to the Province of New York. Two years later, the regiment returned to England.

Montgomery associated with the Whig members of Parliament, who generally supported the colonists in their demands for more political freedom.

On April 6, 1772, he sold his Army commission and decided to move back to New York. He bought a sixty-seven acre (270,000 m²) farm at King's Bridge in what is now the Borough of The Bronx of New York City.

On July 24, 1773, Montgomery married Janet Livingston, sister of Robert R. Livingston, a prominent New Yorker who was later on the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence. He then moved to his wife's farm near Rhinebeck, which was to be his home for the few remaining years of his life.

[edit] American Revolution

In 1775, although having resided in New York just three years, he was elected to the New York Provincial Congress.

Montgomery was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Continental Army on June 22, 1775 and a major general on December 9, 1775. He led an army into Canada (Invasion of Canada), where he captured two forts and the city of Montreal.

[edit] Death

John Trumbull's depiction of the death of General Montgomery in the attack on Quebec.

He was killed while attempting to capture the city of Quebec during a fierce snow storm on 31 December 1775. The British recognized his body and provided him with an honourable burial. In 1818, his body was moved to New York City and interred at St. Paul's Chapel.