Montgomery, Richard
Montgomery, Richard,
1738?–1775, American Revolutionary general, b. Swords, Co. Dublin, Ireland. After entering the British army, he was sent (1757) to Canada in the French and Indian WarsFrench and Indian Wars,1689–1763, the name given by American historians to the North American colonial wars between Great Britain and France in the late 17th and the 18th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. and saw action at Louisburg, Ticonderoga, and Montreal before participating in operations against Martinique and Havana (1762). In 1772, he sold his army commission and returned from Great Britain to America. He settled near New York City and married (1773) a daughter of Robert R. Livingston (1718–75). An opponent of British colonial policy, he was (1775) a member of the New York provincial congress. In the same year he became brigadier general in the Continental army and replaced Philip J. Schuyler as commander of the Montreal expedition in the ill-fated Quebec campaignQuebec campaign,
1775–76, of the American Revolution. The Continental Congress decided to send an expedition to Canada to protect the northern frontier from British attack and to persuade Canada to join the revolt against England. Late in Aug., 1775, Gen.
..... Click the link for more information. . After taking Montreal, he joined Benedict Arnold and was killed (Dec. 31, 1775) in the assault on Quebec.