Hometown: Kings Bridge, NY
Branch: Continental Army 
Unit: Northern Army
Date of Sacrifice: December 31, 1775 - KIA in Quebec City, Province of Quebec, British America 
Age: 37
Conflict: Revolutionary War, 1775-1783

Born to a wealthy family in the town of Swords, near Dublin, Ireland on December 2, 1738, Richard Montgomery became a non-commissioned officer in the British Royal Army after dropping out of Dublin’s Trinity College. As a young British soldier, Montgomery was sent to the American colonies as European powers Britain, France, and Spain—along with allied native tribes—clashed over territorial expansion on the continent.

The French and Indian War, also known as the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) ended with the Treaty of Paris in early 1763. After decisive British victories in Louisbourg (1758), Quebec (1759), and Montreal (1759), France was forced to give up all territories east of the Mississippi—except for the port city of New Orleans.

The British gained the territories of Canada and the Ohio River Valley. The Spanish conceded Florida to the British. All French territorial possessions west of the Mississippi River (Louisiana Territory) were turned over to Spain. The French were permitted control of the sugar-producing islands of Martinique, Guadeloupe, and St. Lucia in the Caribbean.

Montgomery distinguished himself during the war, serving in the siege of Louisbourg and in the 1759 Lake Champlain campaign. He was transferred to the Caribbean, where he oversaw the captures of Martinique Island and the city of Havana, Cuba. He was promoted to captain in May 1762.

Leaving England

Two years after the war, Montgomery was sent back to England. He became increasingly frustrated with his lack of promotion in the British Army and with the Crown’s antagonism toward the American colonies.

Montgomery resigned his commission and purchased a farm in New York Colony—near Kings Bridge, about thirteen miles north of New York City. There he met and married Janet Livingston, daughter of a wealthy New York Judge.

Due to high taxation and heavy-handed control from a distant British government, tensions grew quickly in the American colonies. Richard Montgomery joined in rallies against the Crown.

While he preferred a quiet life on his farm, Montgomery’s fellow New Yorkers viewed him as a man of integrity and elected him to represent Dutchess County in the New York Provincial Congress.

New Allegiances

Anger with the British Crown boiled over and the 13 colonies pushed for independence, forming a Continental Congress on September 5, 1774. On June 14, 1775, a Continental Army was authorized under the command of George Washington. According to the Army Historical Society:

Much to his chagrin, [Montgomery] was appointed a brigadier general in the Continental Army on 22 June 1775. Despite his reluctance to leave his new wife and farm, Montgomery wrote, “the will of an oppressed people…must be respected.” He was designated second in command of the American forces New York, and on 26 June, he and his superior, MG Philip Schuyler, were given orders to invade Canada. At their headquarters at Fort Ticonderoga, he labeled his troops as the “sweepings” of society and the officers as “vulgar.” He shaped these misfits into an effective army as they advanced down Lake Champlain to lay siege to several Canadian towns.

Taking Command

General Schuyler was forced to step down in mid-September of 1775, leaving Montgomery in command. Under Montgomery’s leadership, his patriot troops captured Fort Chambly and Fort St. John, then the city of Montreal on November 13, 1775.

Montgomery’s collection of some 300 rag-tag soldiers then turned south to link up with General Benedict Arnold’s 1,000 men, who were marching through the wilderness of Maine. The combined forces were moving to take Quebec from the British.

Montgomery was now a Major General, though he was unaware of the promotion. Establishing siege lines around the city of Quebec, Montgomery and Arnold demanded surrender from the British officers within. Their terms were repeatedly offered and rejected.

General Montgomery hoped to delay an attack until a snowfall could hide the movement of his troops. But General Arnold was concerned that a looming January 1, 1776 enlistment expiration could drastically reduce the number of available troops. The attack was coordinated for the early hours of December 31, 1775. The American Battlefield Trust recounts those first moments of the Battle of Quebec:

That morning, Montgomery led a group of his men toward the interior of Quebec. With sword drawn and lantern out, the Patriots advanced toward a blockhouse where the British and Canadian defenders noticed this movement and let loose a volley of grapeshot and muskets, which killed Montgomery and the men close to him instantly.

Legacy

General Arnold was badly injured in the leg, and many of the attacking Continental Army troops were killed or taken prisoner. The remaining forces retreated from the city, confused and blinded by snow.

Despite the failed attack, the New Year’s Eve loss of the highly-regarded Richard Montgomery—the first death of an American general officer in the Revolution—would inspire his fellow patriots.

Because of Montgomery’s bravery and leadership in the face of adversity, the colonies had a new hero and martyr for the American cause. Buried honorably by the British enemy after the battle, Gen. Richard Montgomery was reinterred at St. Paul’s Cathedral in New York City in 1818, underneath a monument commissioned by Congress.

Sources
1858 Engraving by G.R. Hall, based on the painting by Alonzo Chappel. Retrieved from the National Archives Catalog: NAID 532866
The Army Historical Foundation: Major General Richard Montgomery
American Battlefield Trust: Richard Montgomery
Researching the American Revolution: Richard Montgomery
American History Central: Richard Montgomery
Library of Congress: Biographical sketch of Major-general Richard Montgomery of the Continental army, who fell in the assault of Quebec, December 31, 1775.
Journal of the American Revolution, March 5, 2019: Remembering the Lives and Sacrifices of General Richard and Janet Montgomery
Eugene A. Coyle: From Abbyville to Quebec: The Life and Times of General Richard Montgomery
Burial Site: Find a Grave