Montgomery - Richard - Rev Sold - Montgomery InGenWeb Project

Source: Major General Richard Montgomery.  Wikipedia

Richard Montgomery (December 2, 1736 - December 31, 1775) was an Irish-American soldier who served as a Major General in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

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

Richard Montgomery was an officer in the British Army in the Seven Years' War, serving in both Canada and the Caribbean. He was promoted to captain in May 1762. In 1763, when peace was concluded, he went with his regiment to 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. In 1775, although having resided in New York just three years, he was elected to the New York provincial legislature.

Montgomery was commissioned as the second-ranking brigadier general in the American Revolutionary War and led an army into Canada (Invasion of Canada), where he captured two forts and the city of Montreal.

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.

Legacy

Places named after Richard Montgomery include:

   * Montgomery, Alabama
   * Montgomery, Minnesota
   * Montgomery County, Alabama
   * Montgomery County, Illinois
   * Montgomery County, Indiana
   * Montgomery County, Maryland
   * Montgomery County, Ohio
   * Montgomery County, Pennsylvania
   * Richard Montgomery High School

See also: List of places named for Richard Montgomery

In World War II the United States liberty ship SS Richard Montgomery was named in his honor.