Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst

Field Marshal Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst, lived from 29 January 1717 to 3 August 1797. A British Army officer who served as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, he is recognized as a key planner behind Great Britain’s conquest of New France from France in the Seven Years’ War. He also became the first British governor general of the lands that would later form Canada.

Amherst was born in Sevenoaks, England, the son of a Kentish lawyer and his wife. He joined the Grenadier Guards as an ensign in 1735 and saw his first combat during the War of the Austrian Succession. In the early stages of the Seven Years’ War, he led the successful siege of Louisbourg and was then appointed commander-in-chief in North America. Under his direction, British forces captured Quebec City, Montreal, and several major fortresses, ending French control in North America. He was named Governor-General of British North America in 1760 and knighted the following year.

In early 1763, a confederation of American Indians launched Pontiac’s War in response to Amherst’s policies. His handling of the uprising drew criticism, leading to his recall to Britain and replacement as commander-in-chief in North America by Thomas Gage. Amherst became a peer in 1776 and twice served as commander-in-chief of the British Army, overseeing the suppression of the anti-Catholic Gordon Riots in London. He retired as a field marshal in 1796 and died a year later at age 80.

Many places in Canada and the United States bear his name. His modern legacy is often noted for his expressed wish to spread smallpox among American Indians during Pontiac’s War.

As a boy, Amherst was a page to the Duke of Dorset. He became an ensign in the Grenadier Guards in 1735. During the War of the Austrian Succession, he served as an aide to General John Ligonier, fighting at Dettingen in June 1743 and Fontenoy in May 1745. Promoted to lieutenant colonel in December 1745, he also fought at Rocoux in October 1746. He later became an aide to the Duke of Cumberland and saw action at Lauffeld in July 1747.

In February 1756, Amherst was made commissar to German Hessian forces assembled to defend Hanover. When a French invasion of Britain seemed imminent, he arranged the transport of thousands of German troops to southern England in April. He became colonel of the 15th Regiment of Foot in June 1756. By 1757, the immediate threat to Britain had passed, and the troops returned to Hanover to join the Duke of Cumberland’s army. Amherst fought with the Hessians at the Battle of Hastenbeck in July 1757, a defeat that forced a retreat north to Stade. Dispirited, he prepared to disband the Hessians after the Convention of Klosterzeven, but word arrived that the convention had been repudiated and the Allied force was reforming.

Amherst gained fame in the North American campaign of the Seven Years’ War, known in the United States as the French and Indian War. He led the British attack on Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island in June 1758. After this, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British army in North America and colonel-in-chief of the 60th (Royal American) Regiment in September 1758. He then led an army against French troops on Lake Champlain, capturing Fort Ticonderoga in July 1759, while other forces under William Johnson took Niagara and James Wolfe besieged and captured Quebec City. Amherst served as nominal Crown Governor of Virginia from September 1759.

In July 1760, he led an army down the Saint Lawrence River from Fort Oswego, joining with Brigadier Murray from Quebec and Brigadier Haviland from Ile-aux-Noix in a three-pronged attack that captured Montreal on 8 September, ending French colonial rule in North America. He angered French commanders by refusing them the honours of war; the Chevalier de Lévis burned the colours rather than surrender them. British settlers celebrated with a day of thanksgiving, including a parade, a grand dinner in Faneuil Hall, music, bonfires, and cannon fire. Boston newspapers recorded the event, and the Rev. Thomas Foxcroft of the First Church in Boston offered a prayer of gratitude.

For this victory, Amherst was appointed Governor-General of British North America in September 1760 and promoted to major-general in November. He was made a Knight of the Order of the Bath in April 1761. From New York, he oversaw the dispatch of troops under Monckton and Haviland to British expeditions in the West Indies, leading to the capture of Dominica in 1761 and Martinique and Cuba in 1762.

The uprising of many American Indian tribes in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region, known as Pontiac’s War, began in early 1763 in response to Amherst’s policies.