Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst
British commander who conquered New France and later faced controversy over Pontiac's War.
Joshua Reynolds · via Wikipedia: Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst · Public domain
Jeffery Amherst was born in Sevenoaks, England, on 29 January 1717, the son of a Kentish lawyer and Elizabeth Amherst.[1][2] He gained fame during the Seven Years' War for leading the British attack on Louisbourg in June 1758.[3] Born in Sevenoaks, England on 29 January 1717, Jeffery Amherst was the son of a Kentish lawyer and Elizabeth Amherst; he became a page to the Duke of Dorset when young and was made an ensign in the Grenadier Guards in 1735.[1]
Quick Facts
- Born
- 29 January 1717, Sevenoaks, England
- Died
- 3 August 1797, age 80
- Field
- British Army officer
- Nationality
- British
Facts from the source article.
Life and work
In February 1756 he was appointed commissar to German Hessian forces assembled to defend Hanover.[4] William Pitt elevated him to major general in January 1758 and named him to command the forces that took Louisbourg on June 27 of that year.[2] He was appointed commander-in-chief of the British army in North America in September 1758 and captured Fort Ticonderoga in July 1759.[5] Amherst led an army down the Saint Lawrence River from Fort Oswego in July 1760 and captured Montreal on 8 September, ending French colonial rule in North America.[6]
Amherst was raised to the peerage as Baron Amherst on 14 May 1776 and promoted to full general on 24 March 1778.[7] Amherst passed away on 3 August 1797 at his residence, Montreal Park, and his burial took place in the Parish Church at Sevenoaks.[8]
What the cited sources add
The Encyclopedia Virginia account notes that Amherst married Jane Dalyson on May 3, 1753, and that she died in November 1763.[2] It states that Amherst's unwillingness to provision Indians in the Northwest helped provoke Pontiac’s Uprising in 1763 and led to his recall as commander in chief.[2] The same source reports that Amherst remained royal governor of Virginia, although he never visited the colony.[2] The Encyclopedia Virginia also records that George III awarded Amherst the rank of field marshal in 1796.[2]
The Encyclopedia Virginia entry notes that in 1770 he was appointed governor of Guernsey, and in 1772 he became a member of the king’s Privy Council.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Chartrand p. 24; "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst", 2004; Heathcote p. 23; Heathcote p. 23; Mayo p. 8 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Sir Jeffery Amherst (1717–1797)", Encyclopedia Virginia, 7 December 2020. facts only, no text reused. encyclopediavirginia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heathcote p. 24 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Mayo pp. 34–37; ; Heathcote p. 24; Mayo pp. 37–38 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Heathcote p. 24; Heathcote p. 24; (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Parkman, Francis: "Montcalm and Wolfe"; Heathcote p. 24; Hayes, p. 77; Parkman, Francis: "Montcalm and Wolfe" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; ; Heathcote p. 25 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "William Amherst letter to Jane Dalison Amherst, 1758"; G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland; "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst", 2004; "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst", 2004; ; Nunnerley, "A History of Montreal Park"; Heathcote p. 25; "Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst", 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
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