Montgomery, Richard (1738–1775)

Soldier, born in County Dublin, Ireland. Commissioned in the British army in 1756, he saw service in the USA during the French and Indian War, then resigned to settle in the USA (1773). He married the daughter of the wealthy New Yorker Robert Livingston (1718–75), and supported the patriots in their resistance to Britain. He became a brigadier general in the Continental Army in June 1775, and as second in command in General Philip Schuyler's expedition to Canada, he led the forces that captured Montréal. He lost his life during the assault on Québec on 31 December.