Major General Richard Montgomery

Incorporating recent scholarship and new archival discoveries, this is the updated biography of one of the forgotten heroes of the Revolutionary War, Richard Montgomery. An Irish-born former British officer who saw extensive service in North America during the Seven Years' War, Montgomery commanded the American invasion of Canada in 1775. That fall, his soldiers seized two British forts, occupied Montreal, and captured most of the British regulars in Canada before he fell at Quebec on December 31.

The first and highest-ranking American general killed in the Revolution, Montgomery was also an important heroic symbol in the early republic. Those who favored independence, such as Sam Adams, used his image to build support for their cause. Hugh Henry Brackenridge and other writers portrayed the slain general as a symbol of virtue and self-sacrifice to spur on the war effort and help create a national identity. This public adoration peaked in 1818 when his remains were returned from Quebec and reburied in New York City, and it persisted through the mid nineteenth century.