Illinois, Maryland, and Alabama have a peculiar bond. They all have counties or cities named after MG Richard Montgomery, a martyr of the American Revolution. He trained as a British soldier and fought in the French and Indian War before becoming a “rebel” and an officer in the Continental Army. He died in the first charge of one of the first battles of the Revolutionary War, but his legacy as a war hero lives on.
Born in Swords, County Dublin, Ireland, on 2 December 1738, Montgomery was educated at St. Andrews and Trinity College before enlisting in the British Royal Army in 1756. During the French and Indian War, he served with his regiment at the siege of Louisbourg and in the Lake Champlain campaign of 1759. After the fall of Montreal, Montgomery was transferred to the Caribbean, where he oversaw the capture of Martinique and Havana. Shortly after he was promoted to captain in May 1762, the Treaty of Paris ending the war was signed, and Montgomery was sent home to England two years later.
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