General Richard Montgomery and the American Revolution. Hal T. Shelton
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Early Life
If anything human could now reach his ear, nothing but the great concerns of virtue, liberty, truth, and justice would be tolerable to him; for to these was his life devoted from his early years.1
Richard Montgomery was born on December 2, 1738, at his father’s country estate, near Swords in County Dublin, Ireland. . Thus, he joined a respectable family of Irish gentry as the son of Thomas Montgomery and Mary Franklin (Franklyn) Montgomery. His father, who had inherited a title of baronet, was a former captain in the army. He was serving as a member of the Irish Parliament for Lifford, in County Donegal, at the time of Richard’s birth.2 Many of the traits that Richard Montgomery would exhibit later in life may be explained by his ancestry. Richard was directly descended from a family that had been prominent in Ireland and Scotland for many generations. Some sources even trace the early genealogy of the Montgomery family back to Normandy beyond A.D. 912.3 This lineage is replete with military, moral, and public-service references. Most of Richard’s forebears functioned in the armed forces and positions of civil duty. A few entered the private sector, seeking careers in commercial pursuits. The evidence also indicates that many of the personal conflicts experienced by this kinship involved ethical issues.
Richard’s father provides an excellent point of entrée into the Montgomery ancestry. Thomas Montgomery, a headstrong individual, defied his patriarchal father, Col. Alexander Montgomery (Montgomerie), in the matter of matrimony. Alexander opposed his son’s marriage to Mary Franklin, an English lady of fortune, but Thomas was unrelenting in his devotion to Mary. Alexander never forgave his son’s defiance of his wishes and designated Thomas’s eldest son, Alexander John, as the benefactor of his will.4
The union of Thomas and Mary Montgomery produced four children. Richard was the third son of the family, which also included a younger daughter. Richard’s oldest brother, Alexander John, served as a captain in the British 43d Regiment in America during the Seven Years’ War. Subsequent to his military duty, he was a member of the Irish Parliament for Donegal for thirty-two years. He never married, and he died at the age of seventy-eight on September 29, 1800.5 John Montgomery, the second son, was one of the exceptions to the Montgomery legacy of military and public service. He became a noted merchant in Portugal.6 Sarah Montgomery, the daughter, married Charles Ranelagh, an impoverished Irish viscount, and raised a large family.7
Richard Montgomery himself chose to trace his origin from Count de Montgomery (Gabriel de Lorges), a French nobleman of Scottish extraction (c. 1530-1574).8 Although Richard was not a direct descendant of the count, this selection is significant because it reveals what personal qualities Richard admired most in his ancestry. A biography of Count de Montgomery fairly bristles with military prowess and moral courage.
On June 28–30, 1559, King Henry II of France held a celebration in Paris on the occasion of the marriage of his daughter, Isabella, to King Philip II of Spain. The king had a penchant for sporting activities, so he ordered a tournament to be conducted throughout the three-day festival. On the last day of the games, Henry II personally entered into the jousting match. The queen, Catherine de’ Medici (Catherine de Medicis), feared for her husband’s safety and urged him to forego the dangerous pastime. However, chivalry dominated the attitudes of the gentry during this era, and Henry prided himself on such attributes. He enjoyed a reputation as an accomplished horseman and man-at-arms. Like other noblemen, Henry had learned martial skills at an early age as part of his preparation for manhood. During a jousting training session, his father, King Francis I, delivered such a blow to his face that it tore a large gash in the flesh.9
According to custom, jousters used wooden lances and attempted to strike their competitors in order to unhorse them or to break their lances. After demonstrating his skill in several tilts, the king wished to challenge another opponent. He summoned Montgomery, his captain of the Royal Scottish Guard, to run against him. Montgomery tried to decline the perilous honor, but the king insisted. Although Henry and Montgomery broke their lances during this run, the count caused his monarch to lose his stirrup, nearly unseating him. Embarrassed by his unsteady performance during the first match, the king wanted to run another bout against Montgomery. Disregarding the protests of those concerned over the king placing himself in unnecessary danger, Henry demanded a rematch.10
During this encounter, both jousters broke their lances deftly; but Montgomery, in his anxiety, failed to release his broken lance immediately after impact. The severed shaft remaining in Montgomery’s hand unintentionally struck and raised the king’s visor, allowing the splintered end to be driven through the monarch’s eye. Hastily summoned surgeons removed a four-inch-long wooden fragment and four smaller pieces from Henry’s head. At first, the doctors believed that he would only lose his eye. On the third day, he was conscious and asked for Montgomery. When told that the count had fled Paris, he said: “He must be brought back at all costs. What has he to fear? This accident happened not through his fault but by an unlucky chance.”11
In spite of this momentary rally, the king’s condition continued to deteriorate. Blood poisoning set in and brain damage ensued. Medical treatment proved to be futile. He lingered for ten days before succumbing to the wound. Henry II died on July 10 at the age of forty. He had been the victim of a tragic accident—and apparently forgave Montgomery for his part in the mishap. However, Catherine, the royal court, and other horror-stricken spectators who had witnessed the disastrous event blamed the hapless Montgomery for the loss of their ruler.12
Because of his censure, Count Montgomery retired initially to Normandy, where he maintained several estates, and subsequently fled to England. Also during this period, he converted to Calvinist Protestantism. Returning to France in 1562, he distinguished himself as a leader of the Huguenots in the religious civil war against Charles IX, son and successor to Henry II. Montgomery served as one of several Huguenot generals who fought against the Catholics during the rebellion. The others included the Prince de Condé (Louis I de Bourbon) and Count Gaspard de Coligny.
Most of the Huguenot military leaders came from the lesser nobility of France. Because of their landlord social status, they were particularly vulnerable to the high inflation that occurred from time to time. This economic condition severely reduced the value of money while land rental rates remained fixed by governmental regulation. In addition, French law forbade the gentry from supplementing their income through commercial enterprises. On the other hand, social convention dictated that the nobility maintain a certain standard of living. The maintenance of their station required a large, continuous expenditure for the education of their children, accoutrements of rank, and other trappings befitting a member of the lavish social order. Appearances had to be upheld at all costs. Therefore, the effects of the economy weighed harshly on this segment of society. These circumstances and the fact that the peerage traditionally received martial-arts training understandably turned many in this class to military pursuits. For them, war was the only trade they knew or were allowed to practice.13
During the first half of the sixteenth century, France engaged in wars with Spain and the empire (Valois-Hapsburg Wars, 1495–1559). With the ensuing years of peace, many French noblemen-soldiers became unoccupied and restless. The social tensions that had built up in this privileged group help explain the nature of their participation in the French Wars of Religion (1560–1598). These men, who were accustomed to living by the sword, became the protectors of the repressed French Protestants during an intense period of religious reformation and confrontation. This is not to suggest that the Huguenot generals were military mercenaries, attempting to reap only personal gain and glory. All of them had an almost fanatical devotion to their faith and dedication to their cause. Rather, their background offers an insight into why this religious struggle assumed a particular form. By inclination, these leaders were men of action, not politicians or men of letters. Therefore, it was inevitable that this civil strife would be played out through military confrontation instead of using intellectual or diplomatic alternatives.
The death of Henry II left at the head of state Catherine de’ Medici as regent and queen mother of two young, sickly kings. Francis II, the first in succession, died on December 5, 1560, at the age of eighteen. Charles IX succeeded his brother when only ten years old. This period of uncertainty in royal power provided