Jeffery Amherst, First Baron Amherst

British military commander and governor

• Born: January 29, 1717
• Birthplace: Sevenoaks, Kent, England
• Died: August 3, 1797
• Place of death: Montreal, Kent, England

One of the greatest heroes of the Seven Years’ War, Amherst commanded the British and colonial forces that seized Canada from the French.

Early Life

Lord Amherst was born Jeffrey Amherst at his family’s country house. The second son of a prominent barrister, Amherst attracted the favorable attention of the neighboring Sackville family, whose head was the duke of Dorset. (One of Amherst’s boyhood friends was Lord George Sackville, who, as Lord George Germain, would be a cabinet colleague during the American Revolution.)

In 1731, Dorset helped to launch Amherst’s military career by obtaining a commission for him in the First Foot Guards. The regiment’s commander, General John Ligonier, recognized Amherst’s abilities and fostered his career. When, in 1743, Ligonier went to Germany to command British forces during the War of the Austrian Succession, he took Amherst with him as a staff officer. As such, Amherst was present at Dettingen and a number of other major battles. In the later years of the war, Amherst served on the staff of the duke of Cumberland, the younger son of George II. With both Ligonier and Cumberland as patrons, Amherst advanced rapidly and was a lieutenant colonel by the time the war ended in 1748.

A tall, spare man with a prominent nose, Amherst had a hawkish appearance. Cool and reserved in manner, he was nevertheless adept at dealing with troublesome colleagues and subordinates. He tended to be methodical in his approach to his duties; some thought him too much so, while others praised his thoroughness and administrative ability.

Life’s Work

The Seven Years’ War (1756-1763) marked the emergence of Lord Amherst as a major figure in the army. At the beginning of the war, he was sent to Germany to take charge of the commissariat that supplied the mercenaries hired to protect King George II’s native territory of Hanover. In 1757, Cumberland arrived to take command of the Hanoverian army, and Amherst rejoined his staff. The French inflicted a major defeat on Cumberland at Hastenback (July, 1757), and he was subsequently forced into signing an embarrassing truce that George II later repudiated. Cumberland returned to England in disgrace. Amherst, however, escaped the misfortunes of his patron. In fact, his prospects improved because General Ligonier replaced Cumberland as commander in chief.

Though the German phase of the war continued to preoccupy the king, his ministers were more interested in eliminating France as a colonial rival, especially in North America. There the war had opened, as elsewhere, with a series of British defeats. Amherst was a key figure in the government’s plans to turn the direction of the war in America. He was recalled from Germany, promoted to major general, and named to command an expedition that was being outfitted for an assault on Louisbourg. (Credit for Amherst’s appointment is often given to William Pitt the Elder. It was, however, Ligonier who was primarily responsible.) Located on Cape Breton Island, Louisbourg was the largest French fortress in North America, safeguarding communications with Canada by sea.

The Louisbourg expedition was Amherst’s first major command, and he made the most of the opportunity. He had under him an army of about fourteen thousand soldiers and a sizable fleet under Admiral Edward Boscawen. Aided by a group of able young subordinates that included James Wolfe and William Howe, Amherst carefully cut off all avenues of escape from Louisbourg. After a siege of almost two months, the French surrendered on July 27, 1759. It was Great Britain’s first major victory on land and opened one of the major routes into Canada.

Elsewhere, things had not gone as well. Sir James Abercromby, attempting to invade Canada from New York by way of Lake Champlain, had been defeated by the French at Fort Ticonderoga. At the end of 1758, Amherst replaced Abercromby as commander in chief of British forces in North America. The conquest of Canada became the British government’s priority for 1759. Amherst was to command, though the overall strategy was decided in London. This called for a three-pronged approach. An amphibious expedition under Wolfe and Admiral Sir Charles Saunders would sail up the St. Lawrence River with Quebec as its objective. Amherst, with a large force of regulars and colonial troops, would move north from Albany along the Lake Champlain route, then link up with Wolfe on the St. Lawrence. Finally, a smaller force under Colonel John Prideaux would take Fort Niagara, cross Lake Ontario from the west, and then move down the St. Lawrence. Amherst preferred the command given to Wolfe. Ligonier, however, believed that Amherst should be with the largest force, where his prestige as commander in chief would promote greater cooperation from the colonists.

The overall strategy proved successful, though Amherst had to adapt it to fit changing circumstances. In September, 1759, Wolfe won his famous victory at Quebec, though he was killed in action. Encountering much greater logistical difficulties, Amherst moved more slowly. He captured Fort Ticonderoga and Fort Crown Point and secured control of Lake Champlain, but he was unable to break through to the St. Lawrence before winter arrived. In the west, Niagara fell to the British, and the victors proceeded to extend their control over Lake Ontario. The next year, Amherst moved to complete the task that had been so well begun. Moving east from Lake Ontario, north from Lake Champlain, and west from Quebec, his forces converged on the St. Lawrence Valley. Amherst maneuvered his men skillfully, and on September 8, 1760, Montreal fell with little bloodshed. Canada was now British, a state of affairs formally confirmed by the Treaty of Paris in 1763.

Success in Canada secured Amherst’s military reputation and made him one of the war’s greatest heroes in the English-speaking world. He collected a variety of rewards. In 1759, he was named royal governor of Virginia. (This was largely a sinecure worth œ1,500 per year; the governor’s duties were carried out by the lieutenant governor.) Amherst also received a vote of thanks from Parliament, and, in 1761, George III made him a Knight of the Bath. In America, New England towns and a Virginia county were named for him.

Amherst remained in America as commander in chief until the end of the war. With the French defeated, his main worry became relations with the American Indian tribes, many of which had been French allies. Especially uncertain was the state of things in the vast trans-Appalachian region now passing under British control. Amherst had a decidedly negative opinion of American Indians in general, and his conduct of relations with them was the least successful episode of his career. Seeing his own policy as one based on honesty and economy, Amherst ignored the advice of knowledgeable colonists, such as Sir William Johnson, and stopped a number of practices that had worked in the past, particularly the custom of giving gifts to tribes that remained peaceful. Amherst also stopped supplying the American Indians with ammunition, on which many of them had come to depend for hunting. Amherst thus did little to convince many of the tribes that their interests were secure under British rule. The result was to foster discontent, which led to Pontiac’s War, a large-scale indigenous peoples’ uprising named after the famous Ottawa chief. Spreading over much of the back country and lasting into 1766, the rebellion frustrated Amherst’s attempts to put it down quickly. (At one point, he seriously considered trying to deal with unfriendly tribes by sending them blankets infected with smallpox.)

Amherst returned to England before the final suppression of the uprising. During the next decade, he enjoyed a relatively quiet life, though in 1768, he became involved in a dispute with the Chatham administration over its decision to send a resident governor to Virginia. Amherst did not want to go out to the colony but was offended when he was asked to resign so that someone else could be appointed. In anger, he resigned his military appointments as well. George III eventually soothed the general’s wounded pride by promising him a peerage and giving him a new regiment. In 1772, Amherst returned to a more active role in military affairs when he was appointed Lieutenant General of the Ordnance.

The American Revolution marked the next major phase of Amherst’s career. While generally supporting the British policies that provoked the American colonists, Amherst had no desire to return to America in a military capacity. In early 1775, he turned down a request that he return as commander in chief in America. After the war broke out, Amherst gave Lord North’s government the benefit of his advice. In 1776, the king kept his promise and made Amherst a peer, creating him Baron Amherst of Holmesdale. As Lord Amherst, he proved a regular attender in the House of Lords, where he continued to support the war. In 1778, however, he refused the American command for a second time.

After France entered the war in 1778, Amherst became more active. He was promoted to general and named commander in chief of the army. The position was roughly analogous to a modern chief of staff, with direct command over the forces within the British Isles. It did not, however, carry great influence over the direction of the war in America. This was largely in the hands of Lord George Germain, the secretary of state for the colonies. Amherst devoted himself to administrative matters and to preparations for home defense, for there was a real threat of a French invasion. He also took the lead in suppressing the Gordon Riots, which shook London for a week in June, 1780. With the fall of Lord North’s government in 1782, Amherst’s term as commander in chief came to an end.

Amherst then retired to his country house (named Montreal) in Kent. With the outbreak of war with revolutionary France in 1793, however, he returned to active duty and once again held the position of commander in chief. By this time, Amherst was seventy-six years old and in failing health. His return was not successful, and two years later, he resigned in favor of the king’s son, Frederick, duke of York. Amherst was compensated with promotion to field marshal, the highest rank in the British army. Amherst’s last retirement was relatively brief: He died on August 3, 1797.

Significance

Apart from his subordinate, James Wolfe, Lord Amherst was the best-known British general of the Seven Years’ War and arguably the most successful. The conquest of Canada was his most notable achievement, and he has traditionally been regarded as one of the founding fathers of English Canada. The campaign may have taken longer than originally intended, but Amherst’s careful and professional approach minimized the risks in a situation where defeat would have had disastrous consequences. Amherst also, by his development of light infantry tactics, did much to adapt the British army to North American conditions.

Subsequent phases of Amherst’s career were less dramatic, though not without importance. His insensitive approach to American Indian relations helped to bring on Pontiac’s War, an event that contributed to the British resolve to maintain an army in America after 1763. This policy was, in turn, a factor in promoting the British to look for new sources of revenue in the colonies. The measures that resulted eventually led to the American Revolution. During the period of growing strife with the Americans, Amherst was often sought out by the king and cabinet because of his knowledge of American conditions. He gave advice, joined the cabinet (as commander in chief), and did much to prepare Great Britain for a threatened invasion. After the British defeat at Saratoga in 1777, Amherst was one of the first to realize that Great Britain lacked the military resources to continue an offensive war in America. His advice in favor of a more defensive, naval-oriented strategy, however, was not taken. In the end, Amherst witnessed, as commander in chief, the reduction of an American empire he had done much to expand.

Bibliography

Amherst, Jeffrey Lord. The Journal of Jeffrey Amherst. Edited by John Clarence Webster. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1931. Amherst’s detailed account of his North American command, describing events from 1758 through 1763. A basic source, useful for showing Amherst’s perception of events.

Flexner, James Thomas. Mohawk Baronet. Boston: Little, Brown, 1959. Rev. ed. Lord of the Mohawks: A Biography of Sir William Johnson. A well-researched and well-written biography of a colonist who had great influence with the Iroquois. Johnson participated in Amherst’s campaigns but differed sharply with him over American Indian policy. Flexner saw Amherst as primarily responsible for Pontiac’s War.

Gipson, Lawrence Henry. The Great War for Empire: The Victorious Years, 1758-1760. Vol. 7 in The British Empire Before the American Revolution. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957. A sound account of the phase of the Seven Years’ War that included Amherst’s major victories. Useful for placing the Canadian campaign in the overall context of the war.

Long, J. C. Lord Jeffery Amherst: A Soldier of the King. New York: Macmillan, 1933. The best biography of Amherst, though not definitive. It emphasizes his Seven Years’ War experience and tends to be uncritical. As a side note, the book’s title misspells Amherst’s first name and purposely transposes it with his title; properly used, “lord” before a name indicates the younger son of a duke or marquess.

Mackesy, Piers. The War for America, 1775-1783. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1964. The best account of the Revolutionary War from the British perspective. Provides a well-rounded picture of Amherst’s role as military adviser and commander in chief.

Nester, William R. “Haughty Conquerors”: Amherst and the Great Indian Uprising of 1763. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2000. A history of Pontiac’s War and Amherst’s role in the rebellion.

Parkman, Francis. France and England in North America. 9 vols. 1865-1892. Reprint. 2 vols. Edited by David Levin. New York: Library of America, 1983. Volume 2 contains the classic and still valuable account of the Seven Years’ War in North America. Very influential in establishing the traditional view of its subject. While James Wolfe is Parkman’s hero on the British side, Amherst’s campaigns are covered in highly readable fashion.

Peckham, Howard H. Pontiac and the Indian Uprising. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1947. The standard work on Pontiac’s War that is critical of Amherst’s insensitive approach to dealing with the American Indians. The work shows, however, that there were other factors at work as well.

Rogers, H. C. B. The British Army of the Eighteenth Century. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1977. Contains a chapter on Amherst’s campaigns during the Seven Years’ War. Argues that his efforts were more important in winning Canada than was Wolfe’s more famous victory at Quebec.