John Armstrong (British Army officer)

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John Armstrong
Born(1674-03-31)31 March 1674
Died15 April 1742(1742-04-15) (aged 68)
Allegiance Great Britain
Service/branchBritish Army
RankMajor-General

Major-General John Armstrong (31 March 1674 – 15 April 1742) was a British engineer and soldier.

Military career

Armstrong joined the Williamite Army of Ireland in 1691.[1] In 1697 he joined the Duke of Ormonde's Horse Guards.[1]

In August 1711, during the War of the Spanish Succession, he constructed overnight a large battery of artillery with which the enemy was bombarded furiously and successfully in the morning at the Siege of Bouchain.[1]

He was appointed Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1712 in recognition of his performance at Bouchain.[1] After the Treaty of Utrecht, in Spring 1713, he was appointed one of the Commissioners responsible for overseeing the dismantling of the harbour at Dunkirk.[1]

In 1714, following the accession of George I, he was appointed Chief Engineer.[1] He recommended the split in 1716 of the Ordnance Service into the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery.[1]

He was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1723.[1]

From 1735 to 1742 he was Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Ireland and promoted Major-General in 1739. [2]

Family

He married Anna Priscilla Burroughs and together they went on to have five daughters.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i John Armstrong at Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
  2. ^ Gretton, G. Campaigns and History of the Royal Irish Regiment from 1684 to 1902. p. 426.
Military offices
Preceded by
New Post
Quartermaster-General to the Forces
1712–1742
Succeeded by
Preceded by Chief Royal Engineer
1714–1742
Succeeded by
Surveyor-General of the Ordnance
1722–1742
Preceded by Colonel of the Royal Regiment of Ireland
1735–1742
Succeeded by