James Abercrombie junior

James Abercrombie , also Abercromby , (* around 1732 ; † June 23, 1775 in Boston ) was a British officer in the French and Indian War and in the American War of Independence .

Life

James Abercrombie was born around 1732, probably in Scotland. Its origin and identity have not yet been clarified. He is often referred to as the son of General Sir James Abercrombie (1706–1781), although this connection is unlikely as there is no contemporary evidence of it. James Jr. himself described General in his will dated 5 October 1765 "friend and relatives" ( friend and relation ). James junior was probably a younger relative of the general, two historians believe him to be his nephew, although there is no evidence for this either. More recently, the thesis came up that he was identical to the brother of the future general Sir Ralph Abercromby (1734-1801), whose family, the Abercrombies of Birkenbog, were related to the Abercrombies of Glassaugh, the family of Sir James . This James Abercromby only fell near Brooklyn in 1776.

James Abercrombie junior acquired an officer license as Ensign on May 15, 1742 (on June 11, 1744 as Lieutenant ) in the 1st Regiment of Foot under General James St. Clair and served in the War of Austrian Succession in Flanders and during the Jacobite Uprising in Scotland in 1745.

1753/54 he is recorded in Dublin , Ireland, where he sold the Scottish goods Over and Nether Auchinderrin, Hilton of Auchinderrin, Aldekarm Littlefield and Mills to Colonel James Abercrombie on February 5, 1754 .

On February 16, 1756 he received the post of captain and company commander in the 42nd (Highland) Regiment of Foot , with whom he embarked for North America in April. In May 1757 he became adjutant to the Commander in Chief Lord Loudoun, and in March of the following year he served in the same position as Sir James Abercrombie, who had succeeded Loudon as Commander in Chief. When this too was replaced by Major-General Jeffrey Amherst after the failed storming of Fort Ticonderoga , Abercrombie junior became Amherst's adjutant in 1759. In this position he took part in the campaigns in Canada this year and the following .

In July 1760 he became major in the 78th (Highlanders) Regiment of Foot and in September of that year he was commissioned by Amherst to negotiate with the Marquis de Vaudreuil , Governor General of New France, on the terms of the surrender of the city of Montreal . As Amherst's emissary, he also accepted the signature on the document.

After the 78th Regiment was disbanded in 1763, Abercrombie was put on half pay. In 1770 he returned to active service (March 27) and became Lieutenant-Colonel in the 22nd Regiment of Foot in Great Britain. At the end of October 1773 he led his unit to Ireland and became interim commander of the garrison in Dublin. During this time he had a lively correspondence with his old friend and patron Lord Loudon.

Although he hoped not to be commanded to North America, he was marched there on March 3, 1775, and arrived in Boston on April 23. Shortly thereafter he was appointed adjutant general and later commander of a grenadier battalion. At the Battle of Bunker Hill , Abercrombie led his battalion in an attack on the redoubt on the left wing. He was hit by a bullet - as it is said from the Salem Poor's musket , although this cannot be confirmed. He died a week later in Boston, in the house of Army Engineer Captain John Montresor (1736–1799), and was buried there the next day in King's Chapel .

Remarks

1. ^ Lit .: John Shy: 1965 and JR Cuneo, 1959.
2. ↑ Dupuy / Hammerman; Boatner.

literature

• Lawrence J. Burpee: The Oxford Encyclopaedia of Canadian History . Oxford University Press, London and Toronto 1926.
• James Abercrombie junior . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography . 24 volumes, 1966–2018. University of Toronto Press, Toronto ( English , French ). .
• John Shy: Toward Lexington. The Role of the British Army in the Coming of the American Revolution . Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ 1965.
• John R. Cuneo: Robert Rogers of the Rangers . Oxford University Press, New York NY 1959.
• Trevor N. Dupuy , Gay M. Hammerman: People and events of the American revolution . Bowker et al., New York NY et al. 1974, ISBN 0-8352-0777-3 .
• Mark Mayo Boatner: Encyclopedia of American Revolution . David McKay Co., New York NY 1966.