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John Armstrong Sr.

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18th-century American civil engineer and soldier For other people named John Armstrong, see John Armstrong (disambiguation).

John Armstrong
Member of the Continental Congress
In office
1779–1780
Personal details
Born(1717-10-13)October 13, 1717
Brookeborough, Fermanagh, Ireland
DiedMarch 9, 1795(1795-03-09) (aged 77)
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Spouse Rebecca Lyon
​ ​(m. 1747)​
Children3, including James and John
Parent(s)James Armstrong
Jane Campbell
Military service
Allegiance Great Britain
United States
Branch/service Pennsylvania Militia
Continental Army
RankBrigadier general (Continental Army)
Major general (Pennsylvania Militia)
Battles/wars

John Armstrong (October 13, 1717 – March 9, 1795) was an American civil engineer and soldier who served as a brigadier general in the Continental Army and as a major general in the Pennsylvania Militia during the Revolutionary War. He was also a delegate to the Continental Congress for Pennsylvania. Armstrong County, Pennsylvania is named in his honor.

Early life

Armstrong was born on October 13, 1717, in Brookeborough, County Fermanagh, Ireland, parents not determined, who married in 1704. He was one of approximately 15 children born to his parents that included: Margaret Armstrong (1737–1817), who married Rev. George Duffield (1732–1790), and Rebecca Armstrong (1738–1828), who married James Turner (1737–1803).

John was educated in Ireland and became a civil engineer before emigrating to Pennsylvania, with his brother-in-law, John Lyon, around 1740.

Career

Armstrong came to Pennsylvania as a surveyor for the Penn family, the proprietary owners of the colony. In 1750, he laid out the first plat or plan for the town of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and was one of its first settlers. He was later appointed surveyor for the newly established Cumberland County.

Seven Years' War

Main article: Great Britain in the Seven Years' War

In 1756, he led the Kittanning Expedition. In 1758, Colonel Armstrong led 2,700 Pennsylvania provincial troops on the Forbes expedition, the approach of which compelled the French to vacate and blow up Fort Duquesne. Armstrong became a good friend to the other militia commander in this expedition, Colonel George Washington.

James Smith wrote that in the fall of 1763, "I went on the Susquehannah campaign, against the Indians, under the command of General Armstrong. In this route we burnt the Delaware and Monsey towns, on the West Branch of the Susquehannah, and destroyed all their corn."

American Revolution

Letter from Armstrong to George Washington expressing Armstrong's opinion on proposed attack on British forces at Philadelphia, 25 November 1777

In the early stages of the American Revolutionary War, Armstrong was a brigadier general in the Pennsylvania militia. On March 1, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed him to that same rank in the Continental Army. He was sent south to begin preparations for the defense of Charleston, South Carolina. He contributed his engineering talents to the construction of defenses that enabled them to withstand the Battle of Sullivan's Island later that year. When General Charles Lee arrived to take command, he returned to his duties with the main army and with the Pennsylvania militia. Pennsylvania named him major general in charge of the state militia. This ended his service in the Continental Army, but not the war or his cooperation with General George Washington.

At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Armstrong's militia held the far left of the American line. They were also to guard the army's supplies. After a hard day's fighting the Americans were forced to withdraw or face being surrounded. Armstrong brought the supplies and his militia out from Pyle's Ford after dark.

In the Battle of Germantown on October 4, General Armstrong led the American right. His mission was to skirt the British left flank and attack there and in their rear. Despite delays and the troubles some units had in moving, the overall attack was going well, until the center was held up at the Benjamin Chew House. The attack then collapsed after a friendly fire incident in the fog in which General Adam Stephen's men fired on Anthony Wayne's troops causing their withdrawal. Armstrong, whose men had advanced nearly to the center of Germantown, but were not greatly involved in the fight later complained that it was "....a glorious victory fought for and eight tenths won, ....mysteriously lost, for to this moment no one man can ....give any good reason for the flight."

After Germantown, Armstrong was granted permission to give up active command. At aged sixty, his health was declining, and old wounds were troubling him. He served until April 4, 1778.

Later life

After his service in the War ended, Armstrong returned home to Carlisle, where he was elected to the Continental Congress by the Pennsylvania Assembly. As a delegate from 1779 to 1780, he was a strong supporter of Washington and the army. Armstrong was firm in his support for a new United States Constitution, and was returned to the Congress of the Confederation during its final days in 1787 and 1788.

Throughout his life Armstrong served in a number of local or civic offices. One of these, the Carlisle school board, led him to originally oppose Dr. Benjamin Rush's proposal to start a college in the town. He later relented, and became a member of the first Board of Trustees for Dickinson College from 1783 to 1794.

Personal life

In 1747, Armstrong was married to Rebecca Lyon Armstrong (1719–1797), daughter of Archibald Lyon and Ann Lyon. Together, they were the parents of:

John died at home in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on March 9, 1795, and is buried in the Old Carlisle Cemetery. In 1800, when Pennsylvania created a new county with its seat at Kittanning, it was named Armstrong County in his honor.

References

  1. Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry. H. Colburn. 1847. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  2. Tritt, Richard. "Who Were the Duffields?". First Presbyterian Church of Carlise. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. Daughters of the American Revolution Lineage Book - National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution. Daughters of the American Revolution. 1910. pp. 47–48. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. Clemens, William Montgomery (1916). The Turner Family Magazine: Genealogical, Historical and Biographical. Vol. 1 & 2, No. 6. New York: William M. Clemens. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  5. ^ "ARMSTRONG, John - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  6. ^ Egle, William Henry (1898). Some Pennsylvania Women During the War of the Revolution. Harrisburg Publishing Company. p. 11. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  7. ^ "John Armstrong (1717-1795) | Dickinson College". archives.dickinson.edu. Dickinson College Archives & Special Collections. 2005. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  8. ^ Heathcote, Ph.D., Charles William (November 1959). "Biography of John Armstrong | The Picket Post". www.ushistory.org. Valley Forge Historical Society. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  9. "Early History of the First Presbyterian Church of Carlisle, Penna" Page 2, 1921
  10. Hunter, William A. (1956). "Victory at Kittanning". Pennsylvania History. 23: 376–407.
  11. Myers, James P. (1999). "Pennsylvania's Awakening: The Kittanning Raid of 1756". Pennsylvania History. 66: 399–420.
  12. Smith, James (1799). An Account of the Remarkable Occurrences in the Life and Travels of Colonel James Smith (Late a Citizen of Bourbon County, Kentucky) : During his Captivity with the Indians, in the Years 1755,'56, '57, '58, & '59. Lexington, Kentucky: John Bradford. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  13. ^ Egle, William Henry (1900). Notes and Queries: Historical, Biographical and Genealogical, Relating Chiefly to Interior Pennsylvania. Harrisburg Publishing Company. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  14. Betts Jr., William W. (2011). The Life of General John Armstrong of Carlisle. Berwyn Heights, MD: Heritage Books. Archived from the original on 11 August 2017. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  15. "General John Armstrong (Hero of Kittanning) Historical Marker". explorepahistory.com. ExplorePAhistory. Retrieved 10 August 2017.

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