Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron

Amherst, Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron

(born Jan. 29, 1717, Sevenoaks, Kent, Eng.—died Aug. 3, 1797, Sevenoaks) British army commander. In the French and Indian War, he took the French fort at Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island, in 1758 and was promoted to chief of command in America. In 1760 he directed the campaign that captured Quebec and Montreal, and in 1761 he quelled the Indian uprising under Pontiac. Having secured Canada for Britain, he remained there as governor-general until 1763. Returning to England, he served as commander in chief of the British army (1772–95), but his tenure was marred by failure in the war with the American colonies and by serious abuses in the army. He was created a baron in 1776 and a field marshal in 1796. Several U.S. towns and Amherst College are named for him.