John Armstrong Jr.
John Armstrong | |
---|---|
Robert Livingston | |
Succeeded by | Jonathan Russell |
United States Senator from New York | |
In office February 4, 1804 – June 30, 1804 | |
Preceded by | Theodorus Bailey |
Succeeded by | Samuel L. Mitchill |
In office November 10, 1803 – February 4, 1804 | |
Appointed by | George Clinton |
Preceded by | DeWitt Clinton |
Succeeded by | John Smith |
In office November 6, 1800 – February 5, 1802 | |
Preceded by | John Laurance |
Succeeded by | DeWitt Clinton |
Member of the Continental Congress from Pennsylvania | |
In office 1787–1788 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Carlisle, Pennsylvania. British America | November 25, 1758
Died | April 1, 1843 Red Hook, New York, U.S. | (aged 84)
Political party | Democratic-Republican |
Spouse |
Alida Livingston
(m. 1789; died 1822) |
Children | 7 |
Relatives | John Armstrong (father) James Armstrong (brother) |
Education | Princeton University |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | Continental Army United States Army |
Years of service | 1775–1777, 1782–1783 (Continental Army) 1812–1813 (U.S. Army) |
Rank | Major (Continental Army) Brigadier General (U.S. Army) |
Battles/wars | American Revolutionary War War of 1812 |
John Armstrong Jr. (November 25, 1758 – April 1, 1843) was an American soldier, diplomat and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S. Senator from New York, and United States Secretary of War under President James Madison.[1] A member of the Democratic-Republican Party, Armstrong was United States Minister to France from 1804 to 1810.
Early life
Armstrong was born in
After early education in Carlisle, John Jr. studied at the College of New Jersey, now Princeton University.[2] He broke off his studies in Princeton in 1775 to return to Pennsylvania and join the fight in the Revolutionary War.[4]
Career
Revolutionary War
The young Armstrong initially joined a Pennsylvania militia regiment and the following year he was appointed as
Newburgh letters
While in camp with Gates at
Washington successfully defused this protest without a mutiny. While some of Armstrong's later correspondence acknowledged his role, there was never any official action that connected him with the anonymous letters.[3]
After the revolution
Later in 1783 Armstrong returned home to Carlisle and became an Original Member of the Pennsylvania
Armstrong resumed public life after the resignation of
In
To Paris Armstrong brought as his private secretary the United-Irish exile, David Bailie Warden. After serving as Consul, Warden was to author the first major work of reference for the diplomatic corps; a "pioneering" contribution to "the emergence of doctrinal views and a specialist literature on international law".[7]
Armstrong served as Minister in Paris until September 1810. In 1806 he had also briefly also represented the United States at the court of Spain.[4]
When the War of 1812 broke out, Armstrong was called to military service. He was commissioned as a Brigadier General, and placed in charge of the defenses for the port of New York.[8] Then in 1813 President Madison named him Secretary of War.[5]
In spite of Armstrong's services, abilities, and experience, something in his character always created distrust. He had every advantage of education, social and political connection, ability and self-confidence; he was only fifty-four years old, which was also the age of Monroe; but he suffered from the reputation of indolence and intrigue. So strong was the prejudice against him that he obtained only eighteen votes against fifteen in the Senate on his confirmation; and while the two senators from Virginia did not vote at all, the two from Kentucky voted in the negative. Under such circumstances, nothing but military success of the first order could secure a fair field for Monroe's rival.[9]
Armstrong made a number of valuable changes to the armed forces but was so convinced that the British would 'not' attack Washington D.C. that he did nothing to defend the city even when it became clear it was the objective of the invasion force. After the American defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg and the subsequent burning of Washington, Madison, usually a forgiving man, forced him to resign in September 1814.[10]
Later life
Armstrong returned to his farm and resumed a quiet life. He published a number of histories, biographies, and some works on agriculture. He died at La Bergerie (later renamed Rokeby), the farm estate he built in Red Hook, New York in 1843 and is buried in the cemetery in Rhinebeck. Following the death of Paine Wingate in 1838, he became the last surviving delegate to the Continental Congress, and the only one to be photographed.[3]
Personal life
In 1789, Armstrong married Alida Livingston (1761–1822), the youngest child of Judge
- Maj Horatio Gates Armstrong (1790–1858), soldier in the War of 1812.[13]
- Henry Beekman Armstrong (1791–1854), also a soldier in the War of 1812.[14]
- John Armstrong (1794–1852), who moved to New York and took up life as a gentleman farmer at La Bergerie, a farm purchased from Alida's family in Dutchess County
- Robert Livingston Armstrong (1797–1834)[15]
- Margaret Rebecca Armstrong (1800–1872), who married William Backhouse Astor Sr. (1792–1875) of the prominent Astor family.[16][12]
- James Kosciuszko Armstrong (1801–1868)
- William Armstrong (1814–1902), who married Lucy A. Hickernell (1816–1894).
Armstrong died in
Residences
Almont
Armstrong's initial farm in Dutchess County, called "Altmont" (also known as "The Meadows"), was originally part of the Schuyler patent. In 1795, he purchased a part of the farm from the Van Benthuysen family, and converted an existing barn into a two-story Federal style dwelling with twelve rooms.[17] Around 1800, Armstrong sold "Almont" to Andrew and Anna Verplanck Deveaux. Deveaux died in 1812; in 1816 his widow sold "Deveaux Park" to John Stevens. The mansion burned down around 1879. In 1908, lumber rights to the white oak and chestnut forests were sold for timber for the New York market.[18]
La Bergerie
After the death of Margaret Beekman Livingston, widow of Judge Robert Livingston, much of the Clermont land was distributed among the heirs. John R. Livingston received the land that would become the "Messena" estate. His sister Alida Livingston Armstrong inherited the property just to the south. There the Armstrong's created "La Bergerie", in English "the sheepfold" – an estate where they raised Merino sheep. The Merino sheep were a gift from the French Emperor
See also
References
- The New York Public Library. Archived from the originalon October 18, 2019. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 0837932017.
- ^ ISBN 9780815622420. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781598841725. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ a b c "ARMSTRONG, John, Jr. - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ISBN 9781576071885. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- . Retrieved January 16, 2021.
- ^ Quimby, Robert S. (1997). The U.S. Army in the War of 1812: An Operational and Command Study. East Lansing, Michigan: Michigan State University Press.
- ^ Adams, Henry, History of the United States of America during the Administrations of James Madison. The Library of America, 1986. p. 593.
- ^ Pitch, Anthony, The Burning of Washington: The British Invasion of 1814. Bluejacket Books, 2000. p. 168.
- ^ Livingston, Edwin Brockholst (1910). The Livingstons of Livingston Manor: Being the History of that Branch of the Scottish House of Callendar which Settled in the English Province of New York During the Reign of Charles the Second; and Also Including an Account of Robert Livingston of Albany, "The Nephew," a Settler in the Same Province and His Principal Descendants. Knickerbocker Press. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ a b Mowbray, Jay Henry (1898). Representative Men of New York: A Record of Their Achievements. New York Press. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "DIED". The Daily Exchange. April 9, 1858. p. 2. Retrieved June 5, 2019.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh (1905). The Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ Heitman, Francis Bernard (1903). Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army: From Its Organization, September 29, 1789, to March 2, 1903. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 170. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ISBN 9780062018601. Retrieved August 10, 2017.
- ^ "Kenny, Peter M. ""The Consummation of Earthly Bliss": – Classical American Homes Preservation Trust". Classical American Homes Preservation Trust". Archived from the original on May 25, 2020. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ Lewis, John N., "Town of Red Hook", History of Dutchess County, (Frank Hasbrouck, ed.), Higginson Book Company, 1909 This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Further reading
- Skeen, Carl E. John Armstrong Jr., 1758–1843: A Biography. Syracuse Univ Press, 1982. ISBN 0-8156-2242-2.
External links
- John Armstrong Jr. at Find a Grave
- Media related to John Armstrong, Jr. at Wikimedia Commons
- United States Congress. "John Armstrong Jr. (id: A000282)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.