John Montresor
Encyclopedia
Captain John Montresor was a British
military engineer
in North America
.
22 April 1736 to British military engineer
James Gabriel Montresor
and his first wife, Mary Haswell, John Montresor spent his early life there (and presumably on Minorca
, where his father was briefly stationed). He was in England between 1746 and 1750, attending Westminster School
. He learned the principles of engineering
from his father, and in his later teens served as assistant engineer to his father at Gibraltar.
in the 48th Regiment of Foot on the expedition to Fort Duquesne
, also performing as a supernumerary engineer. In the defeat that followed he was wounded, but survived to learn of his promotion to lieutenant
days before the battle. He remained in America, serving along the Mohawk River
and at Fort Edward
, then accompanying British forces to Halifax
. In 1758, he was commissioned a practicing engineer in the Corps of Engineers
, and as such was present at the siege of Louisbourg
, and later, at that of Quebec
, there drawing one of the last known portraits of General Wolfe
, who died in the deciding battle.
With the defeat of the French
, Montresor was sent to neighboring villages and as far afield as Cape Breton
, using the language of his Huguenot
ancestors to elicit oaths of allegiance
. He was also twice sent overland from Quebec
to Boston
with dispatches, on one of these journeys, in a mid-winter blizzard
, being reduced to eating belt and shoe leather
in order to avoid starvation
. He also, during this period, performed various surveys
and prepared map
s of Acadia
, the Saint Lawrence River
, and of his route along the Kennebec River
. (The journal of this last expedition through the wilds of Maine
would fall into enemy hands in the American Revolution
, and was used as a guide by Benedict Arnold
in his expedition against Quebec
.)
During Pontiac's Rebellion
, he carried dispatches and led troops to besieged Fort Detroit
. He designed and built fortifications on the Niagara River
at Fort Niagara
and Fort Erie
as well as a series of blockhouses and an early gravity railroad
along the Niagara Portage between 1762 and 1764.
Stationed at Fort George (the former site of Fort William Henry
) in 1765, he witnessed rioting in Albany
and New York City
in response to the Stamp Act
, and in the same year was promoted to captain lieutenant, and engineer extraordinary, as well as barrackmaster for ordinance in North America
. Over the next several years, he surveyed
the boundary between New York
and New Jersey
, and he repaired or constructed barracks
and fortification
s in Boston, New York City
, the Bahamas
, and Philadelphia, where he would build a fortification on Mud Island
. During this period he also took a six-month leave in England
, and spent time on Bermuda
. He also purchased an island in New York Harbor
which would be called Montresor's Island (now Randall's Island
).
He was in Boston at the outset of the American Revolutionary War
, and marched with Percy to relieve the British troops returning from Concord
. He was appointed chief engineer in America and captain in late 1775. He was present at the Battle of Long Island
the next year, and was present at the execution of Nathan Hale
on 22 September 1776. It is said that he kindly sheltered Hale in his office, giving him pen and paper to write final letters to his family, and that the execution moved him deeply. He was sent to the rebel lines under flag of truce to report the event, and he conveyed Hale's last words to William Hull
. Having been superseded as chief engineer, he was placed as aide-de-camp on the staff of General William Howe
, but was later reinstated as chief engineer. On 13 January 1777 his home on Montresor's Island was burned.
In 1777 he was involved in the military campaigns in New Jersey
, and present at the action at Quibbleton. He also participated at Brandywine
later that year, and accompanied the army to Philadelphia where he launched the attack that destroyed his own Mud Island defences. He directed the construction of new defences for the city, and along with John André
, he was one of the planners of the lavish ball, the Mischianza
, given in Philadelphia in honor of General Howe. Again superseded in his role as chief engineer, he returned to England and, in March 1779 resigned from the army, bringing to an end over two decades of American service, all reported in journals (although many of these were lost).
to testify on the conduct of the war, and on several occasions required to support his expenditures during his various campaigns (for which he is said to have been imprisoned at one point). He purchased an estate at Belmont, Kent
, had a residence at Portland Place, London
, and he served as director of the French Hospital. He toured Europe in 1785 and 1786, visiting France
, Germany
and Switzerland
. In his later years, his accounts came under scrutiny, and much of his property was seized by the state to recover disallowed expenses. He died in Maidstone prison
, where he was incarcerated apparently in connection with his outstanding debts, on 26 June 1799.
1 March 1764, Frances Tucker, who was born in New York, 23 April 1744, daughter of Thomas Tucker of Bermuda
, stepdaughter of Reverend Samuel Auchmuty and half-sister of General
Sir
Samuel Auchmuty
. She returned to England with her husband, and survived him, dying 28 June 1828, at Rose Hill, Kent
. By her, he had, with others, General Sir Henry Tucker Montresor, General Sir Thomas Gage Montresor, and Mary Lucy Montresor, who became the first wife of General Sir Frederick William Mulcaster (half-brother of Capt Sir William Howe Mulcaster).
In addition to these relationships, he also had other more irregular connections. A surviving letter from Detroit, 1763, mentions the death of an apparent mistress, "poor Nancy", and that he had been "on the Common" since. Likewise, he made a small grant for the support of the child of the daughter of a local English farmer, of which John was the father.
Finally, his name appears broadly as the father of Frances, second wife of Ethan Allen
. Born to a Mohawk Valley
woman on (Ethan Allen would later record) 4 April 1760, Frances was adopted by her mother's later companion, Crean Brush, one-time secretary of the Assembly of the Colony of New York. As to her paternity, when her daughter Frances "Fanny" Allen
entered Hôtel-Dieu
in 1808, her mother's maiden name was recorded as Montresor. Her tombstone names her Montezuma, while an 1858 history written using family information calls her Frances Montuzan, relating that her father was a British colonel killed in the French and Indian War. Popular opinion makes John Montresor the father of Frances. This has not been in small part due to his role in a popular best-selling novel of the time.
. One of the main characters in her popular novel Charlotte Temple
, named John Montraville, was based, at least in part, on Montresor. In the sequel, Lucy Temple
, Charlotte's Daughter, Montraville is even said to have lived at Portland Place, once Montresor's residence. In the original novel, Montraville seduces the title character, an innocent English schoolgirl, and induces her to run away to America. He then abandons her, destitute and pregnant, to die in childbirth. Some authors have taken this to be a verbatim account of an event in Montresor's life, with only the name changed (the author subtitles the work, "A Tale of Truth"), while others see in it a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the birth of the future Frances Allen. However, the tale also bears strong similarity to one told of General John Burgoyne
, and it seems likely that the author had broader inspiration for her tale.
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Early life
Born in GibraltarGibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
22 April 1736 to British military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
James Gabriel Montresor
James Gabriel Montresor
James Gabriel Montresor was a British military engineer.-Early life and the western Mediterranean:Montresor was born on Broad Street or St. James's, Westminster, 19 November 1704, the son of James Gabriel le Trésor and Nanon de Hauteville...
and his first wife, Mary Haswell, John Montresor spent his early life there (and presumably on Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
, where his father was briefly stationed). He was in England between 1746 and 1750, attending Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
. He learned the principles of engineering
Engineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
from his father, and in his later teens served as assistant engineer to his father at Gibraltar.
French and Indian Wars
In 1754, he accompanied his father to America, and served as an ensignEnsign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
in the 48th Regiment of Foot on the expedition to Fort Duquesne
Braddock expedition
The Braddock expedition, also called Braddock's campaign or, more commonly, Braddock's Defeat, was a failed British military expedition which attempted to capture the French Fort Duquesne in the summer of 1755 during the French and Indian War. It was defeated at the Battle of the Monongahela on...
, also performing as a supernumerary engineer. In the defeat that followed he was wounded, but survived to learn of his promotion to lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
days before the battle. He remained in America, serving along the Mohawk River
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
and at Fort Edward
Fort Edward (town), New York
Fort Edward is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 5,892 at the 2000 census....
, then accompanying British forces to Halifax
City of Halifax
Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...
. In 1758, he was commissioned a practicing engineer in the Corps of Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
, and as such was present at the siege of Louisbourg
Fortress of Louisbourg
The Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site and the location of a one-quarter partial reconstruction of an 18th century French fortress at Louisbourg, Nova Scotia...
, and later, at that of Quebec
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
, there drawing one of the last known portraits of General Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
, who died in the deciding battle.
With the defeat of the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Montresor was sent to neighboring villages and as far afield as Cape Breton
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
, using the language of his Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
ancestors to elicit oaths of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
. He was also twice sent overland from Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
with dispatches, on one of these journeys, in a mid-winter blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
, being reduced to eating belt and shoe leather
Leather
Leather is a durable and flexible material created via the tanning of putrescible animal rawhide and skin, primarily cattlehide. It can be produced through different manufacturing processes, ranging from cottage industry to heavy industry.-Forms:...
in order to avoid starvation
Starvation
Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy, nutrient and vitamin intake. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, death...
. He also, during this period, performed various surveys
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
and prepared map
Map
A map is a visual representation of an area—a symbolic depiction highlighting relationships between elements of that space such as objects, regions, and themes....
s of Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
, the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...
, and of his route along the Kennebec River
Kennebec River
The Kennebec River is a river that is entirely within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead Lake in west-central Maine. The East and West Outlets join at Indian Pond and the river then flows southward...
. (The journal of this last expedition through the wilds of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
would fall into enemy hands in the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, and was used as a guide by Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold
Benedict Arnold V was a general during the American Revolutionary War. He began the war in the Continental Army but later defected to the British Army. While a general on the American side, he obtained command of the fort at West Point, New York, and plotted to surrender it to the British forces...
in his expedition against Quebec
Invasion of Canada (1775)
The Invasion of Canada in 1775 was the first major military initiative by the newly formed Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. The objective of the campaign was to gain military control of the British Province of Quebec, and convince the French-speaking Canadiens to join the...
.)
During Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's Rebellion
Pontiac's War, Pontiac's Conspiracy, or Pontiac's Rebellion was a war that was launched in 1763 by a loose confederation of elements of Native American tribes primarily from the Great Lakes region, the Illinois Country, and Ohio Country who were dissatisfied with British postwar policies in the...
, he carried dispatches and led troops to besieged Fort Detroit
Fort Detroit
Fort Pontchartrain du Détroit or Fort Détroit was a fort established by the French officer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701. The location of the former fort is now in the city of Detroit in the U.S...
. He designed and built fortifications on the Niagara River
Niagara River
The Niagara River flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the Province of Ontario in Canada and New York State in the United States. There are differing theories as to the origin of the name of the river...
at Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara
Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built to protect the interests of New France in North America. It is located near Youngstown, New York, on the eastern bank of the Niagara River at its mouth, on Lake Ontario.-Origin:...
and Fort Erie
Fort Erie
Fort Erie was the first British fort to be constructed as part of a network developed after the Seven Years' War was concluded by the Treaty of Paris at which time all of New France had been ceded to Great Britain...
as well as a series of blockhouses and an early gravity railroad
Gravity railroad
A gravity railroad or Gravity railway is a railroad on a slope that allow cars carrying minerals or passengers to coast down the slope by the force of gravity alone. The cars are then hauled back up the slope using animal power or a stationary engine and a cable, chain or one or more wide, flat...
along the Niagara Portage between 1762 and 1764.
Revolutionary-Era America
Fort William Henry
Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George in the province of New York. It is best known as the site of notorious atrocities committed by Indians against the surrendered British and provincial troops following a successful French siege in 1757, an event which is the...
) in 1765, he witnessed rioting in Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
and New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in response to the Stamp Act
Stamp Act 1765
The Stamp Act 1765 was a direct tax imposed by the British Parliament specifically on the colonies of British America. The act required that many printed materials in the colonies be produced on stamped paper produced in London, carrying an embossed revenue stamp...
, and in the same year was promoted to captain lieutenant, and engineer extraordinary, as well as barrackmaster for ordinance in North America
British North America
British North America is a historical term. It consisted of the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America after the end of the American Revolutionary War and the recognition of American independence in 1783.At the start of the Revolutionary War in 1775 the British...
. Over the next several years, he surveyed
Surveying
See Also: Public Land Survey SystemSurveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, and science of accurately determining the terrestrial or three-dimensional position of points and the distances and angles between them...
the boundary between New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and he repaired or constructed barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
and fortification
Fortification
Fortifications are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs...
s in Boston, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, the Bahamas
The Bahamas
The Bahamas , officially the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, is a nation consisting of 29 islands, 661 cays, and 2,387 islets . It is located in the Atlantic Ocean north of Cuba and Hispaniola , northwest of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and southeast of the United States...
, and Philadelphia, where he would build a fortification on Mud Island
Fort Mifflin
Fort Mifflin, originally called Fort Island Battery and also known as Mud Island Fort, was commissioned in 1771 and sits on Mud Island on the Delaware River below Philadelphia, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia International Airport...
. During this period he also took a six-month leave in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and spent time on Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
. He also purchased an island in New York Harbor
New York Harbor
New York Harbor refers to the waterways of the estuary near the mouth of the Hudson River that empty into New York Bay. It is one of the largest natural harbors in the world. Although the U.S. Board of Geographic Names does not use the term, New York Harbor has important historical, governmental,...
which would be called Montresor's Island (now Randall's Island
Randall's Island
Randall's Island is situated in the East River in New York City, part of the borough of Manhattan. It is separated from Manhattan island on the west by the river's main channel, from Queens on the east by the Hell Gate, and from the Bronx on the north by the Bronx Kill. It is joined to Wards...
).
He was in Boston at the outset of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
, and marched with Percy to relieve the British troops returning from Concord
Battles of Lexington and Concord
The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. They were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord, Lincoln, Menotomy , and Cambridge, near Boston...
. He was appointed chief engineer in America and captain in late 1775. He was present at the Battle of Long Island
Battle of Long Island
The Battle of Long Island, also known as the Battle of Brooklyn or the Battle of Brooklyn Heights, fought on August 27, 1776, was the first major battle in the American Revolutionary War following the United States Declaration of Independence, the largest battle of the entire conflict, and the...
the next year, and was present at the execution of Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale
Nathan Hale was a soldier for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured by the British...
on 22 September 1776. It is said that he kindly sheltered Hale in his office, giving him pen and paper to write final letters to his family, and that the execution moved him deeply. He was sent to the rebel lines under flag of truce to report the event, and he conveyed Hale's last words to William Hull
William Hull
William Hull was an American soldier and politician. He fought in the American Revolution, was Governor of Michigan Territory, and was a general in the War of 1812, for which he is best remembered for surrendering Fort Detroit to the British.- Early life and Revolutionary War :He was born in...
. Having been superseded as chief engineer, he was placed as aide-de-camp on the staff of General William Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe
William Howe, 5th Viscount Howe, KB, PC was a British army officer who rose to become Commander-in-Chief of British forces during the American War of Independence...
, but was later reinstated as chief engineer. On 13 January 1777 his home on Montresor's Island was burned.
In 1777 he was involved in the military campaigns in New Jersey
New Jersey during the American Revolution
As the location of many major battles, New Jersey was pivotal in the American Revolution and the ultimate victory of the American colonists. The important role New Jersey played earned it the titles of "Crossroads of the Revolution" and the "Military Capital of the Revolution".Not all of the...
, and present at the action at Quibbleton. He also participated at Brandywine
Battle of Brandywine
The Battle of Brandywine, also known as the Battle of the Brandywine or the Battle of Brandywine Creek, was fought between the American army of Major General George Washington and the British-Hessian army of General Sir William Howe on September 11, 1777. The British defeated the Americans and...
later that year, and accompanied the army to Philadelphia where he launched the attack that destroyed his own Mud Island defences. He directed the construction of new defences for the city, and along with John André
John André
John André was a British army officer hanged as a spy during the American War of Independence. This was due to an incident in which he attempted to assist Benedict Arnold's attempted surrender of the fort at West Point, New York to the British.-Early life:André was born on May 2, 1750 in London to...
, he was one of the planners of the lavish ball, the Mischianza
Mischianza
The Mischianza , or Meschianza, was an elaborate fête given in honor of British General Sir William Howe in Philadelphia on May 18, 1778....
, given in Philadelphia in honor of General Howe. Again superseded in his role as chief engineer, he returned to England and, in March 1779 resigned from the army, bringing to an end over two decades of American service, all reported in journals (although many of these were lost).
Retirement and death
In England, he was called before ParliamentParliament of Great Britain
The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland...
to testify on the conduct of the war, and on several occasions required to support his expenditures during his various campaigns (for which he is said to have been imprisoned at one point). He purchased an estate at Belmont, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
, had a residence at Portland Place, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and he served as director of the French Hospital. He toured Europe in 1785 and 1786, visiting France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In his later years, his accounts came under scrutiny, and much of his property was seized by the state to recover disallowed expenses. He died in Maidstone prison
Maidstone (HM Prison)
HM Prison Maidstone is a Category C men's prison, located in Maidstone, Kent, England. The prison is operated by Her Majesty's Prison Service.-History:...
, where he was incarcerated apparently in connection with his outstanding debts, on 26 June 1799.
Family
Montresor's romantic life has been the subject of much writing. He married at New YorkNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
1 March 1764, Frances Tucker, who was born in New York, 23 April 1744, daughter of Thomas Tucker of Bermuda
Bermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, stepdaughter of Reverend Samuel Auchmuty and half-sister of General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
Sir
Sir
Sir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Samuel Auchmuty
Samuel Auchmuty (general)
Lieutenant General Sir Samuel Auchmuty, GCB was a British general.-Origins:Sir Samuel's grandfather, Robert Auchmuty , was descended from a family settled in Fife, Scotland, in the 14th century...
. She returned to England with her husband, and survived him, dying 28 June 1828, at Rose Hill, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. By her, he had, with others, General Sir Henry Tucker Montresor, General Sir Thomas Gage Montresor, and Mary Lucy Montresor, who became the first wife of General Sir Frederick William Mulcaster (half-brother of Capt Sir William Howe Mulcaster).
In addition to these relationships, he also had other more irregular connections. A surviving letter from Detroit, 1763, mentions the death of an apparent mistress, "poor Nancy", and that he had been "on the Common" since. Likewise, he made a small grant for the support of the child of the daughter of a local English farmer, of which John was the father.
Finally, his name appears broadly as the father of Frances, second wife of Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen
Ethan Allen was a farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, and American Revolutionary War patriot, hero, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of the U.S...
. Born to a Mohawk Valley
Mohawk River
The Mohawk River is a river in the U.S. state of New York. It is the largest tributary of the Hudson River. The Mohawk flows into the Hudson in the Capital District, a few miles north of the city of Albany. The river is named for the Mohawk Nation of the Iroquois Confederacy...
woman on (Ethan Allen would later record) 4 April 1760, Frances was adopted by her mother's later companion, Crean Brush, one-time secretary of the Assembly of the Colony of New York. As to her paternity, when her daughter Frances "Fanny" Allen
Fanny Allen
Frances Margaret Allen was the first New England woman to become a Catholic nun. The daughter of Revolutionary War General Ethan Allen, she converted to Catholicism and entered the convent of the Religious Hospitallers of St...
entered Hôtel-Dieu
Hôtel-Dieu
Hôtel-Dieu is the old name given to the principal hospital in French towns, for instance:*The Hôtel-Dieu de Lyon, created in 1478...
in 1808, her mother's maiden name was recorded as Montresor. Her tombstone names her Montezuma, while an 1858 history written using family information calls her Frances Montuzan, relating that her father was a British colonel killed in the French and Indian War. Popular opinion makes John Montresor the father of Frances. This has not been in small part due to his role in a popular best-selling novel of the time.
Fiction
John Montresor has gained a certain notoriety beyond his historical role due to the writings of his first-cousin Susanna Haswell RowsonSusanna Rowson
Susanna Rowson, née Haswell was a British-American novelist, poet, playwright, religious writer, stage actress and educator....
. One of the main characters in her popular novel Charlotte Temple
Charlotte Temple
Charlotte Temple is a novel by Susanna Rowson. It was first published in England in 1791 under the title Charlotte, A Tale of Truth. The first American edition was published in 1794 and the novel became a bestseller. It has gone through over 200 American editions.Charlotte Temple is the name of...
, named John Montraville, was based, at least in part, on Montresor. In the sequel, Lucy Temple
Lucy Temple
Lucy Temple is a novel by Susanna Rowson. It was first published posthumously in 1828 under the title Charlotte's Daughter, or, The Three Orphans....
, Charlotte's Daughter, Montraville is even said to have lived at Portland Place, once Montresor's residence. In the original novel, Montraville seduces the title character, an innocent English schoolgirl, and induces her to run away to America. He then abandons her, destitute and pregnant, to die in childbirth. Some authors have taken this to be a verbatim account of an event in Montresor's life, with only the name changed (the author subtitles the work, "A Tale of Truth"), while others see in it a fictionalized account of the circumstances surrounding the birth of the future Frances Allen. However, the tale also bears strong similarity to one told of General John Burgoyne
John Burgoyne
General John Burgoyne was a British army officer, politician and dramatist. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several battles, mostly notably during the Portugal Campaign of 1762....
, and it seems likely that the author had broader inspiration for her tale.
General
- Finigan, H.: "Montresor Papers on microfilm" David Library of the American Revolution, Washington's Crossing, PA
- Skull, G. D., The Montresor Journals, Collections of the New York Historical Society for the Year 1881.
- "John Montresor", Dictionary of National BiographyDictionary of National BiographyThe Dictionary of National Biography is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published from 1885...
XXXVIII, 328-329. - "John Montrésor" Dictionary of American Biography XIII, 101-102.
- Montrésor, Frank Montrésor, "Memoirs of the Montresors", mss. 1941, Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. - Montrésor, F. M., "Captain John Montrésor in Canada", Canadian Historical Review, vol. 5 (1924), pp. 336–340.
- Montresor pedigree, Proceedings of the Huguenot Society of London, 1917, facing p. 293, along with "Notes and Jottings in connection with the Montresor Pedigree", ibid, pp. 293–300.
Family & Fiction
- Montresor, F. M., "Who was Ethan Allen's wife?", New York Historical and Biographical Record, vol. 75 (1944), pp. 29–30.
- Buehner, Terry L., Green Mountain Women, thesis, University of Vermont, 1992, pp. 113–139.
- Hall, Benjamin H., History of Eastern Vermont, (New York: Appleton & Co) 1858, pp. 604.
- Parker, Patricia L., Susanna Rowson, (Boston: Twayne) 1986
