Lieutenant-General James Montgomerie (26 February 1755 – 13 April 1829) was a Scottish soldier and politician who sat in Parliament for

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

1818–29.

Family

James Montgomerie was the fourth son of Alexander Montgomerie of Coilsfield (near

Tarbolton Tarbolton ( sco, Tarbowton) is a village in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is near Failford, Mauchline, Ayr, and Kilmarnock. The old Fail Monastery was nearby and Robert Burns connections are strong, including the Bachelors' Club museum. Meaning o ...

) and Lillias Montgomerie, making him the youngest brother of

Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton Colonel Hugh Montgomerie, 12th Earl of Eglinton KT (5 November 1739 – 14 December 1819) was a Scottish peer, politician, soldier and composer. Biography Montgomerie was styled Lord Montgomerie from 1769. He sat as a Member of Parliament ...

Military career

Appointed ensign in the 51st Foot in 1773, he joined the regiment at

Minorca Menorca or Minorca (from la, Insula Minor, , smaller island, later ''Minorica'') is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. Its name derives from its size, contrasting it with nearby Majorca. Its capita ...

in 1774. The following year he transferred to the 19th Foot as adjutant, being promoted lieutenant in 1779. In 1780 he was promoted captain of a company in the 93rd Foot and sailed to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

. His regiment returned to England soon after arrival, but Montgomerie remained in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

as a

staff officer A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

until 1781. In 1783 he was one of the officers put on half pay as a captain in the

10th Foot The Royal Lincolnshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army raised on 20 June 1685 as the Earl of Bath's Regiment for its first Colonel, John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath. In 1751, it was numbered like most other Army regiments ...

, returning to active service with this regiment in Jamaica in 1786. From 1790 to 1793 he was in England on recruitment, and in 1794 was appointed an officer of the Home Staff with the rank of major. In May 1795 he was appointed

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

of the 6th West India Regiment, sailing to Martinique. From 1796 to 1798 he was civil and military commander of

Saint Kitts Saint Kitts, officially the Saint Christopher Island, is an island in the West Indies. The west side of the island borders the Caribbean Sea, and the eastern coast faces the Atlantic Ocean. Saint Kitts and the neighbouring island of Nevis cons ...

, with the 31st Light Dragoons. In 1798 he transferred to the

45th Foot The 45th (Nottinghamshire) (Sherwood Foresters) Regiment of Foot was a British Army line infantry regiment, raised in 1741. The regiment saw action during Father Le Loutre's War, the French and Indian War and the American Revolutionary War as we ...

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

, but returned to England due to ill health. He was promoted colonel by brevet in 1802 and lieutenant-colonel of the

64th Foot The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was created as the 2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot in 1756, redesignated as the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1758, and took a county titl ...

in 1804, the same year being appointed to hold civil and military command at

Tobago Tobago () is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Trinidad and Tobago, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trini ...

. From much of the period from 1805 to 1808 he was acting governor of

Demerara Demerara ( nl, Demerary, ) is a historical region in the Guianas, on the north coast of South America, now part of the country of Guyana. It was a colony of the Dutch West India Company between 1745 and 1792 and a colony of the Dutch state fro ...

. In 1808 he returned to Dominica as

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, and in 1809 to England, where he received the rank of major-general. In 1813 he was appointed colonel of the 74th Foot, promoted to lieutenant-general in 1814. In 1823 he was appointed colonel of the 30th Foot, retaining that command until his death.

Parliamentary career

Montgomerie was elected to parliament as M.P. for Ayrshire in the general election of 1818, and was re-elected in

1820 Events January–March *January 1 – Nominal beginning of the Trienio Liberal in Spain: A constitutionalist military insurrection at Cádiz leads to the summoning of the Spanish Parliament (March 7). *January 8 – General Maritime T ...

and

1826 Events January–March * January 15 – The French newspaper ''Le Figaro'' begins publication in Paris, initially as a weekly. * January 30 – The Menai Suspension Bridge, built by engineer Thomas Telford, is opened between the island o ...

. He spoke in Parliament on the issue of Sheriffs Depute in Scotland, on 29 March 1822.Hansard
vol. 6, col. 1386
He died at

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

in May 1829.

References

* Obituary in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

''
July 1829
p. 82. *

Richard Cannon Richard Cannon (1779–1865) was a compiler of regimental records for the British Army. Career On 1 January 1802 Cannon was appointed to a clerkship at the Horse Guards, and attained the grade of first-clerk in 1803. Under a Horse Guards order ...

, ''Historical Record of the Seventy-fourth Regiment (Highlanders)'' (London, 1847), pp. 119–120.

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomerie, James 1755 births 1829 deaths British Army personnel of the French Revolutionary Wars British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Scottish constituencies UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 British Army lieutenant generals Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers Governors of Dominica