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. ...

George Monro (sometimes spelled "Munro") (1700–1757) was a Scottish-Irish officer in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

. He is best remembered for his unsuccessful defense of

Fort William Henry Fort William Henry was a British fort at the southern end of Lake George, in the province of New York. The fort's construction was ordered by Sir William Johnson in September 1755, during the French and Indian War, as a staging ground for ...

in 1757 during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

. After surrendering with full

honours of war The honours of war are a set of privileges that are granted to a defeated army during the surrender ceremony. The honours symbolise the valour of the defeated army, and grew into a custom during the age of early modern warfare. Typically a surren ...

to the French general

Louis-Joseph de Montcalm Louis-Joseph de Montcalm-Grozon, Marquis de Montcalm de Saint-Veran (28 February 1712 – 14 September 1759) was a French soldier best known as the commander of the forces in North America during the Seven Years' War (whose North American th ...

, he and his troops were attacked by France's

Native Native may refer to: People * Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth * Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory ** Native Americans (disambiguation) In arts and entert ...

allies. The events of the siege were made famous by

James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...

in his novel ''

The Last of the Mohicans ''The Last of the Mohicans: A Narrative of 1757'' is a historical romance written by James Fenimore Cooper in 1826. It is the second book of the '' Leatherstocking Tales'' pentalogy and the best known to contemporary audiences. '' The Pathfinde ...

''.

Early life

Monro was born in Clonfin,

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

in about 1700, younger son of

George Munro, 1st of Auchinbowie George Munro of Auchinbowie, originally of Bearcrofts was a Scottish born military officer of the late 17th century. He was the first Munro of Auchinbowie. Lineage George Munro was the eldest son of Alexander Munro of Bearcrofts who himself w ...

who was famed for his victory at the

Battle of Dunkeld The Battle of Dunkeld ( gd, Blàr Dhùn Chaillinn) was fought between Jacobite clans supporting the deposed king James VII of Scotland and a regiment of covenanters supporting William of Orange, King of Scotland, in the streets around Dunke ...

in 1689 in Scotland. However, when

John Alexander Inglis John Alexander Inglis of Auchendinny and Redhall FRSE KC LLB (1873 – 1941) was a Scottish landowner, advocate and historian. He specialised in family histories of Scotland’s gentry. Life He was born at Montpelier Lawn in Cheltenham in En ...

wrote his history of the Monro of Auchinbowie family in 1911, he had not at that time identified the younger George Monro as a member of the family. Monro joined Otway's Regiment, the

35th Regiment of Foot The 35th (Royal Sussex) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1701. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 107th (Bengal Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Sussex Regiment in 1881. History ...

, as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in 1718. He appears to have had an unremarkable military career, rising in the ranks to

by 1750.

Seven Years War

Hostilities between Britain and France were soon renewed with the outbreak of the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

in 1756. The 35th Regiment was deployed to America, where Monro relieved Lieutenant-Colonel William Eyre as commander of

in the

Province of New York The Province of New York (1664–1776) was a British proprietary colony and later royal colony on the northeast coast of North America. As one of the Middle Colonies, New York achieved independence and worked with the others to found the Uni ...

. That summer, the French General

led a force of 7,626 French and Native troops in a weeklong

Siege of Fort William Henry The siege of Fort William Henry (3–9 August 1757, french: Bataille de Fort William Henry) was conducted by a French and Indian force led by Louis-Joseph de Montcalm against the British-held Fort William Henry. The fort, located at the southe ...

. Effectively cut off from the main British force, commanded by

General Daniel Webb Lieutenant General Daniel Webb (died 11 November 1773) was a British Army general made famous for his actions during the French and Indian War. He purchased a commission as ensign on 20 March 1720. He was promoted to major of the Eighth Horse, ...

, the 2,327 man British garrison stood little chance of holding the fort once the French began formal siege operations on 3 August. Monro was forced to open negotiations with Montcalm on 9 August. Monro's tenacious defence of the fort won him generous terms of surrender from Montcalm. The British were accorded the full

, being allowed to keep their

colours Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associa ...

, muskets, and a single symbolic cannon. The garrison would be

paroled Parole (also known as provisional release or supervised release) is a form of early release of a prison inmate where the prisoner agrees to abide by certain behavioral conditions, including checking-in with their designated parole officers, or ...

and allowed to march to the British-held Fort Edward, about away. However, it was not to be. As Monro led his garrison from Fort William Henry the next day, the Native warriors attacked the British soldiers, killing approximately 185. Monro actually survived the massacre, but he died suddenly in Albany just three months later on 3 November 1757.

In popular culture

Colonel Munro is portrayed in

James Fennimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought ...

's story ''

'', in which he is the father of two daughters, Alice and Cora. (In reality Munro never married or had children) In the story, he plays a similar role as he did in history, leading the defense of Fort William Henry. In the blockbuster 1992 film adaptation, in which he is portrayed (by Scottish actor

Maurice Roëves John Maurice Roëves (; 19 March 1937 – 14 July 2020) was a British actor. He appeared in over 120 film and television roles, in both the United Kingdom and the United States. His breakthrough performance was as Stephen Dedalus in the 1967 f ...

) as being killed in the massacre by Montcalm's Native allies, the leader of whom (

Magua Magua is a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 1826 novel ''The Last of the Mohicans'' by James Fenimore Cooper. This historical novel is set at the time of the French and Indian War. A Wyandot people, Huron Native Americans in the ...

) cuts his heart out as revenge for Monro killing his family. He is also portrayed in the 1920 silent film by James Gordon, in the 1932 version by Edward Hearn, in the 1936 version by

Hugh Buckler Hugh Chilman Buckler (9 September 1881 – 30 October 1936) was a British actor. He was married to stage actress Violet Paget, about whom little has been found, save that she was somehow related to the Marquess of Anglesey. The film actor John ...

and in the 1965 version by Paul Muller and in the 1968 version by

Otto Ambros Otto Ambros (19 May 1901 – 23 July 1990) was a German chemist and Nazi war criminal. He is known for his wartime work on synthetic rubber (polybutadiene, or "Buna rubber") and nerve agents (sarin and tabun). After the war he was tried at Nure ...

. Monro is also portrayed as a supporting character in the 2014 action-adventure video game ''

Assassin's Creed Rogue ''Assassin's Creed Rogue'' is a 2014 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Sofia and published by Ubisoft. It is the seventh major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and is set between 2013's '' Assassin's Creed IV: Black ...

''. He is shown to be a noble character, seeking to help the people of

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

recover from the gang violence and the disrepair of the city. He is a member of the

Templar Order , colors = White mantle with a red cross , colors_label = Attire , march = , mascot = Two knights riding a single horse , equipment ...

and assists

Christopher Gist Christopher Gist (1706–1759) was an explorer, surveyor, and frontiersman active in Colonial America. He was one of the first white explorers of the Ohio Country (the present-day states of Ohio, eastern Indiana, western Pennsylvania, and nort ...

and the protagonist

Shay Patrick Cormac The '' Assassin's Creed'' media franchise, which primarily consists of a series of open-world action-adventure stealth video games published by Ubisoft, features an extensive cast of characters in its historical fiction and science fiction-ba ...

until he is killed by

Assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

Liam O'Brien in Albany after the fall of Fort William Henry. He is voiced by Graham J. Cuthbertson.

References

External links

*
Biography of Colonel George Monro.

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Monro, George 1757 deaths People from County Longford 35th Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the French and Indian War 18th-century Irish people Irish officers in the British Army 1700 births