Sir Thomas Armstrong (c. 1633, Nijmegen – 20 June 1684,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

) was an English army officer and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

executed for

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

.Richard L. Greaves, Armstrong, Sir Thomas (bap. 1633, d. 1684),

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004 His father, Colonel Sir Thomas Armstrong (died November 1662) fought in the 30 Years War in the Netherlands, was a royalist soldier during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

, and was twice imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three K ...

during the Commonwealth.

Life

During the Interregnum Armstrong was a supporter of Charles II, participating in the plot to seize

Chester Castle Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls. The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining part ...

in 1655, and carrying funds from

Aubrey de Vere, 20th Earl of Oxford Aubrey is traditionally a male English given name. The name is from the French derivation Aubry of the Germanic given name Alberic / Old High German given name Alberich, which consists of the elements ALF "elf" and RIK "king", from Proto-German ...

to Charles in exile. He was possibly imprisoned for a year on his return. In 1657, he married Catherine, daughter of James Pollexfen and niece of

Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon (18 February 16099 December 1674), was an English statesman, lawyer, diplomat and historian who served as chief advisor to Charles I during the First English Civil War, and Lord Chancellor to Charles II fro ...

A True Account of the Apprehending of Sir Thomas Armstrong

Following the Restoration, he received, in February 1661, a commission as

captain-lieutenant Captain lieutenant or captain-lieutenant is a military rank, used in a number of navies worldwide and formerly in the British Army. Northern Europe Denmark, Norway and Finland The same rank is used in the navies of Denmark (), Norway () and Finl ...

in the Royal Horse Guards. In August 1675, Armstrong killed the son of one of the queen's ladies-in-waiting at a London theatre. Armstrong was pardoned on the grounds that his opponent had drawn first. Armstrong served with James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth in France from 1672, fighting at the Siege of Maastricht (1673) and alongside the Dutch, in 1678. He was wounded at St Denis. In 1679, he helped suppress the covenanter rising and fought at the

battle of Bothwell Bridge A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and forc ...

, at the same time that the Popish Plot in England was scaring the Anglican establishment. Monmouth's influence secured him as MP for Stafford in March 1679 to the First Exclusion Parliament.

Death

Following the

Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...

, in 1683, he was indicted in the Court of King's Bench for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. A wanted man, Armstrong fled to

Cleves Kleve (; traditional en, Cleves ; nl, Kleef; french: Clèves; es, Cléveris; la, Clivia; Low Rhenish: ''Kleff'') is a town in the Lower Rhine region of northwestern Germany near the Dutch border and the River Rhine. From the 11th century ...

and then

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

but was captured in

Leiden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration wi ...

and sentenced to death by Judge George Jeffreys. He made a dignified end on the gallows at Tyburn on 20 June 1684, protesting that he died "a true and sincere Protestant ... and in the communion of the Church of England; and I heartily wish I had more strictly lived up to the religion which I believed". His lands and bonds totaling £12,700 were saved from forfeiture under his marriage settlement. Nevertheless, his trial was widely regarded as a flagrant miscarriage of justice. He was dragged by hurdle to

Tyburn Tyburn was a manor (estate) in the county of Middlesex, one of two which were served by the parish of Marylebone. The parish, probably therefore also the manor, was bounded by Roman roads to the west (modern Edgware Road) and south (modern O ...

, where he was hanged, drawn and quartered, on 20 June 1684. His head was affixed to

Westminster Hall The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north bank ...

, three of his quarters were displayed in

, and the fourth at Stafford.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Sir Thomas People of the Rye House Plot People executed under the Stuarts for treason against England Executed English people 1684 deaths Recipients of English royal pardons Year of birth uncertain People executed by Stuart England by hanging, drawing and quartering English politicians convicted of crimes Knights Bachelor Royal Horse Guards officers English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Stafford