Colonel Alexander John Montgomery (1720 – 29 September 1800) was an Irish politician. He was born in 1720, the eldest son of Thomas Montgomery, M.P. for

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

, and his wife Mary Franklin. His youngest brother was the American Revolution war-hero, Major-General

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish-born American military officer who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and ...

. He was elected Member of

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

as an Independent for

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

in the general election of 1768 and represented that constituency until August 1800. He was also

High Sheriff of Donegal The High Sheriff of Donegal was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland, from the late 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Irish Free State and replaced by the office of Donega ...

in 1773. He had two nicknames. He was first called "''Black Montgomery''" because of a scalping incident in the Seven Years' War in Canada and later in life he was called "''Old Sandy''" to distinguish him from his cousin

Alexander Montgomery (died 1785) General Alexander Montgomery (17211785) was an Irish MP for County Monaghan, Ireland. His father was John Montgomery (died 1733) of Ballyleck, County Monaghan (M.P. for County Monaghan and second son of Colonel Alexander Montgomery (1667–1722) ...

(Young Sandy) who was a year younger and who represented

County Monaghan County Monaghan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of Border Region, Border strategic planning area of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town ...

in the Irish Parliament at the same time as Old Sandy. He was a captain in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

43rd Regiment of Foot The 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot (Light Infantry) to form the 1st and 2nd battalions of ...

, which served in America. His regiment was part of General

James Wolfe Major-general James Wolfe (2 January 1727 – 13 September 1759) was a British Army officer known for his training reforms and, as a major general, remembered chiefly for his victory in 1759 over the French at the Battle of the Plains of ...

's attack on French Quebec in 1759. Lieutenant Malcolm Fraser of the

48th Regiment of Foot The 48th (Northamptonshire) Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 58th (Rutlandshire) Regiment of Foot to form the Northamptonshire Regiment in 1881. History Early h ...

asserted that on 23 August 1759, his detachment was brought under the command of Alexander Montgomery for an attack on a village near

Saint-Joachim Saint-Joachim (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is in the centre of the Brière marsh, and comprises a group of "islands" within the marsh. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique depar ...

. Fraser states in his journal: Montgomery resigned from the British Army in 1763 because a junior officer was promoted over him. He was also a Colonel in the

Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a small town in County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan. It gave its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was l ...

Battalion of the Volunteers and was their delegate at the Dungannon Convention. Montgomery won his last election in 1797 by releasing Republican freeholders from Lifford Gaol to vote for him. He joined the

Royal Dublin Society The Royal Dublin Society (RDS) () is an Irish philanthropic organisation and members club which was founded as the 'Dublin Society' on 25 June 1731 with the aim to see Ireland thrive culturally and economically. It was long active as a learned ...

in 1773. Montgomery was noted for his

duelling A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in t ...

. Among his opponents was Francis Mansfield, the High Sheriff of Donegal in 1788. On one occasion while duelling in the bishop's garden in

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, his opponent's first pistol-round shot off the tails of Montgomery's swallow-tailed coat. Undeterred, Montgomery finished the duel sitting in a chair in order to conceal his bare posterior. In 1797 he won a duel with a Donegal loyalist and was carried home in triumph to Convoy by the

United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...

. Montgomery was suspect in government circles. In 1773 he was described as "''extremely popular and very flighty''". "The Irish Parliament 1775" states- "''Lord Townshend attempted, and Lord Harcourt obtained for him in Council a Port of Discharge at Letterkenny. He came into Parliament upon Popular Ground in the County. He stands by & court the Government his Support but even after all that has been done his support is very doubtfull. However during the last Session he was pretty steady. Mr. Montgomery has got to his Recommendation Two Boatmen, a Tidewaiter Surveyor of the Lough Swilley Barge and a Hearth Money Collection''". Sketches of the Members of the Irish Parliament in 1782 stated- "''Alexander Montgomery Esq., member for Donegall County has a good estate in this county-brother to the rebel Montgomery who was killed at Quebec-concerned much in the North-West Fisheries-an impracticable and dangerous man-an advocate for Mr. Flood's doctrine of

Renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, particularly something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in the inte ...

. It is supposed he will leave his fortune to one of Lord Ranelagh's children, to whom his sister is married. Lord Carlisle obliged him by allowing him to name some officers in the Port of Ballyraine, for which favour he often supported''". He was vehemently opposed to the

1800 Act of Union The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

between the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

and the

Kingdom of Great Britain Great Britain, also known as the Kingdom of Great Britain, was a sovereign state in Western Europe from 1707 to the end of 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the Kingd ...

and voted against it. He died unmarried on 29 September 1800, at the age of 80, before the Acts of Union became law and on his tombstone in the churchyard of

Raphoe Cathedral St Eunan's Cathedral ( , also known as Raphoe Cathedral, is one of two cathedral churches of the United Dioceses of Derry and Raphoe (united in 1834) in the Church of Ireland. It is located in Raphoe, County Donegal and is dedicated to Saint E ...

is inscribed: "''Sacred to the memory of Alex Montgomery of Convoy who represented this once Independent county in Parliament for 32 years''."

Arms

References

External links

Alexander Montgomery's tombstone
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Alexander 1720 births 1800 deaths Irish MPs 1769–1776 Irish MPs 1776–1783 Irish MPs 1783–1790 Irish MPs 1790–1797 Irish MPs 1798–1800 43rd Regiment of Foot officers People from Lifford High sheriffs of Donegal Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Donegal constituencies Clan Montgomery Irish duellists British Army personnel of the French and Indian War