TEXT FROM THE KENTUCKY HISTORICAL MARKER
Montgomery County, 1797
Named for Gen. Richard Montgomery, Revolutionary War officer. Born in Ireland, 1738. An advocate of colonial freedom, he commanded continental forces in the north, capturing first British colors in war, Fort St. Johns, 1775. Killed in Quebec attack, Dec. 31, 1775.
Original county taken from Clark; included area of 2 present counties and parts of 8 others.
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The Place
MONTGOMERY COUNTY KENTUCKY
From Wikipedia
"Montgomery County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,114. Its county seat is Mount Sterling. With regard to the sale of alcohol, it is classified as a moist county—a county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a dry county), but containing a "wet" city where package alcohol sales are allowed, in this case Mount Sterling. Montgomery County is part of the Mount Sterling, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Lexington-Fayette-Richmond-Frankfort, KY Combined Statistical Area."
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The Person:
GENERAL RICHARD MONTGOMERY
From Wikipedia
"Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for leading the unsuccessful 1775 invasion of Quebec.
Montgomery was born and raised in Ireland. In 1754, he enrolled at Trinity College, Dublin, and two years later joined the British Army to fight in the French and Indian War. He steadily rose through the ranks, serving in North America and then the Caribbean. After the war he was stationed at Fort Detroit during Pontiac's War, following which he returned to Britain for health reasons. In 1773, Montgomery returned to the Thirteen Colonies, married Janet Livingston, and began farming.
When the American Revolutionary War broke out, Montgomery took up the Patriot cause, and was elected to the New York Provincial Congress in May 1775. In June 1775, he was commissioned as a brigadier general in the Continental Army. After Philip Schuyler became too ill to lead the invasion of Canada, Montgomery took over. He captured Fort St. Johns and then Montreal in November 1775, and then advanced to Quebec City, where he joined another force under the command of Benedict Arnold. On 31 December, he led an attack on the city, but was killed during the battle. The British found his body and gave him an honorable burial. His remains were moved to New York City in 1818."
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