Rank Major-General | Name John Armstrong | |
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Born 31 March 1674 ( 1674-03-31 ) Died 15 April 1742(1742-04-15) (aged 68) | ||
Major-General John Armstrong (31 March 1674 – 15 April 1742) was a British Engineer and Soldier.
Contents
Military career
Armstrong joined the Williamite Army of Ireland in 1691. In 1697 he joined the Duke of Ormonde's Horse Guards.
In August 1711, during the War of the Spanish Succession, he constructed overnight a large battery of artillery with which the enemy was bombarded furiously and successfully in the morning at the Siege of Bouchain.
He was appointed Quartermaster-General to the Forces in 1712 in recognition of his performance at Bouchain. After the Treaty of Utrecht, in Spring 1713, he was appointed one of the Commissioners responsible for overseeing the dismantling of the harbour at Dunkirk.
In 1714, following the accession of George I, he was appointed Chief Engineer. He recommended the split in 1716 of the Ordnance Service into the Royal Engineers and the Royal Artillery.
He was made a fellow of the Royal Society in 1723.
Family
He married Anna Priscilla Burroughs and together they went on to have five daughters.