Jeffery Amherst

Jeffery Amherst commanded British forces in North America during the Seven Years' War, completing the conquest of New France, and is remembered chiefly for endorsing the deliberate spread of smallpox. Born in Kent in 1717, he entered the army young, served as a staff officer under Ligonier and Cumberland in Europe, and was at Dettingen and Fontenoy. William Pitt promoted him over more senior officers to lead the expedition against Louisbourg, the fortress guarding the mouth of the St Lawrence, which fell in July 1758 after a seven-week siege. He was made commander-in-chief in North America. His method was methodical and logistical rather than dashing: roads, supply, and converging columns. He took Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point in 1759 while Wolfe went up the river to Quebec, and in 1760 brought three armies to Montreal simultaneously, forcing the surrender of Canada in September. In 1763 the western nations rose under Pontiac against British policy, which had ended the gift-giving and provision of powder that the French had used to maintain relations. During the siege of Fort Pitt, Amherst wrote to Colonel Henry Bouquet asking whether smallpox could not be sent among the disaffected tribes, and approved trying it as well as every other method that can serve to extirpate this execrable race. Blankets from the smallpox hospital had already been given to Delaware emissaries at the fort. The correspondence survives and is unambiguous. He was recalled in 1763, later served as Governor of Virginia in absentia and as commander-in-chief of the army, and became a field marshal in 1796. He died in 1797. Institutions bearing his name have debated removing it.

• Lived: 1717 CE – 1797 CE
• Nationality: British
• Roles: military_leader