It was during his residence of nine years in England, that the controversy between Great Britain and her American colonies commenced. This he watched with a jealous eye, and at last fancied he saw enough to cause him to abandon the King’s service, and to seek America as his future and permanent home. He accordingly sold the commission he then held, and in January, 1772, arrived in New York. Very soon after his arrival he selected a delightful spot on the banks of the Hudson river, in the state of New York, purchased a farm there, and expected to retire from the bustle of a noisy world. The following year he married a daughter of Robert R. Livingston, then one of the judges of the superior court of the province. In this most eligible of all situations, the life of a country gentleman, deriving its most exquisite relish from reflections upon dangers and past services, he gave full scope to his philosophical spirit and taste for rural elegance. Satisfied with himself, and raised above all vulgar ambition, he devoted his time to domestic pursuits, the intercourse of a select society, the study of useful books, and the improvement of his villa. But neither wood nor lawn could make him forget the duties which he owed to society. When the hand of unlawful authority was stretched forth, Montgomery was ready to exchange his peaceful groves for the tented field. From that fatal day in which the first American blood was spilt by the bands of British brethren, and the better genius of the empire turned abhorrent from the strife of death among her children, our hero chose his part. In this state of things, the National Congress employed itself in June, 1775, in organizing an army, and, among other acts, appointed a commander-in-chief, four major-generals, and eight brigadiers. Of the latter description Montgomery was one. This unequivocal mark of distinction, conferred by the highest acknowledged authority of the country, without solicitation or privity on his part, was received by him with a homage mingled with regret, apparently foreboding the catastrophe which was soon to follow.