*** Richard Montgomery was born in the north of Ireland in 1737. He entered the army at the age of twenty, and was with Wolfe at the storming of Quebec in 1759. He was in the campaign against the Spanish West Indies, and afterward resided some time in this country. He quitted his regiment and returned to England. While here he imbibed an attachment for the country, and in 1772, returned to make it his home. He purchased an estate upon the Hudson, in Rhinebeck, Dutchess county, and married the daughter of Robert R. Livingston. When the Revolution broke out, he espoused the cause of the colonists, and in the autumn of 1775 was second in command, under Schuyler, in the expedition against Canada, with the rank of brigadier. The illness of Schuyler caused the chief command to devolve upon Montgomery, and in the capture of St. John's, Chambly, and Montreal, and his attack on Quebec, he exhibited great judgment and military skill. He was commissioned a major general before he reached Quebec. In "that campaign he had every difficulty to contend with undisciplined and mutinous troops, scarcity of provisions and ammunition, want of heavy artillery, lack of clothing, the rigor of winter, and desertions of whole companies. Yet he pressed onward, and, in all probability, had his life been spared, would have entered Quebec in triumph. His death was a great public calamity, and throughout the land public honors were paid to his memory. The eloquence of Chatham, Burke, and Barré sounded his praises upon the floor of the British Parliament, and the prime minister (Lord North), while acknowledging his worth, and reprobating the cause in which he fell, concluded by saying, "Curse on his virtues, they have undone his country." As soon as the news of his death reached Congress, resolutions of condolence with his family for their bereavement, and expressive of their "grateful remembrance, profound respect, and high veneration," were adopted. It was voted to erect a monument to his memory, which was accordingly done, in the front of St. Paul's Church in New York city, on which is the following inscription: This monument is erected by order of Congress, 25th of January, 1776, to transmit to posterity a grateful remembrance of the patriotic conduct, enterprise, and perseverance of Major-general Richard Montgomery, who, after a series of success amid the most discouraging difficulties, Fell in the attack on Quebec, 31st December, 1775, aged 37 years.