Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

James Abercrombie (1732 – 23 June 1775) was a

British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

officer who died during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

The death of general warren at the battle of bunker hill

There is much uncertainty about Abercrombie's family. He may have been related to General James Abercrombie, as described in '' Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography'', but the ''

Dictionary of Canadian Biography The ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography'' (''DCB''; french: Dictionnaire biographique du Canada) is a dictionary of biographical entries for individuals who have contributed to the history of Canada. The ''DCB'', which was initiated in 1959, is ...

'' states that the common identification of him as the general's son or nephew is probably erroneous. On 11 June 1744 Abercrombie was made Lieutenant of the 1st Foot. On 16 February 1756, he was promoted to the rank of

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the 42nd Foot. With this rank he served in the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the st ...

, notably as one of General Abercrombie's aides in the Battle of Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga in 1758 before being made aide-de-camp to General Amherst in 1759. He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in 1770. On 17 June 1775, Abercrombie led the

grenadier A grenadier ( , ; derived from the word ''grenade'') was originally a specialist soldier who threw hand grenades in battle. The distinct combat function of the grenadier was established in the mid-17th century, when grenadiers were recruited from ...

battalion in their charge of the

redoubt A redoubt (historically redout) is a fort or fort system usually consisting of an enclosed defensive emplacement outside a larger fort, usually relying on earthworks, although some are constructed of stone or brick. It is meant to protect soldi ...

on the Americans' left wing at the

Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bunker Hill was fought on June 17, 1775, during the Siege of Boston in the first stage of the American Revolutionary War. The battle is named after Bunker Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts, which was peripherally involved in ...

. During the assault on Breed's Hill, he sustained a large gunshot wound on his right thigh from an African soldier named Salem Poor, although there is probability that it was friendly fire. After removal from the Bunker Hill battleground, he was treated at a hospital facility in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He succumbed to his wound a week later at the residence of British military engineer

John Montresor Captain John Montresor (22 April 1736 – June 1799) was a British military engineer and cartographer in North America. Early life Born in Gibraltar 22 April 1736 to British military engineer James Gabriel Montresor and his first wife, Mar ...

Legacy

* namesake of

Abercrombie, Nova Scotia Abercrombie is a community in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, located in Pictou County. The village is named after Col James Abercrombie of the 42nd Regiment of Foot who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill The Battle of Bu ...

References

* *Wilson, James G; Fiske, John (1888) "Abercrombie, James" in Appletons' Cyclopedia of American Biography. D. Appleton and Company, New York. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abercrombie, James 1732 births 1775 deaths 42nd Regiment of Foot officers British Army personnel of the French and Indian War British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War British military personnel killed in the American Revolutionary War

Legacy

See also

References

External links