View source for John Armstrong

'''John Armstrong. jr.''' born 25 Nov 1758
Carlisle, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, to John Armstrong and 
DEATH	1 Apr 1843 (aged 84)
Red Hook, Dutchess County, New York, USA
BURIAL	
Rhinebeck Cemetery
Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York, USA  Show Map
PLOT	Armstrong Vault
[findagrave;6653356] 
 
Revolutionary War Continental Army Officer, Continental Congressman, US Senator, Presidential Cabinet Secretary. He was the younger son of General John Armstrong, Sr., the famed general of the Revolutionary War and older brother of James Armstrong, who would become a doctor and United States Congressman. He went to the local schools in Carlisle and then off to the College of New Jersey, now known as Princeton. College was interrupted so that he might join in the fight for our independence. With several people named John Armstrong fighting the Revolutionary War, including his famous father, the records and names sometimes get mixed up. He served as aide-de-camp for Major General Hugh Mercer until he carried the wounded and dying general from the battlefield at the Battle of Princeton. Armstrong then became the aide of Major General Horatio Gates and served him through the Battle of Saratoga. Poor health caused him to resign, but in 1782 Gates asked him to return with the rank of major, which he held trough the rest of the war. After the war he returned home to Carlisle and was made Adjutant General of Pennsylvania's militia and served as Secretary of State. In 1787 and 1788 he was a Pennsylvania delegate to the Continental Congress which offered to make him chief justice of the Northwest Territory. He declined this and all other offers for public office for the next twelve years. In 1789 he married Robert Livingston's sister Alida and they moved to New York and took up life as a gentleman farmer. In 1800 he replaced a resigning senator and in 1802 was reelected for his own term. He resigned just a few months later, only to return in 1804 when another Senator resigned. After serving four months of this term, President Jefferson named him minister of France where he served until 1810. During this time he also represented the United States at the court of Spain in 1806. At the start of the War of 1812 he was called back to service as a brigadier general in charge of defending New York. President Madison made him Secretary of War in 1813 and, after making a number of improvements in the armed forces, was blamed for the British burning Washington, DC and was forced to resign. He returned to New York and lived a quiet life while publishing some works on history, biographies, and agriculture. He died at home and his farm is still operating and is owned by the Livingston family.

Bio by: Tom Todd

Family Members
Parents
Photo	
John Armstrong
1717–1795

Photo	
Rebecca Lyon Armstrong
1719–1797

Spouse
Photo	
Alida Livingston Armstrong
1761–1822

Siblings
Rebecca Armstrong Turner
1738–1828

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James Armstrong
1748–1828

Children
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Horatio Gates Armstrong
1790–1859

Henry Beekman Armstrong
1791–1854

John Armstrong
1794–1852

Robert Livingston Armstrong
1797–1834

Photo	
Margaret Rebecca Armstrong Astor
1800–1872

Photo	
James Kosciuszko Armstrong
1801–1868



==Alida Livingston==
Alida Livingston Armstrong
BIRTH	24 Dec 1761
Clermont, Columbia County, New York, USA
DEATH	1 Jan 1822 (aged 60)
Red Hook, Dutchess County, New York, USA
BURIAL	
Rhinebeck Cemetery
Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York, USA
PLOT	Armstrong Vault
MEMORIAL ID	96797059 · View Source
 
MEMORIAL
PHOTOS 3
FLOWERS 5
Parents:
Robert R (Aug 1718-9 Dec 1775) & Margaret (Beekman) Livingston

Husband:
John (married 18 Jan 1789)

(sources: "The Livingston family in America and its Scottish origins", by Florence Van Rensselaer, 1949, page 101)

Family Members
Spouse
Photo	
John Armstrong
1758–1843

Children
Photo	
Horatio Gates Armstrong
1790–1859

Henry Beekman Armstrong
1791–1854

John Armstrong
1794–1852

Robert Livingston Armstrong
1797–1834

Photo	
Margaret Rebecca Armstrong Astor
1800–1872

Photo	
James Kosciuszko Armstrong
1801–1868

[[category:Foote Family Papers]]
[[category:Politics]]
[[category:New York State History]]