"Drawing upon previously unexplored sources from Canada, Europe, and the United States, Michael P. Gabriel provides a comprehensive view of one of the forgotten heroes of the Revolutionary War, General Richard Montgomery. An Irish-born former British officer, Montgomery commanded the ill-fated American invasion of Canada in 1775 and was killed at Quebec. The first and highest-ranking American general killed in the war, Montgomery was also an important hero symbol in the early republic.

Writers and orators, such as Thomas Paine and Hugh Henry Brackenridge, used the slain general as a symbol of virtue and self-sacrifice to spur on the war effort and help create a national identity. This image persisted through the early nineteenth century."--BOOK JACKET.