Barrimore Matthew St. Leger (bef. 1733 - 1793)

Born before 1 May 1733 in County Kildare, Ireland

Ancestors

Died 23 Dec 1793 after age 60 in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England

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Biography

Barrimore was born before 1733. He was the son of John St. Leger and Levina Pennefather. He passed away in 1793.

St. Leger was an infamous British Army officer who was active in the Saratoga Campaign of the Revolutionary War, commanding at the time a large diversionary invasion force, called St. Leger's Expedition, that unsuccessfully besieged Fort Stanwix as a brevet brigadier general. He moved a mixed force of British regulars, Hessians, Indians, Canadiens, and Loyalists up the Saint Lawrence River to Fort Oswego, and from there to Fort Stanwix (the site of modern Rome, New York). The fort was more strongly defended than anticipated, so he laid siege to it.

When word arrived that an American relief column was fast approaching to break the siege, he sent a group of mostly Indians and Loyalists to oppose them. This numerically inferior force ambushed the larger Gen. Nicholas Herkimer force in the Battle of Oriskany on 6 Aug 1777. While the battle was a numerical victory for the British, the bravery of the surrounded American forces created high morale expectations and led to a much larger American victories soon afterwards, at the Battle of Bennington 16 Aug 1777 and the two Battles of Saratoga (19 Sep 1777 and 7 Oct 1777). The Battle of Oriskany produced a higher percentage of casualties than any other battle during the Revolutionary War.

After his expedition, St. Leger remained on the frontier for the duration of the war; after its conclusion, he served briefly as commander of British forces in Quebec.

Sources

• Wikipedia [1]