General James Abercrombie or Abercromby (1706 – April 23, 1781) was a British Army general and commander-in-chief of forces in North America during the French and Indian War, best known for the disastrous British losses in the 1758 Battle of Carillon.
Abercrombie was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, Scotland to a wealthy family, and purchased a major's commission to enter the army in 1742. He was promoted to colonel in 1746, and major-general in 17...
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General James Abercrombie or Abercromby (1706 – April 23, 1781) was a British Army general and commander-in-chief of forces in North America during the French and Indian War, best known for the disastrous British losses in the 1758 Battle of Carillon.
Abercrombie was born in Glassaugh, Banffshire, Scotland to a wealthy family, and purchased a major's commission to enter the army in 1742. He was promoted to colonel in 1746, and major-general in 1756.
Abercrombie commanded a brigade at Louisbourg in 1757 and became commander-in-chief of the British forces in North America after the departure of John Campbell in March 1758 (see Commander-in-Chief, North America).
That summer, he led an expedition against Fort Carillon (later known as Fort Ticonderoga). Abercrombie was a genius at organization, but vacillated in his leadership to the point where his troops called him Mrs. Nanny Cromby. He managed the remarkable feat of assembling 15,000 troops and moving them and their supplies through...
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