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Jeffery Amherst, 1st Baron Amherst (sometimes spelled '''Geoffrey''', or '''Jeffrey''', he himself spelled his name as '''Jeffery''') ( January 29 , 1717 – August 3 , 1797 ) served as an officer in the British Army . Born in Sevenoaks, England , he became a soldier at approximately the age of 14. He gained fame during the Seven Years' War , particularly in the North American campaign known in the United States as the French And Indian War . Amherst led the British attack in 1758 on Louisbourg (the Siege Of Louisbourg ), and as commander-in-chief of the British army in North America, helped the British seize most French territory in Canada . In 1759 he led an advance up Lake Champlain assisting in Wolfe 's capture of Quebec City and on September 8, 1760 , he captured Montreal ending French rule in North America, where he infuriated the French commanders by refusing them the "honours of war" (the ceremonial right to retain their flags); The Duke Of Lévis burned the colours rather than surrendering them. He held the position of military Governor of Canada from 1760 to 1763. The hostility between the British and Native Americans ("Indians") after the French and Indian War led to the first documented attempt at biological warfare in North American history. In response to the 1763 uprising known as Pontiac's Rebellion , Amherst suggested using Smallpox as a weapon for ending the rebellion. In a series of letters to his subordinate Colonel Henry Bouquet , the two men discussed the possibility of infecting the attacking Indians with smallpox through gifts of blankets that had been exposed to the disease. Apparently unbeknownst to both Amherst and Bouquet, the commander at Fort Pitt had already attempted this very tactic. Although Amherst's name is usually connected with this germ warfare because he was the overall commander and because of his correspondence with Bouquet, evidence appears to indicate that the attempt was made without Amherst's prior knowledge. (See Pontiac's Rebellion for more details.) After the taking of Montreal in 1760, Amherst built Montreal House in his native Sevenoaks, Kent, for his seat. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries the house and family hosted an annual summer picnic for the children educated at the junior school they established in the village of Riverhead; the school still bears Amherst's coat of arms. With the decline of the family's fortunes the house was knocked down in the late 20th Century to make way for a housing development; only a single obelisk and the octangular gatehouse remain. The towns of Amherst, Massachusetts , location of Amherst College ; Amherst, New Hampshire ; Amherst, Nova Scotia ; Amherst, New York ; Amherst County, Virginia ; and Amherst Island Ontario were named for him. ''See also: List Of Canadian Governors General '' EXTERNAL LINKS
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