Amherst, Jeffrey, titular governor of Virginia (1763-1768), was the second son of Jeffrey Amherst, of Riverhead, Kent county, England. His family had no influence, and the remarkable fact of the rise of Amherst from page to field marshal is a tribute to his own merit. He was page to the Duke of Dorset, who procured for him an ensigncy in the Guards in 1731. He next served on General Ligonier's staff, and afterwards on that of the Duke of Cumberland. In 1756 he was made lieutenant-colonel of the Fifteenth regiment. When Pitt became chancellor, and was fitting out an expedition to North America, he picked out Amherst as the man to lead. The expedition that sailed from Portsmouth in May, 1758, was 14,000 strong, and was embarked in fifteen ships under the command of Admiral Boscawen. On reaching the Island of Cape Breton he captured Louisburg, and in September, Amherst was as a reward appointed commander-in-chief of the forces in the place of James Abercrombie. In November, 1758, he captured Fort Duquesne from the French. He was even more successful in the different campaigns of the next year (1759). Ticonderoga fell before him, and his generals Sir William Johnson and Wolfe took Fort Niagara and Quebec, which in 1760 was followed by the surrender of Montreal, the capital of Canada. Amherst was at once appointed governor-general of North America, and in 1761 received the thanks of parliament and was made a knight of the Bath. The French sued for peace, but war still continued with the Indians. They were led by Pontiac, and Amherst proved unfit to deal with him. His failure no doubt was the chief cause of his return to England in 1763. There Pontiac's conspiracy was unknown, and Amherst was received as the conqueror of Canada and made governor of Virginia and colonel of the 60th or American regiment. His fame became very great. In 1770 he was made governor of Guernsey, and in 1772, a privy councillor and lieutenant-general of the ordinance. During the American war he served in the capacity of adviser to the government. His steady support of the American war endeared him to the King, who made him in 1776 Lord Amherst, in 1778 a general, and in 1780 colonel of the 2nd Horse Grenadiers. After various other honors he was raised in1796 to the rank of field marshal. He did not long survive this last honor, and died at Montreal, his seat in Kent, August 3, 1797.