Barry St. Leger

Barrimore Matthew "Barry" St. Leger (1 May 1733 23 December 1793) was a British Army officer. St. Leger was active in the Saratoga Campaign, commanding an invasion force that unsuccessfully besieged Fort Stanwix. 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.

Life St. Leger was baptised on 1 May 1733 in County Kildare, Ireland. He was a younger son of Sir John St Leger, a leading Irish judge and politician, and his second wife Lavina Pennefather. He was the brother of Gen. Anthony St Leger (British Army officer), the founder of the St Leger Stakes. The St Legers of Kildare were a junior branch of the family of Viscount Doneraile, and the Pennefathers were a wealthy landowning family in County Tipperary. He was educated at Eton College, and then at Peterhouse, Cambridge.

He joined the British Army in April 1756, serving as an ensign in the 28th Regiment of Foot. He saw service in the French and Indian War under the command of Jeffery Amherst at the 1758 siege of Louisbourg, and in 1759 under the command of James Wolfe at the Siege of Quebec. He was appointed brigade-major in July 1760 and served as a staff officer in the campaign against Montreal under James Murray. On 16 September 1762, St. Leger was promoted to major in the 95th Regiment of Foot.

When reports of a relief force under Benedict Arnold reached him, St. Leger was abandoned by his Native supporters and was forced to withdraw to Quebec. He then tried to join with Burgoyne's army near Saratoga but had only reached Fort Ticonderoga by the time Burgoyne surrendered his army in October 1777.

For the next several years, St. Leger was a leader of the British frontier war against the Americans. He was promoted to colonel in 1780. In 1781, he led an attempt to kidnap General Philip Schuyler. He was also involved in the secret negotiations between Frederick Haldimand, Quebec's governor, and the Vermont Republic's leaders over the possibility of bringing Vermont into the British fold. These negotiations ended with the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. His will was proved on 14 February 1794 at the PCC London by Frances St. Leger, widow.