Robert Armstrong was an officer in the United States Army, a candidate for the position of Governor of Tennessee, and a United States consul to Liverpool.
Background
Robert Armstrong was born on September 28, 1792 in Abingdon, Virginia, United States. He belonged to a military family, his father, Trooper Armstrong, being a Revolutionary soldier of fine physique and great strength, and two brothers, Frank and William, each attaining the rank of major.
He was born in Abingdon, Virginia, but early in life removed with his family to east Tennessee. Later he returned to Abingdon for his education, which ended when the country went to war in 1812.
Education
It is only known that he received his education in Abingdon.
Career
At Nashville he enlisted, becoming a sergeant, and later, when Andrew Jackson led an army against the Creek Indians, he served with it as a lieutenant of artillery. In a campaign marked by several battles, shortage of provisions, and mutiny, he cemented a close friendship with the indomitable leader of the little army.
At the battle of Enotochapko, on January 24, 1814, he was shot through the left hip while courageously standing by his guns. This wound, however, was not so severe as to keep him from serving gallantly on Jackson's staff at the battle of New Orleans.
The life that followed these stirring times was for the most part comparatively quiet. In June 1814 he married Margaret Nichol, daughter of a Nashville merchant, and settled in that city. President Jackson appointed him postmaster there in 1829, a place which he held for sixteen years, and in 1836, when the second Seminole War broke out, appointed him brigadier-general in command of two regiments of volunteers.
The short Florida campaign, ending in the battle of Wahoo Swamp, was effective though not brilliant, and the prestige of Armstrong's command made him the candidate of the Jackson-Van Buren party for governor in 1837. But the tide was running heavily against Jackson and Van Buren in Tennessee at that time, and Armstrong was decisively defeated.
Appointed consul at Liverpool by Polk in 1845, he served there for four years. After his return to this country he became proprietor of the Washington Union, and in its columns gave steady support to Democratic policies during the three years of life that remained to him.
Achievements
Connections
He married Margaret Dysart Nichol in June 1814. They had one daughter.