Trooper Armstrong

James "Trooper" Armstrong (c. 1736–September 28, 1813) was an Irish-American soldier and pioneer.

While resident in Ireland, Armstrong had been an officer of the Inniskilling Dragoons. He emigrated from Ireland before 1777, settling in Abingdon, Virginia. He served as a trustee of Abingdon between the years 1778 and 1802. He was an early settler of Knoxville, Tennessee and is credited with discovering an important spring. He was a de facto protocol officer at the 1791 Holston treaty negotiations with the Cherokee, introducing chiefs to Governor Blount.

One son, Robert Armstrong, became postmaster of Nashville and American consul at Liverpool. Another son, Francis Wells Armstrong (father of Frank Crawford Armstrong), served as a U.S. army officer from 1812 to 1817, after which he was a U.S. marshal for Alabama and an Indian agent in Indian Territory by appointment of Jackson. When Francis died in 1835, another brother, William, was appointed Indian agent in his place; William had previously served as Mayor of Nashville, Tennessee, from 1829-1833.

References

  1. ↑ Chronicles of Oklahoma, THE ARMSTRONGS OF INDIAN TERRITORY, By Carolyn Thomas Foreman, https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2123469/m2/1/high_res_d/1952-v30-n03_a06.pdf p. 292
  2. 1 2 Armstrong, Zella (1926). Notable Southern Families. Lookout Publishing Company.
  3. ↑ "Incidents in the Early Settlement of East Tennessee and Knoxville, by DeBow". knoxcotn.org. Retrieved 2025-08-15.
  4. ↑ Rule, William; Mellen, George Frederick; Wooldridge, John (1900). Standard History of Knoxville, Tennessee: With Full Outline of the Natural Advantages, Early Settlement, Territorial Government, Indian Troubles, and General and Particular History of the City Down to the Present Time. Lewis Publishing Company. p. 44. ISBN 978-0-608-36292-2. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  5. ↑ Powell, William H. (William Henry) (1900). List of officers of the army of the United States from 1779 to 1900, embracing a register of all appointments by the President of the United States in the volunteer service during the civil war, and of volunteer officers in the service of the United States. June 1, 1900. University of California Libraries. New York : L. R. Hamersly & co. p. 165.
  6. ↑ "Missouri Intelligencer and Boon's Lick Advertiser". Missouri Intelligencer and Boon's Lick Advertiser. 18 (16): 3. 17 Oct 1835 – via Newspapers.com.