James Gabriel Montresor

Colonel James Gabriel Montresor
Portrait of Col. James G. Montresor
Born	(1704-11-19)19 November 1704 Westminster, England
Died	6 January 1776(1776-01-06) (aged 71) Teynham, Kent, England
Allegiance	Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch	Corps of Engineers
Rank	Colonel, Chief Engineer in the Provinces
Unit	14th Regiment of Foot
Battles/wars	1727 siege of Gibraltar, French and Indian War
Relations	John Montresor (son), Susanna Haswell Rowson (niece), Robert Haswell (nephew), Henry Fielding (father-in-law)

James Gabriel Montresor (19 November 1704 – 6 January 1776) was a British military engineer.

Montresor was born on Broad Street or St. James's, Westminster, 19 November 1704, the son of James Gabriel le Trésor and Nanon de Hauteville. His father, who belonged to a Huguenot refugee family, joined the British service and was naturalized, taking the name of Montresor. He would become Lieutenant Governor of Fort William where he died 22 January 1723/4.

Joining the Royal Artillery, Montresor is said to have been present at the 1727 siege of Gibraltar, but more credible accounts place him in Menorca, as a matross. He was later a bombardier at Gibraltar, and was there commissioned as an engineer in 1731. He continued to serve at Gibraltar, with a brief interlude in Menorca, until in 1747 he was named chief engineer of Gibraltar. He had also held a commission in the 14th Regiment of Foot.

In 1754, he was appointed chief engineer for General Braddock and went to America with the troops. He is frequently said to have been present at the defeat of Braddock's expedition in 1755, but this appears to confuse him with his son John Montresor, who was wounded in the battle (some accounts suggest illness prevented the father's presence). He spent most of the remainder of the French and Indian War in and around Albany, where his activities included the design and construction of numerous military fortifications, including a new fort on the site previously occupied by Fort William Henry, named Fort George.