Amherst's legacy is controversial due to his expressed desire to spread smallpox among the disaffected tribes of Indians during Pontiac's War.

[7] In February 1756, Amherst was appointed commissar to the Hessian forces that had been assembled to defend Hanover as part of the Army of Observation: as it appeared likely a French invasion attempt against Britain itself was imminent, Amherst was ordered in April to arrange the transportation of thousands of the Germans to southern England to bolster Britain's defences.

[9] By 1757 as the immediate danger to Britain had passed the troops were moved back to Hanover to join a growing army under the Duke of Cumberland and Amherst fought with the Hessians under Cumberland's command at the Battle of Hastenbeck in July 1757:[7] the Allied defeat there forced the army into a steady retreat northwards to Stade near the North Sea coast.

[7] In the wake of this action, he was appointed commander-in-chief of the British army in North America and colonel-in-chief of the 60th (Royal American) Regiment in September 1758.

[7] He infuriated the French commanders by refusing them the honours of war; the Chevalier de Lévis burned the colours rather than surrendering them,[14] to highlight his differences with Vaudreuil for later political advantage back in France.

Boston newspapers recount how the occasion was celebrated with a parade, a grand dinner in Faneuil Hall, music, bonfires, and firing of cannon.

Thomas Foxcroft of the First Church in Boston offered thus:[13] The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad... Long had it been the common opinion, Delenda est Carthago, Canada must be conquered, or we could hope for no lasting quiet in these parts; and now, through the good hand of our God upon us, we see the happy day of its accomplishment.

We behold His Majesty's victorious troops treading upon the high places of the enemy, their last fortress delivered up, and the whole country surrendered to the King of Britain in the person of his general, the intrepid, the serene, the successful Amherst.In recognition of this victory, Amherst was appointed Governor-General of British North America in September 1760[7] and promoted to major-general on 29 November 1760.

[3] The uprising of many Native American tribes in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region, commonly referred to as Pontiac's War after one of its most notable leaders, began in early 1763.

Colonel Henry Bouquet, the commander of Fort Pitt, ordered smallpox-infested blankets to be given Native Americans when a group of them laid siege to the fortification in June 1763.

[23] William Trent, the trader turned militia commander who had come up with the plan, sent an invoice to the British colonial authorities in North America indicating that the purpose of giving the blankets was "to Convey the Smallpox to the Indians."

[20][21] Reporting on parleys with Delaware chiefs on 24 June, Trent wrote: '[We] gave them two Blankets and an Handkerchief out of the Small Pox Hospital.

We must on this occasion use every stratagem in our power to reduce them.Bouquet, who was already marching to relieve Fort Pitt from the siege, agreed with this suggestion in a postscript when he responded to Amherst just days later on 13 July 1763:[31] P.S.

[32] He was forced to defend his conduct, and faced complaints made by William Johnson and George Croghan, who lobbied the Board of Trade for his removal and permanent replacement by Gage.

[35] On 22 October 1772, Amherst was appointed Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance,[36] and he soon gained the confidence of George III, who had initially hoped the position would go to a member of the Royal Family.

[42] On 7 November 1778 the King and Queen visited Amherst at his home, Montreal Park, in Kent[43] and on 24 April 1779 he became colonel of the 2nd Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards.

After the outbreak of rioting Amherst deployed the small London garrison of Horse and Foot Guards as well as he could but was hindered by the reluctance of the civil magistrates to authorise decisive action against the rioters.

[49] With the advent of the French Revolutionary Wars, Amherst was recalled as Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in January 1793: however is generally criticised for allowing the armed forces to slide into acute decline, a direct cause of the failure of the early campaigns in the Low Countries: Pitt the Younger said of him "his age, and perhaps his natural temper, are little suited to the activity and the energy which the present moment calls for".

[69] In 2009, Montreal City Councillor Nicolas Montmorency officially asked that Rue Amherst be renamed: "it is totally unacceptable that a man who made comments supporting the extermination of Native Americans to be honoured in this way".