John Armstrong Jr. (November 25, 1758 – April 1, 1843) was an American soldier, diplomat and statesman who was a delegate to the Continental Congress, U.S.

[4] The young Armstrong initially joined a Pennsylvania militia regiment and the following year he was appointed as aide-de-camp to General Hugh Mercer of the Continental Army.

Armstrong joined General Gates' staff as an aide with the rank of major, which he held through the rest of the war.

The first, titled "An Address to the Officers" (dated March 10, 1783), called for a meeting to discuss back pay and other grievances with the Congress and form a plan of action.

In 1784, he led a military force of four hundred militiamen into a controversy with Connecticut settlers in the Wyoming Valley of Pennsylvania.

[5][6] To Paris Armstrong brought as his private secretary the United-Irish exile, David Bailie Warden.

After serving as Consul, Warden was to author the first major work of reference for the diplomatic corps; a "pioneering" contribution to "the emergence of doctrinal views and a specialist literature on international law".

[5] Henry Adams wrote of him: In spite of Armstrong's services, abilities, and experience, something in his character always created distrust.

He had every advantage of education, social and political connection, ability and self-confidence; he was only fifty-four years old, which was also the age of Monroe; but he suffered from the reputation of indolence and intrigue.

After the American defeat at the Battle of Bladensburg and the subsequent burning of Washington, Madison, usually a forgiving man, forced him to resign in September 1814.

He died at La Bergerie (later renamed Rokeby), the farm estate he built in Red Hook, New York in 1843 and is buried in the cemetery in Rhinebeck.

[5] Armstrong's initial farm in Dutchess County, called "Altmont" (also known as "The Meadows"), was originally part of the Schuyler patent.

In 1795, he purchased a part of the farm from the Van Benthuysen family, and converted an existing barn into a two-story Federal style dwelling with twelve rooms.

There the Armstrong's created "La Bergerie", in English "the sheepfold" – an estate where they raised Merino sheep.