In 1751, Tryon enlisted in the British Army as a lieutenant in the 1st Regiment of Foot Guards and was promoted to the rank of captain later that year.

In September, they reembarked for St Malo, where the operation went smoothly until the withdrawal, when they came under intense fire from the French at the Battle of Saint Cast.

On 26 April 1764, through family connections, Tryon obtained the position of acting lieutenant governor of the Province of North Carolina.

He arrived in North Carolina with his family, including a young daughter,[3] and architect John Hawks,[4] in early October to find that the previous governor, Arthur Dobbs, had not left.

[3] In 1765, a house called Russelborough on the Cape Fear River near Brunswick Town was renovated to serve as Tryon's residence while he acted as Lieutenant Governor.

[4] Tryon pushed for the completion of abandoned construction projects of Anglican churches in Brunswick Town, Wilmington, Edenton, and New Bern.

[4] Tryon told the legislature that the sum was not substantial enough for the plans he and Hawks had created; building it "in the plainest manner" would cost no less than £10,000 without including the outbuildings he envisioned.

"[4] Although he accomplished some notable improvements in the colony, such as the creation of a postal service in 1769, Tryon is most noted for suppressing the Regulator Movement in western North Carolina during the period from 1768 to 1771.

[4] Most of the men were accused of violating the Riot Act, a crime temporarily made a capital offense by the General Assembly.

He told London the tea could be brought ashore "only under the protection of the point of the bayonet, and muzzle of cannon, and even then I do not see how consumption could be effected".

[7] During the spring and summer of 1776, Tryon and New York City mayor David Mathews conspired in a miserably bungled plot to kidnap General Washington and to assassinate his chief officers.

Tryon established his headquarters at the house of a Loyalist named Joseph Dibble, at the south end of the village and near the public stores.

Tryon engaged and defeated Patriot forces under the command of General David Wooster and Benedict Arnold at the Battle of Ridgefield when attempting to return to an invasion fleet anchored in Westport.

Tryon had long advocated engaging in raids on Patriot towns, but General Henry Clinton turned down his proposals.

Patriot newspapers condemned him for making war on "women and children", and Clinton was also indignant about Tryon disobeying his orders.

Tryon found approval of his conduct from Lord George Germain, but Clinton refused to give him any further significant commands.

[8] Tryon died at his home in London on 27 January 1788 and was buried at St Mary's Church, Twickenham, Middlesex, England.

[5] Her father, William, had been the East India Company's Governor in Bombay from 1742–50, and had died on a ship off the Cape of Good Hope on the voyage home.

His signature accomplishment in this vein was the improvement of the colony’s postal service, a crucial link between the important commercial centers in South Carolina and Virginia."

In 1930, business magnate John D. Rockefeller donated land in New York City to the municipal authorities, which created Fort Tryon Park.