American soldier, diplomat, and politician who, as U.S. secretary of war during the War of 1812 (1812, War of), was blamed for the British capture of Washington, D.C.

Armstrong fought in the American Revolution (1775–83) and, as an officer in the Continental Army, was apparently the author of the Newburgh Addresses attacking Congress. After the war, he entered politics in New York, serving briefly as U.S. senator, and from 1804 to 1810 was U.S. minister to France. When the War of 1812 (1812, War of) began, Armstrong served as a brigadier general and, from February 1813 until September 1814, as secretary of war under President James Madison (Madison, James), with whom he shared blame for the failure to provide men and equipment to protect Washington, D.C., from British troops, who burned the Capitol on August 24, 1814. Unpopularity forced Armstrong to resign his cabinet position.