George Murray
Born22 August 1741
Tullibardine, Perthshire
Died17 October 1797 (1797-10-18) (aged 56)
Hunton, Kent
Allegiance Kingdom of Great Britain
Service/branch Royal Navy
RankVice admiral
Commands heldNorth American Station
Battles/warsBattle of Dogger Bank

Vice Admiral George Murray (22 August 1741 – 17 October 1797) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. He was the third son of the Jacobite general Lord George Murray.

Naval career

Murray joined the Royal Navy in 1758 as a midshipman.[1] In 1765 he became commander of the sloop HMS Ferret.[1] Promoted Captain he commanded HMS Renown, HMS Adventure, HMS Levant and HMS Cleopatra.[1] He commanded the Cleopatra at the Battle of Dogger Bank in 1781.[2] From 1782 he commanded HMS Irresistible.[1]

He was elected Member of Parliament for Perth burghs in 1790 but gave up his seat in 1796.[1] Resuming his naval career he commanded HMS Defence from 1790.[1] He was appointed Commander-in-Chief at Chatham in 1792 and went on to command HMS Duke and then HMS Glory.[1] He was made Commander-in-Chief, North American Station in 1794, establishing a permanent Royal Naval base at St. George's Town, at the East End of Bermuda (a colony in British North America),[3][4][5][6][7][8] with Admiralty House at Rose Hill, the ships of the squadron reaching Murray's Anchorage (named for him) in the lagoon enclosed by Bermuda's barrier reach via the newly discovered Hurd's Channel, and with various sites around the town acquired by the navy, including Convict Bay (below Barrack Hill at St. George's Garrison), Admiralty Island, and Naval Tanks (acquisition of land at Bermuda's West End also began in the 1790s for the longer term goal of the navy was the construction of the Royal Naval Dockyard with which Bermuda was to be elevated to an Imperial fortress).[9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][1] He almost completely cleared North American waters of French men-of-war and privateers.[1] He returned to England in 1796 and died the following year.[1]

Family

In 1784 he married Hon. Wilhelmina King, daughter of Thomas King, 5th Baron King; they had no children.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k George Murray at Oxford Dictionary of National biography
  2. ^ Winfield. British Warships of the Age of Sail. p. 206.
  3. ^ "CIVIL LIST OF THE PROVINCE OF LOWER-CANADA 1828: GOVERNOR". The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar For The Year 1828. Quebec: Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street. 1812.
  4. ^ "STAFF of the ARMY in the Provinces of Nova-Scotia, New-Brunswick, and their Dependencies, including the Island of Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Prince Edward and Bermuda". The Quebec Almanack and British American Royal Kalendar For The Year 1828. Quebec: Neilson and Cowan, No. 3 Mountain Street. 1812.
  5. ^ METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS AT THE FOREIGN AND COLONIAL STATIONS OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS AND THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT 1852—1886. London: Meteorological Council. HMSO. 1890.
  6. ^ Young, Douglas MacMurray (1961). The Colonial Office in The Early Nineteenth Century. London: Published for the Royal Commonwealth Society by Longmans. p. 55.
  7. ^ Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1909). Responsible Government in The Dominions. London: Stevens and Sons Ltd. p. 5.
  8. ^ May, CMG, Royal Artillery, Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Edward Sinclair (1903). Principles and Problems of Imperial Defence. London: Swan Sonnenschein & Co. p. 145.((cite book)): CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ Stranack, Royal Navy, Lieutenant-Commander B. Ian D (1977). The Andrew and The Onions: The Story of The Royal Navy in Bermuda, 1795–1975. Bermuda: Island Press Ltd. ISBN 9780921560036.
  10. ^ "World Heritage List: Historic Town of St George and Related Fortifications, Bermuda". UNESCO. Retrieved 28 July 2021.
  11. ^ Harris, Edward C. (1997). Bermuda Forts 1612–1957. Bermuda: The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press. ISBN 9780921560111.
  12. ^ Harris, Dr. Edward Cecil (21 January 2012). "Bermuda's role in the Sack of Washington". The Royal Gazette. City of Hamilton, Pembroke, Bermuda. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  13. ^ Grove, Tim (22 January 2021). "Fighting The Power". Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Annapolis: Chesapeake Bay Media, LLC. Retrieved 8 August 2021.
  14. ^ Willock USMC, Lieutenant-Colonel Roger (1988). Bulwark Of Empire: Bermuda's Fortified Naval Base 1860–1920. Bermuda: The Bermuda Maritime Museum Press. ISBN 9780921560005.
  15. ^ Gordon, Donald Craigie (1965). The Dominion Partnership in Imperial Defense, 1870-1914. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: Johns Hopkins Press. p. 14.
  16. ^ MacFarlane, Thomas (1891). Within the Empire; An Essay on Imperial Federation. Ottawa: James Hope & Co. p. 29.
  17. ^ Kennedy, R.N., Captain W. R. (1 July 1885). "An Unknown Colony: Sport, Travel and Adventure in Newfoundland and the West Indies". Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. William Blackwood & Sons. p. 111.
  18. ^ VERAX, (anonymous) (1 May 1889). "The Defense of Canada. (From Colburn's United Service Magazine)". The United Service: A Quarterly Review of Military and Naval Affairs. LR Hamersly & Co. p. 552.
  19. ^ Dawson, George M.; Sutherland, Alexander (1898). MacMillan's Geographical Series: Elementary Geography of the British Colonies. London: MacMillan and Co. p. 184.
Parliament of Great Britain Preceded byGeorge Dempster Member of Parliament for Perth Burghs 1790–1796 Succeeded byDavid Scott Military offices Preceded bySir Richard Hughes Commander-in-Chief, North American Station 1793–1796 Succeeded byGeorge Vandeput
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