Elias Durnford
Encyclopedia
Elias Durnford was a British army
officer
and civil engineer
who is best known for surveying the town of Pensacola
and laying out a city plan based on two public places (now the Plaza Ferdinand VII
and the Seville Square
).
Between 1769 and 1778 he was Lieutenant Governor of British West Florida
and by 1794 Colonel Durnford was Chief Royal Engineer of the West Indies.
in the British army Corps of Royal Engineers, having signed up on 17 March 1759. In the Seven Years' War
he participated in the Capture of Belle Île
, France
, 1761 and was also at the Battle of Havana (1762). After the Cuban action Lord Albemarle made him an Aide-de-camp
. Durnford became an accomplished artist while on the Cuban campaign and engravings made from his sketches are highly valued.
After the Seven Years' War Durnford was posted to the newly established British colony of West Florida
, where he was appointed chief engineer and surveyor general. To supplement his small salary he was paid for land surveying and as the colony was being divided into land grants he profited greatly from this arrangement.
Durnford laid out the city plan for Pensacola
after arriving there in 1764. His plan for the city was classic in nature, centered on two squares, one for government and one for military drill and public affairs. Streets were all surveyed at right angles named after royal family members and government representatives. He included in the housing plan gardening plots on the north side of the city along Garden Street,
Durnford's own estate was 52662 acres (213.1 km²), including his 5000 acres (20.2 km²) plantation, named Belle Fontaine, which was located atop the eastern cliffs above Mobile Bay
. The location was also home to a military convalescent hospital, named Crofton. He designed a new port for the area, but the plan was never put into action. His design for a road to link Mobile
to the colony's capital, Pensacola was more successful and was partly completed.
When the Governor of West Florida, John Eliot
, hanged himself in 1769, Durnford was named Lieutenant Governor of the colony. While in England on 25 August 1769 Durnford married Rebecca Walker. The couple returned to British West Florida where he was Acting Governor until the new governor, Peter Chester, arrived on 10 August 1770. Durnford remained as Lieutenant Governor and was a member of the West Florida Council until 1778.
Durnford and his wife had a total of nine children, five sons and four daughters.
Durnford's duties changed with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War
. Spanish forces, allied with France and the American colonial rebels, moved to capture British West Florida. January 1780 found Durnford in command of Fort Charlotte
in Mobile, an old French fort in disrepair that had been formerly known as Fort Conde
. His force of 287 regulars and irregulars was opposed by a Spanish force of 2,000 troops, that arrived in Mobile Bay on 10 February 1780. Given that Durnford was greatly outnumbered the Spanish demanded the surrender of the British force, but Durnford refused, hoping for a relief force from Pensacola. The opposing commanders carried on protracted and polite negotiations over wine and cigars, while the Spanish prepared to take the old fort
. Relief was not forthcoming and on 10 March 1780 Durnford surrendered, his estate having been burnt.
As part of the surrender to the Spanish commander Bernardo de Gálvez, Durnford received an agreement that his garrison would be accorded the honours of war and that the Spanish would not punish the people of the town for the defence. De Gálvez agreed but insisted that the armed colonists would be treated as prisoners of war. This was agreed and Spanish troops entered Fort Charlotte in August 1780. De Gálvez later captured Pensacola and the rest of West Florida in 1781.
Durnford and his family returned to Britain and he carried on his military career in the 1790s, campaigning against the French forces in Martinique
, Guadaloupe and St. Lucia.
on 21 June 1794 while on the island of Tobago
.
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
officer
Officer (armed forces)
An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
and civil engineer
Civil engineer
A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering; the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructures while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing infrastructures that have been neglected.Originally, a...
who is best known for surveying the town of Pensacola
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
and laying out a city plan based on two public places (now the Plaza Ferdinand VII
Plaza Ferdinand VII
The Plaza Ferdinand VII is an outdoor garden and park in the historic district of Pensacola, Florida. It is located on Palafox Street between Government and Zaragoza Streets. It was named after Ferdinand VII of Spain, the King of Spain between 1813 and 1833....
and the Seville Square
Seville Square
Seville Square in Pensacola, Florida is the center of the old settlement of Pensacola by the Spanish after several unsuccessful attempts beginning in 1559. This was the earliest known attempt at settlement on the North American continent...
).
Between 1769 and 1778 he was Lieutenant Governor of British West Florida
British West Florida
West Florida was a colony of Great Britain from 1763 until 1783 when it was ceded to Spain as part of the Treaty of Paris. Effective British control had ended in 1781 when Spain had captured Pensacola...
and by 1794 Colonel Durnford was Chief Royal Engineer of the West Indies.
Military service
Durnford served as an EnsignEnsign (rank)
Ensign is a junior rank of a commissioned officer in the armed forces of some countries, normally in the infantry or navy. As the junior officer in an infantry regiment was traditionally the carrier of the ensign flag, the rank itself acquired the name....
in the British army Corps of Royal Engineers, having signed up on 17 March 1759. In the Seven Years' War
Seven Years' War
The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...
he participated in the Capture of Belle Île
Capture of Belle Île
The Capture of Belle Île was a British amphibious expedition to capture the French island of Belle Île off the Brittany Coast in 1761, during the Seven Years War. After an initial British attack was repulsed, a second attempt under General Studholme Hodgson forced a beachhead...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, 1761 and was also at the Battle of Havana (1762). After the Cuban action Lord Albemarle made him an Aide-de-camp
Aide-de-camp
An aide-de-camp is a personal assistant, secretary, or adjutant to a person of high rank, usually a senior military officer or a head of state...
. Durnford became an accomplished artist while on the Cuban campaign and engravings made from his sketches are highly valued.
After the Seven Years' War Durnford was posted to the newly established British colony of West Florida
West Florida
West Florida was a region on the north shore of the Gulf of Mexico, which underwent several boundary and sovereignty changes during its history. West Florida was first established in 1763 by the British government; as its name suggests it largely consisted of the western portion of the region...
, where he was appointed chief engineer and surveyor general. To supplement his small salary he was paid for land surveying and as the colony was being divided into land grants he profited greatly from this arrangement.
Durnford laid out the city plan for Pensacola
Pensacola
Pensacola is a city in the western part of the U.S. state of Florida.Pensacola may also refer to:* Pensacola people, a group of Native Americans* A number of places in the Florida:** Pensacola Bay** Pensacola Regional Airport...
after arriving there in 1764. His plan for the city was classic in nature, centered on two squares, one for government and one for military drill and public affairs. Streets were all surveyed at right angles named after royal family members and government representatives. He included in the housing plan gardening plots on the north side of the city along Garden Street,
Durnford's own estate was 52662 acres (213.1 km²), including his 5000 acres (20.2 km²) plantation, named Belle Fontaine, which was located atop the eastern cliffs above Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay
Mobile Bay is an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, lying within the state of Alabama in the United States. Its mouth is formed by the Fort Morgan Peninsula on the eastern side and Dauphin Island, a barrier island on the western side. The Mobile River and Tensaw River empty into the northern end of the...
. The location was also home to a military convalescent hospital, named Crofton. He designed a new port for the area, but the plan was never put into action. His design for a road to link Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
to the colony's capital, Pensacola was more successful and was partly completed.
When the Governor of West Florida, John Eliot
John Eliot (Royal Navy officer)
John Eliot was a Royal Navy captain. He was appointed Governor of West Florida in 1767, and committed suicide shortly after his arrival in Pensacola in 1769.-Life:...
, hanged himself in 1769, Durnford was named Lieutenant Governor of the colony. While in England on 25 August 1769 Durnford married Rebecca Walker. The couple returned to British West Florida where he was Acting Governor until the new governor, Peter Chester, arrived on 10 August 1770. Durnford remained as Lieutenant Governor and was a member of the West Florida Council until 1778.
Durnford and his wife had a total of nine children, five sons and four daughters.
Durnford's duties changed with the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
. Spanish forces, allied with France and the American colonial rebels, moved to capture British West Florida. January 1780 found Durnford in command of Fort Charlotte
Fort Conde
Fort Conde, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a reconstruction, at 4/5 scale, as a third of the original 1720s French Fort Condé at the site...
in Mobile, an old French fort in disrepair that had been formerly known as Fort Conde
Fort Conde
Fort Conde, located in Mobile, Alabama, is a reconstruction, at 4/5 scale, as a third of the original 1720s French Fort Condé at the site...
. His force of 287 regulars and irregulars was opposed by a Spanish force of 2,000 troops, that arrived in Mobile Bay on 10 February 1780. Given that Durnford was greatly outnumbered the Spanish demanded the surrender of the British force, but Durnford refused, hoping for a relief force from Pensacola. The opposing commanders carried on protracted and polite negotiations over wine and cigars, while the Spanish prepared to take the old fort
Battle of Fort Charlotte
The Battle of Fort Charlotte or the Siege of Fort Charlotte was a two-week siege conducted by Spanish General Bernardo de Gálvez against the British fortifications guarding the port of Mobile during the American Revolutionary War...
. Relief was not forthcoming and on 10 March 1780 Durnford surrendered, his estate having been burnt.
As part of the surrender to the Spanish commander Bernardo de Gálvez, Durnford received an agreement that his garrison would be accorded the honours of war and that the Spanish would not punish the people of the town for the defence. De Gálvez agreed but insisted that the armed colonists would be treated as prisoners of war. This was agreed and Spanish troops entered Fort Charlotte in August 1780. De Gálvez later captured Pensacola and the rest of West Florida in 1781.
Durnford and his family returned to Britain and he carried on his military career in the 1790s, campaigning against the French forces in Martinique
Martinique
Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...
, Guadaloupe and St. Lucia.
Death
Elias Durnford died from yellow feverYellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
on 21 June 1794 while on the island of Tobago
Tobago
Tobago is the smaller of the two main islands that make up the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in the southern Caribbean, northeast of the island of Trinidad and southeast of Grenada. The island lies outside the hurricane belt...
.