James Murray (military officer)
Encyclopedia
James Murray FRS was a British
soldier
, whose lengthy career included service as colonial administrator and governor of the Province of Quebec
and later as Governor of Minorca from 1778 to 1782.
and Selkirk, he began his military career in 1736 in the 3rd Scots Regiment in Dutch service. In 1740 he served as a second lieutenant in Wynyard’s Marines, under his brother Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank
, in the unsuccessful attack
on Cartagena
. He returned as a captain in 1742. He served as Captain of the grenadier company of the 15th Regiment of Foot during the War of the Austrian Succession
, being severely wounded during the Siege of Ostend in 1745, and distinguishing himself in the Raid on Lorient
in 1746. In December 1748, he married Cordelia Collier, of Hastings.
, 1757, defending Sir John Mordaunt
in his subsequent court-martial
. He commanded a battalion in the 1758 Siege of Louisbourg
.
When Louisbourg was taken, Murray accompanied General Wolfe on a raiding expedition northwards in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
. While Wolfe destroyed French settlements along the Gaspe Peninsula
, Murray harried the French fishing settlements along Miramichi Bay
. Part of the destruction included the homes and church at St. Anne's, now called Burnt Church.
Murray served under General James Wolfe
at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
in 1759. He was the military commander of Quebec City
after it fell to the British. Lévis managed to defeat Murray and the British in the Battle of Sainte-Foy
in 1760, but he had to abandon the siege of Quebec due to a lack of supplies and the arrival of a British relief fleet.
He encouraged his favourite nephew Patrick Ferguson
to follow him in a military career. He also assisted another nephew, Patrick Murray, illegitimate son of his brother, George.
In October 1760, he became military governor
of the district of Quebec and became the first civil governor of the Province of Quebec
in 1764. As governor he was sympathetic to the French-Canadians, favouring them over British merchants who came to settle in the wake of the conquest and allowed the continuance of French civil law. The dissatisfaction of British settlers led to his recall in 1766 (although he remained governor in name until 1768), but his precedents were preserved in the Quebec Act
. Murray successfully argued for the Quebec Act
to continue slavery in Quebec as it had existed under the French; an advertisement appeared in the Quebec Gazette in 1769 for a "negro woman, aged 25 years, with a mulatto male child... formerly the property of General Murray".
from 1774 to 1782. In 1780, he married, as his second wife, Ann Witham, daughter of the Consul-General there. During the American War of Independence, he defended Fort St. Philip, at Port Mahon
, against a Franco-Spanish siege for seven months (1781–82), until forced to surrender. He was known as ‘Old Minorca’ Murray as a result.
He then returned to his home, Beauport Park
, in Hollington, Sussex, where he died. Further honours came to him in his last years: he was appointed General, and Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull in 1783, and Colonel of the 21st Regiment in 1789.
He and his wife also brought up his older brother Patrick, Lord Elibank’s illegitimate daughter Maria Murray.
in his role as Governor of the new-captured Quebec. He is portrayed by Michael Maloney
.
Kingdom of Great Britain
The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
, whose lengthy career included service as colonial administrator and governor of the Province of Quebec
Province of Quebec (1763-1791)
The Province of Quebec was a colony in North America created by Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. Great Britain acquired Canada by the Treaty of Paris when King Louis XV of France and his advisors chose to keep the territory of Guadeloupe for its valuable sugar crops instead of New France...
and later as Governor of Minorca from 1778 to 1782.
Early life
He was a younger son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank, and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) Stirling. Educated in HaddingtonHaddington, East Lothian
The Royal Burgh of Haddington is a town in East Lothian, Scotland. It is the main administrative, cultural and geographical centre for East Lothian, which was known officially as Haddingtonshire before 1921. It lies about east of Edinburgh. The name Haddington is Anglo-Saxon, dating from the 6th...
and Selkirk, he began his military career in 1736 in the 3rd Scots Regiment in Dutch service. In 1740 he served as a second lieutenant in Wynyard’s Marines, under his brother Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank
Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank . Son of Alexander Murray, 4th Lord Elibank and Elizabeth Stirling. An author and economist much respected in his own time. Member of the Cocoa Tree Club and The Poker Club. Uncle of Major Patrick Ferguson killed at the Battle of King's Mountain in 1780.In 1722...
, in the unsuccessful attack
Battle of Cartagena de Indias
The Battle of Cartagena de Indias was an amphibious military engagement between the forces of Britain under Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon and those of Spain under Admiral Blas de Lezo. It took place at the city of Cartagena de Indias in March 1741, in present-day Colombia...
on Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
. He returned as a captain in 1742. He served as Captain of the grenadier company of the 15th Regiment of Foot during the War of the Austrian Succession
War of the Austrian Succession
The War of the Austrian Succession – including King George's War in North America, the Anglo-Spanish War of Jenkins' Ear, and two of the three Silesian wars – involved most of the powers of Europe over the question of Maria Theresa's succession to the realms of the House of Habsburg.The...
, being severely wounded during the Siege of Ostend in 1745, and distinguishing himself in the Raid on Lorient
Raid on Lorient
The Raid on Lorient took place in September 1746 during the War of the Austrian Succession when British troops landed on the French coast with the intention of capturing the town of Lorient...
in 1746. In December 1748, he married Cordelia Collier, of Hastings.
Canada
James Murray purchased his majority in the 15th Regiment of Foot in 1749, and the lieutenant-colonelcy in 1751. He commanded his regiment in the Raid on RochefortRaid on Rochefort
The Raid on Rochefort was a British amphibious attempt to capture the French Atlantic port of Rochefort in September 1757 during the Seven Years War...
, 1757, defending Sir John Mordaunt
John Mordaunt (British Army officer)
General Sir John Mordaunt, KB was a British soldier and Whig politician, the son of Lieutenant-General Harry Mordaunt and Margaret Spencer...
in his subsequent court-martial
Court-martial
A court-martial is a military court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of members of the armed forces subject to military law, and, if the defendant is found guilty, to decide upon punishment.Most militaries maintain a court-martial system to try cases in which a breach of...
. He commanded a battalion in the 1758 Siege of Louisbourg
Siege of Louisbourg (1758)
The Siege of Louisbourg was a pivotal battle of the Seven Years' War in 1758 which ended the French colonial era in Atlantic Canada and led directly to the loss of Quebec in 1759 and the remainder of French North America the following year.-Background:The British government realized that with the...
.
When Louisbourg was taken, Murray accompanied General Wolfe on a raiding expedition northwards in the Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign (1758)
The Gulf of St. Lawrence Campaign occurred during the French and Indian War when British forces raided villages along present-day New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. Sir Charles Hardy and Brigadier-General James Wolfe were in command of the naval and...
. While Wolfe destroyed French settlements along the Gaspe Peninsula
Gaspé Peninsula
The Gaspésie , or Gaspé Peninsula or the Gaspé, is a peninsula along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, extending into the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...
, Murray harried the French fishing settlements along Miramichi Bay
Miramichi Bay
Miramichi Bay is an estuary located on the west coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence in New Brunswick, at the mouth of the Miramichi River. Miramichi Bay is separated into the "inner bay" and the "outer bay", with the division being a line of uninhabited barrier islands which are continually reshaped...
. Part of the destruction included the homes and church at St. Anne's, now called Burnt Church.
Murray served under General James Wolfe
James Wolfe
Major General James P. Wolfe was a British Army officer, known for his training reforms but remembered chiefly for his victory over the French in Canada...
at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham
Battle of the Plains of Abraham
The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec, was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War...
in 1759. He was the military commander of Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
after it fell to the British. Lévis managed to defeat Murray and the British in the Battle of Sainte-Foy
Battle of Sainte-Foy
The Battle of Sainte-Foy, sometimes called the Battle of Quebec, was fought on April 28, 1760 near the British-held town of Quebec in the French province of Canada during the Seven Years' War . It was a victory for the French under the Chevalier de Lévis over the British army under General Murray...
in 1760, but he had to abandon the siege of Quebec due to a lack of supplies and the arrival of a British relief fleet.
He encouraged his favourite nephew Patrick Ferguson
Patrick Ferguson
Major Patrick Ferguson was a Scottish officer in the British Army, early advocate of light infantry and designer of the Ferguson rifle. He is best known for his service in the 1780 military campaign of Charles Cornwallis, in which he aggressively recruited Loyalists and harshly treated Patriot...
to follow him in a military career. He also assisted another nephew, Patrick Murray, illegitimate son of his brother, George.
In October 1760, he became military governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
of the district of Quebec and became the first civil governor of the Province of Quebec
Province of Quebec (1763-1791)
The Province of Quebec was a colony in North America created by Great Britain after the Seven Years' War. Great Britain acquired Canada by the Treaty of Paris when King Louis XV of France and his advisors chose to keep the territory of Guadeloupe for its valuable sugar crops instead of New France...
in 1764. As governor he was sympathetic to the French-Canadians, favouring them over British merchants who came to settle in the wake of the conquest and allowed the continuance of French civil law. The dissatisfaction of British settlers led to his recall in 1766 (although he remained governor in name until 1768), but his precedents were preserved in the Quebec Act
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec...
. Murray successfully argued for the Quebec Act
Quebec Act
The Quebec Act of 1774 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain setting procedures of governance in the Province of Quebec...
to continue slavery in Quebec as it had existed under the French; an advertisement appeared in the Quebec Gazette in 1769 for a "negro woman, aged 25 years, with a mulatto male child... formerly the property of General Murray".
Minorca
Murray was lieutenant-governor and then governor of MinorcaMinorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
from 1774 to 1782. In 1780, he married, as his second wife, Ann Witham, daughter of the Consul-General there. During the American War of Independence, he defended Fort St. Philip, at Port Mahon
Mahon
Mahón is a municipality and the capital city of the Balearic Island of Minorca , located in the eastern part of the island. Mahon has the second deepest natural harbor in the world: 5 km long and up to 900m. wide...
, against a Franco-Spanish siege for seven months (1781–82), until forced to surrender. He was known as ‘Old Minorca’ Murray as a result.
He then returned to his home, Beauport Park
Beauport Park
Beauport Park is a house near Hastings, East Sussex, England. It is located at the western end of the ridge of hills sheltering Hastings from the north and east.-Early history:...
, in Hollington, Sussex, where he died. Further honours came to him in his last years: he was appointed General, and Governor of Kingston-upon-Hull in 1783, and Colonel of the 21st Regiment in 1789.
Family
His first marriage had been childless, but by his second, he had six children (two of whom died in infancy):- James Patrick Murray, later a Major General, who married Elizabeth Rushworth
- Cordelia Murray, who married Rev. Henry Hodges
- Wilhelmina Murray, married James, 4th Lord Douglas of Douglas
- George Murray (died in infancy)
- Elizabeth Mary Murray (died in infancy)
- Anne Harriet Murray
He and his wife also brought up his older brother Patrick, Lord Elibank’s illegitimate daughter Maria Murray.
Popular culture
Murray appears in the 2004 film Nouvelle-FranceNouvelle-France (film)
Nouvelle-France is a 2004 historical romance directed by Jean Beaudin, written by Pierre Billon and starring Noémie Godin-Vigneau, David La Haye, Juliette Gosselin, Sébastien Huberdeau, Gérard Depardieu, Bianca Gervais, Irène Jacob, Pierre Lebeau, Vincent Perez, Isabel Richer, Tim Roth, Jason...
in his role as Governor of the new-captured Quebec. He is portrayed by Michael Maloney
Michael Maloney
Michael Maloney is an English actor.Born in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, Maloney's first television appearance was as Peter Barkworth's teenage son in the 1979 drama series, Telford's Change....
.
See also
- Great Britain in the Seven Years WarGreat Britain in the Seven Years WarThe Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power having gained a number of new territories at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and established itself as the...
- List of Governors General of Canada
- List of Lieutenant Governors of Quebec
- List of Governors of Minorca