Everything about Lord George Murray General totally explained
Lord George Murray (
4 October,
1694 –
11 October 1760) was a Scottish
Jacobite general, most noted for his
1745 campaign under
Bonnie Prince Charlie into England. Lord George was the fifth son of
John Murray, 1st Duke of Atholl, who was the chief of
Clan Murray, by his first wife, Catherine, daughter of the
3rd Duke of Hamilton.
Early life
Born at Huntingtower near
Perth, Murray joined the army in
Flanders in
1712 at the age of eighteen. Three years later against his father's wishes, he and his brothers, the marquis of Tullibardine and
Lord Charles Murray joined the Jacobite rebels under the earl of Mar, with each brother commanding a regiment of the men of
Atholl. Lord Charles was taken captive at
Preston, but following the collapse of the rising, Lord George escaped with Tullibardine to South Uist, and thence to
France.
In
1719, Murray was involved in Jacobite military affairs in the Western Highlands, where Tullibardine and the Earl Marischal had joined forces with
Spaniards, which terminated in "The affair of Glenshiel" on the 10th June. Murray was wounded on the final day of combat whilst commanding the Jacobite right wing. He spent the next few months hiding in the
Highlands and later made his way towards
Rotterdam where he arrived in May,
1720.
Little is known of Murray's life on the continent. Some scholars have theorised that he served in the
Sardianian army, though there's no evidence to support this. He returned to Scotland in
1724 and was granted a pardon in the following year. In 1724, the duke of Atholl died, and was succeeded in his title by his second son, James, owing to the attainder of Tullibardine. Following this, Lord George leased from his brother the old family property of Tullibardine in
Strathearn and lived there until
1745.
In 1728, he married Amelia, daughter and heiress of James Murray of Strowan and Glencarse. They had three sons and two daughters.
Prior to the Jacobite uprising of 1745, the duke of Perth made overtures to Murray on behalf of Charles Edward Stuart, but Murray was skeptical of the idea, even following Charles' arrival in Scotland that July with the accompaniment of Tullibardine. On the 21st August, Murray accompanied his brother the duke to pay his respects to
Sir John Cope, the commander of the government troops. During this visit, Cope appointed Murray Deputy-Sheriff of
Perthshire. Given his later affiliations, it has been suggested both that Murray acted with duplicity towards Cope and that his hesitation regarding Charles was genuine.
The Jacobite Cause
In September, when Charles was at
Blair Castle (vacated by the duke upon his advance), Murray publicly espoused to the Jacobite cause. He wrote to his brother explaining that he did so for reasons of conscience, realising the risk of ruin his actions carried with them. Upon joining the army, he was made Lieutenant-General but treated with suspicion by Charles and his Irish advisors. Despite this, Murray exerted himself successfully at Perth, bringing discipline and order to his new army, winning the confidence of the Highland levies with whose ways he was familiar, and used his influence to prevent the exactions and arbitrary interference with civil rights which others had counseled Charles to implement. By the 21st September, Murray led the Jacobite left wing in person and was practically
commander-in-chief of the force.
Murray disagreed with Charles' plans to invade England and counseled against them. Nevertheless, when the decision was made, he prevailed upon the Prince to march for
Cumberland which hilly ground would be more favourable to highlander tactics, rather than an open assault against General Wade, whose army was posted at
Newcastle. Murray conducted the
Siege of Carlisle but when the town was surrendered on the 14th November, he resigned his command on the grounds that his authority had been undermined by the Prince, and obtained permission to serve as a volunteer in the Atholl levies. The army however, were unhappy with his replacement, the duke of Perth, and so Charles quickly reinstated Murray, who commanded the army on its march towards
Derby. Whilst occupying the city on the 5th December, Murray urged the Prince to retreat, citing the lack of support from
France and English Jacobites as factors against the success of the invasion. Murray now commanded the support of the council and so the retreat was agreed upon, but Charles was furious at the decision and never forgave Murray. Despite this apparent lack of confidence, Murray's
aide-de-camp, the chevalier
James de Johnstone has been quoted as saying that, "had Prince Charles slept during the whole of the expedition, and allowed Lord George Murray to act for him according to his own judgment, he'd have found the crown of Great Britain on his head when he awoke."
During the retreat, Murray commanded the rear-guard, a difficult task considering the proximity of government forces both to his rear and flank commanded in part by the duke of Cumberland, as well as the negative attitude of Charles. At the
Clifton Moor Skirmish, Murray turned and fought, enabling the army to reach Carlisle without loss of stores or war material, allowing them to advance to
Stirling by the third of January
1746, where Charles laid siege to
Stirling Castle with the aid of reinforcements from Perth. Murray (who had counseled against this move) however, was kept busy with battle near
Falkirk where he defeated General Hawley. Sickness and desertion were beginning to take their toll on his force however, and with the advancement of Cumberland, retreat to the Highlands was a necessity. Charles was forced to acquiesce, angering him yet further, and causing him to accuse Murray of being a traitor. Murray's failure to capture the Atholl stronghold, Blair Castle, did nothing to refute this, though there seems to be little other than rumour and circumstance to back this claim up.
In April, the Jacobite army was near
Inverness and the prince decided to give battle to Cumberland, despite the exhaustion prevalent throughout the army. He took up a position on the left bank of the
Nairn river at
Culloden Moor, despite Murray's counsel being to set up position on the opposite bank. The
Battle of Culloden was the death blow to the Stuart cause, with the clansmen being routed by the British Army. Cumberland told his troops on the following day that Murray had given orders that they were to be shown no quarter, however seemingly original copies of Murray's orders were found in Cumberland's papers and contain no such injunction.
Following the defeat, Murray conducted a remnant of the Jacobite army to
Ruthven with a mind to organise further resistance. Charles however, had decided to abandon the cause and Murray was issued a letter dismissing him from the prince's service. The general replied by upbraiding Charles for his distrust and mismanagement.
Later life
Murray escaped to the continent in December
1746, and was well received in Rome by the prince's father,
James Stuart, who granted him a pension. Despite the father's hospitality, when Murray journeyed to
Paris the following year, the prince refused to meet with him.
Murray lived in numerous places on the continent over the next few years, and eventually died in
Medemblik, Holland on the 11th October,
1760 at the age of 66.
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