Sir James Pulteney, 7th Baronet
Sir James Pulteney, 7th Baronet
|
|
---|---|
Born | c. 1755 |
Died | 26 April 1811 |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service/ |
British Army |
Rank | General |
Battles/wars | American War of Independence French Revolutionary Wars |
General Sir James Murray Pulteney, 7th Baronet PC (c. 1755 – 26 April 1811)[1] was a Scottish soldier and British politician.
Contents
Background and education
Born James Murray, he was the eldest son of Colonel Sir Robert Murray, 6th Baronet and his first wife Janet Murray, a younger sister of Patrick Murray, 5th Lord Elibank.[2] Murray succeeded his father as baronet in 1771, while still a minor.[2] He was educated at Westminster School and joined then the British Army.[3]
Military career
Murray had had his first commission purchased in his mid-teens, as lieutenant in the 19th Regiment of Foot in 1770.[3] Already a year later, he became captain in the 57th Regiment of Foot.[4] He left for Europe in 1772 and having spent the time travelling, he returned to his regiment in Ireland in November 1775.[3] With begin of the next year, Murray embarked for The Colonies to serve in the American War of Independence.[4] He was wounded at the ankle during the Battle of Brandywine in September 1777, and shared his convalescence with his cousin Patrick Ferguson.[5] Soon after recovering, he was shot through the thigh at the Battle of White Marsh in November.[5]
Murray purchased a majorship in 1778, serving with the 4th Regiment of Foot in the West Indies and was involved in the Battle of St Lucia.[4] He became lieutenant-colonel of the 94th Regiment of Foot in 1780[6] and on the regiment's disbandment after three years was set on halfpay.[4] In 1789, he was transferred to active duty and was appointed an aide-de-camp to King George III of the United Kingdom, ranked as a colonel.[7] Murray was sent to Koblenz, the headquarters of the allied forces against the French Revolutionary Armies.[3] He was attached as adjudant to the Frederick, Duke of York in April 1793, fighting in Flanders,[8] and was promoted to major-general in December.[9] In 1794, he received command of the 18th Regiment of Foot[10] and led his regiment to suppress the Irish Rebellion of 1798.[3] A year thereafter, in June 1799 Pulteney (he had taken the name of Pulteney in 1794) was made a lieutenant-general[11] and in November was wounded in the Helder Campaign, having been second in command.[12] He commanded the Ferrol Expedition in August 1800 and sailed then to Gibraltar, before returning to England.[4] He became General Officer Commanding Eastern District in 1805.[13] In 1808 he became a full general.[14]
Political career
In 1790, he entered the British House of Commons, sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis until his death in 1811.[3] Murray-Pulteney was sworn off the Privy Council in 1807, when he became Secretary at War, a post he held for two years.[3]
Family and death
On 24 July 1794, he married Henriette Laura Pulteney, 1st Baroness Bath, daughter of his cousin Sir William Pulteney, 5th Baronet in Bath House, London.[15] Two days before he had by Royal Licence assumed the surname Pulteney only to inherit his wife's relative Harry Pulteney.[16] Henrietta was raised to a countess in her own right in 1803[17] and inherited also the estates of her father in 1805, worth about £50,000 per year.[18] She predeceased her husband in 1808 and Murray survived her for three years, dying in Buckenham in Norfolk, from complications after losing an eye when a powder flask accidentally exploded in his face.[19] He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his halfbrother John.[2]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 12124. p. 2. 3 October 1780. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13150. p. 725. 17 November 1789. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13519. p. 298. 17 December 1793. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13604. p. 298. 13 April 1793. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13627. p. 180. 25 February 1794. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15152. p. 638. 25 June 1799. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15174. p. 870. 3 September 1799. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 16142. p. 622. 3 May 1808. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[unreliable source?]
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 13687. p. 759. 22 July 1794. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ The London Gazette: no. 15625. p. 1339. 1 October 1803. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Further reading
- James Murray (ed. E. Robson), Letters from America 1773 to 1780: Being the letters of a Scots officer, Sir James Murray, to his home during the War of American Independence, Manchester, 1951
- Articles incorporating Cite DNB template
- Articles lacking reliable references from February 2013
- Use dmy dates from April 2012
- Use dmy dates from January 2012
- 1755 births
- 1811 deaths
- Scottish soldiers
- 57th Regiment of Foot officers
- Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia
- British Army generals
- British Army personnel of the American Revolutionary War
- British MPs 1790–96
- British MPs 1796–1800
- Green Howards officers
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
- People educated at Westminster School, London
- UK MPs 1801–02
- UK MPs 1802–06
- UK MPs 1806–07
- UK MPs 1807–12