Sir James Pulteney, 7th Baronet

Sir James Pulteney, 7th Baronet
Born	c. 1755
Died	26 April 1811
Allegiance	United Kingdom
Service/branch	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.

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

1. "Leigh Rayment - Baronetage". Retrieved 5 December 2009.
2. Burke, John (2001). Peter de Vere Beauclerk-Dewar, ed. Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain. p. 1087. ISBN 0-9711966-0-5.
3. Thorne, R. G. (1986). The House of Commons, 1790-1820. vol. III. London: Secker & Warburg. pp. 645–646. ISBN 0-436-52101-6.
4.  Lee, Sidney, ed. (1894). "Murray, James (1751-1811)". Dictionary of National Biography. 39. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 376–377.
5. McGuire, Thomas J. (2007). The Philadelphia Campaign: Germantown and the Roads to Valley Forge. vol. II. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books. p. 242. ISBN 0-8117-0178-6.
6. The London Gazette: no. 12124. p. 2. 3 October 1780. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
7. The London Gazette: no. 13150. p. 725. 17 November 1789. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
8. The London Gazette: no. 13519. p. 298. 17 December 1793. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
9. The London Gazette: no. 13604. p. 298. 13 April 1793. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
10. The London Gazette: no. 13627. p. 180. 25 February 1794. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
11. The London Gazette: no. 15152. p. 638. 25 June 1799. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
12. The London Gazette: no. 15174. p. 870. 3 September 1799. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
13. Philippart, John (1816). "The Royal Military Calendar".
14. The London Gazette: no. 16142. p. 622. 3 May 1808. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
15. Lundy, Darryl (14 Mar 2004). "General Rt. Hon. Sir James Murray-Pulteney, Bt". ThePeerage website. Retrieved 24 December 2006. External link in |publisher= (help)
16. The London Gazette: no. 13687. p. 759. 22 July 1794. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
17. The London Gazette: no. 15625. p. 1339. 1 October 1803. Retrieved 6 December 2009.
18. Grant, James. Members of Parliament, Scotland, including the Minor Barons, the Commissioners for the Shire. BiblioBazaar Llc. p. 290. ISBN 1-113-82016-0.
19. Sylvanus, Urban (1811). The Gentleman's Magazine. part I. London: John Nichols and Son. p. 499.

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