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John Murray, 4th Earl Of Dunmore

Camp Peary
Camp Peary is a military reservation in York County near Williamsburg, Virginia. Officially it is referred to as the Armed Forces Experimental Training Activity (AFETA) under the auspices of the Department of Defense, but it is widely believed to be the location of a covert CIA training facility known as "The Farm". It has a sister facility, "The Point", located in Hertford, North Carolina.
http://wn.com/Camp_Peary
Dunmore Pineapple
The Dunmore Pineapple is a folly said to "rank as the most bizarre building in Scotland." It is situated in Dunmore Park, approximately one kilometre northwest of Airth and the same distance south of Dunmore in the Falkirk council area, Scotland. The building is one of the architectural wonders of Scotland.
http://wn.com/Dunmore_Pineapple
House of Lords
The House of Lords (commonly referred to as "the Lords" and also known as House of Peers for ceremonial purposes) is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. Parliament comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons (which is the lower house of Parliament and referred to as "the Commons"), and the Lords. The House of Lords, like the House of Commons, assembles in the Palace of Westminster.
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Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( or ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 237,764 as of the 2000 census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach.
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Dunmore Pineapple

Order: Reorder
Duration: 3:56
Published: 25 Mar 2011
Uploaded: 26 Mar 2011
Author: bealach

The Pineapple, or the Dunmore Pineapple, is one of Scotland's most remarkable buildings. Standing a mile north of the village of Airth and nine miles from Stirling, it was built by the 4th Earl of Dunmore, John Murray, in 1761 as a birthday present for his wife Susan, in the form of a pavilion from which to view the walled gardens of Dunmore Park, the family estate. The building is one of the architectural wonders of Scotland. The pineapple is around 14 metres high and constitute a stunning example of the stonemason's craft, being a remarkably accurate depiction of a pineapple. Each of the curving stone leaves is separately drained to prevent frost damage, and the stiff serrated edges of the lowest and topmost leaves and the plum berry-like fruits are all cunningly graded so that water cannot accumulate anywhere, ensuring that frozen trapped water cannot damage the delicate stonework. After remaining in the family for centuries, the Dunmore Estate was broken up in 1970 and sold in lots. One lot, called the "Pineapple Lot", included the folly and the large walled garden, along with some woodlands and a small lake. This lot was purchased by the Countess of Perth, and in 1974 was given to the National Trust for Scotland in 1974. The "Pineapple" was then leased to the Landmark Trust, who restored the building and use it to provide holiday accommodation. Today, the gardeners' quarters and the pineapple summerhouse may be rented as a holiday home. The bothy on one side of the <b>...</b>

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John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore

John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1732 – 25 February 1809) was a British peer and colonial governor. He was the son of William Murray, 3rd Earl of Dunmore, and his wife Catherine (né Murray). He is best remembered as the last royal governor of the Colony of Virginia.

Early career

He was born in Scotland in 1732. Murray succeeded his father in the earldom in 1756 and sat as a Scottish representative peer in the House of Lords from 1761 to 1774 and from 1776 to 1790.

Colonial governor of New York

He was named as the British governor of the Province of New York from 1770 to 1771. Soon after his appointment, however, in 1770, Virginia's governor, Norborne Berkeley, 4th Baron Botetourt (Lord Botetourt) died, and Dunmore was named to replace him.

Colonial governor of Virginia

Dunmore actively served as royal governor of the Colony of Virginia from 25 September 1771 until his departure to New York in 1776; he continued to hold the position and to draw his pay until 1783 when American independence was recognized.

Despite growing issues with Great Britain, Lord Botetourt had been a popular governor in Virginia, even though he served only five years. Lacking in diplomatic skills, Dunmore maintained a contentious relationship with the colonists.

During his term as Virginia's colonial governor, he directed a series of campaigns against the Indians known as Lord Dunmore's War. The Shawnee were the main target of these attacks, and his purpose was to strengthen Virginia's claims in the west, particularly in the Ohio Country. However, some have accused him of colluding with the Shawnees and arranging the war to deplete the Virginia militia and help safeguard the Loyalist cause, should there be a colonial rebellion.

When the House of Burgesses of the Colonial Assembly recommended the formation of a committee of correspondence to communicate their concerns to leaders in Great Britain in March 1773, he immediately dissolved the Assembly. Many of burgesses gathered a short distance away at the Raleigh Tavern and continued discussing their problems with the new taxes and lack of representation in England.

At this time colonists in Massachusetts were also at sharp odds with the British, and punitive action had been taken. As a gesture of support, the reconvened House of Burgesses passed a resolution making 1 June 1774 a day of fasting and prayer in Virginia. In response, Dunmore again dissolved the House.

From 1774, Dunmore was continually clashing with colonial leaders. Dunmore saw rising unrest in the colony and sought to deprive Virginia militia of supplies needed for insurrection. The Second Virginia Convention had elected delegates to the Continental Congress. Dunmore issued a proclamation against electing delegates to the Congress, but did not take serious action. On 23 March, Patrick Henry's "Give me Liberty, or give me Death!" speech at the Second Convention and the accompanying resolution calling for forming an armed resistance made Dunmore "think it prudent to remove some Gunpowder which was in a Magazine in this place." Dunmore gave a key to Lieutenant Henry Colins, commander of H.M.S. Magdalen, and ordered him to remove the powder, provoking what became known as the Gunpowder Incident. On the night of 20 April 1775, royal marines loaded fifteen half barrels of powder into the governor's wagon intent on transporting it down the Quarterpath Road to the James River to be loaded aboard the British ship. This was discovered while underway, and local militia rallied to the scene, and riders spread word of the incident across the colony.

Confronted by Hanover militia

The Hanover militia, led by Patrick Henry, arrived outside of Williamsburg on 3 May. That day, Dunmore evacuated his family from the Governor's Palace to his hunting lodge, Porto Bello in York County, adjacent to the York River. On 6 May, Dunmore issued a proclamation against "a certain Patrick Henry . . . and a Number of deluded Followers" who had organised "an Independent Company . . . and put themselves in a Posture of War." he took refuge on the British warship Fowey in the York River. Washington's comment in December 1775 was, “I do not think that forcing his lordship on shipboard is sufficient. Nothing less than depriving him of life or liberty will secure peace to Virginia, as motives of resentment actuate his conduct to a degree equal to the total destruction of that colony.” When it became apparent that his supporters were not going to be able to return to Virginia, Dunmore retreated to New York. Some ships of his refugee fleet were sent south, mostly to Florida, but the rumor that their black passengers were resold into slavery appears to be based on propaganda stories circulated by the anti-British forces at the time. When he realized he could not regain control in Virginia, he returned to Britain in July 1776. He continued to serve in his post as Governor of Virginia until 1783, when the independence of the United States was recognized.

From 1787 to 1796, he served as governor of the Bahamas.

Personal life

Lord Dunmore married Lady Charlotte, daughter of Alexander Stewart, 6th Earl of Galloway, in 1759. Their daughter Lady Augusta Murray was the daughter-in-law of King George III. The Dunmores had another daughter close to her age, Lady Catherine Murray, and soon after they landed in Virginia, they had another child, Lady Virginia Murray. Dunmore died in March 1809 and was succeeded in the earldom by his eldest son George. The Countess of Dunmore died in 1818.

Legacy

Dunmore County, Virginia, formed in 1772, was named in his honour. However, as the American Revolution got underway, the citizens changed its name to Shenandoah County in 1778.

Porto Bello, the hunting lodge of Lord Dunmore, still stands on the grounds of Camp Peary in York County, Virginia. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Access to the base is highly restricted, so the structure is not available for public viewing.

The Dunmore Pineapple was built in 1761 before he left Scotland. The building is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is leased to the Landmark Trust who use it to provide holiday accommodation. The gardens are open to the public year round.

Dunmore Street in Norfolk, Virginia was named for him. It is said that the naming of Dunmore Street was not to honour the ex-governor, but to celebrate the place in Norfolk where he had last set foot.

The borough of Dunmore in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania is also named in his honour.

Lord Dunmore Drive in Virginia Beach, VA

References

Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.

www.thepeerage.com

Category:1730 births Category:1809 deaths Category:British governors of the Bahamas Category:British officials in the American Revolution Category:Colonial governors of Virginia Murry Category:Earls in the Peerage of Scotland Category:People in Dunmore's War John Category:Scottish representative peers

This text is licensed under the Creative Commons CC-BY-SA License. This text was originally published on Wikipedia and was developed by the Wikipedia community.