George Mundy
Encyclopedia
Admiral Sir George Mundy, KCB
(1777 – 9 February 1861) was an officer of the British Royal Navy
during the early nineteenth century, serving principally in the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
. Born in Shipley Hall
, Derbyshire
, the son of politician Edward Miller Mundy, George Mundy joined the Navy at a young age and served in several of the principal actions of the French Revolutionary Wars
. He subsequently held a succession of frigate commands during the Napoleonic Wars
and was active in the blockade of the French coast and in assisting Spanish irregular forces during the Peninsular War
. After the war Mundy remained in service and in 1830 was captain of the royal yacht
Royal George
. He was knighted in 1837 and continued to rise through the ranks, eventually becoming a full admiral in 1849.
, Derbyshire
in 1777, one of the five sons of the prominent MP
for Derbyshire, Edward Miller Mundy. In July 1789 he entered the Royal Naval Academy
and in 1792 graduated to become a midshipman in the frigate
HMS Blanche
. Over the next year he moved to HMS Pegasus and then the ship of the line
HMS Victory
and the frigate HMS Juno
. In Juno he was embroiled in the Siege of Toulon
at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars
, when his ship sailed into Toulon
harbour after it had been evacuated by the allies and came under heavy fire from French Republican gun batteries and escaped with significant damage.
Continuing to operate in the Mediterranean, Juno was employed in the invasion of Corsica
and Mundy was detached for service ashore, participating in the sieges of Calvi
, San Fiorenzo and Bastia
. During the rest of the Revolutionary Wars, Mundy remained with the Mediterranean Fleet, seeing action at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 and the Battle of the Nile
in 1798. For his service at the latter, Mundy was promoted to commander and took over the 14-gun brig
HMS Transfer, serving off the Spanish port of Cadiz
.
After the Peace of Amiens Mundy remained in service, becoming a post captain aboard the small frigate HMS Carysfort
and later moving to HMS Hydra
on the Cadiz station, where he captured the French brig Furet in February 1806. After the outbreak of the Peninsular War
in 1808, Mundy was actively engaged in supporting Spanish irregular forces with supplies and direct military assistance on the coast of Catalonia
.
At the end of the war, Mundy was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and remained in service, becoming the captain of the royal yacht
Royal George
in 1830, becoming a rear-admiral in the same year. Between 1820 and 1830 he sat in Parliament for the constituency of Boroughbridge
. He continued to rise through the ranks, becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1837, a vice-admiral in 1841 and a full admiral in 1849. He died, aged 83, in 1861 at his home in Grosvenor Street, London.
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
(1777 – 9 February 1861) was an officer of the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
during the early nineteenth century, serving principally in the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
. Born in Shipley Hall
Shipley Hall
Shipley Hall was a Hall and country estate near Heanor and Ilkeston in Derbyshire, England which now forms a Country Park.-Early history:The Shipley Estate is an ancient manor which was referenced in the Domesday Book. From the 14th century the land was extensive forest used for hunting, with a...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
, the son of politician Edward Miller Mundy, George Mundy joined the Navy at a young age and served in several of the principal actions of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. He subsequently held a succession of frigate commands during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
and was active in the blockade of the French coast and in assisting Spanish irregular forces during the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
. After the war Mundy remained in service and in 1830 was captain of the royal yacht
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head...
Royal George
HMY Royal George
HMY Royal George was a Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, launched 1817, and last used in 1842. She became an accommodation hulk in 1902, and was broken up in 1905....
. He was knighted in 1837 and continued to rise through the ranks, eventually becoming a full admiral in 1849.
Life
George Mundy was born at Shipley HallShipley Hall
Shipley Hall was a Hall and country estate near Heanor and Ilkeston in Derbyshire, England which now forms a Country Park.-Early history:The Shipley Estate is an ancient manor which was referenced in the Domesday Book. From the 14th century the land was extensive forest used for hunting, with a...
, Derbyshire
Derbyshire
Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...
in 1777, one of the five sons of the prominent MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Derbyshire, Edward Miller Mundy. In July 1789 he entered the Royal Naval Academy
Royal Naval Academy
The Royal Naval Academy was established at Portsmouth Dockyard as a facility to train officers for the Royal Navy. The founders' intentions were to provide an alternative means to recruit officers and to provide standardised training, education and admission.-Training:In 1773, a shore side...
and in 1792 graduated to become a midshipman in the frigate
Frigate
A frigate is any of several types of warship, the term having been used for ships of various sizes and roles over the last few centuries.In the 17th century, the term was used for any warship built for speed and maneuverability, the description often used being "frigate-built"...
HMS Blanche
HMS Blanche (1786)
HMS Blanche was a 32-gun Hermione-class fifth rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She was ordered towards the end of the American War of Independence, but only briefly saw service before the outbreak of the French Revolutionary Wars in 1793. She enjoyed a number of successful cruises against privateers...
. Over the next year he moved to HMS Pegasus and then the ship of the line
Ship of the line
A ship of the line was a type of naval warship constructed from the 17th through the mid-19th century to take part in the naval tactic known as the line of battle, in which two columns of opposing warships would manoeuvre to bring the greatest weight of broadside guns to bear...
HMS Victory
HMS Victory
HMS Victory is a 104-gun first-rate ship of the line of the Royal Navy, laid down in 1759 and launched in 1765. She is most famous as Lord Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805....
and the frigate HMS Juno
HMS Juno (1780)
HMS Juno was a Royal Navy 32-gun Amazon-class fifth rate. This frigate served during the American War of Independence, and the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.-Construction and commissioning:...
. In Juno he was embroiled in the Siege of Toulon
Siege of Toulon
The Siege of Toulon was an early Republican victory over a Royalist rebellion in the Southern French city of Toulon. It is also often known as the Fall of Toulon.-Context:...
at the start of the French Revolutionary Wars
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
, when his ship sailed into Toulon
Toulon
Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....
harbour after it had been evacuated by the allies and came under heavy fire from French Republican gun batteries and escaped with significant damage.
Continuing to operate in the Mediterranean, Juno was employed in the invasion of Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
and Mundy was detached for service ashore, participating in the sieges of Calvi
Calvi
Calvi is a commune in the Haute-Corse department of France on the island of Corsica.It is the seat of the Canton of Calvi, which contains Calvi and one other commune, Lumio...
, San Fiorenzo and Bastia
Siege of Bastia
The Siege of Bastia took place in 1794 during the French Revolutionary War when an allied force of British and Corsicans laid siege to the French town of Bastia. After a six week siege the garrison surrendered due to a lack of supplies owing to a blockade by the Royal Navy...
. During the rest of the Revolutionary Wars, Mundy remained with the Mediterranean Fleet, seeing action at the Battle of Cape St Vincent in 1797 and the Battle of the Nile
Battle of the Nile
The Battle of the Nile was a major naval battle fought between British and French fleets at Aboukir Bay on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt from 1–3 August 1798...
in 1798. For his service at the latter, Mundy was promoted to commander and took over the 14-gun brig
Brig
A brig is a sailing vessel with two square-rigged masts. During the Age of Sail, brigs were seen as fast and manoeuvrable and were used as both naval warships and merchant vessels. They were especially popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries...
HMS Transfer, serving off the Spanish port of Cadiz
Cádiz
Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....
.
After the Peace of Amiens Mundy remained in service, becoming a post captain aboard the small frigate HMS Carysfort
HMS Carysfort (1766)
HMS Carysfort was a 28-gun Coventry-class sixth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy. She served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary and the Napoleonic Wars in a career that spanned over forty years....
and later moving to HMS Hydra
HMS Hydra (1797)
HMS Hydra launched in 1797 was a fifth-rate frigate of the Royal Navy, armed with a main battery of twenty-eight 18-pounder guns.She was built to the design of the captured French frigate Melpomene .-Service:...
on the Cadiz station, where he captured the French brig Furet in February 1806. After the outbreak of the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
in 1808, Mundy was actively engaged in supporting Spanish irregular forces with supplies and direct military assistance on the coast of Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
.
At the end of the war, Mundy was made a Companion of the Order of the Bath and remained in service, becoming the captain of the royal yacht
Royal Yacht
A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head...
Royal George
HMY Royal George
HMY Royal George was a Royal Yacht of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom, launched 1817, and last used in 1842. She became an accommodation hulk in 1902, and was broken up in 1905....
in 1830, becoming a rear-admiral in the same year. Between 1820 and 1830 he sat in Parliament for the constituency of Boroughbridge
Boroughbridge (UK Parliament constituency)
Boroughbridge was a parliamentary borough in Yorkshire from 1553 until 1832, when it was abolished under the Great Reform Act. Throughout its existence it was represented by two Members of Parliament in the House of Commons....
. He continued to rise through the ranks, becoming a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath in 1837, a vice-admiral in 1841 and a full admiral in 1849. He died, aged 83, in 1861 at his home in Grosvenor Street, London.