Harry Munro
Encyclopedia
Sir Harry Munro, 7th Baronet (c. 1720 – 12 June 1781) was 25th Baron and the 28th chief of the Clan Munro
. He was a Scottish soldier and politician. He was loyal to the Hanoverian dynasty and served as a Captain in Loudon's Highlanders
Regiment 1745-48.
.
on 29 August. Harry's uncle George Munro, 1st of Culcairn met Sir John Cope and agreed that the Munros "should instantly take arms and join the King's troops" and the next day Harry brought in 200 of his men in three companies.
Harry joined Sir John Cope at the Water of Nairn
and when the army marched for Aberdeen
on 4 September Loudon's Highlanders
regiment included his three companies, while George Munro of Culcairn's detachment acted as scouts. Sir John Cope remained in Aberdeen where a fourth company of Loudoun's regiment joined the others until 14 September from whence they sailed to Dunbar
and their infamous defeat at the Battle of Prestonpans
. Harry was among 70 officers taken prisoner and for a time was imprisoned in Glamis Castle
but by mid January 1746 he was among 31 men released who arrived at Edinburgh
, where he learnt the tragic news of his father, Robert and uncle Duncan's death after the Battle of Falkirk (1746)
.
Meanwhile the main body of Munros having escorted Sir John Cope successfully to Aberdeen
had returned to the north under George Munro, 1st of Culcairn and were not present at Prestonpans.
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
and Sir John Cope
had escaped by sea to London
after the Battle of Prestonpans from whence Loudoun later returned north to Inverness to take command in the north but was forced with the Lord President Forbes and George Munro of Culcairn to withdraw through the Black Isle
into Ross-shire
being pressed by a much larger Jacobite force.
The commander of British forces the Duke of Cumberland
had no wish to have the support of any Highland troops at the time for he distrusted them all and deliberately gave the Earl of Loudoun no help to extricate himself from his difficulties with the Jacobites in the north. Harry Munro was with George Mackay, son of Lord Reay
at the Skirmish of Tongue
in March 1746 where they defeated a Jacobite force and captured money and supplies that were meant for the Jacobite leader Charles Edward Stuart
.
Three other companies of Loudoun's regiment raised in Argyll from the Clan Campbell
came under the Duke of Cumberland's command in his march north from Stirling
but they were used mainly as scouts and baggage guards. However several of them, including one officer were killed when they fought at the Battle of Culloden
. Loudon's Highlanders Regiment was at Culloden but Harry Munro himself was was listed as absent "by HRH leave" presumably to try and deal with the problems at Foulis Castle
which had been burned after the Battle of Falkirk.
After the suppression of the rebellion, Loudon's Highlanders
later took part in the mopping up operations based at Fort Augustus
. The regiment remained in Scotland until May 1747 when they embarked at Bruntisland to join the allied army under Cumberland in Flanders
.
The Munro company under Harry appears to have stayed in Scotland but in a letter from another officer in March 1748, Sir Harry is said to be going over to join the regiment. However with the ending of the war in Flanders, Loudon's regiment was ordered back to Scotland and reduced at Perth in June of that year.
who was Prime Minister
1754 - 1756 and 1757 - 1762. Harry Munro also served as MP for Ross-shire
11 December 1746 - 1747 and for Tain Burghs
1747 - 1761.
. Harry was succeeded by his son Sir Hugh Munro, 8th Baronet of Foulis.
Clan Munro
-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
. He was a Scottish soldier and politician. He was loyal to the Hanoverian dynasty and served as a Captain in Loudon's Highlanders
Loudon's Highlanders
Loudon's Highlanders, or the Earl of Loudon's Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The great bravery of the 42nd Highlanders and the admirable service which they rendered at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, made the Government anxious to avail themselves still further of...
Regiment 1745-48.
Early military career
Sir Harry's military career seems to have started when he was among nine young gentlemen appointed Ensigns in Bisset's Regiment later the 30th Regiment of Foot in May 1742. In June 1745 he was appointed on the recommendation of Lord Stair and Henry Pelham as one of the company commanders in a new Highland Regiment being raised by John Campbell, 4th Earl of LoudounJohn Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
Major-General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun was a British nobleman and army officer.-Early career:Campbell inherited the peerage on the death of his father in 1731, becoming Lord Loudoun. The earl raised a regiment of infantry that took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 on the side of the...
.
Jacobite rising of 1745 - 1746
Harry Munro's company was one of three in the process of being raised in the North when the Commander in Chief in Scotland, General Sir John Cope arrived at InvernessInverness
Inverness is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for the Highland council area, and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands of Scotland...
on 29 August. Harry's uncle George Munro, 1st of Culcairn met Sir John Cope and agreed that the Munros "should instantly take arms and join the King's troops" and the next day Harry brought in 200 of his men in three companies.
Harry joined Sir John Cope at the Water of Nairn
Nairn
Nairn is a town and former burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness...
and when the army marched for Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
on 4 September Loudon's Highlanders
Loudon's Highlanders
Loudon's Highlanders, or the Earl of Loudon's Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The great bravery of the 42nd Highlanders and the admirable service which they rendered at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, made the Government anxious to avail themselves still further of...
regiment included his three companies, while George Munro of Culcairn's detachment acted as scouts. Sir John Cope remained in Aberdeen where a fourth company of Loudoun's regiment joined the others until 14 September from whence they sailed to Dunbar
Dunbar
Dunbar is a town in East Lothian on the southeast coast of Scotland, approximately 28 miles east of Edinburgh and 28 miles from the English Border at Berwick-upon-Tweed....
and their infamous defeat at the Battle of Prestonpans
Battle of Prestonpans
The Battle of Prestonpans was the first significant conflict in the Jacobite Rising of 1745. The battle took place at 4 am on 21 September 1745. The Jacobite army loyal to James Francis Edward Stuart and led by his son Charles Edward Stuart defeated the government army loyal to the Hanoverian...
. Harry was among 70 officers taken prisoner and for a time was imprisoned in Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle
Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl and Countess of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public....
but by mid January 1746 he was among 31 men released who arrived at Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
, where he learnt the tragic news of his father, Robert and uncle Duncan's death after the Battle of Falkirk (1746)
Battle of Falkirk (1746)
During the Second Jacobite Rising, the Battle of Falkirk Muir was the last noteworthy Jacobite success.-Background:...
.
Meanwhile the main body of Munros having escorted Sir John Cope successfully to Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
had returned to the north under George Munro, 1st of Culcairn and were not present at Prestonpans.
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun
Major-General John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun was a British nobleman and army officer.-Early career:Campbell inherited the peerage on the death of his father in 1731, becoming Lord Loudoun. The earl raised a regiment of infantry that took part in the Jacobite Rising of 1745 on the side of the...
and Sir John Cope
John Cope
John Cope may refer to:*John Cope , British General during the 1745 Jacobite Uprising*John Cope, Baron Cope of Berkeley, UK politician...
had escaped by sea to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
after the Battle of Prestonpans from whence Loudoun later returned north to Inverness to take command in the north but was forced with the Lord President Forbes and George Munro of Culcairn to withdraw through the Black Isle
Black Isle
The Black Isle is an eastern area of the Highland local government council area of Scotland, within the county of Ross and Cromarty. The name nearly always includes the article "the"....
into Ross-shire
Ross-shire
Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...
being pressed by a much larger Jacobite force.
The commander of British forces the Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland
Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the county of Cumberland.-History:...
had no wish to have the support of any Highland troops at the time for he distrusted them all and deliberately gave the Earl of Loudoun no help to extricate himself from his difficulties with the Jacobites in the north. Harry Munro was with George Mackay, son of Lord Reay
Lord Reay
Lord Reay, of Reay in the County of Caithness, is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Lord Reay is the hereditary Clan Chief of Clan Mackay, whose lands in Strathnaver and northwest Sutherland were known as the Reay Country. The land was sold to the Earls of Sutherland in the 18th century...
at the Skirmish of Tongue
Skirmish of Tongue
The Skirmish of Tongue was a conflict that took place in March 1746 near Tongue in the Scottish Highlands. It was part of the Jacobite Rising of 1745.-Background:...
in March 1746 where they defeated a Jacobite force and captured money and supplies that were meant for the Jacobite leader Charles Edward Stuart
Charles Edward Stuart
Prince Charles Edward Louis John Casimir Sylvester Severino Maria Stuart commonly known as Bonnie Prince Charlie or The Young Pretender was the second Jacobite pretender to the thrones of Great Britain , and Ireland...
.
Three other companies of Loudoun's regiment raised in Argyll from the Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell
Clan Campbell is a Highland Scottish clan. Historically one of the largest, most powerful and most successful of the Highland clans, their lands were in Argyll and the chief of the clan became the Earl and later Duke of Argyll.-Origins:...
came under the Duke of Cumberland's command in his march north from Stirling
Stirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
but they were used mainly as scouts and baggage guards. However several of them, including one officer were killed when they fought at the Battle of Culloden
Battle of Culloden
The Battle of Culloden was the final confrontation of the 1745 Jacobite Rising. Taking place on 16 April 1746, the battle pitted the Jacobite forces of Charles Edward Stuart against an army commanded by William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, loyal to the British government...
. Loudon's Highlanders Regiment was at Culloden but Harry Munro himself was was listed as absent "by HRH leave" presumably to try and deal with the problems at Foulis Castle
Foulis Castle
Foulis Castle lies in the parish of Kiltearn, about 1.5 miles southwest of the village of Evanton in the Highland area of northern Scotland. The castle has been the seat of the Clan Munro for over eight hundred years. During the 11th century, the clan chief was given the castle and Foulis lands as...
which had been burned after the Battle of Falkirk.
After the suppression of the rebellion, Loudon's Highlanders
Loudon's Highlanders
Loudon's Highlanders, or the Earl of Loudon's Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the British Army.The great bravery of the 42nd Highlanders and the admirable service which they rendered at the Battle of Fontenoy in 1745, made the Government anxious to avail themselves still further of...
later took part in the mopping up operations based at Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus
Fort Augustus is a settlement in the Scottish Highlands, at the south west end of Loch Ness. The village has a population of around 646 ; its economy is heavily reliant on tourism....
. The regiment remained in Scotland until May 1747 when they embarked at Bruntisland to join the allied army under Cumberland in Flanders
Flanders
Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
.
The Munro company under Harry appears to have stayed in Scotland but in a letter from another officer in March 1748, Sir Harry is said to be going over to join the regiment. However with the ending of the war in Flanders, Loudon's regiment was ordered back to Scotland and reduced at Perth in June of that year.
Member of Parliament
In politics Harry Munro was a supporter of the Duke of Newcastle, a prominent WhigBritish Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
who was Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
1754 - 1756 and 1757 - 1762. Harry Munro also served as MP for Ross-shire
Ross-shire (UK Parliament constituency)
Ross-shire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
11 December 1746 - 1747 and for Tain Burghs
Tain Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Tain Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832, sometimes known as Northern Burghs. It was represented by one Member of Parliament .The first election in Tain Burghs was in 1708...
1747 - 1761.
Family
Harry married Anne, daughter of Hugh Rose of Kilravock, chief of the Clan RoseClan Rose
Clan Rose is a Highland Scottish clan. Their chief's motto is "Constant and True" and their chief'sfamily castle is Kilravock Castle, built in 1460...
. Harry was succeeded by his son Sir Hugh Munro, 8th Baronet of Foulis.
See also
- Munro BaronetsMunro BaronetsThere have been three Baronetcies created for persons with the surname Munro, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and two in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom....
- Clan MunroClan Munro-Origins:The main traditional origin of the clan is that the Munros came from Ireland and settled in Scotland in the 11th century and that they fought as mercenary soldiers under the Earl of Ross who defeated Viking invaders in Rosshire...
- Scottish clanScottish clanScottish clans , give a sense of identity and shared descent to people in Scotland and to their relations throughout the world, with a formal structure of Clan Chiefs recognised by the court of the Lord Lyon, King of Arms which acts as an authority concerning matters of heraldry and Coat of Arms...