Alexander Murray (1755–1821)
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Commodore Alexander Murray |
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|---|---|
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| Born |
July 12, 1755 Chestertown, Maryland |
| Died | October 6, 1821 (aged 66) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
| Allegiance |
 United States
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| Service/branch |
Continental Navy Continental Army United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1776–1783 1794–1821 |
| Rank |
Captain (Army) Commodore (Navy) |
| Unit | 1st Maryland Regiment |
| Commands held | |
| Battles/wars |
American Revolutionary War Quasi-War with France First Barbary War |
| Relations |
Magnus Miller Murray (son) Alexander Murray (grandson) |
CommodoreAlexander Murray (July 12, 1755 – October 6, 1821) was an officer who served in the Continental Navy, the Continental Army, and later the United States Navy, during the American Revolutionary War, the Quasi-War with France and the First Barbary War in North Africa.
Murray's grandfather had been exiled to Barbados from his home in Elginshire, Scotland, following the Jacobite Rising of 1715, and his father was born there, before moving to Chestertown, Maryland, to practice as a physician, marry, and have several children, of whom Alexander was the youngest. As a young man Murray went to sea, and such was his skill that by the age of 18 he was the master of a merchant ship plying its trade between America and Europe.
Soon after the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, in 1776 the 21-year-old Murray was appointed a lieutenant in the Continental Navy. There being no posts available, Murray declined the offer of a letter of marque, and instead gained a commission as a lieutenant in the 1st Maryland Regiment under the command of Colonel William Smallwood.
Murray found himself in the thick of the New York and New Jersey campaign. He saw action at the Battle of White Plains in October 1776, after which he was promoted to captain, as was his friend, and fellow lieutenant of the Maryland Line, James Monroe. While serving at New York he suffered severe hearing loss from a bursting cannon while firing at a British fleet making its way up the North River (the lower Hudson along the west side of Manhattan). Murray served in the Army until the end of 1777, when he returned home on sick leave.
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