Alexander Murray (1755-1821)
MSA SC 3520-16742
Biography:
Born in Chestertown, Kent County, Maryland on July 12, 1755, Alexander Murray was the son of Dr. William Murray (1708-1769) and Ann Smith (1720-1807). Murray's nautical career began in 1773 when he worked on merchant ships in the Atlantic Ocean.[1] In 1776, as the American Revolution was picking up steam, Murray was appointed a lieutenant of the Continental Navy. However, when no ships were available for him to lead, he enlisted in the Army.[2]
Thus, on January 3, 1776, Murray was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Captain Patrick Sim's Second Company of the First Maryland Regiment.[3] Throughout his time in the Army, as part of his job as a second lieutenant, Murray was to teach the soldiers discipline, order, and fearlessness through “his judgment, vigilance, and bravery.”[4] The challenge Murray and the First Maryland Regiment faced was that none of the soldiers had any military experience prior to enlisting. As a result, it was Murray's job to teach the recruits how to be soldiers.[5]
Murray and his regiments' first engagement with the British occurred during the Battle of Brooklyn on August 27, 1776.[6] During the battle, the Continental Army led by George Washington tried to defend New York from the British. However, the British Army outflanked the Americans. As one Maryland soldier recounted, "the main body of their army, by a route we never dreamed of, had entirely surrounded us."[7]
As they retreated, Murray and his company were ambushed by a platoon of British soldiers. However, "fighting with more than Roman courage," the First Maryland Regiment forced the British back and allowed many companies, like Murray's, to escape across the Gowanus Creek to the fortified American lines. The other regiments that were not able to cross the creek, traveled up the stream. Those regiments ultimately confronted and fought another British platoon. These charges by the Marylanders and the bravery they showed earned them the title of the "Maryland 400."[8]
Between August and October of 1776, the American Army was forced out of New York after a series of unsuccessful engagements with the British. As one Maryland soldier detailed, “Smallwood’s [regiments] suffered most, on this occasion, sustaining, with great patience and coolness, a long and heavy fire– and finally retreated with great sullenness, being obliged to give way to a superior force.”[9] During the evacuation of New York City, Murray, now a first lieutenant, lost his hearing due to canon fire while defending his position.[10] Murray ultimately resigned from the Army in 1777 as Captain, which he was promoted to in December of 1776.[11]
After waiting a season to recover from a sickness he contracted while in the Army, Murray was commissioned on April 10, 1777 as a Captain in the Continental Navy.[12] With a letter of marque, Murray commanded a vessel of war, loaded with twelve guns and sixty men, in the Atlantic Ocean along the Eastern Shore.[13] The letter of marque specifically outlined that any ship "carrying Soldiers, Arms, Gun-powder, Ammunition, Provisions, or any other contraband Goods, to any of the British Armies or Ships of War employed against these colonies" was to be captured and stopped by any means necessary.[14] From June of 1777 until May of 1778, Murray commanded the frigate General Mercer and later the Saratoga from May until November 1778. However, in December 1778, while sailing on the frigate Trumball, Murray was captured and held prisoner until February 1779, when he was exchanged. Murray then commanded the Columbus, Revenge, and Prosperity. In October of 1780 Murray was taken prisoner again and exchanged in Philadelphia in November 1781, after the effective end of the War at Yorktown in October.[15]
After his exchange, Murray stayed in Philadelphia working as a merchant, where he met and married Mary Miller (1766-1834) on June 12, 1782.[16] His children were Mary Murray (1783-1766), Magnus Miller Murray (1787-1838), Ann Murray (1789-1791), Mary Ann Murray (1792-1824), Alexander Murray (1794-1799), Juliana Murray (1795-1843), Elizabeth Murray (1798-1847), Alexander Miller Murray (1801-1822), and Catherine Murray (1804-1870).[17]
On July 1, 1798 Murray was commissioned as a Captain of the U.S. Navy, where he commanded the U.S.S. Constellation. From 1798 until 1812, Murray distinguished himself as one of the leading commanders of the Navy. From the Quasi-War with France in 1798 to 1799, to the battle against the Barbary Pirates in North Africa from 1801-1803, and finally to the War of 1812, triggered by economic sanctions and naval attacks by the British, Murray continuously led his men to victory.[18] As the author Samuel Putnam Waldo wrote in 1823, "by the time he (Murray) returned to America...there was not a single American living who has passed through more arduous duty; faced more dangers-fought in more battles; or achieved more victories".[19] Yet even with his success, Murray ran into trouble with the U.S. Government in the early 1800s, when he seized ships that did not belong to the enemy. Murray's actions resulted in a Supreme Court cases against him.[20]
After resigning from active Naval duty in 1813, Murray, in his final role in the Navy, worked as commander of the Philadelphia Navy Yard and Superintendent of the Gunboats there until 1821.[21]
Murray died on October 6, 1821 from typhoid. His death did not go unnoticed, as the flags at the Navy Yard were displayed at half-mast. His comrades, "felt that they had lost a kind protector-a just and generous commander."[22] He was buried at Laurel Hill Cemetery in Philadelphia.[23]
-Joshua Rifkin
Notes:
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