John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore (1730-25 February 1809) was Governor of New York from 1770 to 1771 (succeeding Henry Moore and preceding William Tryon), Governor of Virginia from 1771 to 1775 (succeeding Lord Botetourt and preceding Patrick Henry), and Governor of the Bahamas from 1787 to 1796 (succeeding James Edward Powell and preceding John Forbes).
Biography[]
John Murray was born in Tymouth, Scotland in 1730, and he joined the British Army, despite his earlier participation in the Jacobite uprising of 1745. In 1756, he became Earl of Dunmore, and he briefly served as Governor of New York from 1770 to 1771 before serving in his most notable colonial role, as Governor of Virginia from 1771 to 1775. Dunmore attempted to enforce Virginia's western land claims in Lord Dunmore's War, with the Shawnee Native Americans being his main enemies. He had a poor relationship with the House of Burgesses due to his refusal to consult them on the matters of taxation, corruption, and lack of representation in Parliament. As the unrest grew, Dunmore ordered the confiscation of gunpowder from Williamsburg, resulting in the rallying of the local militia. On 8 June 1775, Dunmore was forced to seek refuge aboard HMS Fowey in the York River as the Virginians rebelled. On 7 November 1775, Dunmore issued a proclamation that offered freedom to slaves who took up arms with the British, organizing between 800 and 2,000 slaves into his Ethiopian Regiment. Despite winning the Battle of Kemp's Landing, Murray was defeated at the Battle of Great Bridge on 9 December 1775, and, on 1 January 1776, he accidentally burned the entire city of Norfolk after attempting to raze the waterfront, from which the Patriots had fired on his ships. Dunmore abandoned all hope of regaining Virginia and returned to Great Britain in July 1776, and he served as Governor of the Bahamas from 1787 to 1796. He died in 1809.