Alexander Murray (British Army officer, died 1762)



Alexander Murray (ca. 1715 – 1762) was a British army officer who served in Father Le Loutre's War and the French and Indian War in Nova Scotia. He was the brother of James Murray.

Murray was in the 17th Foot on 17 July 1739 and was promoted lieutenant in the 6th Foot on 19 January 1740. He joined the 45th Foot on 19 April 1742 as a captain and was with the regiment when it arrived in Gibraltar on 17 June to take up garrison duties.

Murray went to Louisbourg, Cape Breton Island (Île Royale), with the regiment in April 1746. When it was moved to Halifax in July 1749 he was in England, but he had rejoined it in Nova Scotia by December during Father Le Loutre's War. He remained with it in the colony for almost ten years, during which time he built a house at Halifax. At first he commanded at Fort Sackville and then in September 1751 he was given command of Fort Edward, where he remained for most of the ensuing seven years, except for a tour of duty at Halifax in 1753. In the spring of 1755 he impounded the boats belonging to the Acadians of the Minas Basin, whom he suspected of violating Charles Lawrence’s embargo on the export of wheat. On orders from Lawrence, in June he confiscated their guns in case they might hinder Robert Monckton’s planned seizure of Fort Beauséjour.

During the French and Indian War, following the decision of Lawrence and his council to expel the Acadians from Nova Scotia, Murray supervised the deportations from the immediate area of Fort Edward. During October 1755 he sent off 1,100 persons in four ships.

Murray was promoted major in the 45th on 1 October 1755. Along with his brother James under Wolfe, the regiment took part in Jeffery Amherst’s expedition against Louisbourg in June 1758. The following year he took part in Wolfe’s campaign against Quebec.

Then, on 19 November 1761 he took part in the campaign against Martinique. He suffered from an attack of yellow fever shortly after his arrival on the island, but he had apparently recovered completely when he died suddenly on 19 March 1762.