John Moutray
John Moutray of Roscobie (1722 - November 22, 1785) was British Navy Post-Captain and Royal Commissioner for English Harbour in Antigua.[1] He was court-martialed in 1781 over his role in the Action of 9 August 1780.[2][3]
Biography
He was born in 1722. He was married to Mary Moutray.[4]
In 1743 he was Horatio Nelson's senior officer. He was named the Commissioner at Antigua, and was made a Post-Captain on December 28, 1758.[5][3]
On July 29, 1780 a convoy of sixty-three ships were bound for the East Indies and West Indies. They left Great Britain under the care of Captain John Moutray in the Ramillies, 74, with the frigates Thetis and Southampton, both of 36 guns. On August 8, 1780 unusual sails were seen, and Moutray signalled his ships to alter course and follow him close to the wind. They paid no attention to his orders, and by daylight on August 8, 1780 the bulk of the convoy were raided by a combined Franco-Spanish fleet.[2][3]
The warships, with eight of the convoy, alone escaped; the other fifty-five merchantmen, with 2,805 prisoners, and cargo worth a million and a half ( approx.£5 Billion in Modern Currency ), were captured. It was a blow to British commerce, and especially to the forces in the West Indies, which lost a vast quantity of military stores.[2][3]
He was tried by court-martial and lost his commission.[2][3] He went on to become the Commissioner of the H. M. Dockyard in the Leeward Islands from April of 1784 to 1785. He died on November 22, 1785 in Bath, England at age 63. He was buried at Bath Abbey four days later. He left his estate to his wife and children. His will also refers to two illegitimate children he had by a woman named Elspeth London.[6] His epitaph reads:
Under this place are deposited the remains of John Moutray Esq of Roscobie in Fifeshire in the Kingdom of Scotland twenty eight years a post captain and late a Commissioner of His Majesty's Navy in Antigua. In his public character he was valuable to his country for his long and faithful services and universally beloved for the integrity of his principles and the distinguished sincerity of his heart. He died Nov 22nd 1785 in the 63rd year of his age".[7]
References
- "The Moutries". The South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine (Charleston, SC: South Carolina Historical Society) 5 (2): 228–260. 1904.
- ^ R. J. B. Knight (2005). The pursuit of victory: the life and achievement of Horatio Nelson.
This pennant represented the intention of the resident commissioner of the dockyard, Captain John Moutray (a civilian appointment without an Admiralty commission), to be recognized as the senior officer at English Harbour, ...
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d Court Martial of Captain John Moutray. Great Britain Navy Court. 1990.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ a b c d e William Laird Clowes (1899). The Royal Navy: A History From the Earliest Times to the Present.
On July 29th, a convoy of sixty-three valuable ships, bound for the East and West Indies, left Great Britain under the care of Captain John Moutray in the BamiUies, 74, with the frigates Thetis and Southampton, both of 36 guns.' On August 8th, in lat. 36^ 40' N., long. 15' W., strange sails were seen, and Captain Moutray signalled his ships to alter course and follow him close to the wind. They paid no attention to his orders, and by daylight of the 9th the bulk of the convoy found themselves close to the enormous combined Franco-Spanish fleet. The warships, wath eight of the convoy, alone escaped ; the other fifty-five merchantmen, with 2805 prisoners, and cargo worth a million and a half, were captured. It was a terrible blow to British commerce, and especially to the forces in the West Indies, which lost a vast quantity of military stores. The merchants at home were so enraged that Captain Moutray had to be made a scapegoat. He was tried by court-martial and dismissed his ship, but w'as again employed before long. Early in July, the outward bound Quebec fleet was attacked on the Newfoundland Banks by privateers, and about fourteen of its richest ships were carried off.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help); line feed character in|quote=at position 69 (help) - ^ "The Aristocrats of Antigua". Retrieved 2010-05-07.
But Nelson seemed envious of the white Antiguans' lives of luxury, raised aloft in their breezy plantation houses, while he spent his nights in cramped quarters, 'woefully pinched by mosquitoes.' In fact, Horatio wrote bitterly, if it wasn't for the genteel company of a young woman named Mary Moutray — the wife of the local Commissioner 'I should almost hang myself in this infernal hole.'
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|Author=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Horatio Nelson. The Dispatches and Letters of Vice Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson.
Captain John Moutray, the Commissioner at Antigua, was made a Post-Captain on the 28th of December 1758, and was by twenty-one years Nelson's senior Officer.
{{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ "Monument of the Month". Retrieved 2010-05-07.
Moutray's health was already failing, and he and his wife returned to England. He died at Bath on 22nd November 1785, at the age of sixty-two, and he was buried at Bath Abbey four days later. Although he left his estate to his wife and their children, his will also refers to two illegitimate children he had by a woman called Elspeth London.
- ^ "Maritime Memorials". National Maritime Museum. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
- Moutray of Seafield and Roscobie, now of Favour Royal, Co. Tyrone: an Historical and Genealogical memoir of the family in Scotland, England, Ireland and America. by Melville Amadeus Henry Douglas Heddle de La Caillemotte de Massue de Ruvignés, 9th Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval (25 April 1868 - 6 October 1921), 9th Marquis of Ruvigny and Raineval, Melville Henry Massue