Gen. Sir Hector Munro, 8th of Novar

Notes:

The Duchess of Gordon happened to be travelling alone in a sparsely populated part of Sutherlandshire and found herself in an unprotected position because her postillion had gotten drunk. Although Hector was quite young at the time, he offered to take the place of her drunk coachman and conducted her safely to her destination. For his gallantry, the Duchess used her influence to procure a Lieutenant's commission for Hector in the 34th Regiment.

In 1754, he was ordered to Badenoch with three squadrons of Dragoons to apprehend all disaffected persons in that district, especially the notorious John Dubh Cameron, better known as "Sergeant Mor." Cameron was apprehended when a pretended friend, a farmer at Dunan, in Rannoch, offered him a place to sleep and then sent for Hector. Cameron was sent to Perth and executed, but the betrayer was so severely condemned and boycotted that he had to flee the country.

In 1759, the 89th Regiment was raised and Hector received the appointment of Second Major. In December 1760 the regiment embarked for the East Indies and arrived at Bombay in November 1761, after being stationed for some time in various parts of India.

Hector was despatched with a strong contingent to reinforce the army then serving under Major Carnac at Patna, where he arrived in May 1764. When he arrived, he found large numbers of Carnac's army in open mutiny, the Sepoys and in some cases, the Europeans deserting to the enemy and threatening to carry away their officers. The men were demanding higher pay.

Hector immediately detached a body of reliable troops to pursue a whole battalion of Sepoys who were defecting with their weapons. The mutineers were overtaken at night when they were asleep and were all taken prisoner. Hector ordered their officers to select twenty-four of the ring leaders and held a field court-martial. When the twenty-four were found guilty and sentenced to death, Hector began executing them by tieing them to the guns and blowing them away.

After four executions, the Sepoy battalions threatened to stop the executions so Hector formed up the battalions, ordered them to ground arms and had the Europeans train their guns loaded with grapeshot at them, until the executions were completed.

On 15 Sep 1764, Hector and his forces began advancing toward Soane, where the enemy had dug in. The battle was joined on 23 Oct and lasted about three hours when the enemy began to retire, blowing up their powder magazines as they left.

This victory in this battle of Buxar was one of the most important up that time in the history of the British arms in India. Hector's opposition numbered five times his own. The enemy casualties included 6000 dead while Major Munro's forces suffered the loss of two officers and four soldiers killed.

The next day, the Emperor asked for terms and Hector was authorized to conclude an agreement. A peace agreement was soon made. Hector received the personal thanks of the President and Council of Calcutta in a letter that read in part: "The signal victory you gained so as at one blow utterly to defeat the designs of the enemy against these provinces, is an event which does so much honour to yourself, sir, in particular, and to all the officers and men under your command...as call upon us to return you our sincere thanks." Hector was at once promoted to Lieutenant Colonel, and received 13,000 pounds.

General Sir Hector Munro of Novar was a general and Knight of the Bath. In 1781, he captured Negapatam, a Madras town in India. He later caused a replica of the Gates of Negapatam to be built atop Fyrish Hill behind Novar. The project was used to provide work for the unemployed (at a time when the Government made no provision for them) as they were too proud to accept money for nothing.

Hector left Oude in about 1765. In 1774, he was promoted to Major General and in 1777, he was appointed Commander of the Forces with a seat in the Council of Madras, but he was not given the power to make any further advancement. In 1778 he was knighted for his eminent services.

In Jul 1778, it became known in Bengal that war had broken out between Great Britain and France, and it was resolved to take possession of the whole of the French settlements in India. The minor places were easy to take over, and Chaudernagore, with the factories at Masulipatam, and Caracal, surrendered without resistance.

The most important immediate goal was to capture Pondicherry, and Hector was sent to lay siege to it. His forces were posted on an elevated ground called the Red Hills on 8 Aug 1778 and after a long and gallant defense by the garrison and its commander, M. Bellecombe, Pondicherry surrendered and the fortifications were demolished to the ground.

In the next campaign, which was against Conjeveram, General Sir Hector Munro made some strategic errors which resulted in the loss of the valliant Colonel Baillie and his entire force, and lost an opportunity to totally defeat the enemy under Hyder. Instead, Hector made his retreat to Chingleput and then on to the Mount.

The British army was reinforced as much as possible and sent out under General Sir Eyre Coote to engage the enemy. The battle was joined at Porto Novo where the the British army of less than 8000 men faced Hyder's army which consisted of 25 battalions of infantry, about 40,000 horse and over 100,000 match-lock men, peons and polygars with 47 pieces of cannon.

On 1 Jul 1781, the first British line, led by Sir Hector moved forward to the attack, and after a well contested engagement of eight hours, Hyder's army was forced to retreat in disorder. The 73rd Regiment was on the right of Munro's line and led all the attacks. The enemy losses were very heavy, but the British losses did not exceed 400 men and not one officer of rank was killed or wounded.

The next engagement with Hyder took place near Perambencum, where Colonel Baillie had been so utterly defeated the year before. On 27 Aug, General Coote began the attack sending General Sir Hector in command of the first line. During the course of the battle, Hector pointed out a way to get a small advantage, but General Coote angrily retorted, "You talk to me, sir, when you should be doing your duty."

Hector was so affronted by this that he refused to issue any orders as his line advanced, putting the whole battle in peril. However, the British finally won the day, but with more losses than usual. Hector retired from Coote's army as soon as possible after this incident.

After recperating for a time he was ordered to attack Negapatuam. However, he had personality clash with Mr. Sadlier, a member of the Select committee, and Sir Hector refused to serve in any capacity which would bring him in contact with Mr. Sadlier. The President consented to that stipulation, and Sir Hector proceeded to the attack.

On 30 Oct the battle began and on 12 Nov Negapatuam surrendered 6551 prisoners, a number considerably greater than that of the whole besieging army. A large quantity of war supplies was also captured. With the fall of Negapatuam, all of the Dutch settlements on the Coromandel coast fell into the hands of the British, and Hyder's forces immediately began to evacuate the forts which they had occupied in the kingdom of Tanjore.

Major General Sir Hector Munro returned to Scotland early in 1782. After a residence of some five years on his ancestral estate, he was appointed Colonel of the 42nd Highlanders, the Black Watch, on 6 Jun 1787. He took command of the regiment when it arrived at Portsmouth in October 1789.

In 1792, Hector attempted to convert a large portion of his estate in the northern part of the parish of Alness into a "sheep walk". A group of people assembled to resist this idea, but Sir Hector, who was Colonel of the 42nd Highlanders stationed at Fort George, ordered certain companies of the regiment to Novar where they dispersed the people and took some of the ringleaders prisoner. The prisoners were tried at the Justiciary Court in Inverness and sentenced to transportation for life. However, the prisoners escaped and were protected by the local people and were not recaptured.

In 1793, Hector was promoted to Lieutenant General and was made a K. B. He retired from the army in 1798 with the rank of full General. He had served with the Black Watch for nineteen years.

Some of his duties in the later years of his military service included inspecting and embodying newly raised regiments. He embodied the 97th regiment in 1794 at Elgin. The same year he embodied the 92nd Gordon Highlanders, and the Rothesay and Caithness Highlanders.

He represented the Inverness District of Burghs in Parliament without a break from 1768 to 1802, and was Provost of Fortrose from 1767 to 1776. He was again elected to that post in 1805, but died during that term of office.

While in India, Hector amassed a large fortune which he used to improve Novar and to purchase neighboring properties. Among those bought by him were Muirtown in Morayshire, Culcairn, and Wester Teaninich in the parishes of Kiltearn and Alness, and Culrain in the parish of Kincardine.

He had a monument built at the summit of the hill of Fyrish and paid local workers to carry the building material up the 1000 foot hill. The purpose of this project was to give work to the working people on his estate and the neighborhood.

In 1791, Sir Hector helped pay for the erection of the Inverness Steeple and presented the town with a clock for the steeple. A full length portrait of him was hung in the Inverness Town Hall.

Sir Hector was not married, but he fathered three children out of wedlock.

His tombstone in the Kiltearn Churchyard reads:

"Sir Hector Munro of Novar, Knight of the Bath, and Colonel of the 12 Regiment. Died the 2nd of December, 1805. (This date is wrong.) Aged 79. He was endowed by nature with a robust and handsome person. And chose a military profession in which, by merit, he arrived at the highest perferment, being commander of the small army that subdued the Itzier Souja Dowla, in the glorious battle of Baxan on the 23rd October, 1764. This fortunate event and the other victories he obtained, while Commander-in-chief in Madras, are on the record in the history of Great Britain. Adherence to the King's Administration for 31 years in Parliament endeared him to his Sovereign. And he exerted his influence with disinterested zeal in behalf of many officers afterwards promoted to affluence and importance. His filial piety, fraternal affection, and private charities to widows and orphans have no parallel among his contemporaries. May those who live about his domain, with the noble mansion he erected, follow for ages the benevolent virtues of the illustrious, beloved, and honoured man who raised his family of Novar to an opulent fortune. To posterity this tribute of his worth is dedicated by his brother, Sir Alexander Munro. In domino Deo superavet."

**********
[Alexander Munro] «i»Natural son of General Sir Hector Munro of Novar and Katherine ---; baptized Kinloss, Morayshire, 26 July 1787; B. 1787; educated Fortrose; Ensign (? Cadet) Bombay Army; unmarried; died u.p. Bombay 12 November 1804, being devoured by a shark (but there were apparently enough remains to bury.

RWMunro memo on "Children of Gen. Sir Hector Munro of Novar" (11/1/89). Mackenzie p. 535. V.C.P. Hodson, "Bengal Army", iii 352; and his Munro information - Hodson list, no. 26 (7/10/46) and letter (18/1/55). Bombay Army list. East India Register (1806) - probably per Hodson. Novar entail (1798). P. Dow's "Lords Appeals", i 439-40 - death November 1804 at Bombay. Signet Library SP 521/6, petitions by Sir Ronald C. Ferguson (18 September 1818) p. 4 - death November 1804.

«/i»(R. W. Munro's genealogy notes)
**********

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA


Ref: "The Highland Clans" by Moncreiffe & Hicks - p. 159

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/72

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
514-536

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Family/Spouse: Unknown. Unknown was born about 1729; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Hugh Munro was born est 1752; died on 22 Dec 1792 in Sangor Island, India.
2. Jane Munro was born est 1770; and died.

Family/Spouse: Katherine. Katherine was born about 1729; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Alexander Munro was born in 1787; was christened on 26 Jul 1787 in Kinloss, , Moray, Scotland; died on 12 Nov 1804 in Bombay, , Mahåråshtra, India.

Notes:

Hugh was a merchant in Clayside on the Mains of Dunrobin, near Golspie. He succeeded to Novar at an advanced age.

Ref. (2) says he died about 1760.

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/72

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
511, 514-515

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Hugh married Isabel Gordon. Isabel (daughter of Sir Robert Gordon, Of Embo) was born in 1684; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/72

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
514

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Notes:

Hector Munro of Novar was a Commissioner of Supply for Ross in 1698 and 1704. He had a crown charter of Achnagall and other lands. He served as factor or chamberlain on the Sutherland estate.

He was an elder in the Parish Church of Alness for many years, and in 1701, he sat as the ruling elder in the Presbytery of Dingwall.

In Dec 1714, Hector was one of the "considerable persons of the shires of Ross and Sutherland" who signed an address to King George I, imploring his Royal mecy for Simon Lord Lovat on his return from France at the instigation of Major James Fraser of Castleleathers.

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/71, L/72

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
97, 421, 510

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives.

Hector married Agnes Munro in 1679. Agnes (daughter of Hugh Munro, of Teaninich and Florence Munro) was born about 1654; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Agnes had a precept of sasine in her favor dated 10 Mar 1701, in certain lands granted to her on 15 Feb 1700.

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/72, M/14

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
421, 510-511

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives.

Notes:

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives.

Notes:

On 7 Jun 1650, he witnessed a sale at Chanonry.

There is a sasine, dated 8 Jun 1654 to which the Rev. Thomas Ross, minister of Kincardine, is witness, by the Rev. William Ross of Shandwick to George Munro of Novar, of the lands of Kinloch.

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/70, L/71

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
509-510

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

George married Isabel Munro. Isabel (daughter of Neil Munro, II of Findon and Jean MacKenzie) was born about 1629; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - L/71, L/78

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
510

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.

Notes:

Hugh of Tearivan succeeded his cousin as Laird of Teaninich. He appears to have been a man of much prudence and considerable means, and he added largely to the family possessions.

On 7 Jun 1650 at Chanonry, he sold some goods to James Farquhar, a merchant from Aberdeen.

On 20 Nov 1655, Hugh purchased the lands of Teaninich from his cousin, Hugh, who had gotten into debt and had to sell the estate. On 20 Feb 1660, he added the lands of Milton of Alness by purchasing them from Robert Gray of Arboll for just over 500 pounds. He also purchased other lands in the neighborhood from Farquhar Munro of Teanoird and others.

He did not conform to Episcopacy at first and he was one of the 47 persons in the Northern Counties who were fined for refusing to do so. He paid about 1200 pounds Scots to John Paterson, Bishop of Ross in Feb 1665, but by the end of the year he had taken the oath of allegiance. He soon returned to the Presbyterian fold, however, and became an active elder in the Parish Church of Alness.

According to the valuation roll of 1644, the total rents collected on Hugh's lands was about 440 pounds.

Hugh served as Collector of Customs of Inverness-shire and Commissioner for Supply for Ross in 1667 and 1685.

He lived to a very old age. On 7 Feb 1701, he signed a discharge at Milton of Alness which was witnessed by "Hugh Munro, Younger of Teaninich, my grandchild."

References:

(1) "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - Edinburgh (1978) - M/13, M/14

(2) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
416, 418-421, 510

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA

Birth:
Estimate: This birth date is an estimate based on the birth dates of nearest relatives or contemporaries, or based on other clues such as christening date, marriage date, birth order, etc.

Hugh married Florence Munro. Florence (daughter of Hugh Munro, of Ardullie and Ellen Clunas) was born est 1609; and died. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Ref: "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - M/14

"Hugh of Teaninich by Florence daughter to Hugh Munro of Ardullie he had Hugh and Hector [? and Thomas] Catherine Euffem and Anne."

Ref: "The Munro Tree (1734)" by R. W. Munro - M/51

"Hugh of Ardullie married Helen daughter to Clunes Bailzie of Cromartie by whom he had Alexr. and John who left no succession Robert William Hector and 4 daughters."

References:

(1) "History of the Munros of Fowlis" by A. Mackenzie - Inverness (1898) - p.
396, 420

Compiled and edited by Allen Alger, Genealogist, Clan Munro Association, USA