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Sir Hector Munro

1911 Encyclopedia Britannica

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SIR HECTOR MUNRO (1726-1805), British general, son of Hugh Munro of Novar, in Cromarty, was born in 1726, and entered the army in 1749. He went to Bombay in 1761, in command of the 89th regiment, and in that year effected the surrender of Mahe from the French. Later, when in command of the Bengal army, he suppressed a mutiny of sepoys at Patna, and on the 23rd of October 1764 won the victory of Buxar against Shuja-ud-Dowlah, the nawab wazir of Oudh, and Mir Kasim, which ranks amongst the most decisive battles ever fought in India. Returning home, he became in 1768 M.P. for the Inverness Burghs, which he continued to represent in parliament for more than thirty years, though a considerable portion of this period was spent in India, whither he returned in 1778 to take command of the Madras army. In that year he took Pondicherry from the French, but in 1780 he was defeated by Hyder Ali near Conjeeveram, and forced to fall back on St Thomas's Mount. There Sir Eyre Coote took over command of the army, and in 1781 won a signal victory against Hyder Ali at Porto Novo, where Munro was in command of the right division. Negapatam was taken by Munro in November of the same year; and in 1782 he returned to England. He died on the 27th of December 1805.