Early Life
Born at Huntingtower near Perth, Murray joined the army in Flanders in 1712 at the age of eighteen. Three years later against his father's wishes, he and his brothers, the marquis of Tullibardine and Lord Charles Murray joined the Jacobite rebels under the earl of Mar, with each brother commanding a regiment of the men of Atholl. Lord Charles was taken captive at Preston, but following the collapse of the rising, Lord George escaped with Tullibardine to South Uist, and thence to France.
In 1719, Murray was involved in Jacobite military affairs in the Western Highlands, where Tullibardine and the Earl Marischal had joined forces with Spaniards, which terminated at the Battle of Glenshiel on 10 June. Murray was wounded on the final day of combat whilst commanding the Jacobite right wing. He spent the next few months hiding in the Highlands and later made his way towards Rotterdam where he arrived in May, 1720. Little is known of Murray's life on the continent. Some scholars have theorised that he served in the Sardinian army, though the supporting evidence has drawn much criticism. He returned to Scotland in 1724 when the duke of Atholl died, and was succeeded in his title by his second son, James, owing to the attainder of Tullibardine. Following this, Lord George leased from his brother the old family property of Tullibardine in Strathearn. The government pursued a strategy of weakening the Jacobite sympathies of elite families by acts of clemency and following solicitation by Murray's father he was pardoned in 1725.
In 1728, he married Amelia, daughter and heiress of James Murray of Strowan and Glencarse. They had three sons and two daughters.
- John Murray, 3rd Duke of Atholl (6 May 1729 – 5 November 1774)
- Amelia Murray (17 May 1732 – 24 April 1777), married first John St Clair, Master of Sinclair, and second, James Farquharson
- James Murray (1734 – 19 March 1794)
- Charlotte Murray (d. 1773)
- George Murray (22 August 1741 – 17 October 1797)
Read more about this topic: Lord George Murray (general)
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