Sir Harry Munro, 7th Baronet ( 1720 – 12 June 1781) was 25th Baron and the 28th chief of the Clan Munro. He was a Scottish soldier and politician. He was loyal to the Hanoverian dynasty and served as a captain in

Loudon's Highlanders Loudon's Highlanders, or the 64th Highlanders, or Earl of Loudon's Regiment of Foot, was an infantry regiment of the British Army. History Formation The great bravery of the 42nd Regiment of Foot, 43rd Highlanders (later renumbered the 42nd) an ...

Regiment 1745–48.

Early life

Harry Munro was the second surviving son of

Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet Sir Robert Munro, 6th Baronet (24 August 1684 – 17 January 1746) was a Scottish military officer and politician whose life followed an 18th-century pattern. He fought in support of the Revolution Settlement and the House of Hanover, and their ...

and Mary, daughter of Henry Seymour of Woodlands. His elder brother Robert died during his infancy. His uncle was George Munro, 1st of Culcairn.

Early military career

Sir Harry's military career seems to have started when he was among nine young gentlemen, who were appointed

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

s in Bisset's 30th Regiment of Foot in May 1742. In June 1745 he was appointed on the recommendation of Lord Stair and Henry Pelham as one of the company commanders in a new Highland Regiment being raised by John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun.

Jacobite rising of 1745 - 1746

Harry Munro's company was one of three in the process of being raised in the North when the Commander in Chief in Scotland, General Sir John Cope arrived at

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

on 29 August. Harry's uncle George Munro, 1st of Culcairn met Sir John Cope and agreed that the Munros "should instantly take arms and join the King's troops" and the next day Harry brought in 200 of his men in three companies. These three companies were raised by Harry Munro himself, Hugh Munro of Teaninich and William Munro of Achany. Harry joined Sir John Cope at the Water of

Nairn Nairn (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland Council council areas of Scotland, area of Scotland. It is an ancient fishing port and market town around east of Inverness, at the point where the River Nair ...

and when the army marched for

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

on 4 September

regiment included his three companies, while George Munro of Culcairn's detachment acted as scouts. Sir John Cope remained in Aberdeen where a fourth company of Loudoun's regiment joined the others until 14 September from where they sailed to

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the Anglo–Scottish border, English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and ...

and had their infamous defeat at the

Battle of Prestonpans The Battle of Prestonpans, also known as the Battle of Gladsmuir, was fought on 21 September 1745, near Prestonpans, in East Lothian, the first significant engagement of the Jacobite rising of 1745. Jacobitism, Jacobite forces, led by the Stua ...

. Harry was among 70 officers taken prisoner and for a time was imprisoned in

Glamis Castle Glamis Castle is situated beside the village of Glamis (, ) in Angus, Scotland. It is the home of the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne, and is open to the public. Glamis Castle has been the home of the Clan Lyon, Lyon family since the 14th cent ...

but by mid January 1746 he was among 31 men released who arrived at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, where he learnt the news of the deaths of his father Robert and his uncle Duncan after the Battle of Falkirk (1746). Meanwhile, the main body of Munros having escorted Sir John Cope successfully to Aberdeen had returned to the north under George Munro, 1st of Culcairn and were not present at Prestonpans. John Campbell, 4th Earl of Loudoun and Sir John Cope had escaped by sea to London after the Battle of Prestonpans from whence Loudoun later returned north to Inverness to take command in the north but was forced with the Lord President Forbes and George Munro of Culcairn to withdraw through the Black Isle into

Ross-shire Ross-shire (; ), or the County of Ross, was a county in the Scottish Highlands. It bordered Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south, as well as having a complex border with Cromartyshire, a county consisting of numerous enc ...

being pressed by a much larger Jacobite force. The commander of British forces,

Prince William, Duke of Cumberland Prince William Augustus, Duke of Cumberland (15 April 1721 Old_Style_and_New_Style_dates.html" ;"title="/nowiki>Old Style and New Style dates">N.S./nowiki> – 31 October 1765) was the third and youngest son of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ire ...

, had no wish to have the support of any Highland troops at the time for he distrusted them all and deliberately gave the Earl of Loudoun no help to extricate himself from his difficulties with the Jacobites in the north. Harry Munro was with George Mackay of Skibo, son of George Mackay, 3rd Lord Reay, at the Skirmish of Tongue in March 1746 where they defeated a Jacobite force and captured money and supplies that were meant for the Jacobite leader

Charles Edward Stuart Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (31 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, making him the grandson of James VII and II, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, ...

. Three other companies of Loudoun's regiment raised in Argyll from the

Clan Campbell Clan Campbell ( ) is a Scottish Highlands, Highland Scottish clan, historically one of the largest and most powerful of the Highland clans. The Clan Campbell lands are in Argyll and within their lands lies Ben Cruachan. The chief of the clan be ...

came under the Duke of Cumberland's command in his march north from

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

but they were used mainly as scouts and baggage guards. However, several of them, including one officer were killed when they fought at the

Battle of Culloden The Battle of Culloden took place on 16 April 1746, near Inverness in the Scottish Highlands. A Jacobite army under Charles Edward Stuart was decisively defeated by a British government force commanded by the Duke of Cumberland, thereby endi ...

. Loudon's Highlanders Regiment was at Culloden but Harry Munro himself was listed as absent "by HRH leave" presumably to try to deal with the problems at Foulis Castle which had been burned after the Battle of Falkirk. At the request of

Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat Simon Fraser, 11th Lord Lovat, ( 1667 – 9 April 1747) was a Scottish landowner and head of Clan Fraser of Lovat. Convicted of high treason in the United Kingdom, high treason for his role in the Jacobite rising of 1745, he was the last ma ...

, Harry Munro of Foulis and Ludovick Grant of Grant visited Lovat while he was imprisoned in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

having received the death sentence. After the suppression of the rebellion, Loudon's Highlanders later took part in the mopping up operations based at

Fort Augustus Fort Augustus is a settlement in the parish of Boleskine and Abertarff, at the south-west end of Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands. The village has a population of around 646 (2001). Its economy is heavily reliant on tourism. History Early histo ...

. The regiment remained in Scotland until May 1747 when they embarked at Bruntisland to join the allied army under Cumberland in

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

. The Munro company under Harry appears to have stayed in Scotland but in a letter from another officer in March 1748, Sir Harry is said to be going over to join the regiment. However, with the ending of the war in Flanders, Loudon's regiment was ordered back to Scotland and reduced at Perth in June of that year.

Member of Parliament

In politics Harry Munro was a supporter of the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, Willi ...

, a prominent Whig who was

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

1754 - 1756 and 1757 - 1762. Harry Munro also served as MP for

11 December 1746 - 1747 and for Tain Burghs 1747 - 1761.

Family

Harry married Anne, daughter of Hugh Rose of Kilravock, chief of the

Clan Rose Clan Rose () is a Scottish clan of the Scottish Highlands. History Origins of the clan The chiefs of the Clan Rose were a Normans, Norman family. They had no connection to the ancient Celts, Celtic family of Clan Ross. They derive from Ros, nea ...

. Harry was succeeded by his son Sir Hugh Munro, 8th Baronet of Foulis. He is buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

in the centre of

. The grave lies on the north side of a vault in an obscured location north-west of the Adam mausoleum.

Independent Highland Company

The Independent Highland Companies that were raised by Lord Loudoun in 1745-46 were not regimented until 1747 and therefore they are often confused with the eighteen Independent Highland Companies that were raised by Duncan Forbes of Culloden. The ''Loudoun Papers'' are held in the

Huntington Library The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington and Arabella Huntington in San Marino, California, United State ...

San Marino, California San Marino is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It was incorporated on April 25, 1913. At the 2020 United States census the population was 12,513, a decline from the 2010 United States census. History Origin of name Th ...

and include four lists of the soldiers under Sir Harry Munro in the company raised for Lord Loudoun dated September 17, 1746, November 18, 1746, January 12, 1748, and January 16, 1748. The first of these being five months after the Jacobite rising was effectively ended at the Battle of Culloden in April 1746, and Sir Harry Munro's three companies having been reduced to just one company. The following two lists are the soldiers who were in Sir Harry Munro's company on September 17, 1746, and on November 18, 1746.The ''Loudoun Papers'' as held in the

, reference: LO12361. ;List of soldiers in Sir Harry Munro's company on September 17, 1746 ;List of soldiers in Sir Harry Munro's company on November 18, 1746