Page:A Naval Biographical Dictionary.djvu/812

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798
MUNDY—MUNRO.

himself, in a very gallant manner, of three armed polacres (the Prince Eugène of 16 guns and 130 men, Belle Caroline of 10 guns and 40 men, and Rosario of 4 guns and 20 men) lying in the narrow harbour of Begu, on the coast of Catalonia, under the fierce defence of a battery, mounting 4 26-pounders, a tower, and of a considerable land force.[1] On his return with the outward-bound trade to the Mediterranean, after having been sent with convoy to England to refit, Capt. Mundy, in the early part of 1809, took up a station on the Catalonian coast, with the Leonidas frigate and several smaller vessels under his orders, for the purpose of co-operating with the Spanish patriots. While on that service, on which he continued until the following Oct., he effectually blockaded Barcelona, and was constantly engaged, as were his boats, in attacking the enemy’s detachments passing from the eastward to that city. His indefatigable exertions, and the union of activity and skill developed in all his operations, encountered as he frequently was by circumstances of a very trying character, were productive of the greatest benefits to the cause in which he was embarked, and procured him the warm acknowledgments of Lord Collingwood, the Commander-in-Chief. During the war of a hundred days, Capt. Mundy, then in command of the Ajax, was despatched to Marseilles, with instructions to ascertain, if possible, the sentiments of the inhabitants of that city. The discretion and good judgment he exhibited in discharge of the duties attendant on so delicate a mission were such as to demand the high approval of Lord Exmouth; under whom, in March, 1816, we find him visiting Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, for purposes connected with the abolition of Christian slavery. In June of the preceding year he had been nominated a C.B. He was promoted to the rank of Rear-Admiral while in command of the Royal George yacht, 22 July, 1830; was created a K.C.B, 28 Feb. 1837; and raised to the rank he now holds 23 Nov. 1841.

Shortly after the cessation of hostilities Sir Geo. Mundy accepted command of a troop of yeomanry cavalry in Derbyshire; and in 1818 he was elected M.P. for Boroughbridge, co. York. Agents – Messrs. Halford and Co.



MUNDY. (Captain, 1837. f-p., 19; h-p., 10.)

George Rodney Mundy, born 19 April, 1805, is son of General Godfrey Basil Mundy, by Hon. Sarah Brydges Rodney, youngest daughter of the celebrated Lord Rodney; and nephew of Vice Admiral Sir Geo. Mundy, K.C.B.

This officer entered the Royal Naval College 5 Feb. 1818; and on 19 Dec. 1819, having carried off a medal and been allotted two years’ service, embarked, as a Volunteer, on board the Phaeton 46, Capt. Wm. Augustus Montagu, attached to the force in North America. In April, 1824, after a period of two years passed in the Mediterranean as Midshipman of the Euryalus 42, Capt. Augustus Wm. Jas. Clifford, and Rochfort 80, Capt. Chas. Marsh Schomberg, he joined the Blanche frigate, Capt. Wm. Bowen Mends, stationed in South America; where he continued to serve in the Wellesley 74, flag-ship of Sir Geo. Eyre, Jaseur sloop, Capt. Thos. Martin, Thetis transport, Capt. H. Hopkins, Blanche again, Capt. W. B. Mends, Cambridge 82, Capt. Thos. Jas. Maling, and Éclair 18, Capt. Thos. Bourchier (into which vessel he was confirmed a Lieutenant[2] 4 Feb. 1826), until 25 Sept. 1827. He was next, from 5 Feb. 1828 until promoted to the rank of Commander 25 Aug. following, employed at Portsmouth and off Lisbon in the Victory 104, Capt. Hon. Geo. Elliot, Challenger 28, Capt. Adolphus FitzClarence, and Pyramus 42, Capt. Geo. Rose Sartorius. Obtaining command, 29 Aug. 1833, of the Favorite 18, he sailed in that sloop for the Mediterranean; where, during the Turkish commotions of 1836, he became Senior officer on the coast of Tripoli. He paid the Favorite off a few weeks after his promotion to Post-rank, which took place 10 Jan. 1837; and he was next, 4 Oct. 1842, appointed to the Iris 26, in which vessel (with the exception of an interval in the latter part of 1843, during which he officiated as Supernumerary Captain of the St. Vincent 120 and Victory 104) he served on the African, Irish, and East India and China stations, until finally put out of commission in Aug. 1847. In Nov. 1843, in consideration of the rapidity with which he had fitted his ship out after she had been in dock, we find him eliciting the thanks of the Board of Admiralty. On 8 July, 1846, during an expedition up the River Brune, conducted under the personal direction of Rear-Admiral Sir Thos. John Cochrane against the Sultan of Borneo, he took command of the gun-boats employed, and, after having silenced the fire of a battery situated 100 feet up the side of a hill; landed, spiked, and threw the guns over the walls, and blew up the magazine. Towards the close of the same day, in addition to the latter, he effected the destruction of four forts, disabling at the same time 17 iron, and bringing off 3 brass, guns.[3] He was afterwards sent, with 19 boats and a body of 472 men under his orders, accompanied by Mr. Brooke, up different branches of the Borneo River, for the purpose of gaining certain points of debarkation, and of thence marching into the interior of the country with a view to obtaining possession, if possible, of the Sultan’s person. In carrying out his instructions, which, unfortunately, were not attended with the result desired, Capt. Mundy, during an absence of six days, was assailed with difficulties of no ordinary description. Afloat he experienced an almost impenetrable navigation; on shore his men were often up to their middles in swamp, floundering in the mud, and scarcely capable of preserving their ammunition dry. As a mark of the confidence with which his conduct throughout such arduous service had impressed the Commander-in-Chief, Capt. Mundy was left in charge of the whole Borneo station[4] from Aug. 1846 until Feb. 1847, during which period he carried out extensive operations against the pirates, and twice received the thanks of the Admiralty.

In 1832 Capt. Mundy served on board the Donegal 78, as confidential Agent under Vice-Admiral Sir Pulteney Malcolm on the coast of Holland, and was officially present at the siege of Antwerp. In 1833 he was employed by the First Lord of the Admiralty, Sir Jas. Graham, on a special mission to Holland and Belgium. On the suspension of hostilities he returned to England. Agents – Messrs. Stilwell.



MUNDY. (Lieutenant, 1846.)

Meynell Horton Miller Mundy is fourth son of the late E. M. Mundy, Esq., of Shipley, in the county of Derby.

This officer passed his examination 21 March, 1843; and from 31 July, 1845, until advanced to his present rank 4 May, 1846, was employed as Mate on board the Excellent gunnery-ship at Portsmouth, Capt. Henry Ducie Chads. He has been serving since 26 of the latter month in the Eurydice 22, Capts. Geo. Elliot and Talavera Vernon Anson, now at the Cape of Good Hope.



MUNRO. (Lieutenant, 1815. f-p., 10; h-p., 29.)

Matthew Munro was born in 1795.

This officer entered the Navy, 29 March, 1808, as Fst.-cl. Vol., on board the Resistance 38, Capt. Chas. Adam, employed in the Channel, off the coast of Portugal, and in the Mediterranean. Following Capt. Adam, as Midshipman, in April, 1810, into the Invincible 74, he joined in a series of very active co-operations with the patriots on the coast of Catalonia, where he assisted at the defence of Tarragona in May and June, 1811, and served with the boats at the reduction, in June, 1813, after a siege of five days, of the fort of St. Philippe, in the

  1. Vide Gaz. 1807, p. 1350.
  2. He had been acting for some time as such on board the Wellesley, Blanche, and Cambridge. He did not join the Éclair until June, 1826.
  3. Vide Gaz. 1846, p. 3438, 3439.
  4. Vide. Gaz. 1846, p. 3448.