John Murray, Lord Dunmore
¨As I have ever entertained Hopes that an Accommodation might have taken Place between GREAT-BRITAIN and this colony, without being compelled by my Duty to this most disagreeable but now absolutely necessary Step... ¨ WHO HE WAS: John Murray's family title was Lord Dunmore. He was born in Scotland in 1732 into a royal Scottish family. He joined the British parliament when he was only twenty-nine. In 1771, King George appointed him to be governor of Virginia. He was very loyal to the king and felt that the colonies should be more grateful to Great Britain for its protection. He also thought that a war between Britain and the colonies would ruin the colonial economy. When it became clear that a war between Britain and the colonies was going to happen, he moved himself and his family to a British warship. From there, he issued a proclamation encouraging African-American slaves to leave their plantations and join him in creating a regiment of British soldiers who would fight
