MOORE, JOHN, M.D., an eminent physician and miscellaneous writer, the son of the Rev. Charles Moore, an Episcopalian clergyman at Stirling, and his wife, the daughter of John Anderson, Esq., of Dowhill near Glasgow, was born in Stirling in 1730. He was educated at the university of Glasgow, and began the study of medicine and surgery under the care of Dr. Gordon, an eminent practitioner in that city. At the same time, he attended the anatomical demonstrations of Professor Hamilton, and the medical lectures of the celebrated Dr. Cullen, then professor of medicine at Glasgow. In 1747 he went to the Netherlands, where the allied army was then serving, and attended the military hospitals at Macstricht. Soon after, he was recommended by Dr. Middleton, director-general of military hospitals, to the earl of Albemarle, colonel of the Coldstream Guards, then quartered at Flushing, and was appointed assistant-surgeon of that regiment, which he accompanied to Breda. On the conclusion of peace in the summer of 1748, he returned to England.

After remaining some time in London, during which he attended the anatomical lectures of Dr. William Hunter, Mr. Moore went over to Paris to prosecute his studies in the hospitals of that city. Soon after his arrival, the earl of Albemarle, then British ambassador at the court of France, appointed him surgeon to his household. Two years afterwards, he was induced to become the partner of his old master, Dr. Gordon, surgeon at Glasgow; and on the latter subsequently commencing practice as a physician, Mr. Moore went into partnership with Mr. Hamilton, professor of anatomy in Glasgow college.

In the spring of 1772, Mr. Moore obtained the diploma of M.D. from the university of Glasgow. He was soon after engaged by the duchess of Argyle as medical attendant to her son, the duke of Hamilton, who was in a delicate state of health; and whom he accompanied to the continent, where he spent five years in traveling with his grace. On their return in 1778, Dr. Moore removed his family from Glasgow to London, and in 1779 he published ‘A View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland, and Germany,’ in 2 vols. 8vo. In 1781 appeared ‘A View of Society and Manners in Italy,’ 2 vols. 8vo. In 1786 he published his ‘Medical Sketches;’ and in 1789, a novel, entitled ‘Zeluco.’

In the summer of 1792 he paid a short visit to Paris, as medical attendant of the earl of Lauderdale, and having witnessed some of the principal scenes of the French Revolution, on his return he published ‘A Journal during a residence in France, 1792.’ Dr. Moore edited a collected edition of Smollett’s Works. He died at London, Feb. 20, 1802. His portrait is subjoined:

[portrait of John Moore, M.D.]

He had two sisters, one married to the Rev. Dr. Wm. Porteous, one of the ministers of Glasgow, and the other to George Macintosh, Esq. of Dunhatton. The eldest son of the latter, Charles Macintosh, F.R.S., celebrated for his chemical discoveries, was the inventor of the gentleman’s covering called a macintosh, and other gutta percha articles. Dr. Moore’s works are:

A View of Society and Manners in France, Switzerland, and Germany. Lond. 1779, 2 vols. 8vo. Several editions, and translated into the French, German, and Italian languages.

A View of Society and Manners in Italy. London, 1791, 2 vols. 8vo.

Medical Sketches, in two Parts. London, 1786, 8vo.

Zeluco, a Novel. London, 1789, 2 vols. 8vo.

A Journal during a Residence in France, from the beginning of August to the middle of December, 1792. London, 1792, 2 vols, 8vo.

A View of the Causes and Progress of the French Revolution. London, 1795, 2 vols. 8vo.

Edward: a Novel. London, 1796.

Mordaunt, a Novel. London, 1800, 3 vols. 8vo.

MOORE, SIR JOHN, a distinguished British commander, son of the subject of the preceding article, by his wife, a daughter of Professor Simson, of the university of Glasgow, was born in that city, Nov. 13, 1761. He received the rudiments of his education at the local High School, and at the age of eleven accompanied his father, then engaged as traveling physician to the duke of Hamilton, to the continent. In 1776 he obtained an ensign’s commission in the 51st foot. He was next promoted to a lieutenancy in the 82d regiment, and served in America till the conclusion of the war in 1783, when his regiment being reduced, he was put upon half-pay. On his return to Britain, with the rank of captain, he resumed the studies of fortification and field tactics, and on the change of ministry, which soon followed the peace, he was, by the Hamilton influence, elected to represent the Lanark district of burghs in parliament. In 1787 he obtained the rank of major in the 4th battalion of the 60th regiment, and in 1788 he exchanged into his first regiment, the 51st. In 1790 he succeeded by purchase to the lieutenant-colonelcy, and in 1791 he went with his regiment to Gibraltar.

In 1794 Colonel Moore was ordered to accompany the expedition for the reduction of Corsica, and at the siege of Calvi he was appointed by General Charles Stuart to command the reserve, at the head of which he gallantly stormed the Mozzello fort, amidst a shower of bullets, hand grenades, and shells, that exploded among them at every step. Here he received his first wound, in spite of which he mounted the breach with his brave followers, who drove the enemy before them. Soon after the surrender of the garrison, he was nominated adjutant-general, as a step to farther promotion.

A disagreement having taken place between the British commander, General Stuart, and Sir Gilbert Elliot, the viceroy of the island, the former was recalled, and colonel Moore was ordered by the latter to quit Corsica within 48 hours. He returned to England in November 1795, and was almost immediately promoted to the rank of Brigadier-general in an expedition against the French West India islands. He sailed from Spithead February 28, 1796, to join the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby at Barbadoes, where he arrived April 13. His able services under this gallant veteran during the West India campaign, especially in the debarkation of the troops at St. Lucia, and the siege of Morne Fortunee, were, as declared by the commander-in-chief in the public orders, “the admiration of the whole army.”

On the capitulation of St. Lucia, Sir Ralph appointed General Moore commandant and governor of the island, a charge which he undertook with great reluctance, as he longed for more active service. But he performed his duty with his accustomed energy and success, notwithstanding the hostility of the natives, and the numerous bands of armed Negroes that remained in the woods. Two successive attacks of yellow fever compelled him to return to England in August 1797, when he obtained the rank of major-general. In the subsequent December, his health being completely re-established, he joined Sir Ralph Abercromby in Ireland as brigadier-general, and during the rebellion of 1798 was actively engaged. At Horetown, he defeated a large body of the rebels under Ruche, and immediately encamped near Wexford, which he delivered from the insurgents.

In the disastrous expedition to Holland, in August 1799, he had the command of a brigade in the division of the army under Sir Ralph Abercromby; and in the engagement of the 2d October, he received two wounds, which compelled him to return to England. In 1800 he accompanied Abercromby in the expedition to Egypt; and, at the disembarkation of the troops, the battalion which he commanded carried by assault the batteries erected by the French on a neighbouring eminence of sand to oppose their landing. At the battle of Aboukir, March 21, where he was general officer of the day, his coolness, decision, and intrepidity, greatly contributed to the victory, which, however, was dearly purchased with the life of Sir Ralph Abercromby. In this battle General Moore received a dangerous wound in the leg by a musket-ball, which confined him first on board one of the transports, and afterwards in the neighbourhood of Rosetta, till the conclusion of the expedition. He returned home in 1801, in time to soothe the last moments of his venerable father; on whose death he generously conferred an annuity on his mother, the half of which only she would accept.

After this period, General Moore was encamped with an advanced corps at Sandgate, on the Kentish coast, opposite to Boulogne, preparing for the threatened invasion of the French. As he largely enjoyed the confidence of the duke of York, then commander-in-chief, he was engaged, at his own request, in a camp of instruction, in training several regiments as light infantry, and the high state of discipline to which he brought them was of essential service in the subsequent campaigns in the Peninsula. Towards the end of 1804, General Moore’s merits induced the king to confer on him the order of the Bath. In 1806 he was sent to Sicily, where he served under General Fox, and in the following year he was appointed commander-in-chief of all the troops in the Mediterranean. In May 1808 he was dispatched, at the head of 10,000 men, to Sweden, with the view of assisting the gallant but intractable sovereign of that country, Gustavus Adolphus IV., in the defence of his dominions, then threatened by France, Russia, and Denmark; but refusing to comply with the extravagant demands of that eccentric monarch, he was placed under arrest. He had the good fortune, however, to effect his escape, and immediately sailed with the troops for England. On his arrival off the coast, his landing was prevented by an order to proceed to Portugal, to take part in the expedition against the French in that country, under the command of Sir Harry Burrard.

After the liberation of Portugal, the troops were preparing to advance into Spain, when a letter from Lord Castlereagh, dated September 25, 1808, arrived at Lisbon, appointing Sir John Moore commander-in-chief of an army of 30,000 infantry and 5,000 cavalry, to be employed in the north of the Peninsula, in co-operating with the Spanish forces against the French invaders. He began his march on the 18th October, and on the 13th of November he reached Salamanca, where he halted to concentrate his forces, and where, distracted by every species of disappointment and false information, and deluded by the representations of Mr. Frere, the British ambassador in Spain, he remained for some time uncertain whether to advance upon Madrid, or fall back upon Portugal. At length, learning that the whole of the disposable French armies in the Peninsula were gathering to surround him, he commenced, on the evening of December 24, a rapid march to the coast, through the mountainous region of Galicia, and after the most masterly retreat that has been recorded in the annals of modern warfare, conducted, as it was, in the depth of winter, and while pressed on all sides by the skilful and harassing manoeuvres of the pursuing enemy, he arrived at Corunna, on January 11, 1809, with the army under his command almost entire and unbroken. In this memorable retreat 250 miles of country had been traversed, and mountains, defiles, and rivers had been crossed, amidst sufferings and disasters almost unparalleled, and yet not a single piece of artillery, a standard, or a military trophy of any kind, had fallen into the hands of the pursuing enemy.

Finding that the transports, which had been ordered round from Vigo, had not arrived, Sir John Moore quartered a portion of the troops in the town of Corunna, and the remainder in the neighbouring villages, and made the dispositions that appeared to him most advisable for defence against the enemy. The transports anchored at Corunna on the evening of the 14th, and the sick, the cavalry, and the artillery were embarked in them, except twelve six-pounders, which were retained for action. Several general officers, seeing the disadvantages under which either an embarkation or a battle must take place, advised Sir John Moore to send a flag of truce to Soult, and open a negotiation to permit the embarkation of the army on terms; but, with the high-souled courage of his country, Moore indignantly spurned the proposal as unworthy of a British army, which, amidst all its disasters, had never known defeat.

The French, assembled on the surrounding hills, amounted to 20,000 men, and their cannon, planted on commanding eminences, were larger and more numerous than the British guns. The British infantry, to the number of 14,500, occupied a range of heights, enclosed by three sides of the enemy’s position, their several divisions, under the command of Generals Baird, Hope (afterwards fourth earl of Hopetoun), Paget (afterwards first marquis of Anglesey), and Frazer, being thrown up to confront every point of attack.

About two o’clock in the afternoon of the 16th, a general movement was observed along the French line; and on receiving intelligence that the enemy were getting under arms, Sir John Moore rode immediately to the scene of action. The advanced pickets were already beginning to fire at the enemy’s light troops, who were pouring rapidly down the hill on the right wing of the British. Early in the battle Sir David Baird, while leading on his division, had his arm shattered with a grape-shot, and was obliged to leave the field. At this instant the French artillery plunged from the heights, and the two hostile lines of infantry mutually advanced beneath a shower of balls. They were still separated from each other by stone walls and hedges. A sudden and very able movement of the British gave the utmost satisfaction to Sir John Moore, who had been watching the manoeuvre, and he cried out, “That is exactly what I wished to be done.” He then rode up to the 50th regiment, commanded by Majors Napier and Stanhope, who had got over an enclosure in their front, and were charging most valiantly. The general, delighted with their gallantry, exclaimed, “Well done, the 50th! Well done, my majors!” They drove the enemy out of the village of Elvina with great slaughter. In this conflict, Major Napier, advancing too far, was wounded and taken prisoner, and Major Stanhope received a ball through his heart, which killed him instantaneously.

Sir John Moore proceeded to the 42d, and addressed them in these words, “Highlanders, remember Egypt!” They rushed on, driving the French before them. In this charge they were accompanied by Sir John, who sent Captain (afterwards first Viscount) Hardinge, to order up a battalion of guards to the left flank of the Highlanders, upon which the officer commanding the light company, conceiving that as their ammunition was nearly expended, they were to be relieved by the guards, began to withdraw his men; but Sir John, perceiving the mistake, said, “My brave 42d, join your comrades; ammunition is coming, and you have your bayonets.”

When the contest was at the fiercest, Sir John, who was anxiously watching the progress of the battle, was struck in the left breast by a cannon-ball, which carried away his left shoulder, and part of the collar-bone, leaving the arm hanging by the flesh. The violence of the stroke threw him from his horse, Captain Hardinge, who had returned from executing his commission, immediately dismounted, and took him by the hand. With an unaltered countenance he raised himself, and looked anxiously towards the Highlanders, who were hotly engaged. Captain Hardinge assured him that the 42d were advancing, on which his countenance brightened. Hardinge tried in vain to stop the effusion of blood with his sash, then, with the help of some Highlanders and Guardsmen, he placed the general upon a blanket. He was lifted from the ground by a Highland sergeant and six veteran soldiers of the 42d, and slowly Conveyed towards Corunna. In raising him, his sword touched his wounded arm, and became entangled between his legs. Captain Hardinge was in the act of unbuckling it from his waist, when he said, in his usual tone, and with the true spirit of a soldier, “It is as well as it is; I had rather it should go out of the field with me.” When the surgeons arrived, he said to them, “You can be of no service to me; go to the soldiers, to whom you may be useful.” As he was borne slowly along, he repeatedly caused those who carried him to halt and turn round, to view the field of battle; and he was pleased when the firing grew faint in the distance, as it told of the retreat of the French.

On arriving at his lodgings he was placed on a mattress on the floor. He was in great agony, and could only speak at intervals. He said to Colonel Anderson, who had been his companion in arms for more than twenty years, and who had saved his life at St. Lucia, “Anderson, you know that I always wished to die in this way.” He frequently asked, “Are the French beaten?” And when told that they were, he exclaimed, “I hope the people of England will be satisfied; I hope my country will do me justice.” He spoke affectionately of his mother and his relatives, inquired after the safety of his aides-de-camp, and even at that solemn moment mentioned those officers whose merits had entitled them to promotion. He then asked Major Colborne if the French were beaten; and on being told that they were, on every point, he said, “It is a great satisfaction for me to know we have beaten the French.” He thanked the surgeons for their trouble. Captains Percy and Stanhope, two of his aides-de-camp, came into the room, He spoke kindly to both, and asked if all his aides-de-camp were well. After an interval he said, “Stanhope, remember me to your sister.” This was the celebrated Lady Hester Stanhope, the niece of Pitt. A few seconds after, he died without a struggle, January 16, 1809. The ramparts of the citadel of Corunna were selected as the fittest place for his grave, and there he was buried at the hour of midnight, “with his martial cloak around him.” The chaplain-general read the funeral service of the Church of England by torch-light; and on the succeeding day, when the British were safely out at sea, the guns of the French paid the wonted military honours over the grave of the departed hero. Soult afterwards raised a monument to his memory on the spot. A marble monument has been erected to his memory in the Cathedral of Glasgow. There is also an open air statue of him in George Square of the same city. Another stands in St. Paul’s Cathedral, by order of Parliament.

Sir John Moore had, with one sister, who died unmarried in December 1842, four brothers, viz., 1st, James Carrick Moore, Esq. of Corswall, Wigtonshire, author of a “Narrative of the Campaign of the British Army in Spain, commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, authenticated by official papers and original letters,’ London, 1809, 4to; also ‘The Life of Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, K.B.,’ London, 1834, 2 vols. 8vo. He assumed, in 1821, the additional surname of Carrick, in compliance with the testamentary injunction of his relative, Robert Carrick, a banker at Glasgow, who bequeathed to him estates in the counties of Wigton, Kirkcudbright, and Ayr.; 2d, Admiral Sir Graham Moore, C.B., whose son, John Moore, held the rank of commander, R.N.; 3d, Charles Moore, of Lincoln’s Inn, barrister at law, auditor of public accounts, who died unmarried; and 4th, Francis Moore, at one time under secretary of war. The latter married Frances, daughter of Sir William Twysden, baronet, and relict of the eleventh earl of Eglinton, and by her had two sons, William, a colonel in the army, and John, who died unmarried.

MOORE, DUGALD, a self-taught poet of conside4rable vigour of imagination and expression, was born in Stockwell-street, Glasgow, in August 1805. His father was a soldier in a Highland regiment, but died early in life, leaving his mother in almost destitute circumstances. While yet a mere child, Dugald was sent to serve as a tobacco-boy in a tobacco-spinning establishment in his native city; an occupation at which very young boys are often employed, at a paltry pittance, before they are big enough to be apprenticed to other trades. He was taught to read chiefly by his mother, and any education which he received at schools was of the most trifling description. As he grew up, he was sent to the establishment of Messrs. Lumsden and Son, booksellers, Queen Street, Glasgow, to learn the business of a copper-plate pressman. Here he was much employed in colouring maps. His poetical genius early developed itself, and long before it was suspected by those around him, he had blackened whole quires of paper with his effusions. Dugald found his first patron in his employer, Mr. James Lumsden, afterwards provost of Glasgow, who exerted himself successfully in securing for his first publication a long list of subscribers among the respectable classes of Glasgow. This work was entitled ‘The African and other Poems,’ and appeared in 1829. In the following year Dugald published another volume, entitled ‘Scenes from the Flood, the Tenth Plague, and other Poems;’ and in 1831 he produced a volume larger and more elegant than the previous ones, entitled ‘The Bridal Night, the First Poet, and other Poems.’ The success of these several publications enabled their author to set up as a bookseller and stationer in his native city, where he acquired a good business. Dugald, indeed, may be cited as one of the few poets whose love of the Muses, so far from injuring his business, absolutely established and promoted it. IN 1833 he published ‘The Bard of the North, a series of poetical Tales, illustrative of Highland Scenery and Character;’ in 1835, ‘The Hour of Retribution, and other Poems;’ and in 1839, ‘The Devoted One, and other Poems.’ This completes the list of his publications; but when it is considered that each, six in number, was of considerable size, and contained a great number of pieces, it will be at once acknowledged that his muse was in no ordinary degree prolific. Most of his productions are marked by strength of conception, copiousness of imagery, and facility of versification. Dugald Moore died, after s short illness, of inflammation, January 2, 1841, while yet in the vigour of manhood. He was never married, but resided all his life with his mother, to whom he was much attached, and whom his exertions had secured in a respectable competency. He was buried in the Necropolis of Glasgow, where a monument was erected to his memory, from a subscription, raised among his personal friends only, to the amount of one hundred pounds.