Annotation:General Blakeney
X:51 T:General Blakeney M:9/8 L:1/8 B:Thompson's Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2 (London, 1765) Z:Transcribed and edited by Fynn Titford-Mock, 2007 Z:abc's:AK/Fiddler's Companion K:G G2G G2A {c}B>AG|AF(D D)FA cBA|BdF GBD EG[B,B]| [Cc]cB AGF G2 [G,G]:||:A2 (D D)FA cBA|{c}B2 (G G)Bd =fed| e2 [Cc]-[Cc] e dgb|c2 [A,A]-[A,2A2]c Bdg|e2 [Cc] d2 [B,2B]c2 [A,A]| BGB cAG FED|[C2c2]e [B,2B] d [A,2A2] c|BGB cAF G2 [G,G]:||
GENERAL BLAKENEY. English, Slip Jig. G Major. Standard tuning (fiddle). AABB. The melody is unique to London publisher Charles and Samuel Thompson's 1765 collection, although there were other period tunes dedicated to the General. Blakeney was the successful defender of Stirling Castle for the Crown in 1746 during the Jacobite Rebellion. He was also the Lieutenant Governor of the Island of Minorca when the French sought to recapture the strategic post in 1756. Ultimately the garrison was forced to surrender when the British fleet under Admiral Byng was forced to retreat to Gibraltar. Although he had been out-manned and out-gunned, Byng was deemed culpable for the loss and was subsequently court-martialed and executed.
