Annotation:General Blakeney

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 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.  Source for notated version:  Printed sources: Thompson (Compleat Collection of 200 Favourite Country Dances, vol. 2), 1765; No. 51.  Recorded sources:

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