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{{Infobox Biography
| subject_name =Elias Durnford, Jr.
| image_name =EliasDurnford.png
| image_size =196px
In [[1764]], Durnford was appointed Commanding Engineer and Surveyor-General of the new British West Florida, which had been ceded to Britain by Spain the year before in the [[Wikipedia:Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]]. It is in [[1764]] that Durnford surveyed Pensacola as it was and then laid down a new plan for the town, with intersecting streets set at right angles and named for royal family members and prominent members of the British government. The town was centered on two public squares (now [[Plaza Ferdinand VII]] and [[Seville Square]]). Under Durnford's plan, each individual building lot in the city was issued a companion piece of ground along what was then the northern border of the town. These lots were cleared, and each family tried to grow a portion of its food supply. A thoroughfare developed along this long row of gardens and was fittingly called [[Garden Street]].
[[Image:RebeccaWalker.png|thumb|left|100px|Rebecca Walker]]On [[August 25]], [[1769]], Durnford married Rebecca Walker in London. The next year, Durnford was promoted to Engineer-Extraordinary with the rank of Captain-Lieutenant; he was again promoted, to Engineer in Ordinary with the rank of Captain, on [[March 26]], [[1779]]. Durnford was the commanding British officer during the defense of [[Mobile]] in [[1780]] against [[Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Count of Gálvez|Gálvez]]'s besieging Spanish force; Durnford's recommendation to superiors that £2,500 be spent to improve the city's defenses was ignored, and Durnford was forced to surrender the city of Mobile on [[March 13]], [[1780]]. Spain later retook Pensacola on [[May 9]], [[1781]]. After his defeat at Mobile, Durnford returned to England and assumed the office of Commanding Engineer at Newcastle, and later Chief Engineer at Plymouth. In [[1794]], Durnford, by then a colonel, was appointed to command the company of Royal Engineers accompanying Sir Charles Grey's expedition to attack French colonies in the [[Wikipedia:Caribbean|West Indies]]. Durnford died of yellow fever on the island of Tobago on [[June 21]], [[1794]].<ref>[http://members.cox.net/durnford/famous.html Famous Durnfords]</ref>
==References==