Page:Life and Adventures of William Buckley.djvu/181

Collins, Esq., Author of the 'Peerage of England,' &c. He was born on the 3rd March, 1756, and received a liberal education under the Rev. Mr. Marshall, Master of the Grammar School, at Exeter, where his father resided. In 1770, he was appointed a Lieutenant of Marines, and in 1772, was with the late Admiral M'Bride in the Southampton Frigate, when the unfortunate Matilda, Queen of Denmark, was rescued from the dangers that awaited her, by the British government, and conveyed to a place of safety in the King's, her brother, Hanoverian dominions. On that occasion he commanded the guard that received her Majesty, and had the honour of kissing her hand. In 1775 he was at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, in which the first battalion of Marines, to which he belonged, so signally distinguished itself; having its Commanding Officer, the gallant Major Pitcairn, and a great many officers and men killed in storming the redoubt, besides a very large proportion wounded. In 1777 he was Adjutant of the Chatham Division, and in 1782, Captain of Marines on board the Courageux, 74 guns, commanded by the late Lord Mulgrave, and participated in the partial action that took place with the enemies fleet when Lord Howe relieved Gibraltar. Reduced to half-pay at the peace of 1782 he resided at Rochester, in Kent, having previously married an American lady, and on its being determined to found a colony, by sending Convicts to Botany Bay, he was then appointed Judge Advocate to the intended settlement; and in that capacity sailed with Governor Phillip in May