Mordecai Buckner
| Mordecai Buckner | |
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1735 |
| Died | 1787 Spotsylvania County, Virginia |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Years of service |
 United Kingdom 1755–1762 United States 1776–1777 |
| Rank | Colonel (Continental Army) |
| Battles/wars |
|
Mordecai Buckner (ca. 1735 – 1787) was born in colonial Virginia and served as an officer in the French and Indian War. After the start of the American Revolutionary War he was appointed colonel of the 6th Virginia Regiment. He served in this capacity for about one year before he was cashiered and dismissed from the Continental Army. Buckner was the son of Thomas Buckner (died ca. 1755), a planter of Caroline Co., Virginia, who served as a justice of the peace and sheriff of that county, and Mary Timson. He married Elizabeth Beverly Chew in 1767 and the couple had at least two known children.
Buckner was first appointed quartermaster in 1755, then ensign later that year for then-Capt. Adam Stephen's militia company, and in 1758 during the French and Indian War, he was promoted to captain in Adam Stephen's Virginia regiment. He either rejoined the regiment or was still serving in 1762, for which he received 3,000 acres of land. In 1767, he married Elizabeth Beverly Chew, widow of Beverly Stanard.
During the colonial militia buildup at the onset of the American Revolution, on 12 Sep 1775, Buckner was elected lieutenant colonel of the minutemen raised by the combined Virginia counties of Spottsylvania, Caroline, Stafford, and King George under Col. Hugh Mercer. Both Buckner and Mercer were members of the Spottsylvania County committee. Having served under George Washington during the earlier war, he was not long after appointed commander of the 6th Virginia Regiment in the nascent Continental Army. His colonel's commission dated from 13 February 1776. The two other field officers were Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Elliott and Major James Hendricks. The regiment came into existence on 28 December 1775. It was organized at Williamsburg, Virginia in the strength of ten companies from men of ten different eastern and southern counties. Initially assigned to the Southern Department, the unit transferred to Stephen's Brigade in Washington's main army on 3 September 1776. Buckner commanded the 191-strong 6th Virginia at the Battle of Trenton on 26 December 1776. At that time, Hendricks was lieutenant colonel and Richard Parker was major. For reasons not given, Parker led the regiment at the battles of Assunpink Creek and Princeton on 2 and 3 January 1777.
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