by Susannah Margaret, daughter of William Coker, of Maypowder, co. Dorset, Esq.
Our officer entered the naval service at an early age; and after passing through the various gradations of subordinate rank, was made a Post-Captain, May 14, 1794. His first appointment after this promotion, appears to have been to the Aurora, of 28 guns, in which ship he continued, cruizing in the North Sea, till the summer of 1795, and then removed into the Druid, another small frigate, employed on Channel service, and in escorting the trade to and from Portugal.
In the month of June, 1797, we find Captain King sitting as a member of the Court Martial assembled on board the Neptune, off Greenhithe, for the trial of Parker the mutineer, and his colleagues[1]. About the same period he obtained the command of the Sirius, a 36-gun frigate attached to the North Sea fleet, under the orders of the late Lord Duncan.
On the 24th Oct., 1798, at 8 A.M., Captain King, being off the Texel, discovered two Dutch ships of war at some distance to windward, to which he instantly gave chace; and finding that the Sirius had greatly the advantage in point of sailing, stood on until he could fetch the weathermost, in order to prevent their junction. At nine o’clock he arrived within musket-shot, when the enemy brought to, fired a gun to leeward, and hauled down her colours. Her consort kept standing on with all sail set; and although nearly out of sight by the time the prisoners were exchanged, the Sirius got within musket-shot of her by five P.M., and commenced a running fight, which continued about half an hour, when she struck, having 8 men killed and 14 wounded, her masts, sails, rigging, and hull, much damaged. These ships proved to be the Waakzaamheid, of 26 guns and 100 men; and Furie of 36 guns and 153 men. They had on board 287 French troops, and 4000 stand of arms, besides a quantity of ordnance stores, and had sailed from the Texel the preceding night. The Sirius, whose complement was 261 men, had only one wounded.
Soon after this event, Captain King was stationed off the coast of France, where he captured la Favorie, of 6 guns
