Eastland Company, and brother-in-law to the late Earl of Leven and Melville.
This officer was born on the 2d of March, 1797; and first embarked as midshipman, on board the Amazon frigate, Captain (now Rear-Admiral) William Parker, May 17th, 1811. In the following month, he witnessed the capture and destruction of nine French vessels, near the Penmarks[1]. We subsequently find him serving under Captains Richard Dalling Dunn and James Hillyar, in the Armide and Phoebe frigates; the former employed in the Bay of Biscay, and the latter in the Pacific Ocean; where, assisted by the Cherub sloop, she captured the United States’ ship Essex of 46 guns, Mar. 28th, 1814[2].
In Dec. following, Mr. Thornton joined the Cornwallis 74, fitting out for the flag of Rear-Admiral (afterwards Sir George) Burlton, with whom he proceeded to the East India station, where he was appointed, by Sir Richard King, to act as lieutenant of the Towey 26, Captain William Hill, in Oct. 1818. On his return to England, he passed his examination at the Royal Naval College, and was immediately promoted, by commission dated May 2d, 1819.
Lieutenant Thornton’s next appointment was, Oct. 22d, 1821, to the Liffey 50, Commodore Charles Grant, C.B., under whom he served at the capture of Rangoon, May 11th, 1824[3]. On the 18th of Jan. 1825, he exchanged from that ship, then commanded by acting Commodore Coe, into the Alligator 28, Captain Thomas Alexander, C.B.; and in the beginning of March, we find him ascending the Irrawaddy with despatches for the latter officer, whom he joined below Donoobew on the day previous to the first attack upon that place, of which an account is given in pp. 73–76 of the Appendix. During the subsequent operations against Maha Bandoola, he commanded the Alligator’s cutter, then attached to the invading flotilla; and after the occupation of Prome, he was sent up the river as far as Patanagoh, with a small de-
