killed by the side of King William, at the battle of Steenkirk, in Flanders, July 24, 1692. Captain Mackay’s uncle died commander in-chief of the forces in Scotland, about May, 1789; and his eldest brother, now Lord Reay, commanded the “Loyal North Britons,” a corps entirely composed of Highland gentlemen, who enrolled themselves at the period of the threatened invasion, and were reviewed near London by his late Majesty, on which occasion they all appeared in their national costume.
Mr. Donald Hugh Mackay was born Dec. 31, 1780; and he entered the naval service in 1792, under the patronage of the late Admiral Robert Roddam, then commander-in-chief at Portsmouth.
After passing some time as a cadet at the Royal Naval Academy, Mr. Mackay joined the Daedalus of 32 guns, commanded by Captain (now Sir Thomas) Williams, with whom, and Sir Richard I. Strachan, he subsequently served as a Midshipman on board those active and successful frigates, the Unicorn, Melampus, and Diamond[1].
Mr. Mackay was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1798; and, as an armament was then preparing to sail against Ostend, Earl Spencer, to whom he had been strongly recommended by his late Captain, was pleased to appoint him to the Ariadne a 20-gun ship, in order that he might partake of that service[2]; but on his return from the Flemish coast, the Earl immediately removed him into an active frigate, the Melpomene, commanded by Sir Charles Hamilton, Bart, under whom he continued to serve until the summer of 1799, when he joined the Isis 50, bearing the flag of Vice-Admiral Mitchell, who was at that period selected to conduct the naval part of a formidable expedition destined against the Helder[3].
After witnessing the fall of that fortress and the surrender of the Texel squadron, Lieutenant Mackay accompanied his
- ↑ See Vol. I. pp. 387 and 287.
- ↑ See id., note at p. 713 et seq.
- ↑ See id., note at p. 414 et seq.
