Bucklin Gaspee History
On June 10, 1772, 18 year old Joseph Bucklin said to his friend, “reach me your gun, and I can kill that fellow.” That shot is considered by English historians the first Act of War by the American colonists. The capture and burning of the English Navy ship Gaspee was a significant event in Revolutionary War history.
King George III issued a reward for information leading to the arrest of the shooter. The Rhode Island government and the people of Providence banded together and would not name him. From that point in 1772, a dozen or more Bucklins became active in revolutionary activities.
“The shot heard around the world,” at the Battles of Lexington and Concord are considered the first military engagement of the American Revolutionary War happened several years later on April 19, 1775.
Most Bucklin descendants haven’t heard about this history. Before Ray Bucklin discovered the Bucklin Society website years ago, we had never heard of it either. Joseph Bucklin would be about 6 generations ago (two more than we knew about). He died at sea before the end of the war with no descendants, but we are related further up the family tree.
Be sure to check out the Gaspee page on the Bucklin Society website for more details of this little known bit of Revolution history.
My mom has always liked this story. But I think she quoted it as “Fetch me my musket Eph, I’m gonna kill that fellow!” She’ll tell you how proud she is of her ancestor who fired the first shot of the Revolution. When I looked into it a little more, I saw that yes, he was a Bucklin, but no, he did not have any children. I do not have the heart to correct her and say that we were related, but not descended. It’s close enough!