Colin Buckner (ca. 1778–1836) was appointed by TJ a captain in the 5th Infantry Regiment, United States Army, effective 1 July 1808. He served on the Canadian frontier during the War of 1812, rose to major in January 1814, transferred later that year to the 20th Infantry, and was honorably discharged on 15 June 1815. Buckner subsequently settled in Lynchburg, where he served as a director of the local branch of the Farmers’ Bank and sat on the committees that prepared to celebrate Lafayette’s visit in 1825 and mourn TJ’s death the following year. At his own death Buckner’s personal estate included more than thirty slaves and was valued in excess of $20,000 (Heitman, U.S. Army description begins Francis B. Heitman, comp., Historical Register and Dictionary of the United States Army, 1903, 2 vols. description ends , 1:259; JEP description begins Journal of the Executive Proceedings of the Senate of the United States description ends , 2:99, 107, 544, 580 [25 Jan., 2 Feb. 1809, 14 Oct., 7 Nov. 1814]; Richmond Enquirer, 10 Jan. 1832; William Asbury Christian, Lynchburg and Its People [1900], 81, 85; Lynchburg Will Book, B:210–1, 254–5; Lynchburg Virginian, 10 Mar. 1836; gravestone inscription in Lynchburg Presbyterian cemetery).

The earlier introductory letter Buckner mentions from colo taylor, not found, may have been from John Taylor of Caroline, who held that rank in the militia during the American Revolution. At the time of his 1808 military appointment, Buckner was apparently living near Taylor’s residence at Port Royal (Buckner to William H. Cabell, 19 July 1808 [Vi: RG 3, Governor’s Office, Executive Papers]).