THE MARINES AND THE NEW SOUTH WALES CORPS.
The service of the Marines in the colonization of Australia was, as it
always has been, _per mare, per terram_, such as reflected the highest
credit upon the corps. They were not "Royal" in those days, nor were they
light infantry; the first title came to them in 1802, when their facings
were changed from white to royal blue, and it was not until 1855 that they
were designated light infantry.
The Marine force in the first fleet under Captain Phillip numbered,
including women and children, 253 persons, made up of a major commanding,
1 judge-advocate, 2 captains, 2 captain-lieutenants, 9 first lieutenants,
3 second lieutenants, 1 adjutant, 1 quarter-master, 12 sergeants, 12
corporals, 8 drummers, 160 privates, 30 women, and 12 children. The
detachment was drawn from the Portsmouth and Plymouth divisions in equal
numbers. This expedition to Botany Bay was a service more remote from home
than any the corps had before been engaged in, and the men so looked upon
it, as may be seen from the following tedious memorial, which one company
addressed to the officer commanding:--
"We, the marines embarked on board the _Scarborough_, who have
voluntarily entered on a dangerous expedition, replete with
numberless difficulties, which in the faithful discharge of our
duty we must necessarily be exposed to, and supposing ourselves to
be on the same footing as if embarked on any of His Maj's ships of
war, or as the seamen and marines on the same expedition with
us--we hope to receive the same indulgence, now conceive ourselves
sorely aggrieved by finding the intentions of Government to make
no allowance of spirituous liquor or wine after our arrival at the
intended colony in New South Wales. A moderate distribution of the
above-mentioned article being indispensibly requisite for the
preservation of our lives, which change of climate and the extreme
fatigue we shall be necessarily exposed to may probably endanger,
we therefore humbly entreat you will be pleased to convey these
our sentiments to Major Ross. Presuming, sir, that you will not
only be satisfied that our demand is reasonable, but will also
perceive the urgent necessity there is for a compliance with our
request, we flatter ourselves you will also use your influence to
cause a removal of the uneasiness we experience under the idea of
being restricted in the supply of one of the principal necessarys
of life, without which, for the reasons above stated, we cannot
expect to survive the hardships incident to our situation. You may
depend on a chearful and ready discharge of the public duties that
may be enjoyned on us. The design of Government is, we hope, to
have a feeling for the calamities we must encounter. So, as to
induce them to provide in a moderate and reasonable degree for our
maintenance and preservation, we beg leave to tender our most
dutiful assurances of executing to the utmost of our power our
several abilities in the duty assign'd, so that we remain in every
respect loyal subjects to our king and worthy members of society."
The request was granted, and a three years' supply of spirits was put on
board the transports.
Several officers of this force are entitled to be remembered in connection
with the founding of New South Wales. Major Ross, the commandant and
lieutenant-governor of the colony, was a captain in the Plymouth division
when appointed to New South Wales, and was then given the rank of
brevet-major. From the day of his arrival in the colony until his return
to England he was a constant thorn in the side of the governor. A man more
unsuitable for the particular service could not have been chosen. He was a
most excellent pipe-clay and stock type of soldier, and his men appear to
have been kept well in hand, in spite of [Sidenote: 1788-1792]
a service peculiarly calculated to subvert discipline, but there his
qualifications ended.
He conceived that the sole duty of himself and his command was to defend
the settlement from foreign invasion and to mount guard over the
prisoners. The governor wanted to form a criminal court, as empowered by
his commission, and to do this it was necessary to call upon the marine
officers to sit upon it. Ross would have nothing to do with it until
Phillip, by superior diplomacy, conquered his objections. Ross, in fact,
would have it that no civilian duty should be expected of him; and when
Phillip forced him to admit that the British Government had sent him out
to do more than mount guard, he quoted regulations and many other red-tape
reasons why he should not be anything but a soldier. To crown this, he
quarrelled with all his subordinate officers in turn, and at one time had
them nearly all under arrest together. During his service in the colony he
wrote many letters to the home authorities urging the abandonment of the
settlement asserting that it was utterly impossible that it could be
colonized. He returned to England early in 1792, and the Government showed
its appreciation of his value by making a recruiting officer of him, and
he died in that service at Ipswich in June, 1794.
There are three other officers whose names are familiar to most
Australians: Tench, Collins, and Dawes. The last-named acted as artillery
and engineer officer to the colony, and did incalculable service in
surveying work. He built an observatory and a battery at the head of
Sydney Cove, which, though altered out of recognition, still bears the
name of Dawes' Battery. Captain Tench wrote the most readable book giving
an account of the settlement, and as about half a dozen books were written
by different officers of the first fleet, this, if it is all, is something
to be said about him.
Lieutenant Collins is the best-known officer. He wrote an official
history, and was associated with the colony's progress for many years
after the marines went home. His book is drier reading than that of Tench,
but it is the standard authority; and all the history-makers, good and
bad, have largely drawn upon him for their materials.
In the memoirs of Holt, the "Irish rebel general," who was transported to
Australia, and knew Collins well, appears the following truthful account
of him:--
"Colonel David Collins was the eldest son of General Arthur
Tooker Collins and Harriet Frazer, of Pack, in the King's County,
Ireland, and grandson of Arthur Collins, author of _The Peerage of
England_, etc. He was born on the 3rd of March, 1756, and received
a liberal education under the Rev. Mr. Marshall, master of the
Grammar School at Exeter, where his father resided. In 1770 he was
appointed lieutenant of marines, and in 1772 was with the late
Admiral McBride when the unfortunate Matilda, Queen of Denmark,
was rescued by the energy of the British Government, and conveyed
to a place of safety in the King's (her brother's) Hanoverian
dominions. On that occasion he commanded the guard that received
Her Majesty, and had the honour of kissing her hand. In 1775 he
was at the battle of Bunker's Hill, in which the first battalion
of marines, to which he belonged, so signally distinguished
itself, having its commanding officer, the gallant Major
Pitcairne, and a great many officers and men, killed in storming
the redoubt, besides a very large proportion wounded. In 1777 he
was adjutant of the Chatham division, and in 1784 captain of
marines on board the _Courageux_, of 74 guns, commanded by Lord
Mulgrave, and participated in the partial action that took place
with the enemy's fleet when Lord Howe relieved Gibraltar. Reduced
to half-pay at the peace of 1782, he settled at Rochester, in
Kent, and was finally appointed Judge-Advocate to the intended
settlement at Botany Bay, and in May, 1787, sailed with Governor
Phillip, who, moreover, appointed him his secretary, which
situation he filled until his return to England in 1797.
"The history of the settlement, which he soon after published,
will be read and referred to as a book of authority as long as the
colony exists whose name it bears. The appointment of
Judge-Advocate, however, eventually proved injurious to his own
interests. While absent he had been passed over when it came to
his turn to be put on full pay; nor was he permitted to return to
England to reclaim his rank in the corps, nor could he ever obtain
any effectual redress, but was afterwards compelled to come in as
a junior captain of the corps, though with his proper rank in the
army. The difference this made in regard to his promotion was that
he died a captain instead of a colonel-commandant, his rank in the
army being merely brevet. He had the mortification of finding
that, after ten years' distinguished service in the infancy of a
colony, and to the sacrifice of every real comfort, his only
reward had been the loss of many years' rank--a vital injury to an
officer: a remark which his wounded feelings wrung from him at the
close of the second volume of his history of the settlement, and
which appears to have awakened the sympathy of those in power, as
he was, almost immediately after its publication, offered the
government of the projected settlement in Van Dieman's Land, which
he accepted, and sailed once more for that quarter of the globe
where he founded his new colony, struggled with great
difficulties, which he overcame, and after remaining there eight
years, was enjoying the flourishing state his exertions had
produced, when he died suddenly, after a few days' confinement
from a slight cold, on the 24th March, 1810.
"His person was remarkably handsome, and his manners extremely
prepossessing, while to a cultivated understanding and an early
fondness for the _belles lettres_ he joined the most social
disposition.
"He had the goodwill, the good wishes, and the good word of
everyone in the settlement. His conduct was exemplary, and his
disposition most humane; his treatment of runaway convicts was
conciliatory, and even kind. He would go into the forests, among
the natives, to allow these poor creatures, the runaways, an
opportunity of returning to their former condition; and, half dead
with cold and hunger, they would come and drop on their knees
before him, imploring pardon for their behaviour.
"'Well,' he would say to them, 'now that you have lived in the
bush, do you think the change you made was for the better? Are you
sorry for what you have done?'
"'Yes, sir.'
"'And will you promise me never to go away again?'
"'Never, sir.'
"'Go to the storekeeper, then,' the benevolent Collins would say,
'and get a suit of slops and your week's rations, and then go to
the overseer and attend to your work. I give you my pardon, but
remember that I expect you will keep your promise to me.'
"I never heard of any governor or commandant acting in this
manner, nor did I ever witness such leniency from any governor."
Of the marines it has already been said they behaved fairly well. Some of
them were punished--six, as a matter of fact, were hanged for thieving
from the public stores, a crime then of the greatest magnitude--but the
crimes committed were by individuals, and offences were very severely
punished in those days, even in England. Read what Colonel Cooper King
says as to the life of a marine:--
"Some of the marine regimental records are interesting as showing
the inner life of the sea, or even land, soldier a hundred years
ago. In the tailor's shop in 1755, for example, the idea of an
eight hours' working day was not evidently a burning question, for
the men worked from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m., with one hour for meals.
Again, punishments were severe, as the sentences passed on three
deserters in 1766 show; for, while one was shot, the other two
were to receive 1000 and 500 lashes respectively. In 1755 two
'private men absent from exercise' were 'to be tyed neck and heels
on the Hoe half an hour'; while thirteen years later a sergeant,
for taking 'coals and two poles' from the dockyard, was sentenced
to 500 lashes, and to be 'drummed out with a halter round his
neck,' after, of course, being reduced to the ranks."[E]
[Footnote E: _The Story of the British Army_, by Lieutenant-Colonel C.
Cooper-King, F.G.S. (Methuen & Co., 1897.)]
Before taking leave of the marines the story of what happened when the
_Sirius_ was lost at Norfolk Island should be told. Lieutenant King, of
the _Sirius_, had been sent to colonize the island by Governor Phillip,
and was acting as governor of it, but when the _Sirius_ went ashore Major
Ross thought proper to establish martial law, [Sidenote: 1789-1790]
and so (the quotation is from King's journal)--
"at 8 a.m. on March 22nd, 1790, every person in the settlement was
assembled under the lower flagstaff, where the Union flag was
hoisted. The troops were drawn up in two lines, having the Union
at their head in the centre, with the colours of the detachment
displayed, the _Sirius's_ ship's company on the right and the
convicts on the left, the officers in the centre, when the
proclamation was read declaring the law-martial to be that by
which the island was in future to be governed until further
orders. The lieutenant-governor addressed the convicts, after
which the whole gave three cheers, and then every person,
beginning with the lieutenant-governor and Captain Hunter, passed
under the Union in token of a promise or oath to submit and be
amenable to the law-martial then declared. The convicts and the
_Sirius's_ ship's company were then sent round to Cascade Bay,
where proportions of flour and pork were received from the
_Supply_ and brought round to the settlement."
In June, 1789, the Home Government determined to form a corps for special
service in New South Wales and bring the marines home. Several suggestions
had been made to this effect, and offers from more than one officer had
been received to raise a regiment. Ultimately an offer by Major Grose was
accepted to raise 300 rank and file. The short and ignoble story of this
corps can be traced in the records of New South Wales, and Mr. Britton,
in his volume of official history, devotes a chapter to an admirable
summary of the annals of the regiment.
Grose was the son of Francis Grose, the antiquarian, who died in 1791.
Francis the younger entered the army as ensign in the 52nd Regiment in
1775; served in the American War of Independence; fought at Bunker's Hill;
was twice wounded; went home on account of his wounds; was promoted to
captain; did two years' recruiting; was then promoted a major in the 96th;
then raised the New South Wales Regiment; was promoted lieutenant-colonel
while serving in the colony where he, as already has been said, acted as
governor for two years between the time of Phillip's departure and
Hunter's arrival. In 1795, owing to his wounds troubling him, he was
compelled to return to England, where he was given a staff appointment,
and in 1805 was promoted major-general.
Nicholas Nepean, the senior captain, entered the service in the Plymouth
division of the marines, and had served under Admiral Keppel. He left New
South Wales after a couple of years' service, and joined the 91st, and was
rapidly promoted, until in 1807 he was made brigadier-general and given a
command at Cape Breton. He was a brother of Evan Nepean, Under-Secretary
at the Home Office at the time of the foundation of the colony; and the
Nepean river, the source of Sydney's water supply, to this day reminds
Australians of the family connection.
The only other officers worth noting are Captain Paterson, who had been an
African traveller, and had written a book on his travels, and Lieutenant
MacArthur, whose name has already been mentioned in the chapter on Hunter,
and will reappear to some purpose later on. The last thing MacArthur did
before leaving England for New South Wales was to fight a duel. The
_Morning Post_ of December 2nd, 1789, tells how in consequence of a
dispute between Mr. Gilbert, the master of the transport _Neptune_, and
Lieutenant MacArthur, of the Botany Bay Rangers, the two landed at the old
gun wharf near the lines, Plymouth, and, attended by seconds, exchanged
shots twice. The seconds then interposed, and the business was settled by
MacArthur declaring that Captain Gilbert's conduct was in every respect
that of a gentleman and a man of honour, and in the evening he repeated
the same expressions on the quarterdeck of the _Neptune_ to the
satisfaction of all parties. The quarrel originated in the refusal of
Gilbert to admit MacArthur to his private mess-table, although he offered
the soldier every other accommodation for himself and wife and family. The
Government settled the affair by appointing a new master to the _Neptune_
and allowing MacArthur to exchange to another transport.
The corps was raised in the fashion of the time. Grose received a letter
of service:--
"Yourself and the three captains now to be appointed by His
Majesty will each be required to raise a complete company (viz.,
three sergeants, three corporals, two drummers, and sixty-seven
private men), in aid of the expenses of which you will be allowed
to name the lieutenant and ensign of your respective companies,
and to receive from the public three guineas for every recruit
approved at the headquarters of the corps by a general or field
officer appointed for the purpose."
Grose made what he could by the privilege of nominating and by any
difference there was between the price he paid for recruits and the public
money he was paid for them; this sort of business was common enough in
those days. Later on he received permission to raise two hundred more men,
and a second major, who paid £200 for his commission, was appointed. Such
men of the old marine force as chose to accept their discharge in New
South Wales were allowed that privilege, and were given a land grant to
induce them to become settlers, and these men were, on the arrival of the
New South Wales Corps, formed into an auxiliary company under the command
of Captain-Lieutenant George Johnson, who had been a marine officer in the
first fleet, and who, like MacArthur, was later on to make a chapter of
history. The regiment at its maximum strength formed ten companies,
numbering 886 non-coms, and privates.
It may be interesting to record on what conditions the marines were
granted discharges. First they must have served three years (a superfluous
condition, seeing that the corps was not relieved until long after three
years' service had expired); there was then granted to every non-com. 100
acres and every private 50 acres for ten years, after which they were to
pay an annual quit rent of a shilling for every ten acres. A bounty of £3
and a double grant of land was allowed to all men who re-enlisted in the
New South Wales Corps, and they were also given the further privilege of a
year's clothes, provisions, and seed grain, and one or more assigned
convict servants, at the discretion of the governor. The only available
return shows that about 50 of the men, a year before the force left the
colony, had accepted the offer of discharge and settled at Parramatta and
Norfolk Island, then the two principal farming settlements.
The Home Government made no provisions for grants to officers, and as to
free emigrants, they were a class in those days so little contemplated
that the early governors' instructions merely provided that they were to
be given every encouragement short of "subjecting the public to expense."
Grants of land equal to that given to non-commissioned officers could be
made, and assigned servants allowed, but nothing else.
Any modern emigrant who has seen what a grant of uncleared land in
Australia means knows what a poor chance of success the most industrious
settler could have on these terms, and the early governors were in despair
of getting people settled, since they could not provide settlers with
seeds, tools, clothing, or anything else without disobeying the order not
to subject the public to expense.
Emancipated convicts, on the other hand, were allowed much the same
privileges as discharged marines. Phillip repeatedly wrote to England on
this subject, and he, on his own responsibility, on more than one
occasion, departed from his instructions, and gave privileges to _bonâ
fide_ selectors of all classes.
The English Government was perfectly right in the plan laid down. Its
object was to encourage those people to go upon the land who were prepared
to remain there, and military and civil officials were not likely to
become permanent occupants of their land grants. An opportunity, as a
matter of fact, was given to them to supply information as to whether or
not they wanted to settle. At that time things looked unpromising, and
most of them answered, "No." When it became apparent to the Government
that there was a desire to settle, further instructions were issued by
which officers were allowed to take up land, but the permission was given
without providing proper security for permanent occupation or without
limiting the area of land grants. From the omission of these provisions
many abuses grew up. A scale of fees absurdly small, seeing that fees were
not chargeable to military and convict settlers, but only to people who,
it might well be supposed, could afford to pay, was also provided by the
Government, and regulations for the employment of assigned convicts were
drawn up.
In Governor Phillip's time there was no authority to grant officers any
land; in Lieutenant-Governor Grose's time there was no limit to the land
they might be granted, and as little value was attached to the Crown lands
of the colony, lands probably of less value then than any other in the
possession of civilized people, Grose's officers, who had to do a great
deal of extra civil work, were given land in payment for that work. Much
abuse has been heaped upon Grose for his alleged favouring of officers by
giving them huge grants of land, but, as a matter of fact, Grose behaved
very honourably; and Mac Arthur, who owned more land than any other
officer in 1794, had only 250 acres in cultivation, and the grants to
other officers never exceeded in any one case 120 acres. If Grose's land
policy was bad, he was not to blame, but the trafficking which he
permitted to grow up and practically encouraged was a different matter
altogether.
Phillip warned the home Government before he left the colony that rum
might be a necessity, but it would certainly turn out a great evil. Soon
after Grose took command of the colony there arrived an American ship with
a cargo of provisions and rum for sale. The American skipper would not
sell the provisions without the purchaser also bought the spirits. This
was the beginning of the rum traffic; and ships frequently arrived
afterwards with stores, and always with quantities of spirits--rum from
America and brandy from the Cape. The officers purchased all the spirits,
and paid the wages of the convicts who were assigned to them with the
liquor; not only this, but they hired extra convict labour, paying for it
the same way, and strong drink became the medium of exchange.
All this has been an apparent digression from the history of the New South
Wales Corps, but, as will be seen, the subjects are intimately connected.
A later governor, who found the colony not so bad as it was at this time,
said its population consisted of people who had been, and people who ought
to have been, transported. Little wonder then that the New South Wales
Corps, enlisted from the lowest classes of the English population, became
demoralized. Most of the recruits came from that famous "clink" the Savoy
Military Prison. They had little drill or discipline when they were
embarked for the colony, and the character of the service they were
employed in was the very worst to make good soldiers of them.
In consequence they became a dangerous element in the early life of the
colony; there were frequently breaches of discipline, there were cases of
downright mutiny, and their career in New South Wales ended in a
rebellion. The responsibility for the last crime, however, is with the
officers, and not the men. One mutiny was that of the detachment on the
_Lady Shore_ in 1798.
This ship was on her way out with female prisoners and a few of the better
sort of male convicts. The soldiers joined with the seamen and seized the
ship, turning those who would not take side with them adrift in the boats.
Among these loyal people were some of the male convicts. The boats made
their way to Rio Janeiro, whence the people ultimately reached England.
Among the "respectable" convicts was one Major Semple, a notorious
swindler of the time, who on this occasion behaved well, risking his life
for the protection of the ship's officers--from the soldiers who had been
put on board to support law and order! (He afterwards settled in the
Brazils, and received his pardon from England.) The ship was carried by
the mutineers into Monte Video and there given up to the Spaniards, who
later, finding the true character of the people on board of her, hanged
the ringleader and delivered up others of her crew to the English naval
authorities. The female convicts had been carried off by the soldiers, and
when the Rev. William Gregory arrived at Monte [Sidenote: 1798-1807]
Video (a prisoner of war taken in the missionary ship _Duff_ on her second
voyage), he found these women there. They had by their conduct given the
Spaniards a curious idea of the morality of Englishwomen.[F] Among the
rebellious soldiers were many foreigners, and when the mutineers seized
the vessel they announced that they had taken her in the name of the
French Republic. They addressed one another as "Citizen" this and
"Citizen" that, and behaved generally in the approved manner of those
"reformers" of the period who had been inspired by the French
revolutionists.
[Footnote F: The _Duff was_ captured by the _Bonaparte_, privateer. Among
her passengers were several ladies--wives of the missionaries--and at
first the citizens of Monte Video classed them with the _Lady Shore's_
female passengers.]
In the chapters on King and Bligh the mutinies of this remarkable regiment
form almost the principal episodes, so we may conclude this chapter with
what short regimental history the corps possessed.
As the colony grew in population the corps was increased in strength,
until, in 1807, it reached a total of 11 companies, numbering 886
non-commissioned officers and men. In 1808 came the Bligh episode, yet to
be described. The home Government recalled the corps, and a battalion of
the 73rd, 700 strong, was sent out to relieve it. Authority was, however,
given to make up the 73rd to the strength of 1000 by taking volunteers
from the corps. This was done, and a veteran company was also formed, and
the strength of the 73rd then reached a total of 1234 soldiers, of whom
something like 500 men originally belonged to the New South Wales Corps.
The remainder of the old corps went home, and was placed on the army list
as the 102nd Regiment. Before this its official title was the New South
Wales Corps, but the newspapers of the day often varied this by calling it
the Botany Bay Rangers and similar appropriate names.
The 102nd served at various home stations until 1812, when it was sent to
the Bermudas, and in 1814 took part in an expedition against Mosse Island,
in America. In 1816 the 102nd became the 100th [Sidenote: 1823-1870]
Regiment; and on the 24th of March, 1818, the regiment was disbanded, and
the regiments which were afterwards thus numbered have no connection with
it.
The veteran company lasted until 1823, being linked to each regiment of
foot that came out to the Australian station. The 73rd was followed by the
46th; then came the 48th, and soon afterwards the New South Wales Veteran
Company, as it was called, was abolished. Imperial troops from that time
onward garrisoned the Australian colonies until 1870, when they were
withdrawn, and their places taken by the permanent artillery regiment, the
militia, and the volunteer forces, raised under constitutional government.