Deaths 45
Discharges 31
Invalided 38
Desertions 4
-- 118
——
269
Wanted to complete 6
——
Establishment 275
===
1801-1802.
Distribution of corps—Dispersion of West India
company—Statistics—Detachment to St. Marcou—Capture of Danish
settlements—Casualties in West India company—Compared with mortality
in Gibraltar companies—Working dress—Services, &c., of detachment at
Gibraltar—Conduct of Sergeant W. Shirres—Concession to the companies
by the Duke of Kent—Cocked hat superseded by the chaco.
On the 1st January the corps was distributed in companies and
detachments as follows. The names of the officers in command and the
senior non-commissioned officers at the several stations are also
added:—
Sergeant-majors.
Woolwich Lieut.-Col. B. Fisher John Eaves.
Chatham Lieut.-Col. Thos. Nepean John Palmer.
Portsmouth } Col. John Evelegh { James Smith.
Gosport } { Alexander Spence.
Plymouth Maj.-Gen. Alex. Mercer William Browne.
Jersey Capt. John Humfrey Anthony Haig.
Guernsey Lieut.-Col. J. Mackelcan Andrew Gray.
Dover
Gibraltar Lieut.-Col. Wm. Fyers Joseph Makin.
Minorca Capt. Robert D’Arcy { Sergeant Jas. Shirres,
{ _Foreman of
Carpenters_.
Nova Scotia Capt. Wm. Fenwick { Sergeant John Catto,
{ _Foreman of Masons_.
West Indies Col. Chas. Shipley Serg.-Maj. Matthew Hoey.
Egyptian Capt. Alex. Bryce { Sergeant John McArthur,
Expedition
{ _Master Smith_.
Jaffa, with the } Major C. Holloway { Sergeant Edward Watson,
Ottoman army } { _Master Carpenter_.
The head-quarters of the West India company were at Martinique, from
which non-commissioned officers and men were detached to St. Lucia, St.
Vincent’s, St. Kitt’s, St. Pierre’s, the Saintes, Surinam, and
Barbadoes, for the purpose of acting as overseers on the works or for
employment on particular services.
The establishment of the corps was 975; but wanting 232 to complete, its
strength only amounted to 743 of all ranks. Of this number 403 were
abroad and 340 at home.
Early in the year a small party of one sergeant, and seven artificers
from the Portsmouth and Gosport companies were sent to St. Marcou, an
island on the coast of France, seven miles east of Cape la Hogue, to
repair the fortifications; and having accomplished the service returned
to their companies in November.
To the expedition which proceeded against the Danish settlements in
March, under the command of Lieut.-General Trigge, were attached one
sergeant-major, two corporals, and twenty privates of the military
artificers, who were present at the capture of the islands of St.
Bartholomew, St. Martin, St. Thomas, St. John, and Santa Croix.
The loss in the West India company by fever and other diseases during
the year amounted to twenty, whose vacancies were immediately filled up
by transfers from the line.
In May the working dress consisted of a blue cloth jacket with skirts,
two serge waistcoats with sleeves, two pairs of blue serge pantaloons, a
black round hat, and a pair of half black gaiters. One of the waistcoats
and a pair of pantaloons formed the second working dress. The new jacket
was made of stouter and better cloth than formerly; sleeves were added
to the serge waistcoats, and the second pair of pantaloons were
substituted for the canvas ones. These improvements were considered
equivalent to a linen shirt, a pair of stockings, and a canvas jacket
previously supplied with the working suit, but which, from this year,
ceased to be issued to the corps.
At the opening of the year the military artificers with the British
mission to Turkey, reduced to fifteen men, were occupied in the erection
of the new bastion at Jaffa, which was finished and the guns placed on
the platforms with great pomp on the 27th January. Of the detachment
with the mission, two were styled labourers, from their not having been
promoted to the rank of artificers; and they, when not immediately
occupied on the works, acted in the capacity of servants to Major
Holloway. One of these labourers when out one afternoon some distance
from Jaffa, exercising the Major’s horses, was attacked by a party of
Arabs on a predatory excursion, by whose fire the Major’s horse was
killed, and the bâtman wounded with balls and slugs in nine different
places. The servant of Major Hope, R. A. was also in the assault; and by
great exertion succeeded in bearing his comrade back to the camp. Dr.
Wittman, of the mission, with celerity equal to his skill, extracted the
missiles and the sufferer speedily recovered.[123]
-----
Footnote 123:
Either private Jonathan Lewsey or private David Waddell, both of whom
acted as servants to Major Holloway, R.E. The former was a powerful
man, and remarkable from the circumstance of his having _four thumbs_!
two on each hand in addition to the proper complement of fingers. On
the breaking up of the mission at Grand Cairo, these privates returned
to England with that officer by the overland route.
-----
On the 2nd February, Captain Lacy, royal engineers, was despatched to El
Arish to collect military information, accompanied by a private of the
artificers who early fell a sacrifice to the plague that prevailed
there. On the 25th of that month, the Ottoman army commenced its march
to Grand Cairo, the British mission being attached to the body guard of
his Highness the Vizier, mounted on fine horses superbly caparisoned,
and attended by Arabs. Passing through Ashdod, the army encamped for a
while at Gaza, where the military artificers were separated into three
parties, and attached to the divisions respectively commanded by the
Grand Vizier, Mahomed Pacha, and Taher Pacha; but it is difficult to
record with satisfactory distinctness, the particular services in which
they subsequently participated. On the 28th March the army entered the
Desert at Kahnyounes, and traversing that arid and inhospitable region
for about 150 miles, subjected to occasional deprivation of food and
water, and exposed to sultry heats, infectious diseases, and danger,
reached Salahieh on the 27th April, after a tedious and harassing march
of thirty-two days. Two of the military artificers died in the Desert;
and the survivors, who were present at the capture of Salahieh and
Belbeis, and in the action near the village of Elhanka, entered Cairo on
the 11th July. There they were employed during the remainder of the
year, in renewing the bridge of boats across the Nile constructed by the
French to preserve a communication with Gizeh, and also in repairing the
fortifications of the city, until the 19th February, 1802, when they
quitted for Rosetta. From this town they were removed to Alexandria, and
afterwards to Malta, where, finally embarking for England, they arrived
at different periods in the fall of 1802 and spring of 1803.[124] The
strength of the detachment on joining the Turkish mission, was
twenty-four of all ranks; eleven only returned! Of the casualties eleven
died of fever or the plague, and two were drowned accidentally. “After a
series of painful, harassing, and critical events,” says the journalist,
“the labours of the mission closed; and the patience, forbearance, and
circumspection of the individuals engaged in this long and perilous
service, were manifested on a variety of trying occasions, which
required all the energy inherent in the British military
character.”[125]
-----
Footnote 124:
Sergeant Edward Watson, who enlisted into the artillery as a matross,
January 28, 1775, and joined the corps at Woolwich, March 1, 1792, was
the senior non-commissioned officer with the mission; and in
consideration of his zeal, ability, and uniform exemplary conduct, as
well in discharge of his military duties, as in the executive
superintendence of the several works undertaken by Major Holloway, he
was promoted, on his arrival in England, to be sergeant-major of the
Woolwich company. On December 1, 1810, he was discharged. For similar
reasons corporal David Pollock was advanced to the rank of sergeant,
and appointed master-smith.
Footnote 125:
Wittman’s ‘Turkey,’ p. 395.
-----
Meanwhile the detachment of the corps with the force under the command
of Sir Ralph Abercrombie reached Marmorice Bay; and with the exception
of the party on board the ‘Ajax’, landed, and prepared a shipload of
fascines and gabions to be used in the intended enterprise. Five of the
‘Ajax’ men were employed in different repairs to the vessel; and the
other two, assisted by a corporal of the 44th regiment, made an elegant
double couch of mahogany covered with various beautifully-marked skins
from Rhodes, for the Turkish General Mustapha, which was presented to
him by Captain the Hon. Alexander Cochrane, R.N. On the 17th February,
the fleet set sail for Egypt, and running into Aboukir Bay on the 1st
March, the troops landed on the 7th, and then followed a display of
invincible ardour and bravery on the part of the British, that checked
France in her career of success, and turned all her glorious Egyptian
conquests into painful disasters and capitulations.
With the first division were landed the seven military artificers of the
‘Ajax,’ who were present in the action of that morning; and eight hours
afterwards commenced to trace the necessary works for besieging Aboukir
Castle. Next day the remainder of the detachment landed from the ‘Asia’
transport, and dispersed in small parties of about four each to the
several brigades of the army, advanced to Alexandria. Under the
direction of their officers, the ‘Ajax’ artificers superintended the
construction of batteries for eleven guns and three mortars in front of
Aboukir, laying all the platforms themselves, and restoring, when
damaged by the enemy’s fire, the cheeks of the embrasures which were
formed by a double row of sand-bags backed or strengthened by a row of
casks filled with earth, a plan suggested by Major M‘Kerras, royal
engineers, previously to his being killed; but which was not again
resorted to, during the subsequent operations of the campaign. On the
19th March the castle surrendered.
On the heights of Alexandria, the artificers with the column under Sir
Ralph Abercrombie, superintended the erection of batteries and redoubts
of sand-bags, fascines, and gabions, which formed a strong line of
defence from the sea to Lake Maedie. The Aboukir party joining on the
20th, also assisted in the works until their completion. Unable, from
being unarmed, to take an active part in the battle of Alexandria on the
21st March, they occupied themselves in the essential duty of carrying
shot, shell, and ammunition to the artillery and the troops.
After the battle the military artificers had the charge, under their
officers, of renewing the works on the heights, and when completed were
appointed to aid in effecting the inundation of a portion of the
country. This was accomplished by cutting seven channels in the dyke of
the canal of Alexandria, through which the waters of Lake Aboukir rushed
into Lake Mareotis, then nearly dry, and about ten feet below the level
of Lake Aboukir. Across the Nile they subsequently threw a bridge of
boats, to facilitate the communication between Alexandria and Rosetta,
re-forming it when swept away by the rapidity of the current; and
afterwards they assisted in the construction of a similar bridge across
the openings in the dyke of the canal of Alexandria for the convenience
of the shipping.
Four of the artificers who were at the siege of the castle of Aboukir
were attached to the brigade under Colonel Spencer, and served at the
reduction of Rosetta, Fort St. Julian—against which they constructed
batteries for two guns and two mortars—Elhamet, Alkam, and Rahmanieh.
Shortly after they proceeded to Grand Cairo and were present at its
surrender on the 27th June. A brief interval elapsed, when they returned
to Alexandria, by the river Nile, in the large which contained the field
equipment of the detachment. On reaching Alexandria, the entire
detachment was divided into two parties, one under Captain Bryce, the
chief engineer, and the other under Captain Ford, royal engineers; and
were subsequently present at the siege of the castle of Marabout, the
taking of Redoubt de Bain, and at the final fall of Alexandria on the
27th August. No casualties in killed and wounded are reported to have
taken place among the men during the campaign; and though no particular
testimony to their merits appears to have been recorded, from the
circumstance of their being so few in number, and from the absence of
prominent occasions of exhibiting their zeal and efficiency, arising
from the enemy capitulating and surrendering many of his works without
resistance, still they were permitted in common with the other troops
that served in Egypt, to wear the device of the Sphinx on their
appointments. A like honour was also conferred upon the military
artificers who served with the mission to Turkey.
Immediately following the capture of Alexandria, an expedition was sent
to Elba, under Admiral Lord Keith and General Sir Eyre Coote. Five
military artificers were attached to it on board the ‘Amphitrite’
transport, under the orders of Captain Birch, royal engineers; but, when
between Rhodes and Candia, an English man-of-war brought intelligence of
peace to Lord Keith, and the descent upon the island was relinquished.
Thereupon the ‘Amphitrite’ sailed for Malta, where the artificers
remained for six weeks, employed in repairing the fortifications. During
this period, they were joined by others of the detachment from
Alexandria, and re-embarking, arrived in England in February, 1802. The
residue of the detachment, detained for a while at Alexandria and Malta
watching the development of events, reached these shores in August,
1803.
On the Duke of Kent being appointed Governor of Gibraltar, his first
care was to introduce some wholesome regulations for diminishing the
drunkenness and crime so prevalent in the garrison. Stringent measures
were therefore adopted with regard to the sale of liquors and wines in
the canteens, scrupulous attention was paid to the appearance of the men
in the streets, and drill and discipline were rigorously enforced. These
reforms, however, were received with much discontent; and on
Christmas-eve of 1802 the stifled feeling of insubordination broke out
into mutiny.
In this _émeute_ the greater part of the military artificers took an
unequivocal but unimportant part. The Duke’s new rules interfered more
essentially with the practices and indulgences of the companies, than
with any other troops in the garrison. Besides being subjected to the
general rigours imposed on the troops, the artificers were deprived of
the privilege of working privately in the town, and were once a week
taken from the command of their own officers, and drilled and
disciplined by the Town Major. These innovations upon old usages
produced considerable disaffection in the companies, and many of the
more reckless and turbulent were not backward in ranging themselves on
the side of the mutineers. Joining a party of the Royals at night, at
the Town Range Barracks, they proceeded in company to the South
Barracks, where, on approaching to make arrangements for a simultaneous
rising, the 18th Royal Irish fired upon them, with no better result than
tearing the feather from the hat of one of the privates of the
artificers.
This harmless volley had the effect of cooling the ardour of the
mutineers, and the rebel artificers becoming tranquil, returned home;
but on the Saturday following, another and more decided exhibition being
expected, the officers of engineers met at the barracks, to endeavour to
prevent any co-operation with the mutineers. Meanwhile the companies
received their working pay, and all restrictions being taken off the
canteen, the intemperance that followed soon rendered the men too
insensible to discharge any duty effectually, either for the Crown or
the mutineers. During the night a strong party of the 25th regiment
appeared at the gates to demand the services of the companies; but
sergeant William Shirres, assisted by a small guard of the corps, closed
and daringly held the gates against the exasperated rebels, and
prevented any communication with the barracks. Without entering further
into the progress of the mutiny, it will be sufficient to add, that it
was soon suppressed, and three of the ringleaders of the 25th regiment
were shot on the Grand Parade by sentence of a general court-martial.
A few days after the Duke of Kent ordered the companies to be specially
paraded for his inspection. Having passed down the ranks and moved to
the front, his Royal Highness addressed them. He appeared to have been
informed that the artificers had joined with the Royals and 25th
regiment in their intemperate display; but added, that he felt every
reluctance to give credence to the report, and also made some
complimentary allusions to the services of the companies at the
fortress. He then desired to know if there were any complaints, in
order, if reasonable, to adjust them. The men, thus courteously invited,
having stated their wish to be drilled by their own officers, his Royal
Highness directed the Town Major to manœuvre the companies. Carefully
the Duke watched the firelock exercise and the execution of the various
evolutions, and, expressing his satisfaction with their appearance and
drill, granted their request.
This year the cocked hat, worn since 1797, was superseded by the chaco,
similar in size and shape to the one commonly adopted in the army. So
strange an alteration—from the sage-like cocked hat to its trim
substitute—obtained for the new head-gear the cimmerian appellation of
the “smoke-jack.” The white heckle feather worn with the cocked hat, was
retained. See Plate IX. As time wound up, this description of chaco lost
its upright lines for one which, approaching a cone in shape, was called
the “sugar-loaf cap.” The latter, again, was superseded by another in
1813, which, from its peculiar form, was familiarly styled the
“bang-up.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Illustration:
Royal Military Artificers Plate IX.
UNIFORM 1802 Printed by M & N Hanhart.
]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1803-1805.
Party to Ceylon—The treaty of Amiens broken—State of West India
company—Capture of St. Lucia—Tobago—Demerara, Essequibo, and
Berbice—Works at Spike Island—Capture of Surinam—Conduct of private
George Mitchell—Batavian soldiers join West India Company—Fever at
Gibraltar—Consequent mortality.—Humane and intrepid conduct of three
privates—Invasion of England—Works at Dover—Jersey—Chelmsford—Martello
towers at Eastbourne—Bomb tenders at Woolwich—Recruiting—Volunteers
from the Line and Militia—Treaty of St. Petersburgh—Party to
Naples—Ditto to Hanover.
Lieutenant-Colonel Bridges having been appointed commanding royal
engineer in Ceylon, he applied for a detachment of the military
artificers to accompany him to that station. The requisite sanction
being procured, six artificers, comprising one corporal, two carpenters,
one mason, one bricklayer, and one smith, embarked for the East in
January. The precise object of despatching so small a party to so
distant a settlement cannot now be learned, but every care was taken to
choose men for the service whose activity and abilities as craftsmen
were well known, and whose conduct was unexceptionable. “Select,” says
the order to the officer called upon to furnish the party, “such men as
you would prefer if going on the service yourself.” In June the party
arrived at Trincomalee, but what specific services were performed by
them in the colony it would be idle to conjecture. Before the autumn of
1806, four of the men died, but the other two held up against the
climate till 1815, when one left for England and was discharged,[126]
and the other died in April, 1817.
-----
Footnote 126:
John Wallace. It is related of him that he was lost sight of for many
months, and his appearance at Woolwich gave rise to as much surprise
as his person to doubt. All traces of the original man had worn away,
and from the oddness of his dress, and peculiarity of his manners, the
task of recognition was rendered still more perplexing. Eventually,
satisfactory proofs of his identity being obtained, he was again
acknowledged and discharged on a pension of 1_s._ 6_d._ a-day, his
service in the corps having exceeded thirty-three years.
-----
The treaty of peace between France and Great Britain was signed on the
27th March, 1802, and hailed everywhere with exultation. Soon, however,
Buonaparte began to exhibit a spirit at variance with the solemn
engagement, and his irrepressible ambition forced him to seek occasions
for gratifying it. Increased power and dominion were the engrossing
objects of his genius; and, singular as it may appear, states and
republics fell under his sway without his lifting a sword to conquer
them. All this transpired while yet the burst of joy at the peaceful
negotiation was ringing in the courts of Europe; but Great Britain,
though a sullen spectator of these events, caring more to be blamed for
reluctance than impetuosity, at length interfered, and the result was,
that war was declared with the French republic on the 18th May, 1803.
At that period the company stationed in the West Indies had nearly
reached its establishment; and, as the sickness, so rife in former
years, had greatly lessened both in malignity and extent, the general
health of the men had much improved. So keen was Lieutenant-Colonel
Shipley about maintaining his company complete, that whenever a death
occurred or an artificer quitted the station through ill health, he
invariably applied direct to the general officer in command of the
troops, to order a tradesman of approved qualification and conduct to be
transferred to it from the line. Alike interested in the efficiency of
the company, the general officer always acceded to his request; and the
company, consequently, was in excellent condition for affording
effective co-operation in any active service.
Intelligence of the renewal of hostilities soon reached the West India
islands, and an expedition was forthwith prepared to be employed in the
capture of St. Lucia, under the command of General Grinfield and
Commodore Hood. To this force were attached one sergeant-major, three
sergeants, five corporals, and sixty-eight privates of the military
artificers, who were engaged, on the 22nd June, in the storming of Morne
Fortuné and taking of St. Lucia. Corporal William Dyson was killed at
the storm,[127] but of the wounded, no particulars exist. Of the
services of Colonel Shipley and his company in this capture, the
General, under date of June 22nd, thus wrote:—“To Lieutenant-Colonel
Shipley and the royal engineers, he is indebted in a high degree for
assistance and professional advice.”[128]
-----
Footnote 127:
In the ‘London Gazette,’ 26 to 30 July, 1803, this corporal is, by
mistake, returned as sergeant.
Footnote 128:
‘London Gazette Extraordinary,’ August 15, 1803.
-----
In July the same company was present at the capitulation of Tobago,
which surrendered without bloodshed to the forces under General
Grinfield. “Great praise,” says the General in his orders of the 1st
July, “is also due to the alertness and readiness of the royal artillery
and royal artificers in their embarkation and disembarkation, both of
themselves, ordnance, and stores, and for their attention to their
discipline and duties” [129]
-----
Footnote 129:
Ibid.
-----
In the following September, Colonel Shipley and one sergeant-major,
three sergeants, one corporal, and thirty-three privates, were attached
to another expedition under the same General, and were present at the
capture of the colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. Like
Tobago, these islands surrendered without resistance. At each of the
subjugated settlements and at Trinidad, a small party was left to carry
on the current services and improve the defences. The head-quarters
still remained at Martinique. During the year the deaths in the company
did not exceed twelve men; and its strength at the end of the year was
eighty-seven of all ranks, of whom only eight were ineffective from
sickness.
Early in the year Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Holloway was appointed
commanding royal engineer at Cork, and at once commenced a minute
examination of the fortifications under his charge. These were found to
be defective, inasmuch as they did not sufficiently command the
surrounding country and harbour. Sir Charles, therefore, among many
works which he suggested for the defence of the district, projected an
extensive fort for Spike Island to be erected on the site of
Westmoreland Fort, which was to be demolished. Authorized to carry his
plans into execution, he applied and obtained in October, the services
of an efficient detachment of tradesmen, consisting of a sergeant, and
master mason, thirteen artificers, and one labourer of the Woolwich
company, to aid in destroying the old fort and in erecting the proposed
new one. As the works progressed and their completion was pressed, the
detachment, in December, 1804, was augmented to thirty-eight
non-commissioned officers and artificers; and in January, 1805, to a
full company of one hundred strong, under the denomination of the “Spike
Island Company.” Between five and six thousand civil mechanics and
labourers were daily employed at the fort, over whom, to a certain
extent, were placed the non-commissioned officers of the company, as
masters of the respective trades, or foremen of particular portions of
the work.
Arrangements for an expedition against Surinam having been perfected,
Major-General Sir Charles Green and Commodore Hood sailed there in
April. Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, royal engineers, as also one
sergeant-major, two corporals, twenty privates, and one drummer of the
artificers accompanied it, the rest of the company not being available
for the service in consequence of being greatly dispersed through the
different islands. Surinam being very difficult of approach,
Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, on the 29th April, went on shore to procure
tidings with respect to the best means of reaching the settlement. On
returning, he reported that a body of troops might be conducted to the
rear of Forts Leyden and Frederici. Accordingly, twenty of the military
artificers with side arms and felling axes, ten of the 6th West India
regiment similarly provided, a detachment of 140 men of the 64th
regiment, and about thirty seamen, all under Brigadier-General Hughes,
landed on the night of the 29th, and proceeded through almost impassable
woods, led by negro guides, to the place of assault. After five hours'
laborious marching, the stormers arrived near the rear of Frederici
Battery, which was gallantly taken, as was also Fort Leyden soon after;
and Surinam surrendered on the 5th May. “No obstacle,” says the despatch
of Sir Charles Green, “could damp the enterprising spirit of our seamen
and soldiers. They underwent great fatigue in executing these works,
which, however, they cheerfully submitted to under Lieutenant-Colonel
Shipley, who, as usual, was unceasing in his exertions.”[130] Severe as
the storming is described to have been, only three soldiers were killed;
of whom one was a military artificer,[131] private James Connolly, at
the assault of Fort Leyden. Of the number wounded, no official account
has been traced.
-----
Footnote 130:
‘London Gazette,’ 19 to 23 June, 1804.
Footnote 131:
Ibid.
-----
Private George Mitchell, represented as a highly-meritorious soldier,
distinguished himself in the assault, as, indeed, did the whole of the
detachment. As well on the march as in the two successive assaults, he
was conspicuous for his perseverance, promptitude, and bravery, and when
entering Frederici with the foremost troops, was severely wounded by the
side of his officer, Lieutenant J. R. Arnold, R.E., who led the storm.
For his services on this occasion he was promoted to be corporal, and
subsequently for the same reason to the rank of sergeant. He also
received a present from the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd’s, in testimony of
the opinion entertained of his services.[132]
-----
Footnote 132:
In the subsequent campaigns of the West Indies he behaved equally
meritoriously; and in garrison and the workshops always conducted
himself well. Besides being an excellent mason and foreman, no
artificer in the service, perhaps, had a better practical idea of
mining, in which he signalized himself at the destruction of Fort
Desaix, Martinique. After sixteen years' arduous service in the West
Indies, he was sent to Woolwich and discharged in July, 1814.
-----
On the reduction of the place, the Batavian troops were released from
their former allegiance, and at liberty to become either citizens in
Surinam, or soldiers in his Britannic Majesty’s forces; but the barren
and uninviting prospects that a captured country presented prevented
many from settling, and they readily offered to enrol themselves under
the British standard. Availing himself of the opportunity,
Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley accepted the services of seventeen Batavian
artificers and enlisted them for the company. Fourteen deaths were
reported in the company during the year; and on the 31st December its
strength was eighty-eight of all ranks.
A fever of a very malignant character appeared at Gibraltar in August,
and continued its ravages during the autumnal months. Brought in by a
foreigner, who took up his abode in the vicinity of the married quarters
of the royal artillery, the disorder was soon communicated to the
latter; and, by the end of September, it spread with a rapidity only
equalled by its virulence. Ere long the whole fortress was infested by
the pestilence; and, as if to render the calamity more awful, it was
preceded by an earthquake, which agitated the whole Rock. Out of a
population computed at 10,000, including 4,000 troops, no less a number
than 5,946 died between the 1st September and 31st December. So great a
mortality in so short a period is unexampled in the history of that
fortress.[133]
-----
Footnote 133:
Sir James Fellowes ‘On the Fever of Andalusia.’
-----
The two companies of artificers in the garrison were early visited by
the epidemic and but few comparatively escaped. Of those who were
fortunate enough to bear up successfully against the disease, it was
ascertained that the chief part had previously suffered from yellow
fever in the West Indies. The artificers' barracks at Hargraves' Parade
were a considerable distance from the locality where the disorder
originated, and consequently, for a time, were free from fever; but
several of the men having been employed in attending the sick civil
master artificers of the department, at their own homes in the town, and
the married families of the companies having unrestrained access to the
Parade, infection was thus communicated to the single men in barracks;
and the effect was seen too late to adopt any sanitary measures or
restrictions to prevent its ingress. In August three men died, and in
September ten, whilst the numbers affected by the malady were very
considerable. By the beginning of October the fever had extensively
spread; and all work in the engineer department being suspended, the
companies were confined to barracks, and the families in quarters
prohibited from appearing in the streets of the town unless from urgent
necessity. Soon afterwards, to preserve their health, they were removed
into camp at Beuna Vista. Nothing, however, could arrest the advance of
the disorder: gloom and horror hourly increased, and in a very few days
the sickness at the encampment far exceeded anything that had occurred
at Hargraves', By the end of the month a mournful diminution had taken
place, ninety men having fallen a prey to the epidemic! In November,
providentially, the fever sensibly waned, and only twenty-three men
died; and in December, after carrying off four more men, its influence
ceased to be felt at the fortress. At the approach of the disease the
companies mustered 263 of all ranks; but by the termination of the year
130 had died; thus reducing the companies to the strength of 133.[134]
Here it may be added, that the royal military artificers lost during the
fever more men proportionally than any regiment or corps in the
garrison.[135]
-----
Footnote 134:
According to Sir James Fellowes, 229 men of the companies were
admitted into hospital with the fever, of whom 106 recovered, and 123
died; but as Sir James has omitted the statistics for August in his
tables, the apparent disparity between the two accounts is reduced to
the trifling difference of 4 only, a mistake which, doubtless,
occurred from some inaccuracy or accidental omission in the
information furnished to Sir James from the Ordnance Hospital records.
Footnote 135:
This statement is borne out by Sir James Fellowes. See p. 450 of his
work ‘On the Fever of Andalusia.’
-----
Amidst so much mortality, great alarm and irresolution naturally
prevailed; and whilst many excusably avoided all possible contact with
the infected, there were not wanting men of humanity and courage to
volunteer their attentions and services to the sick and dying. Several
instances of signal disinterestedness could be recorded, and the names
of not a few mentioned, who fell a sacrifice to their generous zeal; but
the following men, by their exertions and unshaken devotion in the
discharge of the onerous offices assigned to them, seem to have been
regarded with peculiar admiration, and therefore deserve whatever notice
can be accorded to their merits in these pages.
Private John Inglis performed the important duty of orderly to the sick
in the hospital at Windmill-hill, and to assiduous attention united
marked kindness and tenderness, shrinking from no difficulty and
dreading no danger. During the fatal month of October his watchfulness
and exertions were incessant, and his patience and humanity were as
conspicuous as his fortitude.
Private James Lawford undertook the melancholy service of receiving the
dead, both for the artificers and the artillery, and conveying them to
the burying-ground near the Grand Parade. Horrible and hazardous as was
this duty, he persevered in its performance with a coolness and
intrepidity that was perfectly amazing.
Private James Weir was the principal gravedigger, and attended to his
appointment with unflinching ardour and self-possession. Surrounded by
the pest in its worst forms, and inhaling the worst effluvia, he never
for a moment forsook the frightful service, but laboured on, inspiriting
those who occasionally assisted him, until the necessity for his
employment no longer existed.[136]
-----
Footnote 136:
What was most extraordinary connected with these daring fellows, was
the fact, that throughout the epidemic, they enjoyed the most robust
health; but, after its cessation, fearing that they were loaded with
infection, and that a sudden transition to the garrison again would
cause the fever to return, the authorities deemed it prudent to send
the hearse-driver and gravediggers to camp at Beuna Vista, where,
after about two months' quarantine, they were permitted to rejoin
their companies.
-----
An attempt at invasion being daily expected from the French, earnest
attention was turned to those parts of the coast of England upon which
the descent would probably be essayed. Immense sums of money were
accordingly placed at the disposal of the officers of engineers to carry
into effect whatever projects might be approved for rendering the shore
defences more secure. Increased exertions were, therefore, made in
strengthening the permanent fortifications, enlarging the defences of
Dover and Chatham, “constructing batteries at various points, building
temporary barracks along the coast, and studding our shores with
martello towers.”[137]
-----
Footnote 137:
‘United Service Journal,’ i., 1845, p. 483.
-----
Besides using all vigilance and exertion at the different ports where
the royal military artificers were stationed, in furtherance of the
general business of preparation and defence, detachments of the corps
were constantly on the route from one place to another, erecting
temporary or permanent works. In April, at the suggestion of
Major-General Twiss, then commanding royal engineer in the Southern
District, the party at Dover was much increased to assist in forming
casemates in certain positions of the works on the western heights, by
which to remedy the defects in the original construction.
At Jersey, in the same month, every precaution was taken to render the
island capable of resisting any encroachment from its turbulent
neighbours; and all the batteries and forts, as far as practicable, were
manned with ordnance. In the execution of this service corporal and
master-carpenter Daniel Brown, described as “a worthy man and a useful
artificer,” was killed by a fall from the top of Platte Rocq Tower.
In September a small party was detached to Chelmsford, and
superintended, under the direction of Captain G. Whitmore, royal
engineers, the construction of a chain of temporary fieldworks,
consisting of intrenchments, batteries, and redoubts, from Woodford
Windmill to the windmill at Gallywood Common, a distance, by the line of
works, of about two miles and a half. Various regiments of militia
provided their contingents to execute these works, in which they were
assisted by detachments from the royal waggon train and royal staff
corps.
About the same time another party was despatched to Eastbourne to aid in
building the circular redoubt there, as also in erecting several
martello towers on the coast, at points best suited to protect our
shores. Fluctuating in strength according to the general emergencies of
the service, this detachment continued to work in the Eastbourne
district until the summer of 1817, when, after assisting in the erection
of all the towers as far as Rye Bay on the one side of Eastbourne, and
Seaforth on the other, it quitted the district and the men composing it
rejoined their companies.
At Woolwich, during the later months of the year, parties were specially
engaged in preparing and fitting out bomb tenders for the Channel fleet,
by casing their magazines, making racks for shot, and executing such
other precautionary services as would insure them from explosion and
destruction in action.
Nor should the efforts made to carry on the recruiting with success be
overlooked, since the steps taken were chiefly induced by the spirit of
the times, and the anticipated wants of the coming war. In the previous
year, after the treaty of Amiens was signed, the recruiting was
suspended; but in June, 1803, it was resumed with an energy that
promised to yield an abundant result. In addition to the old stations,
several new ones were opened for obtaining candidates, and the bounty
for recruits was increased to 14_l._ 3_s._ 6_d._ each! whilst the reward
to the soldier, to stimulate him to exertion and vigilance, was
augmented to 4_l._ 14_s._ 6_d._! The former levy money was ten guineas,
but the improved premium amounted to nineteen guineas.
Notwithstanding the great demand for men, every care was taken to
receive none in the corps who were not in every particular fully equal
to its various duties; and the officers employed on the service were
specially enjoined to engage such candidates only as were “stout made,
able-bodied, well-limbed, healthy, and active, of good character, and
good abilities as tradesmen; not over 30 years of age, nor under 5 feet
6 inches in height.” Under these restrictions, and as the call for
mechanics in civil life was loud and pressing, only 53 artificers were
received and approved of this year, leaving at its close 351 men to
complete the corps to its establishment of 1,075.
No better success attended the recruiting in the year 1805. Full
employment was offered by the country to every artisan disposed to
handle his tools, and the sources of enlistment, therefore, were almost
choked up. In this extremity, as the corps was very much below its
establishment, application was made to the different regiments of
militia for candidates; and the effect was, that 134 volunteers—all
tradesmen and miners—joined the artificers, in April and May, from
forty-six regiments. After a short interval, a similar application was
made to the Horse Guards to allow artisans from the line to enter the
corps. His Royal Highness the Duke of York, acquiescing in the proposal,
conveyed his commands on the 8th July to every battalion in the service,
both at home and abroad, to have volunteers, to the number of two
carpenters and three bricklayers from each, transferred to the military
artificers. By this arrangement the corps, which was 112 men in arrear
of its establishment when the order was promulgated, was rendered
complete by the end of the year. To each volunteer received was paid a
bounty of ten guineas. The total number of recruits and men transferred
from the line and militia during the year amounted to 435.
Filling up the corps in this manner was highly prejudicial to its best
interests and general efficiency, so far as the transfers from the
regiments of the line were concerned. Officers of those regiments were
naturally averse to parting with their good men, and out of a batch of
volunteers the five least reputable in every battalion, unless under
extraordinary circumstances, were selected to be transferred. To prevent
the reception of objectionable men, every precaution was taken by the
officers of engineers appointed to this duty; but, with all their
circumspection, some of the most abandoned characters were passed into
the corps. With the different militias, however, this was not the case.
All the volunteers were unreservedly surrendered to the
recruiting-officer, who was at liberty to pick from the number those
whom he desired, and subject them to whatever examination he pleased
before accepting them. In this way some of the ablest mechanics and many
of the best-conducted men and finest-looking soldiers joined the corps,
and their behaviour and usefulness in after service furnished the best
test of the advantages derived by receiving volunteers from the
militia.[138]
-----
Footnote 138:
This observation would appear to clash with the remarks of Sir Charles
Pasley (note F, p. xvii. ‘Elementary Fortification’) upon the
impropriety of enlisting militia-men; but after carefully tracing the
history of many volunteers from that arm, the fact cannot be concealed
that the transfers alluded to were decidedly beneficial to the corps.
The best sapper, miner, and pontoneer, that ever served in the
corps—perhaps the best in Europe—was a militia-man; and the name of
Jenkin Jones, the faithful and zealous sergeant-major under Sir
Charles Pasley at Chatham, now quartermaster at Woolwich, need only be
mentioned, to verify the assertion and to corroborate the encomium.
Quartermaster Hilton, the efficient sergeant-major to the corps in
France under Sir James Carmichael Smyth, had also been in the militia.
-----
England had not yet taken any active measures against France, busied as
she was in endeavours to protect her own shores; but as soon as the
Powers of Europe had formed themselves into a coalition, under treaty
signed at St. Petersburgh on the 11th April, to check the progress of
Buonaparte, the British Government lost no time in giving effect to the
engagement. Accordingly in that month, a body of troops under Sir James
Craig embarked for the Neapolitan States to join with the Russians in
expelling the French. To this expedition was attached a party of one
sergeant, one corporal, and thirteen artificers of the Woolwich company,
under the command of Captain C. Lefebure, royal engineers, which landed
at Naples in November. Here the expedition remained inactive until the
19th January, 1806, when, from the defection of the Russians, it was
deemed prudent to withdraw the troops and proceed to Messina, where the
military artificers landed on the 18th February, 1806.
In October, another force was sent to Hanover, under Lord Cathcart,
which, after it should achieve the liberation of that State, was
destined to advance into Holland for the same purpose. One sergeant, one
corporal, and fourteen privates of the Chatham company, under Captain J.
F. Birch of the engineers, accompanied the expedition and landed in
Swedish Pomerania the same month; but, by the time the force was
prepared to enter into the contest, affairs were on the change; and
Buonaparte having gained the brilliant victory of Austerlitz, the
treaties of Presburg and Vienna followed, putting an end to the war, and
leaving England alone an enemy to France. Unable, without assistance, to
re-establish the independence of Hanover and Holland, Lord Cathcart’s
army returned to England early in 1806, and the detachment of artificers
rejoined the Chatham company in February of that year.
1806.
First detachment to the Cape of Good Hope—Misfortunes at Buenos
Ayres—Reinforcement to Gibraltar—Services at Calabria—Formation of
Maltese military artificers—Increase of pay to royal military
artificers—Augmentation to the corps and reorganization of the
companies—Establishment and annual expense—Working pay—Sub-Lieutenants
introduced—Indiscipline and character of the corps.
In August of the previous year, an expedition under Sir David Baird
sailed against the Cape of Good Hope, to which were attached one
sergeant, two corporals, and seventeen artificers of the Plymouth
company under Captain J. C. Smith of the royal engineers, who embarked
on board the ‘Melantho’ transport. The artificers landed on the 4th
January, 1806, with the artillery, and marched and encamped with them in
the field; but Sir David Baird, conceiving that their services would be
more beneficial in the castle after its capture, than in action, would
not permit them to take part in the operations. They therefore halted
about a quarter of a mile to the right rear of the position, and there
remained until they marched with the troops into the castle. Ever since
this capture, a detachment of the corps of varying strength has been
employed in the colony, not only at Cape Town, but at many posts and
forts at a considerable distance inland and upon the frontiers.
Two privates of the Cape detachment under Captain Kennett, of the corps,
sailed in April with the force under General Beresford against Buenos
Ayres. Landing at Point de Quilmes on the 25th June,[139] they were
present at the surrender of the city on the 27th following. After a time
the Spaniards, recovering from the panic which lost them their capital,
retook it with signal success, and those of the British not killed, were
taken prisoners. Captain Kennett was among the former, and one of the
artificers was wounded. On the loss of their captain, the two men were
attached to the artillery and served in the action of the 12th August,
1806, under Captain Alexander Macdonald, royal artillery: they
subsequently were taken prisoners and remained so until January 1808,
when they returned to England with the forces under General Whitelocke.
-----
Footnote 139:
‘London Gazette Extraordinary,’ September 13, 1806.
-----
To supply the casualties at Gibraltar occasioned by the fatal fever of
1804, a detachment of 133 artificers,[140] under Captain H. Evatt, royal
engineers, embarked on the 31st December, 1805, and landed at the
fortress in February following. The strength of the companies was thus
increased from 174 to 307 of all ranks.
-----
Footnote 140:
With fifty women and forty children! More than, in _these_ days, are
permitted to accompany a _battalion_ on foreign service.
-----
Sir John Stuart, who commanded the army in Sicily, now undertook, at the
solicitation of the Court of Palermo, an expedition against the French
in Calabria. The detachment of artificers at Messina, reduced to twelve
in number, furnished ten men, under Captain C. Lefebure, royal
engineers, to accompany the troops. They were present on the 4th July at
the battle of Maida; and afterwards at the siege of Scylla Castle from
the 12th to the 23rd of the same month. Shortly after the capture, six
of the party returned to their old quarters at Messina, leaving two
non-commissioned officers and two artificers under Lieutenant George
Macleod of the engineers, to superintend the restoration of the castle
defences. In October the four men rejoined the detachment at Messina,
where the whole continued to be employed in various engineering services
for several years.
Artificers under military control and discipline being much required for
the works at Malta, Lieutenant-Colonel R. T. Dickens, R.E., recommended
the formation of three companies of Maltese tradesmen for the service of
the engineer department; two to be stationed at Malta and Gozo, and one
for employment in general duties in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, and
Egypt. English companies of artificers would have been proposed for the
works of the stations named, had the efficiency and conduct of
detachments previously sent from Gibraltar to Minorca, Sicily, and other
parts of the Mediterranean, warranted it; “but,” says Sir Charles
Pasley, “as the Gibraltar companies were, from circumstances, the worst
in the corps, the detachments formed from them * * * * were found so
very inefficient, that Maltese and Sicilians were preferred to Britons
in the Mediterranean, for the important service of the royal engineer
department.”[141] As well from this, as from other local[142] and
economical considerations, the Government approved of the measure, and
the royal authority for its accomplishment being obtained, the companies
were formed on the 1st May.
-----
Footnote 141:
Pasley’s ‘Elementary Fortification,’ note A, p. iv.
Footnote 142:
In the treaty of Amiens it was stipulated that _one-half_ the soldiers
in the garrison at Malta should be natives; and although the treaty
had been violated by Napoleon, Great Britain still regarded its
provisions, in this respect at least, as sacred and obligatory.
-----