its completion, the bridge was speedily broken up into rafts. These,
with the assistance of the India-rubber rafts, manned by the same
detachment as on the 5th July, were afterwards employed in ferrying back
the 38th and 93rd regiments at a spot 150 yards wide, below where the
bridge had been constructed. This duty was also completed in fifty
minutes. In all the operations, there appears to have been a remarkable
coincidence of duration, which, had the facts not been carefully
ascertained and recorded, would seem to be the errors of carelessness or
inexperience.
In crossing the bridge, many of the horses of the Life Guards became
unmanageable. Not a few of them got into a gallop and started off,
sometimes as many as three abreast. Several of the artillery horses also
were restive. Among so much violence and disorder, the sappers, who
lined the bridge as before, had to bear their full share of accident and
danger, and before the passage was effected, as many as twenty-five
sergeants and rank and file were thrust overboard. All fortunately could
swim, and soon made good their places on their respective rafts.
This day’s bridging closed the operations on Virginia Water. With the
exception of seven rafts and the six carriages, the remainder of the
pontoons and stores were packed up and removed to their original
stations at Woolwich and Chatham. The seven rafts, &c., were soon
afterwards conveyed to Staines, in readiness for ulterior service over
the Thames.
On the 27th July another pontoon bridge was thrown, this time across the
Thames, at Runnymede, celebrated alike for its historic claims and
attractions, and for the beauty of the surrounding landscape. The point
chosen was an angle of the river about a mile from the town of Egham,
opposite Ankerwycke House. The operation bore some resemblance to that
which took place on Virginia Lake on the 5th July. The sappers commenced
their march at eight o’clock in the morning, and, proceeding with the
pontoons along the Windsor and Staines roads, halted on the banks of the
river at Runnymede at a quarter to eleven. At once the men set to work,
and under the more natural circumstances of steep banks and a strong
tidal current, unfelt at Virginia Water, threw in thirty-five minutes a
bridge consisting of six rafts of twelve cylindrical pontoons in open
order, twelve feet apart, and two half bays. To allow the operation to
be conducted without interruption, a mimic battle was fiercely carried
on some distance higher up the river, and to afford protection to the
bridge as it approached the Ankerwycke shore, parties of the 79th
Highlanders were rapidly rowed across in punts, which at the time were
lying unemployed and captured for the occasion. Soon the combat was
removed to the pontoons, and a heavy fusillade was for a long time kept
up. Under cover of the guns of the horse artillery, fired from a
commanding position, the troops poured over the bridge in a continuous
stream, and followed the retreating enemy, with all the impetuosity of
enthusiastic pursuit into Magna Charta Island. There the fight was hotly
maintained, and ultimately won by the little band of mixed troops under
the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Vicars.
The troops that crossed the bridge were a battalion of the Guards, 4th
Light Dragoons, the other battalion of Guards, 79th Highlanders, the
Horse Guards Blue, and some batteries of horse and foot artillery.
An accident took place just as the last battery was crossing the bridge.
The vertical motion of the rafts was such as to startle the horses, and
some, from the dull reverberating noise produced by their tramp, coupled
with the booming roll of the heavy wheels on the superstructure, became
ungovernable, and six horses tumbled into the stream dragging with them
a gun with its carriage and limber. As usual, the sappers lined the
bridge with extended oars, and in the struggling of the horses, four of
the men were swept into the current. Three of them were injured—two
severely. These were privates John Piper and William Swann,[126] who
were also nearly drowned. The latter was entangled with the horses in
the water, and it was with great difficulty he succeeded in getting on
the back of one of them, when he was picked up by the crew of a boat
quickly manned for the purpose. Four of the horses were cleverly rescued
by colour-sergeant William Jamieson and private Henry Collins, who
dexterously cut the traces; but the two wheel-horses, borne down by the
carriage, could not be saved. Privates Daniel Port, Henry Collins,[127]
and Elias Garratt conducted themselves with intrepidity on the occasion
by plunging from the bridge into the river to rescue the men and save
the horses.
After the operation the sappers bivouacked on the ground, and dined on
the day’s ration taken with them from the camp. The bridge was
afterwards dismantled, packed on the waggons, and then accompanied the
troops to Staines. The company belonging to the Chobham force did not
reach its tents till eight o’clock in the evening.
On field days the sappers, together with a company of the Guards, on
several occasions under Captain the Prince Edward of Saxe Weimar, and a
company of the 23rd fusiliers, represented the enemy under the command
of Colonel Vicars, R.E. All acted as skirmishers; and when pressed by
charges of the troops, formed squares, or resorted to such other simple
manœuvres as were best adapted to their position and circumstances.
On these days the expenditure of ammunition by the company was enormous;
100 rounds per man at least were consumed. On the first day of the
pontooning at Virginia Water, the sappers, who were posted to prevent
the passage of the troops by Blacknest Bridge, fired in an hour and
a-quarter about 120 rounds a man. The firing of the main body of the
division was always comparatively trifling. From the hard nature of the
duties that devolved upon the enemy, the men composing it gained in camp
the familiar designation of “The Kaffirs.” The last field day at Chobham
was one of labour and fatigue to the men. They fired more than an
average quantity of ammunition, and at its close the sappers marched at
the head of the line in review, before the Duke of Cambridge and Lord
Seaton. Their blackened faces, dingy accoutrements, and well-worn
apparel afforded a striking contrast to the clean appearance, unsoiled
appointments, and bright uniform of the passing squadrons and
battalions; and it was no inappropriate commendation to say on this,
their last camp inspection, that in their endurance, their hardihood,
their wearied but dauntless aspect, they looked like “Polish
patriots—few, but undismayed.”
On the 21st June and 5th July the Queen inspected the second company in
common with the rest of the troops at the camp. The Prince Albert and
Lord Hardinge accompanied Her Majesty. The King and Queen of Hanover
were present on the first day. The fifth company and a detachment of the
eleventh were also reviewed by the Queen and the Prince Consort on the
4th and 6th August. On the latter date Her Majesty did not personally
inspect the troops. On all occasions of the royal presence at the camp,
the sappers were in full notice of Her Majesty, for they possessed the
advantage of occupying a position close to the Bagshot road, and next to
one of the special entrances, which led the Queen and the royal cortege
immediately past their tents to the “Magnet.”
After the breaking up of the camp, the sappers remained for four days to
dismantle the stables and collect the stores. All the canvas was
stripped off the stables, and packed in two days and a half, throughout
which time the men were exposed to a ceaseless rain, which fell in
torrents. The pontoons and carriages were conveyed to Chertsey, and
embarked for Chatham. After completing these duties, the fifth company
and the detachment of the eleventh, under Captain W. M. Inglis and
Lieutenant W. C. Anderson, R.E., arrived respectively at Chatham and
Woolwich on the 24th August. On that day Lord Seaton finally gave up his
command. A party of one sergeant and eight privates—_the last troops at
the camp_—detained for the closing duties of clearing the ground, and
collecting and packing the Ordnance and Commissariat stores, joined at
head-quarters on the 27th August. Novel and memorable was the
reappearance of these companies with the corps, for both officers and
men had doffed their plumes, and substituted for them bunches of
blooming heather, gathered from the ridges and valleys of the now famous
Chobham. On their route to Chertsey they were met by Colonel Vicars, who
complimented them for their excellent conduct and exertions during the
period of their encampment, and expressed to them the satisfaction of
Lord Seaton for their alacrity and readiness at all times to meet the
wants of the service. This testimony was afterwards corroborated in a
letter dated Hyam’s, 25th August, 1853, to Lieutenant-General Sir John
Burgoyne, in which his lordship, after alluding to the active assistance
of the officers of royal engineers, and the detachment of the corps of
sappers under the command of Colonel Vicars, added “that their conduct
and exertions on all occasions have been most satisfactory.”
-----
Footnote 119:
‘Morning Chronicle,’ June 27, 1853.
Footnote 120:
‘The Times,’ June 15, 1853.
Footnote 121:
Sergeant Brown has served twice in Gibraltar and also a campaign in
Syria. He was present at the capture of Tyre, Sidon, and Beirout, and
the defensive occupation of D’Junie and Jaffa. Has since gained credit
for his services at the capture and destruction of Bomarsund and the
siege of Sebastopol. Removed in a dangerous state of illness from the
trenches, he was sent to the hospital at Smyrna, from which, being
invalided, he arrived at Woolwich in July, 1855, and is now
quartermaster-sergeant at Chatham.
Sergeant Sillifant distinguished himself at Gibraltar as a first-class
artificer and foreman of works. Has since served at Bermuda, and
returned to England on the recall of his company.
Footnote 122:
‘Morning Herald,’ July 19, 1853.
Footnote 123:
Killed in the trenches before Sebastopol by a rifle-bullet, April 18,
1855.
Footnote 124:
‘Morning Herald,’ July 19, 1853.
Footnote 125:
‘Morning Herald,’ July 19, 1853. It is not a little strange that among
the unclaimed letters was one addressed to “His Eminence Cardinal
Antonelli, Secretary to His Holiness the Pope.” The correct epithets
of distinction in the superscription, made it evident that the missive
was written by a well-informed person. As however the Cardinal had not
pitched his tent among our troops, the letter which was directed “to
be left till called for,” formed one of the spoils of the camp.
Footnote 126:
Served in Turkey, Bulgaria, Wallachia, and the Crimea. Was promoted
for his gallantry at the battle of Giurgevo, and died of wounds
received in the trenches before Sebastopol, in May, 1855.
Footnote 127:
An accident occurred to this soldier at Virginia Lake, which but for
his presence of mind was likely to have terminated fatally. The
waggons were parked on the slopes of the water, and it being desired
to pack the stores on them, private Collins with three other privates
rushed to the spot, and put a waggon in motion. Collins laid hold of
the shafts,—the others pushed in the rear. By some mistake the men in
rear quitted their hold, and the waggon thus left to itself rolled
with great velocity down the slope, forcing Collins on with it. His
situation was now very critical; but seeing at once the danger and the
way to escape, he plunged from between the shafts, in an oblique
direction into the lake, and saved himself by swimming, while the
waggon with its own impetus dashed onwards, until its speed was spent
by the resistance of the water. Had he not thus extricated himself, he
would have been tumbled over by the waggon, and most likely drowned
under its body. Served afterwards in Turkey, Circassia, Bulgaria, and
the Crimea. Was present at the bombardment of Odessa, capture of
Redoubt Kaleh, and at the siege of Sebastopol, and bore the character
of being a good sapper and a first-rate man in bridge-making and boat
services. By his comrades he was respected for his wit and spirit. His
constitution giving way in the trenches, he died at Kululee on the 2nd
April, 1855.
1854-1856.
Staff appointments—Party to Melbourne—Mint detachment to Sydney—Survey
of Aldershot heath—Department of Practical Science and Art—Staff ranks
to the survey companies—Dress—Party detached to Heligoland—Also to
Paris for the Exhibition—Corporal Mack’s services in testing woods—A
foreigner’s surprise at the varied employments of the sappers—Sergeant
Jenkins’ interview with the Emperor—Fire at the Manutention du
Commerce—Radical change in the dress—Arms and accoutrements—Costume of
the quartermasters—Supernumerary sergeants—Additional staff
appointments—Exhibition at the Mauritius—Arrival of company from
Bermuda, and removal to Aldershot—Chatham becomes the
head-quarters—Rejection of the services of Van Diemen’s Land
detachment by the Legislative Council, which are accepted by the
Governor of New South Wales—Organization and pay of driver
troop—Additions to the corps and various incidental alterations—Detail
of establishment of corps—The band—Its costume—Dress of the
bandmaster—Party recalled from Purfleet—Detachment to Hythe for rifle
practice, &c.; the system pursued there becomes a leading feature in
the instruction at Chatham.
Major Walpole, on his promotion to be lieutenant-colonel, was removed
from the appointment of brigade-major to the corps, and succeeded by
Captain Frederick A. Yorke, R.E., on the 17th February.
Lieutenant-Colonel Walpole had been commissioned to the office from the
Cape of Good Hope, where he had served for many years in command of the
tenth company, and been twice dangerously wounded in action with the
Kaffirs at Fort Peddie. During the six years he had held the appointment
he carried out in all respects its requirements with a diligence,
consideration, and success, that were of great advantage to the corps,
and enhanced in public estimation its services and merits.
In Major Yorke, now Lieutenant-Colonel, the corps has the good fortune
to have for its chief executive an officer who, for the greater part of
his military career, has been much employed with it both at home and
abroad. Under Major-General Matson, when brigade-major, he was the
acting-adjutant at head-quarters, and thus early became acquainted with
the organization, character, services, and resources of the royal
sappers and miners.
On the 3rd March one sergeant and five rank and file sailed from
Southampton for Melbourne to reinforce the civil staff employed in the
survey of the waste districts of the Crown, and landed on the 24th July.
This addition was made to the colonial establishment, as applications
for land by the emigrants were increasing and urgent, and could not be
met by any resources to be engaged in the colony.
In April a party, hutted on the bleak heath of Aldershot, commenced a
series of surveys, having reference to the use of the moor as a military
camp for periodical evolution and exercise. The detachment mustered at
one time as many as twenty-four non-commissioned officers and men, and
dwindled down to an initial party of a few choice hands to finish the
operation. Captain Cameron, R.E., had the direction of the service; and
corporal James Macdonald, now sergeant, a non-commissioned officer of
tried ability and indefatigable activity, was its local superintendent.
In ten months the detachment, after being instructed by the corporal,
completed a survey of a selected district of about 800 acres for the
Commander-in-Chief; another of some 1,500 acres for the professional use
of Major-General Sir Frederic Smith; and a general one for the Ordnance,
including the ground specially surveyed, extending over an area of
13,000 acres. Each survey provided its contours to suit particular
requirements; and the whole range of duties for providing data for the
plans, usually performed by different parties, with qualifications
adapted to each particular service, were wholly carried out by corporal
Macdonald[128] and his party. The work has since been engraved on the
6-inch scale.
Six rank and file to complete the mint detachment at Sydney, embarked in
two parties on the 8th April and 19th June, taking with them the
portable houses, shops, machinery, and stores necessary for the
formation of the establishment. The men had all been instructed prior to
leaving the royal mint in London in the art of coining, and were taught
by Messrs. Walker, of Millwall, the method of fitting together the iron
roofing, cisterns, girders, &c., to form the mint buildings. One man had
also been instructed by Messrs. Whitworth and Co. at Manchester, in the
manipulation and action of the several lathes to be used in the coining
processes. They respectively reached Sydney on the 10th July and 24th
October.
Three men were withdrawn from the department of science and art in the
summer for service in the East, viz., two for employment as
photographers, and one—corporal Dickson—as conductor of the pontoon
equipment and stores. One of the photographers—corporal Pendered—had,
while in that department the care of the students’ drawings sent from
the various local schools of art, in competition for prizes offered by
the commissioners. Corporal Dickson, who until his removal had acted as
a clerk at Marlborough House, received from the Board of Trade a
gratuity of 5_l._ in recognition of his usefulness. The non-commissioned
officers who remained under Captain Owen, R.E., were corporals Frederic
Key and James Mack; the former, stated to be full of invention and
intelligence, continued throughout the year to act as overseer of the
civil carpenters employed at Gore and Marlborough Houses; and the
latter, remarkable for his good information and acquirements, was found
a most useful clerk and draughtsman. It should also be noted that one or
other of these non-commissioned officers travelled during the autumn to
several provincial towns in England and Scotland, such as Nottingham,
Coventry, Sheffield, Warrington, York, &c., and exhibited to local
institutions in connection with the central school of design at Somerset
House, a collection of students’ drawings for which prizes had been
awarded at the spring examination at Gore House. The exhibition was so
arranged as to be packed and conveyed from town to town with readiness
and facility, and wherever they itinerated with their charge, were
treated with attention and courtesy.
As a reward for undoubted merit two staff ranks—sergeant-major and
quartermaster-sergeant—were given to the survey companies on the 28th
July by Sir Hew Ross, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance. Similar
appointments had been held by the companies for many years with only
modified advantages, but now they were constituted permanent ranks and
carried with them all the benefits prescribed by the rules of the
service.
This year the moustache, under certain restrictions, was permitted to be
worn; and the Kilmarnock bonnet, discarded in 1837, was revived. Its
dimensions, however, were of a more reasonable measurement than in olden
times, and suitable for campaigning. A yellow band was added, also a
plain yellow ornament on the crown, and the scanty peak worn for nearly
forty years, was replaced by one familiarly termed the war peak,
sufficiently large to offer an efficient shade to the face from the sun.
Leaving the great events which occurred about this period, to be treated
without interruption in subsequent chapters, the more ordinary incidents
of the corps will first be disposed of.
Unable to obtain British troops to furnish contingents of sufficient
magnitude for the East, parliament voted the formation of regiments of
foreigners to meet the pressure. Depôts for their enrolment were fixed
at different places, but the principal station was at Heligoland, a
small rocky island in the North Sea. As however the embodiment could not
take place without the means of sheltering the force, the island itself
having only accommodation for the native population, Lieutenant A. R.
Lempriere of the engineers, with three sapper carpenters, were sent
there in March, in the steamer ‘Hamburg.’ Towards the end of the month
the party landed, and with the assistance of some broad-backed women—the
men being too indolent to work—the huts brought out were carried up the
stairs—a stupendous flight exceeding 200 steps formed in the face of the
steep cliff—to the position where the cantonment was to be established.
Hopeless to complete them within the time required, twelve other
sappers, mostly carpenters, under sergeant Goodear, sailed from Woolwich
on the 28th July. In a few days they were deep in the work. Rows of huts
covered with Croggan’s asphalted felt, built in streets, were always
ready by the time the troops arrived to occupy them. It took one hundred
and four of these portable houses to accommodate the legion. Tanks were
also built to supply water in case of fire, and an apparatus was erected
for distilling sea-water so that it might be used for domestic purposes
by the troops. When all these services were completed, the sappers no
longer needed in Heligoland were shipped for England, landing at
Folkestone on the 29th December. Lieutenant Lempriere remained, as did
also sergeant Goodear, to oversee the native workmen in the formation of
roads and in executing repairs to the huts. At the conclusion of the war
they returned home. The efficiency and usefulness of the party were
warmly acknowledged by Colonel Steinbach, commanding the legion.
At the instance of the Royal Society, a sergeant and three rank and file
were sent to Paris in April to exhibit, at the Palais de l’Industrie,
several specimen maps and some of the chief instruments used in the
trigonometrical surveys of the United Kingdom. The two non-commissioned
officers employed under the Board of Trade at the department of
Practical Science and Art also accompanied Captain Fowke and Mr. Henry
Cole, to assist in the British section of the Exhibition. The sappers
were—
● Sergeant—William Jenkins.
● Corporals—Frederick Key and James Mack.
● Second-corporal—Nicholas Clabby.
● Privates—Ludovico Hart and James Kelly.
Besides arranging spaces for the exhibitors, opening the cases as they
arrived, and arranging the articles for exhibition, the sappers turned
their hands to a hundred different duties, making themselves generally
useful and sustaining the character which the corps had received for its
services at the Great Exhibition of 1851. The British department was
surveyed by them and corporals Mack[129] and Clabby drew the plans. Key
was the overseer of skilled labour and likewise superintended the
hanging of the paintings at the Palace des Beaux Arts. The remainder had
the care of the professional instruments. Of these Hart was instructed
at Paris in the process of photography by Mr. Thurston Thompson, and the
proficiency he attained there in the art, has introduced him to a
similar duty at Southampton, in which the progress he has made promises
to be a great saving to the public by reducing plans photographically,
and thus superseding the hand-labour of draughtsmen.[130]