In 1853 a terrible disaster at sea occurred which was the occasion of a
display, to a degree never surpassed and rarely equalled, of the
courage, heroism, and discipline of British soldiers. Her Majesty's
steamer _Birkenhead_ was on her passage from Simon's Bay to Algoa Bay,
with 630 souls on board, consisting of the ship's company, drafts from
several regiments, and boys, women, and children. At about ten minutes
past two a.m., the weather being fine, with a heavy swell on shore, she
struck. Mr Salmond, the master, came on deck, and ordering the engines
to be stopped, the boats to be lowered, and an anchor to be let go,
directed the military officers, Major Seton, of the 74th Regiment, and
Captain Wright, of the 91st, to send the troops to the chain-pumps; the
order was implicitly obeyed, and perfect discipline maintained. As soon
as Mr Salmond heard that there was water in the ship, he directed the
women and children to be put in the cutter in charge of Mr Richards,
master's assistant, which was done.
In ten minutes after the first concussion, and while the engines were
turning astern, the ship struck again under the engine-room, and broke
in two. Major Seton had called all the officers about him, and
impressed on them the necessity of preserving order and silence among
the men. Sixty were put on the chain-pumps, and told off in three
reliefs; sixty were put on to the tackles of the paddle-box boats, and
the remainder were brought on the poop, so as to ease the fore part of
the ship. "The order and regularity that prevailed on board, from the
time the ship struck till she totally disappeared, far exceeded anything
that I thought could be effected by the best discipline," says one of
the survivors. "This is more to be wondered at, seeing that most of the
soldiers had been but a short time in the service. Every one did as he
was directed, and there was not a cry or a murmur among them until the
vessel made her final plunge. I could not name any individual officer
who did more than another. All received their orders, and had them
carried out as if the men were embarking instead of going to the bottom;
there was only this difference, that I never saw any embarkation
conducted with so little noise and confusion. Four hundred and
thirty-eight men and boys perished on this sad occasion. Major Seton,
standing among his men, and refusing to leave them, perished with the
rest." No heroes of whom we read in the page of history ever met their
fate with more heroic courage than did these British soldiers embarked
on board the _Birkenhead_, and well worthy is the account to be placed
among the gallant deeds of our Redcoats.