Chapter 1

The Project Gutenberg eBook of History of the Royal Sappers and Miners, Volume 1 (of 2) This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: History of the Royal Sappers and Miners, Volume 1 (of 2) Author: T. W. J. Connolly Release date: October 19, 2017 [eBook #55776] Most recently updated: October 23, 2024 Language: English Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55776 Credits: Produced by KD Weeks, Brian Coe and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from images made available by the HathiTrust Digital Library.) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS, VOLUME 1 (OF 2) *** ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Transcriber’s Note: This version of the text cannot represent certain typographical effects. Italics are delimited with the ‘_’ character as _italic_. Superscripted characters are preceded by ‘^’. Footnotes have been moved to follow the paragraphs in which they are referenced. The numbering of footnotes began again at ‘1’ for each chapter. In this version, footnotes have been re-sequenced across the text for uniqueness of reference. There are several instances of footnotes appearing as glosses on other footnotes, identified in all instances as ‘a’. These have been numbered ‘Na’, where ‘N’ is the number of the note. Minor errors, attributable to the printer, have been corrected. Please see the transcriber’s note at the end of this text for details regarding the handling of any textual issues encountered during its preparation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: SOLDIER ARTIFICER COMPANY Plate I. UNIFORM 1786 Printed by M & N Hanhart. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ FROM THE FORMATION OF THE CORPS IN MARCH 1772, TO THE DATE WHEN ITS DESIGNATION WAS CHANGED TO THAT OF ROYAL ENGINEERS, IN OCTOBER 1856. BY T. W. J. CONNOLLY, QUARTERMASTER OF THE ROYAL ENGINEERS. “Of most disastrous chances, Of moving accidents, by flood and field; Of hair-breadth scapes i' the imminent deadly breach.”—_Shakspeare._ “There is a corps which is often about him, unseen and unsuspected, and which is labouring as hard for him in peace as others do in war.”—_The Times._ =With Seventeen Coloured Illustrations.= _SECOND EDITION, WITH CONSIDERABLE ADDITIONS._ IN TWO VOLUMES.—VOL. I. LONDON: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, AND ROBERTS. 1857. LONDON: PRINTED BY W. CLOWES AND SONS, STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. ------------------ The First Edition of the Work has long been out of print, and the Second would have been published earlier, only that an expected change in the designation of the corps delayed its appearance. That change having occurred, the volumes are republished, recording the services of the corps to the date it continued to bear its old title. Revised in many places, with verbal inaccuracies corrected, aided moreover by journals and official memoranda placed at my disposal to modify or enlarge certain incidents and services, the work is as complete as it would seem to be possible at present to produce it. The concluding Chapters record the services of the corps in the Aland Islands, in Turkey, Bulgaria, Circassia, Wallachia, and the Crimea. The siege of Sebastopol and the destruction of the memorable docks have been given with the fulness which the industry and gallantry of the sappers merited; and in order that the many adventures and enterprises recorded in the final years of the history should not fail in interest and accuracy, Colonel Sandham, the Director of the Royal Engineer Establishment, with the permission of General Sir John Burgoyne, kindly lent me the assistance of the Engineers’ Diary of the Siege, as well as several collateral reports concerning its progress and the demolition of the docks. At the same time I think it right to say, that no attempt has been made in these pages to offer a history of the Crimean operations. So much only of the details has been worked into the narrative as was necessary to preserve unbroken the thread of sapper services in connexion with particular works and undertakings. It should also be borne in mind, that these volumes are devoted to the affairs of the Royal Sappers and Miners; and, consequently, that care has been taken to touch as lightly as practicable on the services of other regiments. Hence the officers of the Royal Engineers have only been named when it was desirable to identify them with parties of Sappers, whom on certain occasions they commanded. I feel a loyal pride in being able to state that the work has been honoured with the munificent patronage of Her Majesty the Queen, and of His Royal Highness the Prince Albert; than which nothing could be more acceptable to me, either as an author or a subject. In closing I beg to express my deep obligations to General Sir John Burgoyne, Bart., G.C.B., the officers of the corps generally, my personal friends, and the public, for the patronage with which I have been favoured; and also to the Press, for the handsome manner in which it has noticed and commended my labours. _Brompton Barracks,_ _March 1857._ PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. ------------------ In 1836, soon after Lieutenant Robert Dashwood, R.E., was appointed Acting Adjutant of the Royal Sappers and Miners at Woolwich, he was directed by Brigade-Major, now Colonel Matson, to prepare a list of officers of the Royal Engineers who had commanded, from time to time, the different companies of the corps. I assisted him in the duty; but while he was in the midst of his work, he was prematurely cut off by death, and the task of completing the statement devolved on me. It now forms a referential record at the head-quarter office. Led in its progress to consult old documents and returns, I conceived the idea of making myself acquainted with the whole history of the corps. With this view, after daily fulfilling the routine duty of the office, I spent all my leisure intervals in bringing to light old books and papers, which for years had been buried in disused depositories and stores. Whilst thus engaged, two Acting Adjutants, Lieutenants F. A. Yorke and T. Webb, R.E., were successively appointed to the corps at Woolwich. Both officers entered with some spirit into the attempt to trace a history of its services; but before they had proceeded to any great length, were interrupted in their labours by removal to other stations in consequence of promotion. Adjutant Yorke, however, succeeded so far, that he drew up a brief account of the formation of the sappers, commencing with the Gibraltar company in 1772, and detailed its subsequent augmentations and reductions. This statement also forms a permanent record in the office; and Captain Webb made fair progress with an outline account of its active services. To both officers it was my good fortune to afford such aid as they required, in the collection of information for their respective efforts. In 1847, when medals were granted to the veterans of the last war, Brigade-Major, now Colonel Sandham, observed the readiness with which I spoke of historical events in which the corps was concerned, and of the services of particular individuals who had belonged to it. He also saw the facility with which I supplied the information required to establish the claims of the several applicants for medals and clasps. This induced him, after some little conversation on the subject, to direct me to prepare for publication a history of the corps. Much fragmentary matter I had already accumulated, for twelve years had been consumed by me in wading through books and documents in quest of dates and occurrences. Nevertheless, it was not without serious misgivings that I set myself officially to the task, and the researches and labours embodied in the following pages are the result. In the intervals of important and onerous public duty, the materials for the memoir have been collected and the work methodized and written. Necessarily severe was the application required under such circumstances; but by steady perseverance, even at times when my health was scarcely able to bear up against the exertion it needed, I have succeeded, without omitting any service that I know of, in completing the history to the siege of Sebastopol. The work certainly is one of no pretension, and on this score may be regarded as having cost but little toil in its preparation; but I may observe, that from the absence of many particular records, the unaccountable neglect in furnishing others, and the striking imperfections in many of the remaining papers, arising from complexity, vagueness, obliteration, or decay, more than ordinary difficulty, research, and trouble were experienced, in gathering the materials essential to give anything like a reasonable delineation of the events narrated in the Memoir. Paucity of detail in numbers, want of description with reference to particular occurrences, and gaps in many years from the loss of muster-rolls and official documents, run through a period of nearly half a century, from 1772 to 1815: and strange as it may appear, even the casualties in action so carefully reported in other corps, have, from some inexplicable cause, either been omitted altogether in the war despatches or given inaccurately. In later years, however, the connexion between the officers of the Royal Engineers and the soldiers of the Royal Sappers and Miners has been so fully established, that attention to these important minutiæ forms a decided feature in the improved command of the corps. In employments of a purely civil character in which the Royal Sappers and Miners have shared, care has been taken to explain, as fully as the records and collateral evidence would admit, the nature of its duties; and, likewise, to multiply authorities to prove the estimation in which it was held for its services and conduct. This has been mainly done, to offer a practical reply to an association, incorporated within the last twelve years, which, in the course of a futile agitation, endeavoured by injurious statements to lessen the corps in public esteem. All mention of the Royal Engineers in this memoir has been studiously suppressed, except when such was unavoidable to give identity to the different duties and services of the Royal Sappers and Miners, and also, when their direct and particular connexion with the corps in certain situations, rendered allusion to them justifiable. This course was suggested to me by an officer of high rank, for the obvious reason that, as the Royal Engineers is a body entirely distinct from the Sappers and Miners, and possesses its own annals, any reference to, or particularization of, its services in a work professedly confined to the corps, would not only be extraneous, but tend to lessen its value, and weaken its interest with those for whose information it was especially written. Here, however, it should be observed, that the Royal Sappers and Miners, though a separate and integral body of itself, is nevertheless, and has been from the commencement, officered by the Royal Engineers; and whatever excellence or advancement is traced in its career and public usefulness, whether as soldiers or mechanics, is fairly, in a great degree, attributable to the officers; for, in every circumstance of service and situation, they have liberally opened up for them new channels of employment to engage their faculties and energies, and have afforded them at all times scope and facilities to develop their mental and physical resources, and to fit them to perform with credit, not only the circumscribed duties of soldiers, but the more extended requirements of sappers, artizans, and professional men. By the omission of all but special reference to the officers, room has thus been given for mentioning many non-commissioned officers and privates, who have attracted public attention and gained encomium for their meritorious services; some for their skill and ingenuity; others for their integrity and devotion; and others for their acquirements, their vigorous exertions and labours; their ardour, their endurance, and their valour. While the recognition of such examples cannot fail to incite others to emulate the military virtues of their more distinguished predecessors and comrades, it is earnestly hoped, that every member of the corps will be led to feel a personal interest in its reputation and honour, and a pride in its discipline and loyalty; its usefulness and efficiency in peace; its heroism and achievements in war. The drawings were executed on stone by George B. Campion, Esq., master of landscape drawing at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich. In illustrations like those in the present volumes, it was scarcely possible to delineate with exactness the complicated ornament which make up the _ensemble_ of a soldier’s uniform. Notwithstanding this disadvantage, the costume has been well defined, and much interest given to the embellishments, by the introduction of accessories, characteristic of the duties and employments of the corps. My respectful acknowledgments are due to Sir John Burgoyne, the Inspector-General of Fortifications, for making the subject of my exertions known in a circular from his own hand, to the officers of the Royal Engineers; and in offering him the expression of my gratitude, I think it right with a feeling of sincere thankfulness to mention, that the success which has attended that kind appeal, has been more, perhaps, than I could reasonably expect. Several of the officers have afforded me much encouragement in the work, as well by suggestion and advice, as by the liberality of their contributions; but, wanting the liberty to publish their names, I am precluded from making a record, to which it would have been my pride to give publicity. To my own corps I am also indebted for many pleasing proofs of concern, as evinced in their anxiety to see the undertaking prosper. Nearly 200 copies have been demanded by the non-commissioned officers, including a few of the privates, and when the price of the work is considered, the generosity of my patrons is as striking as noble. To S. W. Fullom, Esq., I here offer the expression of my grateful thanks for his amiable and disinterested counsel, cheerfully accorded on the many occasions I had to seek it; and for kindly assisting me in looking over the sheets as the work passed through the press. I now submit the volumes to my corps and the profession, and am not without hope that they may also be acceptable to a portion of the public. As far as the sources of my information and research have extended, the memoir will be found truthful and impartial. It was my aim to execute it with an integrity that would place me beyond impeachment: I therefore feel some confidence that indulgence will be shown for its defects, and also for whatever errors, through inadvertency, may have crept into the work. THOMAS CONNOLLY. _Royal Sappers and Miners’ Barracks, Woolwich, March 1855._ CONTENTS OF VOL. I. ------- 1772-1779. PAGE Origin of Corps—Its establishment and pay—Engineers to 1 command it—Its designation—Working pay—Recruiting—Dismissal of civil artificers—Names of officers—Non-commissioned officers—First augmentation—Consequent promotions—Names of other officers joined—King’s Bastion—Second augmentation 1779-1782. Jealousy of Spain—Declares war with England—Strength of the 10 garrison at Gibraltar—Preparations for defence and employment of the company—Siege commenced—Privations of the garrison—Grand sortie and conduct of the company—Its subsequent exertions—Origin of the subterranean galleries—Their extraordinary prosecution—Princess Anne’s battery—Third augmentation—Names of non-commissioned officers 1782-1783. Siege continued—Magnitude of the works—Chevaux-de-frise from 22 Landport-Glacis across the inundation—Précis of other works—Firing red-hot shot—Damage done to the works of the garrison, and exertions of the company in restoring them—Grand attack, and burning of the battering flotilla—Reluctance of the enemy to quit the contest—Kilns for heating shot—Orange bastion—Subterranean galleries—Discovery of the enemy mining under the Rock—Ulterior dependence of the enemy—Peace—Conduct of the company during the siege—Casualties 1783. Duc de Crillon’s compliments respecting the 29 works—Subterranean galleries—Their supposed inefficiency—Henry Ince—Quickness of sight of two boys of the company—Employment of the boys during the siege—Thomas Richmond and John Brand—Models constructed by them 1783. State of the fortress—Execution of the works depended upon 39 the company—Casualties filled up by transfers from the line—Composition—Recruiting—Relieved from all duties, garrison and regimental—Anniversary of the destruction of the Spanish battering flotilla 1786-1787. Company divided into two—Numerous discharges—Cause of the 43 men becoming so soon ineffective—Fourth augmentation—Labourers—Recruiting, reinforcements—Dismissal of foreign artificers—Wreck of brig ‘Mercury’—Uniform dress—Working ditto—Names of officers—Privileges—Cave under the signal-house 1779-1788. Colonel Debbieg’s proposal for organizing a corps of 53 artificers—Rejected—Employment of artillerymen on the works at home—Duke of Richmond’s “Extensive plans of fortification”—Formation of corps ordered—Singular silence of the House of Commons on the subject—Mr. Sheridan calls attention to it—Insertion of corps for first time in the Mutiny Bill—Debate upon it in both Houses of Parliament 1787-1788. Constitution of corps—Master artificers—Officers—Rank and 64 post of the corps—Captains of companies; stations—Allowance to captains; adjutants—Recruiting—Labourers—“Richmond’s whims”—Progress of recruiting—Articles of agreement—Corps not to do garrison duty—Sergeant-Majors—John Drew—Alexander Spence—Uniform dress—Working dress—Hearts o' pipe-clay—“The Queen’s bounty”—Arms, &c.—Distinction of ranks—Jews’ wish 1789-1792. Appointment of Quartermaster and 72 Colonel-Commandant—Distribution of corps, Captains of companies—Jealousy and ill-feeling of the civil artificers—Riot at Plymouth—Its casualties—Recruits wrecked on passage to Gibraltar—Song, “Bay of Biscay, O!”—Defence of the Tower of London against the Jacobins—Bagshot-heath encampment—Alterations in the uniform and working dress 1793. War with France—Artificers demanded for foreign 81 service—Consequent effects—Detachment to West Indies—Fever at Antigua—Detachment to Flanders—Siege of Valenciennes—Waterdown Camp—Reinforcement to Flanders—Siege of Dunkirk—Nieuport—Another reinforcement to Flanders—Toulon—Private Samuel Myers at Fort Mulgrave—Formation of four companies for service abroad—Establishment and strength of corps 1794-1795. Working dress—Company sails for West 90 Indies—Martinique—Spirited conduct of detachment there—Guadaloupe—Mortality—Toulon—Flanders—Reinforcement to company there—Return of the company—Works at Gravesend—Irregularities in the corps—Causes—Redeeming qualities—Appointment of Regimental Adjutant and Sergeant-major—Consequences—Woolwich becomes the head-quarters—Alteration in working dress 1795-1796. Companies to St. Domingo and the Caribbee Islands—Reduction 101 of St. Lucia—Conduct of company there—Gallantry in forming lodgment and converting it into a battery—Attack on Bombarde—Distribution and conduct of St. Domingo company—Mortality in the West Indies—Detachment to Halifax, Nova Scotia—Dougal Hamilton—Detachments to Calshot Castle and St. Marcou 1797. Detachments to Portugal—To Dover—Transfers to the 105 Artillery-Enlistment of artificers only—Incorporation of Gibraltar companies with the corps—Capture of Trinidad—Draft to West Indies—Failure at Porto Rico—Fording the lagoon, by private D. Sinclair—Private W. Rogers at the bridge St. Julien—Saves his officer—Casualties by fever in Caribbean company—Filling up company at St. Domingo with negroes—Mutinies in the fleet at Portsmouth—Conduct of Plymouth company—Emeute in the Royal Artillery, Woolwich—Increase of pay—Marquis Cornwallis’s approbation of the corps—Mutiny at the Nore—Consequent removal of detachment to Gravesend—Alterations in dress 1798-1799. Contribution of corps to the State—Detachment with 116 expedition to maritime Flanders—Destruction of the Bruges canal—Battle near Ostend—Draft to West Indies—Capture of Surinam—St. Domingo evacuated—Expedition to Minorca—Conduct of detachment while serving there—Composition of detachments for foreign service—Parties to Sevenoaks and Harwich—Mission to Turkey—Its movements and services—Special detachment to Gibraltar to construct a cistern for the Navy—Detachment with the expedition to Holland—Its services—Origin of the Royal Staff Corps 1800. Mortality in the West Indies—Blockade of Malta—Capture of a 126 transport on passage from Nova Scotia—Movements and services of detachments in Turkey; attacked with fever—Anecdote of private Thomas Taylor at Constantinople—Cruise of expedition to Cadiz—Attack on the city abandoned—Subsequent movements of the expedition; Malta; and re-embarkation for Egypt—Statistics of companies at Gibraltar 1801-1802. Distribution of corps—Dispersion of West India 132 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 1803-1805. Party to Ceylon—The treaty of Amiens broken—State of West 141 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. Petersburg—Party to Naples—Ditto to Hanover 1806. First detachment to Cape of Good Hope—Misfortunes at Buenos 153 Ayres—Reinforcements 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 1807. Appointments of Adjutant and Quartermaster—Captain John T. 161 Jones—Disasters at Buenos Ayres—Egypt—Reinforcement to Messina—Detachment of Maltese military artificers to Sicily—Newfoundland—Copenhagen—Captures in the Caribbean Sea—Madeira—Danish Islands in the West Indies—Hythe 1808. War in the Peninsula—Expedition thither—Detachments to the 165 seat of war, with Captains Landmann, Elphinstone, Squire, Burgoyne, and Smyth—Captain John T. Jones—Reinforcement to Newfoundland—Discipline at Halifax—Services at Messina—Parties temporarily detached to different places—The queue 1809. Retreat to Coruña—Miserable state of the detachment on 168 reaching England—Hardships of the stragglers—Capture of Martinique—Skill of George Mitchell at the siege—Fever in the West Indies—Reduction of the Saintes—Detachment to Portugal—Battles of Oporto and Talavera—Casualties in the retreat, and distribution of the party—Naples—Zante and the Ionian Islands—Term of service of the Maltese military artificers—Siege of Flushing—Services of the military artificers there—Gallantry, in the batteries, of John Millar, Thomas Wild, and Thomas Letts—Conduct of corps at the siege—Casualties by the Walcheren fever—Skilful conduct of Corporal T. Stevens in the demolitions at Flushing—Captain John T. Jones—Servants—Incidental detachments 1810. Capture of Guadaloupe—Of St. Martin’s and St. 175 Eustatius—Torres Vedras—Anecdote of Corporal William Wilson at the Lines—Almeida and Busaco—Detachments to Cadiz—Puntales and La Isla—Destruction of Forts Barbara and St. Felipe, near Gibraltar—Santa Maura—Occasional detachments 1811. Mortality in the West Indies—Strength and distribution of 178 detachments in the Peninsula—Recapture of Olivenza—Field instruction prior to siege of Badajoz—Conduct of corps at the siege—Conduct of Sergeant Rogers in reconnoitring—Reinforcement to Portugal and duties of the detachment—Its distribution and services—Battle of Barrosa; gallant conduct of Sergeant John Cameron—Tarragona—Defence of Tarifa—Augmentation to corps and reconstruction of companies—Annual expense of corps—Command of the companies—Their stationary character—The wealthy corporal—New distribution of corps—Commissions to Sub-Lieutenants, and ingenious inventions of Lieutenant Munro 1812. Plymouth company instructed in field duties—Engineer 187 establishment at Chatham—Major Pasley appointed its director—Discipline and drill of corps—Its character—Sir John Sinclair ex-private—Title of corps changed—Captain G. Buchanan—A sergeant acrobat—Cuidad Rodrigo—Exertions of a company on the march to the siege—Repairs to the fortress—Siege of Badajoz—Difficulties in removing the stores to the park—Duties of the sappers in the operation—Gallant behaviour of Patrick Rooney and William Harry—Also of a party at Fort Picurina, and of Patrick Burke and Robert Miller—Hazardous attempt to blow down the batardeau in the ditch of the lunette, and conduct of corporal Stack—Bravery of a party in mining under the bridge of the inundation—Distribution of the Peninsular companies and their services—Bridges of Yecla and Serrada—Reinforcement to Spain—Salamanca—Burgos, and boldness of Patrick Burke and Andrew Alexander at the siege—Bridge of Alba—Carthagena—Reinforcement to Cadiz; action at Seville—Reinforcement to the Peninsula and distribution of the sappers—Green Island—Tarragona—First detachment to Bermuda 1813. Designation of corps modified—Uniform—Working 197 dress—Arms—Mode of promoting non-commissioned officers—Rank of colour-sergeant created—Company to Canada—Reinforcement to Bermuda—Sub-Lieutenant Mackenzie appointed Town-Major there—Sickness at Gibraltar—Services of company in East Catalonia—Malha da Sorda—Services on the advance to Vittoria—Bridge at Toro—Blockade of Pampeluna—Pyrenees—Stockades near Roncesvalles—San Sebastian and services of the corps at the siege—Valour of sergeants Powis and Davis—Of private Borland; and of corporal Evans—Casualties in the siege—Restoration of the fortifications—Pontoon train—Bidassoa—Bridge across it, and conduct of privates Owen Connor and Nowlan—Vera—Nivelle, and behaviour of corporal Councill—Bridge over that river—Bridges over the Nive, and daring exertions of private Dowling—Fording the Nive, and posts of honour accorded to corporal Jamieson and private Braid—Strength and distribution of corps in the Peninsula—Recruiting 1814. Wreck of ‘Queen’ transport; humanity of sergeant Mackenzie; 209 heroic exertions of private M‘Carthy—Quartermaster; Brigade-Major—Santona; useful services of corporal Hay—Bridge of Itzassu near Cambo-Orthes; conduct of sergeant Stephens—Toulouse—Bridge of the Adour; duties of the sappers—Flotilla to form the bridge—Casualties in venturing the bar—Conduct of the corps in its construction—Bayonne—Expedition to North America—Return to England of certain companies from the Peninsula—Company to Holland; its duties; bridge over the Maerk; Tholen; Fort Frederick—March for Antwerp—Action at Merxam—Esprit de corps—Coolness of sergeant Stevens and corporal Milburn—Distribution; bridge-making—Surprise of Bergen-op-Zoom—Conduct of the sappers, and casualties in the operation—A mild Irish-man—Bravery of corporal Creighton and private Lomas—South Beveland—Reinforcement to the Netherlands—Review by the Emperor of Russia—School for companies at Antwerp—Detachments in the Netherlands, company at Tournai—Movements of the company in Italy and Sicily—Expedition to Tuscany; party to Corfu—Canada; distribution of company there, and its active services—Reinforcement to Canada—Washington, Baltimore, New Orleans—Notice of corporal Scrafield—Expedition to the State of Maine 1815. Siege of Fort Boyer—Alertness of company on passage to New 225 Orleans—Return of the sappers from North America—Services and movements of companies in Canada—Also in Nova Scotia—Captures of Martinique and Guadaloupe—Services and movements of companies in Italy—Maltese sappers disbanded—Pay of Sub-Lieutenants—Ypres—Increase to sappers’ force in Holland; its duties and detachments; notice of sergeant Purcell—Renewal of the war—Strength of the corps sent to the Netherlands—Pontoneers—Battle of Waterloo—Disastrous situation of a company in retreating—General order about the alarm and the stragglers—Sergeant-major Hilton at Brussels—Notice of lance-corporal Donnelly—Exertions of another company in pressing to the field—Organization of the engineer establishment in France—Pontoon train—Magnitude of the engineer establishment; hired drivers; Flemish seamen—Assault of Peronne, valour of Sub-lieutenant Stratton and lance-corporal Councill—Pontoon bridges on the Seine—Conduct of corps during the campaign—Corporal Coombs with the Prussian army—Usefulness of the sappers in attending to the horses, &c., of the department in France—Domiciliary visit to Montmartre 1816-1818. Movements in France—Return of six companies from thence to 241 England—Strength of those remaining, and detachments from them—St. Helena—Return of company from Italy—Disbandment of the war company of Maltese sappers—Battle of Algiers—Conduct of corps at Valenciennes—Instances in which the want of arms was felt during the war—Arming the corps attributable to accidental circumstances—Training and instruction of the corps in France—Its misconduct—But remarkable efficiency at drill—Municipal thanks to companies at Valenciennes—Dress—Bugles adopted—Reduction in the corps—Sub-lieutenants disbanded—Withdrawal of companies from certain stations—Relief of company at Barbadoes—Repairing damages at St. Lucia; conduct of the old West India company—Corfu—Inspection of corps in France—Epaulettes introduced—Sordid conduct of four men in refusing to wear them—Murder of private Milne, and consequent punishment of corps in France by the Duke of Wellington—Return of the sappers from France 1819-1824. Reduction in the corps—Distribution—Sergeant Thomas Brown, 253 the modeller—Reinforcement to the Cape, and services of the detachment during the Kaffir war—Epidemic at Bermuda—Damages at Antigua occasioned by a hurricane—Visit to Chatham of the Duke of Clarence—Withdrawal of a detachment from Corfu—A private becomes a peer—Draft to Bermuda—Second visit to Chatham of the Duke of Clarence—Fever at Barbadoes—Death of Napoleon, and withdrawal of company from St. Helena—Notice of private John Bennett—Movements of the company in Canada—Trigonometrical operations under the Board of Longitude—Feversham—Relief of the old Gibraltar company—Breast-plates—St. Nicholas’ Island—Condition of company at Barbadoes when inspected by the Engineer Commission—Scattered state of the detachment at the Cape—Services of the detachment at Corfu—Intelligence and usefulness of sergeant Hall and corporal Lawson—Special services of corporal John Smith—Pontoon trials—Sheerness—Notice of corporal Shorter—Forage-caps and swords 1825-1826. Dress—Curtailment of benefits by the change—Chacos—Survey of 263 Ireland—Formation of the first company for the duty—Establishment of corps; company to Corfu—Second company for the survey—Efforts to complete the companies raised for it—Pontoon trials in presence of the Duke of Wellington—Western Africa—Third company for the survey: additional working pay—Employments and strength of the sappers in Ireland—Drummond Light; Slieve Snacht and Divis—Endurance of private Alexander Smith—Wreck of ‘Shipley’ transport—Berbice; corporal Sirrell at Antigua 1827-1829. Augmentation—Reinforcement to Bermuda—Companies for Rideau 271 Canal—Reinforcement to the Cape—Monument to the memory of General Wolfe—Increase to the survey companies—Supernumerary promotions—Measurement of Lough Foyle base—Suggestion of sergeant Sim for measuring across the river Roe—Survey companies inspected by Major-General Sir James C. Smith; opinion of their services by Sir Henry Hardinge—Sergeant-major Townsend—Demolition of the Glacière Bastion at Quebec—Banquet to fifth company by Lord Dalhousie—Service of the sappers at the citadel of Quebec—Notice of sergeants Dunnett and John Smith—Works to be executed by contract—Trial of pontoons, and exertions of corporal James Forbes—Epidemic at Gibraltar—Island of Ascension; corporal Beal—Forage-caps—Company withdrawn from Nova Scotia—Party to Sandhurst College, and usefulness of corporal Forbes 1830-1832. The chaco—Brigade-Major Rice Jones—Island of 281 Ascension—Notice of corporal Beal—Detachment to the Tower of London—Chatham during the Reform agitation—Staff appointments—Sergeant McLaren the first medallist in the corps—Terrific hurricane at Barbadoes; distinguished conduct of colour-sergeant Harris and corporal Muir—Subaqueous destruction of the ‘Arethusa’ at Barbadoes—Return of a detachment to the Tower of London—Rideau canal; services of the sappers in its construction; casualties; and disbandment of the companies—Costume—First detachment to the Mauritius—Notice of corporal Reed—Pendennis Castle 1833-1836. Inspection at Chatham by Lord Hill—Pontoon 289 experiments—Withdrawal of companies from the ports—Reduction of the corps, and reorganization of the companies—Recall of companies from abroad—Purfleet—Trigonometrical survey of west coast of England—Draft to the Cape—Review at Chatham by Lord Hill—Motto to the corps—Reinforcement to the Mauritius—Inspection at Woolwich by Sir Frederick Mulcaster—Mortality from cholera; services of corporals Hopkins and Ritchley—Entertainment to the detachment at the Mauritius by Sir William Nicolay—Triangulation of the west coast of Scotland—Kaffir war—Appointments of ten foremen of works—Death of Quartermaster Galloway—Succeeded by sergeant-major Hilton—Sergeant Forbes—Notice of his father—Lieutenant Dashwood—Euphrates expedition—Labours of the party—Sergeant Sim—Generosity of Colonel Chesney, R.A.—Additional smiths to the expedition—Loss of the ‘Tigris’ steamer—Descent of the Euphrates—Sappers with the expedition employed as engineers—Corporal Greenhill—Approbation of the services of the party—Triangulation of west coast of Scotland—Addiscombe—Expedition to Spain—Character of the detachment that accompanied it—Passages; action in front of San Sebastian—Reinforcement to Spain—Final trial of pontoons—Mission to Constantinople 1837. Change in the dress—Increase of non-commissioned 305 officers—Services of the detachment at Ametza Gaña—Oriamendi—Desierto convent on the Nervion—Fuentarabia—Oyarzun—Aindoin—Miscellaneous employment of the detachment—Trigonometrical survey west coast of Scotland—Inspection at Woolwich by Lord Hill and Sir Hussey Vivian—Staff appointments—Labours of sergeant Lanyon—Staff-sergeants' accoutrements—Expedition to New Holland—Corporal Coles selected as the man Friday of his chief—Exploration from High Bluff Point to Hanover Bay; difficulties and trials of the trip; great thirst—Exertions and critical situation of Coles—His courageous bearing—Touching instance of devotion to his chief—Employments of the party—Exploration into the interior with Coles and private Mustard—Hardships in its prosecution—Threatened attack of the natives; return to the camp 1838. Services of party in New Holland—Start for the 315 interior—Labours of the expedition; corporal Auger—Captain Grey and corporal Coles expect an attack—Attitude of private Auger at the camp against the menace of the natives—Captain Grey and Coles attacked; their critical situation: the chief wounded; devotion of Coles—Usefulness of Auger—Renew the march; Auger finds a singular ford—Discovers a cave with a sculptured face in it—Mustard traces the spoor of a quadruped still unseen in New Holland—A sleep in the trees—Trials of the party—Primitive washing—Auger the van of the adventurers—Humane attention of the Captain to Mustard; reach Hanover Bay; arrive at the Mauritius—Detachment in Spain—Attack on Orio—Usurvil; Oyarzun—Miscellaneous employments of the party—Reinforcement to it; Casa Aquirre—Orio—Secret mission to Muñagorri—Second visit to the same chief—Notice of corporal John Down—Bidassoa—Triangulation of north of Scotland—Also of the Frith of the Clyde—Insurrection in Canada; guard of honour to Lord Durham—Company inspected by the Governor-General on the plains of Abraham—Inspection at Niagara by Sir George Arthur—Services and movements of the company in Canada; attack at Beauharnois—Submarine demolition of wrecks near Gravesend—Expedient to prevent accidents by vessels fouling the diving-bell lighter—Conduct of the sappers in the operations; exertions of sergeant-major Jones—Fatal accident to a diver—Intrepidity of sergeants Ross and Young—Blasting the bow of the brig ‘William,’ by sergeant-major Jones—Withdrawal of the sappers from the canal at Hythe 1839. Expedition to Western Australia under Captain Grey—Excursion 328 with Auger to the north of Perth—Search for Mr. Ellis—Exploration of shores from Freemantle—Bernier and Dorre Islands; want of water; trials of the party—Water allowance reduced—A lagoon discovered—Privations and hardships of the party—Return to Bernier Island for stores—Its altered appearance—Destruction of the depôt of provisions—Consternation of Coles—Auger’s example under the circumstances—Expedition makes for Swan River—Perilous landing at Gantheaume Bay—Overland journey to Perth; straits of the adventurers—Auger searching for a missing man—Coles observes the natives; arrangements to meet them—Water found by Auger—A spring discovered by Coles at Water Peak—Disaffection about long marches; forced journeys determined upon; the two sappers and a few others accompany the Captain—Desperate hardships and fatigues; the last revolting resource of thirst—Extraordinary exertions of the travellers; their sufferings from thirst; water found—Appalling bivouac—Coles’s agony and fortitude—Struggles of the adventurers; they at last reach Perth—Auger joins two expeditions in search of the slow walkers—Disposal of Coles and Auger 1839. Services of the detachment in Spain—Last party of the 341 artillery on the survey—Survey of South Australia—Inspection at Limerick by Sir William Macbean—Triangulation of north of Scotland—Also of the Clyde—Pontoons by sergeant Hopkins—Augmentation of the corps—Also of the survey companies—Supernumerary rank annulled—Tithe surveys; quality of work executed on them by discharged sappers; efficient surveys of sergeant Doull—Increase of survey pay—Staff appointments on the survey—Responsibility of quartermaster-sergeant M‘Kay—Colonel Colby’s classes—Based upon particular attainments—Disputed territory in the State of Maine—Movements and services of the party employed in its survey; intrepidity of corporal M‘Queen—Experiments with the diving-bell—Also with the voltaic battery—Improvement in the priming wires by Captain Sandham; sergeant-major Jones’s waterproof composition and imitation fuses—Demolition and removal of the wreck of the ‘Royal George’—Organization of detachment employed in the operation—Emulation of parties—Success of the divers; labours of the sappers—Diving-bell abandoned—Accident to private Brabant—Fearlessness of corporal Harris in unloading gunpowder from the cylinders—Hazardous duty in soldering the loading-hole of the cylinder—First sapper helmet divers—Conduct and exertions of the detachment 1840. Return of the detachment from Spain—Its conduct during the 354 war—Survey of the northern counties of England—Notice of sergeant Cottingham—Secondary triangulation of the north of Scotland—Increase to survey allowances—Augmentation to the survey companies—Renewal of survey of the disputed boundary in the state of Maine—Corporal Hearnden at Sandhurst—Wreck of the ‘Royal George;’ duties of the sappers in its removal—Exertions of sergeant-major Jones—The divers—An accident—Usefulness of the detachment engaged in the work—Boat adventure at Spithead—Andrew Anderson—Thomas P. Cook—Transfer of detachment from the Mauritius to the Cape—Survey of La Caille’s arc of meridian there—Detachment to Syria—Its active services, including capture of Acre—Reinforcement to Syria 1841. Syria—Landing at Caiffa; Mount Carmel—Cave of Elijah; 365 epidemic—Colour-sergeant Black—Inspection at Beirout by the Seraskier; return of the detachment to England—Expedition to the Niger—Model farm—Gori—Fever sets in; return of the expedition—Services of the sappers attached to it—Corporal Edmonds and the elephant—and the Princess—Staff-sergeant’s undress—Staff appointments—Wreck of the 'Royal George'—Sergeant March—Sapper-divers—Curiosities—Under-water pay; means used to aid the divers—Speaking under water—Gallantry of private Skelton—Alarming accidents—Constitutional unfitness for diving—Boundary survey in the state of Maine—Augmentation to corps for Bermuda—Sandhurst; corporal Carlin’s services—Quartermaster-sergeant Fraser—Intrepidity of private Entwistle—Colonel Pasley—Efficiency of the corps—Its conduct, and impolicy of reducing its establishment—Sir John Jones’s opinion of the sappers—And also the Rev. G. R. Gleig’s 1842. Party to Natal—The march—Action at Congella—Boers attack the 384 camp—Then besiege it—Sortie on the Boers' trenches—Incidents—Privations—Conduct of the detachment; courageous bearing of sergeant Young—Services of the party after hostilities had ceased—Detachment to the Falkland Islands—Landing—Character of the country—Services of the party—Its movements; and amusements—Professor Airy’s opinion of the corps—Fire at Woolwich; its consequences—Wreck of the 'Royal George'—Classification of the divers—Corporal Harris’s exertions in removing the wreck of the ‘Perdita’ mooring lighter—Assists an unsuccessful comrade—Difficulties in recovering the pig-iron ballast—Adventure with Mr. Cussell’s lighter—Isolation of Jones at the bottom—Annoyed by the presence of a human body; Harris, less sensitive, captures it—The keel—Accidents—Conflict between two rival divers—Conduct of the sappers employed in the operation—Demolition of beacons at Blythe Sand, Sheerness—Testimonial to sergeant-major Jones for his services in connection with it 1842. Draft to Canada—Company recalled from thence—Its services 401 and movements—Its character—Labours of colour-sergeant Lanyon—Increase to Gibraltar—Reduction in the corps—Irish survey completed; force employed in its prosecution—Reasons for conducting it under military rule—Economy of superintendence by sappers—Their employments—Sergeants West, Doull, Spalding, Keville—Corporals George Newman, Andrew Duncan—Staff appointments to the survey companies—Dangers—Hardships—Average strength of sapper force employed—Casualties—Kindness of the Irish—Gradual transfer of sappers for the English survey—Distribution; Southampton 1843. Falkland Islands; services of the detachment 412 there—Exploration trips—Seat of government changed—Turner’s stream—Bull-fight—Round Down Cliff, near Dover—Boundary line in North America—Sergeant-major Forbes—Operations for removing the wreck of the 'Royal George'—Exertions of the party—Private Girvan—Sagacity of corporal Jones—Success of the divers—Exertions to recover the missing guns—Harris’s nest—His district pardonably invaded—Wreck of the 'Edgar,' and corporal Jones—Power of water to convey sound—Girvan at the ‘Edgar’—An accident—Cessation of the work—Conduct of the detachment employed in it—Sir George Murray’s commendation—Longitude of Valentia—Rebellion in Ireland—Colour-sergeant Lanyon explores the passages under Dublin Castle—Fever at Bermuda—Burning of the ‘Missouri’ steamer at Gibraltar—Hong-Kong—Inspection at Woolwich by the Grand Duke Michael of Russia—Percussion carbine and accoutrements 1844. Remeasurement of La Caille’s arc at the Cape—Reconnoitring 431 excursion of sergeant Hemming—Falkland Islands—Draft to Bermuda—Inspection at Gibraltar by General Sir Robert Wilson—Final operations against the ‘Royal George’—and the ‘Edgar’—Discovery of the amidships—incident connected with it—Combats with crustacea—Success of corporal Jones—Injury to a diver—Private Skelton drowned—Conduct of the detachment employed in the work—Submarine repairs to the ‘Tay’ steamer at Bermuda by corporal Harris—Widening and deepening the ship channel at St. George’s—Accidents from mining experiments at Chatham—Notice of corporal John Wood—Inspection at Hong-Kong by Major-General D’Aguilar 1845. Sheerness—Increase to the corps at the Cape—Survey of 444 Windsor—Skill of privates Holland and Hogan as draughtsmen—Etchings by the latter for the Queen and Prince Albert—Unique idea of the use of a bullet—Inspection at Gibraltar by Sir Robert Wilson—Falkland Islands—Discharges on the survey duty during the railway mania 1846. Boundary surveys in North America—Duties of the party 448 engaged in it—Mode of ascertaining longitudes—Trials of the party; Owen Lonergan—The sixty-four mile line—Official recognition of services of the party—Sergeant James Mulligan—Kaffir war—Corporal B. Castledine—Parties employed at the guns—Graham’s Town—Fort Brown—Patrols—Bridge over the Fish River—Field services with the second division—Dodo’s kraal—Waterloo Bay—Field services with the first division—Patrol under Lieutenant Bourchier—Mutiny of the Swellandam native infantry—Conduct of corps in the campaign—Alterations in the dress—Drainage of Windsor—Detachment to Hudson’s Bay—Its organization—Journey to Fort Garry—Sergeant Philip Clark—Private R. Penton—Corporal T. Macpherson—Lower Fort Garry—Particular services—Return to England 1846. Exploration survey for a railway in North America—Services 465 of the party employed on it—Personal services of sergeant A. Calder—Augmentation to the corps—Reinforcement to China—Recall of a company from Bermuda—Royal presents to the reading-room at Southampton—Inspection at Gibraltar by Sir Robert Wilson—Third company placed at the disposal of the Board of Works in Ireland—Sergeant J. Baston—Services of the company—Distinguished from the works controlled by the civilians—Gallantry of private G. Windsor—Coolness of private E. West—Intrepid and useful services of private William Baker—Survey of Southampton, and its incomparable map 1847. Detachments in South Australia—Corporal W. 478 Forrest—Augmentation to the corps—Destruction of the Bogue and other forts—Services of the detachment at Canton—First detachment to New Zealand—Survey of Dover and Winchelsea—Also of Pembroke—Flattering allusion to the corps—Sir John Richardson’s expedition to the Arctic regions—Cedar Lake—Private Geddes’s encounter with the bear—Winter quarters at Cumberland House—Road-making in Zetland—Active services at the Cape—Company to Portsmouth LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. VOL. I. PLATE PAGE I. Uniform 1786 _To face Title._ II. Working-dress 1786 49 III. Uniform 1787 69 IV. Working-dress 1787 69 V. Uniform 1792 79 VI. Working-dress 1794 80 VII. Working-dress 1795 100 VIII. Uniform 1797 115 IX. Uniform 1802 140 X. Working-dress 1813 198 XI. Uniform 1813 198 XII. Uniform 1823 258 XIII. Uniform and working-dress 1825 262 XIV. Uniform 1832 287 XV. Uniform 1843 429 VOL. II. XVI. Uniform 1854 } XVII. Working-dress 1854 } _To face Title._ HISTORY OF THE ROYAL SAPPERS AND MINERS. --------------------- 1772—1779. Origin of Corps—Its establishment and pay—Engineers to command it—Its designation—Working pay—Recruiting—Dismissal of civil artificers—Names of officers—Non-commissioned officers—First augmentation—Consequent promotions—Names of other officers joined—King’s Bastion—Second augmentation. Before the year 1772, the works at Gibraltar were mainly executed by civil mechanics from the Continent and England, who were not engaged for any term of years, but were hired like ordinary artificers, and could leave the Rock whenever they felt disposed. Not being amenable to military discipline, they were indolent and disorderly, and wholly regardless of authority. The only means of punishing them was by reprimand, suspension, or dismissal, and these means were quite ineffectual to check irregularities. The dismissal of mechanics and replacing them by others was always attended with considerable inconvenience and expense, and often failed to secure an equivalent advantage. Consequently, the works progressed very slowly, imposing much additional trouble and anxiety upon the officers. Even the better class of artificers—locally termed “guinea men” from their high wages—who had something at stake in their situations, could not be relied upon. It therefore became necessary that steps should be taken to put a stop to the evil, and to secure the services of a sufficient number of steady, obedient mechanics, upon whom dependence could, at all times, be placed, for the proper execution of the works. With this view, Lieutenant-Colonel William Green, the chief engineer at the fortress, suggested the formation of a company of _military_ artificers as the only expedient. Of the value of this suggestion some experience had been derived, from the occasional occupation on the works, of mechanics belonging to the different regiments in garrison. Indeed, ever since the taking of Gibraltar, in 1704, soldiers had so been employed, particularly artillerymen, whose services to the fortress were always found to be beneficial. There was every reason, therefore, to expect that, when the department became entirely military in its character, corresponding results on a large scale would ensue. Besides which it was considered, that the employment of a military company on the works, organized expressly for the purpose, would produce a great saving of expense to the public; and also, that the men would be ready to participate in any military operation for the defence of the place, either as artificers or soldiers, should our relations with other countries render it desirable. Influenced by these considerations, Colonel Green submitted the suggestion to the Governor and Lieutenant-Governor of Gibraltar. Too well aware themselves of the disadvantages of the system of _civil_ labour in carrying on the works of The fortress, they were favourable to the trial of any experiment that promised success; and in recommending the plan to the attention of the Secretary of State, they expressed their decided opinion that many advantages would certainly arise to the service and the fortress by its adoption. The royal consent was accordingly given to the measure in a Warrant, under the sign manual, dated 6th March, 1772; and thus originated the corps, whose history is attempted to be traced in these pages. The Warrant authorized the raising and forming of a company of artificers to consist of the following numbers and ranks, with the regimental pay annexed to each rank:— s. d. 1 Sergeant and as adjutant[1] 3 0 a-day. 3 Sergeants, each 1 6 ” 3 Corporals 1 2 ” 60 Privates, or working men skilled in the ” following trades:—Stone-cutters, masons, miners, lime-burners, carpenters, smiths, gardeners, or wheelers, each 0 10 1 Drummer 0 10 ” —— 68 Total. And officers of the corps of engineers were appointed to command this new body, to which was given the name of “The Soldier-Artificer Company.”[2] ----- Footnote 1: The rank of sergeant and adjutant—an odd combination certainly—was not adopted. The senior non-commissioned officer was styled sergeant-major. The authority for this are the muster rolls and returns of the company. But it is not a little remarkable that, in opposition to the fact, evidence should exist of the best kind for veracity, to oppose the averment. The error appears on a tablet built in Charles the Fifth’s wall adjoining Hargrave’s parade at Gibraltar, to the memory of the widow of the first sergeant-major of the corps. Thus runs the epitaph:— To the Memory of MARTHA, wife of THOMAS BRIDGES, Sergeant, and as Adjutant to His Majesty’s Artificers' Company. She departed this life, 4th February, 1773, Aged 38 years. ------- A more loving wife or friend sincere Never will be buried here— Charitable she was to all, Altho' her income it was small. Excuse the stanza. Perhaps the sergeant-major was a tetchy man, obstinate in maintaining his rights, and took this private opportunity of asserting his warranted rank and publishing the military anomaly in imperishable marble. Footnote 2: The Warrant does not designate the company by such a title. It is there called “The Military Company of Artificers.” How the change took place, does not appear. ----- Each non-commissioned officer and man was to receive as a remuneration for his labour a sum not exceeding two reals[3] a day in addition to his regimental pay; but this extra allowance was only to be given for such days as he was actually employed on the works. ----- Footnote 3: A real is equal to 4½_d._ English. ----- The recruiting for the company was a service of but little difficulty, as permission was granted to fill it with men from the regiments then serving in the garrison; and although the company was restricted to the taking of properly qualified mechanics of good character, yet, at the end of the year, after supplying the places occasioned by casualties, there were only eighteen rank and file wanting to complete. As vacancies occurred, such of the soldiers of the garrison as came up to the established criteria, and wished to be transferred into the company, were allowed the indulgence; and this mode was the only one followed, for filling up the soldier-artificers, for many years after their formation. The whole of the civil mechanics were not discharged from the department on account of this measure. Such of them were retained as were considered, from their qualifications and conduct, to be useful in the fortress, and they were placed under the superintendence of the non-commissioned officers of the company, who were appointed foremen of the different trades. The foreign artificers were, with few exceptions, dismissed; and twenty English “contracted artificers,” or “guinea men,” were sent home. Previously, however, such of the good men of the number as were willing to be “entertained” in the company were permitted the option of enlisting, but none availed themselves of the offer. The officers of engineers who were first attached to the company were the following:— Lieutenant-Colonel William Green, captain. Captain John Phipps, Esq. Capt.-Lieut. and Captain Theophilus Lefance, Esq. Lieutenant John Evelegh. And they were desired to take under their command and inspection the non-commissioned officers and private men of the company, and to pay particular attention to their good conduct and regular behaviour.[4] ----- Footnote 4: The order upon this subject is given at length, as it touches upon other matters besides the discipline of the company. _Chief Engineer’s Orders, Gibraltar, 31st May, 1772._ “By the Governor’s orders of the 20th May, the company of soldier-artificers now raising and forming under the command of the Chief Engineer as captain, Captain Phipps, Captain-Lieutenant Lefance, and Lieutenant Evelegh, are appointed officers to the said company, and are, therefore, conformable to their respective ranks, henceforth to take under their command the conduct and inspection of the non-commissioned officers and private men of the said company, and to pay all sort of military attentions to their good order and regular behaviour, according to the rules and discipline of war;[4a] also to the particular standing orders, as well as to the accustomary regulations of the garrison relative to all the required and expected duties of a soldier and an artificer, both when on, as well as when off, duty. Captain Phipps is also appointed to keep the accounts and to see the company duly paid their full military subsistence. The company to be paid conformable to His Majesty’s Warrant dated March 6th, 1772, upon the same footing as the rest of the troops in garrison, viz., at seventy pence sterling the Mexico or Cobb, agreeable to which, the non-commissioned officers and men are to be paid weekly as follows, the deduction for the surgeon excepted:— Sergeant-major 5 dollars, 3 reals, 3-1/7 quarts. Sergeants—each 2 ” 5 ” 9-3/7 ” Corporals—each 2 ” 0 ” 12-4/7 ” Privates and drummer—each. 1 ” 4 ” 0 One-halfpenny sterling a-week to be stopped from each private and drummer for the surgeon, and the non-commissioned officers to be stopped in proportion to their respective pays.” Footnote 4a: No provision was made this year for extending the Mutiny Act to the company; nor, indeed, was it noticed in any subsequent Act till 1788, when its introduction gave rise to much discussion in the House of Commons. The idea of subjecting artificers to martial law was attacked with satirical bitterness by the eloquent Sheridan. ----- On the 30th June, the date on which the company was first mustered, the non-commissioned officers were— Sergeant-major Thomas Bridges.[5] Sergeant David Young, _Carpenter_. Sergeant Henry Ince, _Miner_. To these were added, on the 31st December— Sergeant Edward Macdonald. Corporal Robert Blair, and Corporal Peter Fraser. and soon afterwards— Corporal Robert Brand, who completed the non-commissioned officers to the full number authorised by the warrant. Footnote 5: The more particular duties of the Sergeant-major, as described in the Chief Engineer’s Order of 31st May, 1772, were “to carry all the general orders to the Chief Engineer, and the officers of the company, through the means of the other sergeants; also to make known the general orders to the rest of the non-commissioned officers and private men.” These he was required to attend to, “in lieu of an adjutant.” By the royal warrant, he should have been appointed to that rank, and not designated “sergeant-major.” No reason can be traced for altering the title. The _first_ adjutant was an officer of engineers—Lieutenant Evelegh. He was appointed 15th June, 1773. Bridges enlisted into the 30th regiment in 1751, from which he was transferred to the corps as Sergeant-major, and being reduced during the siege (28th September, 1781), was discharged from the company 10th October, 1781. At the time the soldier-artificers were raised, the extensive works ordered to be executed by his Majesty in October, 1770, were in progress, and furnished an excellent opportunity for testing their capabilities and merits. The advantage of the change, and the consequent benefits accruing to the fortress, were soon apparent. Scarcely had the company been in existence a year, before Major-General Boyd, the Lieutenant-Governor, impressed with the conviction of its usefulness, represented, in several communications to Lord Rochford, the Secretary of State, the expediency of augmenting it; and he was the more urgent for its sanction as the new works in hand—which were absolutely essential for the defence of the place—required to be hastened with all possible despatch. The recommendation, coming from so high an authority, met with ready attention, and a Warrant dated 25th March, 1774, was accordingly issued for adding twenty-five men to the company. Its establishment was then fixed as follows:— Sergeant-major 1 Sergeants 4 Corporals 4 Drummer 1 Private artificers @b83 —— Total 93 To the former list of non-commissioned officers were now added— John Richmond, sergeant. John Brown,[6] corporal. Ensign William Skinner joined the company 20th May, and Ensign William Booth 23rd June. Footnote 6: In Hay’s ‘Western Barbary,’ chap. x., Murray’s edit., there is a very pleasing anecdote of the “half-Irish Sultan,” Mulai Yezeed, in which the name of Brown of the Royal Sappers and Miners, properly Soldier-Artificers, is introduced. To controvert a particular point to which it refers, the anecdote in an abridged form, is subjoined. Sidi Mahomed, soon after his elevation to the throne of Morocco, about the middle of the last century, was desirous of completing the defences of Fez, and knowing the superiority of the English in engineering, he applied to the British Government for the aid of some person skilled in the art. The request was acceded to, and an experienced sergeant of the Sappers and Miners having been selected as a fit person, was placed at the disposal of his Majesty. Sidi Mahomed received him with much kindness, and allotted a suitable house for his reception. The sergeant continued in the service of the Sultan for some time after he had completed the works at Fez, and at length died, leaving his wife without issue. After his interment, the widow, who was a pretty Irishwoman, sought an interview with the Sultan, in order to obtain a pension and the means of returning to her own country. His Majesty was much struck by her fair and comely appearance, treated her with condescension and benevolence, and expressed in endearing overtures his attachment to her. Under no promises of future greatness could she be induced to relinquish the faith of her fathers for the creed of Islam, and to take an exalted station in the imperial harem. Sidi Mahomed, old as he was, was too much fascinated to yield so choice a prize on a mere question of belief, and making the fullest sacrifices to satisfy her religious scruples, the poor, friendless, Irish widow, became the Sultana of Morocco! Corporal Brown, afterwards promoted to be sergeant, is the non-commissioned officer alluded to. He was a mason by trade, and joining the artificers on the 2nd January, 1773, he seemingly soon acquired the reputation of being an able foreman and an indispensable man. It was in 1776 he was sent to Fez, not in the middle of the century as stated in the anecdote, and he died there early in 1781. That year, or probably later, Widow Brown became the Sultana of Sidi Mahomet, and Mulai Yezeed, the reputed son of the widow by the Sultan, _was then 31 years old_! The age of Mulai may be _gleaned_ from Hay’s tale, but more directly _seen_ in Dr. Lempriere’s ‘Journey through the Barbary States.’ According to the latter author, who was at Tetuan in 1790, Mulai was the “offspring of an English renegado,” and then about 40 years of age. The Sultan died at a patriarchal age in 1790, and Mulai Yezeed succeeded him. ----- No sooner was the company completed to its new establishment than the engineers proceeded with greater spirit in the erection of the King’s Bastion, the foundation stone of which was laid in 1773 by General Boyd.[7] This work, which was of material consequence for the safety of the fortress, caused the General much concern, and he employed his best efforts for its completion.[8] But, unavoidable delay in some official arrangements at home, coupled with a little misunderstanding and the loss of many civil mechanics, greatly retarded the work. ----- Footnote 7: General Boyd, attended by General Green, the chief engineer, and many officers of the garrison, laid the foundation stone of this bastion, with the ceremony usual on such occasions. When he had finished it, he made this remarkable speech. “This is the first stone of a work which I name the King’s Bastion; may it be as _gallantly defended_, as I know it will be _ably executed_; and may _I live to see it resist the united efforts of France and Spain_.”—Drinkwater’s Siege of Gibraltar, p. 290, 1st edit. The desire of the worthy general was realized. He not only lived to see what he wished, but materially to assist in the operations of the siege. Footnote 8: To carry on the work with vigour, an opening was made in the sea-line, which, as long as it continued so, made the fortress defenceless in that part. Similar openings were made in the line some years before by a storm, which, being observed by Monsieur Crillon, who commanded at St. Roque, he proposed a scheme for an attempt on the Rock. Remembering this, the General always kept an anxious eye upon the gap; but he concealed his fears, lest they should fill the people with alarm, and the French or Spaniards with notions of invasion. He would not post any additional guards or picquets there for its protection, but gave private directions that all the guns and howitzers that could be brought into position in that part should be attended to. He, however, did not conceal his uneasiness from the Secretary of State; and in urging upon Lord Rochford the necessity for his being furnished with the means for completing the bastion, he quaintly remarked, “there is an idea of glory, my lord, in the thought of being killed in defending a breach made by the enemy, but to be knocked o' th' head in the defence of one of our own making would be a ridiculous death.” ----- This led General Boyd in 1775 to apply for another augmentation to the soldier-artificers, which was the more necessary as three regiments, furnishing a number of mechanics for the fortifications, were about to leave the Rock; and also as the foreign artificers—several of whom had been re-engaged since the pressure of the works—were like birds of passage, abandoning the fortress when they pleased. This the soldier-artificers could not do. To their attention and assiduity, therefore, the progress of the bastion and other works of the garrison were mainly attributable; and General Boyd, in a letter to Lord Rochford, dated 5th October, 1775, gave them full credit for their services. “We can,” wrote the General, “depend only upon the artificer company for constant work, and on soldiers occasionally. Had it not been for the artificer company, we should not have made half the progress in the King’s Bastion, as well as in the other works of the garrison.” On the 16th January, 1776, His Majesty sanctioned an addition to the company of one sergeant, one corporal, one drummer, and twenty privates, all masons, who were to be reduced again when the Hanoverian troops should leave the fortress.[9] With this increase the company consisted of 116 non-commissioned officers and men. ----- Footnote 9: When the Hanoverian troops left Gibraltar, the company had the best character for efficiency and utility, and its numbers therefore were not reduced. ----- Steadily the works advanced; soon the King’s Bastion[10] was finished, and the fortress was now in such a state of defence as greatly to alleviate the apprehension, which, a few years before, caused General Boyd so much anxiety. Though not exactly all that could be desired to oppose the onslaught of a determined and daring adversary, it was yet capable of a long and obstinate resistance; and, from the political phases of the period, it did not seem at all unlikely that its strength would soon be tried, and the prowess and fortitude of the garrison tested. ----- Footnote 10: At this bastion the company worked, by express orders, from gun-fire in the morning to gun-fire in the evening, as also on Sundays. All the work was of cut stone, and skilfully executed. A model of it, exquisitely wrought in polished stone, is in the Rotunda at Woolwich. It formerly belonged to George III. In 1820, George IV. presented it to the Royal Military Repository. ----- 1779-1782. Jealousy of Spain—Declares war with England—Strength of the garrison at Gibraltar—Preparations for defence and employment of the company—Siege commenced—Privations of the garrison—Grand sortie and conduct of the company—Its subsequent exertions—Origin of the subterranean galleries—Their extraordinary prosecution—Princess Anne’s battery—Third augmentation—Names of non-commissioned officers. Gibraltar, ever since its capture by the English in 1704, had been a source of much jealousy and uneasiness to Spain, and her desire to restore it to her dominions was manifested in the frequent attempts she made with that view. Invariably she was repelled by the indomitable bravery of the garrison; but a slave to her purpose, she did not desist from her efforts, and in the absence of any real occasion for disagreement with England, scrupled not to create one, in order that she might attack, and if possible, regain the fortress. A favourable opportunity for the purpose at length arrived. Soon after the convention of Saratoga in 1777, the Americans entered into an alliance with France, which was the cause of a rupture between the latter nation and Great Britain. Hostilities had been carried on for six months, when Spain insinuated herself into the dispute under pacific pretensions. Her proposals, however, were of such a nature as rendered it impossible for the British Government to accept them without lessening the national honour; and being rejected, the refusal was made the pretext for war. It was accordingly declared by Spain on the 16th June, and her eager attention was at once turned to Gibraltar. On the 21st of the same month she took the first step of a hostile nature, by closing the communication between Spain and the fortress. At this time the garrison consisted of an army of 5,382 officers and men under General Eliott. Lieut.-General Boyd was second in command. Of this force the engineers and artificers amounted to the following numbers under Colonel Green:— Officers 8 Sergeants 6 Drummers 2 Rank and File 106[11] —— Total 122 No particular demonstration on the part of the Spaniards immediately followed the closing of the communication; but General Eliott, anticipating an early attack upon the Rock, made arrangements to meet it. All was activity and preparation within the fortress; and the engineers with the artificers were constantly occupied in strengthening the defences. For better accomplishing this paramount service, the company was divided into three portions on the 23rd August, and directed to instruct the line workmen in the duties required of them. To prevent misunderstanding with regard to the _line_ non-commissioned officers—who might under certain circumstances become litigious—the Chief Engineer issued orders to the effect, that all such soldiers coming into the king’s works, were to take directions from the non-commissioned officers of the company in the execution of their professional duty.[12] ----- Footnote 11: The company wanted two privates to complete. Footnote 12: As foreseen by the Chief Engineer, disputes soon arose between the non-commissioned officers of the company and the line, with regard to superintendence and direction. The fact having come to the Brigadier’s knowledge, he renewed, on the 10th July, 1781, his former order in a more imperative tone. ----- On the 12th September, General Eliott commenced operations by opening a fire on the enemy, which was so unexpected, that the latter were surprised and dispersed. On recovering from the panic, they scarcely ventured, or indeed cared, to retaliate; for their object obviously was, not to subject themselves to a costly expenditure of ammunition, shot, &c., but to distress the garrison by famine, and thereby obtain an easy surrender. In this, however, they were disappointed; for the enduring hardihood of the garrison, and the occasional arrival of relief, frustrated their object, and compelled the Spaniards to have recourse to the more expensive and difficult method of besieging the place.[13] ----- Footnote 13: The strength of the company, including officers, when the provision supplies arrived, under Admiral Rodney, in February, 1780, and again under Admiral Darby, in April, 1781, was, on both occasions, stated to be 124. See ‘An authentic and accurate Journal of the late Siege of Gibraltar,’ pp. 22, 170. ----- At this period the privations of the soldiers in the fortress were of so severe a nature, that many of them were constrained to seek expedients from unusual resources to supply their wants; and in this way, thistles, dandelion, and other wild herbs, the produce of a barren rock, were used to satisfy their cravings. The following enumeration of some of the necessaries of life, with their prices affixed, will afford an idea of the extent of the scarcity:— _s._ _d._ _s._ _d._ Mutton or beef . 2 6 to 3 6 per lb. sometimes higher. Salt beef or pork 1 0 to 1 3 per lb. Biscuit crumbs 0 10 to 1 0 per lb. Milk and water 1 3 a pint. Eggs 0 6 each. A small cabbage 1 6 A small bunch of outward leaves 0 6 Thus curtailed in their provisions, the wonder is, that the men were at all capable of supporting life, and keeping their opponents in check. But notwithstanding this embarrassing privation, their energy and courage were by no means weakened, nor their spirit and ardour depressed. In November, 1781, the Spaniards were very zealous in completing their defences; so much so that towards the latter part of the month their batteries presented an appearance at once stupendous and formidable. This proud bulwark naturally arrested the Governor’s attention, and as naturally engendered the determination to assault and destroy it. On the 26th November, he desired a selection to be made from the troops for this purpose. To each of the right and centre columns a detachment of the company—in all twelve non-commissioned officers as overseers, and forty privates—was attached, under Lieutenants Skinner and Johnson of the Engineers; and 160 working men from the line were directed to assist them. To the left column a hundred sailors were told off to do the duty of pioneers. The soldier-artificers were supplied with hammers, axes, crow-bars, fire-faggots, and other burning materials. Upon the setting of the moon at three o’clock on the morning of the 27th November the sortie was made. The moment Lieut.-Colonel Hugo, who had charge of the right column, took possession of the parallel, Lieutenant Johnson with the artificers and pioneers commenced with great promptitude and dexterity to dismantle the works. Similar daring efforts succeeded the rush of Lieutenant Skinner’s artificers and workmen into the St. Carlo’s Battery with the column of Lieut.-Colonel Dachenhausen; but the number of the soldier-artificers attached to the sortie, whose ardour and labours were everywhere apparent, being both inconsiderable and insufficient to effect the demolition with the expedition required, the Governor sent back to the garrison for the remainder of the company to come and assist in the operation.[14] Hurrying to the spot to share in the struggle, they were soon distributed through the batteries; and the efficiency of their exertions was sensibly seen, in the rapidity with which the works were razed and in flames. Only one of the company was wounded.[15] ----- Footnote 14: Captain Luttrell, in some remarks in the House of Commons in 1788, relative to the expediency of raising a corps of military artificers, stated, “that at Gibraltar, where a similar body had been kept up during the siege, they had been of infinite service. When our troops had, in a sortie, possessed themselves of some of the enemy’s works, they could not destroy them until they had sent back to the garrison for the corps of artificers, who soon demolished them.”—Gent. Mag. 58,