1797. 1797.

s. d. d. s. d. Sergeant-major 2 3 1 2 9¼ Sergeant 1 9 1½ 2 3¼ Corporal 1 7 1½ 2 0¾ Artificer 0 9 1¾ l 2½ Drummer 0 9 1¾ 1 2½ Labourer 0 6 2¼ 1 0½ ----- Footnote 105: The extras were allowed the men to provide them with bread, a pair of breeches once in two years, and a rosette; and to pay the expense of making up their gaiters, and converting their uniform coats, after a certain period, into jackets. ----- In promulgating the augmentation of pay to the corps, Lord Cornwallis felt it his duty to accompany the pleasure of the King with an expression of his own sentiments; and accordingly, in the orders dated 31st May, issued on the 2nd of June, he thus wrote:— “Marquis Cornwallis, Master-General of the Ordnance, feels himself happy in announcing to the corps of royal military artificers and labourers the increase which His Majesty has been graciously pleased to make to their pay, which puts it in their power to enjoy every comfort which a good soldier can reasonably desire. “The Master-General takes this opportunity of expressing his satisfaction at the regular behaviour and good conduct which this corps has manifested, and trusts it is not in the power of the most artful traitor to seduce the soldiers of the royal military artificers and labourers from their loyalty and attachment to their King and country; and when he assures them he shall always take the greatest pleasure in rendering them a service, he is persuaded they will continue to prove themselves deserving of his good offices.” Scarcely had the mutinies at Portsmouth subsided, before a more formidable one appeared in the fleet at the Nore. Equitable concessions had already been made to the navy; but at the Nore these were not received with satisfaction. Other exorbitant demands were made by the Nore seamen, and legitimate authority was resisted even by force of arms. This bold menace then led the Government to compel unconditional submission; and the instigators of the mutiny, with Richard Parker at their head, suffered the extreme penalty of the law. During this alarming outbreak, the company of artificers in the Medway division were very zealous in the completion of various works to be employed against the mutineers, should the crisis arise to require them. The companies at the different ports were also on the alert and distributed to several posts of importance. A detachment of sixteen non-commissioned officers and men—withdrawn from Gravesend in April—were returned to that station in June. This detachment erected two batteries at Northfleet for four and two guns of heavy calibre, to fire into the ‘Neptune,’ 98, and ‘Lancaster,’ 64, lying off Greenhithe, should they attempt without proper orders to pass to the Nore. They also made such repairs as were necessary to the blockhouse and batteries at Gravesend, and also strengthened the fortifications and renewed the furnaces for heating shot red-hot at Tilbury Fort. Here also, before returning to Woolwich in August 1798, the detachment built a wooden river-wall at the Ferry-house. This year the cocked hat was revived. It was an adaptation of the pinched-up Nivernois hat and the ample Ramilies. The flaps were edged with broad black binding instead of gold lace as formerly. The cockade and gold loop were retained; but the short red feather was displaced by an eight-inch length white heckle. At each of the shoots or angles of the hat was a rose-shaped ornament of gold lace. The hats of the sergeants and sergeant-majors were of equal fineness and edged with black silk lace, flowered; while those of the corporals, artificers, and drummers were much superior to the labourers. The latter did not wear roses. Alterations were also made in the dress, inasmuch as the coatee, with its long skirts, was reduced to what was called a half-coat with short skirts. Lappels were abolished, and the laced looping was succeeded by frogging. The drummers wore scarlet for the first time, with the usual livery lace. Clubs were still in vogue; but the use of hair powder ceased. Sashes were now worn over the coatees of the ranks entitled to the distinction. See Plate VIII. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: Royal Military Artificers. Plate VIII. UNIFORM, 1797 Printed by M & N Hanhart. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1798-1799. Contribution of corps to the State—Detachment with 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. France, having but little occupation for her armies, turned her attention to England and matured arrangements on a scale of surpassing magnitude for its invasion. In this country all ranks and orders of men were affected by the threat; and such was the spirit of military ardour it induced, that corps of volunteers were rapidly embodied to meet the exigency of the times. Throughout the kingdom the wealthy contributed largely to assist the measures for defence; and the army, influenced by the popular feeling, joined in the demonstration and tendered subscriptions to the Government to aid in the realization of its purposes. The corps of military artificers also, prompted as well by a desire to relieve the general burden of the nation as from gratitude to the King for the recent addition to their pay, gave, in February, a contribution of three days' pay to the Treasury, to be applied as should be considered best for the defence of the state.[106] In acknowledging the letter conveying the gift, General Morse, the Colonel-Commandant, writes under date of 13th February, “their loyal and laudable offer has afforded me great satisfaction.” ----- Footnote 106: The following is a copy of the letter of the Woolwich company, offering the contribution above alluded to:— _Woolwich, 12th February, 1798_. SIR, At a time when the exigencies of the State appear to require the assistance of every good subject to alleviate the general burden our fellow-subjects bear, it is the unanimous wish of the non-commissioned officers, artificers, and labourers of the corps of Royal Military Artificers, &c., at this place, to manifest the gratitude they owe their King and country for the late increase of pay, as well as their attachment to His Majesty’s person and government, and their zeal for the service in which the country is engaged, by offering a contribution of three days' pay, to be applied as may be thought best to the defence of the State. We request you will be pleased to lay this our wish before the Colonel Commandant of the corps for his approbation. Signed on behalf of the artificers and labourers, &c., of the corps of Royal Military Artificers, &c., at Woolwich, and with their unanimous consent. THOS. FORTUNE, Sergeant-major.[106a] JAMES DOUGLAS, } JOHN LEVICK, } Sergeants. EDWARD WATSON, } ROBT. HUTCHINSON, } Corporals. JOHN YOUNG, } BENJ. ROBERTS, } WILLIAM BAIN, } Lance-Corporals. HUGH KINNAIRD, } Captain CHARLES HOLLOWAY, Commanding the Royal Military Artificers, &c., at Woolwich. Footnote 106a: Enlisted as a matross in July, 1761, in the royal artillery, and was pensioned from that regiment in October, 1783. On May 1, 1795, he enlisted into the Royal Military Artificers, at the age of 52! and died at Canterbury, August 10, 1799. Was known as the author of a small work called “The Artillerist’s Companion,” published by Egerton in 1786. An expedition under Major-General Coote was fitted out in May, at Margate, for service against maritime Flanders. The design of the enterprise was to destroy the works and sluices of the Bruges canal near Ostend, and to cripple the internal navigation. To effect these services a detachment of the corps, experienced in mining, from the Chatham and Plymouth companies,[107] under Lieutenant Brownrigg, royal engineers, was attached to the force and sailed from Margate on the 14th May on board H.M.S. ‘Expedition,’ in which was General Coote himself. ----- Footnote 107: The greater part of the detachment had been specially employed in mining services at Dover. ----- The force disembarked in three divisions on the 19th May, and the artificers, who had been instructed on board ship by Lieutenant Brownrigg in the duties required of them, accompanied the first division, provided with intrenching tools, wooden petards, &c. On landing, the troops took possession of the forts that protected the sluices, in order that the intended work of destruction might be carried on successfully. The artificers, with a company from the 23rd regiment and a detachment of royal artillery, commenced the appointed work, and in about four hours laid the locks, gates, and sluices in ruins, burned several gun-boats, and effected an explosion in the basin of the canal that almost demolished it, and drained it dry. In this service the exertions and efficiency of the party may be inferred from the praises bestowed by General Coote upon Lieutenant Brownrigg.[108] ----- Footnote 108: “Lieutenant Brownrigg, R.E., in about four hours, made all his arrangements, and completely destroyed the sluices; his mines having, in every particular, the desired effect, and the object of the expedition thereby attained. * * * In Lieutenant Brownrigg, I found infinite ability and resource: his zeal and attention were eminently conspicuous.”—London Gazette, 17 to 21 July, 1798. ----- Having thus accomplished the object of the expedition the troops were ordered to re-embark. At the appointed hour the weather had become boisterous, and the violence of the surf rendered it impracticable to reach the shipping. A position was, therefore, taken up on the sand-hills before Ostend, which was strengthened in the night by the military artificers with intrenchments suitable to the occasion; but on the 20th, the British, hemmed in by a much stronger force, were compelled, after an obstinate contest, to surrender themselves prisoners of war. The casualties in the detachment were—killed, two; wounded, five; and thirteen, including the wounded, taken prisoners.[109] The survivors returned to England, and rejoined their companies in March, 1799. ----- Footnote 109: ‘London Gazette,’ 17 to 21 July, 1798. ----- In the West Indies the Caribbean company was reduced at the end of the previous year by fever to thirty-three men, who were distributed in ones and twos through different districts of the conquered islands. None could be spared for active duty without detriment to other services equally important; and several expeditions were, therefore, undertaken without a military artificer accompanying them. In some measure to supply the numerous vacancies that had occurred, one corporal and twenty-nine privates embarked in February on board the ‘Union’ transport under Lieutenant T. R. I’Ans, R.E.; and on their arrival the company was increased to fifty-seven non-commissioned officers and men. On the 20th August, the expedition under Lieut.-General Trigge, which included three corporals and eleven men of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley’s company, captured the Dutch settlement of Surinam, which surrendered without resistance. One artificer, John Nancarrow, mason, was accidentally drowned on this service; and this was the only casualty that occurred to the expedition. At St. Domingo the detachment fast wasted away on account of the arduous services of the island and the diseases of the climate; and on the evacuation of the place in September only two of the company, with Lieutenant H. Morshead, of the corps,[110] survived to embark with the troops. Of the original company, which numbered forty-seven on its arrival in May, 1796, thirty-six died, seven were invalided, two deserted, and the remaining two[111] were sent to do duty at Jamaica. ----- Footnote 110: This officer was “ordered to the West Indies with two companies of the royal military artificers: himself and two of the privates only escaped the baleful effects of the climate of St. Domingo.”—United Service Journal, i., 1832, p. 142. Footnote 111: These were privates Adam Cowan and John Westo. The former was at once appointed sergeant and conductor of stores to Commissary Meek of the Ordnance. After delivering over the stores of the department at Jamaica to a sergeant of Dutch emigrant artillery, he returned to England, and was discharged with a pension of 2_s._ 0½_d._ a-day in April, 1816. ----- In November three sergeants, four corporals, fifty-five artificers, three labourers, and one drummer, total, sixty-six, formed from the party employed in Portugal, and from artificers of the companies at Gibraltar, were sent with the force under General Charles Stuart against Minorca. On landing, the Spaniards, without offering any resistance, retired into the town of Citadella, which possessed a sort of fortified _enceinte_. A battery for a few field-pieces was constructed against it in the night by the artificers under Captain D’Arcy, royal engineers, and after firing a few shots the place surrendered on the 15th November. Soon after the capitulation, the detachment was very much dispersed through the island, employed on various defensive works; and on Sir Charles Stuart quitting it, the military artificers remained to restore the fortifications. In January, 1801, the detachment was denominated the Minorca company; but in August, 1802, it was withdrawn, and being disbanded, the men were distributed among the companies of the corps at home and at Gibraltar. During their stay in Minorca it seems that their conduct was not above reproach, nor their services on the works as useful as desired. Sir Charles Pasley has recorded that they were found to be very inefficient, and ascribes it to their having been selected for the expedition from the Gibraltar companies, which, from circumstances, were for a number of years the worst in the corps.[112] Here, however, it is proper to add, that their inefficiency did not arise from their want of ability and skill as mechanics,[113] but from their general irregular behaviour occasioned chiefly by intemperance. Writing of the Gibraltar companies, Sir Augustus de Butts, in a letter dated 11th July, 1848, says:—“I cannot speak so confidently of their general conduct, but on the works, under the eye of their officers, they behaved well, and were very good artificers, particularly the non-commissioned officers.” ----- Footnote 112: Pasley’s ‘Elementary Fortification.’ Notes to Preface, p. iv., vol. i. Footnote 113: Several individual proofs could be adduced but two must suffice. Private Evan Roberts, a talented mason, was detached to Malta during the blockade of Valetta, and rendered good service as a foreman under Captain Gordon, R.E. On the formation of the Maltese artificers, he was appointed sergeant in one of the companies to prevent his removal to another station: and Sergeant-major James Shirres, formerly of the Gibraltar companies, from his correct conduct and merit as an artificer, was appointed overseer of works in the royal engineer department at Plymouth, in December, 1804. ----- On the composition of detachments for foreign duty, Sir Charles Pasley has made some observations which may not inappropriately be introduced here. “When any expedition,” he writes, “was to be undertaken, the number of royal military artificers required were in all cases, selected by small detachments out of the stationary companies; and as the commanding engineers at the several fixed stations were naturally averse to parting with their best men, the detachments thus formed for field service, were generally composed of the stupidest and least trustworthy non-commissioned officers, and of the most ignorant, profligate, and abandoned of the privates.”[114] This was, it would appear, the general rule, but exceptions may fairly be taken in favour of the detachments forwarded to Toulon, St. Domingo, Halifax, and Ostend, as well as to some of the reinforcements sent to the Caribbee islands. These detachments were not formed of bad men weeded from the different companies, but of non-commissioned officers and privates whose qualifications and utility as mechanics were unquestionable, and whose conduct was approved. ----- Footnote 114: Pasley’s ‘Elementary Fortification.’ Notes to Preface, p. iv. vol. i. ----- In April and May a corporal and party of carpenters of the Woolwich company were detached to Sevenoaks, and there built temporary wooden barracks for a company of artillery; a second party was employed in repairing Falmouth Castle from May to November; and in the latter month two carpenters and two masons, all privates, were sent to superintend workmen in the erection of fortifications and temporary defences at different places from Chelmsford to Harwich, in which duty they continued until April 1800. Napoleon, by a series of successes, had gained a firm footing in Egypt, and the subjugation of India was contemplated by the French Directory. As well to thwart the intention, as to stimulate the Turks, the British Government determined to send a military mission to the dominions of the Sultan, to cooperate with the Ottoman army in their hostile movements against the French. The mission being formed of artillery, engineers, and artificers, in all seventy-six persons, under Brigadier-General Koehler, of the royal artillery, embarked in the ‘New Adventure’ transport in February, but did not sail from England till April. The military artificers, selected by Major Holloway, royal engineers, from the Woolwich company, numbered one sergeant—Edward Watson—two corporals, nineteen artificers, and two labourers; and as Major Holloway had proceeded overland to Constantinople,[115] were consequently placed under the orders of Captain Lacy, R.E. On the near approach of the ‘Adventure’ to Gibraltar she was partially wrecked. A quantity of stores and some pontoons were thrown overboard, and private Philip Patterson, whilst exerting himself in casting away the stores, was washed off the deck by a wave into the sea and drowned. On the 14th June the transport arrived at Constantinople, and Major Holloway assumed the command of the artificers. ----- Footnote 115: Brigadier-General Koehler, Major Holloway, and six other officers and gentlemen proceeded by the overland route to Constantinople. Three of the detachment accompanied them—privates Joseph Comfort, Jonathan Lewsey, and David Waddell. “Their journey in the outset,” says Dr. Wittman, in his ‘Travels in Turkey,’ &c., p. 6, “had been attended by uncommon severities, such, however, as might have been expected from a season more rigorous than any which had been experienced for many years. In passing over the continent, they had, at the entrance of the Elbe, been shipwrecked among the shoals of ice; and to relieve themselves from the perilous situation, had been under the necessity of passing over the ice to the extent of two miles, to gain the shore; by this effort they were providentially saved.” They now prosecuted their journey to Constantinople, where they arrived in March, 1799. ----- On the removal of the mission to Levant Chiflick, five of the detachment were detained with the officers at Buyukdere, and the remainder were occupied in various services at the former place and Kaithana, where they erected a furnace for heating shot. Shortly afterwards experiments with red-hot shot were carried on in the presence of the Sultan, who, at the close of the practice, having reviewed the mission, presented each person with a gift suitable to his rank. Whilst building the furnace, the artificers, exposed to marsh miasma, were early attacked with fever. At first the cases were slight, but relapses following with malignity, three of the detachment died. To preserve the mission, therefore, it was removed in October to the Dardanelles. Previously to the embarkation, the artificers constructed a handsome model of the upper castle at Chennekalleh, on the Asiatic side of the Dardanelles, with Major Holloway’s improvements, which model was presented by that officer to Hadgi Ibrahim Effendi, Secretary at War for the Ottoman Porte. Subsequently, at the Dardanelles,[116] they were employed in effecting various alterations and additions to the castle until the 2nd December, when the mission was suddenly recalled to Constantinople; and landing on the 4th, awaited orders to proceed on more active service.[117] ----- Footnote 116: While here, sergeant Watson of the artificers, in preparing money for the payment of the mission in the presence of a Turkish marine, quitted the room for a moment, leaving the money on the table. “On his return,” writes Dr. Wittman, “the marine had disappeared with 120 piastres, about 9_l._ English. Having described the person of the delinquent to the Capitan Pacha, inquiries were at once commenced to detect the thief. On the second day after, the marine confessed his guilt to General Koehler, and begged his influence with the Capitan Pacha to save his life. The General did so, but several days elapsed before the affair was disposed of. During the interval, the General, anxious to prevent the culprit being strangled, expressed some doubts of the culprit’s identity; but in reply to this, the Pacha very handsomely declared his full conviction that the marine _had_ taken the money, as he was certain an Englishman would not tell an untruth.”—Wittman’s Travels in Turkey, Asia Minor, &c., p. 65. Footnote 117: The above particulars are chiefly taken from Dr. Wittman’s ‘Travels in Turkey,’ &c. ----- At the instance of the Admiralty, a detachment of one sergeant, one corporal, and forty privates, chiefly masons and bricklayers, able-bodied men and good artificers, under Lieutenant C. Mann, royal engineers, sailed for Gibraltar in May on board the ‘Fortitude,’ and landed there the following month. The party was specially employed in constructing a cistern for naval purposes, under the military foremanship of sergeant Joseph Woodhead; and in October, 1800, it was incorporated with the Gibraltar companies. England and Russia having concluded a treaty to send an army to Holland to reinstate the Stadtholder, a corps of 12,000 men, under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, embarked for the Helder and landed on the 27th August. Attached to this expedition was a party of military artificers, consisting of one sergeant, two corporals, thirty-five artificers—seventeen of whom were carpenters—and one drummer, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Hay, R.E. The detachment embarked on board the ‘Amphitrite,’ and disembarking with the second division, were present in the action of that day. After forming the engineer park near the Helder, about ten men were left to repair the fort; and the remainder, divided into brigades of four to each brigade, followed the troops in their forward movement in charge of the intrenching equipment of the expedition, which was conveyed in waggons. Early in September, the detachment constructed several batteries for guns and mortars to defend the post at Zuyp; as also, subsequently, at Hoorn and Egmont-op-Zee; and to facilitate the march of the army to the latter place, they assisted in the formation of three flying bridges over canals that intersected the route. In the retreat, they were continually employed in throwing small bridges across the canals by means of planking, felled trees, and other chance materials. At Alkmaer they constructed several defensive works; and on retiring from thence, where three roads met, they raised, in an incredibly short time, a mound of earth about twelve feet high, across the junction, with the view of impeding the enemy in their pursuit of the British. None of the military artificers were killed or wounded on this service. On the evacuation of Holland in November the detachment rejoined the companies. Here, perhaps, it would be proper to allude, in a general remark, to the practice of providing detachments for foreign service. It will already have been observed, that whenever any expedition was undertaken, resort was invariably had to the royal military artificers for a selection of men to accompany it, suitable to the work upon which it was contemplated they would be employed; but the numbers furnished were always insufficient for the purpose, and no representations or remonstrances could avail in altering a custom, which, from causes not easily surmised, seems to have been pertinaciously persevered in. This remark is fully borne out by the statement of a highly distinguished officer;[118] and is moreover corroborated by the fact, that about this time, the particular attention of the Commander-in-Chief was drawn to the subject, without, however, accomplishing what the interests of the service greatly needed. It is said, that when the Duke of York was preparing his expedition for Holland, he demanded efficient assistance from the royal engineers and royal military artificers, which, for some reason, the Ordnance authorities reluctantly met with an inadequate provision. Annoyed by the limited number tendered, his Royal Highness determined to establish a corps competent to discharge the duties usually devolving upon the royal engineers, “which should be absolutely at the disposal of the Horse Guards; and as his Royal Highness held office in times when the thoughts of statesmen were bent rather to render the means of the country’s defence complete, and to aid other nations in opposing the aggressions of an arrogant and unscrupulous power, than to effect savings in the public expenditure, he found no difficulty in consummating his wishes, and hence arose the royal staff corps.”[119] ----- Footnote 118: Sir John Jones, in his ‘Sieges,’ vol. ii., note 38, p. 389, 2nd edit. Footnote 119: Gleig’s ‘Military History,’ xxxvii., p. 287. ----- 1800. Mortality in the West Indies—Blockade of Malta—Capture of a 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. From the diminished state of the company in the West Indies, and the impracticability of filling up the constantly-recurring vacancies by drafts from England, authority was given to the Commanding Engineer in the Leeward Islands, to obtain on the spot, men for the company properly qualified and climatized, either by enlistment or transfer from other corps. This led to an immediate incorporation, in April, of one sergeant, twenty privates, and two drummers, from the 43rd and other regiments; and though the plan was attended with considerable success, the still greater mortality from fever always kept the company greatly below its establishment. In addition to the repeated allusion made to the military artificers in the West Indies, the following statistics of mortality, as far as the same can now be ascertained, affording a tolerably correct idea of the unhealthiness of the climate, and the sufferings to which the men must have been subjected, may here not be misplaced. Number of Deaths. 1793 17 1794 65 1795 19 1796 70 1797 37 1798 12 1799 10 1800 9 — Total 239 The aggregate number of artificers and labourers sent there from year to year, including those transferred from other corps and enlisted on the spot, amounted to about 350. More than two-thirds of the number, therefore, fell victims to the war and the climate! Many also were sent home invalided, several of whom died on the passage, or soon after landing in England. At the close of 1800, the strength of the company did not exceed seventy-eight of all ranks, twenty-two being required to complete it. In February, private Evan Roberts, an active and intelligent artificer, was chosen from the Minorca company for service at the blockade of La Valetta, and arrived at Malta before the end of the month. From that time until the surrender of the fortress on the 15th of September, he served in the department with zeal and efficiency under Captain Gordon, royal engineers; and continued, though a private, to discharge the duties of an overseer of works until the formation, in 1806, of the first company of Maltese artificers, to which he was transferred as sergeant. At Halifax, Nova Scotia, three invalids embarked on board the ‘Diamond’ transport on the 15th of September, with several invalids of Captain R. Wright’s company of royal artillery, and sailed with the fleet on the 19th of that month. Previously to weighing anchor, private Walter Allan was accidentally drowned in the harbour by falling overboard; and the other two, privates Ninian Kerr and Samuel Milman, were captured by the French some time in October. But all efforts to ascertain where, or how, the enemy effected the seizure of the vessel with her crew and passengers, have proved unsuccessful. Soon after the removal of the mission from the Dardanelles to Constantinople, Captain Lacy and Lieutenant Fletcher, R.E., were detached to join the Turkish army in Syria. With these officers two military artificers were also sent, one of whom returned from Cyprus with the former officer in April, and the other reached the mission again, some two months later, with Captain Lacy. On the 13th of June, the artificers sailed from Constantinople[120] with the mission, and landed at Jaffa on the 2nd of July, where they encamped with the Turkish army and commenced, under the foremanship of sergeant E. Watson, the improvements suggested by Major Holloway in the fortifications of that port. These, however, though far advanced, were ultimately set aside, and the artificers were appointed to erect several new works in front of Jaffa; which, in consequence of the French being in great force at Catieh, were considered to be more essential than the proposed alterations to the defences of the town. With great ceremony, on the 30th of August, the first stone of the intended new bastion was laid by the Grand Vizier; and shortly after, his Highness having reviewed the mission, marked his approbation of their appearance by a present to each non-commissioned officer and soldier. In December the fever, which had been alarmingly rife in the Turkish camp, attacked the mission. Its first victim was a military artificer; and before the end of the month, though the cases of mortality were few, the mission had to lament the loss by death, of their commander, General Koehler, R.A., and his lady. Major Holloway, royal engineers, then assumed the command, and at the close of the year, a change of cantonment having re-established the health of the men, the works at the new bastion progressed vigorously.[121] ----- Footnote 120: Some time before leaving the city, private Thomas Taylor, royal military artificers, was, without any provocation, assaulted by a Turk, who attempted to stab him with his yatikan. On a report of this outrage being made to the Capitan Pacha, to whose retinue the Turk belonged, he came to a resolution to have him decapitated. By the mediation and entreaties of Lord Elgin, a mitigation of the punishment ensued, and the Turk, after receiving fifty strokes of the bastinado on the soles of his feet, was sentenced to twenty years' imprisonment in the college of Pera, _to learn the Arabic language_.—Dr. Wittman’s Turkey, p. 93. Footnote 121: Particulars for the most part obtained from Wittman’s ‘Travels in Turkey,’ &c. ----- In April, a detachment of one sergeant, two corporals, and thirty artificers, under Captain Bryce, R.E., accompanied the expedition under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, for employment on secret service. The men were selected from the different home companies, and all were “sufficiently qualified in their respective trades, as well as able-bodied.” Proceeding to Portsmouth, they remained inactive for about six weeks; and, at length embarking on board the ‘Asia’ transport, sailed in June with the expedition. In the Channel off Portland, the fleet encountered a gale, and was driven back to Portsmouth; but on a fair wind springing up, got under weigh again, and in due time ran up the Tagus. From thence the ‘Asia’ proceeded to Gibraltar, lay there about a month, and sailing for Minorca, soon reached that island and landed the artificers; where, for about seven weeks, they were employed in the construction of temporary barracks, &c., for the troops put on shore. At the expiration of this period, the artificers returned to the ‘Asia’ and retracing the route to Gibraltar, anchored for a fortnight. There they were reinforced by one sergeant, one corporal, and five miners of the companies at the fortress; and at the appointed hour, the ‘Asia,’ again weighing anchor for Tetuan Bay, took water there and sailed with the fleet for Cadiz. When off Cadiz, the artificers were told off into two brigades, and six of the boldest and most expert men were selected to land with the first division, and the remainder with the second. On the morning of the day in which the attempt was to be made, the artificers, as a preliminary measure, removed all the intrenching tools and engineers' stores into the launches, and then took their places in the boats, provided with adzes, pole-axes, and miners' tools for removing impediments, &c. A long interval of breathless suspense followed, in which the seamen rested impatiently on their oars; but, as an epidemic raged at the time in the city, the landing was countermanded, and the men and stores being reshipped, the meditated attack upon Cadiz was relinquished. The ‘Asia,’ consequently, sailed for Tetuan Bay, where, exposed to a storm, she was compelled to cut her cable and run for Cape Spartel. There she anchored for four days, and on the wind shifting again made for the bay.[122] ----- Footnote 122: The seven non-commissioned officers and men embarked at Gibraltar to join the expedition, returned to their companies at the fortress immediately after the failure at Cadiz. ----- At this rendezvous the fleet was divided into three divisions, and the artificers accompanied that under Sir Ralph Abercrombie to Malta. There they were landed; and after a stay of about seven weeks, during which they were employed preparing platforms and fascines, re-embarked on the 17th of December, seven on board the ‘Ajax,’ 74, Captain the Hon. Sir Alexander Cochrane, and the remainder on board the ‘Asia’ transport. Hitherto the service of the expedition had been expended in a series of cruises or reconnaissances alike harassing and wearying, but at length, a glimpse of approaching activity burst upon the armament. Soon the enterprise commenced, and terminated with glory to Britain by rescuing an inoffensive nation from the eagle grasp of an oppressive republic. Ever since the incorporation of the Gibraltar companies with the corps, the power to recruit for those companies was vested in the commanding royal engineer at the fortress, and, so far, was exercised with tolerable success. This permission was the more necessary, as, from the frequent calls made upon the home companies to detach parties for the service of particular expeditions, it was impossible, so to attend to those companies as to keep them numerically complete. The effect of that power was, that from the date of the incorporation to the end of 1800, ninety-six artificers had either been enlisted or received as transfers from regiments in the garrison; but from the unavoidable exposure of the men to the sun in carrying on their working duties, and the general unhealthiness of the climate, the casualties in the companies far exceeded the number that joined. Of the increase and decrease in the companies for the above period, the following is an accurate exposition:— Strength at the incorporation, of all ranks 255 Joined from employment at the naval reservoir 36 Enlisted or transferred from regiments in garrison @b96 —— Total 387 The decrease was:— Deaths 45 Discharges 31 Invalided 38 Desertions 4 -- 118 —— 269 Wanted to complete 6 —— Establishment 275 === 1801-1802. Distribution of corps—Dispersion of West India company—Statistics—Detachment to St. Marcou—Capture of Danish settlements—Casualties in West India company—Compared with mortality in Gibraltar companies—Working dress—Services, &c., of detachment at Gibraltar—Conduct of Sergeant W. Shirres—Concession to the companies by the Duke of Kent—Cocked hat superseded by the chaco. On the 1st January the corps was distributed in companies and detachments as follows. The names of the officers in command and the senior non-commissioned officers at the several stations are also added:— Sergeant-majors. Woolwich Lieut.-Col. B. Fisher John Eaves. Chatham Lieut.-Col. Thos. Nepean John Palmer. Portsmouth } Col. John Evelegh { James Smith. Gosport } { Alexander Spence. Plymouth Maj.-Gen. Alex. Mercer William Browne. Jersey Capt. John Humfrey Anthony Haig. Guernsey Lieut.-Col. J. Mackelcan Andrew Gray. Dover Gibraltar Lieut.-Col. Wm. Fyers Joseph Makin. Minorca Capt. Robert D’Arcy { Sergeant Jas. Shirres, { _Foreman of Carpenters_. Nova Scotia Capt. Wm. Fenwick { Sergeant John Catto, { _Foreman of Masons_. West Indies Col. Chas. Shipley Serg.-Maj. Matthew Hoey. Egyptian Capt. Alex. Bryce { Sergeant John McArthur, Expedition { _Master Smith_. Jaffa, with the } Major C. Holloway { Sergeant Edward Watson, Ottoman army } { _Master Carpenter_. The head-quarters of the West India company were at Martinique, from which non-commissioned officers and men were detached to St. Lucia, St. Vincent’s, St. Kitt’s, St. Pierre’s, the Saintes, Surinam, and Barbadoes, for the purpose of acting as overseers on the works or for employment on particular services. The establishment of the corps was 975; but wanting 232 to complete, its strength only amounted to 743 of all ranks. Of this number 403 were abroad and 340 at home. Early in the year a small party of one sergeant, and seven artificers from the Portsmouth and Gosport companies were sent to St. Marcou, an island on the coast of France, seven miles east of Cape la Hogue, to repair the fortifications; and having accomplished the service returned to their companies in November. To the expedition which proceeded against the Danish settlements in March, under the command of Lieut.-General Trigge, were attached one sergeant-major, two corporals, and twenty privates of the military artificers, who were present at the capture of the islands of St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, St. Thomas, St. John, and Santa Croix. The loss in the West India company by fever and other diseases during the year amounted to twenty, whose vacancies were immediately filled up by transfers from the line. In May the working dress consisted of a blue cloth jacket with skirts, two serge waistcoats with sleeves, two pairs of blue serge pantaloons, a black round hat, and a pair of half black gaiters. One of the waistcoats and a pair of pantaloons formed the second working dress. The new jacket was made of stouter and better cloth than formerly; sleeves were added to the serge waistcoats, and the second pair of pantaloons were substituted for the canvas ones. These improvements were considered equivalent to a linen shirt, a pair of stockings, and a canvas jacket previously supplied with the working suit, but which, from this year, ceased to be issued to the corps. At the opening of the year the military artificers with the British mission to Turkey, reduced to fifteen men, were occupied in the erection of the new bastion at Jaffa, which was finished and the guns placed on the platforms with great pomp on the 27th January. Of the detachment with the mission, two were styled labourers, from their not having been promoted to the rank of artificers; and they, when not immediately occupied on the works, acted in the capacity of servants to Major Holloway. One of these labourers when out one afternoon some distance from Jaffa, exercising the Major’s horses, was attacked by a party of Arabs on a predatory excursion, by whose fire the Major’s horse was killed, and the bâtman wounded with balls and slugs in nine different places. The servant of Major Hope, R. A. was also in the assault; and by great exertion succeeded in bearing his comrade back to the camp. Dr. Wittman, of the mission, with celerity equal to his skill, extracted the missiles and the sufferer speedily recovered.[123] ----- Footnote 123: Either private Jonathan Lewsey or private David Waddell, both of whom acted as servants to Major Holloway, R.E. The former was a powerful man, and remarkable from the circumstance of his having _four thumbs_! two on each hand in addition to the proper complement of fingers. On the breaking up of the mission at Grand Cairo, these privates returned to England with that officer by the overland route. ----- On the 2nd February, Captain Lacy, royal engineers, was despatched to El Arish to collect military information, accompanied by a private of the artificers who early fell a sacrifice to the plague that prevailed there. On the 25th of that month, the Ottoman army commenced its march to Grand Cairo, the British mission being attached to the body guard of his Highness the Vizier, mounted on fine horses superbly caparisoned, and attended by Arabs. Passing through Ashdod, the army encamped for a while at Gaza, where the military artificers were separated into three parties, and attached to the divisions respectively commanded by the Grand Vizier, Mahomed Pacha, and Taher Pacha; but it is difficult to record with satisfactory distinctness, the particular services in which they subsequently participated. On the 28th March the army entered the Desert at Kahnyounes, and traversing that arid and inhospitable region for about 150 miles, subjected to occasional deprivation of food and water, and exposed to sultry heats, infectious diseases, and danger, reached Salahieh on the 27th April, after a tedious and harassing march of thirty-two days. Two of the military artificers died in the Desert; and the survivors, who were present at the capture of Salahieh and Belbeis, and in the action near the village of Elhanka, entered Cairo on the 11th July. There they were employed during the remainder of the year, in renewing the bridge of boats across the Nile constructed by the French to preserve a communication with Gizeh, and also in repairing the fortifications of the city, until the 19th February, 1802, when they quitted for Rosetta. From this town they were removed to Alexandria, and afterwards to Malta, where, finally embarking for England, they arrived at different periods in the fall of 1802 and spring of 1803.[124] The strength of the detachment on joining the Turkish mission, was twenty-four of all ranks; eleven only returned! Of the casualties eleven died of fever or the plague, and two were drowned accidentally. “After a series of painful, harassing, and critical events,” says the journalist, “the labours of the mission closed; and the patience, forbearance, and circumspection of the individuals engaged in this long and perilous service, were manifested on a variety of trying occasions, which required all the energy inherent in the British military character.”[125] ----- Footnote 124: Sergeant Edward Watson, who enlisted into the artillery as a matross, January 28, 1775, and joined the corps at Woolwich, March 1, 1792, was the senior non-commissioned officer with the mission; and in consideration of his zeal, ability, and uniform exemplary conduct, as well in discharge of his military duties, as in the executive superintendence of the several works undertaken by Major Holloway, he was promoted, on his arrival in England, to be sergeant-major of the Woolwich company. On December 1, 1810, he was discharged. For similar reasons corporal David Pollock was advanced to the rank of sergeant, and appointed master-smith. Footnote 125: Wittman’s ‘Turkey,’ p. 395. ----- Meanwhile the detachment of the corps with the force under the command of Sir Ralph Abercrombie reached Marmorice Bay; and with the exception of the party on board the ‘Ajax’, landed, and prepared a shipload of fascines and gabions to be used in the intended enterprise. Five of the ‘Ajax’ men were employed in different repairs to the vessel; and the other two, assisted by a corporal of the 44th regiment, made an elegant double couch of mahogany covered with various beautifully-marked skins from Rhodes, for the Turkish General Mustapha, which was presented to him by Captain the Hon. Alexander Cochrane, R.N. On the 17th February, the fleet set sail for Egypt, and running into Aboukir Bay on the 1st March, the troops landed on the 7th, and then followed a display of invincible ardour and bravery on the part of the British, that checked France in her career of success, and turned all her glorious Egyptian conquests into painful disasters and capitulations. With the first division were landed the seven military artificers of the ‘Ajax,’ who were present in the action of that morning; and eight hours afterwards commenced to trace the necessary works for besieging Aboukir Castle. Next day the remainder of the detachment landed from the ‘Asia’ transport, and dispersed in small parties of about four each to the several brigades of the army, advanced to Alexandria. Under the direction of their officers, the ‘Ajax’ artificers superintended the construction of batteries for eleven guns and three mortars in front of Aboukir, laying all the platforms themselves, and restoring, when damaged by the enemy’s fire, the cheeks of the embrasures which were formed by a double row of sand-bags backed or strengthened by a row of casks filled with earth, a plan suggested by Major M‘Kerras, royal engineers, previously to his being killed; but which was not again resorted to, during the subsequent operations of the campaign. On the 19th March the castle surrendered. On the heights of Alexandria, the artificers with the column under Sir Ralph Abercrombie, superintended the erection of batteries and redoubts of sand-bags, fascines, and gabions, which formed a strong line of defence from the sea to Lake Maedie. The Aboukir party joining on the 20th, also assisted in the works until their completion. Unable, from being unarmed, to take an active part in the battle of Alexandria on the 21st March, they occupied themselves in the essential duty of carrying shot, shell, and ammunition to the artillery and the troops. After the battle the military artificers had the charge, under their officers, of renewing the works on the heights, and when completed were appointed to aid in effecting the inundation of a portion of the country. This was accomplished by cutting seven channels in the dyke of the canal of Alexandria, through which the waters of Lake Aboukir rushed into Lake Mareotis, then nearly dry, and about ten feet below the level of Lake Aboukir. Across the Nile they subsequently threw a bridge of boats, to facilitate the communication between Alexandria and Rosetta, re-forming it when swept away by the rapidity of the current; and afterwards they assisted in the construction of a similar bridge across the openings in the dyke of the canal of Alexandria for the convenience of the shipping. Four of the artificers who were at the siege of the castle of Aboukir were attached to the brigade under Colonel Spencer, and served at the reduction of Rosetta, Fort St. Julian—against which they constructed batteries for two guns and two mortars—Elhamet, Alkam, and Rahmanieh. Shortly after they proceeded to Grand Cairo and were present at its surrender on the 27th June. A brief interval elapsed, when they returned to Alexandria, by the river Nile, in the large which contained the field equipment of the detachment. On reaching Alexandria, the entire detachment was divided into two parties, one under Captain Bryce, the chief engineer, and the other under Captain Ford, royal engineers; and were subsequently present at the siege of the castle of Marabout, the taking of Redoubt de Bain, and at the final fall of Alexandria on the 27th August. No casualties in killed and wounded are reported to have taken place among the men during the campaign; and though no particular testimony to their merits appears to have been recorded, from the circumstance of their being so few in number, and from the absence of prominent occasions of exhibiting their zeal and efficiency, arising from the enemy capitulating and surrendering many of his works without resistance, still they were permitted in common with the other troops that served in Egypt, to wear the device of the Sphinx on their appointments. A like honour was also conferred upon the military artificers who served with the mission to Turkey. Immediately following the capture of Alexandria, an expedition was sent to Elba, under Admiral Lord Keith and General Sir Eyre Coote. Five military artificers were attached to it on board the ‘Amphitrite’ transport, under the orders of Captain Birch, royal engineers; but, when between Rhodes and Candia, an English man-of-war brought intelligence of peace to Lord Keith, and the descent upon the island was relinquished. Thereupon the ‘Amphitrite’ sailed for Malta, where the artificers remained for six weeks, employed in repairing the fortifications. During this period, they were joined by others of the detachment from Alexandria, and re-embarking, arrived in England in February, 1802. The residue of the detachment, detained for a while at Alexandria and Malta watching the development of events, reached these shores in August, 1803. On the Duke of Kent being appointed Governor of Gibraltar, his first care was to introduce some wholesome regulations for diminishing the drunkenness and crime so prevalent in the garrison. Stringent measures were therefore adopted with regard to the sale of liquors and wines in the canteens, scrupulous attention was paid to the appearance of the men in the streets, and drill and discipline were rigorously enforced. These reforms, however, were received with much discontent; and on Christmas-eve of 1802 the stifled feeling of insubordination broke out into mutiny. In this _émeute_ the greater part of the military artificers took an unequivocal but unimportant part. The Duke’s new rules interfered more essentially with the practices and indulgences of the companies, than with any other troops in the garrison. Besides being subjected to the general rigours imposed on the troops, the artificers were deprived of the privilege of working privately in the town, and were once a week taken from the command of their own officers, and drilled and disciplined by the Town Major. These innovations upon old usages produced considerable disaffection in the companies, and many of the more reckless and turbulent were not backward in ranging themselves on the side of the mutineers. Joining a party of the Royals at night, at the Town Range Barracks, they proceeded in company to the South Barracks, where, on approaching to make arrangements for a simultaneous rising, the 18th Royal Irish fired upon them, with no better result than tearing the feather from the hat of one of the privates of the artificers. This harmless volley had the effect of cooling the ardour of the mutineers, and the rebel artificers becoming tranquil, returned home; but on the Saturday following, another and more decided exhibition being expected, the officers of engineers met at the barracks, to endeavour to prevent any co-operation with the mutineers. Meanwhile the companies received their working pay, and all restrictions being taken off the canteen, the intemperance that followed soon rendered the men too insensible to discharge any duty effectually, either for the Crown or the mutineers. During the night a strong party of the 25th regiment appeared at the gates to demand the services of the companies; but sergeant William Shirres, assisted by a small guard of the corps, closed and daringly held the gates against the exasperated rebels, and prevented any communication with the barracks. Without entering further into the progress of the mutiny, it will be sufficient to add, that it was soon suppressed, and three of the ringleaders of the 25th regiment were shot on the Grand Parade by sentence of a general court-martial. A few days after the Duke of Kent ordered the companies to be specially paraded for his inspection. Having passed down the ranks and moved to the front, his Royal Highness addressed them. He appeared to have been informed that the artificers had joined with the Royals and 25th regiment in their intemperate display; but added, that he felt every reluctance to give credence to the report, and also made some complimentary allusions to the services of the companies at the fortress. He then desired to know if there were any complaints, in order, if reasonable, to adjust them. The men, thus courteously invited, having stated their wish to be drilled by their own officers, his Royal Highness directed the Town Major to manœuvre the companies. Carefully the Duke watched the firelock exercise and the execution of the various evolutions, and, expressing his satisfaction with their appearance and drill, granted their request. This year the cocked hat, worn since 1797, was superseded by the chaco, similar in size and shape to the one commonly adopted in the army. So strange an alteration—from the sage-like cocked hat to its trim substitute—obtained for the new head-gear the cimmerian appellation of the “smoke-jack.” The white heckle feather worn with the cocked hat, was retained. See Plate IX. As time wound up, this description of chaco lost its upright lines for one which, approaching a cone in shape, was called the “sugar-loaf cap.” The latter, again, was superseded by another in 1813, which, from its peculiar form, was familiarly styled the “bang-up.” ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [Illustration: Royal Military Artificers Plate IX. UNIFORM 1802 Printed by M & N Hanhart. ] ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1803-1805. Party to Ceylon—The treaty of Amiens broken—State of West India company—Capture of St. Lucia—Tobago—Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice—Works at Spike Island—Capture of Surinam—Conduct of private George Mitchell—Batavian soldiers join West India Company—Fever at Gibraltar—Consequent mortality.—Humane and intrepid conduct of three privates—Invasion of England—Works at Dover—Jersey—Chelmsford—Martello towers at Eastbourne—Bomb tenders at Woolwich—Recruiting—Volunteers from the Line and Militia—Treaty of St. Petersburgh—Party to Naples—Ditto to Hanover. Lieutenant-Colonel Bridges having been appointed commanding royal engineer in Ceylon, he applied for a detachment of the military artificers to accompany him to that station. The requisite sanction being procured, six artificers, comprising one corporal, two carpenters, one mason, one bricklayer, and one smith, embarked for the East in January. The precise object of despatching so small a party to so distant a settlement cannot now be learned, but every care was taken to choose men for the service whose activity and abilities as craftsmen were well known, and whose conduct was unexceptionable. “Select,” says the order to the officer called upon to furnish the party, “such men as you would prefer if going on the service yourself.” In June the party arrived at Trincomalee, but what specific services were performed by them in the colony it would be idle to conjecture. Before the autumn of 1806, four of the men died, but the other two held up against the climate till 1815, when one left for England and was discharged,[126] and the other died in April, 1817. ----- Footnote 126: John Wallace. It is related of him that he was lost sight of for many months, and his appearance at Woolwich gave rise to as much surprise as his person to doubt. All traces of the original man had worn away, and from the oddness of his dress, and peculiarity of his manners, the task of recognition was rendered still more perplexing. Eventually, satisfactory proofs of his identity being obtained, he was again acknowledged and discharged on a pension of 1_s._ 6_d._ a-day, his service in the corps having exceeded thirty-three years. ----- The treaty of peace between France and Great Britain was signed on the 27th March, 1802, and hailed everywhere with exultation. Soon, however, Buonaparte began to exhibit a spirit at variance with the solemn engagement, and his irrepressible ambition forced him to seek occasions for gratifying it. Increased power and dominion were the engrossing objects of his genius; and, singular as it may appear, states and republics fell under his sway without his lifting a sword to conquer them. All this transpired while yet the burst of joy at the peaceful negotiation was ringing in the courts of Europe; but Great Britain, though a sullen spectator of these events, caring more to be blamed for reluctance than impetuosity, at length interfered, and the result was, that war was declared with the French republic on the 18th May, 1803. At that period the company stationed in the West Indies had nearly reached its establishment; and, as the sickness, so rife in former years, had greatly lessened both in malignity and extent, the general health of the men had much improved. So keen was Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley about maintaining his company complete, that whenever a death occurred or an artificer quitted the station through ill health, he invariably applied direct to the general officer in command of the troops, to order a tradesman of approved qualification and conduct to be transferred to it from the line. Alike interested in the efficiency of the company, the general officer always acceded to his request; and the company, consequently, was in excellent condition for affording effective co-operation in any active service. Intelligence of the renewal of hostilities soon reached the West India islands, and an expedition was forthwith prepared to be employed in the capture of St. Lucia, under the command of General Grinfield and Commodore Hood. To this force were attached one sergeant-major, three sergeants, five corporals, and sixty-eight privates of the military artificers, who were engaged, on the 22nd June, in the storming of Morne Fortuné and taking of St. Lucia. Corporal William Dyson was killed at the storm,[127] but of the wounded, no particulars exist. Of the services of Colonel Shipley and his company in this capture, the General, under date of June 22nd, thus wrote:—“To Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley and the royal engineers, he is indebted in a high degree for assistance and professional advice.”[128] ----- Footnote 127: In the ‘London Gazette,’ 26 to 30 July, 1803, this corporal is, by mistake, returned as sergeant. Footnote 128: ‘London Gazette Extraordinary,’ August 15, 1803. ----- In July the same company was present at the capitulation of Tobago, which surrendered without bloodshed to the forces under General Grinfield. “Great praise,” says the General in his orders of the 1st July, “is also due to the alertness and readiness of the royal artillery and royal artificers in their embarkation and disembarkation, both of themselves, ordnance, and stores, and for their attention to their discipline and duties” [129] ----- Footnote 129: Ibid. ----- In the following September, Colonel Shipley and one sergeant-major, three sergeants, one corporal, and thirty-three privates, were attached to another expedition under the same General, and were present at the capture of the colonies of Demerara, Essequibo, and Berbice. Like Tobago, these islands surrendered without resistance. At each of the subjugated settlements and at Trinidad, a small party was left to carry on the current services and improve the defences. The head-quarters still remained at Martinique. During the year the deaths in the company did not exceed twelve men; and its strength at the end of the year was eighty-seven of all ranks, of whom only eight were ineffective from sickness. Early in the year Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Charles Holloway was appointed commanding royal engineer at Cork, and at once commenced a minute examination of the fortifications under his charge. These were found to be defective, inasmuch as they did not sufficiently command the surrounding country and harbour. Sir Charles, therefore, among many works which he suggested for the defence of the district, projected an extensive fort for Spike Island to be erected on the site of Westmoreland Fort, which was to be demolished. Authorized to carry his plans into execution, he applied and obtained in October, the services of an efficient detachment of tradesmen, consisting of a sergeant, and master mason, thirteen artificers, and one labourer of the Woolwich company, to aid in destroying the old fort and in erecting the proposed new one. As the works progressed and their completion was pressed, the detachment, in December, 1804, was augmented to thirty-eight non-commissioned officers and artificers; and in January, 1805, to a full company of one hundred strong, under the denomination of the “Spike Island Company.” Between five and six thousand civil mechanics and labourers were daily employed at the fort, over whom, to a certain extent, were placed the non-commissioned officers of the company, as masters of the respective trades, or foremen of particular portions of the work. Arrangements for an expedition against Surinam having been perfected, Major-General Sir Charles Green and Commodore Hood sailed there in April. Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, royal engineers, as also one sergeant-major, two corporals, twenty privates, and one drummer of the artificers accompanied it, the rest of the company not being available for the service in consequence of being greatly dispersed through the different islands. Surinam being very difficult of approach, Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, on the 29th April, went on shore to procure tidings with respect to the best means of reaching the settlement. On returning, he reported that a body of troops might be conducted to the rear of Forts Leyden and Frederici. Accordingly, twenty of the military artificers with side arms and felling axes, ten of the 6th West India regiment similarly provided, a detachment of 140 men of the 64th regiment, and about thirty seamen, all under Brigadier-General Hughes, landed on the night of the 29th, and proceeded through almost impassable woods, led by negro guides, to the place of assault. After five hours' laborious marching, the stormers arrived near the rear of Frederici Battery, which was gallantly taken, as was also Fort Leyden soon after; and Surinam surrendered on the 5th May. “No obstacle,” says the despatch of Sir Charles Green, “could damp the enterprising spirit of our seamen and soldiers. They underwent great fatigue in executing these works, which, however, they cheerfully submitted to under Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, who, as usual, was unceasing in his exertions.”[130] Severe as the storming is described to have been, only three soldiers were killed; of whom one was a military artificer,[131] private James Connolly, at the assault of Fort Leyden. Of the number wounded, no official account has been traced. ----- Footnote 130: ‘London Gazette,’ 19 to 23 June, 1804. Footnote 131: Ibid. ----- Private George Mitchell, represented as a highly-meritorious soldier, distinguished himself in the assault, as, indeed, did the whole of the detachment. As well on the march as in the two successive assaults, he was conspicuous for his perseverance, promptitude, and bravery, and when entering Frederici with the foremost troops, was severely wounded by the side of his officer, Lieutenant J. R. Arnold, R.E., who led the storm. For his services on this occasion he was promoted to be corporal, and subsequently for the same reason to the rank of sergeant. He also received a present from the Patriotic Fund at Lloyd’s, in testimony of the opinion entertained of his services.[132] ----- Footnote 132: In the subsequent campaigns of the West Indies he behaved equally meritoriously; and in garrison and the workshops always conducted himself well. Besides being an excellent mason and foreman, no artificer in the service, perhaps, had a better practical idea of mining, in which he signalized himself at the destruction of Fort Desaix, Martinique. After sixteen years' arduous service in the West Indies, he was sent to Woolwich and discharged in July, 1814. ----- On the reduction of the place, the Batavian troops were released from their former allegiance, and at liberty to become either citizens in Surinam, or soldiers in his Britannic Majesty’s forces; but the barren and uninviting prospects that a captured country presented prevented many from settling, and they readily offered to enrol themselves under the British standard. Availing himself of the opportunity, Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley accepted the services of seventeen Batavian artificers and enlisted them for the company. Fourteen deaths were reported in the company during the year; and on the 31st December its strength was eighty-eight of all ranks. A fever of a very malignant character appeared at Gibraltar in August, and continued its ravages during the autumnal months. Brought in by a foreigner, who took up his abode in the vicinity of the married quarters of the royal artillery, the disorder was soon communicated to the latter; and, by the end of September, it spread with a rapidity only equalled by its virulence. Ere long the whole fortress was infested by the pestilence; and, as if to render the calamity more awful, it was preceded by an earthquake, which agitated the whole Rock. Out of a population computed at 10,000, including 4,000 troops, no less a number than 5,946 died between the 1st September and 31st December. So great a mortality in so short a period is unexampled in the history of that fortress.[133] ----- Footnote 133: Sir James Fellowes ‘On the Fever of Andalusia.’ ----- The two companies of artificers in the garrison were early visited by the epidemic and but few comparatively escaped. Of those who were fortunate enough to bear up successfully against the disease, it was ascertained that the chief part had previously suffered from yellow fever in the West Indies. The artificers' barracks at Hargraves' Parade were a considerable distance from the locality where the disorder originated, and consequently, for a time, were free from fever; but several of the men having been employed in attending the sick civil master artificers of the department, at their own homes in the town, and the married families of the companies having unrestrained access to the Parade, infection was thus communicated to the single men in barracks; and the effect was seen too late to adopt any sanitary measures or restrictions to prevent its ingress. In August three men died, and in September ten, whilst the numbers affected by the malady were very considerable. By the beginning of October the fever had extensively spread; and all work in the engineer department being suspended, the companies were confined to barracks, and the families in quarters prohibited from appearing in the streets of the town unless from urgent necessity. Soon afterwards, to preserve their health, they were removed into camp at Beuna Vista. Nothing, however, could arrest the advance of the disorder: gloom and horror hourly increased, and in a very few days the sickness at the encampment far exceeded anything that had occurred at Hargraves', By the end of the month a mournful diminution had taken place, ninety men having fallen a prey to the epidemic! In November, providentially, the fever sensibly waned, and only twenty-three men died; and in December, after carrying off four more men, its influence ceased to be felt at the fortress. At the approach of the disease the companies mustered 263 of all ranks; but by the termination of the year 130 had died; thus reducing the companies to the strength of 133.[134] Here it may be added, that the royal military artificers lost during the fever more men proportionally than any regiment or corps in the garrison.[135] ----- Footnote 134: According to Sir James Fellowes, 229 men of the companies were admitted into hospital with the fever, of whom 106 recovered, and 123 died; but as Sir James has omitted the statistics for August in his tables, the apparent disparity between the two accounts is reduced to the trifling difference of 4 only, a mistake which, doubtless, occurred from some inaccuracy or accidental omission in the information furnished to Sir James from the Ordnance Hospital records. Footnote 135: This statement is borne out by Sir James Fellowes. See p. 450 of his work ‘On the Fever of Andalusia.’ ----- Amidst so much mortality, great alarm and irresolution naturally prevailed; and whilst many excusably avoided all possible contact with the infected, there were not wanting men of humanity and courage to volunteer their attentions and services to the sick and dying. Several instances of signal disinterestedness could be recorded, and the names of not a few mentioned, who fell a sacrifice to their generous zeal; but the following men, by their exertions and unshaken devotion in the discharge of the onerous offices assigned to them, seem to have been regarded with peculiar admiration, and therefore deserve whatever notice can be accorded to their merits in these pages. Private John Inglis performed the important duty of orderly to the sick in the hospital at Windmill-hill, and to assiduous attention united marked kindness and tenderness, shrinking from no difficulty and dreading no danger. During the fatal month of October his watchfulness and exertions were incessant, and his patience and humanity were as conspicuous as his fortitude. Private James Lawford undertook the melancholy service of receiving the dead, both for the artificers and the artillery, and conveying them to the burying-ground near the Grand Parade. Horrible and hazardous as was this duty, he persevered in its performance with a coolness and intrepidity that was perfectly amazing. Private James Weir was the principal gravedigger, and attended to his appointment with unflinching ardour and self-possession. Surrounded by the pest in its worst forms, and inhaling the worst effluvia, he never for a moment forsook the frightful service, but laboured on, inspiriting those who occasionally assisted him, until the necessity for his employment no longer existed.[136] ----- Footnote 136: What was most extraordinary connected with these daring fellows, was the fact, that throughout the epidemic, they enjoyed the most robust health; but, after its cessation, fearing that they were loaded with infection, and that a sudden transition to the garrison again would cause the fever to return, the authorities deemed it prudent to send the hearse-driver and gravediggers to camp at Beuna Vista, where, after about two months' quarantine, they were permitted to rejoin their companies. ----- An attempt at invasion being daily expected from the French, earnest attention was turned to those parts of the coast of England upon which the descent would probably be essayed. Immense sums of money were accordingly placed at the disposal of the officers of engineers to carry into effect whatever projects might be approved for rendering the shore defences more secure. Increased exertions were, therefore, made in strengthening the permanent fortifications, enlarging the defences of Dover and Chatham, “constructing batteries at various points, building temporary barracks along the coast, and studding our shores with martello towers.”[137] ----- Footnote 137: ‘United Service Journal,’ i., 1845, p. 483. ----- Besides using all vigilance and exertion at the different ports where the royal military artificers were stationed, in furtherance of the general business of preparation and defence, detachments of the corps were constantly on the route from one place to another, erecting temporary or permanent works. In April, at the suggestion of Major-General Twiss, then commanding royal engineer in the Southern District, the party at Dover was much increased to assist in forming casemates in certain positions of the works on the western heights, by which to remedy the defects in the original construction. At Jersey, in the same month, every precaution was taken to render the island capable of resisting any encroachment from its turbulent neighbours; and all the batteries and forts, as far as practicable, were manned with ordnance. In the execution of this service corporal and master-carpenter Daniel Brown, described as “a worthy man and a useful artificer,” was killed by a fall from the top of Platte Rocq Tower. In September a small party was detached to Chelmsford, and superintended, under the direction of Captain G. Whitmore, royal engineers, the construction of a chain of temporary fieldworks, consisting of intrenchments, batteries, and redoubts, from Woodford Windmill to the windmill at Gallywood Common, a distance, by the line of works, of about two miles and a half. Various regiments of militia provided their contingents to execute these works, in which they were assisted by detachments from the royal waggon train and royal staff corps. About the same time another party was despatched to Eastbourne to aid in building the circular redoubt there, as also in erecting several martello towers on the coast, at points best suited to protect our shores. Fluctuating in strength according to the general emergencies of the service, this detachment continued to work in the Eastbourne district until the summer of 1817, when, after assisting in the erection of all the towers as far as Rye Bay on the one side of Eastbourne, and Seaforth on the other, it quitted the district and the men composing it rejoined their companies. At Woolwich, during the later months of the year, parties were specially engaged in preparing and fitting out bomb tenders for the Channel fleet, by casing their magazines, making racks for shot, and executing such other precautionary services as would insure them from explosion and destruction in action. Nor should the efforts made to carry on the recruiting with success be overlooked, since the steps taken were chiefly induced by the spirit of the times, and the anticipated wants of the coming war. In the previous year, after the treaty of Amiens was signed, the recruiting was suspended; but in June, 1803, it was resumed with an energy that promised to yield an abundant result. In addition to the old stations, several new ones were opened for obtaining candidates, and the bounty for recruits was increased to 14_l._ 3_s._ 6_d._ each! whilst the reward to the soldier, to stimulate him to exertion and vigilance, was augmented to 4_l._ 14_s._ 6_d._! The former levy money was ten guineas, but the improved premium amounted to nineteen guineas. Notwithstanding the great demand for men, every care was taken to receive none in the corps who were not in every particular fully equal to its various duties; and the officers employed on the service were specially enjoined to engage such candidates only as were “stout made, able-bodied, well-limbed, healthy, and active, of good character, and good abilities as tradesmen; not over 30 years of age, nor under 5 feet 6 inches in height.” Under these restrictions, and as the call for mechanics in civil life was loud and pressing, only 53 artificers were received and approved of this year, leaving at its close 351 men to complete the corps to its establishment of 1,075. No better success attended the recruiting in the year 1805. Full employment was offered by the country to every artisan disposed to handle his tools, and the sources of enlistment, therefore, were almost choked up. In this extremity, as the corps was very much below its establishment, application was made to the different regiments of militia for candidates; and the effect was, that 134 volunteers—all tradesmen and miners—joined the artificers, in April and May, from forty-six regiments. After a short interval, a similar application was made to the Horse Guards to allow artisans from the line to enter the corps. His Royal Highness the Duke of York, acquiescing in the proposal, conveyed his commands on the 8th July to every battalion in the service, both at home and abroad, to have volunteers, to the number of two carpenters and three bricklayers from each, transferred to the military artificers. By this arrangement the corps, which was 112 men in arrear of its establishment when the order was promulgated, was rendered complete by the end of the year. To each volunteer received was paid a bounty of ten guineas. The total number of recruits and men transferred from the line and militia during the year amounted to 435. Filling up the corps in this manner was highly prejudicial to its best interests and general efficiency, so far as the transfers from the regiments of the line were concerned. Officers of those regiments were naturally averse to parting with their good men, and out of a batch of volunteers the five least reputable in every battalion, unless under extraordinary circumstances, were selected to be transferred. To prevent the reception of objectionable men, every precaution was taken by the officers of engineers appointed to this duty; but, with all their circumspection, some of the most abandoned characters were passed into the corps. With the different militias, however, this was not the case. All the volunteers were unreservedly surrendered to the recruiting-officer, who was at liberty to pick from the number those whom he desired, and subject them to whatever examination he pleased before accepting them. In this way some of the ablest mechanics and many of the best-conducted men and finest-looking soldiers joined the corps, and their behaviour and usefulness in after service furnished the best test of the advantages derived by receiving volunteers from the militia.[138] ----- Footnote 138: This observation would appear to clash with the remarks of Sir Charles Pasley (note F, p. xvii. ‘Elementary Fortification’) upon the impropriety of enlisting militia-men; but after carefully tracing the history of many volunteers from that arm, the fact cannot be concealed that the transfers alluded to were decidedly beneficial to the corps. The best sapper, miner, and pontoneer, that ever served in the corps—perhaps the best in Europe—was a militia-man; and the name of Jenkin Jones, the faithful and zealous sergeant-major under Sir Charles Pasley at Chatham, now quartermaster at Woolwich, need only be mentioned, to verify the assertion and to corroborate the encomium. Quartermaster Hilton, the efficient sergeant-major to the corps in France under Sir James Carmichael Smyth, had also been in the militia. ----- England had not yet taken any active measures against France, busied as she was in endeavours to protect her own shores; but as soon as the Powers of Europe had formed themselves into a coalition, under treaty signed at St. Petersburgh on the 11th April, to check the progress of Buonaparte, the British Government lost no time in giving effect to the engagement. Accordingly in that month, a body of troops under Sir James Craig embarked for the Neapolitan States to join with the Russians in expelling the French. To this expedition was attached a party of one sergeant, one corporal, and thirteen artificers of the Woolwich company, under the command of Captain C. Lefebure, royal engineers, which landed at Naples in November. Here the expedition remained inactive until the 19th January, 1806, when, from the defection of the Russians, it was deemed prudent to withdraw the troops and proceed to Messina, where the military artificers landed on the 18th February, 1806. In October, another force was sent to Hanover, under Lord Cathcart, which, after it should achieve the liberation of that State, was destined to advance into Holland for the same purpose. One sergeant, one corporal, and fourteen privates of the Chatham company, under Captain J. F. Birch of the engineers, accompanied the expedition and landed in Swedish Pomerania the same month; but, by the time the force was prepared to enter into the contest, affairs were on the change; and Buonaparte having gained the brilliant victory of Austerlitz, the treaties of Presburg and Vienna followed, putting an end to the war, and leaving England alone an enemy to France. Unable, without assistance, to re-establish the independence of Hanover and Holland, Lord Cathcart’s army returned to England early in 1806, and the detachment of artificers rejoined the Chatham company in February of that year. 1806. First detachment to the Cape of Good Hope—Misfortunes at Buenos Ayres—Reinforcement to Gibraltar—Services at Calabria—Formation of Maltese military artificers—Increase of pay to royal military artificers—Augmentation to the corps and reorganization of the companies—Establishment and annual expense—Working pay—Sub-Lieutenants introduced—Indiscipline and character of the corps. In August of the previous year, an expedition under Sir David Baird sailed against the Cape of Good Hope, to which were attached one sergeant, two corporals, and seventeen artificers of the Plymouth company under Captain J. C. Smith of the royal engineers, who embarked on board the ‘Melantho’ transport. The artificers landed on the 4th January, 1806, with the artillery, and marched and encamped with them in the field; but Sir David Baird, conceiving that their services would be more beneficial in the castle after its capture, than in action, would not permit them to take part in the operations. They therefore halted about a quarter of a mile to the right rear of the position, and there remained until they marched with the troops into the castle. Ever since this capture, a detachment of the corps of varying strength has been employed in the colony, not only at Cape Town, but at many posts and forts at a considerable distance inland and upon the frontiers. Two privates of the Cape detachment under Captain Kennett, of the corps, sailed in April with the force under General Beresford against Buenos Ayres. Landing at Point de Quilmes on the 25th June,[139] they were present at the surrender of the city on the 27th following. After a time the Spaniards, recovering from the panic which lost them their capital, retook it with signal success, and those of the British not killed, were taken prisoners. Captain Kennett was among the former, and one of the artificers was wounded. On the loss of their captain, the two men were attached to the artillery and served in the action of the 12th August, 1806, under Captain Alexander Macdonald, royal artillery: they subsequently were taken prisoners and remained so until January 1808, when they returned to England with the forces under General Whitelocke. ----- Footnote 139: ‘London Gazette Extraordinary,’ September 13, 1806. ----- To supply the casualties at Gibraltar occasioned by the fatal fever of 1804, a detachment of 133 artificers,[140] under Captain H. Evatt, royal engineers, embarked on the 31st December, 1805, and landed at the fortress in February following. The strength of the companies was thus increased from 174 to 307 of all ranks. ----- Footnote 140: With fifty women and forty children! More than, in _these_ days, are permitted to accompany a _battalion_ on foreign service. ----- Sir John Stuart, who commanded the army in Sicily, now undertook, at the solicitation of the Court of Palermo, an expedition against the French in Calabria. The detachment of artificers at Messina, reduced to twelve in number, furnished ten men, under Captain C. Lefebure, royal engineers, to accompany the troops. They were present on the 4th July at the battle of Maida; and afterwards at the siege of Scylla Castle from the 12th to the 23rd of the same month. Shortly after the capture, six of the party returned to their old quarters at Messina, leaving two non-commissioned officers and two artificers under Lieutenant George Macleod of the engineers, to superintend the restoration of the castle defences. In October the four men rejoined the detachment at Messina, where the whole continued to be employed in various engineering services for several years. Artificers under military control and discipline being much required for the works at Malta, Lieutenant-Colonel R. T. Dickens, R.E., recommended the formation of three companies of Maltese tradesmen for the service of the engineer department; two to be stationed at Malta and Gozo, and one for employment in general duties in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, and Egypt. English companies of artificers would have been proposed for the works of the stations named, had the efficiency and conduct of detachments previously sent from Gibraltar to Minorca, Sicily, and other parts of the Mediterranean, warranted it; “but,” says Sir Charles Pasley, “as the Gibraltar companies were, from circumstances, the worst in the corps, the detachments formed from them * * * * were found so very inefficient, that Maltese and Sicilians were preferred to Britons in the Mediterranean, for the important service of the royal engineer department.”[141] As well from this, as from other local[142] and economical considerations, the Government approved of the measure, and the royal authority for its accomplishment being obtained, the companies were formed on the 1st May. ----- Footnote 141: Pasley’s ‘Elementary Fortification,’ note A, p. iv. Footnote 142: In the treaty of Amiens it was stipulated that _one-half_ the soldiers in the garrison at Malta should be natives; and although the treaty had been violated by Napoleon, Great Britain still regarded its provisions, in this respect at least, as sacred and obligatory. ----- The Mediterranean or war company consisted of— 4 sergeants, 4 corporals, 100 privates, 1 drummer, 10 boys. —— Total 119 and the companies for Malta and Gozo, numbered each— 2 sergeants, 4 corporals, 60 privates, 1 drummer, —— Total 77 An adjutant from the royal engineers was appointed to the 1st company, and one, a foreigner—Matteo Bonavio[143]—to the other two companies at Malta and Gozo, to which was also added one sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant Guiseppe Sinerco, stationed at Malta. The total number of these companies with the staff amounted to 276. The pay of the war company was assimilated to that of the royal military artificers, while that of the other companies was fixed as under:— s. d. Sergeant-major or quartermaster-sergeant. 3 0 a-day. Sergeant 1 6 ” Corporal 1 3 ” Private, or drummer 1 1 ” Boy 0 6 ” ----- Footnote 143: Styled, by local usage, “Assistant Engineer.” ----- The adjutants received 3_s._ per day each extra,[144] and the working pay of the non-commissioned officers and men was divided into two classes of 6_d._ and 9_d._, which they received in addition to their regimental pay. The non-commissioned officers, who were foremen, received as working pay 1_s._ a-day each. ----- Footnote 144: Of the regimental allowances of the foreign adjutant nothing is known, nor can any record be discovered of the uniform worn by him. ----- These companies were formed into a corps with the title of Maltese military artificers, and, like the old artificer company at Gibraltar, remained a distinct and separate body. They were officered by the royal engineers. Their clothing consisted of a close blue cloth jacket with black collar and cuffs, and Ordnance buttons; open blue cloth pantaloons and a military hat and feather. The sergeants were distinguished by sashes, the corporals by chevrons, and the sergeant-major by a uniform like the sergeant-major of the English companies.[145] ----- Footnote 145: In 1808 the companies were clothed in a uniform made of cotton, manufactured in the island, similar to the local corps. The facings were of black cloth. The sergeants and corporals were distinguished as before, and the sergeant-major still wore the _home_ uniform. The substitution of cotton for cloth was ordered on account of its being cheaper and better adapted to the climate, besides forwarding the views of Government, in aiding the sale of the staple commodity of the island, deprived by the war of its usual vents. ----- This year Mr. Windham, the Secretary-at-War, warmly espoused the cause of the army, and ultimately obtained for it the redress he so earnestly sought. This was promulgated in the well-known Warrant called “ Windham’s Act,” which increased the pay of the soldier while serving, and provided a liberal pension for him on retirement, corresponding to his infirmities and services. On the 1st September, the Act alluded to was extended to the royal military artificers, and the advantages conferred upon the corps were as under:— Total amount of pay a-day. Increase. d. s. d. Sergeant-major on the staff. 5¼ 3 11½ Sergeant 3¼ 2 6½ Corporals:— After 14 years 3¾ 2 4½ Between 7 and 14 years 2¾ 2 3½ Under 7 years 1¾ 2 2½ Privates and Buglers:— After 14 years 2 1 4½ Between 7 and 14 years 1 1 3½ Under 7 years no increase 1 2½ In the prospect of a long war, to provide reinforcements for the execution of the extensive works in progress at Dover and Nova Scotia, and to be capable, to a certain extent, of meeting the contingencies that might arise, a royal warrant was issued dated 5th September, sanctioning a reorganization of the corps for general service, an augmentation of two companies, and a small increase to each of the other ten companies. Under this arrangement the corps was distributed as follows, and the companies for the first time, appear to be distinguished by numbers; which, however, from the long habit of designating them by stations, soon became obsolete:— 1st. Woolwich Captain G. Hayter. 2nd. Chatham Major R. D’Arcy. 3rd. Dover Captain W. H. Ford. 4th. Portsmouth. Captain R. Fletcher. 5th. Gosport. Captain T. Fyers. 6th. Plymouth. Lieut.-Colonel T. Skinner. 7th. Spike Island Lieut.-Colonel Sir C. Holloway. 8th. { Jersey Captain J. Humfrey { Guernsey. Major J. Mackelcan. 9th. Gibraltar Captain H. Evatt. 10th. Gibraltar Captain G. Landmann. 11th. West Indies. Lieut.-Colonel W. Johnston. [146]12th. Nova Scotia Captain W. Bennett. ----- Footnote 146: Sir John Jones states, evidently by mistake, that the corps was composed of _thirty-two_ companies.—Journals of Sieges, ii., note 38, p. 389, 2nd edit. ----- By the authority of the warrant alluded to, the establishment of each company was remodelled, the ranks of Sub-Lieutenant and second corporal were created, and the total of all ranks per company increased from 100 to 126. Under the previous system of detaching men, the companies were mutilated, disordered and reduced; but under this enlarged organization, it was considered they would be more accessible, and better able to afford such accidental assistance as might be needed, without diminishing the companies to an inconvenient strength, or without particular detriment to the station. The subjoined detail shows the approved composition of a company at this period. 1 Sub-Lieutenant,[147] a new rank, with pay of 5_s._ a-day.[148] 1 Sergeant-major. 5 Sergeants. 5 Corporals. 10 Second Corporals,[149] a new rank, pay fixed at 1_s._ 9_d._ a-day. 30 Carpenters, including 4 top sawyers. 20 Masons, } including slaters, tiles, and plasterers. 18 Bricklayers, } 10 Smiths, 10 Miners, 4 Wheelers, 4 Collar Makers, 2 Coopers, 2 Painters, 4 Drummers. —— Total 126 ----- Footnote 147: Styled _Second_ Lieutenants in the warrant by mistake. The Sub-Lieutenants were junior to the Second Lieutenants of engineers, but held rank with Second Lieutenants of the line, according to dates of commission. This right was often questioned, but never, as long as the Sub-Lieutenants were attached to the corps, officially settled. In 1835 the position of a Sub-Lieutenant (H. B. Mackenzie), who had joined the line as paymaster being disputed, it was then settled that _Sub-Lieutenants_ were _junior_ to _Ensigns_. Footnote 148: Subsequently increased to 5_s._ 7_d._ a-day, and after seven years' service to 6_s._ 7_d._ a-day. Footnote 149: Holding comparative station with corporals of the line, according to date of promotion. ----- The total establishment of the corps, including the adjutant and sergeant-major on the staff, amounted to 1,514, exhibiting an increase above the former establishment of 439 men; and its expense for one year, exclusive of the working pay and other miscellaneous allowances, reached the sum of 45,500_l._ 17_s._ 7¼_d._ With the three companies of Maltese artificers, the corps mustered a force of 1,790 officers, non-commissioned officers, and men. As a means of encouraging the men to exertion and good behaviour, their working pay was permitted to be increased, under the authority of the warrant before mentioned, from 6_d._ to 9_d._ or 1_s._ a-day. The non-commissioned officers invariably received the highest rate. None, however, could be advanced from the lowest to the superior rates without first being recommended to the commanding royal engineer at the station, by the junior officers, foremen, or overseers; and this system of rewards, except for special services, has been observed in the corps ever since. The sergeant-majors who received the first commissions had been in the artillery, and were distinguished for their good services and bravery. To their zeal and expertness as soldiers, they added an intimate knowledge of drill and discipline—requisites of essential importance in the organization of a new force, but which, from the vague and indefinite character of the corps, became, almost necessarily, too temporizing and elastic to be sufficiently beneficial or respected. Efforts had on one or two particular occasions been made to avoid the faults and supply the omissions of earlier years; but the improvement before alluded to, had not reached the expectations of those who felt an interest in the corps. One obvious reason was, the nominal appointment of officers to companies, who were so incessantly shifted, that it was not uncommon to find a company passing under the command of three or four different officers in the course of twelve months;[150] and another was, the reluctance with which some commanding officers permitted the temporary withdrawal of the men from the works for the purposes of drill and discipline.[151] The free use of the means to train the men to subordination and the use of arms, to restrain them from irregularities, and fully to develop the organization and purposes for which the corps was raised, being thus interrupted, naturally tended to vitiate and lower its military pride, spirit, and appearance. ----- Footnote 150: This may be regarded as a favourable view of the case. Sir John Jones states, “Each company was commanded for the moment by the senior Captain of engineers, who might happen to be placed on duty wherever the company might be; so that it was not unfrequent for a company to be commanded by five or six captains in as many months.”—Journal of Sieges, ii. note 38, p. 389, 2nd edit. Footnote 151: Pasley’s ‘Elementary Fortification,’ note a, p. iii. ----- Bald and grey-headed non-commissioned officers with ages varying from forty-five to sixty-five, good artificers and foremen, but lacking the energy and demeanour of soldiers, were no rarities in the royal military artificers. Disinclined to learn, they but very imperfectly understood their military station, and seldom exercised their authority, except in the emollient guise of persuasion and advice. On all sides there was a yielding, that in some measure obliterated the lines of distinction between the different grades. Their interests seemed to be reciprocal and interwoven, and the best workman was generally esteemed the best man. Almost every military idea was sacrificed for “the works,” in which it would be hazardous to say, that they did not labour with ability and industry. To check the growth of these unmilitary principles and practices, to enforce respect for position and authority, and to assist in maintaining in the corps the exercise of proper discipline and drill, the Sub-Lieutenants were established. Their duties were like those of adjutants, whom they superseded, and were, therefore, held responsible to their Captains for the conduct, efficiency, internal management, and payment of their respective companies. This, however, was but a transient expedient. An instalment only of the good that was expected was realised;[152] and it was left for a later period to enlarge and perfect what in this year, though spiritedly commenced, fell considerably short of success. ----- Footnote 152: Ibid., note F, p. xvii. ----- 1807. Appointments of Adjutant and Quartermaster—Captain John T. 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. It having been determined to consolidate the appointments of Adjutant and Quartermaster to the royal military artificers, Major John Rowley[153] and Colonel George W. Phipps[154] resigned their offices. ----- Footnote 153: In the earlier years of his appointment he was much at Woolwich, and personally superintended the affairs of the corps; but for some years prior to the new organization, his duties in London seldom permitted him to visit the head-quarters. Footnote 154: Colonel Phipps was never present with the corps. As Quartermaster, he performed his duties in London. In consideration of his relinquishing the Quartermastership, and also for his good services, he was granted by His Majesty an allowance of 10s. a-day.—‘Accounts of Ordnance, House of Commons,’ 1816, p. 31. ----- To succeed to the vacancies thus created, Captain John Thomas Jones, an officer of undoubted ability and military experience, was brought from Sicily, and on the 1st January commissioned to hold both appointments.[155] Upon him, therefore, devolved the difficult task of arranging and directing the details of the new organization both at home and abroad, and of carrying into effect a general system of drill and discipline.[156] In this duty he continued until July, 1808, when, ordered on a particular service to the Asturias, he resigned the staff rank. From the time of the appointment of Captain J. T. Jones, the Adjutant was permanently stationed at the head-quarters at Woolwich, and his office also was established there. ----- Footnote 155: ‘London Gazette,’ 20th to 24th January, 1807. Footnote 156: ‘United Service Journal,’ ii., 1843, p. 110. ‘Jones’s Sieges,’ ii., note 38, p. 389, 2nd edit. ----- Early in the year an expedition was sent against Chili under Major-General Crawford, accompanied by a sergeant and ten artificers under Captain J. Squire, R.E. Instead of proceeding to Chili, counter orders were received, and Captain Squire and his eleven men sailed with the force to Buenos Ayres. Arriving at Monte Video on the 14th June, they were accordingly landed and took part in the disastrous attack on Buenos Ayres, in which all the artificers were taken prisoners, and so remained until January, 1808, when they quitted with the force under General Whitelocke. On the 6th March, Major-General Frazer, at the head of a small armament, sailed from Messina to dispossess the Turks of Egypt. To this force were attached, under Captain J. F. Burgoyne, royal engineers, four of the military artificers furnished from the detachment in Sicily, who embarked on the 19th February. Having in due time landed at Alexandria, they served at the capture of that city, also in the attack of Rosetta, and in the retreat to Alexandria. In September following these four artificers rejoined the party at Messina. In the meantime the detachment at Messina was reinforced by a sergeant, one corporal, and eighteen privates of the Gibraltar companies, under Lieutenant George J. Harding, R.E., who embarked at the Rock on the 14th April. With the exception of the non-commissioned officers, this party was composed of irreclaimable drunkards, worthless alike as artificers or soldiers. From the inefficiency of these men, the Maltese war company was ordered to furnish its contingent for service in Sicily, and accordingly a detachment of one sergeant—Evan Roberts—one corporal, and twenty-nine artificers, embarked at Malta on board the ‘Charlotte’ transport on the 23rd, and landed at Messina on the 30th July. In the autumn following, the whole of the party with two men of the royal military artificers as foremen, were detached to Augusta and Syracuse, to be employed on the works under sergeant Roberts. Newfoundland now became a station for the corps. A detachment of eighteen non-commissioned officers and men, all masons and miners, embarked at Plymouth in May, on board His Majesty’s ship ‘Isis,’ under Captain George Ross of the royal engineers, and arrived there in July. Before the end of August, the detachment was further strengthened by six artificers from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Until proper accommodation could be provided, they lived in huts like the Esquimaux or emigrant fishermen, or under canvas in a dreary uncleared valley between Signal Hill and the sea. In some measure to relieve the monotony and mitigate the rigours of an inhospitable country and climate, permission was granted to the men to spread their nets in the waters near St. John, and to catch as much fish as was needful for the sustenance of themselves and families. Provisionally, also, the married portion of the detachment were allowed small allotments of land, which they cleared and cultivated at intervals, when they were not employed on the works. From these sources of occupation they were kept in constant industry and amusement, and their health effectually preserved and invigorated. Two sergeants, two corporals, six second corporals, and forty-one artificers, with Captain Fletcher, R.E., embarked at Woolwich for Copenhagen on the 29th July, and landed there the 16th August. In the bombardment of that capital they served under the immediate direction of Lieutenant-Colonel R. D’Arcy, R.E.; and, in returning to England, served as Marines under Lieutenant Bassett of the royal navy. The party rejoined their companies on the 7th November. One second corporal and three privates of the West India company were embarked in August, on board His Majesty’s ship ‘Blonde,’ V. V. Ballard, Captain, to act as artificers and seamen during a short cruise in the Caribbean sea; and while forming part of the crew of this ship, they served at the guns in the capture of the undernamed French privateers:— Guns. Men. 15th August ‘La Dame Villaret’ 5 69 16th ” ‘L’Hortense’ 8 90 14th September ‘L’Hirondelle’ 8 84 23rd ” ‘Duquesne’ 17 123 14th October ‘Alerte’ 20 149 An expedition was sent to Madeira in October under General Beresford, to which was added a detachment from the Spike Island company of one corporal, one second corporal, and ten privates, under Captain A. Morshead, royal engineers. They landed in December, and were stationed at Funchal until May, 1812, when they were withdrawn and despatched to their companies in Portugal. In December, General Bowyer ordered a party of the West India company to be attached to his expedition about to sail against the Danish islands of St. John, St. Thomas, and St. Croix. Three sergeants, four corporals, and forty-two privates were accordingly selected, and embarked for that service on the 16th December; but the islands having surrendered without resistance, the detachment rejoined at Barbadoes on the 13th January,