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diff --git a/29984-h/29984-h.htm b/29984-h/29984-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d387e8f --- /dev/null +++ b/29984-h/29984-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11721 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> + <head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" /> + <title> + The Project Gutenberg eBook of The History of the West India Regiment, by A.B. Ellis. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + + p { margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em; + } + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; + } + hr { width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both; + } + + table {margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;} + + body{margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; + } + + .pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right; + } /* page numbers */ + + .linenum {position: absolute; top: auto; left: 4%;} /* poetry number */ + .blockquot{margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 10%;} + .sidenote {width: 20%; padding-bottom: .5em; padding-top: .5em; + padding-left: .5em; padding-right: .5em; margin-left: 1em; + float: right; clear: right; margin-top: 1em; + font-size: smaller; color: black; background: #eeeeee; border: dashed 1px;} + + .bracket3 {font-size: 300%} + .bracket2 {font-size: 200%} + + .bb {border-bottom: solid 2px;} + .bl {border-left: solid 2px;} + .bt {border-top: solid 2px;} + .br {border-right: solid 2px;} + .bbox {border: solid 2px;} + + .center {text-align: center;} + .smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + .u {text-decoration: underline;} + ul {list-style-type: none;} + + .caption {font-weight: bold;} + + .figcenter {margin: auto; text-align: center;} + + .figleft {float: left; clear: left; margin-left: 0; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-top: + 1em; margin-right: 1em; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .figright {float: right; clear: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0; padding: 0; text-align: center;} + + .footnotes {border: dashed 1px;} + .footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + .footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + .fnanchor {vertical-align: super; font-size: .8em; text-decoration: none;} + + .poem {margin-left:10%; margin-right:10%; text-align: left;} + .poem br {display: none;} + .poem .stanza {margin: 1em 0em 1em 0em;} + .poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + .poem span.i4 {display: block; margin-left: 4em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of the First West India Regiment, by +A. B. Ellis + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The History of the First West India Regiment + +Author: A. B. Ellis + +Release Date: September 14, 2009 [EBook #29984] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK FIRST WEST INDIA REGIMENT *** + + + + +Produced by Steven Gibbs, Jane Hyland and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i]</a></span></p> + + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%;"> +<img src="images/frontispiece_2.jpg" style="width: 60%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h1>THE HISTORY</h1> + +<h3>OF THE</h3> + +<h1>FIRST WEST INDIA REGIMENT<br /><br /></h1> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg ii-iii]</a></span></p> + + + + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>A.B. ELLIS</h2> + +<h4><i>Major, First West India Regiment</i></h4> + +<h5>AUTHOR OF "WEST AFRICAN ISLANDS" AND "THE LAND OF FETISH"<br /><br /><br /><br /></h5> + + +<p class="center">London:</p> + +<h3>CHAPMAN AND HALL, <span class="smcap">Limited</span></h3> + +<h4>HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN</h4> + +<h4>1885<br /><br /><br /><br /></h4> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span></p> + +<h4>CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS</h4> + +<h4>CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS<br /><br /></h4> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%;"> +<img src="images/frontispiece_1.jpg" style="width: 60%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>I beg to return my best thanks to <span class="smcap">A.E. Havelock</span>, Esq., C.M.G. +Administrator-in-Chief of the West African Settlements; Lieutenant-Colonel +<span class="smcap">F.B.P. White</span>, of the 1st West India Regiment; <span class="smcap">V.S. +Gouldsbury</span>, Esq., Administrator of the Gambia Settlements; +<span class="smcap">A. Young</span>, Esq., Lieutenant-Governor of Demerara; <span class="smcap">F. Evans</span>, Esq., +C.M.G., Assistant Colonial Secretary of the Gold Coast Colony; +<span class="smcap">Alfred Kingston</span>, Esq., of the Record Office; and <span class="smcap">Richard +Garnett</span>, Esq., of the British Museum, for the very valuable assistance +which they have rendered me in the collection of materials for +this Work.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg v-vii]</a></span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS"></a>CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="contents"> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='right'>PAGE</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER</td><td align='right'><a href="#INTRODUCTORY_CHAPTER">1</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER I.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE ACTION AT BRIAR CREEK, 1779—THE ACTION AT STONO FERRY, 1779</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_I">26</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER II.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH, 1779—THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTOWN, 1780—THE BATTLE OF HOBKERK'S HILL, 1781</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_II">33</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER III.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE RELIEF OF NINETY-SIX, 1781—THE BATTLE OF EUTAW SPRINGS, 1781—REMOVAL TO THE WEST INDIES</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_III">43</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER IV.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE EXPEDITION TO MARTINIQUE, 1793—THE CAPTURE OF MARTINIQUE, ST. LUCIA, AND GUADALOUPE, 1794—THE DEFENCE OF FORT MATILDA, 1794</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">53</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER V.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MALCOLM'S ROYAL RANGERS—THE EVACUATION OF ST. LUCIA, 1795</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_V">63</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER VI.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE CARIB WAR IN ST. VINCENT, 1795</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">69</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER VII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>MAJOR-GENERAL WHYTE'S REGIMENT OF FOOT, 1795</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">77</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER VIII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE CAPTURE OF ST. LUCIA, 1796</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">85</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER IX.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE RELIEF OF GRENADA, 1796—THE REPULSE AT PORTO RICO, 1797</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">93</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER X.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE DEFENCE OF DOMINICA, 1805</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_X">103</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XI.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE HURRICANE AT DOMINICA, 1806—THE REDUCTION OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. CROIX, 1807—THE RELIEF OF MARIE-GALANTE, 1808</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">117</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE CAPTURE OF MARTINIQUE, 1809—THE CAPTURE OF GUADALOUPE, 1810</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XIII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE EXPEDITION TO NEW ORLEANS, 1814-15</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">141</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XIV.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE OCCUPATION OF GUADALOUPE, 1815—THE BARBADOS INSURRECTION, 1816—THE HURRICANE OF 1817</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">160</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XV.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE DEMERARA REBELLION, 1823</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">170</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XVI.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BARRA WAR, 1831—THE HURRICANE OF 1831—THE COBOLO EXPEDITION, 1832</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">178</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XVII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE MUTINY OF THE RECRUITS AT TRINIDAD, 1837</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">188</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XVIII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE PIRARA EXPEDITION, 1842—CHANGES IN THE WEST AFRICAN GARRISONS—THE APPOLLONIA EXPEDITION, 1848</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">208</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XIX.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>INDIAN DISTURBANCES IN HONDURAS, 1848-49—THE ESCORT TO COOMASSIE, 1848—THE SHERBRO EXPEDITION, 1849—THE ESCORT TO RIO NUNEZ, 1850</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">218</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XX.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE STORMING OF SABBAJEE, 1853—THE RELIEF OF CHRISTIANSBORG, 1854</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">228</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXI.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE TWO EXPEDITIONS TO MALAGEAH, 1854-55</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">236</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BATTLE OF BAKKOW, AND STORMING OF SABBAJEE, 1855</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">248</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXIII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>CHANGES IN THE WEST AFRICAN GARRISONS, 1856-57—THE GREAT SCARCIES RIVER EXPEDITION, 1859—FIRE AT NASSAU, 1859</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">257</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXIV.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE BADDIBOO WAR, 1860-61</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">265</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXV.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE ASHANTI EXPEDITION, 1863-64</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">276</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXVI.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE JAMAICA REBELLION, 1865</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">286</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXVII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>AFRICAN TOUR, 1866-70</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">298</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXVIII.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE DEFENCE OF ORANGE WALK, 1872</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">304</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXIX.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>THE ASHANTI WAR, 1873-74</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">317</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'><br />CHAPTER XXX.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>AFFAIRS IN HONDURAS, 1874—THE SHERBRO EXPEDITION, 1875—THE ASHANTI EXPEDITION, 1881</td><td align='right'><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">333</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><br />APPENDIX</td><td align='right'><a href="#APPENDIX">343</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><br />INDEX</td><td align='right'><a href="#INDEX">361</a></td></tr> +</table></div> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h2><a name="MAPS" id="MAPS"></a>MAPS.</h2> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="maps"> +<tr><td align='left'>1. ST. VINCENT</td><td align='right'><i>facing page </i><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>2. GRENADA</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>3. DOMINICA</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4. MARTINIQUE</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>5. GUADALOUPE</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>6. THE GAMBIA SETTLEMENTS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>7. THE GOLD COAST</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>8. BRITISH HONDURAS</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>9. THE MELLICOURIE RIVER</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>10. SWARRA CUNDA CREEK</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_265">265</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>11. THE COUNTY OF SURREY, JAMAICA</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>12. ORANGE WALK</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>13. THE ROUTE TO COOMASSIE</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>14. BRITISH SHERBRO</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_337">337</a></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="INTRODUCTORY_CHAPTER" id="INTRODUCTORY_CHAPTER"></a>INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.</h3> + + +<p>At the present day, when our Continental neighbours are +outvying each other in the completeness of their military +organisations and the size of their armies, while in the +United Kingdom complaints are daily heard that the +supply of recruits for the British Army is not equal to +the demand, it may not be out of place to draw the +attention of the public to a source from which the army +may be most economically reinforced.</p> + +<p>The principal difficulty experienced by military reformers +in their endeavours to remodel the British Army on the +Continental system, is that caused by the necessity of providing +troops for the defence of our vast and scattered +Colonial Empire. Without taking into consideration India, +our European and North American possessions, a considerable +portion of the army has to be employed in furnishing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span> +garrisons for the Cape Colony, Natal, Mauritius, St. Helena, +the Bermudas, the West Indies, Burmah, the Straits Settlements, +Hong Kong, etc.; which garrisons, though creating a +constant drain on the Home Establishment, are notoriously +inadequate for the defence of the various colonies in which +they are placed; and the result is that, whenever a colonial +war breaks out, fresh battalions have to be hurriedly sent +out from the United Kingdom at immense expense, and +the entire military machine is temporarily disarranged.</p> + +<p>In size, and in diversity of subject races, the British +Empire may be not inaptly compared with that of Rome +in its palmiest days; and we have, in a measure, adopted +a Roman scheme for the defence of a portion of our +dominions. The Romans were accustomed, as each new +territory was conquered, to raise levies of troops from the +subject race, and then, most politicly, to send them to serve +in distant parts of the Empire, where they could have no +sympathies with the inhabitants. In India we, like the +Romans, raise troops from the conquered peoples, but, unlike +them, we retain those troops for service in their own country. +The result of this attempt to modify the scheme was the +Indian mutiny.</p> + +<p>The plan of a local colonial army was, however, first tried +in the West Indies. At the close of the last century, when +the West India Islands, or the Plantations, as they were +then called, were of as much importance to, and held the +same position in, the British Empire as India does now,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span> +there was in existence a West India Army, consisting of +twelve battalions of negro troops, raised exclusively for +service in the West Indies.</p> + +<p>As India was gradually conquered, and the West India +trade declined (from the abolition of the slave trade and +other causes), the West India Colonies, by a regular process, +fell from their former pre-eminent position. Each step in +the descent was marked by the disbandment of a West +India regiment, until, at the present day, two only remain +in existence; and it is a matter of common notoriety that +those two are principally preserved to garrison Sierra Leone, +the Gold Coast Colony, British Honduras, and British +Guiana—colonies the climates of which, experience has +shown, are fatal to European soldiers, who are necessarily +in time of peace, from the nature of their duties, more +exposed to climatic influence than are officers. Economy +was, of course, the cause of this continued process of reduction, +for, until recently, such gigantic military establishments +as those of Germany, Russia, and France were unheard +of; and Great Britain was satisfied, and felt secure, with +a miniature army, a paper militia, and no reserve. All +this is now changed, and the necessity of an increase in +our defensive power is admitted.</p> + +<p>These negro West India troops won the highest encomiums +from every British commander under whom they +served. Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1796, Sir John Moore +in 1797, Lieutenant-General Trigge in 1801, Sir George<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span> +Provost in 1805, Lieutenant-General Beckwith and Major-General +Maitland in 1809 and 1810, all testified to the +gallantry, steadiness, and discipline of the negro soldiers. +Sir John Moore, speaking of the new corps in 1796, said +"they are invaluable," and "the very best troops for the +climate." To come to more recent times, in 1873 the +2nd West India Regiment bore for six months the entire +brunt of the Ashanti attack, and had actually forced the +invading army to retire across the Prah before the men +of a single line battalion were landed. In fact, the efficiency +of West India troops was, and is, unquestioned.</p> + +<p>This being so, it may be asked, why should not the +present number of regiments composed of negro soldiers +be increased for the purpose of garrisoning the colonies, +especially those of which the climate is most prejudicial +to English soldiers? This would not be a return to the +former state of affairs, for when we had twelve negro regiments +they were all stationed in the West Indies, whereas +the essence of the present scheme is to send them on service +in other colonies. Such an augmentation of our West +India, or Zouave, regiments certainly appears politic and +easy. I will also endeavour to show that it would be +economical.</p> + +<p>Each West India battalion would take the place of a +Territorial battalion now serving abroad. The latter would +return to the United Kingdom, be reduced to the +Home Establishment, and have from 300 to 400 men<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span> +passed into the Reserve. Repeat this process seven or +eight times, and the services with the colours of between +2000 and 3000 European soldiers are dispensed with, +the Reserve being increased by that number. In addition, +negro soldiers being enlisted for twelve years' service with +the colours, negro regiments on foreign service would not +require those large drafts sent to white battalions to replace +time-expired men, transport for which so swells the army +estimates; while the negro being a native of the tropics, +invaliding home would be reduced to a minimum.</p> + +<p>The pay of the black soldier is ninepence per diem, +against a shilling per diem to the white, so that there would +be some saving effected in that way. In fact, it has been +calculated that for an annual addition to the army estimates +of some £27,000, six new negro battalions, each 800 strong, +could be maintained; giving, on the one hand, an addition +of 4800 to our present military force, and on the other, +an increased Reserve, and six more Territorial battalions +in the United Kingdom, ready to hand on a European +emergency. To this may be added the lives of scores +of Englishmen yearly saved to their country.</p> + +<p>By the Territorial scheme now in force in Great Britain, +an attempt has been made to localise corps on the German +system, irrespective of the fact that Germany has no colonies, +while those of Great Britain are most numerous. In +Germany, in time of peace, each army corps is located in +a district, from which it never moves, and in which the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> +Reserve men, destined to complete the regiments to war +strength, are compelled to live. Thus, when a general +mobilisation takes place, the men are on the spot, and +join the regiments in which they have already served. +France has adopted this system, with the exception that +army corps are not permanently located in districts, and +the army thus localised is the one for European service +only. For her colonies an entirely distinct army is maintained, +composed of men specially enlisted for foreign +service. In Great Britain we have neither adopted the +German system nor the French modification of that system; +but a scheme of localisation, with the main-spring of +localisation removed, has been endeavoured to be grafted +upon our old system, under which the regular army is +sent on service in time of peace to distant portions of +the globe. Should the mobilisation of an army corps +be necessary in England, the Reserve men would, in a +large number of cases, find the regiments in which they +had formerly served, on foreign service. It would then +be necessary to draft them into regiments to which they +were strangers, in which they would take no interest, and +where they would be unknown to their officers. On the +other hand, should it be necessary to despatch suddenly +six or seven battalions to India or the Cape, they have +to be made up to a war strength from other corps, for +they have been reduced to a skeleton establishment in +order that men may be provided for the Reserve.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span></p> + +<p>Localisation, to be effectual, must be thorough; but it +and the demands of foreign service are so incompatible +that they cannot be efficiently combined. At the present +time, neither is said to be in a satisfactory condition, and +the Reserve, which was expected to have risen to a total of +80,000 men, consists of 32,000 only.</p> + +<p>Military reformers have long since arrived at the conclusion +that if the British Army is to be maintained at such +a footing as to give weight to the voice of Great Britain in +the councils of Europe, we must have two distinct armies; +namely, one for home service, ready for a European +imbroglio, and a second to which the defence of the colonies +can be entrusted. The objection to this has been, hitherto, +the great expense, for it has always been taken for granted +that this Colonial Army would consist of white soldiers; and +the question of increased pay, supply of recruits, and +periodical removal of men to the United Kingdom, over and +above the cost of the Territorial Army, had to be considered. +With negro troops, however, for the Colonial Army, this +objection, if it does not entirely disappear, is reduced at least +by three-quarters. Should it be tried on a small scale and +found successful, there need be no reason why in time almost +the whole of the Territorial battalions should not be withdrawn +from foreign service. In this way localisation could +be made a reality; and with such vast untouched recruiting +grounds as our colonies offer, there can be no doubt as to the +practicability of raising the negro regiments required. Such<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span> +regiments might also partly compose the garrisons of +Gibraltar, Malta, Cyprus, Aden, and Ceylon. There is, +indeed, no reason, except the hatred of the Hindoo for the +negro, why such regiments might not serve in India. As +the negro would never coalesce with the natives of India, a +new and entirely reliable force, indifferent to tropical heat, +and not requiring a vast retinue of camp-followers, would be +always at hand. Of course, negro battalions could never be +employed in cold latitudes, for the negro suffers from cold in +a manner which is incomprehensible even to Europeans who +have passed the best part of their lives in the tropics. +Instead of being braced by and deriving activity from the +cold, he becomes languid and inert; and nothing but the +rays of the sun can arouse him to any exertion. Even in +West Africa, during the Harmattan season, natives may be +observed in the early morning, hugging their scanty clothing +around them and shivering with cold; while the ill-fated +expedition to New Orleans showed what deadly havoc an +inclement climate will play with negro troops.</p> + +<p>Next, as to the men of whom these negro regiments +would be composed. It is too much the custom in Great +Britain, in describing a man of colour, to consider that all +has been said that is necessary when he is called a negro; +yet there are as many nationalities, and as many types of the +African race, as there are of the Caucasian. No one would +imagine that a European was sufficiently described by the +title of "white man." It would be asked if the individual in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> +question were an Englishman, German, Frenchman, and so +on; and the same kind of classification is necessary for the +negro. On the western coast of Africa, the portion of the +African continent from which North and South America and +the West Indies obtained their negro population, there are at +least twenty different varieties of the African race, distinct +from each other in features and even in colour; and these are +again subdivided into several hundred nations or tribes, each +of which possesses a language, manners, and customs of +its own.</p> + +<p>In the days of the slave-trade, the slave-dealers adopted +certain arbitrary designations to denote from what portion +of the coast their wares were obtained. For instance, slaves +shipped from Sierra Leone and the rivers to the north +and east of that peninsula, and who were principally +Timmanees, Kossus, Acoos, Mendis, Foulahs, and Jolloffs, +were called Mandingoes, from the dominant tribe of that +name which supplied the slave-market. Negroes from the +Gold Coast kingdoms of Ashanti, Fanti, Assin, Akim, +Wassaw, Aquapim, Ahanta, and Accra were denominated +Koromantyns, or Coromantees, a corruption of Cormantine, +the name of a fort some sixteen miles to the east of Cape +Coast Castle, and which was the earliest British slave-station +on the Gold Coast. Similarly, slaves from the tribes +inhabiting the Slave Coast, that is to say, Awoonahs, +Agbosomehs, Flohows, Popos, Dahomans, Egbas, and +Yorubas, were all termed Papaws; while those from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> +numerous petty states of the Niger delta, where the lowest +type of the negro is to be found, were known as Eboes.</p> + +<p>Thousands of men of these tribes, and others too +numerous to mention, were carried across the Atlantic and +scattered at hap-hazard all over the West India Islands. +At first tribal distinctions were maintained, but in the course +of years, in each island they gradually disappeared and were +forgotten; until at the present day a West India negro +does not describe himself as a Kossu or a Koromantyn, +but as a Jamaican, a Barbadian, an Antiguan, etc. It would +naturally be supposed that as the West India Islands all +received their slave population in the same manner, and +that as in each there was the same original diversity of +nationalities, subsequently blended together by intermarriages +and community of wants and language, a West India negro +of the present generation from any one island would be +hardly distinguishable from one from any other. Nothing, +however, would be further from the truth. Since the abolition +of slavery, the conditions of life in the various islands have +been so different—in some the dense population necessitating +daily labour for an existence, while in others large uncultivated +stretches of wood and mountain have afforded +squatting grounds for the majority of the black population—that, +in conjunction with diversity of climate, each group +of islands is now populated with a race of negroes morally +distinct <i>per se</i>. The difference between a negro born and +bred in Barbados and one born and bred in Jamaica is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span> +as great as between an American and an Englishman, and +the clannish spirit of the negro tends to increase that difference. +At the present time the negro of Jamaica does not +care to enlist in the 2nd West India Regiment, which is +largely recruited in Barbados; and, in the same way, the +Barbadian declines to serve in the 1st West India Regiment, +because it is almost entirely composed of Jamaicans.</p> + +<p>While the negroes of the West Indies have thus lost +all their tribal peculiarities in the natural course of progress +and civilisation, those of West Africa have remained at +a standstill; and there is to-day as much difference between +the hideous and debased Eboe and the stately and dignified +Mandingo, between the docile Fanti and the bloodthirsty +Ashanti, as there was one hundred and fifty years ago. +Civilising influences have made this contrast between the +Africans and their West India descendants still more striking. +The latter have, since the abolition of slavery, been living +independent lives, in close contact with civilisation, and +enjoying all the rights of manhood under British laws. +From their earliest infancy they have known no language +but the English, and no religion but Christianity; while +the former are still barbarians, grovelling in fetishism, cursed +with slavery, ignorant, debased, and wantonly cruel. The +West India negro has so much contempt for his African +cousin, that he invariably speaks of him by the ignominious +title of "bushman." In fact, the former considers himself +in every respect an Englishman, and the anecdote of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span> +West India negro, who, being rather roughly jolted by +a Frenchman on board a mail steamer, turned round to +him and ejaculated, "I think you forget that we beat +you at Waterloo," is no exaggeration.</p> + +<p>Just as the negro races of West Africa are distinct from +one another, and the West India negro from all, so are +the coloured inhabitants of both those parts of the world +entirely distinct from the Kaffir tribes of South Africa; +and a coalition between Galeka or Zulu inhabitants and +West India troops would be as impossible as the fraternisation +of a Territorial battalion with the natives of India. +Apart, however, from the fact that negro troops could always +be safely employed alone outside the colony in which they +were bred, history has shown that the fidelity of West +India soldiers is beyond question. Indeed it would be +difficult to say what stronger ties there could be than those +of sentiment, language, and religion, and the association +from childhood with British manners, customs, laws, and +modes of thought. When to these are added discipline, the +habit of obedience, and that well-known affection for their +officers and their regiment which is so particularly an +attribute of the West India soldier, it must be acknowledged +that the guarantees of fidelity are, with the single exception +of race, at least as good as those of the linesmen.</p> + +<p>In India, the native army consists of men hostile to us +by tradition, creed, and race, who consider their food defiled +if even the shadow of a British officer should chance to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span> +fall across it, and assuredly it would be as safe a proceeding +to garrison our colonies with English negroes as to garrison +India with such men. Yet that is done at the present day, +and excites no remark.</p> + +<p>The English-speaking negro of the West Indies is most +excellent material for a soldier. He is docile, patient, brave, +and faithful, and for an officer who knows how to gain +his affection—an easy matter, requiring only justness, good +temper, and an ear ready to listen patiently to any tale +of real or imaginary grievance—he will do anything. Of +course they are not perfect; they have their faults, like +all soldiers, and when they chance to be commanded by +an officer who is unnecessarily harsh, or who speaks roughly +to them, they manifest their displeasure by passive obedience +and a stubborn sullenness. English soldiers, on the other +hand, under such circumstances, proceed to acts of insubordination, +and it is for military judges to say which mode +of expression they prefer.</p> + +<p>The West African negro does not appear to such advantage +as a soldier. Although all the specimens, with +the exception of the Sierra Leone negro, possess the first +necessary qualification of personal courage, they are dull +and stupid, and cannot be transformed into intelligent +soldiers. It may be wondered why the Sierra Leonean, +who alone among the West Africans is an English-speaking +negro, should be worse than his more barbarian neighbours; +but I believe the solution may be found in the fact that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span> +the large proportion of slaves landed in former days at +Sierra Leone from captured slavers were so-called Eboes, +from the tribes of the Niger delta; which tribes all ethnologists +are agreed in describing as among the lowest of the +African races, and which, it may be remarked, are even +at the present day addicted to cannibalism. The West +African soldier is a mere machine, who mechanically obeys +orders, and never ventures, under any circumstances, to act +or think for himself. Should an African be placed on sentry, +he fulfils to the letter the orders read to him by the non-commissioned +officer who posts him, but frequently entirely +ignores their spirit. Sometimes this is productive of amusing +incidents. For instance, some years ago, among the orders +for the sentry posted at Government House, Sierra Leone, +was one to the effect that no one was to be permitted +to leave the premises after dark carrying a parcel. This +order had been issued at the request of the Governor, to +prevent pilfering on the part of his servants. One evening +the Governor was coming out of his house with a small +despatch-box, when, to his surprise, he was stopped by +the sentry, an old African.</p> + +<p>"But I'm the Governor," said the astonished administrator, +"and I had that order made myself. You mustn't stop me."</p> + +<p>"Me no care if you be Gubnor or not," replied the +imperturbable African. "The corporal gib de order, and +you no can pass." And Her Majesty's representative had +to turn back and leave his despatch-box at home.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + +<p>The greatest objection to the African, however, is the +strange fact that no amount of care or attention on the part +of his instructors can ever make him a good or even a fair +shot. In the 1st West India Regiment there are still a +few Africans remaining, most of whom have from twelve +to eighteen years' service; and who have annually expended +their rounds without hitting the target more than once +or twice during the whole musketry course. Give these +men a rifle rested on a tripod, and tell them to align the +sights upon some given mark, and they cannot do it. They +will frequently aim a foot or two to the right or left of +an object only a few yards distant. Every possible plan +has been tried to make them improve, but all have equally +failed; and, in consequence, Africans are not now enlisted. +Still, although on account of this failing, African troops +could never, in these days of long-range firing, meet +Europeans in the field, a battalion of Africans would be +quite good enough for bush fighting against an enemy like +the Ashanti, a still worse marksman, and worse armed; or +against tribes armed with the spear or assegai.</p> + +<p>Of course one reason of the African's dulness is that +until he enlists, that is until he is from twenty-four to thirty +years of age, he has never exercised his mind in any way; +and the long years of mental idleness have produced a +sluggishness which makes it extremely difficult for him to +acquire anything new that requires thought. After enlisting, +he picks up a species of unintelligible English, but that is<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span> +the most that he can do. It is pitiful to see these men, +some of them now old, struggling day after day, according +to regulation, in the regimental school, to learn their letters. +It is to them the greatest punishment that could be inflicted, +and though they attend school for years, they rarely succeed +in doing more than master the alphabet.</p> + +<p>In former days, whenever the cargo of a captured slaver +was landed at Sierra Leone, a party from the garrison used +to be admitted to the Liberated African Yard for the purpose +of seeking recruits amongst the slaves. Many of the latter, +pleased with the brilliant uniform, and talked over by the +recruiting party, who were men specially selected for this +duty on account of their knowledge of African languages, +offered themselves as recruits. If medically fit, they were +invariably accepted, though it must have been well known that +they could not possibly have had any idea of the nature +of the engagement into which they were entering. Some +fifteen or twenty recruits being thus obtained, they were +given high-sounding names, such as Mark Antony, Scipio +Africanus, etc., their own barbaric appellations being too +unpronounceable, and then marched down in a body to the +cathedral to be baptised. Some might be Mohammedans, +and the majority certainly believers in fetish, but the form +of requiring their assent to a change in their religion was +never gone through; and the following Sunday they were +marched into church as a matter of course, along with their +Christian comrades. Although thus nominally christianised,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span> +they still remained at heart believers in fetish, for it is +a remarkable fact that no adult West African has ever +become a bonâ-fide convert, and the missionaries have long +since given up attempting to proselytise grown persons, +reserving all their efforts for children. Holding, as they +did, in great dread all fetish, or obeah, practices; usually +someone amongst them, more cunning than the rest, professed +an acquaintance with the supposed diabolical ritual; +and gained influence with, and extorted money from, his +more timid comrades. Officers now in the 1st West India +Regiment can remember the time when, there being many +Africans in the regiment, the feathers of parrots or scraps +of rags might be found in the neighbourhood of the orderly +room. Whenever this was the case, it was known that an +African was about to be brought before his commanding +officer for some neglect of duty or breach of discipline; and +these fetishes had been placed there to induce the colonel to +deal leniently with the offender. Ridiculous as this practice +must seem to every educated person, it sometimes produced the +most serious effects upon the credulous Africans; and I have +heard old officers speak of instances, which came within their +own knowledge, of soldiers who, having found old bones, +broken pieces of calabashes, or glass, placed on their beds, +immediately resigned themselves to death, saying that +"fetish was thrown upon them," and in nine cases out of +twelve, so certain were they that it was impossible to escape +the coming doom, they positively frightened or worried them<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>selves +to death. The professors of fetishism likewise drove +a good trade in amulets which rendered the wearer invulnerable. +On one occasion at Sierra Leone, a young African +who had been recently enlisted displayed with much pride a +gri-gri or amulet which he wore on his wrist, and which, +he asserted, rendered him invulnerable. His West India +comrades laughed at him; and the African, indignant at the +doubt thrown upon the efficacy of his charm, drew his knife, +and, before he could be stopped, plunged it into his thigh to +prove that he spoke the truth. His eyes were opened, +unfortunately, too late; for though he was at once removed +to the hospital, he died from the effects of this self-inflicted +wound. In West India regiments the practice of fetish was +made a military crime, and was severely punished. Sufferers +or imaginary sufferers from fetishism, however, rarely complained +to their officers, for they believed that the occult art +practised by the professor was superior to any power held by +man, and consequently, culprits were but seldom detected. +With the disappearance of Africans from West India +regiments, the offence of fetishism has, however, also +disappeared.</p> + +<p>Military crime in West India regiments is of comparatively +rare occurrence. Even when the 3rd West India +Regiment was in existence, there was less in the three negro +regiments than in one of the Line; while drunkenness is +confined to the few black sheep who will be found in every +body of men. Riots or disturbances between West India<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> +soldiers and the inhabitants of the towns in which they are +quartered are unheard of, and in every garrison they receive +the highest praise for their unvarying good and quiet +behaviour. In fact they are merry, good-tempered, and +orderly men, who do not wish to interfere with anyone; +and, owing to their temperate habits, they are not led +into the commission of offences by the influence of drink. +Of course, the popular idea in Great Britain of the negro +is that he is a person who commonly wears a dilapidated +tall hat, cotton garments of brilliant hue, carries a banjo +or concertina, and indulges in extraordinary cachinnations +at the smallest pretext; but this is as far from the truth +as the creature of imagination in the opposite extreme, +evoked by the vivid fancy of Mrs. Beecher Stowe.</p> + +<p>The bravery of the West India soldier in action has +often been tested, and as long as an officer remains alive to +lead not a man will flinch. His favourite weapon is the +bayonet; and the principal difficulty with him in action is to +hold him back, so anxious is he to close with his enemy. It +is unnecessary here to refer to individual acts of gallantry +performed by soldiers of the 1st West India Regiment, they +being fully set forth in the following history; but of such +performed by soldiers of other West India regiments the two +following now occur to me.</p> + +<p>Private Samuel Hodge, a pioneer of the 3rd West India +Regiment, was awarded the Victoria Cross for conspicuous +bravery at the storming of the Mohammedan stockade at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> +Tubarcolong (the White Man's Well), on the River Gambia, +on the 30th of May, 1866. Under a heavy fire from the concealed +enemy, by which one officer was killed and an officer +and thirteen men severely wounded, Hodge, and another +pioneer named Boswell, chopped and tore away with their +hands the logs of wood forming the stockade, Boswell falling +nobly just as an opening was effected. Again, in 1873, +during the Ashanti War—when it was reported, on the +5th of December, by natives at Yancoomassie Assin that +the Ashanti army had retired across the Prah—two soldiers +of the 2nd West India Regiment volunteered to go on alone +to the river and ascertain if the report were true. On their +return they reported all clear to the Prah; and said they +had written their names on a piece of paper and posted it +up. Six days later, when the advanced party of the expeditionary +force marched into Prahsu, this paper was found +fastened to a tree on the banks of the river. At the time +that this voluntary act was performed it must be remembered +that, on the 27th of November, the British and their allies +had met with a serious repulse at Faisowah, through pressing +too closely upon the retiring Ashantis; that this repulse +was considered both by the Ashantis and by our native +allies as a set-off against the failure of the attack on +Abracampa; that the Houssa levy was in a state of panic, +and no reliable information as to the position of the enemy +was obtainable. It was under such circumstances that these +two men advanced nearly sixteen miles into an (to them)<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> +unknown tract of solitary forest, to follow up an enemy that +never spared life, and whose whereabouts was doubtful.</p> + +<p>Other qualifications apart, however, West India troops +have proved themselves of the very greatest value on active +service in tropical climates from the very fact that, being +natives of the tropics, they can undergo fatigue and exposure +that would be fatal to European soldiers. In campaigns +in which both the West India and the European soldier +are employed, all the hard and unpleasant work is thrown +upon the former, and the publication in general orders of +the thanks of the officer in command of the force is the +only acknowledgment he receives; for newspaper correspondents, +naturally anxious to swell the circulation of the +journals they represent, while giving the most minute details +of the doings of the white soldier, leave out in the cold his +black comrade, who has few friends among the reading +public of Great Britain. Occasionally, facts are even misrepresented. +For instance, the defence of Fommanah, on +the 2nd of February, 1874, which was really effected by a +detachment of the 1st West India Regiment, was, in an +account telegraphed to one London daily paper, attributed +to the 23rd Regiment, of which corps there were only six or +seven men in the place, and those in hospital.</p> + +<p>On the last occasion on which West India troops served +with Line battalions, namely in the Ashanti War of 1873-74, +West India soldiers daily marched twice and even three +times the distance traversed by the white troops; and, south<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> +of the Prah, searched the country for miles on both sides of +the line of advance, in search of carriers. It is not too much +to say, that if the two West India regiments had not been +on the Gold Coast, no advance on Coomassie would, that +year, have been possible. In December, 1873, the transport +broke down; there was a deadlock along the road; each +half-battalion of the European troops was detained in the +camp it occupied, and the 23rd Regiment had to be re-embarked +for want of carriers. The fate of the expedition +was trembling in the balance, and the control officers were +unanimous in declaring that a further advance was impossible, +and that the troops in front would have to return +by forced marches. Prior to this, the want of transport +had been felt to such an extent that the West India soldiers +had been placed on half rations; a step, however, which was +not followed by any diminution of work, which remained +as hard as ever. In this emergency the two West India +regiments, with the 42nd—to whom all honour be due—volunteered +to carry supplies, in addition to their arms, +accoutrements, and ammunition. They acted as carriers +for several days, and moved such quantities of provisions +to the front that the pressure was removed and a further +advance made possible. Even if more carriers had been +obtained from the already ransacked native villages, they +could not have arrived in time, for the rainy season was +fast approaching and the delay of a fortnight would have +been fatal.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p> + +<p>There was a peculiar irony of fate in the expedition being +thus relieved of its most pressing difficulties through the +exertions of the West India regiments. It had been +Sir Garnet Wolseley's original intention to take into +Ashanti territory only the Rifle Brigade, the 23rd, and +the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments; and, on the arrival +of the hired transport, <i>Sarmatian</i>, he wrote, on the 15th +of December, that he did not propose landing the +42nd. In the course of the next three days, however, he +changed his views, and, in his letter of the 18th December, +gave as his reason: "I find that the one great obstacle to +the employment of a third battalion of English troops, viz., +the difficulty of transport, is as great in the case of a West +India regiment. The West India soldier has the same +rations as the European soldier, and a West India regiment +requires, man for man, exactly the same amount of transport +as a European regiment." The 42nd, therefore, was to be +landed and taken to the front, while the 1st West India +Regiment was to remain at Cape Coast Castle and Elmina +as a reserve. Afterwards, when the transport failed, it was +found that the West India soldier could do the work of the +European on half rations, and carry his own supplies as +well.</p> + +<p>West India regiments at the present day labour under +many disadvantages. Owing to the two battalions having +to furnish garrisons for colonies which really require three, +they are alternately for one period of three years divided<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span> +into three detachments, and for the next period of three +years into six. No lieutenant-colonel of a West India +regiment can ever see the whole of his regiment together. +The largest number that, under present circumstances, he +can ever have under him at any one station is four +companies; and the most he can have under his actual +command at any one time is six companies on board +a troopship. Thus in a regiment there are sometimes +three, and sometimes six, officers vested with the power of +an officer commanding a detachment; and however conscientiously +they may endeavour to follow out a regimental +system, every individual has naturally a different manner +of dealing with men, and a certain amount of homogeneousness +is lost to the regiment as a whole.</p> + +<p>Endless correspondence is entailed, and sometimes questions +have to remain open for months, until answers can +be received from distant detachments. In small garrisons, +also, drill becomes a mere farce; for, after the clerks, employed +men, and men on guard and in hospital are deducted, +there are perhaps only a dozen men or so left for parade. +In spite of all these drawbacks the regiments still maintain +a wonderful efficiency, and afford another proof of the soldierlike +qualities of the West India negro.</p> + +<p>Another disadvantage is that a West India regiment is +never seen in England, the British public knows nothing +of such regiments, has no friends, relatives, or acquaintances +in their ranks, and consequently takes no interest in them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> +Yet they are a remarkably fine body of men, and a picked +battalion of the Guards would look small beside them if +brigaded with them in Hyde Park. So little is known, that +I have sometimes been asked if the officers of West India +regiments are also black, and it is with a view to making +the regiment to which I have the honour to belong better +known to the public at large, that the following history +has been written. There has been no attempt at descriptive +writing, facts being merely collected from official documents, +so that the authenticity of the narrative may be unquestionable.</p> + +<p>In order that the earlier chapters may be the more +readily understood, it may be as well to state that, with +the 1st West India Regiment, which was called into existence +in the <i>London Gazette</i> of the 2nd of May, 1795, were +incorporated two other corps; of which one, the Carolina +Corps, had been in existence since 1779, while the other—Malcolm's, +or the Royal Rangers—had been raised in +January or February, 1795. It is from the Carolina Corps +that the 1st West India Regiment derives the Carolina laurel, +borne on the crest of the regiment.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE ACTION AT BRIAR CREEK, 1779—THE ACTION AT +STONO FERRY, 1779.</p> + + +<p>In the autumn of 1778, during the War of the American +Independence, the British commanders in North America +determined to make another attempt for the royal cause in +the Southern States of Georgia and South Carolina, which, +since the failure of Lord Cornwallis at the siege of Charlestown +in July, 1776, had been allowed to remain unmolested. +With this view they despatched Colonel Campbell, in +November, from New York, with the 71st Regiment, two +battalions of Hessians, three of Loyal Provincials,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and a +detachment of Artillery, the whole amounting to about 3500, +to make an attempt upon the town of Savannah, the capital +of Georgia. Arriving off the mouth of the Savannah River +on the 23rd of December, Colonel Campbell was so rapidly +successful, that, by the middle of January, not only was +Savannah in his hands, but Georgia itself was entirely cleared +of American troops.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span></p> +<p>It was about this time that the South Carolina Regiment, +the oldest branch of the 1st West India Regiment, was +raised. Numerous royalists joined the British camp and +were formed into various corps;<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> and the South Carolina +Regiment is first mentioned as taking part in the action at +Briar Creek on the 3rd of March, 1779,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> the corps then +being, according to Major-General Prevost's despatch, about +100 strong. The action at Briar Creek occurred as +follows:</p> + +<p>In the early part of 1779, General Prevost's<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> force was +distributed in posts along the frontier of Georgia; Hudson's +Ferry, twenty-four miles above Savannah, being the upper +extremity of the chain. Watching these posts was the +American general, Lincoln, with the main body of the +American Army of the South, at Purrysburgh, about twenty +miles above Savannah, and General Ashe, who was posted +with about 2000 of the Militia of North and South Carolina +and Georgia, at Briar Creek, near the point where it falls +into the Savannah River.</p> + +<p>General Ashe's position appeared most secure, his left +being covered by the Savannah with its marshes, and his +front by Briar Creek, which was about twenty feet broad,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> +and unfordable at that point and for several miles above it; +nevertheless, General Prevost determined to surprise him. +For the purpose of amusing General Lincoln, he made a +show of an intention to pass the river; and, in order to +occupy the attention of Ashe, he ordered a party to appear +in his front, on the opposite side of Briar Creek. Meanwhile +General Prevost, with 900 chosen men, made an extensive +circuit, passed Briar Creek fifteen miles above the American +position, gained their rear unperceived, and was almost in +their camp before they discovered his approach. The surprise +was as complete as could be wished. Whole regiments fled +without firing a shot, and numbers without even attempting +to seize their arms; they ran in their confusion into the +marsh, and swam across the river, in which numbers of +them were drowned. The Continental troops, under General +Elbert, and a regiment of North Carolina Militia, alone +offered resistance; but they were not long able to maintain +the unequal conflict, and, being overpowered, were compelled +to surrender. The Americans lost from 300 to 400 men, +and seven pieces of cannon. The British lost five men +killed, and one officer and ten men wounded.</p> + +<p>After this success, the British and American forces remained +on opposite sides of the River Savannah, until the +end of April, when General Lincoln, thinking the swollen +state of the river and the inundation of the marshes was +sufficient protection for the lower districts, withdrew his +forces further inland, leaving General Moultrie with 1000<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> +men at Black Swamp. By this movement Lincoln left +Charlestown exposed to the British. General Prevost at +once took advantage of this, and, on the 29th of April, +suddenly crossed the river, near Purrysburgh, with 2500 +men, among whom was the South Carolina Regiment, which +had been considerably increased by accessions of loyalists +and freed negroes.</p> + +<p>General Prevost advanced rapidly into the country, the +militia under Moultrie, who had considered the swamps impassable, +offering but a feeble resistance, and retiring hastily, +destroying the bridges in their rear. On the 11th of May, +the British force crossed the Ashley River a few miles +above Charlestown, and, advancing along the neck formed +by the Ashley and Cooper Rivers, established itself at a +little more than cannon-shot from the city. A continued +succession of skirmishes took place on that day and the +ensuing night, and on the following morning Charlestown +was summoned to surrender.</p> + +<p>Negotiations were broken off in the evening, much to the +disappointment of the British general, who had been led +to suppose that a large proportion of the inhabitants were +favourable to the royal cause, and that the city would fall +easily into his hands. He now found himself in a dangerous +predicament. He was without siege guns, before lines defended +by a considerable force of artillery, and flanked by +shipping; he was involved in a labyrinth of creeks and rivers, +where a defeat would have been fatal, and General Lincoln<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> +with a force equal, if not superior to his own, was fast +approaching for the relief of the city. Taking all this into +consideration, General Prevost prudently struck camp that +night, and, under cover of the darkness, the direct line of +retreat on Savannah being closed, returned to the south side +of the Ashley River. From thence the army passed to the +islands of St. James and St. John, lying to the southward +of Charlestown harbour, and commencing that succession of +islands and creeks which extends along the coast from +Charlestown to Savannah.</p> + +<p>In these islands the army awaited supplies from New +York, of which it was much in need; and, on the arrival of +two frigates, it commenced to move to the island of Port +Royal, which at the same time would afford good quarters +for the troops during the intense heats, and, from its vicinity +to Savannah, and its excellent harbour, was the best position +that could be chosen for covering Georgia.</p> + +<p>Directly General Lincoln discovered what was taking +place, he advanced to attack. St. John's Island is separated +from the mainland by a narrow inlet, called Stono River, +and communication between the mainland and the island +was kept up by a ferry. On the mainland, at this ferry, +General Prevost had established a post, consisting of three +redoubts, joined by lines of communication; and, to cover +the movement of the army to Port Royal Island, he here +posted Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland with the 1st Battalion +of the 71st Regiment, a weak battalion of Hessians, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> +North Carolina Regiment, and the South Carolina Regiment, +amounting in the whole to about 800 men.</p> + +<p>On the 20th of June, General Lincoln made a determined +attempt to force the passage, attacking with a force variously +estimated at from 1200 to 5000 men and eight guns. Lieutenant-Colonel +Maitland's advanced posts, consisting of the +South Carolina Regiment, were some distance in front of his +works; and a smart firing between them and the Americans +gave him the first warning of the approach of the enemy. +He instantly sent out two companies of the 71st from his +right to ascertain the force of the assailants. The Highlanders +had proceeded only a quarter of a mile when they +met the outposts retiring before the enemy. A fierce conflict +ensued. Instead of retreating before superior numbers, +the Highlanders persisted in the unequal combat till all their +officers were either killed or wounded, of the two companies +eleven men only returned to the garrison; and the British +force was sadly diminished, and its safety consequently +imperilled by this mistaken valour.</p> + +<p>The whole American line now advanced to within three +hundred yards of the works, and a general engagement +began, which was maintained with much courage and +steadiness on both sides. At length the regiment of +Hessians on the British left gave way, and the Americans, +in spite of the obstinate resistance of the two Carolina +regiments, were on the point of entering the works, when a +judicious flank movement of the remainder of the 71st<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> +checked the advance; and General Lincoln, apprehensive of +the arrival of British reinforcements from the island, drew off +his men, and retired in good order, taking his wounded with +him.</p> + +<p>The battle lasted upwards of an hour. The British had +3 officers and 19 rank and file killed, and 4 officers and +85 rank and file wounded. The South Carolina Regiment +had Major William Campbell and 1 sergeant killed, 1 captain, +1 sergeant, and 3 rank and file wounded.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> The Americans +lost 5 officers and 35 men killed, 19 officers and 120 men +wounded.</p> + +<p>Three days after the battle, the British troops evacuated +the post at Stono Ferry, and also the island of St. John, +passing along the coast from island to island till they reached +Beaufort in the island of Port Royal. Here General Prevost +left a garrison under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel +Maitland, and proceeded with the remainder of his force, +with which was the South Carolina Regiment, to the town of +Savannah.</p> + +<p>The heat had now become too intense for active service; +and the care of the officers was employed in preserving their +men from the fevers of the season, and keeping them in a +condition for service next campaign, which was expected to +open in October.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> De Lancey's Corps, the New York Volunteers, and Skinner's Corps.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> "Annual Register," 1779, Beatson's "Memoirs," Gordon's "History +of the American War," etc. etc.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> Beatson's "Naval and Military Memoirs," vol. iv. p. 492.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Major-General Prevost had come from Florida and assumed +command in January.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> "Return of the killed, wounded, and missing at the repulse of the +Rebels at Stono Ferry, South Carolina, June 20th, 1779."</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE SIEGE OF SAVANNAH, 1779—THE SIEGE OF CHARLESTOWN, +1780—THE BATTLE OF HOBKERK'S HILL, 1781.</p> + + +<p>At the opening of the next campaign, although General +Prevost had been obliged to retire from Charlestown and +to abandon the upper parts of Georgia, yet, so long as he +kept possession of the town of Savannah and maintained +a post at Port Royal Island, South Carolina was exposed +to incursions. The Americans, therefore, pressed the French +admiral, Count D'Estaing, to repair to the Savannah River, +hoping, by his aid, to drive the British from Georgia. +D'Estaing, in compliance, sailed from Cape François, in +St. Domingo; and with twenty-two sail of the line and +a number of smaller vessels, having 4800 French regular +troops on board and several hundred black troops from +the West Indies, appeared off the Savannah so unexpectedly +that the <i>Experiment</i>, a British fifty-gun ship, fell into his +hands. On the appearance of the French fleet, on September +9th, General Prevost immediately called in all his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> +outposts in Georgia, sent orders to Lieutenant-Colonel +Maitland, at Port Royal, to rejoin him at once, and exerted +himself to strengthen the defences of the town of Savannah.</p> + +<p>For the first three or four days after the arrival of the +fleet, the French were employed in moving their troops +through the Ossabaw Inlet to Beaulieu, about thirteen miles +above the town of Savannah. On the 15th of September, +the French, with a party of American light horse, attacked +the British outposts, and General Prevost withdrew all his +force into his works.</p> + +<p>On the 16th, D'Estaing summoned the place to surrender. +Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland's force had not yet arrived, the +works were still incomplete, and General Prevost was desirous +of gaining time; he consequently requested a suspension of +hostilities for twenty-four hours. This was granted, and in +that critical interval Lieutenant-Colonel Maitland, by the +most extraordinary efforts—for one of General Prevost's messengers +had fallen into the hands of the enemy, who had at +once seized all the principal lines of communication—arrived +with the garrison of Port Royal, and entered the town. +Encouraged by this accession of strength, General Prevost +now informed Count D'Estaing that he was resolved to +defend the place to the last extremity. On the 17th, +D'Estaing had been joined by General Lincoln with some +3000 men, which, with the French troops, raised the total +besieging force to something over 8000. The besieged did not +exceed 3000.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span></p> + +<p>The enemy spent several days in bringing up guns and +stores from the fleet, and on the 23rd the besieging army +broke ground before the town. On the 1st of October, they +had advanced to within 300 yards of the British works. On +the morning of the 4th of October, several batteries, mounting +thirty-three pieces of heavy cannon and nine mortars, with a +floating battery of sixteen guns on the river, opened fire on +the town. For several days they played incessantly on the +garrison, and there was continued skirmishing between the +negroes of the Carolina regiments and the enemy.<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a></p> + +<p>On the morning of the 9th of October, the enemy, under +a furious cannonade, advanced to storm in three columns, +with a force of 3000 French under D'Estaing in person, +and 1500 Americans under Lincoln. General Prevost, in +his despatch to Lord George Germain, dated Savannah, +November 1st, 1779, says: "However, the principal attack, +composed of the flower of the French and rebel armies, and +led by D'Estaing in person, with all the principal officers of +either, was made upon our right. Under cover of the hollow, +they advanced in three columns; but having taken a wider +circuit than they needed, and gone deeper in the bog, they +neither came so early as they intended nor, I believe, in the +same order. The attack, however, was very spirited, and +for some time obstinately persevered in, particularly on +the Ebenezer Road Redoubt. Two stand of colours were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> +actually planted, and several of the assailants killed upon +the parapet; but they met with so determined a resistance, +and the fire of three seamen batteries, taking them in almost +every direction, was so severe, that they were thrown into +some disorder, at least at a stand; and at this most critical +moment, Major Glasier, of the 60th, with the 60th Grenadiers +and the Marines, advancing rapidly from the lines, charged +(it may be said) with a degree of fury; in an instant the ditches +of the redoubt and a battery to its right in rear were cleared.... +Lieutenant-Colonel de Porbeck, of Weissenbach's, +being field officer of the day of the right wing, and, being +in the redoubt when the attack began, had an opportunity, +which he well improved, to signalise himself in a most gallant +manner; and it is but justice to mention to your lordships +the troops who defended it. They were part of the South +Carolina Royalists, the Light Dragoons (dismounted), and +the battalion men of the 4th 60th, in all about 100 +men, commanded (by a special order) by Captain James, +of the Dragoons (Lieutenant 71st), a good and gallant officer, +and who nobly fell with his sword in the body of the third +he had killed with his own hand."</p> + +<p>After their repulse from the Ebenezer Redoubt, the +enemy retired, and, a few days afterwards, the siege was +raised, the Americans crossing the Savannah at Zubly's +Ferry and taking up a position in South Carolina, while the +French embarked in their fleet and sailed away. During +the assault the French lost 700 and the Americans 240<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> +killed. The British loss was 55, four of whom belonged to +the South Carolina Regiment, who were killed in the redoubt, +where also Captain Henry, of that corps, was wounded.</p> + +<p>According to the "Journal of the Siege of Savannah," +p. 39, the garrison of the redoubt in the Ebenezer Road +was as follows:</p> + +<p><span style="margin-left: 1em;">28 Dismounted Dragoons.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">28 Battalion men of the 60th Regiment.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">54 South Carolina Regiment.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 0.5em;">110</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>In the same work is the following: "Two rebel standards +were once fixed on the redoubt in the Ebenezer Road; one +of them was carried off again, and the other, which belonged +to the 2nd Carolina Regiment, was taken. After the retreat +of the enemy from our right, 270 men, chiefly French, were +found dead; upwards of 80 of whom lay in the ditch and +on the parapet of the redoubt, and 93 were within our +abattis."</p> + +<p>The strength of the South Carolina Regiment at the +termination of the siege was: 1 colonel (Colonel Innes), +1 major, 4 captains, 7 lieutenants, 3 ensigns, 15 sergeants, +7 drummers, and 216 rank and file.</p> + +<p>Nothing of note took place in Georgia and South Carolina +till January, 1780, when Sir Henry Clinton arrived in the +Savannah River with a force destined for the reduction of +Charlestown. He had sailed from New York on the 26th +of December, 1779, and, having experienced bad weather,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span> +put into the Savannah to repair damages. Sir H. Clinton +selected a portion of General Prevost's force at Savannah +to take part in the coming operations, and among the +corps so selected was the South Carolina Regiment, which +is shown in the return of troops at the capture of Charlestown +as "joined from Savannah."</p> + +<p>On the 10th of February, the armament sailed to North +Edisto, where the troops disembarked, taking possession +of the island of St. John next day without opposition. On +the 29th of March, the army reached Ashley River and +crossed it ten miles above Charlestown; then, the artillery +and stores having been brought over, Sir H. Clinton marched +down Charlestown Neck, and, on the night of the 1st of +April, broke ground at 800 yards from the American works. +The garrison of the city consisted of 2000 regular troops, +1000 North Carolina Militia, and the male inhabitants of +the place.</p> + +<p>On the 9th of April, the first parallel was finished, and +the batteries opened fire; and Charlestown finally capitulated, +after an uneventful siege, on the 12th of May. In the "Return +of the killed and wounded" during the siege, the South +Carolina Regiment is shown as having had three rank and +file wounded.</p> + +<p>Sir H. Clinton sailed from Charlestown on the 5th of +June, leaving Lord Cornwallis in command. The latter +meditated an expedition into North Carolina, and, for the +preservation of South Carolina during his absence with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> +the main body of the troops, he established a chain of posts +along the frontier. One of these posts was at Ninety-six, and +for its defence was detailed the South Carolina Regiment, +under Colonel Innes, with Allen's corps, "the 16th and +three other companies of Light Infantry."<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> Lieutenant-Colonel +Balfour was then in command of the post, but was +soon after relieved by Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger.</p> + +<p>The garrison of Ninety-six remained undisturbed till +September, 1780, when, Lord Cornwallis having moved +into North Carolina and occupied Charlotte, Georgia was +almost denuded of troops; and an American leader, Colonel +Clarke, took advantage of this to attack the British post +at Augusta. Lieutenant-Colonel Brown, who commanded +there with 150 men, finding the town untenable, retired +towards an eminence on the banks of the Savannah, named +Garden Hill, and sent intelligence of his situation to Ninety-six. +Lieutenant-Colonel Cruger, with the 16th and the +South Carolina Regiment, at once marched to his relief. +Colonel Clarke, who had captured the British guns and +was besieging the garrison of Garden Hill, upon being +informed of Cruger's approach raised the siege, and, abandoning +the guns which he had taken, retreated so hurriedly that, +though pursued for some distance, he effected his escape.</p> + +<p>In the spring of 1781, Lord Cornwallis had again invaded +North Carolina, and, having defeated the American general,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> +Greene, at Guildford Court House, had continued his march +towards Virginia, expecting the enemy to make every effort +to prevent the army entering that state. General Greene, +however, allowed Lord Cornwallis to pass on, and then, +having assembled a considerable body of troops, made a +sudden descent upon the British posts in South Carolina, +where Lord Rawdon had been left in command. These posts +were in a line from Charlestown by the way of Camden and +Ninety-six, to Augusta in Georgia. Camden was the most important, +and there Lord Rawdon had taken post with 900 men.</p> + +<p>On the 20th of April, 1781, General Greene appeared +before Camden, which was a village situated on a plain, +covered on the south by the Wateree, a river which higher +up is called the Catawba; and below, after its confluence +with the Congaree from the south, assumes the name of the +Santee. On the east of it flowed Pinetree Creek; on the +northern and western sides it was defended by a strong +chain of redoubts, six in number, extending from the river +to the creek. Lord Rawdon's force was so small that the +approach of Greene to Camden necessitated the abandonment +of the ferry on the Wateree, "although the South +Carolina Regiment was on its way to join him from Ninety-six, +and that was its direct course; he had, however, taken +his measures so well as to secure the passage of that regiment +upon its arrival three days after."<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span></p> +<p>General Greene, whose force amounted to 1200 men, +determined to await reinforcements before attacking, and +on the 24th of April he retired to Hobkerk's Hill, an eminence +about a mile north of Camden, on the road to the +Waxhaws. Here Lord Rawdon resolved to attack him, and +on the morning of the 25th, with 900 men, he marched from +Camden, and, by making a circuit, and keeping close to the +edge of the swamp, under cover of the woods, he gained the +left flank of the Americans, where the hill was most accessible, +undiscovered.</p> + +<p>The alarm was given, while the Americans were at breakfast, +by the firing of the outposts, and at this critical moment +a reinforcement of American militia arrived. So confident was +General Greene of success that he ordered Lieutenant-Colonel +Washington, with his cavalry, to turn the right flank of the +British and to charge them in the rear, while bodies of +infantry were to assail them in front and on both flanks.</p> + +<p>The American advanced parties were driven in by the +British after a sharp skirmish, and Lord Rawdon advanced +steadily to attack the main body of the enemy. The 63rd +Regiment, with the volunteers of Ireland, formed his right; +the King's American Regiment, with Robertson's corps, composed +his left; the New York volunteers were in the centre. +The South Carolina Regiment and the cavalry were in the +rear and formed a reserve.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> +<p>Such was the impetuosity of the British that, in the face +of a destructive discharge of grape, they gained the summit +of the hill and pierced the American centre. The militia fell +into confusion, their officers were unable to rally them, and +General Greene ordered a retreat. The pursuit was continued +for nearly three miles. The Americans halted for the night +at Saunders' Creek, about four miles from Hobkerk's Hill, +and next day proceeded to Rugeley Mills, about twelve miles +from Camden. After the engagement the British returned to +Camden. The American loss was 300; the British lost 258 +out of about 900 who were on the field.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> "The True History of the Siege of Savannah," published 1780.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> "The Campaigns of 1780 and 1781, in the Southern Provinces of +North America," by Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, London, 1787.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> Tarleton, p. 461.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> "Martial Register," vol. iii. p. 110.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE RELIEF OF NINETY-SIX, 1781—THE BATTLE OF EUTAW +SPRINGS, 1781—REMOVAL TO THE WEST INDIES.</p> + + +<p>Lord Rawdon was not in a position to follow up his success +at Hobkerk's Hill, and on the 3rd of May, 1781, Greene +passed the Wateree, and occupied such positions as to prevent +the garrison at Camden obtaining supplies. Generals +Marion and Lee were also posted at Nelson's Ferry, to +prevent Colonel Watson, who was advancing with 400 men, +from joining Lord Rawdon, and Watson was obliged to alter +his route. He marched down the north side of the Santee, +crossed it near its mouth, with incredible labour advanced +up its southern bank, recrossed it above the encampment +of Marion and Lee, and arrived safely with his detachment at +Camden on the 7th of May.</p> + +<p>Thus reinforced, Lord Rawdon determined to attack +Greene, and, on the night of the 8th, marched from Camden +with his whole force. Greene, who had been informed of +this movement, passed the Wateree and took up a strong<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> +position behind Saunders' Creek. Lord Rawdon followed +him and drove in his outposts, but, finding the position +was too strong for his small force, he returned to Camden.</p> + +<p>Camden being too far advanced a post for Lord Rawdon +to hold with the few troops at his disposal, he evacuated it +on the 10th of May, and retired by Nelson's Ferry to the +south of the Santee, and afterwards to Monk's Corner. In +the meantime, attacks were made on the British posts in +Georgia, Augusta itself being taken on the 5th of June, +while the post of Ninety-six in South Carolina was closely +invested by General Greene with the main American army in +the Southern States.</p> + +<p>About this time, a change took place in the South +Carolina Regiment. Lord Rawdon, in a letter to Lieutenant-General +Earl Cornwallis, dated Charlestown, June 5th, 1781, +speaks of the difficulty which he has experienced in the +formation of cavalry, and goes on to say that the inhabitants +of Charlestown having subscribed 3000 guineas for a corps +of dragoons, out of compliment to those gentlemen "I have +ordered the South Carolina Regiment to be converted into +cavalry, and I have the prospect of their being mounted +and completely appointed in a few days."</p> + +<p>On the 3rd of June, Lord Rawdon had received considerable +reinforcements from England, and on the 9th he +left Charlestown with about 2000 men, including the South +Carolina Regiment in its new capacity, for the relief of +Ninety-six. In their rapid progress over the whole extent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> +of South Carolina, through a wild country and under a +burning sun, the sufferings of the troops were severe, but +they advanced with celerity to the assistance of their +comrades. On the 11th of June, General Greene received +notice of Lord Rawdon's march, and immediately sent +Sumpter with the whole of the cavalry to keep in front of +the British army and retard its progress. Lord Rawdon, +however, passed Sumpter a little below the junction of the +Saluda and Broad Rivers, and that officer was never able +to regain his front.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, the Americans were pushing hard the +garrison of Ninety-six; they were nearly reduced to +extremities, and in a few days must have surrendered; but +the rapid advance of Lord Rawdon left Greene no alternative +but to storm or raise the siege. On the 18th of June, he +made a furious assault upon the place; but, after a desperate +conflict of nearly an hour, was compelled to retire. Next +day he retreated, crossing the Saluda on the 20th, and +encamping at Little River.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the 21st, Lord Rawdon arrived at +Ninety-six, and the same evening set out in pursuit of +Greene, who, however, retreated; and Rawdon, despairing +of overtaking him, returned to Ninety-six. He now found +it necessary to evacuate that position and contract his posts; +and, having destroyed the works, he marched towards the +Congaree. There, on the 1st of July, while out foraging, +two officers and forty dragoons of the South Carolina<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span> +Regiment were surrounded and taken prisoners by Lee's +Legion. This blow sadly crippled Lord Rawdon, who was +much in need of cavalry, and two days later he retreated +to Orangeburgh.</p> + +<p>The summer heats now coming on, Lord Rawdon proceeded +to England on sick leave, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel +Stuart in command of the troops in South Carolina and +Georgia. The new commander at once proceeded with the +army to the Congaree, and formed an encampment near its +junction with the Wateree.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of August, while Lieutenant-Colonel +Stuart was expecting a convoy of provisions from Charlestown, +he received information that General Greene, who had +been reinforced and was now at the head of 2500 men, was +moving towards Friday's Ferry on the Congaree. The +American cavalry was so numerous and enterprising that +the expected convoy, then at Martin's, fifty-six miles from +the British camp, would inevitably fall into their hands +unless protected by an escort of at least 400 men; and +Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart's force being too small to admit +of so considerable a body being detached without risk, he +determined to retreat by slow marches to Eutaw Springs, +about sixty miles north of Charlestown, and meet the convoy +on the way.</p> + +<p>General Greene followed the retiring British, and, on the +7th of September, arrived within seven miles of Eutaw +Springs. Being there reinforced by General Marion and his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> +corps, he resolved to attack next day. At six in the morning, +two deserters from the American army entered the British +camp, and informed Stuart of the approach of the enemy; +but little credit was given to their report. At that time +Major Coffin, with 140 infantry and 50 of the South +Carolina Regiment, was out foraging for roots and vegetables—the +army having neither corn nor bread—in the +direction in which the Americans were advancing. About +four miles from the camp at Eutaw, that party was attacked +by the American advanced guard and driven in with loss. +Their return convinced Colonel Stuart of the approach of +the enemy, and the British army was soon drawn up obliquely +across the road on the height near Eutaw Springs.</p> + +<p>The firing began between two and three miles from the +British camp. The British light parties were driven in on their +main body, and the first line of the Americans attacked with +great impetuosity. For a short time the conflicting ranks were +intermingled, and the officers fought hand to hand. At that +critical moment, General Lee, who had turned the left flank +of the British, charged them in the rear. They were broken +and driven off the field, their guns falling into the hands of +the Americans, who eagerly pressed on their retreating +adversaries.</p> + +<p>At this crisis, Colonel Stuart ordered a strong detachment +to take post in a large three-storey brick house, which was +in rear of the army on the right, while another occupied +an adjoining palisaded garden, and some close underwood.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> +The Americans made the most desperate efforts to dislodge +them from their posts; but every attack was met with +determined courage. Four pieces of artillery were brought +to bear on the house, but made no impression on its solid +walls, from which a close and destructive fire was kept up, +as well as from the adjoining enclosure. Almost all the +gunners were killed and wounded; and the guns had been +pushed so near the house that they could not be brought +off. Colonel Washington attempted to turn the British +right, and charge them in rear; but his horse was shot +under him, and he was wounded and made prisoner. After +every attempt to dislodge the British from their position +had failed, General Greene drew off his men, and retired to +the ground which he had left in the morning. This conflict +had lasted nearly four hours. The Americans lost 555, the +British 693. The British kept their ground during the night, +and next day began to retreat. About fourteen miles from +the field of battle, Lieutenant-Colonel Stuart was met +by a reinforcement, under Major McArthur, marching from +Charlestown to his assistance. Thus strengthened, he proceeded +to Monk's Corner.</p> + +<p>Eutaw Springs was the last engagement of importance +in the southern provinces. The British soon retreated to a +position on Charlestown Neck, and confined their operations +to the defence of the posts in that vicinity; while in Georgia, +the British force was concentrated at Savannah. The surrender +of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown, in October, 1781,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> +and the subsequent peace negotiations, put an end to the +hostilities in America.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton says: "It is impossible to +do justice to the spirit, patience, and invincible fortitude +displayed by the commanders, officers, and soldiers during +these dreadful campaigns in the Carolinas. They had not +only to contend with men, and these by no means deficient +in bravery and enterprise, but they encountered and surmounted +difficulties and fatigues from the climate and the +country, which would appear insuperable in theory and +almost incredible in the relation. They displayed military +and, we may add, moral virtues far above all praise. During +renewed successions of forced marches, under the rage of a +burning sun and in a climate at that season peculiarly +inimical to man, they were frequently, when sinking under +the most excessive fatigue, not only destitute of every comfort +but almost of every necessary which seems essential to +existence. During the greater part of the time they were +totally destitute of bread, and the country afforded no vegetables +for a substitute. Salt at length failed, and their only +resources were water and the wild cattle which they found +in the woods. About fifty men, in this last expedition, sunk +under the vigour of their exertions and perished through +mere fatigue."</p> + +<p>At the cessation of hostilities, the South Carolina Regiment +and the Loyal American Rangers were removed to +Jamaica, and as they are shown in the Jamaica Almanack<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span> +for 1782 as being then in the island, they presumably +arrived there about December, 1781. The South Carolina +Regiment was probably dismounted, as it is shown as being +stationed at Fort Augusta in Kingston harbour. At this +time, the reinforcing of the West India Islands by provincial +corps was considered most important, and in a letter +to Sir Guy Carleton we find the following: "The object +of reinforcing those islands is so important, that His Majesty +wishes to have it understood that every provincial corps +embarking for the West Indies shall immediately be put +upon the British Establishment." It was, probably, on +some such understanding that the two corps above mentioned +proceeded from South Carolina; but the promise, +if made, was never fulfilled, and neither of the two ever +appeared in any Army List. The following is the list of +officers of the South Carolina Regiment given in the +Jamaica Almanack:</p> + +<p class='center'> +Lieutenant-Colonel Commandant—<span class="smcap">Captain Lord Charles<br /> +Montagu</span>, 88th Regiment.<br /> +<br /> +Major—<span class="smcap">James Balmer.</span><br /> +<br /> +Captains—<span class="smcap">G.C. Montagu, Robert Palmer, W. Oliphant, W. Lowe.</span><br /> +<br /> +Lieutenants.<br /><br /></p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="lieutenants"> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">R. Marshall.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">H. Craddock.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">— Odonnell.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">J. Carden.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">D. M'Connell.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">A. Clerk.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">H. Rudgley.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">P. Sergeant.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">J. Petrie.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">M. Rainford.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">J.P. Collins.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">— Smith.</span></td></tr> +</table></div> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span><br /></p> +<p class='center'>Ensigns.<br /> +<br /></p> +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="ensigns"> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">W. Splain. </span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">J. Kent.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">B. Meighan.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">— Bell.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">— Farquhar.</span></td><td align='left'><span class="smcap">— Thomas.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span class="smcap">— Smith.</span></td><td> </td><td> </td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>The South Carolina Regiment remained in Jamaica until +the general disbandment of the provincial corps in 1783. +The lieutenant-colonel commandant was given an independent +company, and the whites, both officers and men, +were pacified with grants of land. The black troopers, however, +were a source of difficulty. These troopers, some of +whom were originally free, while some had been purchased +by the British Government, were in those days of slavery +something of a "white elephant" in a large slave-holding +colony like Jamaica. The planters, fearful of the consequences +of the example to their slaves of a free body of +negroes who had served as soldiers, agitated for their removal +from the island, but, on the other hand, no other island was +willing to receive them. There is no trace of how the difficulty +was finally settled, but in a letter, dated War Office, +June 15th, 1783, signed R. Fitzpatrick, and addressed to +Major-General Campbell, commanding in Jamaica, the receipt +of his letter concerning the disbandment of the provincial +troops in the island is acknowledged, and the removal of "the +blacks of the South Carolina Regiment" to the Leeward +command approved of.</p> + +<p>Some time, then, in September, 1783, the black troopers +were removed to the Leeward Islands, and in the "Monthly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span> +Return of His Majesty's Forces in the Leeward and Charibee +Islands, under the command of Lieutenant-General Edward +Mathew," we find them formed into a corps, with a body of +black artificers, who had served in South Carolina at the +sieges of Charlestown and Ninety-six, and thirty-three black +pioneers who had been included in the surrender of Yorktown. +The following is the state of this corps:</p> + +<h5> +RETURN OF THE BLACK CORPS OF DRAGOONS, PIONEERS, AND ARTIFICERS.<br /> +</h5> +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">A. Captains.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">B. 1st Lieutenants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">C. 2nd Lieutenants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">D. Sergeants Present.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">E. Drummers and Trumpeters Present.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">F. Present, fit for duty.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">G. Sick in Quarters.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">H. Sick in Hospital.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">I. On Command.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">J. Total.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">K. Total of the Whole.</span><br /> +</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="officers"> + +<tr> +<td align='center' colspan="2"> </td> +<td align='center' colspan="3">Officers<br />Present.</td> +<td align='left' rowspan="2" valign="bottom"> D</td><td align='left' rowspan="2" valign="bottom"> E</td> +<td align='left' colspan="5">Effective Rank and File.</td><td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">K</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'>Where<br />Stationed.</td><td align='center'>Companies</td> +<td align='center' valign="bottom">A</td><td align='center' valign="bottom">B</td><td align='center' valign="bottom">C</td> +<td align='center' valign="bottom">F</td><td align='center' valign="bottom">G</td><td align='center' valign="bottom">H</td> +<td align='center' valign="bottom">I</td><td align='center' valign="bottom">J</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='left'>Grenada<br />St. Vincent<br />Grenada</td> +<td align='left'>Capt. Mackrill<br />Capt. Anderson<br />Capt. Millar</td> +<td align='right'> 1<br />1<br />1</td> +<td align='right'> -<br />-<br />-</td> +<td align='right'> -<br />1<br />-</td> +<td align='right'> 3<br />14<br />3</td> +<td align='right'> 1<br />5<br />-</td> +<td align='right'> 25<br />46<br />19</td> +<td align='right'> 7<br />4<br />4</td> +<td align='right'> 10<br />-<br />4</td> +<td align='right'>23<br />138<br />19</td> +<td align='right'>65<br />188<br />46</td> +<td align='right'>70<br />209<br />50</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='right'> </td><td align='center'>Total</td><td align='right'> 3</td><td align='right'>-</td> +<td align='right'>1</td><td align='right'>20</td><td align='right'>6</td><td align='right'>90</td><td align='right'>15</td> +<td align='right'>14</td><td align='right'>180</td><td align='right'>299</td><td align='right'>329</td> +</tr> +</table></div> + +<p>The officers of this corps were, according to Bryan Edwards, +vol. i. p. 386, taken from the regular army, and the companies +were commanded by lieutenants of regulars, having captains' +rank. Artificers, it may be as well to observe, were sappers +and miners. The Royal Engineers at about this date consisted +of various companies of Artificers; later on they were +called Sappers and Miners; and, finally, Royal Engineers.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE EXPEDITION TO MARTINIQUE, 1793—THE CAPTURE OF +MARTINIQUE, ST. LUCIA, AND GUADALOUPE, 1794—THE +DEFENCE OF FORT MATILDA, 1794.</p> + + +<p>In February, 1789, all three companies of the "Black Corps +of Dragoons, Pioneers, and Artificers" were stationed in +Grenada, and from that date until June, 1793, they are shown +in every monthly return, with a strength varying from 279 to +268, and an increase of four first lieutenants.</p> + +<p>In February, 1793, the news of the French declaration of +war was received in the West Indies, and orders were soon +after transmitted from England to the Commander-in-Chief +in the Windward and Leeward Islands to attempt the reduction +of the French islands. Tobago was taken on the 17th +of April without much trouble, the majority of the planters +in that island being English; and an attack on Martinique +was next meditated. The whole of the British force in the +West Indies was known and acknowledged to be inadequate +to the reduction of that island; but such representations had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> +been spread throughout the army, concerning the disaffection +of the greater part of the inhabitants of all the French islands +towards the Republican Government lately established, as to +create a very general belief that the appearance of a British +armament before the capital of Martinique would alone produce +an immediate surrender. Major-General Bruce, on whom +the chief command of the troops had devolved, was assured +by a deputation from the principal planters of the island that +"a body of 800 regular troops would be more than sufficient +to overcome all possible resistance."</p> + +<p>These representations induced Major-General Bruce, in +conjunction with Admiral Gardner, to undertake an expedition; +and the troops having been embarked at Grenada in +the men-of-war, the armament arrived off Cape Navire, +Martinique,<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> on the 11th of June, 1793. There the general +met the officer commanding the French Royalists, and, as +the latter proposed an attack upon the town of St. Pierre, +the 21st Regiment was landed at Cape Navire on the 14th, +and there posted, to enable the Royalists to concentrate +in the neighbourhood of St. Pierre, where the remainder of +the British force joined them on the 16th. "The British +troops consisted of the Grenadiers, Light Infantry, and +Marines from the fleet, with the Black Carolina Corps, +amounting in all to about 1100 men."<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> The Royalists +were said to number 800.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p><p>On the afternoon of the 17th, the enemy made an +attack, but were driven back by the pickets, with the loss +of one officer and three men killed on the part of the +British. An attack on the two batteries which defended +St. Pierre was planned for the morning of the 18th, but +failed, owing to the want of discipline on the part of the +Royalists. Major-General Bruce says: "The morning of +the 18th was the time fixed for the attack, and we were +to move forward in two columns, the one consisting of +the British troops, the other of the French Royalists; and +for this purpose the troops were put in motion before daybreak; +but, unfortunately, some alarm having taken place +amongst the Royalists, they began, in a mistake, firing on +one another, and their commander being severely wounded +on the occasion, the whole body, refusing to submit to any +of the other officers, retired to the post from which they +had marched."</p> + +<p>This conduct showed the general that no reliance could +be placed on the Royalists, and that the attack on St. Pierre, +if carried out at all, would have to be done by the British +troops alone, whose numbers were not equal to the task. +He, consequently, ordered the troops to return to their +former positions, and on the 19th they re-embarked. As +to have left the Royalists in Martinique would only have +been to leave them to be massacred by the Republicans, +those unfortunate people were embarked on the 19th +and 20th, and the 21st Regiment being taken on board<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +at Cape Navire on the 21st, the expedition returned to +Grenada.</p> + +<p>It may be wondered whence came the Black Carolina +Corps mentioned by Major-General Bruce, but it is evident that +by that designation the Black Corps of Dragoons, Pioneers, +and Artificers was locally known; for in the monthly return, +dated May 1st, 1794, the "state" of the corps is headed, +"Return of the Black Carolina Corps," and the title, "Black +Corps of Dragoons, Pioneers, and Artificers" ceases, from +that date, to be used in any official document. The strength +of the corps in that return is 258 of all ranks.</p> + +<p>The failure of Major-General Bruce's attempt on Martinique +induced the British Ministers to send out an armament +under Sir Charles Grey for the reduction of all the French +West India Islands; and, until the arrival of this force at +Barbados, in January, 1794, the Black Carolina Corps +remained quietly in garrison at Grenada. The troops from +the various islands—and amongst them all three companies +of that corps—were collected at Barbados during the +remainder of January, and, on the 4th of February, the +expeditionary force, 6085 strong, set sail from Carlisle Bay. +The army, in three divisions, landed at three separate points +in Martinique; the first at Gallion Bay, on the northern +side of the island, on the evening of the 5th of February; +the second at Cape Navire, nearly opposite on the south, +on the 8th of February; and the third at Trois Rivières, +towards the south-east. The British were so rapidly suc<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>cessful +that, by the 17th of February, the whole of the island, +except the two fortresses of Bourbon and Fort Royal, were +in their hands. The services of the Black Carolina Corps +up to that date are not known in detail, but the return of +killed and wounded shows the Dragoons as having had +one rank and file killed.</p> + +<p>On the 20th of February, Forts Bourbon and Fort Royal +were completely invested, and the pioneers and artificers of +the Carolina Corps were busily engaged on the siege works. +On the north-east side the army broke ground on the 25th +of February; and on the western side, towards La Caste, +fascine batteries were erected with all possible expedition. +By the 16th of March, the advanced batteries were pushed +to within 500 yards of Fort Bourbon, and 200 yards of +the enemy's nearest redoubt. On the 20th of March, the +fortress of Fort Royal was carried by Captain Faulkner, of +the <i>Zebra</i>; and General Rochambeau at once sent a flag +from Fort Bourbon offering to capitulate. The terms were +accordingly adjusted on the 23rd, and on the 25th, the +garrison, reduced to 900 men, marched out prisoners of +war.</p> + +<p>Martinique being now entirely conquered, Sir Charles +Grey left there, as a garrison under General Prescott, five +regiments, and one company of the Carolina Corps; and +proceeded, on the 31st of March, with the remainder of +the force to the attack of St. Lucia. That island had no +means of defence against so considerable an invading force;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span> +and, on the 4th of April, the British colours were hoisted on +the chief fortress of Morne Fortune; the garrison, consisting +of 300 men, having surrendered on the same terms of capitulation +that had been granted to General Rochambeau. The +6th and 9th Regiments, with a company of the Carolina +Corps, being left as a garrison for St. Lucia, Sir Charles +Grey returned to Martinique, and commenced his preparations +for an expedition to Guadaloupe.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a></p> + +<p>Guadaloupe really consists of two islands, separated +from each other by a narrow arm of the sea, called La +Rivière Salée, which is navigable for vessels of fifty tons. +The eastern island, or division, which is flat and low-lying, +is called Grandeterre; while the western, which is rugged +and mountainous, is named Basseterre.</p> + +<p>On the 8th of April, the troops, with the remaining +company of the Carolina Corps, sailed from Fort Royal, +Martinique; and, about one o'clock in the morning of the +11th, a landing was effected at Grosier Bay. Before daybreak +on the 12th, the fort of La Fleur d'Épée was carried +by assault, and the greater part of the garrison put to the +sword. Fort St. Louis, the town of Point à Pitre, and a +new battery upon Islet à Cochon being afterwards abandoned, +the possession of Grandeterre was complete. The +reduction of Basseterre was effected on the 21st of the same +month; and the company of the Carolina Corps, with other<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span> +troops, being left in garrison in Guadaloupe, the general +returned to Martinique.</p> + +<p>The British, however, were not permitted to remain long +in peaceable possession of their most recent conquest; for on +the 3rd of June, a considerable French armament arrived off +Point à Pitre. Fort Fleur d'Épée was taken by storm, and +the place not being tenable after this loss, the British crossed +over to Basseterre. Several prisoners were taken by the +French, and amongst them were some of the Carolina Corps, +for in the return of that corps for February, 1795, dated +March 1st, there is the following note: "Some of the corps +are prisoners at Point à Pitre, but their number cannot be +ascertained." In a later return, however, we find that they +consisted of one sergeant and eight rank and file.</p> + +<p>On the 2nd of July, the British made an ineffectual +attempt to recover Point à Pitre, and soon after established +their head-quarters at Berville, in Basseterre. The camp at +Berville was invested in September, and on the 6th of +October it was compelled to capitulate. Thus the whole +of Guadaloupe, with the exception of Fort Matilda, situated +above the town of Basseterre, and which was still held by +a British garrison, was recovered by the French. At the +surrender of Berville, 300 French Royalists, who were in the +British camp, were massacred by the orders of Victor Hugues, +the French commander.</p> + +<p>Fort St. Charles, Basseterre, had been rechristened Fort +Matilda by the British on its surrender on the 21st of April,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span> +1794, and against it Victor Hugues now moved all his forces. +The fort was commanded by Lieutenant-General Prescott +with a garrison of 610 men, including the company of the +Carolina Corps which had come to Guadaloupe. General +Prescott, in his despatch, dated "On board H.M.S. <i>Vanguard</i>, +at sea, December 11th, 1794," says: "To enter into +a minute detail of the siege, which commenced on the 14th +of October, and terminated by evacuating it on the 10th +of December, would not only too much occupy your time, +but might be deemed equally unnecessary. It may be sufficient +to remark that on entering the fort I found it totally +out of repair, the materials composing the wall-work thereof +being of the worst kind, and having apparently but little lime +to cement them properly. By the middle of last month the +works were very much injured by the daily and frequent +heavy fire of the enemy, and almost all the carriages of our +guns rendered useless. These were in general in a very +decayed state, but even the new ones for the brass mortars +that were made during the siege gave way from the almost +incessant fire we kept up; so that upon the whole, what +from the nature of our defences and the small number +of our garrison, we were in a very unfit state to resist +the very vigorous exertions of our enemy, who began +to prepare additional forces about the 20th of last month, +but who, from a number of causes, and especially from heavy +and continued rains, could not open their new batteries till +the 6th of this month. On that day they began to fire from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> +twenty-three pieces of cannon, four of which were thirty-six-pounders, +and the rest twenty-four-pounders, and from eight +mortars, two of thirteen inches and two of ten. The fire was +very heavy and continued all day and night, and by it all the +guns on the Gallion bastion were dismounted, and the +bastion itself a heap of ruins. Every day after this grew +worse until the 9th, on the evening of which day I went +into the ditch accompanied by the engineer, when we were +both but too well convinced of the tottering state of the +works from the Gallion along the curtain, and indeed the +whole, from the east to the north-east. I could not hesitate +a moment about the necessity of evacuating the fort. I +therefore sent off immediately to Rear-Admiral Thompson, +who commanded the detachment of the squadron left for +our protection, to acquaint him with the necessity of +evacuating the fort next evening, and to request that he +would have the boats ready to take off the garrison at +seven o'clock. I kept this my design a profound secret +until half-past six o'clock of the evening of the 10th, when I +arranged the march of the garrison.... The embarkation +continued with little or no interruption, and was happily +completed about ten o'clock at night, without its being +discovered by the enemy, who continued firing as usual on +the fort till two or three o'clock on the morning of the +11th, as we could plainly perceive from the ships. My +satisfaction was great at having thus preserved my brave +garrison to their king and country."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + +<p>During the siege of Fort Matilda, the Carolina Corps +lost 1 killed and 3 wounded, 2 of whom afterwards died +of their wounds. In the "State of the Garrison of Fort +Matilda, as embarked on the 10th of December, 1794," +the strength of the company of the Carolina Corps is shown +as 1 captain, 1 lieutenant, 4 sergeants, and 30 rank and +file. After the evacuation, this company was stationed at +Martinique; so that at the close of the year 1794, two +companies were in that island, and one in St. Lucia.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> See map.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> Major-General Bruce's despatch.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> See map.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h3> + +<h5>ROYAL RANGERS, COMMANDED BY CAPTAIN MALCOLM, 41ST REGIMENT.</h5> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">A: Capt. Commandant.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">B: Captains.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">C: 1st Lieutenants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">D: 2nd Lieutenants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">E: Sergeants Present.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">F: Drummers Present.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">G: Present fit for Duty.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">H: In Hospital.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">I: In Quarters.</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span></p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="stations"> + +<tr> +<td align='left' rowspan="3">Stations.</td><td align='center' colspan="4">Commissioned<br />Officers.</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="3" valign="bottom">E</td><td align='center' rowspan="3" valign="bottom">F</td><td align='center' colspan="4">Effective Rank and File.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">A</td><td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">B</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">C</td><td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">D</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">G</td><td align='left' colspan="2">Sick and Wounded.</td><td align='center' rowspan="2">Total.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'>H</td><td align='center'>I</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'>Martinico</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>8</td><td align='center'>4</td> +<td align='center'>149</td><td align='center'>28</td><td align='center'>27</td><td align='center'>204</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<p>This officer is mentioned by Bryan Edwards, vol. iii. +p. 452: "Lieutenant Malcolm, of the 41st Grenadiers, was +appointed Town Major" (of St. Pierre, Martinique, in 1794) +"in consideration of his distinguished conduct and active +services at the head of a body of riflemen, which was composed +of two men selected from each company of the 1st +Battalion of Grenadiers. We shall have occasion to mention +this officer afterwards."</p> + +<p>This body of riflemen, raised during the operations in +Martinique, in March, 1794, must, if the above statement of +its formation be correct, have been European, for there were +no black troops employed in the reduction of that island, +except the Carolina Corps. The corps of riflemen is not +shown in any return, and it is probable that at the termination +of the active operations the men rejoined their +respective battalions. The Royal Rangers, shown in the +return of the 1st of May, 1795, were black; for Sir John +Vaughan, in a letter dated Martinique, April 25th, 1795, +which gives an account of the operations in St. Lucia in +that month, says: "The flank companies of the 9th Regiment +and the black corps under Captain Malcolm were the troops +engaged." These Royal Rangers, then, were almost certainly +entirely distinct from the "body of riflemen," and the success +which had attended Captain Malcolm's efforts with the first +body probably led to his being employed in raising the second, +about February or March, 1795. In the month of April, +1795, one company of this corps, numbering 121 of all ranks,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +was in St. Lucia, and the other company, 112 strong, in +Martinique.</p> + +<p>Victor Hugues, having succeeded in ousting the British +from Guadaloupe, commenced, early in 1795, active measures +for the recovery of the other islands that had been wrested +from France in the previous year, and the plan which was +first ripened appears to have been that against St. Lucia.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> +"No official and scarcely any other accounts of the event +are to be found, but the invasion of this colony appears to +have been effected about the middle of February.... Nor +can the strength of the invading force be now ascertained. +That force was probably few in number, and stolen into +the island in small bodies, and under cover of the night. +Aided, however, by an insurrection of the slaves, people of +colour, and democratical whites, it was sufficient to wrest +from us the whole of the colony, with the exception of the +two posts of the Carenage and the Morne Fortune."<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a></p> + +<p>Affairs remained in this situation till about the middle +of April, when Brigadier-General Stewart resumed active +operations, in the hope of recovering the lost ground. On +the 14th of that month, he suddenly disembarked near +Vieux Fort, with a force consisting of a portion of the 6th +and 9th Regiments, the company of the Carolina Corps +which had remained in the island since its capture in 1794, +and one company of the new corps of Malcolm's Rangers;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> +and, after two days' skirmishing, that town was abandoned +by the French on the 16th, and immediately taken possession +of by the British, the enemy falling back upon +Souffriere, their chief stronghold.</p> + +<p>"Resolved to follow up his blow, General Stewart advanced +against Souffriere. Undismayed, however, by their +recent defeats, the Republicans had collected together a very +formidable force, for the defence of their main position. +On his march, the British general was suddenly attacked +by a division which had been placed in ambush, and it was +not till after a severe struggle that the enemy were driven +back."</p> + +<p>Sir John Vaughan, in a despatch dated Martinique, +April 25th, 1795, says: "He was attacked by the enemy +upon his march on the 20th instant, who had formed an +ambuscade. The flank companies of the 9th Regiment, and +the Black Corps under Captain Malcolm, were the troops +engaged. The enemy, after a severe conflict, were driven +back. Captain Malcolm, and Captain Nesbitt of the 9th, +were wounded, after behaving in a most gallant manner."</p> + +<p>On the 22nd of April, the troops reached the neighbourhood +of Souffriere, near to which, on the mountainous ground, +the attack was made. The contest continued warmly for +seven hours, and though the greatest exertions were made +by the British, they were finally compelled to retreat to +Choiseul, with a loss of 30 killed, 150 wounded, and 5 +missing. In the four days' fighting between the 14th and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span> +the 22nd of April, Malcolm's corps lost 48 out of a total of +121.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> At Choiseul the troops embarked and returned to +Vieux Fort, and thence to Morne Fortune and the Carenage, +which General Stewart considered his force strong enough to +hold until the arrival of reinforcements.</p> + +<p>Two months passed away without the occurrence of any +event worthy of notice. Sickness, in the meantime, was +making great ravages amongst the British, one-half of whose +force was generally unfit for service. The enemy, on the +other hand, were daily gaining fresh accession of strength. +From Guadaloupe arms and other supplies were frequently +transmitted; and though some of the vessels fell into the +hands of the British cruisers, many more of them reached +their destination in safety. The French now began to act<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> +decisively. They first reduced Pigeon Island, and, on the 17th +of June, made themselves masters of the Vigie. On this last +post the communication between the Carenage and Morne +Fortune depended, and the enemy now prepared for a general +assault upon the latter. As, in the weak condition of the +garrison, it would have been imprudent to await the meditated +attack, Brigadier-General Stewart determined to evacuate the +position; and, on the evening of the 18th, the whole of the +troops embarked on board H.M.S. <i>Experiment</i>, undiscovered +by the enemy, and proceeded to Martinique.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Bryan Edwards.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> See map.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> Return of the killed, wounded, +and missing in the actions on the following days, of the troops under the command of Brigadier-General +Stewart, in the island of St. Lucia.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"> +<p class="center"> 14th of April, 1795.</p> +<p>Royal Rangers—1 sergeant, 5 rank and file, wounded.</p> +<p class="center">15th of April.</p> +<p>Royal Rangers—2 rank and file, killed; 1 sergeant, 4 rank and file, wounded.</p> +<p class="center">20th of April.</p> +<p>Royal Rangers—6 rank and file, killed; 1 captain, 1 sergeant, and 18 rank and file, wounded.</p> +<p class="center">22nd of April.</p> +<p>Carolina Corps—1 rank and file, wounded.<br /> +Royal Rangers—4 rank and file, killed; 5 rank and file, wounded.<br /></p> +<p class="center">Names of the Officers killed and wounded.<br /></p> +<p>Captain Robert Malcolm, of the Royal Rangers, wounded.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%;"> +<img src="images/fp069x.jpg" style="width: 70%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE CARIB WAR IN ST. VINCENT, 1795.</p> + + +<p>Some little time before the arrival, at Martinique, of the +company of Malcolm's Rangers from St. Lucia, the company +of that corps which had remained in the former island had been +despatched, with the 3rd Battalion of the 60th Regiment, to +St. Vincent. Since the month of March, 1795, that island had +been devastated by a war between the Caribs, assisted by +the French, and the British garrison. This war had been +carried on with varying success, and the most horrible +atrocities on the part of the Caribs, until the end of May, +when the Commander-in-Chief, Sir John Vaughan, went over +to St. Vincent from Martinique, to satisfy himself as to the +state and military wants of the colony; and, finding the +enemy strongly posted within a short distance of the town of +Kingston itself, immediately on his return to Martinique +despatched the above-mentioned reinforcement, which arrived +at St. Vincent in the beginning of June.</p> + +<p>The principal position of the enemy was at the Vigie<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> +This post was situated on a ridge, forming the south-west +side of the valley of Marriaqua, and consisted of three small +eminences of different heights; that nearest the sea, though +the lowest, being the most extensive of them all, and that to +the fortifying of which they had paid the most attention.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant-Colonel Leighton, commanding the troops in +St. Vincent, on being reinforced, determined to carry into +execution a long meditated attack upon the Vigie. Accordingly, +on the night of the 11th<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> of June, the troops marched +through the town, and halted about ten o'clock at Warawarrow +River, within four miles of the Vigie. The force +was composed of detachments from the 46th and 60th +Regiments, the company of Malcolm's Rangers, the St. +Vincent Rangers, almost all the southern and windward +regiments of the militia, and a small party of artillery. At +Warawarrow River the troops were divided into three +columns; and the third was further divided into small bodies +to hold the passes at Calder Ridge, and prevent the escape of +the enemy.</p> + +<p>Just before daybreak, the westernmost redoubt, which +overlooked the road coming from Kingston, was attacked +and carried almost without opposition, the enemy retiring +to their principal stronghold. The grenadiers and Malcolm's +Corps had in the meantime forced their way through the +bush on Ross Ridge, and being met by the light company,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> +which had kept along the road, the whole of the British +advanced against the third and strongest redoubt. At the +upper end of the road a deep trench had been dug, which +obstacle for some little time delayed the guns; but, by great +exertions they were lifted up a bank eight or ten feet in +height, and then opened fire.</p> + +<p>For some time the enemy returned the British fire with +great spirit. About eight o'clock, however, they beat a +parley, and sent out a flag of truce to propose terms, which +were refused. The troops were now led to the assault, and +in a short time carried the works, which were defended by +the French from Guadaloupe, the Caribs having retired early +in the morning, and escaped to the windward portion of +the island. "Never did troops display greater gallantry than +did the British, militia, and rangers on this occasion."<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> The +British killed and wounded amounted to 30; 250 of the +enemy are said to have fallen. In the redoubts were taken +three four-pounders and sixteen or seventeen swivels.</p> + +<p>At the close of the action, Malcolm's and the St. Vincent +Rangers were sent out to scour the valley of Marriaqua, +and destroy the huts of the Caribs. This service they +effectually accomplished before nightfall, having killed and +taken prisoners many of the fugitives, and driven the +remainder into Massirica.</p> + +<p>A detachment of the 60th being left in the Vigie<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> +Lieutenant-Colonel Leighton, on the morning of the 13th of +June, marched with the remainder of the troops, by several +routes, towards the Carib district. So little opposition was +made to their march, the enemy constantly falling back +from ridge to ridge, that on the afternoon of the 16th +they reached Mount Young, from which the Caribs fled +with such haste that they left standing their houses, in all +of which considerable quantities of corn were found. This +carelessness of the enemy provided the British with a very +welcome shelter. It was fortunate, also, that they had not +attempted to dispute the hills and passes; for, had they done +so, the troops would have suffered greatly, seven men, even +as it was, having expired on the march from fatigue alone.</p> + +<p>As soon as Mount Young was in our possession, the +troops were busily employed in spreading devastation +through the Carib district. In Grand Sable and other +parts of the country, many houses were burned, and +more than 200 pettiaugres and canoes destroyed. Several +hundred slaves were also sent out, under the protection of +military detachments, to dig up and destroy the provisions +of the enemy. On the 4th of July, a detachment of the 46th +and Malcolm's Rangers took, after a sharp action, the +enemy's post at Chateaubellair, near Walliabon, with a loss +of 14 killed and 39 wounded of the 46th, and 2 killed +and several wounded of Malcolm's.</p> + +<p>The evacuation of St. Lucia by Brigadier-General Stewart +was, however, as far as St. Vincent was concerned, attended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> +by fatal consequences. The proximity of the former island +enabled the French unceasingly to pour in new reinforcements +to their Carib allies in St. Vincent; and, towards +the end of August, a small British post which had been +established at Owia was surprised by a detachment from +St. Lucia, and the whole of the guns and large quantities +of supplies captured.</p> + +<p>Encouraged by this success, Victor Hugues resolved to +endeavour to wrest St. Vincent from the British, as he +had already wrested Guadaloupe and St. Lucia; and, in +the middle of September, he landed in St. Lucia with a +force of some 800 men. These, embarked in four vessels, +which escaped the <i>Thorn</i> and <i>Experiment</i>, the British ships +of war on the station, landed at Owia Bay, St. Vincent, +on the morning of the 18th of September; and the force +of the enemy was now so vastly superior to that of the +British, that it became impossible for the latter to retain +their advanced positions.</p> + +<p>Orders were at once sent to Lieutenant-Colonel Leighton +to abandon Mount Young without delay, and retire to the +vicinity of Kingston. They were carried into execution on +the night of the 19th. Having destroyed their supplies and +left their lights burning in their huts as usual, to deceive the +enemy, the troops were silently put in motion. They reached +Biabou the next evening, and, bringing in the detachment +which was there quartered, reached Zion Hill on the 21st; +being then distributed among the posts in the neighbourhood.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span></p> + +<p>The retreating British were speedily followed by the +Caribs and French, who drove off the cattle from several +estates, and finally took up a position on Fairbairn's Ridge, +by which the communication was cut off between Kingston +and the Vigie. The detachment of the 60th at the latter post +being short of supplies, Lieutenant-Colonel Ritche, of the 60th, +with 200 of that corps and 150 of the St. Vincent Rangers, +was detached to escort the necessary stores. His division had +nearly reached its destination when it fell in with the enemy; +a sharp action ensued, victory was on the eve of declaring for +the British, when, struck by an unaccountable panic, they +suddenly gave way and fled in all directions. The supplies +fell into the hands of the enemy, and a number of the mules +were killed.</p> + +<p>The news of this terrible disaster spread dismay through +Kingston, for it was thought that the enemy would at once +attack all the British posts. It was resolved to at once +abandon the Vigie; and to facilitate this step, Brigadier-General +Myers, with the 46th and Malcolm's Rangers, +marched from Dorsetshire Hill, and posted himself opposite +the enemy, as if threatening an attack. This movement had +the desired effect. The enemy called in all the detachments +which invested the Vigie, and thus enabled the officer commanding +that post to retreat at night through heavy rain to +Calliaqua, and thence proceed to Kingston in boats.</p> + +<p>While the troops were using the utmost exertion to +strengthen the posts in the neighbourhood of Kingston, an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> +unexpected reinforcement arrived from Martinique, on the +29th of September. It consisted of the 40th, 54th, 59th, and +2nd West India Regiments,<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> into which latter the St. Vincent +Rangers were at once drafted. Major-General Irving also +came over from Martinique to assume the command.</p> + +<p>The first effect produced by the arrival of this succour, +was the retiring of the enemy from their advanced position +on Fairbairn's Ridge to the Vigie, where they now collected +the whole of their strength. From this post Major-General +Irving determined to dislodge them; and, on the night of the +1st of October, the troops marched for that purpose. One +column, consisting of 750 men, under Lieutenant-Colonel +Strutt, marched by the high road and took post upon Calder +Ridge, on the east of the Vigie, about three in the morning. +A second column, consisting of 900 men, under Brigadier-General +Myers, crossed the Warawarrow River, and detached +one party to proceed round by Calliaqua, and another to +move up the valley, and climb the heights near Joseph +Dubuc's. With this last force was Malcolm's Corps; and, +to gain the point to which they were directed, it was necessary +to cross a deep rivulet and ascend a steep hill covered +with bushes and wood. In doing this it suffered a heavy +loss, both of officers and men, from the enemy, who fired +upon it almost in security under shelter of the bushes. The +British, however, still pressed on, and at length arrived on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> +the top of the Marriaqua or Vigie Ridge. During the ascent +of the hill, Malcolm's Corps lost one man killed and two +wounded.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, the remainder of the second column were +struggling in vain to reach the summit of the same ridge; at a +point where the enemy had strongly occupied a thick wood, +and thrown up a small work. Though the opposing forces +were within fifty paces of each other, not an inch of ground +was won on either side. Firing commenced at seven in the +morning, and was kept up till nightfall. All this time the +British were exposed to a violent tropical downpour of rain, +which rendered the abrupt declivity so slippery that it was +almost impossible to maintain a foothold on it; and, finding +he could make no impression on the enemy, the general, +about 7 p.m., gave orders for the troops to retire.</p> + +<p>During the night, the enemy, from some unknown cause, +abandoned the Vigie, and that so hastily that they left +behind them, undestroyed, both guns and ammunition. They +continued their retreat till they reached the windward part of +the island, and the British in their turn advanced. For the +remainder of the year, the troops were employed in circumscribing, +within as narrow limits as possible, the French and +their Carib allies; and, though great hardships were endured, +no engagement worthy of note took place.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Coke; Bryan Edwards says the 8th.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> Coke.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> See next chapter.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h3> + +<p class="center">MAJOR-GENERAL WHYTE'S REGIMENT OF FOOT, 1795.</p> + + +<p>The terrible mortality which thinned the ranks of the +British troops in the West Indies, induced the British +Ministers to think of reinforcing the army with men better +calculated to resist the influence of the climate. The West +India Governors were instructed, therefore, in 1795, to bring +forward in their respective legislatures a project for raising +five black regiments, consisting of 500 men each, to become +a permanent branch of the military establishment. There +were already several black corps in existence, for Mr. Dundas, +during a debate in the House of Commons on the West India +Expedition, on the 28th of April, 1795, said that "the West +India Army of Europeans and Creoles consisted of 3000 +militia and 6000 blacks."<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a></p> + +<p>These black corps were distributed amongst the various<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +islands, and were the Carolina Corps, Malcolm's or the Royal +Rangers, the Island Rangers (Martinique), the St. Vincent +Rangers, the Black Rangers (Grenada), Angus' Black Corps +(Grenada), the Tobago Blacks, and the Dominica Rangers. +Some of them, notably the Carolina Corps, Malcolm's Corps, +and the St. Vincent Rangers,<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> were paid by the Imperial +Government, and were consequently Imperial troops; although +none of the corps appeared in any Army List, nor were +appointments thereto and promotions therein notified in the +<i>London Gazette</i>.</p> + +<p>The five black regiments, now proposed to be raised, +were to be in addition to those small black corps already +in Imperial pay, and which were to be blended into +three permanent regiments. Consequently, in the Army List +dated March 11th, 1796, showing the state of the army in +1795,<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> we find the following eight corps, indexed under the +heading of "Regiments raised to serve in the West Indies:"</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="regiments"> +<tr><td align='left' colspan="3">Whyte's Regiment of Foot</td><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>(Carolina and Malcolm's Corps).</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Myers'</td><td align='left'>"</td><td align='left'> " </td><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>(St. Vincent Rangers).</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Keppell's</td><td align='left'>"</td><td align='left'> " </td><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>(probably the Dominica Rangers).</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><br />Nicoll's</td><td align='left'><br />"</td><td align='left'><br /> " </td><td align='left' rowspan="5"><span class="bracket3">}</span></td><td align='left' rowspan="5">(the five new regiments).</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Howe's</td><td align='left'>"</td><td align='left'> " </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Whitelock's</td><td align='left'>"</td><td align='left'> " </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lewes'</td><td align='left'>"</td><td align='left'> " </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Skerrett's</td><td align='left'>"</td><td align='left'> " </td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span></p><p>Major-General Whyte's regiment was called into existence +by the <i>Gazette</i> of the 2nd of May, 1795; Major-General John +Whyte, from the 6th Foot, being appointed colonel. On the +20th of May, Major Leeds Booth, from the 32nd Foot, was +appointed lieutenant-colonel; and other officers were rapidly +gazetted to it. On the 8th of August, Captain Robert +Malcolm, of the 41st Foot, was promoted major in Whyte's +regiment. The following is the list of officers appointed to +the regiment in 1795:</p> + +<h5> +<span class="smcap">Major-General Whyte's Regiment of Foot.</span> +</h5> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="whyte"> +<tr><td align='left'></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Rank.</td><td align='left'>Name.</td><td align='center'> Rank in the Regt. </td><td align='center'>Army.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Colonel</td><td align='left'>John Whyte</td><td align='center'>April 24, 1795</td><td align='left'>M.G., Feb. 26, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lt.-Col.</td><td align='left'>Leeds Booth</td><td align='center'>May 20, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Major</td><td align='left'>Robert Malcolm</td><td align='center'>July 1, 1795</td><td align='left'>Lieut.-Col., Oct. 5, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Capts.</td><td align='left'>James Abercrombie</td><td align='center'>" "</td><td align='left'>Major, March 1, 1794</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Edward Cotter</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Francis Costello</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Alan Hampden Pye</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Ralph Wilson</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Thomas Cunninghame</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'><span style="margin-left: 2em;">(C.)</span></td><td align='left'>William Powell</td><td align='center'>Aug. 24, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Thomas Deane</td><td align='center'>Sept. 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lieuts.</td><td align='left'>Ross Gillespie</td><td align='center'>July 1, 1795</td><td align='left'>Dec. 20, 1794<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Henry Ma well</td><td align='center'>" "</td><td align='left'>March 8, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>David Butler</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Benjamin Chadwick</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>James Reid</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>James Stewart</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>James Sutherland</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>James Calder</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Andrew Coghlan</td><td align='center'>Aug. 24, 1795</td><td align='left'>Sept. 14, 1792</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Henry Goodinge</td><td align='center'>Sept. 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Thos. Page</td><td align='center'>Sept. 16, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>(11 vacancies)</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Ensigns</td><td align='left'>William Graham</td><td align='center'>July 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>James Cassidy</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— McShee</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— Lightfoot</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— M'Callum</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— Froggart</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— McLean</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>R.W. Atkins</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>John Egan</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>James Reed</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>(Cornet)</td><td align='left'>W. Connor</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— Crump</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>John Morrison</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Donald M'Grace</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>William Reid</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>— Dalton</td><td align='center'>Sept. 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Thomas Byrne</td><td align='center'>" "</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>C.B. Darley</td><td align='center'>Sept. 9, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>Christ. Thos. Roberts</td><td align='center'>Oct. 5, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Adjutant</td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Qrmr.</td><td align='left'>— McWilliam</td><td align='center'>Nov. 18, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Surgeon</td><td align='left'>— Bishop</td><td align='center'>June 10, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Chaplain </td><td align='left'>..................................</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>It was intended that each of these regiments raised for +service in the West Indies should have a cavalry troop, and in +the <i>London Gazette</i> are the following:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span></p> + +<h5><span class="smcap">Major-General Whyte's Regiment of Foot</span>.</h5> + +<p> +August 1, 1795 Lieutenant—Powell, from the 8th Foot, to be Lieutenant of Cavalry.<br /> +<br /> +August 29 Lieutenant—Powell, Lieutenant of Cavalry, to be Captain of Cavalry.<br /> +<br /> +July 11 Acting Adjutant—Connor, from Lieutenant-Colonel McDonnel's regiment, to be Cornet.<br /> +<br/><br /></p> + +<p>But this idea was soon abandoned, and in 1797 the cavalry +troop disappeared.</p> + +<p>The 1st West India Regiment (for so it was at once styled +in the West Indies, although in the Army List and the <i>London +Gazette</i>, the designation "Major-General Whyte's Regiment +of Foot" was not discontinued until February, 1798) first +appears in the "Monthly Return for the Windward, Leeward, +and Caribee Islands," in September, 1795, as follows:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">A: Colonel.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">B: Lieut.-Colonel.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">C: Majors.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">D: Captains.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">E: Lieutenants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">F: Ensigns.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">G: Chaplain.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">H: Adjutant.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">I: Quarter-Master.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">J: Surgeon.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">K: Mate.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">L: Sergeants Present.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">M: Drummers Present.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">N: Present, fit for duty.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">O: Sick.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">P: Recruiting.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">Q: Total.</span><br /> +</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="regs"> +<tr> +<td align='center' rowspan="3">Regiments<br />or Corps.</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="3">Stations.</td> +<td align='center' colspan="11">Officers Present.</td> +<td align='center' valign="bottom" rowspan="3">L</td> +<td align='center' valign="bottom" rowspan="3">M</td> +<td align='center' colspan="4">Effective<br />Rank & File.</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center' colspan="6">Commissioned.</td> +<td align='center' colspan="5">Staff.</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">N</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">O</td> +<td align='center' rowspan="2" valign="bottom">P</td> +<td align='center' valign="bottom" rowspan="2" >Q</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'>A</td> +<td align='center'>B</td> +<td align='center'>C</td> +<td align='center'>D</td> +<td align='center'>E</td> +<td align='center'>F</td> +<td align='center'>G</td> +<td align='center'>H</td> +<td align='center'>I</td> +<td align='center'>J</td> +<td align='center'>K</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'>Maj.-Gen. Whyte's</td><td align='center'>Martinico</td> +<td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>3</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>6</td><td align='center'>6</td><td align='center'>43</td><td align='center'>4</td><td align='center'>4</td><td align='center'>51</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'>Brig.-Gen. Myers'</td><td align='center'>Martinico</td> +<td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>6</td><td align='center'>41</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>51</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td align='center'> </td><td align='center'>Total.</td> +<td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>6</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>11</td><td align='center'>12</td><td align='center'>84</td><td align='center'>9</td><td align='center'>9</td><td align='center'>102</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p> + +<p>and the following note is, in the same Return, appended to +the state of the company of the "Black Carolina Corps," +which was in Grenada; the other two companies having +remained in Martinique since their removal there from +St. Lucia at the end of April, 1795. "This corps has been +reformed, and fifty of the men, who were fit for service, +have been drafted into the 1st New West India Regiment. +When the remainder of the corps can be collected together, +it is possible a few more may be found fit for service."</p> + +<p>Major-General Whyte's, or the 1st West India Regiment, +remained at Martinique, without any further accession to +its strength than these fifty men from the Carolina Corps, +till December, 1795.</p> + +<p>In the "Muster Roll of His Majesty's 1st West India +Regiment of Foot, for 183 days, from the 25th of June +to the 24th of December, 1795, inclusive," the list of officers +is given as already shown. Captain James Abercrombie, +Lieutenants David Butler, Benjamin Chadwick, and James +Sutherland are shown as "drowned on passage," and the +following note is added: "Some few of the dates of enlistments +and enrolments of the non-commissioned officers and +drummers may not probably be quite exact, and some others +may have been engaged in England not down on the muster +roll, all the regimental books, attestation papers, etc., having +been left in possession of the paymaster, Brevet-Major +Abercrombie (no adjutant at that time being appointed), +who was lost in December or January last on board the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> +<i>Robert and William</i> transport, No. 44, on the voyage to +this country." The non-commissioned officers and drummers +were Europeans, one sergeant and three corporals being +shown as "sick and absent in England" in this roll; and, +in the next, a drummer is similarly shown. The roll is +signed by Leeds Booth, Lieutenant-Colonel; Ed. S. Cotter, +Captain and Paymaster; and Thomas Holbrook, Acting +Adjutant. The following is the proof table:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">A: Colonel.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">B: Lieut.-Colonel.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">C: Major.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">D: Captains.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">E: Lieutenants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">F: Cornets.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">G: Ensigns.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">H. Adjutant.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">I. Chaplain.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">J. Quartermaster.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">K. Surgeon.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">L. Mate.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">M. Sergeants.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">N. Corporals.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">O. Drummers.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">P. Privates.</span><br /> +</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="absent"> +<tr><td align='center'> </td><td align='center'>A</td><td align='center'>B</td><td align='center'>C</td><td align='center'>D</td><td align='center'>E</td><td align='center'>F</td><td align='center'>G</td><td align='center'>H</td><td align='center'>I</td><td align='center'>J</td><td align='center'>K</td><td align='center'>L</td><td align='center'>M</td><td align='center'>N</td><td align='center'>O</td><td align='center'>P</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Present</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>10</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>12</td><td align='center'>9</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Absent</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>8</td><td align='center'>6</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>13</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>7</td><td align='center'>3</td><td align='center'>3</td><td align='center'>27</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Non-effective</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>7</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>8</td><td align='center'>5</td><td align='center'>13</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>Total.</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>14</td><td align='center'>14</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>23</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>2</td><td align='center'>1</td><td align='center'>-</td><td align='center'>22</td><td align='center'>11</td><td align='center'>20</td><td align='center'>49</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>Although it was intended that the privates of West India +regiments should be black, yet, apparently, white men were +not prohibited from serving in the ranks; for, in later muster +rolls, two or three privates are shown as "enrolled in +England," and one of these is afterwards shown as "transferred +to 60th." A volunteer, David Scott, who joined 29th +May, 1797, was also promoted ensign in November of that +year. These enrolments of Europeans only occur in the first +three years of the regiment's existence, and negro privates<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span> +were available for promotion to, at least, the rank of corporal +very early; for a Private John Lafontaine, who was promoted +corporal, is shown in the muster roll terminating December +24th, 1796, as "claimed as a slave." The pay of a private +in a West India regiment was then sixpence per diem.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> In the Account of the Extraordinary Expenditure of the Army, from +25th December, 1795, to 6th December, 1796, is the following: +</p> +<p> +On account of pay for sundry black corps for the year 1795, <br/> + raised for service in the West Indies £10,120 12 9<br /> +On account of ditto for the year 1796 60,095 10 3<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 17em;">——————</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 17.5em;">£70,216 3 0</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> "The military force in St. Vincent consists at present of a regiment +of infantry and a company of artillery, sent from England; and a black +corps raised in the country, but provided for, with the former, on the +British Establishment, and receiving no additional pay from the island."—Bryan +Edwards, vol. i. p. 428.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> The Army List for 1795 is dated January 1st.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE CAPTURE OF ST. LUCIA, 1796.</p> + + +<p>In January, 1796, the company of Malcolm's Royal Rangers +that was at St. Vincent was moved to St. Christopher; the +other company still remained at Martinique, and both, in +April, 1796, were selected to take part in the expedition to +St. Lucia. "That island could then muster for its defence +about 2000 well-disciplined black soldiers, a number of less +effective blacks, and some hundred whites, who held positions +both naturally and artificially strong, and were plentifully +supplied with artillery, ammunition, and stores. The post +on which the Republicans chiefly confided for their defence +was that of Morne Fortune. It is situated on the western +side of the island, between the rivers of the Carenage and +the Grand Cul de Sac, which empty their waters into bays +bearing the same name. Difficult of access by nature, it +had been rendered still more so by various works. In aid +of this they had also fortified others of the mornes, or eminences, +in its vicinity. The whole of this position, embracing<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +a considerable extent of ground, it was of the utmost importance +to invest closely, with as little delay as possible, that the +enemy might not escape into the rugged country of the +interior, and thus be in a condition to carry on a protracted +and harassing war, which experience had already more than +once proved to be highly detrimental to an unseasoned +invading force.</p> + +<p>"To accomplish this desirable purpose, the British general +determined to direct his troops on three points, two of them +to the north, and the third to the south of Morne Fortune. +The first division was to land most to the north, in Longueville +Bay, covered by several vessels, which were intended to +silence the batteries on Pigeon Island. Choc Bay was the +spot where the centre division was to be put on shore; and +the third was to disembark at Ance la Raye, some distance +to the southward of the hostile post."<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a></p> + +<p>The fleet with the troops destined for the attack of +St. Lucia, under Sir Ralph Abercromby, sailed from Carlisle +Bay, Barbados, on the 22nd of April, and anchored in Marin +Bay, Martinique, on the evening of the 23rd, where Malcolm's +Rangers joined the force, sailing for St. Lucia on the 26th. +The troops arrived off that island on the evening of the same +day, and 1700 men, under the command of Major-General +Campbell, composing the first division, were immediately +landed in Longueville Bay; without encountering any further<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +opposition than a few shots from the battery on Pigeon +Island, the fire of which was speedily silenced by that of +the ships.</p> + +<p>A strong current had driven the transports so far to the +leeward that it was not practicable to land the centre division +till the following morning. Major-General Campbell was +meanwhile on his march, and his progress was only feebly +opposed by about 500 of the enemy, who ultimately retired +from Angier's Plantation to Morne Chabot, and allowed him +to effect a junction with the centre division. The current +having acted still more powerfully on the vessels which +conveyed the third division, under Brigadier-General Morshead, +two or three days elapsed before the disembarkation in Ance +la Raye could be entirely executed. The troops at length +took up their appointed station, and thus held Morne Fortune +invested on its southern side.</p> + +<p>To complete the investment on the northern quarter it +was necessary to obtain possession of Morne Chabot, which +was one of the strongest posts in the vicinity of Morne +Fortune. At midnight of the 27th, therefore, two columns, +under Brigadier-Generals Moore and Hope, were despatched +to attack the Morne on two opposite sides; and, by this +means, not only to carry the position, but likewise to prevent +the escape of the troops by which it was defended. This +plan, the complete success of which would have materially +diminished the strength of the Republican force, was in part +rendered abortive by a miscalculation of time. The column<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +of Brigadier-General Moore, consisting of seven companies +of the 53rd Regiment, 100 of Malcolm's Rangers, and 50 +of Lowenstein's,<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> advanced by the most circuitous route; +while Brigadier-General Hope, with 350 men of the 57th, +150 of Malcolm's Rangers, and 50 of Lowenstein's, took +the shorter road. Misinformed by the guides, Brigadier-General +Moore's column fell in, an hour and a half sooner +than it had expected, with the advanced picket of the +enemy, who were thus put on their guard. At the moment +when they were discovered, the troops, in consequence of +the narrowness of the road, were marching in single file, +and to halt them was impossible. In this state of things +their leader resolved not to give his opponents time to +recollect themselves, but to fall on them with his single +division. The spirit of the soldiers fully justified the gallant +resolution of their commander. Having been formed as +speedily as the ruggedness of the ground would admit of, +they proceeded to the assault. The Republicans made a +stubborn resistance, but it was an unavailing one, as they +were finally driven from the Morne with considerable loss. +Nevertheless, as the second column did not arrive till the +combat was over, the fugitives succeeded in making good +their retreat. On the following day the victors also occupied +Morne Duchasseaux, which is situated in rear of Morne +Fortune.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p> +<p>In the hope of obtaining some advantage to counterbalance +this misfortune, the enemy, on the 1st of May, +made a brisk attack on the advanced post of grenadiers +commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel MacDonald, of the 55th +Regiment. They were, however, repulsed with much slaughter, +though not till forty or fifty men, and several officers, were +killed or wounded on the side of the British, among them +being Captain Coghlan, 1st West India Regiment, attached +to the 48th Regiment, who was wounded.</p> + +<p>At the south side of the Morne Fortune the enemy had +erected batteries, which precluded any vessels from entering +into the bay of the Grand Cul de Sac. To open this bay +to our fleet was an object of much importance, as at present +it was necessary to convey the artillery and stores from a +great distance, which could not be done without the +previous labour of opening roads through an almost impracticable +country. It was, therefore, resolved to make an +attempt on these batteries. The principal attack was to be +conducted by Major-General Morshead, whose division, in +two columns, was to pass the river of the Grand Cul de +Sac; the columns of the right at Cools, and that of the +left at the point where the waters of the stream are discharged +into the bay. To second this force, Brigadier-General +Hope, on the night of the 2nd of May, was to +advance from Morne Chabot with 350 men of the 42nd +Regiment, the light company of the 57th, and part of Malcolm's +Rangers, the whole being supported by the 55th<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +Regiment, which was posted at Ferrands. A part of the +squadron was likewise to lend its assistance, by keeping up +a cannonade on the works of the enemy. Before the time +arrived for putting this plan into execution, Major-General +Morshead was taken ill, and the command devolved upon +Brigadier-General Perryn. No change, however, took place +in the arrangements which had been formed.</p> + +<p>"At dawn of day, the division under Brigadier-General +Hope began to accomplish its part of the service by +carrying the battery Seche, which was situated within +a short distance of the works of Morne Fortune. The +assailants suffered so little in the assault, that they +would scarcely have had anything to regret, had it not +been for the fall of the gallant Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> +On the south side of the Morne, and at the extremity of the +line of attack, Colonel Riddel, who led the column of the +left, made himself master of the battery of Chapuis, and +established himself there. Had the remainder of the project +been as well executed, the proposed object would have been +completely attained. Unfortunately, however, from some +unexplained cause, the division which was the connecting<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +link of the whole, that which was entrusted to Brigadier-General +Perryn, did not perform its allotted part, by crossing +the river at Cools. The consequence of this was that the +victorious columns were left insulated, and would have been +exposed to no trivial danger, had the enemy felt a sufficient +reliance upon their own strength to incite them to act with +the requisite promptitude and vigour. Painful, therefore, +as it was to retire before a routed foe, the British troops +were compelled to abandon the batteries which they had +won, and to fall back upon their original stations. The +ships at the same time returned to their former anchorage. +Our loss on this occasion was 105 men; of whom only a +very few were among the slain."</p> + +<p>The Vigie was now the only post occupied by the enemy +in the vicinity of Morne Fortune, and this was attacked +by the 31st Regiment on the night of May 7th; the assault, +however, being repulsed with a loss of 200 men. The main +position was now invested by regular siege works, and the +task which the British had to perform was attended with +no small difficulty. "The country itself was of the most +inaccessible kind, the chain of investment was ten miles +in extent, all the roads that were necessary were to be +made, of carriages there were none, horses were scarce, +and the Republicans had been industrious in availing themselves +of all the natural obstacles to our progress, and in +creating as many others as their ingenuity could contrive." +Malcolm's Corps rendered good service on these works, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +the men being better able to stand the fatigue and exposure +than Europeans, were constantly employed.</p> + +<p>By May 16th, the first parallel was completed, and on +the morning of the 24th, the 27th Regiment, supported by +the 53rd and 57th, succeeded in effecting a lodgment +within 500 yards of the fort. The Governor, acknowledging +that further resistance was futile, demanded a suspension +of hostilities; terms of surrender were agreed upon, and +on May 26th, 2000 men marched out as prisoners of war. +One hundred pieces of ordnance, ten vessels, and large stores +of ammunition fell into the hands of the British.</p> + +<p>Sir Ralph Abercromby sailed from St. Lucia on the 4th +of June to the relief of Grenada and St. Vincent, leaving +Brigadier-General Moore for the pacification of the first +island with the 31st, 44th, 38th, and 55th Regiments, +O'Meara's corps of Rangers,<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> and the German Yagers.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> Bryan Edwards.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> Lowenstein's Rangers were Europeans. They were afterwards +drafted into the 60th.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> Return of killed, wounded, and missing, in the attack made on +the enemy's batteries, May 3rd, 1796. Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm's +Rangers: 3 rank and file, killed; 2 rank and file, wounded; 2 captains, +1 lieutenant, 7 rank and file, missing. Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm dead +of his wounds. The names of the officers of Malcolm's returned missing, +not known.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> Raised in 1796. This corps became the 12th West India Regiment +in 1799.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%;"> +<img src="images/fp093x.jpg" style="width: 60%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE RELIEF OF GRENADA, 1796—THE REPULSE AT +PORTO RICO, 1797.</p> + + +<p>Grenada, like St. Vincent, had been ravaged by the French +and insurgent slaves since March, 1795, and the relief of that +island was one of the first cares of Sir R. Abercromby. On +leaving St. Lucia, the division of the troops intended for +Grenada was ordered to rendezvous at Cariacou, one of the +Grenadines; there Sir Ralph Abercromby met Major-General +Nicolls, then commanding in Grenada, and arranged with +him the general plan of operations. Before, however, those +operations are described, it will be necessary to go back to the +month of March, 1796, when a company of the Carolina Corps +arrived in Grenada from Martinique, with detachments from +the 8th, 63rd, and 3rd Regiments, under Major-General +Nicolls.</p> + +<p>Shortly before the arrival of this reinforcement, the French +and insurgents had compelled the British to evacuate Pilot +Hill, in the neighbourhood of Grenville, and had taken up a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +strong position at Port Royal. On the 23rd of March, Major-General +Nicolls landed to the south of Port Royal; during +the night the guns were got in position, and at daybreak +opened on the enemy's works. The post occupied by the +enemy was a hill of very steep ascent, particularly towards +the summit, upon which a fort was constructed, and furnished +with four six-pounders and some swivels. The first object of +the British commander was to gain a position between the +enemy and the open country, and thus leave them no alternative +but to surrender at discretion, or precipitate themselves +over a high cliff; but they had established themselves so +strongly to protect their right that this failed. In the meantime +two large vessels full of troops to reinforce the enemy +arrived in the bay under Port Royal, from Guadaloupe; and +Brigadier-General Nicolls found it necessary to storm the +enemy's post without further delay. The troops employed in +this service were detachments from the 3rd, 29th, and 63rd +Regiments, under Brigadier-General Campbell; at the same +time, 50 men of the 88th, with the company of the Carolina +Corps, Colonel Webster's Black Rangers, and Angus' Black +Corps, moved against the enemy's right flank, to dislodge +some strong parties which were posted on the heights.</p> + +<p>Owing to the difficult nature of the ground, it was nearly +two hours before the latter column could reach the enemy, +when a heavy fire commenced on both sides. The ascent was +steep and difficult, encumbered with rocks and loose stones and +covered with dense bush. From the summit of the ridge the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +enemy poured in a destructive fire, to which the British could +only reply at a great disadvantage, and, after losing heavily, +the column commenced to retire. Observing this retrograde +movement, Major-General Nicolls sent the 8th Regiment in +support and ordered Brigadier-General Campbell to proceed +to the assault of the redoubt.</p> + +<p>Repulsed at the first attempt the troops again pushed on, +at length gained the summit of the ridge, drove the enemy +into their redoubt and scrambled in after them through the +embrasures. The enemy then fled in all directions, some +threw themselves down the precipices, whilst others tried to +escape down the hill through the thick underwood; but there +was so heavy a fire kept up on them from above by the +British that they were forced to attempt to escape along a +valley, where they were charged by a detachment of the +17th Light Dragoons, and cut to pieces. The British loss +consisted, in killed and wounded, of 110 Europeans and 40 +of the various black corps. The Carolina Corps lost one man +killed and six wounded.</p> + +<p>Affairs were thus situated when the fall of St. Lucia +enabled Sir R. Abercromby to send reinforcements to +Grenada. The troops, with whom were Malcolm's Rangers, +disembarked at Palmiste, on the 9th June, while Brigadier-General +Campbell, with the troops already in the island, +advanced from the windward side to take the enemy in +rear. Captain Jossey, the commandant of the French troops +at Goyave, near Palmiste, seeing that resistance must be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +unavailing, surrendered that post, with those of Mabouia and +Dalincourt; but Fedon, the leader of the insurgent slaves, +who knew he could expect no mercy, retired at the head of +about 300 men to two strong and almost unapproachable +positions, called Morne Quaquo and Ache's Camp, or Forêt +Noir, in the mountains of the interior.</p> + +<p>In these recesses he did not despair of being able to tire +out his pursuers; but Major-General Nicolls did not give +him time to throw any additional obstacles in the way of +the troops. On the 18th of June he despatched against him, +from opposite quarters, two divisions, under Brigadier-General +Campbell and Count d'Heillemer; while Lieutenant-Colonel +Gledstanes was posted with the 57th Regiment at the +head of Grand Roy Valley, and the grenadiers of the 38th +Regiment, with the Carolina Corps and Malcolm's Rangers, +advanced against a post which the enemy had at the +head of Beau Séjour Valley. The dispositions were so +admirably carried into effect, that the whole of the enemy's +posts were captured, nearly at the same moment, on the +morning of the 19th. "Many of the blacks were slain upon +the spot, and the remainder were promptly hunted down +in the woods by detachments of the military. No quarter +was given to these ruffians, nor was any deserved by them, +their last efforts having been marked by a foul and wanton +murder. When they saw that their position at Morne +Quaquo, which they had regarded as impregnable, was on +the eve of being forced, they led out twenty white prisoners,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +stripped them, tied their hands behind them, and put them +to death. It was impossible, after having witnessed this +act of baseness and cruelty, that anything short of their +extermination should satisfy the victors."<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a></p> + +<p>Fedon, and a number of his followers, escaped to the +woods; what became of the former was never known, but +the black corps were employed up to December, 1796, +in hunting down and capturing the stragglers, and it +was not until the end of that month that peace was +entirely restored to Grenada.</p> + +<p>Whyte's, or the 1st West India, Regiment had remained +at Martinique without any addition to its strength during +the operations in St. Lucia and Grenada. It had, however, +according to the muster rolls for 1796, transferred, on the +24th of March of that year, four sergeants and nine corporals +to Malcolm's Rangers, probably in anticipation of the speedy +drafting of the whole of that corps into its own ranks. In +the Monthly Returns of troops for March and April, 1796, +Malcolm's Royal Rangers are shown as "under orders for +drafting into the 1st West India Regiment," and in the +May Return the corps ceases to be shown separately, and +has no "state" of its own. As we have seen, however, it +continued to act separately in St. Lucia in April and May, +and in Grenada from June to December; and it was not +until its return to Martinique on the 28th of December, 1796,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +that the drafting was finally completed. Of the Carolina +Corps all the men fit for service were collected at Martinique, +the remainder being formed into an invalid company at +Grenada. It may be thought that the process of forming +the 1st West India Regiment was being carried on very +slowly, but it was more rapid than that of any other West +India Regiment, except the 2nd; while the 3rd, even on the +24th of December, 1797, had no non-commissioned officers, +no privates, and only two drummers.</p> + +<p>No military event worthy of note took place in the year +1797, in which the Carolina Corps or the 1st West India +Regiment took part, except the expedition to Porto Rico, in +which the pioneers of the former corps were engaged. Sir +Ralph Abercromby, with a force of 3000 men, sailed from +Martinique on the 8th of April, and, after a delay at St. +Christopher's, for the purpose of procuring pilots and guides, +reached Porto Rico on the 17th and anchored off Cangrejos +Point. Next day the troops disembarked, and, after a slight +skirmish with the enemy, took up a position before the town. +The siege continued for a fortnight without the British +making any appreciable progress, while the force of the +enemy, originally larger than that of the besiegers, was +receiving continual accessions from various parts of the +island. Sir Ralph Abercromby, therefore, determined to +abandon the attempt, and the troops were accordingly re-embarked +on the 30th of April.</p> + +<p>In March, 1797, one company of the Carolina Corps that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +was at Martinique, 78 strong, was drafted into the 1st West +India Regiment; and, on the return of the expedition from +Porto Rico, the remaining company (Pioneer) was also +drafted, and the Carolina Corps ceased to exist.</p> + +<p>The following is the list of the officers who were serving +in the 1st West India Regiment in 1797, and it may be +observed that so many changes had taken place that, out of +43 officers who were gazetted to the regiment in 1795, only +22 were left in 1797:</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="army"> +<tr><td align='left'>Rank.</td><td align='left'>Name.</td><td align='left'>Rank in Regiment.</td><td align='center'>Army.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Colonel</td><td align='left'>John Whyte</td><td align='left'>April 24, 1795</td><td align='left'>M.-G., Feb. 26, 1795.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lt.-Col.</td><td align='left'>Leeds Booth</td><td align='left'>May 20, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Major</td><td align='left'>Charles Miller</td><td align='left'>Nov. 30, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Captains</td><td align='left'>Edward Cotter</td><td align='left'>July 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Francis Costello</td><td align='left'>July 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>William Powell</td><td align='left'>Aug. 24, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>A.A. Nunn</td><td align='left'>Feb. 2, 1797</td><td align='left'>November 17, 1795.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Robert Brown</td><td align='left'>June 1, 1797</td><td align='left'>September 30, 1796.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>James Maitland</td><td align='left'>July 23, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>James Stewart</td><td align='left'>July 24, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lieuts.</td><td align='left'>William Graham</td><td align='left'>Nov. 30, 1796<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>James Cassidy</td><td align='left'>Dec. 1, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— M'Shee</td><td align='left'>Dec. 2, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— Lightfoot</td><td align='left'>Dec. 3, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— M'Callum</td><td align='left'>Dec. 4, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— Froggart</td><td align='left'>Dec. 5, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— M'Lean</td><td align='left'>Dec. 6, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>John Egan</td><td align='left'>Dec. 8, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>James Reed</td><td align='left'>Dec. 9, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>W.J. Speed</td><td align='left'>Jan. 11, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— Connor</td><td align='left'>March 1, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>William Reid</td><td align='left'>March 2, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Thomas Byrne</td><td align='left'>March 3, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>J.C. Roberts</td><td align='left'>July 1, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>John C. M'Kay</td><td align='left'>July 2, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Ensigns</td><td align='left'>Donald M'Grace</td><td align='left'>July 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— Dalton</td><td align='left'>Sept. 1, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>C.B. Darley</td><td align='left'>Sept. 9, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>— Horsford</td><td align='left'>July 1, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>David M'William</td><td align='left'>July 2, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Morgan O'Meara</td><td align='left'>July 3, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Charles Marraud</td><td align='left'>July 4, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td><td align='left'>Niel Campbell</td><td align='left'>July 5, 1797</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Adjutant</td><td align='left'>Thomas Holbrooke </td><td align='left'>April 17, 1796</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Qtrmastr. </td><td align='left'>— M'William</td><td align='left'>Nov. 18, 1795</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Surgeon</td><td align='left'>John Lindsay</td><td align='left'>Dec. 25, 1796</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>During the active operations of the year 1796 the West +India colonists had offered no objection to the scheme of +raising five new black regiments, but, in 1797, when the +question of providing for them was brought before the +various Legislatures, the plan met with the most determined +opposition. When, on the 17th of January, Governor +Ricketts communicated it to the House of Assembly in +Barbados, and requested the concurrence of that House, the +Speaker, Sir John Gay Alleyne, immediately rose and moved:</p> + +<p>"That the design of five regiments, etc. (as expressed +in the message), will, as far as such a design is likely to +affect this island, prove rather the means of its destruction +than its defence."</p> + +<p>This resolution was carried, with two others, without a +dissenting voice.</p> + +<p>"The Assembly of Jamaica was no less decided and +unanimous in its opposition to the measure. It refused to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +make any provision whatever for the subsistence of the 6th +West India Regiment, which was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel +Whitelocke. In this decision it was sanctioned by +the general voice of the white population. Meetings were +held in almost every parish of the island, in all of which the +scheme of raising black corps was heavily censured, as being, +in the first place, unnecessary, the negroes being already +compellable to serve in case of emergency; and, in the +second place, as being of a nature to produce ultimately, +and perhaps at no distant period, the most destructive +effects to the persons and the property of the colonial +proprietors."<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a></p> + +<p>The British ministers were reluctant to abandon that +which appeared to be a cheap and ready mode of recruiting +in the western hemisphere, and consequently persevered in +their project, even increasing the number of West India +regiments in 1799 to twelve. That the fears of the colonists +were groundless time soon showed. In 1801, at St. Martin's, +the 8th West India Regiment, "composed of new negroes, +who had never before faced a foe, behaved with the utmost +gallantry." In 1803, the 3rd West India Regiment did good +service at the capture of St. Lucia, as did the 6th at the +reduction of Surinam in 1804. In 1809, at the Saintes, where +the 3rd and 8th West India Regiments were engaged, "the +black troops distinguished themselves by their discipline and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +valour." How the 1st West India Regiment remained true +to its colours the succeeding chapters will show.<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> Bryan Edwards.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Bryan Edwards.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> It is true that the 8th West India Regiment mutinied at Dominica, +in 1802, but it was under conditions which, to a certain extent, extenuated +it. For more than six months the men had been defrauded of their pay. +Being utterly uneducated and all new negroes, they were ignorant of the +proper methods of obtaining redress, and consequently showed their +resentment by violence.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%;"> +<img src="images/fp103x.jpg" style="width: 70%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE DEFENCE OF DOMINICA, 1805.</p> + + +<p>The 1st West India Regiment remained stationed at Fort +Edward, Martinique, during the whole of 1797, and up to the +month of December, 1798; its strength at no time during +this period being above 350 men. In December, 1798, it was +removed to St. Lucia, six companies being quartered at Vieux +Fort and two at Maboya, in the same island. The strength +then was 343, and the "state" shows 157 as wanting to +complete the establishment. The regiment remained at St. +Lucia until July, 1801, when it was moved to Port Royal, +Martinique. In January, 1802, two companies were detached +to St. Vincent, and, in July, the remainder of the regiment, +with the exception of one company that remained in Martinique, +followed them to that island, from whence a company +was soon afterwards detached to Antigua. In October, these +detachments rejoined head-quarters, but, in April, 1803, two +other companies were sent to Grenada. In May, 1804, the +regiment, with the exception of one company at Grenada and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +another sent to St. Vincent, was moved to Dominica. In this +year the establishment of West India regiments was increased +from 500 to 1000 men; and in December, 1804, the strength +was 618.</p> + +<p>The rupture of the Treaty of Amiens had, in 1803, led to +fresh conflicts in the West Indies, in which, however, the +1st West India Regiment had taken no share; but in the +spring of 1805, while it was still stationed at Dominica, the +light company being with the 46th Regiment at Morne Bruce, +and the remainder of the regiment (except the two detachments) +at Prince Rupert's, its turn for active service +came.</p> + +<p>On the 22nd of February of that year, the island was +attacked by a French combined naval and military force, +under Admiral Missiessy and General La Grange, which force +had been despatched from France specially for the reduction +of Dominica. The enemy's flotilla consisted of the following +vessels:</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="guns"> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'> Guns.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Majestueuse</td><td align='right'>120</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Magnanime</td><td align='right'>74</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Suffren</td><td align='right'>74</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Jemmappes</td><td align='right'>74</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lion</td><td align='right'>74</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Armide</td><td align='right'>44</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Gloire</td><td align='right'>44</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Infatigable</td><td align='right'>44</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lynx</td><td align='right'>16</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Actéon</td><td align='right'>16</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'>——</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'>580</td></tr> +</table></div> + + +<p>The French regular troops employed were:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span></p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="french"> +<tr><td align='left'>26th Regiment</td><td align='right'>1600</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>2nd Battalion Piedmontese </td><td align='right'>2000</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Dismounted Cavalry</td><td align='right'>250</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Artillery</td><td align='right'>250</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Detachments of Corps</td><td align='right'>500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'>——</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td align='right'>4600</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>Exclusive of the marines of the various ships.</p> + +<p>The enemy's force sailed from Martinique on the afternoon +of February 21st, 1805; and, flying the British flag, +arrived off Dominica between 3 and 4 a.m. on February 22nd. +The British commander-in-chief, Brigadier-General Prevost, +deceived by the colours of the ships, sent the captain of the +fort, an artillery officer, on board the <i>Majestueuse</i>, to conduct +the supposed British admiral and his fleet to a safe anchorage.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> +Shortly afterwards the boats pushed off with the troops, and +the squadron changed its colours to French.</p> + +<p>Directly this was perceived, the grenadier company of the +46th, with the light company of the 1st West India Regiment +(107 rank and file), under Captain O'Connell, and a company +of militia, marched from the garrison at Morne Bruce to Point +Michell, about three miles distant. At this spot the enemy +concentrated, and effected a landing under a heavy fire from +the fleet. Two thousand eight hundred troops having been +landed at the extremity of a cape within a short distance of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +Point Michell, they advanced towards that place in column of +subdivisions, the only formation which the restricted space +would admit, the point being bounded by inaccessible heights +on the right, and a broken and rugged shore on the left.</p> + +<p>The two companies of the 46th and the light company of +the 1st West India Regiment were posted behind the walls of +some ruined buildings in the village of Point Michell, which +afforded excellent cover, and where they were entirely sheltered +from the fire of the enemy's shipping; while the +French had to advance on a narrow front, entirely exposed +to their fire.</p> + +<p>The attack commenced about 5 a.m. Four times the +enemy were led to the assault, and as many times they were +repulsed. At about 6.30 a.m. the remainder of the 46th and +some local militia arrived, and the struggle continued; but +not without loss on our side, Major Nunn and Captain +O'Connell, 1st West India Regiment, being wounded, the +former mortally, and four men killed. At last, the enemy, +finding all his endeavours to force the position were ineffectual, +landed the remainder of his troops to leeward of the +town of Roseau, on the British right, and attacked Fort +Daniel, a small redoubt mounting a six-pounder gun, and +defended by 2 artillerymen, and 1 sergeant and 5 men +of the 1st West India Regiment. These were all made +prisoners in the work, which the enemy had attacked with +500 men. Brigadier-General Prevost then retired with the +militia to the heights of Woodbridge Estate; and, the British<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +right being now turned, the regulars, some 200 in number, +who had been so gallantly defending the left, retired to effect +a junction with the garrison at Fort Rupert, commanded by +Lieutenant-Colonel Broughton, 1st West India Regiment. +This was effected by Captain O'Connell, although wounded, +in four days, by the mountain paths, while Brigadier-General +Prevost arrived at the same place by the Carib Trail.<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a></p> + +<p>In the meantime the town of Roseau had been set on +fire, and the whole of it destroyed, except a few small houses +belonging to free negroes. The French, after blowing up the +fortifications, embarking some guns and spiking others, re-embarked; +taking with them such of their prisoners as were +regulars, and levying a contribution of £5500 upon the +inhabitants, and on February 27th the force set sail for +Guadaloupe.</p> + +<p>The French in their attack on Point Michell had lost over +300 men, and in selecting that spot for landing they had +displayed a most astonishing ignorance of the locality, for, if +a force had at once been put ashore between Point Michell +and Fort Young at Roseau, the British could hardly have +ventured upon a serious defence. The loss sustained by the +British regulars was 21 killed, 21 wounded, and 8 prisoners. +The loss of the militia is not stated, but was considerable, the +French accounts fixing it at 200.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span></p> +<p>The following despatch addressed to Earl Camden, K.G., +one of His Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, by +Lieutenant-General Sir William Myers, Bart., commanding +the troops in the Windward and Leeward Islands, gives the +official account of this affair:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 28em;">"Barbadoes</span>, <i>March 9th, 1805</i>.<br /> +<span class="smcap">"My Lord</span>, +</p> + +<p>"I have the honour to enclose to your Lordship a +copy of a despatch from Brigadier-General Prevost, dated +Dominica, 1st of March, 1805. The details contained therein +are so highly reputable to the Brigadier-General and the +small portion of troops employed against so numerous an +enemy, that I have great satisfaction in recommending +that their gallant exertions may be laid before His +Majesty.</p> + +<p>"The zeal and talent manifested by the Brigadier-General +upon this occasion, it is my duty to present for the Royal +consideration, and at the same time I beg to be permitted +to express the high sense I entertain of the distinguished +bravery of His Majesty's troops and the militia of the colony +employed on that service.</p> + +<p>"The vigorous resistance which the enemy have experienced, +and the loss which they have sustained in this +attack, must evince to him, that however inferior our numbers +were on this occasion, British troops are not to be hostilely +approached with impunity; and had not the town of Roseau +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>been accidentally destroyed by fire, we should have little to +regret, and much to exult in.</p> + +<p>"Your Lordship will perceive by the Returns that our +loss in men, compared to that of the enemy, is but trifling; +but I have sincerely to lament that of Major Nunn, of the +1st West India Regiment, whose wound is reported to be of +a dangerous kind; he is an excellent man, and a meritorious +officer.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 20em;">"I have, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">(Signed) "<span class="smcap">W. Myers</span>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 30em;">"Lieutenant-General."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15em;">"Copy". "<span class="smcap">Head Quarters, Prince Rupert's,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 30em;">"Dominica</span>, <i>March 1st, 1805</i>.</span><br /> +"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,<br /> +</p> + +<p>"About an hour before the dawn of day on the 22nd +ultimo, an alarm was fired from Scot's Head, and soon after +a cluster of ships was discovered off Roseau. As our light +increased, I made out five large ships, three frigates, two +brigs, and small craft under British colours, a ship of three +decks carrying a flag at the mizen. The frigates ranging +too close to Fort Young, I ordered them to be fired on, +and soon after nineteen large barges, full of troops, appeared +coming from the lee of the other ships, attended and protected +by an armed schooner, full of men, and seven other +boats carrying carronades. The English flag was lowered, +and that of the French hoisted.</p> + +<p>"A landing was immediately attempted on my left flank, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>between the town of Roseau and the post of Cachecrow. +The light infantry of the 1st West India Regiment were +the first to march to support Captain Smart's company of +militia, which throughout the day behaved with great gallantry; +it was immediately supported by the grenadiers of +the 46th Regiment. The first boats were beat off, but +the schooner and one of the brigs coming close on shore +to cover the landing, compelled our troops to occupy a better +position in a defile leading to the town. At this moment I +brought up the grenadiers of the St. George's Regiment of +militia, and soon after the remainder of the 46th Regiment, +and gave over to Major Nunn these brave troops +with orders not to yield to the enemy one inch of ground. +Two field-pieces (an amuzette and a six-pounder) were +brought into action for their support under the command +of Sergeant Creed of the 46th Regiment, manned by additional +gunners and sailors. These guns, and a twenty-four-pounder +from Melville battery, shook the French advancing +column by the execution they did.</p> + +<p>"I sent two companies of St. George's Militia, under +the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Constable, and a company +of the 46th, to prevent the enemy from getting into +the rear of the position occupied by Major Nunn.</p> + +<p>"On my return I found the <i>Majestueuse</i>, of 120 guns, +lying opposite to Fort Young, pouring into the town and +batteries her broadsides, followed by the other seventy-fours +and frigates doing the same.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Some artillery, several captains of merchantmen with +their sailors, and the militia artillery, manned five twenty-four-pounders +and three eighteens at the fort, and five twenty-fours +at Melville battery, and returned an uninterrupted fire; +from the first post red-hot shot were thrown. At about +10 o'clock, a.m., Major Nunn, most unfortunately for His +Majesty's service, whilst faithfully executing the order I had +given him, was wounded, I fear mortally.</p> + +<p>"This did not discourage the brave fellows. Captain +O'Connell, of the 1st West India Regiment, received the +command and a wound almost at the same time; however, +the last circumstance could not induce him to give up the +honour of the first, and he continued on the field animating +his men and resisting the repeated charges of the enemy +until about one o'clock, when he obliged them to retire from +their position with great slaughter. It is impossible for me +to do justice to the merit of that officer; you will, I doubt +not, favourably report his conduct to His Majesty, and at the +same time that of Captain James of the 46th Regiment, +and Captain Archibald Campbell, who commanded the +grenadiers of that corps.</p> + +<p>"Foiled and beat off on the left, the right flank was +attempted, and a considerable force was landed near Morne +Daniel. The regulars, not exceeding 200, employed on the +left in opposing the advance of three columns, consisting of +upwards of 2000 men, could afford me no reinforcement; I had +only the right wing of the St. George's Regiment of militia to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +oppose them, of about a hundred men. They attacked with +spirit, but unfortunately the frigates had stood in so close +to the shore to protect this disembarkation, that after receiving +a destructive fire, they fell back and occupied the heights +of Woodbridge Estate. Then it was that a column of the +enemy marched up to Morne Daniel, and stormed the +redoubt defended by a small detachment, which, after an +obstinate resistance, they carried. On my left, Captain +O'Connell was gaining ground, notwithstanding a fresh supply +of troops and several field-pieces, which had been brought +on shore by the enemy. I now observed a large column +climbing the mountains to get in his rear.</p> + +<p>"The town, which had been for some time in flames, +was only protected by a light howitzer and a six-pounder +to the right, supported by part of the light company of +the St. George's Regiment. The enemy's large ships in +Woodbridge Bay, out of the reach of my guns, my right +flank gained, and my retreat to Prince Rupert's almost cut +off, I determined on one attempt to keep the sovereignty +of the island, which the excellent troops I had, warranted. +I ordered the militia to remain at the posts, except such +as were inclined to encounter more hardships and severe +service; and Captain O'Connell, with the 46th Regiment, +under the command of Captain James, and the light +company of the 1st West India Regiment, were directed +to make a forced march to Prince Rupert's. I then allowed +the President to enter into terms for the town of Roseau;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span> +and then demanded from the French general that private +property should be respected, and that no wanton or disgraceful +pillage should be allowed; this done, only attended +by Brigade-Major Prevost, and Deputy Quartermaster-General +Hopley, of the militia forces, I crossed the island, +and in twenty-four hours, with the aid of the inhabitants +and the exertions of the Caribs, I got to this garrison on +the 23rd. After four days' continued march through the +most difficult country, I might almost say, existing, Captain +O'Connell joined me at Prince Rupert's, himself wounded, +and bringing in his wounded, with a few of the Royal +Artillery, and the precious remainder of the 46th and the +1st West India Light Company.</p> + +<p>"I had no sooner got to the fort than I ordered cattle to be +driven in, and took measures for getting a store of water from +the river and the bay. I found my signals to Lieutenant-Colonel +Charles Broughton, of the 1st West India Regiment, +made from Roseau soon after the enemy had landed, had been +received, and that in consequence he had made the most +judicious arrangements his garrison would allow for the +defence of this important post.</p> + +<p>"On the 25th, I received the summons<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> I have now the +honour to transmit, from General of Division La Grange, and +without delay sent the reply<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> you will find accompanying it.</p> + +<p>"On the 27th the enemy's cruisers hovered about the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>Head; however, the <i>Centaur's</i> tender, <i>Vigilante</i>, came in and +was saved by our guns. I landed Mr. Henderson, her commander, +and crew, to assist in the defence we were prepared +to make.</p> + +<p>"As far as can be collected, the enemy had about 4000 +men on board, and the whole of their force was compelled +to disembark before they gained one inch of ground.</p> + +<p>"I entrust this despatch to Captain O'Connell, to whom +I beg to refer you. His services entitle him to consideration. +I am much indebted to the zeal and discernment of Fort-Adjutant +Gualy, who was very accessary to the due execution +of my orders.</p> + +<p>"I cannot pass unnoticed the very soldierlike conduct of +Lieutenant Wallis, of the 46th Regiment, to whom I had +entrusted the post of Cachecrow, or Scot's Head. On perceiving +our retreat he spiked his guns, destroyed his ammunition, +and immediately commenced his march to join me +at Prince Rupert's with his detachment. Nor that of +Lieutenant Schaw of the same corps, who acted as an officer +of artillery and behaved with uncommon coolness and judgment +while on the battery, and great presence of mind in +securing the retreat of the additional gunners belonging to +the 46th Regiment. On the 27th, after levying a contribution +on Roseau, the enemy re-embarked, and hovered that day +and the next about this post. This morning, the French +fleet is seen off the south end of Guadaloupe, under easy +sail.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Our loss—you will perceive by the returns I have the +honour to transmit—was inconsiderable when compared with +that of the enemy, which included several officers of rank +and about 300 others.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 20em;">"I have, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">(Signed) "<span class="smcap">George Prevost.</span></span><br /> +"Lieutenant-General Sir William Myers,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">"Bart., etc., etc., etc.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"P.S.—As I find I cannot spare Captain O'Connell from +the duty of this garrison, I must refer you to the master of a +neutral vessel, who has engaged to deliver this despatch."</p></div> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>Extract from Minutes of the House of Assembly, +Dominica, dated Roseau, 2nd May, 1805:</p> + +<p>"Resolved, that the Committee of Public Assembly be +instructed to write to England for a monument to be +erected to the memory of Major Nunn, of the 1st West India +Regiment, who gallantly fell on Feb. 22nd, 1805.</p> + +<p>"Resolved, that the thanks of this House be presented to +Captain O'Connell, of the 1st West India Regiment, and +that the sum of one hundred guineas be appropriated for the +purchase of a sword for him.</p> + +<p>"Resolved, that the thanks of this House be presented to +the officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates of the +1st West India Regiment, for their gallant conduct on the +same occasion."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span></p> + +<p>Similar sentiments were expressed, and conveyed to the +regiment, at a meeting held on May 23rd, 1805, at the London +Tavern, Lord Penrhyn president.</p> + +<p>Captain O'Connell was promoted to Major, 5th West +India Regiment, and Lieutenant Winkler to Captain, vice +O'Connell.</p> + +<p>Return of the killed and wounded in the actions of the +22nd of February, 1805, at Point Michell, Morne Daniel, and +Roseau, in the island of Dominica.</p> + +<p>1st West India Regiment—9 rank and file, killed; 1 field +officer, 1 captain, and 8 rank and file, wounded.</p> + +<p>For its services on this occasion the 1st West India +Regiment was permitted to inscribe the word "Dominica" +on its colours.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> This does not appear in Brigadier-General Prevost's letter, but is +mentioned in that of General La Grange.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> "During a continued march of four days, through an exceedingly +difficult country, that brave officer (Captain O'Connell) did not leave +behind even one of his wounded men."—<span class="smcap">Bryan Edwards.</span></p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> A summons to surrender.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> A refusal.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE HURRICANE AT DOMINICA, 1806—THE REDUCTION +OF ST. THOMAS AND ST. CROIX, 1807—THE RELIEF OF +MARIE-GALANTE, 1808.</p> + + +<p>In 1806, Dominica was visited by a terrific hurricane, from +which the 1st West India Regiment suffered some loss. On +the afternoon of the 9th of September the sky became totally +overcast, and masses of clouds gathered over the island. +About 7 p.m. a tremendous thunderstorm commenced, accompanied +by violent gusts of wind, which increased in strength, +until by 10 p.m., every vessel in the harbour, to the number of +sixteen, was either sunk or driven ashore. The rain fell in +such torrents that the whole of the barracks on Morne Bruce, +where a company-of the 1st West India Regiment was +stationed, and nearly the whole of those on Morne Cabot, +were carried away, and three men of the 1st West India +Regiment were killed, and several injured. Every house from +the River Mohaut to Prince Rupert's was overthrown, and the +town of Portsmouth was laid in ruins. In Roseau, 131<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span> +persons were killed or wounded, the greatest mischief being +there caused by the overflowing of the river, which inundated +the town in all directions, every house which obstructed its +passage being swept away by the torrent. "No pen," says a +witness of the scene, "can paint the horrors of that dreadful +night! The tremendous noise occasioned by the wind and +rain—the roaring of the waters, together with the shock of +an earthquake, which was sensibly felt about midnight—the +shrieks of the poor sufferers crying out for assistance—the +terror of those who in their houses heard them, and dared not +open a door or window to give succour, and who momentarily +expected to share the same fate, formed a scene which can +hardly be conceived, and is still more difficult to be described."</p> + +<p>The regiment remained stationed at Dominica until the +month of April, 1807, when it was removed to Barbados, +with the exception of four companies which had been +detached to Grenada and Tobago, and which soon after +rejoined head-quarters at Barbados.</p> + +<p>In this year also, the establishment of West India regiments +was augmented by a second lieutenant-colonel, Major +Samuel Huskisson, from the 8th Foot, being appointed the +second lieutenant-colonel of the 1st West India Regiment by +the <i>Gazette</i> of the 2nd of June.</p> + +<p>A war having broken out with Denmark, the British +Ministers, early in September, 1807, sent out orders to the +Commander of the Forces in the West Indies, to reduce the +Danish islands of St. John, St. Thomas and Saint Croix,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span> +and the 1st West India Regiment, with the other troops +stationed at Barbados, embarked in men-of-war under +General Bowyer, on the 15th of December, to proceed on +this duty. On the 19th of December the expedition reached +Sandy Point, Saint Christopher's, and receiving some troops +from that garrison, sailed again the same day; arriving at +St. Thomas, where it was joined by reinforcements from +Antigua and Grenada, on the 21st. A summons to surrender +was at once sent to the Governor, Von Scholten, the terms of +which he accepted next day, and surrendered the islands of +St. Thomas and St. John with their dependencies. A small +garrison of the 70th Regiment being left at St. Thomas, the +1st division of the troops, in which was included the 1st +West India Regiment, sailed on the evening of the 23rd for +Saint Croix. The expedition arrived off the town of +Frederickstadt on the 24th; and the Governor having +capitulated on the 25th, the troops were landed, and the +forts and batteries taken possession of, a royal salute being +fired as the British colours were hoisted. Next night, the +garrison and town of Christianstadt, on the other side of the +island, were also occupied. The 1st West India Regiment +during this expedition was commanded by Major Nathaniel +Blackwell; and after the surrender of Saint Croix, it at once +returned to Barbados. In January, 1808, three companies +were detached from Barbados to Antigua, and one to Tobago; +the detachment at Antigua rejoining head-quarters in October +of the same year.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span></p> + +<p>The next service seen by the regiment was at Marie-Galante,<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> +in 1808. Deseada and Marie-Galante, the former a +few miles to the north-east, and the latter a few miles to +the south-east of Guadaloupe, had been captured by Captain +Selby and a naval force in March, 1808. Deseada, the +French Governor of Guadaloupe allowed to remain unmolested; +but Marie-Galante was so good a privateer station, +and its loss also brought the British so much more nearly +in contact with him, that he determined to try to recover it.</p> + +<p>The attempt was made on the 23rd of August, by Colonel +Cambriel, who, with about 200 men in seventeen boats +stole over from Guadaloupe and landed near Grand Bourg. +They were preparing to attack the battery when they were +espied from the <i>Circe</i>; thirty of whose seamen hurried on +shore, threw themselves into the battery before the French +could reach it, and gave them such a warm reception as to +compel them to retreat. The enemy's boats were seized +by the <i>Circe</i>, and the escape of the French being thus cut +off, they retired to the centre of the island. Intelligence of +their landing was forwarded to General Beckwith, at +Barbados, who lost no time in sending Lieutenant-Colonel +Blackwell<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a> with three companies of the 1st West India +Regiment against them.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p><p>The following is Lieutenant-Colonel Blackwell's report +to General Beckwith:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 28em;">"Grand Bourg, Marie-Galante</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 35em;">"<i>Sept. 4th, 1808.</i></span><br /> +"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>, +</p> + +<p>"I have the honour to inform you that the troops +which you were pleased to place under my command arrived +here, in H.M. Ship <i>Captain</i>, on the 29th of August; and +finding from Captain Pigot, commander of this island, that +the French troops were strongly posted within three miles +of Grand Bourg, I was immediately landed with the three +companies of the 1st West India Regiment; and having +obtained an increase of my force, of about 140 marines, +and some sailors, together with a six-pounder, from the +army schooner <i>Maria</i>, I lost no time in fulfilling the +instructions I received from you.</p> + +<p>"I have now much satisfaction in reporting, that after +a pursuit of the enemy for five days and nights, and having +during that period had four engagements with him, in +each of which he was repulsed, and obliged to make most +precipitate retreat, leaving behind him arms, ammunition, +etc., at every different post that had been attacked, and +at one place in particular, nine mariners (who had been +taken prisoners on the first landing of the enemy), and at +another, a brass six-pounder, which had only arrived from +Guadaloupe two days, and which was found spiked; by +constantly marching and harassing him, we found, on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span> +coming within one hundred yards of his front yesterday +morning, that he was willing to surrender, and sending +out a flag of truce, I granted the following terms: 'That +the French troops might march out from the ground they +then occupied with the honours of war, but that they +should lay down their arms in front of the troops, and +surrender themselves as prisoners of war, and that all +prisoners taken since their arrival in the island should be +immediately returned.' I was, however, much astonished +to find that Colonel Cambriel, who had commanded the +army, was not present when they surrendered, but I have +since understood that he had quitted it the morning previous, +and had returned to Guadaloupe, but I have some reason +to imagine he is still in this island.</p> + +<p>"The field-piece I had taken from the army schooner +became useless after the first day, from the tract of the +country the enemy led us over; I therefore sent it back to +Grand Bourg, and at the same time I directed fifty marines +to occupy the post of Delosses, three miles from town, +which kept up the communication with the interior of the +island.</p> + +<p>"In our several attacks, it gives me pleasure to say +that we have had only two privates wounded, one of +them since dead. The loss on the part of the enemy I +have not ascertained, but imagine it to have been considerable. +I am sorry to mention to you that a gentleman +from Antigua, of the name of Brown, being a prisoner of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> +war, was in rear of the enemy's picket when attacked +on the evening of the 2nd instant, and received a mortal +wound. The force which has been brought from Guadaloupe +I have not yet exactly found out, but from all +accounts must have been above 200 rank and file.</p> + +<p>"From the return I send herewith, you will find that +162 privates have laid down their arms, and there are +at present many who have been sick dispersed through +the country. The inhabitants that joined were very considerable. +I believe their number amounted to from four +to five hundred....</p> + +<p>"I have likewise to return my best thanks to all the +officers, non-commissioned officers, and privates who were +under my command, for the cheerfulness with which they +went through the long and harassing marches, and I think +it is a duty incumbent upon me to mention to you their +extreme good conduct since they have been in the +field.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">"I have the honour to be, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 30em;">(Signed) "<span class="smcap">Nath. Blackwell</span>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 29em;">"Lieut.-Colonel 4th W.I. Regiment."</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p>"Return of prisoners who surrendered on the 3rd of +September, 1808: 4 captains, 8 lieutenants, 162 rank and +file, 1 staff.</p> + +<p>"Return of arms, ammunition, and accoutrements taken +and destroyed from 30th August to 3rd September: 1 field-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>piece, +450 firelocks, 200 belts and pouches, and 24 kegs +of ball-cartridge.</p> + +<p>"Ammunition for field-piece not ascertained."</p> +</div> + +<p>On this occasion was captured the drum-major's staff of +the French 26th Regiment (now in the possession of the 1st +West India Regiment), bearing the motto: "La République +Française une et indivisible. Battalion 26<sup>me</sup>," and surmounted +by the cap of Liberty.</p> + +<p>Of the companies of the regiment employed on this service, +one was the grenadier company under Captain Cassidy, +another the light company under Captain Winkler, and the +third a battalion company under Lieutenant Nixon. On +the return of the detachment to Barbados it was formed up +on a garrison parade at St. Ann's on the right of the regiment; +and Lieutenant-General Beckwith, after thanking +Lieutenant-Colonel Blackwell and the officers and men +engaged for their meritorious exertions, presented the former +with a sword.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> See map of Guadaloupe.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> Major Nathaniel Blackwell, 1st West India Regiment, was, by the +<i>Gazette</i> of May 24th, 1808, promoted Lieutenant-Colonel of the 4th West +India Regiment, for his services at the reduction of the Danish West +India Islands. At this time he had not yet joined his new corps.</p></div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%;"> +<img src="images/fp125x.jpg" style="width: 70%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE CAPTURE OF MARTINIQUE, 1809<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a>—THE CAPTURE OF +GUADALOUPE, 1810.</p> + + +<p>The 1st West India Regiment continued doing duty at +Barbados until January 27th, 1809, when eight companies +joined the expedition against the Island of Martinique.</p> + +<p>The interception, in the summer of 1808, of some despatches +from the Governor of Martinique to the French +Ministry asking for supplies and additional troops, and +describing the condition of the island as almost defenceless, +first directed the attention of the British Government to +the reduction of this French colony. Preparations for the +attack began at Barbados in November, 1808, the expedition +assembled at Carlisle Bay, Barbados, in January, 1809, +and on the 28th of that month the force sailed for Martinique.</p> + +<p>The expeditionary force was under the command of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span> +Lieutenant-General Beckwith, and consisted of two divisions, +each of two brigades, the 1st Division being commanded by +Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, and the 2nd Division +by Major-General Maitland. The 1st West India Regiment +was included in the 1st Division. Six battalion companies, +with the 13th and 8th Regiments, formed the 2nd Brigade +under Brigadier-General Colville; while the grenadier company +(Captain Winkler), with the 7th, 23rd, and a light +battalion, in which latter was the light company, 1st West +India Regiment, formed the 1st Brigade, under Brigadier-General +Hoghton.</p> + +<p>On the 30th of January the expedition arrived off the +Island of Martinique, and on the evening of the 31st the +troops disembarked, the 1st Division landing at Malgré +Tout, Bay Robert, and the 2nd near St. Luce and Point +Solomon on the opposite side of the island.</p> + +<p>The 1st Division marched the same night to De Manceaux +Estate. The roads were in a wretched condition +from the rains, and the horses being done up from the +length of time which they had been on board ship, the +troops were obliged to drag the guns themselves. After +a short rest the force continued its march to Papin's, which +it reached at midnight. Here the main body of the 1st +Division halted for the night, while the grenadier company +of the 1st West India Regiment, with the 7th Regiment, +pushed on to the heights on De Bork's Estate.</p> + +<p>On the day following they were joined by the 23rd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span> +and the light infantry battalion, and advanced to the +heights of Morne Bruno, the French skirmishers falling back +slowly before them, while keeping up a smart fire. From +this point the grenadier company, 1st West India Regiment, +advanced with the 7th, the 23rd being in support, +against the French position on the heights of Desfourneaux.</p> + +<p>The enemy, under General De Hondelot, were well +placed on the crest of the ridge, with a mountain torrent +in their front, and a strong force of artillery drawn up on +their left flank. The flank companies of the 7th were +ordered to turn the French right, while the light battalion, +with which was the light company, 1st West India Regiment, +moved against his left, and the grenadiers of the 1st West +India Regiment, with the remainder of the 7th, advanced +against the centre. The troops rushed forward, fording the +stream under a heavy fire, and attacking the enemy, who +was greatly superior in numbers, with the bayonet, drove +him from his position.</p> + +<p>From this point, with the co-operation of the 2nd Brigade, +the French were beaten back to the heights of Surirey, +where they made a determined stand, but by a brilliant +charge, the British carried the hill, and forced them to +take shelter under the guns of their redoubts.<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a></p> + +<p>The troops encamped for the night on the position<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span> +which they had won, while the enemy took up a second +position, strengthened by two redoubts connected by an +entrenchment.</p> + +<p>Next morning, February 2nd, the British made a movement +to turn the French right, and, being much annoyed +by the enemy's advanced redoubt, the light battalion and +the 7th Regiment were ordered to take it. They were +repulsed with considerable loss, but, on the following night, +the 2nd division of the British having come up, the enemy +abandoned the work and spiked the guns, retiring with all +his force to Fort Bourbon, or Desaix.</p> + +<p>While the 1st Division had thus been engaged at Morne +Bruno and Surirey, the 2nd had been equally successful. +Upon landing at St. Luce, a detachment of the Royal York +Rangers took possession of the battery at Point Solomon, +on the south side of Fort Royal Bay, thus securing a safe +anchorage for the fleet. The same corps then pushed on +and invested Pigeon Island, a small fortified island which +commanded the anchorage in the upper part of the bay, +and which had to be captured before any attempt could be +made against the formidable fortresses of Bourbon and Fort +République. Batteries were erected on Morne Vanier, from +which Pigeon Island was shelled with such success that the +garrison surrendered.</p> + +<p>The way being now open for the fleet, preparations +were commenced for the capture of Fort Bourbon. It was +decided to attempt to take the place by storm, and on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span> +February 4th, the 1st Division, which, under Sir George +Prevost, had marched over from Surirey, advanced to the +assault, the grenadier companies forming the "forlorn hope." +The fire from the enemy's guns was, however, so heavy +and well-directed that the attempt failed, notwithstanding +the most conspicuous gallantry on the part of the British, +and the troops retired with a loss of 330 killed and wounded, +the grenadier company of the 1st West India Regiment having +suffered heavily.</p> + +<p>General Villaret, the French commander, supposing Fort +Bourbon to be impregnable, abandoned Fort République, +leaving in it 4 mortars and 38 heavy guns, and collected +his entire force, some 3000 in number, in Fort +Bourbon. Being well supplied with food and ammunition, he +resolved quietly to wait in the citadel; confident that the +British army would gradually melt away from the sickness +caused by the heavy rains, which had now set in and fell +incessantly. On the 7th February a British force entered by +night the abandoned Fort République; and, though the work +was furiously bombarded from Fort Bourbon, in two days the +guns which had been left in the fort were unspiked and the +fire returned. In the meantime other batteries had been in +course of construction, and by February 18th Fort Bourbon +was completely invested.</p> + +<p>The enemy were then summoned to surrender, but General +Villaret declaring that he would rather bury himself under +the ruins of the citadel, the bombardment commenced. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span> +British batteries, six in number, opened fire simultaneously at +3.30 p.m. on Sunday, February 19th, and the fire was hotly +returned. At Colville's battery, where were four companies +of the 1st West India Regiment, the brushwood in front of +the guns was set on fire, and was only extinguished with +much difficulty, and a terrific fire was kept up on both sides. +On February 20th the enemy ceased firing during the whole +day, recommencing again on February 21st; but on the 22nd +a shell from our batteries having blown up the magazine, +the enemy sent out terms of capitulation. These were +rejected, but on the 24th the place surrendered; the garrison, +2700 in number, became prisoners of war, and three eagles +remained as trophies in the British hands.</p> + +<p>The following general orders were issued during this +brilliant campaign:</p> + +<p>1. Morne Bruno, February 3rd, 1809.—"The benefit the +advanced corps, under Lieutenant-General Sir George Prevost, +have produced to His Majesty's service, from the gallant and +successful attack made upon Morne Bruno and the heights +of Surirey, on the 1st instant, by the 1st Brigade of the +army and the light battalion, under Brigadier-General +Hoghton, demands from the Commander of the Forces a +reiteration of his acknowledgments, and his assurance to +the brigadier-general, and to the commanding officer of +the Royal Fusiliers, of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, and of +the light battalion, also to the officers, non-commissioned +officers, and soldiers of those regiments, that he will not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span> +fail to lay their meritorious exertions before the King. The +exertions of all the corps engaged yesterday were conspicuous; +and, although the state of the works possessed +by the enemy did not admit of their being carried by the +bayonet, which rendered it the general's duty to direct the +corps employed to retire, they manifested a spirit and determination +which, when tempered by less impetuosity, will +lead to the happiest results."</p> + +<p>2. February 27th, 1809.—"The grenadier company, +with a detachment of the battalion of the 1st West India +Regiment, who were engaged with the enemy both on the +1st and 2nd of February, 1809, having been omitted to be +mentioned in the general orders of February 3rd, referring +to those operations, the Commander of the Forces takes the +present occasion to acknowledge their services. From the +day of the regiment landing, to that of the enemy's surrender, +it served with the greatest credit under all the disadvantages +to which a West India regiment is exposed. +The hard and severe work is generally performed by them, +which the European soldiers could not undergo from the +climate."</p> + +<p>During this campaign the 1st West India Regiment was +commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Tolley; and, in token of +its services, it was permitted to retain two brass side-drums +and five battle-axes, which it had captured from the +enemy.</p> + +<p>The 1st West India Regiment continued to serve in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span> +Martinique till the 17th of May, 1809, when the head-quarters +and six companies were removed to the Island +of Trinidad. There they remained until the month of +December following, when an expedition was formed for +the reduction of Guadaloupe.</p> + +<p>Since the expulsion of the British in 1794, that island +had enjoyed a period of tranquility; its armament had been +considerably increased under successive governors, slavery +had been re-established, and its harbours swarmed with +privateers, which preyed upon British commerce. The incessant +annoyance and loss to our trade caused by these +vessels, was a strong incentive for a descent upon the +island. Added to this, it was a colony of considerable +importance to France; the mother country depending, in +a great measure, upon it for colonial produce.</p> + +<p>The British army was assembled at Prince Rupert's +Bay, Dominica, where, on the 22nd of January, 1810, the +flank companies of the 1st West India Regiment joined. +The force was under the command of Lieutenant-General +Sir George Beckwith, and was thus composed:</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="hislop"> +<tr><td align="center" colspan="4"><span class="smcap">1st Division—Major-General Hislop.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' rowspan="3">3rd Brigade—Brig.-General Maclean</td><td align='left' rowspan="3"><span class="bracket3">{</span></td><td align='left'>Light Companies of 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 8th West India Regiments</td><td align='left'>500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>90th Foot</td><td align='left'>500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>8th West India Regiment</td><td align='left'>400</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' rowspan="3">4th Brigade—Brig.-General Skinner</td><td align='left' rowspan="3"><span class="bracket3">{</span></td><td align='left'>Battalion made up of 13th and 63rd Regiments</td><td align='left'>600</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>York Light Infantry Volunteers</td><td align='left'>200</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4th West India Regiment</td><td align='left'>400</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="center" colspan="4"><span class="smcap"><br />2nd Division—Brigadier-General Harcourt.</span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' rowspan="3">1st Brigade—Brig.-General Harcourt</td><td align='left' rowspan="3"><span class="bracket3">{</span></td><td align='left'>Light infantry</td><td align='left'>500</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>15th Foot</td><td align='left'>300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>3rd West India Regiment</td><td align='left'>400</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' rowspan="3">2nd Brigade—Brig.-General Barrow</td><td align='left' rowspan="3"><span class="bracket3">{</span></td> +<td align='left'>Grenadiers of the 1st, 4th, and 8th West India Regiments</td><td align='left'>300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>25th Foot</td><td align='left'>600</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>6th West India Regiment</td><td align='left'>350</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="center" colspan="4"><span class="smcap"><br />Reserve.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' rowspan="4">5th Brigade—Brig.-General Wale</td><td align='left' rowspan="4"><span class="bracket3">{</span></td><td align='left'>Grenadiers</td><td align='left'>300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Royal York Rangers</td><td align='left'>900</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Royal Artillery</td><td align='left'>300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Military Artificers</td><td align='left'>100</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>On the 23rd of January the fleet sailed from Dominica, the +2nd Division being ordered to proceed to the Saintes, to +prepare for disembarking near Basseterre, while the 1st +Division and the Reserve made for the north-eastern quarter +of that part of Guadaloupe which is called Cabesterre.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 80%;"> +<img src="images/fp133x.jpg" style="width: 80%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>The light infantry battalion of the 3rd Brigade effected +its landing at 9 a.m. on the 28th of January, without opposition, +at the Bay of St. Marie; and immediately possessed +itself of the heights, so as to cover the disembarkation of the +remainder of the 1st Division and the Reserve. The whole +of the troops were landed about half-an-hour after noon, and +the light infantry battalion was ordered forward as the +advance guard of the division. It reached the village of +Marigot about sunset, and crossing the river (called Rivière +des Pères Blancs), halted in the mountains in the most +advantageous position for maintaining itself during the night.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span> +The remainder of the division encamped at Marigot. The +troops had marched this day with three days' cooked provisions +in their havresacks. The Reserve remained at St. +Marie to cover the landing of munitions and supplies.</p> + +<p>On the 29th of January, the troops were under arms an +hour before daylight, and the light battalion, being again +pushed to the front, reached Bannaniers by sunset. There +the division encamped for the night, while the light companies +of the 1st and 3rd West India Regiments were ordered +to possess themselves of the strong pass of Lacasse, above the +British position.</p> + +<p>On the same day, the 29th, the 2nd Division, after making +a feint of disembarking at Trois Rivières to draw off the +attention of the enemy, proceeded in the ships to the western +side of the island.</p> + +<p>On the 30th of January, at daybreak, the 1st Division again +advanced. Between 9 and 10 a.m. the light battalion, which +was still leading, descended the heights on the side of Trois +Rivières, and coming up with the rear of a detachment of the +enemy, dispersed it after a short conflict. Pursuing its march +it reached the open ground, or savannah, at Loriols Trois +Rivières about 11 a.m., and there halted to allow the column +to come up.</p> + +<p>The enemy's position was now in front, and consisted of a +line of redoubts and entrenchments on the commanding +heights of Petrizel. Major-General Hislop at once made his +dispositions for an attack on the following morning; the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span> +light battalion moving to the left, and the 4th Brigade, with +the remainder of the 3rd, extending along the heights to the +right. In the execution of this order, the light battalion, +advancing along the high road towards the enemy's position, +alarmed him to such a degree as to induce him to open fire +from all his batteries and entrenched lines, not only from +Petrizel, but also from his post at Dolé; from which he kept +up for some time an incessant fire, without doing any other +injury than killing one man, and wounding another. The +troops took up their positions in the meantime without further +inconvenience. Towards the close of the evening numbers of +the enemy were seen ascending the mountains above their +works at Petrizel. The heat this day had been excessive, and +the country through which the troops marched exceedingly +difficult, the strong pass of Trou au Chien lying in their way. +The night closed in with heavy rain.</p> + +<p>On the 31st, at daylight, not a soul was to be seen near +the enemy's works; and, it having been ascertained that they +were evacuated, the light company of the 1st West India +Regiment was ordered to march at noon and take possession.</p> + +<p>The 1st Division remained halted during the 1st of +February, and on the 2nd, the light battalion, as advanced +guard of the 4th Brigade, was ordered to march, by a very +difficult ascent, to the centre of the Palmiste heights; while +the remainder of the 3rd Brigade moved to the right of the +same heights, by an easier route. The troops bivouacked on +the heights for the night.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span></p> + +<p>While these operations had been going on, the 2nd +Division had, at 10 a.m. on the 30th of January, disembarked +at a bay to the northward of the village of Les Vieux +Habitans and about three leagues to the north of the town +of Basseterre. The troops gained the heights above the +village after a slight skirmish, and encamped on the ground +for the night. During the two succeeding days the 2nd +Division was employed in bringing up guns to a height +near Post Bellair.</p> + +<p>By the combined movements of the two divisions, General +Ernouf, the French commander, was now, by the night of the +2nd of February, hemmed in at the extremity of the island +between the sea and the British army. He had judiciously +chosen his position, which was naturally strong, and which +he had strengthened by all the artificial means in his +power. He was posted on heights, his left supported by +the mountains of Matouba, and every accessible point of his +line covered by abattis and stockaded redoubts. In his +front was a river, the passage of which, exceedingly difficult +in itself, was rendered much more so by a detachment of +troops stationed behind abattis. The ground also, between +the river and the heights, was bushy and full of rugged +rocks, and of course highly unfavourable to the march of +the assailants.</p> + +<p>It was on the 3rd of February that the British troops +were put in motion to dislodge him from his advantageous +position. The 1st Division, soon after dawn, descended<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> +the north side of Palmiste, passed the river Gallion, and +under a heavy fire from a battery at the bridge of Vozière, +formed on the opposite heights, taking up a position so +as to intercept the communication between the town of +Basseterre and the enemy's camp. The 2nd Division +had, during the night of the 2nd, pushed forward the +grenadiers of the 2nd Brigade and a detachment of the +6th West India Regiment to occupy the ridge Beaupère +St. Louis, on the upper part of which the strong post of +Bellair was situated. On the morning of the 3rd the +enemy perceived what had been done, and moved out in +force to dislodge the British. The 1st Brigade was immediately +ordered up in support; but, before it could +gain the heights, a smart action had taken place, and it +only arrived in time to complete the defeat of the enemy. +In this engagement the grenadier company of the 1st West +India Regiment lost 2 rank and file killed, Captain Cassidy +and 9 rank and file wounded. During the remainder of +the day the troops of the 2nd Division were moved up to +Bellair, and the whole army remained on the ground during +the night.</p> + +<p>Next morning, the 4th, the British advanced to the +final assault of the position. The 1st Division was charged +with the operations on the right, while the task of turning +the left was entrusted to Brigadier-General Wale with the +Reserve. At dawn of day the light company of the 1st +West India Regiment and the York Light Infantry were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span> +ordered to advance to the enemy's post at the bridge of +Vozière. For some time they were unseen, but a picket +of the enemy, moving along the opposite side of the ravine, +discovered them; and, opening fire, a general discharge +soon followed, in the face of which the British rushed +forward and carried the work. Almost at the same moment, +Brigadier-General Wale, who, with the Reserve, had forded +the Gallion River, and under a heavy fire ascended the +heights, carried the enemy's works on the left; and General +Ernouf's situation had become so critical, that he at once +hoisted flags of truce in the works which he still retained +at Matouba.</p> + +<p>On the 5th of February, the terms of capitulation were +signed, the French marching out with military honours, and +becoming prisoners of war. The British loss was 52 officers +and men killed, 250 wounded, and 7 missing. The French +lost 600 killed, and 2000 prisoners. Captain H. Downie, +of the 1st West India Regiment, was mentioned in despatches +for gallantry at the storming of the work at the bridge of +Vozière.</p> + +<p>The following general order was published, dated Beau +Vallon, Guadaloupe, 6th Feb., 1810: "The enemy are now +prisoners of war, to be sent to England, and not to serve +until duly exchanged. Thus through the exertions and +general co-operation of the fleet and the army, has been +effected the important conquest of this colony in nine days<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span> +from the landing of the 1st Division. The Commander of +the Forces returns his public thanks to the officers of all +ranks for their meritorious exertions, and to the non-commissioned +officers and soldiers for the cheerfulness with which +they have undergone the fatigues of a march, difficult in its +nature, through the strongest country in the world, and the +spirit which they have manifested upon all occasions to close +with the enemy."</p> + +<p>In this campaign, it may be observed, all the hard work +had fallen to the lot of the 1st Division, and especially to +that of the light infantry battalion of the 3rd Brigade, +which had, by forced marches, moved across the whole +breadth of the island, from St. Marie to the neighbourhood +of Basseterre, over a wild and broken country, in +six days.</p> + +<p>For their services at the capture of Guadaloupe, Captains +Cassidy and Winkler were appointed brigade-majors +at Trinidad and Grenada respectively; and the words "Martinique" +and "Guadaloupe" were inscribed on the colours +of the regiment, "as a mark of royal favour and approbation +of its gallant conduct at the capture of those islands in 1809 +and 1810."</p> + +<p>On the completion of this service the flank companies +rejoined head-quarters at Trinidad, as did the two companies +detached at Martinique and the two at Barbados. +The whole regiment was then stationed in Trinidad, seven<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span> +companies being at St. Joseph's and three at Orange +Grove. This arrangement lasted until March, 1814, when +the head-quarters and four companies were moved to +Martinique, four companies to St. Lucia, and two to +Dominica.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> This island had been restored to France by the Treaty of Amiens.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> The grenadier company of the 1st West India Regiment lost 1 rank +and file, killed; 1 drummer, 18 rank and file, wounded; 1 subaltern, +missing.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE EXPEDITION TO NEW ORLEANS, 1814-15.</p> + + +<p>In July, 1814, the 1st West India Regiment was removed +to Guadaloupe, except two companies detached to St. +Martin's and Marie-Galante, and remained so stationed +until it was selected to take part in the expedition to New +Orleans.</p> + +<p>In June, 1812, the United States of America had declared +war against Great Britain, Washington had been +captured by the British on July 24th, 1813, and the war +had been carried on with varying success until towards +the close of the year 1814. In October of that year an +expedition to New Orleans was decided upon; the force +was to rendezvous at Negril Bay, Jamaica, and for that +place the 1st West India Regiment embarked at Point +à Prène, Guadaloupe, on November 14th, 1814. Lieutenant-Colonel +Whitby, who had for the first time joined the regiment +on the previous day, was then in command.</p> + +<p>The assembly of the fleet, and the concentration of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span> +troops at a point so near to their own coast, had aroused +the suspicions of the Americans; and the treachery of an +official in the garrison office at Jamaica enabled them to +receive positive information as to the aim and destination +of the expedition. This official communicated the intelligence +to an American trader residing in Kingston, and the +latter at once sailed in a coasting schooner for Pensacola; +where General Jackson, who commanded the United States +army of the South, was on the point of marching to the +relief of St. Mary's, then being attacked by a naval force +under Rear-Admiral Cockburn. The American general, +upon learning of the proposed expedition, at once marched +to the Mississippi, concentrated a force of 13,000 men in +and around New Orleans, and threw up works on either side +of the river to defend the passage in the neighbourhood of +the town.</p> + +<p>On the 26th of November, 1814, the British fleet, under +the command of Vice-Admiral Sir A. Cochrane, having on +board a force of some 5000 men under Major-General +Keane, sailed from Negril Bay and arrived off the Chandeleur +Islands near the entrance of Lake Borgne, on +December 10th.</p> + +<p>"To reduce the forts which command the navigation +of the Mississippi was regarded as a task too difficult to +be attempted, and for any ships to pass without their +reduction seemed impossible. Trusting, therefore, that the +object of the enterprise was unknown to the Americans,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span> +Sir Alexander Cochrane and General Keane determined to +effect a landing somewhere on the banks of Lake Borgne, +and pushing directly on, to take possession of the town before +any effectual preparation could be made for its defence. +With this view the troops were removed from the larger +into the lighter vessels, and these, under convoy of such +gun-brigs as the shallowness of the water would float, began +on the 13th to enter Lake Borgne."<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a></p> + +<p>The Americans, however, being well acquainted with +what was taking place, opposed the passage of the lake +with five large cutters, each armed with six heavy guns, +and these were immediately attacked by the smaller craft +of the British. Avoiding a serious engagement, they retired +into the shoal water where they could only be attacked +by boats, and owing to the delay in getting together a +sufficiently powerful flotilla, it was not till the 15th that +they were captured, and the navigation of the lake cleared. +The vessels of a lighter draught having all run aground +in a vain endeavour to pass up the lake, the troops were +embarked in boats to carry them up to Pine Island, a distance +of thirty miles.</p> + +<p>"To be confined for so long a time as the prosecution of +this voyage would require, in one posture, was of itself no +very agreeable prospect; but the confinement was but a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span> +trifling misery when compared with that which arose from the +change in the weather. Instead of a constant bracing frost, +heavy rains, such as an inhabitant of England cannot dream +of, and against which no cloak could furnish protection, +began. In the midst of these were the troops embarked in +their new and straitened transports, and each division, +after an exposure of ten hours, landed upon a small desert +spot of earth, called Pine Island, where it was determined +to collect the whole army, previous to its crossing over to +the main.</p> + +<p>"Than this spot it is scarcely possible to imagine any +place more completely wretched. It was a swamp, containing +a small space of firm ground at one end, and almost wholly +unadorned with trees of any sort or description. The +interior was the resort of waterfowl; and the pools and +creeks with which it was intercepted abounded in dormant +alligators.</p> + +<p>"Upon this miserable desert the army was assembled, +without tents or huts, or any covering to shelter them from +the inclemency of the weather.... After having been exposed +all day to the cold and pelting rain, we landed upon a barren +island, incapable of furnishing even fuel enough to supply +our fires. To add to our miseries, as night closed, the rain +generally ceased, and severe frosts set in, which, congealing +our wet clothes upon our bodies, left little animal warmth to +keep the limbs in a state of activity; and the consequence +was, that many of the wretched negroes, to whom frost and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span> +cold were altogether new, fell fast asleep and perished before +morning."</p> + +<p>By December 21st the whole army was collected at Pine +Island, and next day it was formed into three brigades, the +1st West India Regiment with the 21st and 44th Regiments +composing the 2nd Brigade. The 1st West India Regiment, +which had left Negril Bay 500 strong, was now so reduced by +mortality and sickness that barely 400 men were in a condition +to take the field. The cold was intense, and, considering +the latitude, 29° N., almost incredible. It appears +that when the regiment left Jamaica no attempt was made +to furnish the men with warm clothing, and their sufferings +from this cause, they being all natives of the tropics, can be +better imagined than described. During the voyage the +regiment had been much scattered in small craft, where the +soldiers were obliged to sleep on deck, exposed to the +torrents of rain which fell by day and to the frosts that came +on at night; and, being unaccustomed to the severity of an +American winter, large numbers of them died from cold and +exposure, the 5th West India Regiment suffering equally +with the 1st.</p> + +<p>On December 22nd, the 1st Brigade (1600 strong) left +Pine Island in boats to proceed to Bayou Catalan, a small +creek eighty miles distant, which ran up from Lake Ponchartrain, +through the middle of an extensive swamp, to +within ten miles of New Orleans. Next day it landed at +the mouth of the creek and advanced along an overgrown<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span> +footpath on the banks of a canal, its movements being +concealed by the tall reeds of the swamp. After being +delayed by several small streams, it finally emerged from the +morass, and entering the cultivated portion of the district +took up a position across the main road from Proctorsville +to New Orleans, the Mississippi being on its left and the +swamp on its right.</p> + +<p>The exhausted troops, without any camp equipment, +encamped for the night on the position. They were not, +however, allowed to enjoy a long period of rest. Late in +the evening a large schooner was observed stealing up +the river, until she arrived opposite the bivouac fires around +which the men were asleep; and before it could be ascertained +whether she was a friend or foe, a broadside of grape swept +through the camp. Having no artillery with them, and +no means of attacking this formidable adversary, the troops +sheltered themselves behind a bank. The night was as +dark as pitch, and the only light to be seen was the flash +of the enemy's guns as he continued to pour broadside after +broadside into the camp. To add to the miseries of the +condition of the British it began to rain heavily, and the +earth, barely raised above the level of the river, became +a vast puddle of slime, in which the soldiers were compelled +to lie down to avoid the iron showers of grape that tore +through the air.</p> + +<p>In the meantime the 2nd Brigade, with the 1st West +India Regiment, had embarked in the remainder of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span> +boats from Pine Island, about ten hours after the departure +of the 1st Brigade, and after being exposed to an incessant +downpour of rain during the night of December 22nd, had +arrived at the mouth of the Bayou Catalan at nightfall +on the 23rd. In the stillness of the night the sound of +the guns of the schooner as she opened fire on the 1st +Brigade were distinctly heard, and the troops, stimulated +to fresh exertions, hurried on to the assistance of their +comrades. As they drew nearer to the camp, the roll of +musketry was heard, for the enemy had brought up a +force of 5000 men from New Orleans, thinking to overwhelm +the solitary 1st Brigade in the dark, and had +unexpectedly opened a semicircle of fire upon it. The +2nd Brigade pushed on, and arrived just in time to prevent +the Americans turning the British right, which, owing to +their local knowledge, they had partially succeeded in +doing. Coming up the canal bank, the 2nd Brigade in +their turn took the enemy in flank, and a hand-to-hand +conflict took place along the whole line, the British fighting +with the energy of despair in the darkness and depths of +the wood, and trusting to the bayonet alone. At last, +about 3 a.m. on the 24th, the enemy retired, beaten off +at all points.</p> + +<p>The losses in the night's engagement, and the deaths +from cold and exposure that had occurred during the +passage from Pine Island, had so thinned the already +attenuated ranks of the 1st West India Regiment, that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span> +on the morning of the 24th, only 16 sergeants and 240 +rank and file were available for duty. The officers serving +with them were Major Weston, Captains Isles and Collins, +Lieutenants McDonald, Morgan, Miller, Magee, Pilkington, +McKenzie, and Dalomel.</p> + +<p>Notwithstanding the repulse which the Americans had +experienced, the schooner continued to annoy our troops. +She had anchored in the river beyond musket range, and, +from that safe distance, continued to pour round-shot and +grape into the camp, which had been increased on the +evening of the 24th by the arrival of the 3rd Brigade, +consisting of the 93rd and the 5th West India Regiment. +On December 25th, Captain Collins, 1st West India Regiment, +was killed by a shot from one of her guns, and +there were several other casualties in the regiment. On +that day, however, Sir Edward Pakenham, who had been +sent out from England to assume the command, arrived, +bringing some guns with him. During the night a battery +was quietly thrown up opposite the schooner, and at daybreak +a heavy cannonade was opened on her with red-hot +shot. Before long she was set on fire, and blew up, while +another vessel, which had come to her assistance, was +compelled to cut and run up the river.</p> + +<p>The main obstacle to an advance being now removed, +Sir Edward Pakenham divided the army into two columns. +The right column, commanded by Major-General Gibbs, +consisted of the 4th, 21st, 44th, and 1st West India<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span> +Regiments; the left, under Major-General Keane, was +composed of the 85th, 93rd, 95th, and 5th West India +Regiments.</p> + +<p>In the meantime the American general had occupied +a position facing the British, with the Mississippi on his +right, and an impenetrable morass on his left, covering New +Orleans, and rendering an advance on that town impossible, +until his position had been carried by a front attack. The +ground thus occupied, about 1000 yards in breadth, had +been fortified so as to be almost impregnable. Three deep +parallel ditches had been dug across the whole front; in +rear of these was a strong loop-holed palisade, and several +batteries had been erected so as to bring a cross-fire to +bear upon the level plain, across which the British would +have to advance to the assault. The right flank of the +enemy was further protected by a strong work thrown up +on the right bank of the Mississippi, which effectually +prevented our gun-boats turning the position, should they +succeed in entering the river.</p> + +<p>The night of December 26th was spent in continual +alarms. Small bodies of American riflemen would creep +down upon the pickets under cover of the darkness, and, +firing upon the sentries, prevent the main body from +obtaining any sleep. "Scarcely had the troops lain down, +when they were aroused by sharp firing at the outposts, +which lasted only till they were in order, and then ceased; +but as soon as they had dispersed, and had once more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span> +addressed themselves to repose, the same cause of alarm +returned, and they were again called to their ranks. Thus +was the night spent in watching, or at best in broken and +disturbed slumbers, than which nothing is more trying, +both to the health and spirits of an army."</p> + +<p>At daybreak on the 27th, the pickets were withdrawn, +and the British formed in order of attack. The right column +took post near the skirts of the morass, throwing out +skirmishers half-way across the plain to meet the American +riflemen, while the left column drew up upon the road. +It was a clear, frosty morning, and in this formation the +troops advanced, the enemy's skirmishers slowly falling +back before them.</p> + +<p>After an advance of about four miles the American +position was sighted, and the British were saluted by a +heavy cannonade from the batteries and shipping. "Scarce +a ball passed over or fell short of its mark, but all striking +full into the midst of our ranks, occasioned terrible havoc. +The shrieks of the wounded, therefore, the crash of firelocks, +and the fall of such as were killed, caused at first some +little confusion; and what added to the panic was, that +from the farm-houses beside which we stood bright flames +suddenly burst forth. The Americans, expecting this attack, +had filled them with combustibles for the purpose; and +directing against them one or two guns, loaded with red-hot +shot, in an instant set them on fire. The scene was +altogether very sublime. A tremendous cannonade mowed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span> +down our ranks, and deafened us with its roar; whilst +two large châteaux and their out-buildings almost scorched +us with the flames, and blinded us with the smoke which +they emitted."</p> + +<p>The troops having formed line, advanced to storm the +enemy's works. The right column, after a sharp and +victorious skirmish with an advanced body of the enemy, +arrived at the edge of the marsh, through which it endeavoured +in vain to penetrate. At the same time the +left column reached the first ditch, or canal, and, being +unable to cross it, there halted, the men endeavouring to +shelter themselves from the enemy's fire in a wet ditch +about knee-deep. The troops being unable to close with +the enemy, Sir Edward Pakenham ordered them to retire. +This was effected by battalions, the last corps moving off +about noon; and by nightfall the army was encamped +about two miles from the former camping-ground, and the +same distance from the enemy's position.</p> + +<p>The 28th, 29th, and 30th, were occupied in bringing +up guns from the fleet, on which duty the two West India +Regiments and the seamen were employed. Major Weston +and Lieutenant Magee, 1st West India Regiment, died +from exposure and fatigue while engaged in this work.</p> + +<p>During the night of the 31st, six batteries, mounting +in all 30 pieces of heavy cannon, were completed, at a +distance of some 300 yards from the American lines, and +at dawn the artillery duel commenced. During the whole<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +of the day a heavy cannonade continued, till, towards +evening, the British ammunition began to fail, and the fire +in consequence to slacken. The fire of the Americans, on +the other hand, increased; and, landing a number of guns +from their vessels, they soon compelled the British to +abandon their works. The enemy made no attempt to +secure the guns, and during the night they were removed.</p> + +<p>Sir Edward Pakenham now decided to send a portion +of his force across the river to attack the fort on the right +bank and turn its guns upon the main position, whilst the +remainder should at the same time make a general assault +along the whole entrenchment. "But before this plan +could be put into execution, it would be necessary to cut +a canal across the entire neck of land from the Bayo de +Catiline to the river, of sufficient depth and width to admit +of boats being brought up from the lake. Upon this arduous +undertaking were the troops immediately employed. Being +divided into four companies, they laboured by turns, day +and night.... The fatigue undergone during the prosecution +of this attempt no words can sufficiently describe; yet +it was pursued without repining, and at length, by unremitting +exertions, they succeeded in effecting their purpose +by the 6th of January."</p> + +<p>On January 1st H.M.S. <i>Vengeur</i> arrived off the Chandeleur +Islands with a convoy of transports, containing the 7th and +43rd Regiments, under Major-General Lambert, and these +two battalions, each 800 strong, joined the army on the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> +evening of January 6th. Next day the final arrangements +were made. Colonel Thornton, with the 85th, the marines, +and a body of seamen, in all 1400 men, were to cross the +river immediately after dark, seize the batteries on the +right bank, and at daylight commence firing on the enemy's +line, which at the same moment was to be attacked by +the remainder of the army. Major-General Keane, with +the 95th, the light battalion, and the 1st and 5th<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> West +India Regiments, was to attack the enemy's right, Major-General +Gibbs, with the 4th, 21st, 44th, and 93rd, force the +left, whilst Major-General Lambert was to hold the 7th and +43rd in reserve.</p> + +<p>In accordance with this scheme, Colonel Thornton at +nightfall moved his force down to the brink of the river, +but no boats had arrived. Hour after hour elapsed, and +then at last only a sufficient number to transport 350 men +made their appearance. With this small force Colonel +Thornton determined to make the attempt, and pushed off. +The loss of time which had occurred was however fatal, +for day began to break before the boats had crossed the river, +and though the troops carried the batteries by assault, after +a short but obstinate resistance, the alarm had already been +carried to the main body of the enemy, and they were +thoroughly prepared for defence.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span></p> +<p>The capture of the works on the right bank had, however, +really made the front attack upon the American lines unnecessary; +for the passage of the river now being clear, +the armed boats from the canal could have passed up the +stream and taken the whole of the position in rear. Had +this been done, the American general would inevitably +have been obliged to abandon his defences, falling back +upon New Orleans, and we should have obtained possession +of his formidable position without the loss of a man. Major-General +Pakenham, however, still persevered in his original +intention, and ordered the assault to take place.</p> + +<p>There had been so much mismanagement, that the +advance, which should have taken place at dawn, did not +commence till some time after daylight. The officer, whose +duty it was to have prepared fascines for the purpose of +filling the ditches, had neglected his work; and, at 2 a.m., +the hour at which he had been directed to have them ready, +not one was made.<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> Eventually an insufficient number were +got together, but "the 44th, which was appointed to carry +them, had either misunderstood or neglected their orders, +and now headed the column of attack, without any means +being provided for crossing the enemy's ditch, or scaling +his ramparts."</p> + +<p>"The indignation of our brave leader on this occasion +may be imagined, but cannot be described. Galloping<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span> +towards Colonel Mullens, who led the 44th, he commanded +him instantly to return for the fascines and ladders, but the +opportunity of planting them was lost; and, though they +were brought up, it was only to be scattered over the field +by the frightened bearers, for our troops were by this time +visible to the enemy. A dreadful fire was accordingly +opened upon them, and they were mowed down by hundreds +while they stood waiting for orders."</p> + +<p>The word being given to advance, the other regiments +rushed on to the assault. On reaching the first ditch a +horrible scene of carnage ensued; the few fascines that +were thrown down floated away; there were no ladders, +and the men, crowding to the edge of the ditch in the +hope of closing with the enemy, fell in heaps. Many +threw themselves into the water, and endeavoured to struggle +across, but were shot down, or drowned. On the right, +Major-General Keane's column had, though reduced to half +its strength, succeeded in passing the ditches near their +junction with the marsh, and pushed on desperately to +the palisade. But to scale this obstacle without ladders +was no easy matter. Some few, indeed, by climbing upon +their comrades' shoulders succeeded in entering the works, +but only to be at once shot down; while those who remained +outside were exposed to a flanking fire that swept them down +by scores. The two West India regiments distinguished +themselves by their desperate valour, so much so, indeed, as +to win encomiums from the American general, Jackson.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the left there had been a slight success, the 21st +Regiment having stormed and taken a three-gun battery; +but they were not supported, and the enemy, forcing their +way into the work, retook it with great slaughter. In vain +was the most obstinate courage displayed, the British were +beaten off at all points.</p> + +<p>"Sir Edward saw how things were going, and did all +that a general could do to rally his broken troops. Riding +towards the 44th, which had returned to the ground, but in +great disorder, he called out to Colonel Mullens to advance; +but that officer had disappeared, and was not to be found. +He therefore prepared to lead them himself, and had put +himself at their head for that purpose, when he received +a slight wound in the knee from a musket-ball, which killed +his horse. Mounting another, he again headed the 44th, +when a second ball took effect more fatally, and he dropped +lifeless into the arms of his aide-de-camp."</p> + +<p>Major-Generals Keane and Gibb were, almost at the same +moment, borne off the field severely wounded. "All was +now confusion and dismay. Without leaders, ignorant of +what was to be done, the troops first halted and then began +to retire; till finally the retreat was changed into a flight, +and they quitted the ground in the utmost disorder. But the +retreat was covered in gallant style by the reserve. Making +a forward motion, the 7th and 43rd presented the appearance +of a renewed attack, by which the enemy were so much awed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span> +that they did not venture beyond their lines in pursuit of the +fugitives."</p> + +<p>The British loss in this action was over 1000 killed; +while the Americans stated their total loss to be 8 killed +and 14 wounded. The 1st West India Regiment had 5 rank +and file killed, 2 sergeants and 16 rank and file wounded. +The following officers were wounded: Captain Isles, +Lieutenants McDonald and Morgan, Ensigns Miller and +Pilkington; and all, with the exception of Ensign Miller, +severely so. Lieutenants McKenzie and Dalomel, the only +remaining officers of the regiment with the expedition, were +publicly thanked by Major-General Lambert for the courage +which they had displayed, and the able manner in which they +had withdrawn the remnant of their corps from the enemy's +palisades.</p> + +<p>The capture of New Orleans being now despaired of in +the shattered condition of the force, a retreat was determined +upon. As it was impossible, without great risk, to return to +the fleet by the route by which the army had come—there +not being sufficient boats to embark more than a third of +the force at a time—it was decided to make a road from the +firm ground to the water's edge, a distance of many miles, +through the very centre of a morass, where human foot had +never before trodden. The difficulties experienced in making +this road were immense. Sometimes for miles together no +firm soil could be found, nor trees to furnish brushwood, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span> +all that could be done was to lay down bundles of reeds on +the morass. Nor were the enemy idle; there was constant +skirmishing at the outposts, and a continual fire was kept up +on the camp from a six-gun battery mounted on the bank of +the river.</p> + +<p>After nine days' incessant toil the road was completed; +the sick and wounded were first removed, then the baggage +and stores, and on January 17th, the infantry alone remained +in the camp. On the evening of the 18th it also began its +retreat. Leaving the camp-fires burning as if no movement +were taking place, battalion after battalion stole away +in the darkness in the most profound silence. Marching +all night over the fragile road of reeds, through which the +men sank knee-deep into the mud, the army reached the +borders of the lake at dawn. Boats were in readiness, and +regiment after regiment embarked and set sail for the fleet, +the only loss being the capture of a boat containing two +officers and forty men of the 14th Light Dragoons.</p> + +<p>After remaining a few days at the Chandeleur Islands, +the naval commander decided, in concert with Major-General +Lambert, to make an attack on Mobile, and the +fleet accordingly proceeded to that place. On February +12th, Fort Bowyer, which commanded the entrance to the +harbour, surrendered, and a British garrison being left in +the citadel, the fleet retired to Isle Dauphin, West Florida. +Hostilities were then terminated by a treaty of peace, and +the 1st West India Regiment returned to Barbados, where<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span> +early in March, Brigade-Majors Cassidy and Winkler rejoined +from the West India staff. The former succeeded to the +majority, vice Weston, deceased.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> "The Campaigns of the British Army at Washington and New +Orleans," by an Officer.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> According to Major-General Lambert's despatch to Earl Bathurst, the +5th West India Regiment was to cross the river with Colonel Thornton.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> This officer was afterwards dismissed the service.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> The British force employed in this expedition has been thus +estimated: +</p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary="british"> +<tr><td align='left'>14th Dragoons</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>295</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Royal Artillery</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>570</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sappers and Miners</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>98</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4th Foot</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>747</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>21st Foot</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>800</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>44th Foot</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>427</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>85th Foot</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>298</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>93rd Foot</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>775</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>95th Foot</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>276</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1st and 5th West India Regiments</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>1040</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Seamen and Marines</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>1200</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Staff Corps</td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td align='right'>57</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>——</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>6583</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>7th Foot</td><td align='left' rowspan="2"><span class="bracket2">}</span></td><td align='left' rowspan="2">arrived on January 6th</td><td align='left' rowspan="2"><span class="bracket2">{</span></td><td align='right'>750</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>43rd Foot</td><td align='right'>820</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>——</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td> </td><td>8153</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p> +Out of the ten officers who accompanied the regiment on this ill-fated +expedition one was killed, two died from exposure, and five were wounded.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE OCCUPATION OF GUADALOUPE, 1815—THE BARBADOS +INSURRECTION, 1816—THE HURRICANE OF 1817.</p> + + +<p>A few months after the disastrous expedition to New +Orleans, and while the 1st West India Regiment was still +stationed at Barbados, an expedition was formed by Lieutenant-General +Sir James Leith, commanding the forces +in the Windward and Leeward Islands, against the Island +of Guadaloupe, the Governor of which, Admiral Comte de +Linois, a staunch Bonapartist, had thrown off his allegiance +to Louis XVIII., when the news of the escape of Napoleon +from Elba had reached the West Indies, and had, on June +18th, 1815, proclaimed the latter Emperor. On the formation +of this expedition, Captain Winkler, 1st West India Regiment, +was appointed to the staff.</p> + +<p>The fleet with the troops from Barbados, among whom +were 400 picked men of the 1st West India Regiment, +under Major Cassidy, attached to the 2nd Brigade, com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>manded +by Major-General Murray, sailed from Carlisle +Bay, Barbados, on the 31st of July, while other troops from +St. Lucia, Martinique, and Dominica, rendezvoused at the +Saintes. The force from Barbados anchored in the Bay +of St. Louis, Marie-Galante, on the 2nd of August; but it +was not until the night of the 7th that the troops from the +Leeward were all assembled at the Saintes.</p> + +<p>The internal state of Guadaloupe and the season were +both so critical that Sir James Leith determined to attack +at once; and on the morning of the 8th the whole fleet +stood towards the Ance St. Sauveur. It was the intention of +the general to attack in three columns, each of one brigade, +but the scarcity of boats and the heavy surf necessitated +that each brigade, should disembark in succession.</p> + +<p>A portion of the 1st Brigade being landed without +opposition at Ance St. Sauveur, and ordered to drive the +enemy from the broken ground and ravines about Trou au +Chien and Petit Carbet, the fleet dropped down to Grand +Ance, where the principal attack was to be made. There, +after the enemy's batteries had been silenced by the fleet, +the 2nd Brigade, with the remainder of the 1st, were landed; +and after a short but sharp skirmish with a body of the +enemy, advanced with the bayonet and drove him from +his position at Petrizel. The approach of night put an +end to further advance, and the troops bivouacked on the +ground they had won.</p> + +<p>Next morning, the 9th, at daybreak, the troops advanced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span> +in two columns. The 1st Brigade moved upon and occupied +Dolé, while the 2nd Brigade marched by difficult +mountain paths upon the left of Morne Palmiste, by +Petrizel, and by this turning movement compelled the +enemy to withdraw his posts and retreat to Morne Palmiste +by noon. While this had been taking place the 3rd Brigade +had disembarked in the vicinity of Bailiff, to leeward of +Basseterre, and after a short struggle had occupied that +capital.</p> + +<p>In the afternoon of the 9th, the 1st and 2nd Brigades +converged upon Morne Palmiste, and clambering up the +rugged and bush-covered heights, compelled the enemy, +after the exchange of a few shots, to evacuate his works +and retire to Morne Houel, where he had eight guns in +position.</p> + +<p>While the British were still occupying the defences +on Morne Palmiste, intelligence was brought to Sir James +Leith that the French Commander of Grandeterre, with +the whole of his available force, was moving in rear of +the 1st and 2nd Brigades to endeavour to form a junction +with the main body of the enemy at Morne Houel. The +detachment of the 1st West India Regiment was at once +despatched to reinforce the rear-guard, and to occupy in +force all the passes of the Gallion, a river running through +a formidable ravine at the foot of Morne Palmiste. The +troops from Grandeterre being thus cut off, endeavoured +to form a junction by unfrequented paths through the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span> +woods; but, being met at every point by the skirmishers +of the 1st West India Regiment, who searched the woods +in every direction, they were compelled to abandon the +attempt and retire at dusk.</p> + +<p>The night closed in with torrents of rain, and the British, +having been told off in columns in readiness to attack +the formidable position of Morne Houel at daybreak next +morning, bivouacked on the ground, without shelter, and +drenched to the skin. About 11 p.m., the Comte de Linois +sent a messenger to propose terms of surrender; but nothing +being definitely settled, the troops were put in motion at +daybreak on the 10th. As they drew near to the works, +however, the French hoisted the British flag on Morne +Houel in token of surrender, and the position was occupied +without resistance. This success put an end to the active +operations.</p> + +<p>The British loss in this, the third invasion of Guadaloupe, +amounted to 16 killed and 40 wounded. The 1st West +India Regiment suffered no loss.</p> + +<p>The following general order was issued, dated Head-Quarters, +Government House, Basseterre, Guadaloupe, 10th +August, 1815: "The Commander of the Forces congratulates +the army on the conquest of Guadaloupe being accomplished, +and desires the generals and other officers, and the troops +employed on that important service, to accept his best thanks +for the gallant, zealous, and active manner in which they +have compelled the enemy to surrender.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span></p> + +<p>"It is certainly a matter of gratifying reflection to the +troops employed, not only that a colony of such importance +should be placed under the British flag, but that the exertions +of the army have, in two days, defeated all the preparations +and force of the enemy; thus sheltering the peaceable +inhabitants from a formidable and sanguinary system of +revolutionary violence which had been practised against +their persons and property, and which threatened the +entire destruction of social order.</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant-General Sir James Leith will not fail to +represent the steadiness and good conduct of the troops to +H.R.H. the Commander-in-Chief."</p> + +<p>Guadaloupe, however, was not at once reduced to a +state of tranquility. A number of French soldiers, who had +deserted previous to the surrender of the island, took refuge +in the woods, whence they carried on a desultory and ferocious +war against the British posts. The 1st West India Regiment, +being composed of men better able to support the hardships +of a guerilla war, carried on in a country naturally difficult, +during the height of the tropical rains, was continually +employed against these insurgent bands, and several men +were killed and wounded in unknown and forgotten +skirmishes.</p> + +<p>Major Cassidy and Captain Winkler were each presented +with a sword of honour by the major-general; and the order +of the Fleur de Lys was transmitted to them by Louis +XVIII., for their services in Guadaloupe.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span></p> + +<p>Major Cassidy and the detachment of the 1st West India +Regiment, remained in Guadaloupe until the 10th of October, +1815, on which day they embarked for Barbados, arriving +at that island on the 26th. The regiment being then very +much below its strength, on account of the heavy losses +which it had sustained during the expedition to New +Orleans, it was determined to transfer the majority of the +privates who remained to the 3rd, 4th, 6th and 8th West +India Regiments, and reform the regiment from a body of +some 700 American negroes, who, in the late war with the +United States, had served with the British, and had been +temporarily organised as Colonial Marines.</p> + +<p>On the 14th of December, the skeleton of the regiment +embarked in H.M.S. <i>Niobe</i> for Bermuda, where the +Colonial Marines were then stationed, and arrived at St. +George's on the 9th of January, 1816. It was only then +discovered that the number of men with whom it was +intended to reform the regiment, did not exceed 400; most +of whom were of but poor physique, and, moreover, unwilling +to engage. At first the authorities determined to force these +men to enlist, but ultimately the whole plan was abandoned; +and the skeleton of the regiment left Bermuda on the 18th of +March to return to the West Indies. It arrived at Barbados +on the 1st of April; and the men who had already been +transferred being sent back to it, the corps was completed +with drafts from the late disbanded Bombor Regiment.</p> + +<p>This was effected in time to enable the 1st West India<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span> +Regiment to take a very active part in the suppression of an +alarming insurrection of slaves, which broke out suddenly at +Barbados on Easter Sunday, the 14th of April, 1816. "The +revolt broke out in St. Philip's parish, shortly after sunset, and +it extended, in the two following days, to the parishes of +Christ Church, St. John and St. George. A conflagration +upon a high ridge of copse-wood called Bishop's Hill, in the +parish of St. Philip's, was the first signal. Shortly after, the +canes upon eight or nine of the surrounding estates were set +on fire. Some few of the rebels were furnished with fire-arms, +and a scanty supply of ammunition, and the remainder +were armed with swords, bludgeons, and such rude weapons +as they had been able to procure. Their approach was +announced by the beating of drums, the blowing of shells, +and other discordant sounds. They demolished the houses of +the overseers, destroyed the sugar works, and fired the canes.... +Sixty estates were more or less damaged, many of them +to a considerable amount."<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a></p> + +<p>As soon as the news reached Bridgetown, martial law was +proclaimed, the 1st West India Regiment was at once ordered +to march, and the militia of the island were called out. +Major Cassidy, who was in command of the 1st West India +Regiment, found the rebels occupying a position on the +heights of Christ Church, on Grazett's Estate, a dense mob of +half-armed slaves crowning the summits of the low hills.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span> +He endeavoured to parley with them, but without success; +and an advance being ordered, the 1st West India Regiment +stormed the heights, and at the point of the bayonet drove +the rebels from their position. Not a shot was fired by the +regiment on this occasion, Major Cassidy being anxious to +save bloodshed as much as possible; but a large body of the +slaves offered a furious resistance, closing with and aiming +blows at the soldiers with their rude weapons, and endeavouring +to wrench the muskets from their hands, so that a considerable +number of the insurgents were thus killed and wounded. +This resistance only lasted for a few minutes, and the slaves, +broken and dispirited, fled in all directions; only to be +hunted down and fired upon by the militia all over the disaffected +portions of the island. The 1st West India Regiment +took no part in the pursuit and the capture or slaughter +of the fugitives, this duty being left to the European militia, +who, if the author of "Remarks on the Insurrection in Barbados"<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> +may be believed, were guilty of many excesses.</p> + +<p>By the planters this revolt was attributed to the introduction +of the Slave Registry Bill into the British Parliament, +and it was discovered that several free men of colour, +who had for several months previous attended nocturnal +meetings of slaves on the estates where the insurrection +began, had told the slaves that a law was being passed +in England to make them free, and that as the King was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span> +giving them their freedom the King's troops would not be +employed against them.</p> + +<p>Amongst other articles taken from the rebels by the +1st West India Regiment was a flag bearing the figure +of a general officer (supposed to be intended for the King), +placing a crown in the hands of a negro who had a white +woman on his arm. Beneath these figures was the following +motto: "Brittanie are happy to assist all such friends +as endeavourance." In the struggle on Christ Church heights +the regiment lost one man killed and seventeen wounded.</p> + +<p>The following general order was issued, dated August +26th, 1816: "Colonel Codd, in communicating the following +letters conveying the thanks of the Members in Council +and House of Assembly at Barbados to himself and the +officers, non-commissioned officers, and men employed during +the late insurrection of slaves, feels it his duty to specify +the commanding officer and corps whose good conduct on +that occasion he has already reported in his official despatch +to the Commander of the Forces, namely, Major Cassidy and +the 1st West India Regiment."</p> + +<p>In November, 1816, the regiment was removed from +Barbados and distributed amongst the following islands:</p> + +<p> +Head-quarters. The Grenadier, Light, and 1 Company at Antigua = 3<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">2 Companies at St. Christopher = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">1 Company at Montserrat = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">2 Companies at St. Lucia = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">2 Companies at Dominica = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">10</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>Lieutenant-Colonel Whitby commanded at head-quarters.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span></p> + +<p>Nothing of note occurred till October, 1817, when, on +the 21st of that month the Island of St. Lucia was visited +with a most violent hurricane in which the Governor, +Major-General Seymour, was so severely injured that he +died a few days afterwards; and Brevet-Major Burdett, +1st West India Regiment (then commanding the garrison), +together with his wife, child, and servants, was killed by +the fall of his house and buried under its ruins. The +distress that the troops endured was great. The whole +of the buildings on Morne Fortune and Pigeon Island, +with the exception of the magazine and tanks, were levelled +with the ground, and the fragments, together with the +men's clothing and equipment, carried off by the wind to +the woods about Morne Fortune. The hurricane had +struck the island so rapidly that, although an order to +evacuate the barracks was given at once, the men had +barely time to escape from the buildings before they fell +with a crash. The town of Castries was laid in ruins, and +twelve vessels that were in harbour were driven ashore. +When the hurricane abated, the killed and wounded were +moved under the parapet of Fort Charlotte and temporary +shelter erected from the ruins.</p> + +<p>In January, 1819, when Lieutenant-Colonel J.M. Clifton +retired, the second lieutenant-colonelcy in the regiment was +abolished. In May of that year the head-quarters and three companies +were moved to Barbados, two companies remaining at +Antigua, two at St. Lucia, two at Dominica, and one at Tobago.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Bryan Edwards.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> Published in London in 1816.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE DEMERARA REBELLION, 1823.</p> + + +<p>On the 25th of October, 1821, the establishment of the +1st West India Regiment was reduced from ten to eight +companies, which were thus distributed:</p> + +<p> +Head-quarters and 3 Companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 Company at Demerara.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 " " St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 " " Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 " " Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 " " Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">8</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>No change took place in this distribution until 1823, +when the light company rejoined the head-quarters at +Barbados, from Tobago.</p> + +<p>In August, 1823, an alarming insurrection broke out +among the slaves in the district of Mahaica, on the east coast +of Demerara. The first notice of the impending rising was +communicated, on the morning of the 18th of August, by a +mulatto servant, to Mr. Simpson, of Plantation Reduit<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> +(now Plantation Ogle), a place distant some six miles from +Georgetown. The servant stated that all the negroes on the +coast plantations would rise that night; and Mr. Simpson +at once proceeded with the intelligence to Georgetown, warning +the various planters at their habitations <i>en route</i>. The +Governor appeared to doubt the reliability of the information, +but called out a troop of burgher horse, and proceeded +with a portion of it to Plantation Reduit. There a considerable +body of negroes, armed with cutlasses, sticks, and a few +muskets, was met; and, after a short parley with them, which +led to no result, the Governor returned at once to Georgetown, +and called upon the officer commanding the troops for +assistance.</p> + +<p>A detachment of the 21st Regiment, and No. 8 Company +of the 1st West India Regiment, the whole being under +the command of Captain Stewart, of the latter corps, at once +marched up the coast; while the militia of Georgetown was +called out and patrolled the town. A body of the rebels, +who had with them as prisoners several Europeans, was met +near Wittenburg Plantation. On the approach of the troops +the slaves opened a desultory fire, which did no damage, and +a volley being returned, they dispersed in all directions. +The force under Captain Stewart then proceeded further +up the coast, encountering and dispersing other parties of +slaves.</p> + +<p>Next day, the 19th of August, martial law was proclaimed, +for nearly all the negroes employed upon the coast<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span> +estates had risen and were overrunning the country, capturing +every European they met. Continually dispersed by the +troops, they reassembled again, and, after being repulsed +by a detachment of the 21st in an attack upon the post +of Mahaica, a body of some 2000 of the better-armed slaves +collected together and began to advance on Georgetown. +By this time another detachment of the 21st Regiment +had come up from Georgetown, under the command of +Lieutenant-Colonel Leahy of that corps, who joined the +troops already in the field, and moved with his whole +force against this more formidable body of insurgents. +Proceeding past pillaged houses and destroyed bridges, the +troops at last fell in with the rebels, and Lieutenant-Colonel +Leahy, after reading a proclamation that had been +issued by the Governor, warned them that if they did not +disperse the men would open fire. After waiting for some +time, the order to advance was given, and the slaves at +once commenced firing. This was returned by the troops, +and after a conflict of a few minutes' duration the rebels +fled in all directions.</p> + +<p>This was the last occasion on which the slaves assembled +in any considerable force, but a constant skirmishing was +kept up along the whole line of the coast; and two companies +of the 1st West India Regiment, which were despatched +from Barbados when the news of the insurrection +reached there, and arrived at Demerara on the 26th of +September, were actively employed in assisting to restore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span> +tranquility in the colony and in the apprehension of the +ringleaders of the rebellion. Captain Chads, Lieutenants +Strong and Lynch, and Ensign Brennan were the officers +who were serving with these two companies.</p> + +<p>The following general order was published, dated Head-quarters, +Camp House, 17th December, 1823:</p> + +<p>"Major-General Murray has great satisfaction in communicating +to the troops and militia within this colony the +following extracts from letters from Lord Bathurst, and the +Commander of the Forces, Sir Henry Ward, the former +conveying the approbation of His Majesty, and the latter +that of His Royal Highness, the Commander-in-Chief, for +their conduct during the late insurrection. The Commander-in-Chief +takes this opportunity of again returning his thanks +to the officers and troops for the uniform support he has +received from the former, and for the good conduct of the +latter, during the late operations; by these means alone have +those services been accomplished which have occasioned His +Majesty's flattering marks of approbation."</p> + +<p>Extract (No. 1) of a letter from the Right Honourable +Lord Bathurst, to His Excellency Sir John Murray:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 27em;">"Downing Street, 23rd October, 1823.</span> +</p> + +<p>"I have received your several despatches, as per margin, +reciting the series of events that had occurred from the first +intimation received by you on the 18th of August last, of +a disposition towards insurrectionary movements on the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>part of the slave population in the District of Mahaica, +and concluding with an account of the general termination +of the revolt, which had yielded to the prompt and judicious +measures of remonstrance and resistance offered by you, +and which you represent to have been so admirably enforced +by the civil and military authorities under your command. +With respect to those measures, I have laid them before +His Majesty, and they have received his most gracious +approbation, which you will convey to the officers, both +civil and military, who have so distinguished themselves +on this occasion."</p></div> + +<p>Extract (No. 2) of a letter from His Royal Highness +the Commander-in-Chief, to Sir Henry Ward, K.C.B., +commanding the Windward and Leeward Islands:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p>"I have received your further despatch reporting to +His Lordship the issue of this revolt, so satisfactorily and +judiciously terminated by the prompt and vigorous measures +taken by Major-General Murray, and the exemplary zeal, +discipline and good conduct of the 21st Regiment, the 1st +West India Regiment, and the Militia, which entitle officers +and men to the greatest credit."</p></div> + +<p>Ensign Miles, of the 1st West India Regiment, the only +officer serving with No. 8 Company under Captain Stewart, +died a few days after the termination of the rebellion, of +fever produced by fatigue and exposure in hunting down +the rebel leaders.</p> + +<p>In February, 1824, the Court of Policy passed a vote<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span> +of thanks, and conferred a gift of 200 guineas on the +regiment, to be expended in the purchase of plate, as a +mark of the high estimation in which the inhabitants of +the colony held the services of Captain Stewart and his +detachment.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 31em;">"<span class="smcap">King's House, Demerara</span>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 35em;">"<i>19th July, 1824</i>.</span> +</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</p> + +<p>"I have the honour to enclose to you for the information +of Captain Stewart and the detachment of the +1st West India Regiment, which served with so much credit +to itself under his command during the late revolt in this +Colony, the accompanying resolution of the Honourable +Court of Policy, expressive of the sense entertained by the +Court of that officer's conduct, and that of the officers and +men placed under him during that distressing period.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">"I have, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 28em;">"<span class="smcap">John Murray</span>,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 31em;">"Major-General.</span><br /> +<br /> +"To Major Capadose,<br /> + "Commanding Detachment, 1st West India Regiment."<br /> +</p></div> + +<p>"Extract from the Minutes of the Proceedings of the +Honourable Court of Policy of the Colony and dependant +Districts of Demerara and Essequibo, at an extraordinary +and adjourned meeting held at the Court House, George +Town, Demerara, on Tuesday, the 13th of January, 1824.</p> + +<p>"The Court of Policy, feeling anxious to mark its sense +of the eminent service performed, in the late unhappy revolt,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span> +by the troops composing the garrison, as well as by the +Militia of the United Colonies, take the opportunity afforded +it by the cessation of Martial Law, to express its highest +approbation of, and to return its warmest thanks to His +Excellency the Commander-in-Chief for the able and +judicious measures adopted by him, which succeeded in +putting a speedy termination to a Revolt, in its nature +most serious and alarming....</p> + +<p>"The steady and soldierlike conduct of the detachment +of the 1st West India Regiment commanded by +Captain Stewart, the Court cannot too highly estimate; +and it begs, as a testimony of its lasting regard, to be +allowed to present to the Mess, through Captain Stewart, +the sum of two hundred guineas, to be laid out in plate."</p> + +<p>On the 25th of October, 1824, the three companies +stationed at Demerara were removed to Barbados, where +they arrived on the 2nd of November. The following +brigade order was published at Demerara prior to the +embarkation of the detachment:</p> + +<p>"The detachment of the 1st West India Regiment under +Major Capadose, will embark on board the <i>Sovereign</i> +at half-past six on Monday morning, the 25th instant, +and the transport will proceed to Barbados with the evening +tide of that day.</p> + +<p>"The Major-General commanding the district cannot +allow these excellent troops to embark without expressing +to them his approbation of their excellent conduct and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span> +discipline, and his cordial wishes for their health and good +fortune. The unremitting attention of Major Capadose in +the command of the detachment, and of Brevet-Major +Gillard, Captain Hemsworth, and Lieutenant Strong, in +that of their respective outposts, have given the Major-General +unqualified satisfaction, and he requests those +officers to accept his thanks."</p> + +<p>The distribution of the regiment was now as follows: +5 companies at Barbados, 1 at St. Lucia, 1 at Dominica, +and 1 at Antigua, and this was continued till the 21st of +February, 1825, when the head-quarters, with 4 companies, +embarked on board the <i>Sovereign</i> transport, and proceeded +to the Island of Trinidad, to relieve the 3rd West India +Regiment, ordered to be disbanded. The head-quarters +landed at Port of Spain, Trinidad, on February 23rd, and +were quartered at Orange Grove Barracks, being removed +to San Josef Barracks on May 1st, 1828.</p> + +<p>In April, 1826, a second lieutenant-colonelcy was re-established +in the regiment, Major Henry Capadose being +promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, without purchase, on the +22nd of that month.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%;"> +<img src="images/fp178x.jpg" style="width: 70%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE BARRA WAR, 1831—THE HURRICANE OF 1831—THE +COBOLO EXPEDITION, 1832.</p> + + +<p>In 1826, owing to the difficulty found in obtaining a +sufficiency of recruits in the West Indies, it was decided +to send a company of the 1st West India Regiment to +Sierra Leone, there to be stationed as a recruiting company, +the recruits to be sent to the head-quarters of the +regiment as opportunities occurred. The recruiting company +embarked at Trinidad on the 17th of April, 1826, +in the <i>Duke of York</i> brigantine, and proceeded to Dominica, +where it was transhipped to the <i>Jupiter</i> transport. Captain +Myers proceeded in charge of it to England, where it was +inspected by Major-General Sir James Lyon, and it finally +arrived at Sierra Leone on August 16th, 1826. Captain +Myers having obtained sick leave in England, Captain +Stewart, Lieutenant Brennan, and Ensign Russell, were the +officers who had charge of the company.</p> + +<p>The recruiting was so successfully carried on, that on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span> +July 9th, 1827, 73 recruits joined the head-quarters of +the regiment at Trinidad; on December 27th, 1828, 182; +and on February 28th, 1829, 39; the last being volunteers +from the Royal African Corps. In 1829, Captain Evans +and Lieutenant Montgomery proceeded to Sierra Leone to +join the recruiting company.</p> + +<p>The recruiting company continued being occupied with +its peace duties until the year 1831, when the Barra War +broke out. Towards the end of September, 1831, the +Lieutenant-Governor of the Gambia Settlements sent an +urgent despatch for assistance to the Governor of Sierra +Leone. The news arrived at the latter place on October 1st, +and on the 4th a force under Captain Stewart, 1st West +India Regiment, consisting of detachments from the recruiting +companies of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, +from the Sierra Leone Militia, and from the Royal African +Corps, sailed for the Gambia in H.M. brig <i>Plumper</i>, and +the <i>Parmilia</i> transport. The events which led to this +movement were as follows:</p> + +<p>In August, 1831, disturbances having occurred amongst +the Mandingoes<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> living in the neighbourhood of Fort Bullen, +Barra Point, Ensign Fearon, of the Royal African Corps, by +direction of Lieutenant-Governor Rendall, had proceeded +with thirty men of his corps and a few pensioners, on the +night of August 22nd, to the stockaded town of Essaw, or<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span> +Yahassu, the capital of Barra, to demand hostages from the +king. At Essaw this small force was attacked by a large +body of Mandingoes, and compelled to retire to Fort Bullen, +to which place the victorious Mandingoes advanced, completely +investing it on the land side. The day following, +Ensign Fearon, having lost twenty-three men out of his little +force, evacuated the work, which was in an almost defenceless +condition, and retired across the river to the town of +Bathurst. After this defeat the chiefs of the neighbouring +Mohammedan towns sent large contingents of men to the +King of Barra; several thousand armed natives were collected +at a distance of three miles only from Bathurst, and that +settlement was in such imminent danger that the Lieutenant-Governor +was compelled to send to Sierra Leone for +assistance.</p> + +<p>On November 9th the reinforcements arrived in the +Gambia, and found Fort Bullen still in the hands of the +natives, who fortunately had confined themselves to making +mere demonstrations, instead of falling upon the settlement, +which lay entirely at their mercy. On the morning of +November 11th a landing was effected at Barra Point by the +force, consisting of 451 of all ranks, under cover of a heavy +fire from H.M. brig <i>Plumper</i> (Lieutenant Cresey), the <i>Parmilia</i> +transport, and an armed colonial schooner. The enemy, +estimated at from 2500 to 3000 strong, were skilfully covered +from the fire of the shipping by the entrenchments which +they had thrown up, and from which, as well as from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span> +shelter of the dense bush and high grass, they poured +in a heavy and well-sustained fire upon the troops who +were landing in their front. Notwithstanding all disadvantages, +however, the British pushed on, and, after an +hour's hard fighting, during which the enemy contested +every inch of ground, they succeeded in driving them from +their entrenchments at the point of the bayonet, and pursued +them for some distance through the bush. The British loss +in this action was 2 killed, 3 officers<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> and 47 men wounded.</p> + +<p>The next few days were occupied in landing the guns, +and placing Fort Bullen in a state of defence; and at daybreak +on the morning of November 17th the entire force +marched to the attack of Essaw, the king's town, leaving +the crew of H.M. brig <i>Plumper</i>, under Lieutenant Cresey, +in charge of Fort Bullen.</p> + +<p>On approaching the vicinity of the town the troops +deployed into line, and, the guns having been brought to +the front, a heavy fire was opened on the stockade. This +was kept up for five hours, and was as vigorously returned +by the enemy from their defences, with artillery and small +arms. The rockets were brought to bear as soon as +possible, and the first one thrown set fire to a house in +the town; but the buildings being principally composed +of "swish," and the natives having taken the precaution +of removing the thatched roofs of the greater number, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +rockets produced but little effect, as they could do no +injury to the walls. Towards noon some of the enemy +were observed leaving the rear of the town, and shortly +afterwards a very superior force of natives appeared in +the bush on the British right, threatening an attack in +flank. A second body was also observed making a lengthened +detour on the left, apparently with the intention of attacking +the British rear. The men's ammunition being almost +exhausted, and the artillery fire, though well sustained, +having produced no effect upon the strong stockades which +surrounded the town, it was deemed prudent to retire, and +the force was accordingly withdrawn to Benty Point, having +suffered a loss during the day of 11 killed and 59 wounded. +Lieutenant Leigh, of the Sierra Leone militia, and 5 men +subsequently died of their wounds.</p> + +<p>On December 7th, Lieutenant-Colonel Hingston, Royal +African Corps, arrived with reinforcements and assumed +the command. Immediately upon this accession to the +British strength, the King of Barra notified his desire to +open negotiations, and, terms being proposed which he +accepted, a treaty was finally concluded and signed at Fort +Bullen on January 4th, 1832. The detachment of the +recruiting company, 1st West India Regiment, returned +to Sierra Leone on the conclusion of the war.</p> + +<p>In the West Indies, the detachment of the 1st West India +Regiment stationed at Barbados, had, in 1831, suffered from +a violent hurricane which visited that island on the 10th of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> +August of that year. The barracks and hospitals at St. +Ann's were completely ruined, 36 men of various corps +were killed, and a commissariat officer, with three of his +children, and his entire household, entombed in the ruins of +his house.</p> + +<p>An officer of the garrison, who gives an account of this +hurricane,<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> says: "Describe the appearance of our barracks, +I really cannot. This I can say, in truth, that in no part of +the world, a more beautiful range of buildings, or on a more +liberal scale or appropriate site, could have been found. The +establishment was complete in all respects for every branch +of a small army. It was the depôt of our West India military +possessions. Well—in two hours during this awful night +almost every building in the garrison was destroyed.... +What a moment was that, when, thanks be to Heaven, the +gale in some degree abated. The officers crept out one after +the other, and the scene that followed can be compared only +to that which one sees and feels after an action—who has +escaped?—who is dead?... The first person I found +wounded was Mrs. Brocklass, the lady of an officer of the 1st<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span> +West India Regiment, who, with three fine children, finding +the roof over them falling, hastened from under it. She had +the misfortune to be knocked down by some shingles, received +a blow on the head, and had two or three ribs broken; the +children fortunately escaped: her husband was on duty in a +most perilous situation.... The huts which were the +quarters of the married people of the 1st West India Regiment +were blown to pieces, and four men and one woman +severely injured. The north building of the men's new +barracks accommodated the left wing of the 36th Regiment, +besides which a detachment of the 1st West India Regiment +was quartered on the ground floor. None of the latter were +hurt, but two men of the 36th were killed. The greater part +of the spacious galleries was carried away, some of the arches +that supported them fell, and many were very much broken. +None of the roof remains that will ever be of service."</p> + +<p>Towards the end of the year 1832, numerous complaints +were made by native traders who were in the habit of trading +to the Sherbro and the adjacent territories, that they were +molested and their goods plundered by a marauding party of +Mohammedan Acoos, who had established themselves in the +vicinity of the Ribbie River. These Acoos were liberated +Africans, that is, slaves who had been set free from captured +slavers at Freetown, Sierra Leone, and had, contrary to the +regulations then in force, clandestinely left the Colony.</p> + +<p>A party of volunteers, having been despatched to gather +information concerning these rebels, ascertained that they<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span> +had been joined by other parties of marauders, and had +established themselves at a place called Cobolo, on the +northern bank of the Kates, or Ribbie River. The manager +of the Waterloo District also reported various outrages and +depredations committed by this band.</p> + +<p>On December 13th, 1832, the Hastings company of +volunteers, with that of Waterloo, marched from the village +of Waterloo towards Cobolo, distant by road some thirty +miles, with orders to capture and bring in the leaders of +the rebels. Next morning, as this force was approaching +Cobolo, the Acoos, who were concealed in the bush, fired +upon the head of the column, and the volunteers at once, +and without firing a shot, turned and ran in the greatest +confusion; nor did they recover from their panic till they +had reached Waterloo. The Acoos pursued the fugitives +for some little distance, and killed seven of their number.</p> + +<p>The rising, originally trivial, had now, through the +shameful behaviour of the volunteers, become serious. The +news of the defeat spread with great rapidity among the +unruly tribes on the frontier of the Colony; and a Mohammedan +priest, proclaiming himself a prophet, placed himself +at the head of the movement. The Governor acted with +promptitude; and recognising the great danger of delay, +despatched, on December 17th, all the available men from +the garrison of Sierra Leone, under Lieut.-Colonel Hingston, +Royal African Corps. The recruiting company of the +1st West India Regiment accompanied the force, under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span> +the command of Lieut. W. Montgomery, 1st West India +Regiment.</p> + +<p>The troops proceeded to Waterloo in boats, and were +there joined by the Wellington company of the Sierra Leone +militia, and the Hastings company of volunteers. At the +same time, H.M. brig <i>Charybdis</i> (Lieut. Crawford) was sent +with the York company of volunteers to the mouth of the +Ribbie River, with orders for the seamen and marines to +ascend the river in boats, co-operate with Lieut.-Colonel +Hingston's column, and cut off the retreat of the rebels.</p> + +<p>Lieut.-Colonel Hingston's force marched from Waterloo +on December 18th, and, halting for the night at Bangowilli, +about twenty miles from the former village, advanced towards +Cobolo next morning at daybreak. The march was unusually +fatiguing, and for many miles the troops had to +move through rush beds and mangrove swamps, frequently +up to the hips in mud and water. On emerging upon the +dry ground near Cobolo the report of fire-arms was heard +in front, and scouts being thrown forward, it was learned +that the Kossoos, which tribe had suffered most from the +predatory propensities of the rebels, had taken up arms +and were then engaged in attacking Cobolo. The troops +at once pushed on, and a few minutes after their arrival +on the scene, the Acoos, completely routed, fled in all +directions, many being killed and a great number drowned +while endeavouring to escape across a neighbouring creek.</p> + +<p>The British force remained at Cobolo for four days,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span> +daily sending out small parties in pursuit of the dispersed +rebels. By one of these parties Oji Corri, the leader of +the movement, was shot down; and the rebellion being +at an end the troops returned to Freetown, Sierra Leone, +on December 28th; a detachment of the 2nd West India +Regiment, under Lieutenant Lardner, being left at Waterloo +to watch the movements of the Mohammedan Acoos +in the neighbouring villages.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Montgomery, 1st West India Regiment, died +at Freetown of fever, on April 9th, 1833, and this event +left the recruiting company without an officer of the corps +until the arrival in Sierra Leone of Captain Hughes on +November 29th, 1834.</p> + +<p>In the West Indies one company had been removed +from the head-quarters at Trinidad to Tortola in May, +1834, and this detachment was, in January, 1836, moved +to St. Vincent.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> The Mandingoes are a warlike Mohammedan tribe, inhabiting the +territory inland from the Gambia River to Sierra Leone.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> Captain Berwick, Royal African Corps; Lieutenant Lardner, 2nd +West India Regiment; and Captain Hughes, Gambia Militia.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> An account of the fatal hurricane by which Barbados suffered in +1831, published at Bridgetown, Barbados, 1831. +</p> +<p class="center">"<span class="smcap">Detachment 1st West India Regiment.</span> +</p> +<p> +"Return of the men killed and wounded during the late hurricane, 15th August, 1831: +</p> +<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Killed—Henry Read, private.</span></p> +<p><span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Wounded—4 privates.</span></p> +<p><span style="margin-left: 6em;">(Signed) "H. BROCKLASS, Lieut., 1st W.I. Regt."</span><br /></p> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE MUTINY OF THE RECRUITS AT TRINIDAD, 1837.</p> + + +<p>On April 1st, 1836, the 1st West India Regiment was +increased from eight to ten companies, and recruits being +obtained with difficulty, the Government commenced the +injudicious practice of enrolling the slaves, disembarked +from captured slavers, in the West India regiments. In +September of that year the slaves from two slavers which +had been captured off Grenada by H.M.S. <i>Vestal</i>, 112 in +number, were drafted into the 1st West India Regiment. +Similarly, in January, 1837, 109; on May 20th, 112; and +on May 21st, 93 slaves, recently disembarked from slavers +captured by H.M.S. <i>Griffon</i> and <i>Harpy</i>, were sent to the +regiment. Thus, in the years 1836-7, 426 such slaves +were received, 314 of them in the year 1837 alone.</p> + +<p>The formality of asking these men whether they were +willing to serve was never gone through, many of them +did so unwillingly; and it must be remembered that they +were all savages in the strictest sense of the word, entirely<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span> +unacquainted with civilisation, and with no knowledge of +the English language. The majority of them were natives +of the Congo and of Great and Little Popo, two towns +on the western frontier of Dahomey; and it may be here +remarked that the negroes of these districts have maintained +their reputation for ultra-barbarism even to the present +day.</p> + +<p>The only result to be anticipated from such a wholesale +drafting of savages into a regiment was a mutiny, and every +inducement to mutiny appears to have been afforded them. +Instead of dividing them proportionately between the head-quarters +and the detachments, they were nearly all kept at +the former; and but three weeks before the actual rising, as +if to further remove all check, 100 rank and file, all old +soldiers, were sent from Trinidad and distributed between +St. Lucia and Dominica. Thus, on June 18th, 1837, the +day of the mutiny, with the exception of the band, officers +servants, and mess-waiters, all the men at San Josef's +barracks, Trinidad, were slaver recruits. The ringleader +of the movement was one Dâaga, or Donald Stewart, and +the following account of him, and of the mutiny, is taken +from Kingsley's "At Last":</p> + +<p>"Donald Stewart, or rather Dâaga, was the adopted son +of Madershee, the old and childless king of the tribe called +Paupaus,<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> a race that inhabit a tract of country bordering on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span> +that of the Yarrabas.<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> These races are constantly at war +with each other.</p> + +<p>"Dâaga was just the man whom a savage, warlike, and +depredatory tribe would select for their chieftain, as the +African negroes choose their leaders with reference to their +personal prowess. Dâaga stood six feet six inches without +shoes. Although scarcely muscular in proportion, yet his +frame indicated in a singular degree the union of irresistible +strength and activity.... He had a singular cast in his +eyes, not quite amounting to that obliquity of the visual +organs denominated a squint, but sufficient to give his +features a peculiarly forbidding appearance; his forehead, +however, although small in proportion to his enormous head, +was remarkably compact and well formed. The whole head +was disproportioned, having the greater part of the brain +behind the ears; but the greatest peculiarity of this singular +being was his voice. In the course of my life I never +heard such sounds uttered by human organs as those formed +by Dâaga. In ordinary conversation he appeared to me +to endeavour to soften his voice—it was a deep tenor: but +when a little excited by any passion (and this savage was +the child of passion) his voice sounded like the low growl +of a lion, but when much excited it could be compared to +nothing so aptly as the notes of a gigantic brazen trumpet.</p> + +<p>"Dâaga having made a successful predatory expedition<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span> +into the country of the Yarrabas, returned with a number +of prisoners of that nation. These he, as usual, took bound +and guarded towards the coast to sell to the Portuguese. +The interpreter, his countryman, called these Portuguese +'white gentlemen.' The white gentlemen proved themselves +more than a match for the black gentlemen; and +the whole transaction between the Portuguese and the +Paupaus does credit to all concerned in this gentlemanly +traffic in human flesh.</p> + +<p>"Dâaga sold his prisoners, and under pretence of paying +him, he and his Paupau guards were enticed on board +a Portuguese vessel: they were treacherously overpowered +by the Christians, who bound them beside their late +prisoners, and the vessel sailed over 'the great salt water.'</p> + +<p>"This transaction caused in the breast of the savage a +deep hatred against all white men; a hatred so intense that +he frequently, during and subsequent to the mutiny, declared +he would eat the first white man he killed; yet this +cannibal was made to swear allegiance to our sovereign +on the Holy Evangelists, and was then called a British +soldier.</p> + +<p>"On the voyage the vessel on board which Dâaga had +been entrapped was captured by the British. He could not +comprehend that his new captors liberated him: he had +been overreached and trepanned by one set of white men, +and he naturally looked on his second captors as more +successful rivals in the human, or rather inhuman, Guinea<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span> +trade; therefore, this event lessened not his hatred for white +men in the abstract.</p> + +<p>"I was informed by several of the Africans who came +with him, that when, during the voyage, they upbraided +Dâaga with being the cause of their capture, he pacified +them by promising that when they should arrive in white +man's country he would repay their perfidy by attacking +them in the night. He further promised that if the Paupaus +and Yarrabas would follow him, he would fight his way +back to Guinea. This account was fully corroborated by +many of the mutineers, especially those who were shot +with Dâaga; they all said the revolt never would have +happened but for Donald Stewart, as he was called by the +officers; but Africans who were not of his tribe called him +Longa-longa, on account of his height.</p> + +<p>"Such was the extraordinary man who led the mutiny I +am about to relate.</p> + +<p>"A quantity of captured Africans having been brought +hither from the islands of Grenada and Dominica, they were +most imprudently induced to enlist in the 1st West India +Regiment. True it is, we have been told they did this +voluntarily; but it may be asked, if they had any will +in the matter, how could they understand the duties to be +imposed on them by becoming soldiers, or how comprehend +the nature of an oath of allegiance, without which they +could not, legally speaking, be considered soldiers? I +attended the whole of the trials of these men, and well<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span> +know how difficult it was to make them comprehend any +idea which was at all new to them by means of the best +interpreters procurable.</p> + +<p>"To the African savage, while being drilled into the +duties of a soldier, many things seem absolute tyranny +which would appear to a civilised man a mere necessary +restraint. To keep the restless body of an African negro +in a position to which he has not been accustomed; to +cramp his splay feet, with his great toes standing out, into +European shoes made for feet of a different form; to place +a collar round his neck, which is called a stock, and which +to him is cruel torture; above all, to confine him every +night to his barracks—are almost insupportable. One unacquainted +with the habits of the negro cannot conceive +with what abhorrence he looks on having his disposition to +nocturnal rambles checked by barrack regulations.</p> + +<p>"Formerly the 'King's man,' as the black soldier loved +to call himself, looked (not without reason) contemptuously +on the planter's slave, although he himself was after all but +a slave to the State; but these recruits were enlisted shortly +after a number of their recently imported countrymen were +wandering freely over the country, working either as free +labourers, or settling, to use an apt American phrase, as +squatters; and to assert that the recruit, while under military +probation, is better off than the free Trinidad labourer, who +goes where he lists and earns as much in one day as will +keep him for three days, is an absurdity. Accordingly, we<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span> +find that Lieutenant-Colonel Bush, who commanded the +1st West India Regiment, thought that the mutiny was +mainly owing to the ill-advice of their civil, or, we should +rather say, unmilitary countrymen. This, to a certain degree, +was the fact; but, by the declaration of Dâaga and many of +his countrymen, it is evident that the seeds of the mutiny +were sown on the passage from Africa.</p> + +<p>"It has been asserted that the recruits were driven to +mutiny by hard treatment of their commanding officers. +There seems not the slightest truth in this assertion; they +were treated with fully as much kindness as their situation +would admit of, and their chief was peculiarly a favourite +of Colonel Bush and the officers, notwithstanding Dâaga's +violent and ferocious temper often caused complaints to be +brought against him.</p> + +<p>"On the night of the 17th of June, 1837, the people of +San Josef were kept awake by the recruits, about 280 in +number, singing the war-song of the Paupaus. This wild song +consisted of a short air and chorus. The tone was, although +wild, not inharmonious, and the words rather euphonious. +As near as our alphabet can convey them, they ran thus:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +"Dangkarrée<br /> +Au fey<br /> +Oluu werrei<br /> +Au lay.<br /> +</div> + +<p>which may be rendered almost literally by the following couplet:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +"Air by the chief: 'Come to plunder, come to slay.'<br /> +"Chorus by followers: 'We are ready to obey.'<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span></div> + +<p>"About three o'clock in the morning, their war-song +(highly characteristic of a predatory tribe) became very loud, +and they commenced uttering their war-cry. This is different +to what we conceive the Indian war-whoop to be; it seems +to be a kind of imitation of the growl of wild beasts, and +has a most thrilling effect.</p> + +<p>"Fire was now set to a quantity of huts built for the +accommodation of African soldiers to the northward of the +barracks, as well as to the house of a poor black woman +called Dalrymple. These burnt briskly, throwing a dismal +glare over the barracks and picturesque town of San Josef, +and overpowering the light of the full moon, which illumined +a cloudless sky. The mutineers made a rush at the barrack-room +and seized on the muskets and fusees in the racks. +Their leader, Dâaga, and a daring Yarraba named Ogston, +instantly charged their pieces—the former of these had a +quantity of ball cartridges, loose powder, and ounce and +pistol balls, in a kind of gray worsted cap. He must have +provided himself with these before the mutiny. How he +became possessed of them, especially the pistol balls, I +never could learn; probably he was supplied by his unmilitary +countrymen; pistol balls are never given to infantry. +Previous to this Dâaga and three others made a rush at +the regimental store-room, in which was deposited a quantity +of powder. An old African soldier, named Charles Dixon, +interfered to stop them, on which Maurice Ogston, the +Yarraba chief, who had armed himself with a sergeant's<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span> +sword, cut down the faithful African. When down, Dâaga +said in English, 'Ah, you old soldier, you knock down.' +Dixon was not Dâaga's countryman, hence he could not +speak to him in his own language. The Paupau then +levelled his musket and shot the fallen soldier, who groaned +and died. The war-yells, or rather growls, of the Paupaus +and Yarrabas now became awfully thrilling as they helped +themselves to cartridges; most of them were fortunately +blank, or without ball. Never was a premeditated mutiny +so wild and ill-planned. Their chief, Dâaga, and Ogston, +seem to have had little command of the subordinates, and +the whole acted more like a set of wild beasts who had +broken their cages, than men resolved on war.</p> + +<p>"At this period, had a rush been made at the officers' +quarters by one half (they were more than 200 in number), +and the other half surrounded the building, not one could +have escaped. Instead of this they continued to shout their +war-song, and howl their war-notes; they loaded their +pieces with ball cartridge or blank cartridge and small +stones, and commenced firing at the long range of white +buildings in which Colonel Bush and his officers slept. +They wasted so much ammunition on this useless display +of fury that the buildings were completely riddled. A +few of the old soldiers opposed them and were wounded, +but it fortunately happened that they were, to an inconceivable +degree, ignorant of the right use of fire-arms—holding +their muskets in their hands when they discharged them,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span> +without allowing the butt-end to rest against their shoulders +or any part of their bodies.<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> This fact accounts for the +comparatively little mischief they did in proportion to the +quantity of ammunition thrown away.</p> + +<p>"The officers<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> and sergeant-major<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> escaped at the back +of the building, while Colonel Bush and Adjutant Bentley +came down a little hill. The colonel commanded the +mutineers to lay down their arms, and was answered by +an irregular discharge of balls, which rattled amongst the +leaves of a tree under which he and the adjutant were +standing. On this Colonel Bush desired Mr. Bentley to +make the best of his way to St. James's Barracks<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> for all +the disposable force of the 89th Regiment. The officers +made good their retreat, and the adjutant got into the +stable where his horse was. He saddled and bridled the +animal while the shots were coming into the stable, without +either man or beast getting injured. The officer mounted,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span> +but had to make his way through the mutineers before he +could get into San Josef, the barracks standing on an +eminence above the little town. On seeing the adjutant +mounted, the mutineers set up a thrilling howl, and commenced +firing at him. He discerned the gigantic figure +of Dâaga (alias Donald Stewart), with his musket at the +trail: he spurred his horse through the midst of them; +they were grouped, but not in line. On looking back he +saw Dâaga aiming at him; he stooped his head beside his +horse's neck, and effectually sheltered himself from about +fifty shots aimed at him. In this position he rode furiously +down a steep hill leading from the barracks to the church, +and was out of danger. His escape appears extraordinary: +but he got safe to town, and thence to St. James's, and +in a short time, considering it is eleven miles distant, brought +out a strong detachment of European troops; these, however, +did not arrive till the affair was over.</p> + +<p>"In the meantime a part of the officers' quarters was +bravely defended by two old African soldiers, Sergeant Merry +and Corporal Plague. The latter stood in the gallery near +the room in which were the colours; he was ineffectually +fired at by some hundreds, yet he kept his post, shot two +of the mutineers, and, it is said, wounded a third. Such is +the difference between a man acquainted with the use of +fire-arms and those who handle them as mops are held.</p> + +<p>"In the meantime Colonel Bush got to a police station +above the barracks, and got muskets and a few cartridges<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span> +from a discharged African soldier who was in the police +establishment. Being joined by the policeman, Corporal +Craven, and Ensign Pogson, they concealed themselves on +an eminence above, and, as the mutineers (about 100 in +number) approached, the fire of muskets opened on them +from the little ambush. The little party fired separately, +loading as fast as they discharged their pieces; they succeeded +in making the mutineers change their route.</p> + +<p>"It is wonderful what little courage the savages in general +showed against the colonel and his little party, who absolutely +beat them, although but a twenty-fifth of their number, and +at their own tactics, <i>i.e.</i> bush fighting.</p> + +<p>"A body of mutineers now made towards the road to +Maraccas, when the colonel and his three assistants contrived +to get behind a silk-cotton tree, and recommenced firing on +them. The Africans hesitated, and set forward, when the +little party continued to fire on them; they set up a yell, +and retreated down the hill.</p> + +<p>"A part of the mutineers now concealed themselves in +the bushes about San Josef Barracks. These men, after +the affair was over, joined Colonel Bush, and, with a mixture +of cunning and effrontery, smiled as though nothing had +happened, and as though they were glad to see him; +although, in general, they each had several shirts and pairs +of trousers on, preparatory for a start to Guinea, by way of +Band de l'Est.</p> + +<p>"In the meantime the San Josef militia were assembled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span> +to the number of forty. Major Giuseppi and Captain and +Adjutant Rousseau, of the second division of militia forces, +took command of them. They were in want of flints, +powder, and balls; to obtain these they were obliged to +break open a merchant's store; however, the adjutant so +judiciously distributed his little force as to hinder the +mutineers from entering the town or obtaining access to +the militia arsenal, wherein there was a quantity of arms. +Major Chadds and several old African soldiers joined the +militia, and were by them supplied with arms.</p> + +<p>"A good deal of skirmishing occurred between the militia +and detached parties of the mutineers, which uniformly ended +in the defeat of the latter. At length Dâaga appeared to +the right of a party of six at the entrance of the town; they +were challenged by the militia, and the mutineers fired on +them, but without effect. Only two of the militia returned +the fire, when all but Dâaga fled. He was deliberately +reloading his piece, when a militia-man, named Edmond +Luce, leaped on the gigantic chief, who would have easily +beat him off, although the former was a strong young man +of colour, but Dâaga would not let go his gun; and, in +common with all the mutineers, he seemed to have no idea +of the use of the bayonet. Dâaga was dragging the militia-man +away, when Adjutant Rousseau came to his assistance, +and placed a sword to Dâaga's breast. Doctor Tardy and +several others rushed on the tall negro, who was soon, by +the united efforts of several, thrown down and secured. It<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span> +was at this period that he repeatedly exclaimed, while he +bit his own shoulder, 'The first white man I catch after this +I will eat him.'</p> + +<p>"Meanwhile about sixteen of the mutineers, led by the +daring Ogston, took the road to Arima, in order, as they +said, to commence their march to Guinea; but fortunately +the militia of that village, composed principally of Spaniards, +Indians, and Sambos, assembled. A few of these met +them and stopped their march. A kind of parley (if intercourse +carried on by signs could be so called) was carried +on between the parties. The mutineers made signs that +they wished to go forward, while the few militia-men endeavoured +to detain them, expecting a reinforcement momently. +After a time the militia agreed to allow them to +approach the town; as they were advancing they were met +by the Commandant, Martin Sorzano, Esq., with sixteen +more militia-men. The Commandant judged it imprudent +to allow the Africans to enter the town with their muskets +full-cocked, and poised ready to fire. An interpreter was +now procured, and the mutineers were told that if they would +retire to their barracks the gentlemen present would intercede +for their pardon. The negroes refused to accede to these +terms; and while the interpreter was addressing some, the +rest tried to push forward. Some of the militia opposed +them by holding their muskets in a horizontal position, +on which one of the mutineers fired, and the militia returned +the fire. A mêlée commenced, in which fourteen mutineers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span> +were killed and wounded. The fire of the Africans produced +little effect: they soon took to flight amid the woods which +flanked the road. Twenty-eight of them were taken, amongst +whom was the Yarraba chief, Ogston. Six had been killed, +and six committed suicide by strangling and hanging themselves +in the woods. Only one man was wounded among +the militia, and he but slightly, from a small stone fired from +a musket of one of the Yarrabas.</p> + +<p>"The quantity of ammunition expended by the mutineers, +and the comparatively little mischief done by them, was +truly astonishing. It shows how little they understood the +use of fire-arms. Dixon was killed, and several of the old +African soldiers were wounded, but not one of the officers +was in the slightest degree hurt.</p> + +<p>"I have never been able to get a correct account of the +number of lives this wild mutiny cost, but believe it was +not less than forty, including those slain by the militia +at Arima, those shot at San Josef, those who died of +their wounds (and most of the wounded men died), the six +who committed suicide, the three who were shot by sentence +of the court-martial, and one who was shot while endeavouring +to escape (Satchell).</p> + +<p>"A good-looking young man, named Torrens, was brought +as prisoner to the presence of Colonel Bush. The colonel +wished to speak to him, and desired his guards to liberate +him; on which the young savage shook his sleeve, in which +was a concealed razor, made a rush at the colonel, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> +nearly succeeded in cutting his throat. He slashed the +razor in all directions until he made an opening; he rushed +through this: and notwithstanding that he was fired at, +and, I believe, wounded, he effected his escape, was subsequently +retaken, and again made his escape with Satchell, +who after this was shot by a policeman.</p> + +<p>"Torrens was retaken, tried, and recommended to mercy. +Of this man's fate I am unable to speak, not knowing how +far the recommendation to mercy was attended to.<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> In +appearance he seemed the mildest and best-looking of the +mutineers, but his conduct was the most ferocious of any. +The whole of the mutineers were captured within one week +of the mutiny, save this man, who was taken a month after.</p> + +<p>"On the 19th of July, Donald Stewart, otherwise Dâaga, +was brought to a court-martial. On the 21st, William +Satchell was tried. On the 22nd, a court-martial was held +on Edward Coffin; and on the 24th one was held on the +Yarraba chief, Maurice Ogston, whose country name was, +I believe, Mawee. Torrens was tried on the 29th.</p> + +<p>"The sentences of these courts-martial were unknown +until the 14th of August, having been sent to Barbados in +order to be submitted to the Commander-in-Chief. Lieutenant-General +Whittingham, who approved of the decision +of the courts, which was that Donald Stewart (Dâaga), +Maurice Ogston, and Edward Coffin, should suffer death<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span> +by being shot; and that William Satchell should be transported +beyond seas during the term of his natural life. I +am unacquainted with the sentence of Torrens.</p> + +<p>"Donald Stewart, Maurice Ogston, and Edward Coffin +were executed on the 16th of August, 1837, at San Josef +Barracks. Nothing seemed to have been neglected which +could render the execution solemn and impressive; the +scenery and the weather gave additional awe to the melancholy +proceedings. Fronting the little eminence where the +prisoners were shot was the scene where their ill-concerted +mutiny commenced. To the right stood the long range of +building on which they had expended much of their ammunition +for the purpose of destroying their officers. The rest +of the panorama was made up of an immense view of forest +below them, and upright masses of mountains above them. +Over these, heavy bodies of mist were slowly sailing, giving +a sombre appearance to the primeval woods which, in +general, covered both mountains and plains. The atmosphere +indicated an inter-tropical morning during the rainy +season, and the sun shone resplendently between dense +columns of clouds.</p> + +<p>"At half-past seven o'clock the condemned men asked +to be allowed to eat a hearty meal, as they said persons +about to be executed in Guinea were always indulged with +a good repast. It is remarkable that these unhappy creatures +ate most voraciously, even while they were being brought +out of their cell for execution.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span></p> + +<p>"A little before the mournful procession commenced, the +condemned men were dressed from head to foot in white +habiliments trimmed with black; their arms were bound +with cords. This is not usual in military executions, but +was deemed necessary on the present occasion. An attempt +to escape on the part of the condemned would have been +productive of much confusion, and was properly guarded +against.</p> + +<p>"The condemned men displayed no unmanly fear. On +the contrary, they steadily kept step to the Dead March +which the band played; yet the certainty of death threw +a cadaverous and ghastly hue over their black features, +while their singular and appropriate costume, and the three +coffins being borne before them, altogether rendered it a +frightful picture; hence it was not to be wondered at that +two European soldiers fainted.</p> + +<p>"The mutineers marched abreast. The tall form and +horrid looks of Dâaga were almost appalling. The looks +of Ogston were sullen, calm, and determined; those of Coffin +seemed to indicate resignation.</p> + +<p>"At eight o'clock they arrived at the spot where three +graves were dug; here their coffins were deposited. The +condemned men were made to face to westward; three +sides of a hollow square were formed, flanked on one side +by a detachment of the 89th Regiment and a party of +artillery, while the recruits, many of whom shared the guilt +of the culprits, were appropriately placed in the line opposite<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span> +them. The firing party were a little in advance of the +recruits.</p> + +<p>"The sentence of the courts-martial and other necessary +documents having been read by the fort adjutant, Mr. +Meehan, the chaplain of the forces, read some prayers +appropriated for these melancholy occasions. The clergyman +then shook hands with the three men about to be sent +into another state of existence. Dâaga and Ogston coolly +gave their hands; Coffin wrang the chaplain's hand affectionately, +saying, in tolerable English, 'I am now done +with the world.'</p> + +<p>"The arms of the condemned men, as has been before +stated, were bound, but in such a manner as to allow them +to bring their hands to their heads. Their nightcaps were +drawn over their eyes. Coffin allowed his to remain, but +Ogston and Dâaga pushed theirs up again. The former did +this calmly; the latter showed great wrath, seeming to think +himself insulted; and his deep, metallic voice sounded in anger +above that of the provost-marshal, as the latter gave the +words, 'Ready! present!' But at this instant his vociferous +daring forsook him. As the men levelled their muskets at +him, with inconceivable rapidity he sprang bodily round, still +preserving his squatting posture, and received the fire from +behind; while the less noisy, but more brave, Ogston, looked +the firing-party full in the face as they discharged their fatal +volley.</p> + +<p>"In one instant all three fell dead, almost all the balls of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span> +the firing party having taken effect.<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> The savage appearance +and manner of Dâaga excited awe. Admiration was felt +for the calm bravery of Ogston, while Edward Coffin's fate +excited commiseration.</p> + +<p>"There were many spectators of this dreadful scene, and +amongst others a great concourse of negroes. Most of these +expressed their hopes that after this terrible example the +recruits would make good soldiers."</p> + +<p>The foregoing account is identical with that in the regimental +records, with the exception that the Yorubas are not +in the latter credited with so large a share in the mutiny. +According to Colonel Bush's account, the greater majority of +the mutineers were Popos, Congos, and Eboes; the Yorubas +who took part in it being very few in number. On the other +hand, both Sergeant Merry and Corporal Plague, who defended +the officers' quarters against the recruits, were Yorubas.</p> + +<p>It is, perhaps, needless to add, that after this no more +wholesale draftings of slaves into the regiment took place.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> Now spelt Popos.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> The Yorubas are a warlike Mohammedan tribe living in and around +Lagos. The Houssa Constabulary is largely recruited from them.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> This is the manner in which West African savages usually fire, and +it is dictated by motives of sound prudence, for the Birmingham muskets +with which they are supplied by British traders are so unsafe (the barrel +not uncommonly being made of old iron piping), and the charges of +powder used are so immense, that the bursting of a piece is looked upon +as an ordinary occurrence; and when firing they like to keep their +muskets as far removed from their bodies as possible. The majority of +the mutineers fired in this manner, because, having been less than three +weeks in the regiment, they had not yet been drilled with arms.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> All young ensigns just arrived from England to join the regiment.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> Sergeant-Major D. Cantrell. He had been the first to give the +alarm.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Eleven miles distant from San Josef.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> Torrens was sentenced to death, but, at the intercession of Colonel +Bush, the sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> The firing party was furnished by the 1st West India Regiment.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE PIRARA EXPEDITION, 1842—CHANGES IN THE WEST +AFRICAN GARRISONS—THE APPOLLONIA EXPEDITION, 1848.</p> + + +<p>On the 7th of December, 1837, the head-quarters of +the 1st West India Regiment embarked at Trinidad for +St. Lucia, leaving one company at St. James' in the +former island; and, after a detention of ten days in +quarantine at Pigeon Island, landed on the 24th of December +at Gros Islet, St. Lucia, and occupied Morne Fortune +Barracks and Fort. The detachments were stationed in +Tobago, Demerara, and St. Vincent.</p> + +<p>In the early part of the year 1839, the strength of the +regiment being very much above its establishment, owing +to the large drafts of recruits from Sierra Leone, Lieutenant-General +Sir S.F. Whittingham issued an order, dated +February 1st, authorising an augmentation to twelve +companies. On the 1st of July of the same year the regiment +was further increased to thirteen companies, it being notified +at the same time that it was to be considered only a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span> +temporary arrangement, as the surplus over 1000 men +were eventually to form another corps.</p> + +<p>On December 7th, 1839, the head-quarters of the +regiment proceeded from St. Lucia to Demerara, to relieve +the 76th Regiment, which was suffering heavily from the +prevailing epidemic of yellow fever, arriving at the latter +colony, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Capadose, +on December 13th. The distribution of the regiment was +then: Head-quarters and 2 companies at Demerara, 3 +companies at Barbados, 1 at Trinidad, 1 at Tobago, 1 at +St. Lucia, 1 at St. Vincent, 1 at Grenada, 1 at Dominica, +and 1 at Antigua.</p> + +<p>By Horse Guards order of the 1st of July, 1840, the +Royal African Corps and the three supernumerary companies +of the 1st West India Regiment were formed into one corps, +and designated the 3rd West India Regiment; the 1st West +India Regiment remaining at the ordinary establishment +of ten companies.</p> + +<p>New colours were presented to the regiment at Demerara +on May 24th, 1841.</p> + +<p>In September and October of the same year a violent +epidemic of yellow fever broke out in Demerara, and the +mortality amongst the men of the 52nd Regiment was so +alarming that that corps was moved to Berbice, and the +entire duties of the garrison fell upon the 1st West India +Regiment. The whole of the officers of the 52nd Regiment +occupying the west wing of the Georgetown Barracks fell<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span> +victims to this dreadful scourge, as did Captain French and +Lieutenants de Winton and Archdale of the 1st West India +Regiment.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of January, 1842, a detachment of the +regiment, consisting of two lieutenants (Bingham and +Wieburg), two sergeants and twenty-seven rank and file, left +Georgetown, Demerara, by direction of the Under-Secretary +of State for the Colonies (Lord John Russell), to proceed to +Pirara, on the south-western frontier of British Guiana, and +expel a party of Brazilians who had for some time encroached +on British territory. The country through which the party +had to pass was unexplored and almost unknown, and the +duties were most arduous. It was intended to reach Pirara +by ascending the Essequibo and Rypumani Rivers, and, to +effect this, a particular description of boat, locally called +<i>corials</i>, had to be built, each capable of holding eight men, +including the Indians who paddled. During the journey +seventy-three rapids or falls were crossed, in most instances +the <i>corials</i> being unladen and the stores carried above the +falls; and it was not until February 12th that Lieutenant +Bingham's party reached a point on the Rypumani, eleven +miles from Pirara. Next day they took possession of the +village of Pirara, which they found occupied by a detachment +of Brazilian troops who had been quietly sent over the +border. Having selected and fortified a position, and raised +temporary shelter for his men, Lieutenant Bingham—as +the Brazilian commander declined to withdraw—despatched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span> +Lieutenant Bush, 1st West India Regiment, who had accompanied +the party as a volunteer, to Georgetown for further +instructions. That officer arrived there on March 11th, and +on April 19th he again started with a small reinforcement +under Ensign Stewart. This second party reached Pirara +on May 21st, and found the detachment all well, but half-starved, +as the Brazilians refused to sell them anything, and +the stores had been some time exhausted. However, on +the arrival of the reinforcement the Brazilian troops considered +it advisable to withdraw across the frontier; and, +with the exception of a few occasional night forays made +by half-breeds and Indians in the pay of the Brazilians, the +detachment met with no further opposition.</p> + +<p>In 1843 it was decided to make an alteration in the +system under which the West Coast of Africa was continuously +garrisoned by the 3rd West India Regiment, and to remove +that corps to the West Indies. The West African garrisons +were to be composed of two companies from each of the +three West India regiments; and, in accordance with this +scheme, two companies of the 1st West India Regiment, +under Captain L.S. O'Connor, embarked at Barbados for +Sierra Leone on March 22nd, 1843, arriving at the latter +place in the month of May of the same year. Early in 1844 +the 3rd West India Regiment left West Africa for the +Bahamas, and the two companies of the 1st West India +Regiment, with one of the 3rd West India Regiment, composed +the garrison of Sierra Leone, while that of the Gambia<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span> +consisted of two companies of the 2nd West India Regiment +and one of the 3rd. This arrangement was almost at once +upset by the necessity of furnishing a garrison for the Gold +Coast, over which the Crown had, in 1843, resumed jurisdiction, +as it was suspected that the Government of the +merchants, which had been established at Cape Coast +Castle since 1831, connived at the maintenance of the slave +trade; and, in January, 1844, one captain, two subalterns, and +100 men of the 1st West India Regiment left Sierra Leone +for the Gold Coast.</p> + +<p>In the same year, two companies of the regiment, under +the command of Captain Robeson, proceeded from Demerara +to Jamaica, disembarking there on June 1st. This was the +first occasion on which any portion of the corps was +stationed in that island.</p> + +<p>On the 25th of February, 1845, the head-quarters, with +the Grenadier and No. 8 Companies, embarked at Demerara +in the <i>Princess Royal</i> transport, and sailed for Jamaica, to +relieve the head-quarters of the 2nd West India Regiment +ordered to Nassau, disembarking at Port Royal on March 6th. +The distribution of the regiment was then as follows: The +Grenadier, No. 1, No. 8, and the Light Company in Jamaica,<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> +No. 5 at Demerara, No. 2 at Trinidad, No. 3 at Dominica, +No. 6 at Grenada, No. 4 at Sierra Leone, and No. 7 at Cape<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span> +Coast Castle. During the last six months of this year (1845) +over 300 recruits joined the head-quarters from West Africa.</p> + +<p>In 1846, No. 5 Company was removed from Demerara +to Tobago, and the detachments at Dominica and Grenada +rejoined head-quarters in Jamaica, where No. 2 and No. 5 +Companies also rejoined on the 16th of December, 1847.<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a></p> + +<p>In the beginning of the year 1848, the King of Appollonia, +a state on the western frontier of the Gold Coast Colony, +closed the roads leading to Cape Coast Castle, stopped all +trade, and maltreated several British subjects. Messengers +were sent to him by the Lieutenant-Governor demanding +explanation and redress, with no other result than the +detention and imprisonment of the messengers; and matters +were at last brought to a crisis by the murder of the French +Commandant of Assinee and his boat's crew, the pillaging +of Dutch canoes at Axim, and the capture of some Dutch +subjects.</p> + +<p>The only force Mr. Winniett, the Lieutenant-Governor +of the Gold Coast, had at his disposal was No. 7 Company +of the 1st West India Regiment, then commanded by Lieutenant +E.H. Bingham; but, with the assistance of some<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span> +influential merchants, he succeeded in raising an expeditionary +force of from 4000 to 5000 natives. On the 24th of +March, 1848, the Lieutenant-Governor marched, with half +the native levies and the company of the 1st West India +Regiment, from Cape Coast Castle to the then Dutch settlement +of Axim, 120 miles distant from Cape Coast and +about twenty miles from Atemboo, or Attaambu, the King +of Appollonia's chief town and residence. By the 3rd of +April the whole force was concentrated at Axim, and on +the 6th, at 5 a.m., it moved onwards towards Appollonia.</p> + +<p>The country consisting of impenetrable forest, the force +had to march from Axim to Appollonia along the sandy +beach; and there were the mouths of two considerable rivers +to be crossed. The first river, the Ancobra, was reached at +6 a.m.; and, although a very heavy sea was breaking on the +bar, the passage of the stream was commenced in canoes, +which had been brought from Axim for that purpose. The +first detachment consisted of the native allies, and, as soon +as the canoes gained mid-stream, several hundred armed +Appollonians appeared on the further bank, and opened fire +on them as they came within range. Several natives were +struck, and three of the canoes being upset the remainder +returned to the bank they had just left.</p> + +<p>It being found impracticable to induce the native auxiliaries +to make a further attempt to force the passage, this duty +devolved upon the company of the 1st West India Regiment, +which the Lieutenant-Governor had originally intended holding<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span> +in reserve; and, under cover of a fire from two rocket-troughs, +it crossed the river in the canoes, driving the Appollonians, +in spite of a smart resistance, into the bush. The +remainder of the force then passed over, several natives +being drowned in the surf during the passage; and at 10 a.m. +they pushed on, reaching the Appollonian village of Asantah +about 1 p.m. This place was found to be deserted, and +here the force encamped for the night.</p> + +<p>Next morning at daybreak a further advance was made, +and about 6 a.m. the Abmoussa River—or, rather, Lagoon—was +reached. A very heavy and dangerous surf was +breaking on the bar, and the dense bush on the further bank, +which grew close down to the water's edge, was observed to +be full of armed men.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 80%;"> +<img src="images/fp215x.jpg" style="width: 80%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>The company of the 1st West India Regiment was again +called upon to lead the way, and the men, embarking in the +canoes, paddled out into the breakers. A continued and +furious fusillade was at once opened by the concealed enemy +upon the men, who were unable to reply, as their attention +was entirely occupied in keeping the canoes from capsizing. +Fortunately, the Appollonians fired wildly, and their powder +was of bad quality; for, although almost every man of the +detachment was struck by slugs or fragments of iron, only +eleven were wounded, and those slightly. A canoe was, +however, unhappily upset, and two men beaten against the +rocks and drowned. The company formed up on landing, +and advanced steadily through the bush against the enemy,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span> +who offered but a feeble resistance and soon retired altogether. +One man was shot dead while stepping ashore, an ambushed +native firing at him at the distance of a few feet only. The +native allies now passed over, and the march was continued. +Parties of the enemy were observed hovering round the flanks, +but no attack was made, and at 3 p.m. a halt was ordered +at the village of Barcoo.</p> + +<p>The force was here divided into two parts, of which one, +consisting entirely of natives, was to move through the bush +and prevent the king escaping inland; while the other, consisting +of the company of the 1st West India Regiment with +the remainder of the native allies, was to march along the +beach and attack the town in front. This movement would +probably have been successful, had the division of natives +performed the duty allotted to them; but, being fired upon +by some ambushed Appollonians, they refused to proceed +further, and when the company of the 1st West India +Regiment reached Atemboo, they found it entirely deserted.</p> + +<p>The success which had so far attended the expedition, +however, produced such an effect upon the native mind that, +on March 9th, the principal chiefs of Appollonia came in +to Atemboo to make submission; and, as it was reported +that the king was in hiding in the immediate neighbourhood, +parties were sent out in search of him. On the 18th his +wives and family were captured to the westward, near +the old fort, and the day following, a party of the 1st West +India Regiment brought in a body of 121 men, all heavily<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span> +manacled with irons weighing from fifty to ninety pounds, +and who had been intended to be sacrificed at an approaching +"custom." Two of these men thus unexpectedly saved +from a horrible death volunteered to point out where the +king was concealed, and some men of the regiment being +sent out under their guidance, succeeded in capturing +him in his hiding-place, in the midst of a mangrove +swamp.</p> + +<p>The object of the expedition being accomplished by +the capture of the king, the force moved back to Axim, on +the 21st of March, and, on the evening of the same day, the +Lieutenant-Governor, with the captive king and the company +of the 1st West India Regiment, embarked on board the +merchant brig <i>Governor</i>, arriving at Cape Coast Castle on +the 24th.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant-Governor Winniett in his despatch says: "I +cannot speak too highly of the detachment of the 1st West +India Regiment. During its march of more than 120 miles, +sometimes through very bad roads, and under the powerful +rays of the sun, the crossing of five rivers, and other +circumstances of disadvantage, no complaints were heard, +neither was a man seen in a state of intoxication during +the campaign. Mr. Bingham, the officer commanding the +detachment, was most active in executing all orders entrusted +to his care, and I have great pleasure in bringing +him under your Lordship's notice."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> The companies in Jamaica were detached thus: No. 1, No. 8, and +Grenadier Company at Up Park Camp. The Light Company between +Port Antonio and Montego Bay.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> The distribution in Jamaica then was: +</p> +<p> +Grenadier, Light, No. 2, and No. 5 Companies at Up Park Camp.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11.5em;">No. 1, at Spanish Town.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11.5em;">No. 8, at Port Royal.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11.5em;">No. 3, at Falmouth } To occupy posts vacated</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11.5em;">No. 6, at Lucea } by the 38th Regiment.</span><br /> +</p> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%;"> +<img src="images/fp219x.jpg" style="width: 60%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h3> + +<p class="center">INDIAN DISTURBANCES IN HONDURAS, 1848-9—THE ESCORT +TO COOMASSIE, 1848—THE SHERBRO EXPEDITION, 1849—ESCORT +TO RIO NUNEZ, 1850.</p> + + +<p>While No. 7 Company had thus been engaged on the +Gold Coast, the quinquennial relief for the West African +garrisons had sailed from the West Indies, No. 2 and +No. 5 Companies, 1st West India Regiment, having embarked +at Jamaica on February 21st, 1848. They arrived +at Sierra Leone in April, and No. 5 Company being there +landed to relieve No. 4, No. 2 proceeded to Cape Coast +Castle to relieve No. 7. The two relieved companies +rejoined the head-quarters at Jamaica on July 2nd, 1848. +No. 8 Company having been sent to Nassau in February, +and the light company in July, while No. 1 had been +despatched to Honduras in May, the distribution of the +regiment in August, 1848, was as follows: 2 companies +in West Africa, 2 at Nassau, 1 in Honduras, and 5 in +Jamaica.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span></p> + +<p>No. 1 Company had been sent to Honduras in reply to +an urgent appeal for a reinforcement from the Honduras +Government, that colony being threatened with the horrors +of an Indian war. In 1847 a war broke out between the +Yucatecans and the Indians, and caused much anxiety to +the British colony, whose strict neutrality satisfied neither +of the contending parties. The Yucatecans, being driven +out of the southern portion of Yucatan, took refuge in our +territory, and raids and reprisals were frequent between them +and the Santa Cruz Indians. In 1848 the town of Bacalar, +situated on the shores of a lake, about twenty miles from +the northern frontier of British Honduras, was captured by +the Indians, and the fugitives, streaming into the colony, +spread alarm amongst the colonists. It was at this time +that reinforcements were applied for, and No. 1 Company, +under Major Luke Smyth O'Connor, despatched from +Jamaica.</p> + +<p>On arriving at Belize the company was at once moved up +to the Hondo, and towards the end of May a portion of it +proceeded on escort duty with a British commissioner to +Bacalar to endeavour to arrange a peace. That town had +been the scene of the most frightful atrocities, and the streets +were found strewn with the dead bodies of men, women, and +children. Negotiations failing, the escort returned to the +Hondo.</p> + +<p>Collisions now became frequent between the Yucatecans +and the Indians, and our northern border became a rallying<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span> +point for both sides. The small British force was continually +harassed by alarms and forced marches taken to prevent +violation of British territory, until towards the close of 1848, +it being rumoured that the Indians intended to cross the +Hondo and sack Belize, it was withdrawn from the north +for the protection of that town. Additional reinforcements +were now asked for, and on March 29th, 1849, No. 4 +Company, under Captain Meehan, embarked at Jamaica for +Honduras.</p> + +<p>In January, 1849, No. 1 Company had again advanced to +the Hondo, and were within a few miles of Chac Creek +on that river, when the sanguinary struggle between the +Yucatecans and Indians took place. Hearing the sound of +firing the troops marched to the spot, and finding the Indians +employed in roasting the dead bodies of the defeated Yucatecans, +were only with the utmost difficulty restrained from +attacking them. But the most strict orders had been given +for the preservation of British neutrality, and nothing could +be done. Indeed, the Indians were themselves well aware of +the advantages which they derived from our neutrality, and +were exceedingly careful not to come into contact with the +British; even going so far as on one occasion to shoot a +chief and flog six men, who had been accused of committing +an outrage across the Hondo.</p> + +<p>In March, 1849, Major O'Connor visited Bacalar to +endeavour to make peace, but without success; and the two +companies of the regiment remained stationed on the Hondo,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span> +amid the same scenes of horror, until February, 1852, when +they rejoined head-quarters at Jamaica.</p> + +<p>To return to the companies in West Africa. In +September, 1848, Mr. Winniett, the Lieutenant-Governor of +the Gold Coast, received instructions from the Secretary of +State for the Colonies to proceed on a mission to Coomassie, +the capital of the Ashanti kingdom, for the purpose of +establishing friendly relations between Great Britain and +that power. Captain Powell, 1st West India Regiment, was +then in command of No. 2 Company, stationed at Cape +Coast Castle, and he, with forty-eight men of the regiment, +accompanied the Lieutenant-Governor as an escort.</p> + +<p>The mission left Cape Coast Castle on the 28th of September, +1848, crossed the River Prah on October 4th, and on +the 8th reached the village of Karsi, about two miles from +Coomassie. There the party halted to prepare for the entry +into the capital, and, at noon, the King's messengers having +informed them that everything was in readiness for their +reception, they proceeded towards Coomassie.</p> + +<p>Captain Powell says: "At a distance of about a mile +from the town, a party of messengers with gold-handled +swords of office, arrived with the king's compliments. After +halting for a short time, we proceeded to the entrance of the +first street, and then formed in order of procession, the escort +leading. Presently a party of the king's linguists, with four +large state umbrellas, ensigns of chieftainship, came up to +request us to halt for a few minutes under the shade of a large<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span> +banyan tree in the street, to give the king a little more time +to prepare to receive us. After a brief delay of about twenty +minutes, during which a large party of the king's soldiers +fired a salute about a hundred yards distant from us, we +moved on to the market-place, where the king and his chiefs +were seated under their large umbrellas, according to the +custom of the country on the reception of strangers of distinction. +They, with their numerous captains and attendants +occupied three sides of a large square, and formed a continuous +line about 600 yards in length, and about ten yards +in depth. After we had passed along about three-fourths of +the line, we found the king surrounded by about twenty +officers of his household, and a large number of messengers +with their gold-handled swords and canes of office. Several +very large umbrellas, consisting of silk velvet of different +colours, shaded him and his suite from the sun. These +umbrellas were surmounted by rude images, representing +birds and beasts, overlaid with gold; the king's chair +was richly decorated with gold; and the display of golden +ornaments about his own person and those of his suite +was most magnificent. The lumps of gold adorning the +wrists of the King's attendants, and many of the principal +chiefs, were so large that they must have been quite fatiguing +to the wearers. We occupied about an hour in moving in +procession from the banyan tree, where we had rested on +entering the town, to the end of the line prepared for our<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span> +reception; after which we proceeded to an open space at +some distance from the market-place, and there took our +seats. At 3.15 p.m. the chiefs commenced moving in procession +before us, and this lasted until 6 p.m. Those whom +we had first saluted in the market-place passed us first. Each +chief was preceded by his band of rude music, consisting +chiefly of drums and horns, followed by a body of soldiers +under arms, and shaded by a large umbrella. The king was +preceded by many of the officers of his household, and his +messengers with the gold-handled swords, etc. etc. When he +came opposite the governor, and received our military salute, +he stopped, and approaching him took him cordially by the +hand. After the king, other chiefs, and a large body of +troops, passed in due order; and at 6 p.m. the ceremony +closed."</p> + +<p>At 9.30 a.m. on October 26th, 1848, the mission left +Coomassie on its return journey to the coast, and arrived at +Cape Coast Castle on November 4th. This was the first +occasion on which a British Governor, or a body of regular +troops, had ever visited Coomassie.</p> + +<p>In March, 1849, a further change took place in the +distribution of the regiment in the West Indies, No. 7 +Company, under Captain R. Hughes, proceeding to Nassau +from Jamaica. There were thus the head-quarters and +3 companies in Jamaica, 3 in Nassau, 2 in Honduras, +and 2 in West Africa.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span></p> + +<p>In June, 1849; the Acting Governor of Sierra Leone +found that the state of affairs in Sherbro, a low-lying tract +of country some seventy-five miles to the southward of +Sierra Leone, imperatively called upon the British to take +steps for putting an end to the war which for a long time +had been carried on between the rival chiefs of the Caulker +family, and had utterly paralysed trade. H.M.S. <i>Alert</i> +and <i>Adelaide</i> were to be employed, but as a military force +was required to proceed with the naval one, the under-mentioned +force embarked in the Colonial steamer <i>Pluto</i> +on the 18th of June: Captain Grange, Lieutenant Jones, +and 45 men of the 1st West India Regiment, and 44 men +of the 3rd West India Regiment. The expedition arrived +at Yawrey Bay, at the mouth of the Cockboro River, on +the 19th of June, when a stockaded fort was shelled and +destroyed by the <i>Adelaide</i>. The expedition then proceeded +to Bendoo, and after some delay, owing to the +difficulty in inducing the chiefs to come in, returned to +Yawrey Bay on the 29th, where negotiations were held +and a treaty of peace between the Government and rival +chiefs signed. The detachments rejoined at Freetown, +Sierra Leone, on July 7th.</p> + +<p>On the 29th of November, 1849, Lieutenant Tunstall +and 34 men of No. 2 Company of the 1st West India +Regiment, left Cape Coast Castle and proceeded to Appollonia +in canoes, in aid of the civil power. After an absence<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> +of three weeks, during which they endured great hardships +from exposure and fatigue, they rejoined their detachment at +Cape Coast.</p> + +<p>In the beginning of the year 1850, the Rio Nunez was in +such a disturbed state as to necessitate the Governor of Sierra +Leone taking steps for the protection of British subjects +there. Some influential chiefs of the river having also +besought the intervention of the Government to restore +peace, commissioners were appointed, and as war was +actually being carried on at the time, a military force was +detailed to accompany them. This force consisted of Lieutenant +Searle and 33 men of the 1st West India Regiment +and Captain Prendergast and 34 men of the 3rd West +India Regiment, and it embarked in H.M.S. <i>Teazer</i> on +the 22nd of February, 1850. The <i>Teazer</i> arrived at the Rio +Nunez on the 24th, and proceeded up the river to Ropass, +a town some distance up the stream, where the commissioners +landed with the escort. A "palaver" was held at +this place on March 1st, the rival chieftains being attended +by large bodies of armed men, but no satisfactory arrangement +was arrived at, and next day the commissioners and +troops proceeded to Walkariah, a town higher up the river. +Here matters were finally amicably settled, and the party +returned to Sierra Leone on March 9th.</p> + +<p>In the West Indies there had been little change since +1849, except that on the 13th of February, 1851, the head-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>quarters +and two companies were removed from Up Park +Camp to Spanish Town; and a detachment consisting of +half a company, under Ensign Cave, was sent to Turk's +Island in December, 1851. This latter rejoined head-quarters +in Jamaica in January, 1852; and in February, +No. 1 and No. 4 Companies, under Captain Robeson, rejoined +from Honduras. In the same year, however, they +again went on detachment: No. 1, under Captain Grange, +to St. Christopher's, and No. 4, under Lieutenant Imes, to +Barbados. The distribution of the regiment in September, +1852, was thus: the Grenadier, No. 3 and No. 6 Companies, +at Jamaica; the Light, No. 7 and No. 8 Companies, at +Nassau, No. 4 at St. Christopher's, No. 1 at Barbados, +No. 5 at Sierra Leone, and No. 2 at Cape Coast Castle.</p> + +<p>In February, 1852, Major L. Smyth O'Connor, 1st West +India Regiment, had arrived at Sierra Leone and assumed +command of the troops in West Africa, and finding in May +that the company on the Gold Coast was reduced by deaths +to only 50 rank and file, he recommended that it should +be recalled to Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast Corps, then +almost completed, being quite sufficient for the garrison of +the Gold Coast.</p> + +<p>In September, 1852, Major O'Connor was appointed +Governor of the Gambia, and as by Horse Guards letter +of September 20th, 1852, "it was considered expedient that +he should continue invested with the command of the troops<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span> +on the West Coast of Africa, and move the head-quarters +to the Gambia," this was done in October, 1852.</p> + +<p>The War Office having approved of Major O'Connor's +recommendation, No. 2 Company, 50 strong, arrived at +Sierra Leone from Cape Coast Castle on March 20th, +1853.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE STORMING OF SABBAJEE, 1853—THE RELIEF OF +CHRISTIANSBORG, 1854.</p> + + +<p>On March 23rd, 1853, No. 3 and No. 6 Companies, under +Captain A.W. Murray and Lieutenant Upton, embarked +at Port Royal, Jamaica, in the troopship <i>Resistance</i>, for the +relief of the West African garrisons. On May 17th, the +<i>Resistance</i> arrived at the Gambia with four out of the six +companies forming the relief for the detachments of the +three West India regiments, and reinforcements being +urgently required for the suppression of a hostile movement +amongst the Mohammedans at Sabbajee, they were +landed.</p> + +<p>On the 25th of May, Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor prepared +to take the field with a force of 603 men, consisting +of 463 of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd West India Regiments, +35 pensioners, and 105 of the Gambia Militia. A field +battery, consisting of 2 six-pounder field-guns and 2 howitzers, +was also organised. On the 30th May, the brigade marched<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span> +from Bathurst to Josswung, a distance of eight miles, where +a camp was formed; and on June 1st, the force advanced +to the attack of Sabbajee.<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a></p> + +<p>Sabbajee was one of the oldest Marabout towns in +Combo, and boasted the possession of the largest mosque +in that portion of Africa. The town, more than a mile +in circumference, was surrounded by a strong stockade, +double ditches, and outward abattis; and the inhabitants, +who could muster 3000 fighting men, were, from their +predatory and warlike habits, the dread of the surrounding +country.</p> + +<p>On approaching the town, a strong body of the enemy +was observed stationed round the mosque, while the stockade +was lined with men. A portion of the stockade presented +the appearance of having been removed, but had in reality +only been laid lengthwise, so as to form a very formidable +obstacle; while a deep trench dug in rear was crowded +with men, who, in perfect security, could fire upon the +advancing British, should they fall into the trap which +had been laid for them, and attempt to carry the town +at this point.</p> + +<p>The force was drawn up in three divisions: the 1st West +India Regiment, under Captain A.W. Murray, forming the +centre division; the 2nd West India Regiment, under Captain +Anderson, the right; and the 3rd West India Regiment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span> +under Captain Brabazon, the left. At about four hundred +yards from the stockade the field battery opened fire, and with +such precision that after a few rounds the roof of the mosque +and those of the adjacent houses were in flames. Observing +the disorder caused amongst the enemy by the burning of +their sacred building, Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor determined +to seize the opportunity, and storm.</p> + +<p>The right and left divisions extended in skirmishing +order, the centre remaining in column, and the whole advanced +to the assault. The enemy kept up a heavy fire from +the loop-holes of their stockade, over which the green flag +was flying; but at the same moment the three divisions, +which had in advancing formed a crescent, rushed at the +stockade at three different points, and, clambering over, got +at the enemy with the bayonet. This was more than they +could stand, and abandoning their stockade, they fled down +the streets and escaped through sally-ports in the rear of the +town.</p> + +<p>A strong body of fanatics, however, still held the mosque, +the fire in the roof of which they had succeeded in extinguishing, +and, amid the beating of war-drums and cries of +"Allah" from the priests, kept up a smart fire upon the +troops as they entered the large central square in which the +mosque stood. To have stormed the building would have +involved great sacrifice of life; the men, therefore, were +directed to occupy the houses enclosing the square, and open +fire, until the rockets could be brought into play.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span></p> + +<p>The second rocket fired whizzed through the roof of the +mosque, the defenders of which, however, only increased +their drumming and shouts of defiance, for they were +secure in their belief of the local tradition, which said that +the mosque was impregnable and indestructible. In a +very few minutes flames began to appear on the roof, and, +though the enemy worked hard to extinguish it, it rapidly +increased, until the mosque was untenable. Dozens of the +fanatics blew out their brains rather than surrender, while +others threw themselves out of the windows and passages, +and rushed sword in hand, in a state of frenzy, upon the +British. The coolness and steadiness of the troops was, +however, more than a match for the mad rage of the +Mandingoes, who were shot down one after another, until +the whole of the defenders of the mosque were killed or +made prisoners. The remainder of the enemy, who fled +at the storming of the stockade, had taken refuge in the +neighbouring woods, and, the object of the engagement being +accomplished by the capture of the town, they were not +pursued.</p> + +<p>The stockade and mosque being destroyed, the force +left Sabbajee on June 4th, and returned to Josswung, where, +by an arrangement with the King of Combo, a portion +of that kingdom, including the town of Sabbajee, was ceded +to the British.</p> + +<p>The mosque was a singularly strong building, and for +a day and a half resisted every effort to pull it down, being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span> +eventually reduced to ruins by blasting the walls with bags +of gunpowder. It consisted of a large central hall, with walls +made of baked clay, three feet in thickness, and an external +corridor running round the whole circumference of the inner +apartment. The roof, conical in shape, was supported by six +masonry pillars.</p> + +<p>As the Gambia was still in an unsettled state, Lieutenant-Colonel +O'Connor deemed it prudent to increase its garrison +at the expense of that of Sierra Leone. No. 6 Company +of the 1st West India Regiment was therefore detained at +Bathurst, and on June 8th, No. 3 Company, under Captain +Murray, proceeded in the <i>Resistance</i> to Sierra Leone. On +arriving at that station, on June 17th, Captain Murray +assumed the command of the troops.</p> + +<p>No. 2 Company embarked at Sierra Leone for Jamaica +on June 22nd, arriving at Kingston on August 5th. On +October 18th the <i>Resistance</i> returned from the West Indies +with the remaining companies destined for the quinquennial +relief, and No. 5 Company, embarking in her on October +22nd, reached Jamaica on November 25th. The West +African garrisons were now as follows: At the Gambia, one +company of the 1st West India Regiment, two of the 2nd, +and one of the 3rd; at Sierra Leone, one of the 1st West +India Regiment, and one of the 3rd.</p> + +<p>In the West Indies the following changes had taken +place: Nos. 7 and 8 Companies had been moved in August<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span> +from Nassau to Barbados and Dominica respectively, and, +in July, the light company had proceeded from Nassau to +Jamaica. In December, 1853, the distribution of the +regiment was then as follows: 4 companies at Jamaica, 2 at +Barbados, 1 at Dominica, 1 at St. Christopher's, 1 at Sierra +Leone, and 1 at the Gambia.<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a></p> + +<p>In September, 1854, the inhabitants of Christiansborg, +a Danish settlement on the Gold Coast four miles from +Accra, which had been recently purchased by the British,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span> +rose in rebellion against the Colonial authorities. The +only armed force then on the Gold Coast consisted of the +Gold Coast Artillery, recruited from amongst the Fanti +tribes, and this body the rebels blockaded in the Castle of +Christiansborg. On the outbreak of the rebellion, the +Lieutenant-Governor of the Gold Coast at once sent to +Sierra Leone for assistance; and, on the 12th of October, +the following detachments embarked at Sierra Leone in +H.M.S. <i>Britomart</i> and <i>Ferret</i>: Lieutenant Strachan and +33 men of the 1st West India Regiment, Captain Rookes +and 46 men of the 2nd West India Regiment, Lieutenant +Haneahan and 31 men of the 3rd West India Regiment. +From the Gambia were also despatched in the Colonial +steamer <i>Dover</i>, on the 24th of October: Ensign Anderson +and 25 men of the 1st, Captain Mockler and 70 men of +the 2nd, and Lieutenant Hill and 23 men of the 3rd West +India Regiment.</p> + +<p>The troops from Sierra Leone and the Gambia arrived +at Christiansborg on the 27th of October and the 7th of +November respectively. Several small skirmishes had taken +place between the Gold Coast artillery and the rebels without +either side gaining any material advantage; but, on +the arrival of the reinforcement from Sierra Leone, the +siege was raised, and the natives retired inland to some +villages on the plain behind Christiansborg. There, like +all undisciplined bodies, they gradually melted away; the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span> +chiefs, finding their followers abandoning them, were compelled +to ask for terms; and directly negotiations were +opened, the detachments of the three West India regiments +re-embarked to return to Sierra Leone, sailing from Christiansborg +on the 12th of November.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> See map.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> This year, 1853, appears to have been particularly unhealthy in the +West Indies, to judge from the following inscription, taken from an intramural +monument in Kingston Cathedral Church: +</p> +<p class="center">TO THE MEMORY OF THE FOLLOWING:</p> +<p> +Capt. Robt. Mostyn, 3rd W.I.R., died of yellow fever, at Nassau, +Bahamas, 23rd July, 1853, æt. 27. +</p> +<p> +Ensign John Alex. Gordon Pringle, 3rd W.I.R., died of yellow fever at +Kingston, Jamaica, 31st July, 1853, æt. 21. +</p> +<p> +Assist.-Surg. Walter William Harris, 1st W.I.R., attached to 3rd W.I.R., +died at Up Park Camp, of yellow fever, 4th Aug., 1853, æt. 24. +</p> +<p> +Lieut. John Maryon Wilson, 3rd W.I.R., died at Up Park Camp, of +yellow fever, 13th Aug., 1853, æt. 22. +</p> +<p> +Eliza Chancellor Wilson, wife of the above, died at Up Park Camp, of +yellow fever, 5th Sept., 1853, æt. 22. +</p> +<p> +Cath. Elizabeth, wife of Lieut. Wm. Hen. Wilson Hawtayne, 3rd W.I.R., +died of yellow fever at Nassau, Bahamas, 9th Aug., 1853, æt. 23. +</p> +<p> +Asst.-Surg. Gideon Jas. Wm. Griffith, 3rd W.I.R., died of yellow fever +at Lucia, 26th Aug., 1853, æt. 23. +</p> +<p> +Also, Selina Maria, wife of Capt. C.S.H. Hingston, 3rd W.I.R., died +at Up Park Camp, 11th April, 1854, æt. 23. +</p> +<p><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11.5em;">Erected by the officers of the 1st and 3rd W.I. Regts.</span><br /> +</p> +</div> +</div> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70%;"> +<img src="images/fp236x.jpg" style="width: 70%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE TWO EXPEDITIONS TO MALAGEAH, 1854 AND 1855.</p> + + +<p>The troops that had been despatched from Sierra Leone +and the Gambia for the relief of Christiansborg, returned +to Sierra Leone, in H.M.S. <i>Prometheus</i>, on the 25th of +November, 1854, and in consequence of the hostile attitude +assumed by the chiefs of the Mellicourie and Scarcies Rivers, +and the outrages committed by natives on mercantile factories +in those rivers, the Governor of Sierra Leone decided to +detain the contingent which had been sent from the Gambia, +in order to have a sufficient force to overawe the chief of +Malageah, the principal offender, and compel him to sign +a treaty of trade. With this view, accordingly, detachments +of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd West India Regiments, +numbering in all 401 officers and men, under the +command of Captain Rookes, 2nd West India Regiment, +embarked in H.M.S. <i>Prometheus</i> and <i>Dover</i>, on the 2nd of +December, and sailed for the Mellicourie River, on which +the town of Malageah is situated. The officers of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span> +1st West India Regiment who accompanied the expedition +were Captain R.D. Fletcher, Lieutenant Connell, Lieutenant +Strachan, and Ensign Anderson.</p> + +<p>On December 4th, the expedition arrived off Malageah, +and the river-banks having been reconnoitred, Captain +Heseltine, of H.M.S. <i>Britomart</i>, who had been appointed +diplomatic agent with powers to negotiate, directed a +landing to be made. The troops disembarked, and meeting +with no opposition, advanced on the town, seizing and +occupying the mosque and the king's house, while a +second body took possession of all the approaches to the +town. By these means, a party of some 200 chiefs and +Marabouts, who filled the mosque, were surrounded.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, the 1st Division, under Captain R. +D'Oyley Fletcher, 1st West India Regiment, had proceeded +to a creek to the eastward of the town, which they ascended +in the boats of the <i>Britomart</i>, and then crossing by bye-paths +through the swamp and bush to the back of the +town, where they dispersed a body of 150 natives armed +with rifles and muskets, they joined the main body before +the mosque.</p> + +<p>Negotiations were opened by the diplomatic agent, and +continued for about half-an-hour; when, as it was noticed +that the Marabouts were gradually leaving the mosque and +all going in one direction, a reconnoitring party of ten men, +under Lieutenant F.J. Connell, 1st West India Regiment, +was sent to the northern side of the town. Lieutenant<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span> +Connell, on reaching the town gate, found from 1800 to +2000 natives armed with fire-arms, spears, bows and arrows, +formed in a semicircle, from eight to ten deep, facing the +small picket that had been there posted. The whole of +the main body, with the seamen and marines, was at once +ordered up, and took up a position on the plateau to the +north of the town, facing the natives, while a detached party +occupied the walls and gates. At first there was a disposition +on the part of the natives to resist this movement, but it +was so rapidly executed that they were taken by surprise, +and, losing cohesion, they soon after gradually dispersed.</p> + +<p>The king, Bamba Mima Lahi, now signified his desire to +come to terms, promised to comply with all demands, and to +pay one thousand dollars as a fine for his offences. The +force accordingly re-embarked, the object of the expedition +having been effected without bloodshed, and returned to +Sierra Leone on December 6th. The following letter may +be of interest:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p><span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 30em;" >"H.M.S. Britomart</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 28em;" >"<i>Sierra Leone, December 6th, 1854.</i></span></p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>, +</p> + +<p>"In bringing back the troops that have been embarked +on board the <i>Prometheus</i> and landed at Malageah, and who, +whilst afloat, have been under my command, I beg to bear +testimony to their quiet, orderly, and zealous conduct, both +afloat and ashore, where, had it not been for the above good +qualities, collision would have been inevitable.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span></p> + +<p>"To Captains Rookes, Mockler, and Fletcher, and the +officers of the force, I beg to return my sincere thanks for +their zealous and active co-operation; further comment on +my part would be presumptuous.</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 30em;">"A. Heseltine</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">"Commander and Senior Naval Officer.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Lieutenant-Colonel Foster,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">"Commanding troops."</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<p>On the 14th of December, the Gambia contingent sailed +for the Gambia in the Colonial steamer <i>Dover</i>, and the +garrison of Sierra Leone remained at its ordinary strength +of three companies.</p> + +<p>In May, 1855, as the King of Malageah had not observed +the stipulations of the treaty that had been forced upon +him, and had not paid the fine of one thousand dollars, the +Acting Governor of Sierra Leone, a gentleman of colour, +determined to take steps for his punishment. On the 21st +of May, accordingly, he sent for Captain R. D'Oyley Fletcher, +1st West India Regiment, who was then in command of +the troops, and informed him that it was his intention to +send a force of 150 men, that very day, to burn the town +of Malageah, and, if possible, capture the king. He added +that the troops would proceed in H.M.S. <i>Teazer</i>, then lying +in the harbour.</p> + +<p>Captain Fletcher, in reply, said that he could not approve +of the proposed arrangements; that since a force of 400 +men had been deemed necessary to extract a promise from<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span> +the king, it was, to say the least, injudicious to endeavour to +force him to fulfil that promise with only 150 men. He +stated that at the last expedition more than 2000 armed +natives had been seen, and he considered it inadvisable +to proceed to actual hostilities without a force proportionate +to the duty to be performed. He further suggested that +the expedition should be delayed for two or three days, +so that the detachments of the 2nd West India Regiment +might be brought in from Waterloo and the Banana Islands, +and the whole garrison employed on the duty. The Acting +Governor overruled these objections, insinuated that Captain +Fletcher was actuated by fears for his personal safety, and +finally peremptorily ordered the force he had mentioned +to embark.</p> + +<p>In consequence, on the evening of May 21st, Captain +Fletcher, Lieutenant Strachan, Lieutenant Wylie, and 69 +men of the 1st West India Regiment, with Lieutenants +Keir and Beazley and 79 men of the 3rd West India +Regiment, embarked on board the <i>Teazer</i>. Lieutenant +Vincent, 2nd West India Regiment, was attached to the +1st for duty, and Deputy-Assistant-Commissary-General +Frith and Surgeons Marchant and Bradshaw accompanied +the troops.</p> + +<p>The <i>Teazer</i> arrived off Benty Point, at the mouth of +the Mellicourie River, on the morning of May 22nd, and, +after a delay of a few hours, in consequence of the difficulty +in crossing the bar, the expedition arrived off Malageah.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span></p> + +<p>Lieutenant-Commander Nicolas, of the <i>Teazer</i>, and Mr. +Dillet, the Acting Governor's private secretary, had been +appointed commissioners, and, by their direction, the troops +disembarked about 10 a.m. A flag of truce was flying +on the king's house, and, as he showed a disposition to +come to terms, the commissioners determined to depart +from their instructions, and make an attempt to settle the +affair without having recourse to force. They accordingly +informed the king that if he would pay the fine his town +would be spared; and they granted him one hour for +this purpose, warning him that if at the expiration of +that time the money was not forthcoming, the town would +be shelled.</p> + +<p>Two hours having passed without any communication +having been received from the king, the <i>Teazer</i> at noon +opened fire, and the troops advanced on the town, covering +their flanks with skirmishers. This advance would have +been unnecessary had the <i>Teazer</i> been supplied with rockets; +but there being none, the men were obliged to set fire +to the houses. It would be difficult to imagine a worse-planned +expedition.</p> + +<p>The troops gained the central square of the town, and, +in compliance with the written instructions, set fire to the +mosque, the king's house, and other principal buildings; +and ultimately the whole town appeared to be in flames. +The left division, under Lieutenant Vincent, was exposed +to a desultory fire, during the whole of these operations,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span> +from the enemy concealed in the bush; and large numbers +of natives were observed gathering on the plateau to the +north of the town. As it seemed impossible that any +portion of the town could escape the conflagration, and +as the heat from the burning buildings was intense, the +troops retired to the river bank, and embarked in the +<i>Teazer's</i> boats. Scarcely had the seamen dipped their +oars into the water, to pull out into the stream, than a +volley was poured into the boats from the dense bush +which grew close down to the edge of the water; and +the ambushed enemy then commenced firing rapidly, but +fortunately with so little precision that the troops succeeded +in reaching mid-stream with a loss of only five wounded.</p> + +<p>The boats continued their course to the ship, and the +troops re-embarked. The town was still in flames, but they +were gradually subsiding, and before nightfall were entirely +extinguished, leaving a considerable portion of the town +still unconsumed. The commissioners, upon this, decided, +as it was too late to land again that day, to drop down +the river as far as Benty Point for the night, and to return +next morning to complete the work of destruction. Captain +Fletcher then objected to any second landing being made, +pointing out that the whole country was now alarmed, +and that the people of Malageah would be reinforced by +those of Fouricariah (a populous town further up the river), +and that quite enough had been done to punish the king. +The commissioners agreed with his views, but decided that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span> +their orders were so peremptory that they could not, without +running the risk of censure, leave the river until the entire +town had been destroyed.</p> + +<p>At 5.30 a.m. on May 23rd, the <i>Teazer</i> left Benty Point, +and steaming up the river, anchored off Malageah, in which +the ruins were still smouldering. The vessel was so ill-provided +with munitions of war that hardly any shell +remained from the previous day. What little there was, +was thrown amongst the houses to endeavour to fire them, +and the attempt being unsuccessful, it became necessary +to land the men. The dense bush around the town having +been well searched with grape and canister to clear it +of any lurking enemy, the troops, 135 in number, were +landed on the bank of the mangrove creek running inland +towards the town, and no enemy appearing, they advanced +to set fire to the buildings that had hitherto escaped +destruction.</p> + +<p>The advanced guard of thirty men, with whom were +Lieutenant-Commander Nicolas and Mr. Dillet, who had +landed to point out which houses it was most important +to thoroughly destroy, had only advanced some two hundred +yards from the bank of the creek, when they were received +with a murderous discharge of musketry from the enemy +concealed in the bush. Almost the whole of the advanced +party were shot down in this one volley, twenty men +being killed on the spot, and Lieutenant-Commander Nicolas +and Mr. Dillet severely wounded. The main body, seventy-<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>five +in number, under Captain Fletcher, at once hurried +up to prevent the wounded falling into the hands of the +barbarous natives, and behaved with great gallantry, for +though falling thick and fast under the tremendous fire +which the concealed enemy—to the number of several +hundreds—poured into them from a distance of ten or +twelve yards, they held their ground until the wounded +had been safely conveyed to the boats.</p> + +<p>Scarcely had this been accomplished than the rear-guard +of thirty men, under Lieut. Keir, 3rd West India Regiment, +was attacked by a large number of natives who had moved +through the bush, and actually succeeded in cutting off our +men from the boats. The enemy advanced with great +determination into the open, thinking to overwhelm this +small party, and they were only driven back into the +bush by repeated volleys and a final charge with the +bayonet.</p> + +<p>By this time fully one-third of the men who had landed +having been killed, and a great number wounded, the order +was given to retire, which was done steadily, the ground +being contested inch by inch. At this time Company +Sergeant-Major Scanlan, of the 3rd West India Regiment, +and six men who were covering the retreat, fell, the former +mortally wounded; and some of the bolder of the natives, +rushing out of their concealment, seized Deputy-Assistant-Commissary +Frith, and dragged him away into the bush, +where he was barbarously murdered in cold blood. Scanlan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span> +was lying in the narrow path, his chest riddled with bullets, +when the chief fetish priest of the place, to encourage the +natives to make further efforts, sprang upon a ruined wall +in front of him, and began dancing an uncouth dance, +accompanying it with savage yells and significant gestures +to the dying man. He paid dearly for his rashness, however, +for Scanlan, collecting his strength for a last supreme effort, +seized his loaded rifle, which was fortunately lying within +reach, and discharged it at the gesticulating savage, who +threw up his arms and fell dead. The next moment Scanlan +was surrounded by a horde of infuriated barbarians, and his +body hacked into an undistinguishable mass.</p> + +<p>The troops, sadly diminished in number, at last reached +that portion of the mangrove creek where they had left the +boats. Of these there had been originally but two, and one +having at the commencement of the action been used to +convey Lieutenant-Commander Nicolas and Mr. Dillet, under +the charge of Surgeon Bradshaw, to the ship, one only remained +for the men to embark in. The tide having fallen, +this was lying out near the entrance of the creek, separated +by an expanse of reeking mud from the shore. The men, +seeing their last chance of safety cut off, threw themselves +into the mud, in which many sank and were no more seen. +Some few, however, succeeded in floundering along, half +wading and half swimming, until they reached her, and +climbed in. She was, however, so riddled with bullets, that +she filled and sank almost immediately.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span></p> + +<p>Captain Fletcher, Lieutenant Wylie, Lieutenant Strachan, +and Lieutenant Vincent, with some thirty men, endeavoured +to make a last stand upon a small islet of mud and sand, +near the left bank of the creek; but Lieutenant Wylie was +shot dead almost at once, and Lieutenant Vincent, being +shot through the body, jumped into the water, to endeavour +to swim to the ship. In a few seconds seventeen men had +fallen out of this devoted band, and the survivors, plunging +into the creek, swam down towards the river. The natives +lined the banks in crowds, keeping up a heavy fire upon the +men in the water; and Captain Fletcher and Lieutenant +Strachan, who were the last to leave the shore, only reached +the <i>Teazer</i> by a miracle, they having to swim more than +half a mile to reach her.</p> + +<p>As the last of the survivors gained the vessel, the natives, +between two and three thousand in number, lined the banks +of the river, brandishing their weapons and uttering shouts +of defiance; and the heads of several of the killed, horribly +mutilated, were held out towards the ship on spears, amidst +cries of exultation. All the ammunition for the <i>Teazer's</i> guns +having already been expended in shelling the town and +clearing the bush, it was impossible to reply to the enemy, +and the vessel proceeded slowly down the river, returning to +Sierra Leone next day.</p> + +<p>The casualties of this day were as follows: The 1st +West India Regiment, out of 62 men who landed, lost +38 killed and 3 wounded. The 3rd West India Regiment,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span> +out of 73 men who landed, lost 46 killed and 8 wounded. +Total, 95 killed and wounded, out of a force of 135 men.</p> + +<p>The casualties amongst the officers were nearly equally +heavy. Out of the ten Europeans who were under fire, +three, namely Lieutenant Wylie, 1st West India Regiment, +D.A.C.G. Frith and C.S.M. Scanlan were killed; and +three, Lieutenant Vincent, 2nd West India Regiment, +Lieutenant-Commander Nicolas, and Mr. Dillet, severely +wounded.</p> + +<p>It was learned afterwards that the reason so large a +force was assembled at Malageah was that it was the time +for the annual gathering of the river tribes, to hear the +laws read by the Alimani. This circumstance ought of +course to have been known to the Acting Governor, who was +well acquainted with the customs of the people. The +Imperial Government held him responsible for this defeat, +and, in November, 1855, he was relieved of his post, and +charged "with having, when Acting Governor, on the 21st of +May, 1855, without authority, and upon insufficient grounds, +sent an expedition against the Moriah chiefs in the Mellicourie +River, beyond the Colony, with orders to burn or destroy +the town of Malageah, planned without foresight or judgment, +disastrous in its termination, and disgraceful to the British +power," and was suspended from his office of Queen's +Advocate and from his seat at the Council Board.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE BATTLE OF BAKKOW, AND STORMING OF SABBAJEE, +1855.<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a></p> + + +<p>The company of the 1st West India Regiment stationed +at the Gambia was the next to see active service, but +fortunately under circumstances less disastrous than had +fallen to the lot of the company at Sierra Leone.</p> + +<p>In June, 1855, the inhabitants of Sabbajee again began +to exhibit signs of lawlessness; and, early in July, an influential +Mohammedan of that town, named Fodi Osumanu, +sent an armed party to the British settlement at Josswung +to seize a woman, whose husband he had already placed +in confinement in Sabbajee itself. In consequence of this +outrage a warrant was issued for the apprehension of Fodi +Osumanu, and, as a precautionary measure, the constables +despatched to put the warrant in force were accompanied +by a small party of the 2nd West India Regiment, under +Lieutenant Armstrong, 3rd West India Regiment.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span></p> +<p>They arrived at Sabbajee on the morning of July 16th, +and at first Fodi Osumanu offered no opposition to his +arrest; but, on gaining the central square of the town, he +endeavoured to break away from the police, and, upon +this signal, the Mandingoes rushed upon the British from +every street and alley. Nothing but the coolness and +steadiness displayed by both officers and men, saved the +whole from destruction. Forming square, they retreated +steadily out of the town, repulsing the repeated attacks of +the natives, and retired in good order to Josswung, and +thence to the military post at Cape St. Mary's. In effecting +this, two men were killed, and the Queen's Advocate, +Lieutenant Davis, 2nd West India Regiment, and Lieutenant +Armstrong were wounded, the latter so severely as to render +amputation of the right arm necessary.</p> + +<p>Intelligence of this occurrence being carried to Bathurst +in a few hours, the Governor, Lieutenant-Colonel L. Smyth +O'Connor, 1st West India Regiment, at once called out all +the available force of the Colony; and, aware that every +half-hour was of importance, as the inhabitants of Sabbajee +were receiving reinforcements from the disaffected Mandingo +towns of Jambool, Burnfut, and Cunju, and had already +burned and pillaged Josswung, he marched the same day. +The force consisted of 120 men of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd +West India Regiments, with 120 of the Royal Gambia +Militia; and, on arriving at Cape St. Mary's, on the evening +of July 16th, it was joined by 26 pensioners of the West<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span> +India regiments. The officers of the 1st West India +Regiment present were Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor, +Lieutenant E.F. Luke, and Lieutenant Henderson.</p> + +<p>Early next morning the whole force marched towards +Sabbajee, meeting with no resistance until it arrived at +the wood of Bakkow. To reach Sabbajee it was necessary +to pass through this wood, a jungle of dense tropical vegetation, +only traversable by a single bush path some five feet +in breadth, and, before entering this defile, Colonel O'Connor +wisely ordered rockets to be thrown amongst the trees, +with a view to ascertaining if they covered any concealed +enemy.</p> + +<p>Hardly had the first rocket fallen than the wood appeared +alive with men, who, from every bush and tree, opened a +destructive fire upon the British. This was promptly and +steadily replied to by the detachments of the 1st, 2nd, and +3rd West India Regiments, which were in the van, and +the action became general. The militia were drawn up +in two bodies, one acting as a support to the regulars, +and the other as a reserve; and the latter, shortly after the +commencement of the engagement, retreated without orders, +and without firing a shot. The party of militia in support, +as soon as they observed the flight of the reserve, fell back +hurriedly in great confusion, nor could their officers nor +the Governor himself succeed in stopping them, and both +parties of militia retired upon Cape St. Mary's, abandoning +their wounded.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span></p> + +<p>The detachments of the West India regiments still +held their ground; but at the end of half an hour, as it +was manifestly impossible, with the now greatly reduced +numbers, to force the passage of the wood, and as the +enemy were observed extending in large numbers round +both flanks so as to threaten the line of retreat, the +order was given to retire upon Cape St. Mary's. This +was effected in good order, the victorious natives following +the retreating force for more than two miles, and +keeping up an incessant fire. The combined detachments +suffered in this affair a loss of twenty-three killed and +fifty-three wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor was +himself severely wounded in the right arm and left +shoulder.</p> + +<p>The news of this repulse was received with the greatest +consternation at Bathurst, which was entirely denuded of +troops and quite at the mercy of the rebellious Mandingoes. +Preparations for defence were at once undertaken, +all the reliable natives, principally persons in the +employ of the Government or of the merchants, in all some +200 in number, were armed, and a vessel was despatched +to the neighbouring French settlement of Goree to seek +assistance. The Mandingoes, fortunately, made no attempt +to follow up their success, and the chiefs of British +Combo having volunteered their aid to the Government, +a number of their men were armed, and on July 29th +some sharp skirmishing took place between them and the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span> +Mandingoes in the neighbourhood of Bakkow, in which +the Combos lost twenty-five killed, but without reaping +any success.</p> + +<p>On the afternoon of July 30th, the French brig-of-war +<i>Entreprenant</i>, Captain Villeneuve, arrived, bringing +with her eighty men, which was all the disposable force +the French Governor of Goree had at his command; +and all preparations being completed by the night of +August 3rd, the combined British and French force marched +from Cape St. Mary's next morning at daybreak. The +French had brought with them three twelve-pounder field-guns, +which, with a 4-2/5-inch howitzer, and three rocket-troughs +in the possession of the British, were formed into +a battery under the command of Lieutenant Morel, of the +French marine artillery. The force was further increased +by an irregular contingent of some 600 loyal natives.</p> + +<p>As on the former occasion, no opposition was encountered +until arriving at the wood of Bakkow, where the enemy +showed in great force, and opened a heavy fire from the +shelter of the forest. The irregular contingent, supported +by the detachments of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, +replied to the enemy's fire in a most effective manner; but +so determined was the resistance, that the Mandingoes, when +silenced in our front, taking advantage of the cover afforded +by the high grass and clumps of monkey-bread trees, made +repeated attacks on the flanks, and even at one time +threatened the rear. Shell and rockets were thrown into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span> +the wood, and the village of Bakkow, which was occupied +by the enemy, was burned; but it was not until after two +hours' obstinate fighting, in the course of which the detachments +of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiment had four +times to repulse flank attacks with the bayonet, that the +passage could be forced.</p> + +<p>The wood being traversed, the force debouched upon the +plain of Sabbajee, a sandy level, covered with a scanty +growth of Guinea grass and dotted with clumps of dwarf +palm. The guns were at once placed in position for breaching +the stockade, and fire was opened with wonderful precision. +A few rounds only had been expended, when a +large body of natives from the disaffected and neighbouring +town of Burnfut made a sudden and determined +onslaught on our flank, charging furiously forward with +brandished scimetars. This was met by a party of French +marines and the detachments of the 1st and 2nd West India +Regiments, who, after firing a volley at a very close range, +charged gallantly with the bayonet and speedily routed the +enemy, who took refuge in a neighbouring copse. Being +ordered to dislodge them from this cover, the detachments +of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments advanced in +skirmishing order, and after a short but sharp conflict, drove +them out on the further side.</p> + +<p>After a bombardment of an hour and a half, seeing that +the enemy extinguished the thatched roofs of their houses +as fast as they were ignited, and that the ammunition was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span> +becoming exhausted, Lieutenant-Colonel O'Connor determined +to carry the stockade by storm. The detachments +of the West India regiments formed up in the centre, a +division of French marines being on either flank, and the +whole dashed forward to the assault in the face of a +tremendous fire of musketry that was opened throughout +the entire length of the loop-holed stockade. In a few +seconds the troops were under the stockade, which was +composed of the stout trunks of trees, standing some +eighteen feet high, and braced on the inner side by cross-beams. +A temporary check was here experienced (the +men having no ladders for escalading), during which the +Mandingoes kept up a close fire from their upper tier +of loop-holes, while others crouching in the ditch in rear +hewed and cut at the feet and legs of the troops through +the apertures in the stockade on a level with the ground. +The check was, however, of short duration, for the British +opened fire on the enemy through their own loop-holes, +and drove them back, while others, clambering over the +rough defences, effected an entrance.</p> + +<p>After this, the Mandingoes offered but a feeble resistance, +and soon fled into the open from the further side of the +town. Here they were pursued and shot down by the +irregular contingent, who had been sent to cut off their +retreat as soon as it was seen that the stockade was +carried. The enemy's loss during the assault was exceedingly +heavy, the ditch in rear of the stockade, and in which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span> +they were principally sheltered, being full of dead. The +loss of the combined force, exclusive of irregulars, was +seventeen killed and thirty-one wounded.</p> + +<p>Inside the stockade the 1st West India Regiment captured +two kettledrums, of which one was a war-drum, and the other +a death-drum, that is to say, a drum that is only beaten when +an execution is taking place. These drums, consisting of +polished hemispherical calabashes, of a diameter of about +thirty inches at the drum-head, are now in the possession of +the regiment.</p> + +<p>The following letter, referring to these operations, which +terminated with the capture of Sabbajee, was published in +general orders at the Gambia, on the 26th of October, 1855:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 28em;">"Horse Guards</span>, +<span style="margin-left: 32em;">"<i>Sept. 6th, 1855.</i></span> +</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</p> + +<p>"The General Commanding-in-Chief having had +before him the despatches which were addressed to the +Adjutant-General on July 30th and 6th ultimo, giving an +account of the proceedings, from the 16th July to the +4th August last, of the force under your command against +the Mohammedan rebel town of Sabbajee, which was +eventually taken by assault at the point of the bayonet, +I am directed to assure you of Lord Hardinge's satisfaction +at the perusal of those despatches, and that he +considers the gallantry and steadiness displayed by the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>troops on this occasion, and the judgment with which they +were directed by you, to be deserving of high praise.</p> + +<p>"His Lordship further desired that the expression of his +sentiments might be communicated accordingly to yourself +and to all the troops concerned.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 25em;">"I have, &c.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 28em;">(Signed) "<span class="smcap">C. Yorke</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 32em;">"Military Secretary.</span><br /> +<br /> +"Lieut.-Colonel O'Connor,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left:2em;">"1st West India Regiment,</span><br /> +"Commanding troops, Western Coast of Africa."<br /> +</p></div> + +<p>In the West Indies nothing of importance had occurred, +and no change of station had taken place, since December, +1853. In this year, however (1855), No. 8 Company rejoined +head-quarters at Jamaica from Dominica, and No. 1 was +moved from St. Christopher to Demerara. The distribution, +then, at the close of 1855, was: No. 2, No. 5, No. 8, the +Grenadier and Light Companies at Jamaica, No. 7 and +No. 4 at Barbados, No. 1 at Demerara, No. 3 at Sierra +Leone, and No. 6 at the Gambia.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> See map.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h3> + +<p class="center">CHANGES IN THE WEST AFRICAN GARRISONS, 1856-57—THE +GREAT SCARCIES RIVER EXPEDITION, 1859—FIRE +AT NASSAU, 1859.</p> + + +<p>In January, 1856, it was determined to make a further +change in the mode of garrisoning the settlements on the +West Coast of Africa, and the following letter was issued on +the subject:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p><span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 28em;">"Horse Guards</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 32em;">"<i>2nd January, 1856</i>.</span> +</p> + +<p>"In obedience to orders from the Secretary of State, +War Department, the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief +is pleased to direct that instead of the detachments to the +western coast of Africa being furnished, as at present, by two +companies from each of the West India regiments, the +settlements in that part will be garrisoned by a wing +composed of six companies, to be furnished in succession +by each of the West India regiments.</p> + +<p>"At the next relief the 1st West India Regiment will +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>furnish six companies accordingly, each company made up +and kept effective to 100 rank and file, the force to be +distributed as at present, viz.:</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Gambia 3 Companies.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"Sierra Leone 3 Companies.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"The remaining four companies of the 1st West India +Regiment will be stationed at Jamaica, as a depôt to receive +and train recruits, and maintain the efficiency of the companies +on the coast of Africa."</p></div> + +<p>In anticipation of this change, and as recent events at +the Gambia and Sierra Leone had shown the necessity for +an increase in the strength of the detachments, No. 2 +Company of the 1st West India Regiment, under Captain +W.J. Chamberlayne, embarked at Jamaica for Africa in +the <i>Sir George Pollock</i> on February 19th, 1856. It arrived +in the Gambia on April 1st, and detachments to McCarthy's +Island, 179 miles up the River Gambia, and to Fort Bullen, +were at once furnished from it.</p> + +<p>No other change in the distribution of the regiment +took place in this year, with the exception that No. 5 +Company, under Captain R. Hughes, was moved from +Jamaica to Barbados in December.</p> + +<p>In January, 1857, No. 1 Company from Demerara, and +Nos. 4 and 7 from Barbados, embarked on board the troopship +<i>Perseverance</i>, for Africa, under the command of Brevet +Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke, and Captains Hughes and +Macauley, arriving at Sierra Leone on February 28th.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span></p> + +<p>Nos. 1 and 7 Companies were there disembarked, and +the <i>Perseverance</i> then proceeded to the Gambia, where No. +4 Company was landed. In accordance with the scheme +that the remaining four companies of the regiment should +be stationed at Jamaica, No. 5 Company rejoined there +from Barbados on April 17th; but, two months later, the +scheme was again revised, and, on June 4th, the head-quarters +and four companies embarked for Nassau, New +Providence, under Lieutenant-Colonel F.A. Wetherall.</p> + +<p>The detachments on the West Coast of Africa were very +much subdivided, that of the Gambia furnishing garrisons +for Fort Bullen, Cape St. Mary, and McCarthy's Island; and +that of Sierra Leone a garrison for Waterloo. In April, +1857, the garrison of Fort Bullen was reinforced by No. 2 +Company under Captain Chamberlayne from Bathurst, in +consequence of disturbances having broken out between the +King of Barra and one of his principal chiefs named Osumanu +Sajji, and was withdrawn in May, on tranquility being +restored.</p> + +<p>In August, 1858, the natives of Sherbro threatened to +plunder the British factories that had been established on +Sherbro Island, and stopped the trade, and for the protection +of the lives and property of the Consul and +British subjects, a detachment of the 1st West India +Regiment, under Captain R. Hughes, proceeded in H.M.S. +<i>Spitfire</i> to Sherbro Island on September 1st. They there +landed and remained until October 2nd, when, all fears<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span> +of an attack being at an end, they returned to Sierra +Leone. In January, 1859, however, another attack was +threatened by the Mendis, and a detachment of the 1st +West India Regiment, under Captain Luke, was sent for +the protection of the factories in H.M.S. <i>Trident</i> on +January 15th, returning to Sierra Leone on February 18th.</p> + +<p>In September and October, 1858, Captain Luke, 1st +West India Regiment, who was then on leave of absence +on the Gold Coast, served with the expeditionary force +against the rebel Krobo stronghold of Krobo Hill. Captain +Cochrane, Gold Coast Artillery, commanding the +force, in concluding his despatch of October 26th, 1858, +says: "It is not too much to say that all who have +joined the expedition have done their best to further its +interests, but I beg especially to call your Excellency's +notice to the voluntary services of Captain F.H. Luke, +of the 1st West India Regiment, whose energy, zeal, and +disinterestedness, have been warmly commended by every +officer here, and are deserving of honourable mention."</p> + +<p>In February, 1859, the town of Porto Lokkoh, distant +some forty miles from Sierra Leone, and on the Sierra +Leone River, was burned and pillaged by a body of +Soosoos who had, for some time back, established themselves +at Kambia, on the Great Scarcies River. For +previous outrages committed by them, Kambia had been +bombarded by a naval squadron under Commodore Wise +on February 1st, 1858, after which the Soosoos had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span> +entrenched themselves in a stockaded work, or war fence, +near Kambia. There they had been suffered to remain, +but the destruction of Porto Lokkoh, the chief <i>entrepôt</i> +of the Sierra Leone trade, necessitated further measures +being taken against them.</p> + +<p>Consequently, on March 20th, 1859, the Governor of +Sierra Leone, Colonel Stephen Hill, proceeded with a force +of 203 men of the 1st West India Regiment, under Major +A.W. Murray, in H.M.S. <i>Vesuvius</i>, <i>Trident</i>, and <i>Spitfire</i>, +to the Great Scarcies River, where they arrived at daybreak +on the 22nd. The officers of the regiment serving with the +expedition were Major Murray, Brevet-Major Pratt, Lieutenants +Fitzgerald, Mackay, and Mawe, Ensigns Ormsby and +Temple. Colonel Hill, in his despatch, says:</p> + +<p>"The troops having landed to the right of the town, I +formed the detachment of the 1st West India Regiment, +under Major Murray, into four divisions; and the marines +formed, under the command of Captain Hill, 2nd West +India Regiment, A.D.C., another division. A party of the +former corps, acting as gunners, accompanied the Marine +Artillery, who took charge of two mountain howitzers.</p> + +<p>"Having extended one division in skirmishing order, I +advanced; and, finding the first stockade deserted I passed +on to the furthest one, which was then occupied by the +sailors of the second division of boats under Commander +Close. I then proceeded to the extreme left of all the +defences, and halted in clear ground to await the arrival of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span> +our native allies. Shortly afterwards Commodore Wise sent +to inform me that the enemy, who had retired before us +with some loss, were in the jungle to our left at the head +of some rocks, on which they could cross the river at low +water. I immediately extended two divisions of the 1st West +India Regiment as skirmishers, with the marines supporting +one, and a division of the 1st West India the other, leaving +one division in reserve in charge of the howitzers, after +having first fired some rounds of shell into the jungle.</p> + +<p>"Our advance was most difficult, the bush being almost +impenetrable. However, we persevered, and, having reached +a high point overlooking the country around, and not +seeing any enemy, I ordered a halt, and, after some time, +we retired unmolested, the Soosoos never having allowed +us to close with them. The Commodore then sent me a +second message to the effect that he had seen about 500 +men, who had, on our advance, retired across the river, +over the rocks, and disappeared in the bush on the opposite +side.</p> + +<p>"The detachment of the 1st West India Regiment, under +Brevet-Major Pratt, kept the ground during the night; +and our allies having arrived, and been placed in possession +of the stockades, the troops were re-embarked on the 24th, +and we proceeded on our return to Sierra Leone, where we +arrived on the 26th.</p> + +<p>"I have much pleasure in stating that all the officers +and men under my orders performed their duties in an<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span> +exceedingly zealous and satisfactory manner, exhibiting a +cheerful obedience, and only anxious to close with the +enemy. None but those present could form a just estimate +of the difficulty attending our advance, and the consequent +physical exhaustion. The heat was intense; a great part +of the jungle had been fired, and the bushes and the high +grass formed a network through which we were obliged to +cut our way."</p> + +<p>On January 8th, 1860, the men of the companies of the +1st West India Regiment stationed at Nassau specially +distinguished themselves at an alarming fire that there broke +out at Fort Charlotte, and the following Garrison Order +was published on the subject:</p> + +<p>"Lieutenant-Colonel Bourchier takes the earliest opportunity +in his power of expressing his thanks to Major +R. D'O. Fletcher, the officers, the non-commissioned officers, +and the men of the 1st West India Regiment, for the +prompt manner in which they turned out and lent their +efforts to avert the extension of the late fire at Fort +Charlotte.</p> + +<p>"Such occasions as this test the discipline of a corps +in a high degree, the more so when, as in the present +instance, the danger of an explosion from the proximity +of the flames to the magazine was imminent.</p> + +<p>"Where all were zealous, the conduct of Ensign Bourke, +1st West India Regiment, was most conspicuous, who, +assisted by Company Sergeant-Major Mason and a party<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span> +of four men of the regiment, placed wet blankets on the +most exposed portion of the roof of the magazine, which +was then actually ignited; and it will be most gratifying +to Lieutenant-Colonel Bourchier to bring the circumstance +under the notice of H.R.H. the General Commanding-in-Chief."</p> + +<p>At the Gambia nothing of moment had occurred since +1807, with the exception that a violent epidemic of fever +broke out at Bathurst in September, 1859, to which one +officer and several men of the regiment succumbed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 80%;"> +<img src="images/fp265x.jpg" style="width: 80%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + + +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE BADDIBOO WAR, 1860-61.</p> + + +<p>The next active operations in which the 1st West India +Regiment was engaged, took place at the Gambia, where +the King of Baddiboo, an important Mohammedan state +up the river, had in August and September, 1860, plundered +the factories of several British traders, and afterwards refused +to pay compensation. The Governor of the Gambia, Colonel +D'Arcy, resolved to blockade the kingdom of Baddiboo, in +the hope that the enforced suspension of trade would compel +the king to come to terms, and, on October 10th, 1860, the +gunners of the companies of the 1st West India Regiment +stationed at Bathurst embarked in the barque <i>Elm</i> and the +schooner <i>Shamrock</i>, to close all the Baddiboo river ports. +On November 3rd additional gunners were sent in the +schooner <i>Hope</i>, and the blockade was strictly enforced, the +natives not being allowed to export any articles of produce +or import anything.</p> + +<p>While the blockade was still in force, the wing of the 2nd<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span> +West India Regiment, which had been wrecked in the +troopship <i>Perseverance</i> at Maio, one of the Cape Verde +Islands, while on its way to relieve the wing of the 1st +West India Regiment, arrived in West Africa in various +vessels, three companies at the Gambia and three at Sierra +Leone; and as in January, 1861, the blockade had manifestly +failed in its object of inducing the King of Baddiboo to +indemnify the plundered merchants, Governor D'Arcy determined +to take advantage of the presence of an unusual +number of regular troops to organise a formidable expedition; +which step was rendered necessary from the fact that the +numerous Mohammedan tribes around the settlement and +on the banks of the river were narrowly watching events, +and had, owing to the long delay in punishing the King of +Baddiboo, already commenced to show signs of lawlessness.</p> + +<p>On January 12th, 1861, the hired transport <i>Avon</i> arrived +at the Gambia to convey the wing of the 1st West India +Regiment to the West Indies, and Colonel D'Arcy proceeded +in her to Sierra Leone to make arrangements for +the services of a portion of the garrison of that settlement. +On February 2nd, he returned to the Gambia in the <i>Avon</i> +with three companies of the 1st West India Regiment and +one of the 2nd West India Regiment.</p> + +<p>The expeditionary force now consisted of six companies +of the 1st West India Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel +A.W. Murray, and four of the 2nd West India Regiment, +under Major W. Hill; the Gambia Militia were called out,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> +and the West India detachments at McCarthy's Island, +Cape St. Mary's, and Fort Bullen replaced by pensioners.</p> + +<p>Everything being in readiness, the Governor decided +to make one last endeavour to arrive at a peaceful solution +of the difficulty (although the king's people had recently, +on several occasions, fired on the schooners blockading the +river), and despatched H.M.S. <i>Torch</i> with a flag of truce +to Swarra Cunda Creek. Commander Smith returned with +the intelligence that the natives had prepared stockaded +earthworks, were assembled in large numbers, and had +refused to hold any communication with the ship.</p> + +<p>On February 15th, the expedition left Bathurst, and +steaming up to Swarra Cunda Creek, some forty miles up +the river, anchored there for the night. The troops were +under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Murray, 1st +West India Regiment, and were thus distributed:</p> + +<p>The gunners of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiment +on board H.M.S. <i>Torch</i>.</p> + +<p>Nos. 1 and 7 Companies, 1st West India Regiment, on +board the Colonial steamer <i>Dover</i>.</p> + +<p>Nos. 2 and 3 Companies, 1st West India Regiment, on +the schooner <i>Elizabeth</i>.</p> + +<p>Nos. 4 and 7 Companies, 2nd West India Regiment, on +the schooner <i>Margaret</i>.</p> + +<p>The <i>Dover</i>, after distributing her contingent amongst the +other three vessels lying in the creek, returned to Bathurst +the same night to bring up Nos. 4 and 6 Companies of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +the 1st West India Regiment and two companies of the 2nd +West India Regiment.</p> + +<p>On February 16th, the whole force being collected, the +<i>Torch</i> and the <i>Dover</i> steamed up the creek to the trading +landing-place of Swarra Cunda, towing the schooners. The +earthworks were observed to be full of armed men, who +shouted and brandished their weapons, amid a tremendous +beating of war-drums. The <i>Torch</i> anchored about 180 +yards from the earthworks, the two schooners lying above +her and the <i>Dover</i> below, in such positions as to be able +to bring a cross-fire to bear. The Governor, being still +anxious to avoid bloodshed, hailed the enemy through his +interpreter, calling upon them to surrender. They replied +with yells of defiance, and were then informed that if they +did not abandon their works the ships would open fire in +half-an-hour.</p> + +<p>The half-hour having elapsed without any result, except +a considerable accession to the enemy's strength, fire was +opened from the guns of the <i>Torch</i> and <i>Dover</i>, while the +troops poured in a destructive storm of musketry. The +enemy replied with great spirit; and, although the sixty-eight-pounder +shell were crushing through the earthworks +and carrying away large portions of the parapets, some +of the warriors continued calmly up and down in full view +on the most exposed portions of the works, to encourage +the others; and it was not until this terrible fire of shell +and musketry had lasted for three hours, that the natives<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> +began to abandon their works, retiring even then very +gradually. This movement being observed, a landing was +at once ordered; and the boats, which had been collected +together under cover of the <i>Torch</i>, pulled in rapidly for +the landing-place. Before, however, they reached the shore, +some 800 natives, who had occupied the extreme right +of the earthworks, which had not suffered from our fire +as much as the other portions, rushed down to oppose +them.</p> + +<p>The landing was effected in the teeth of all opposition, +the troops wading ashore and attacking the enemy with +the bayonet. Colonel D'Arcy in his despatch says:—"Nothing +could exceed the gallantry of the landing on +the part of the officers and men of the 1st and 2nd West +India Regiments; and now commenced a smart skirmish +with a numerous enemy, in which our black soldiers evinced +a gallantry and a determination to close which I felt proud +to witness."</p> + +<p>While this stubborn and hand-to-hand conflict was at +its height, a shrill cry was suddenly heard in rear of the +enemy, and at once, as if by a preconcerted plan, those +natives who were disputing the landing broke and fled, +while, at the same moment, a body of some 300 cavalry +debouched from the shelter of a clump of dwarf palms, +and came down at full gallop on the troops, who were already +somewhat scattered in pursuit of the retreating enemy. +The men at once formed rallying squares, and in a moment<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span> +the Mandingo horsemen were amongst them, brandishing +their scimetars and discharging matchlocks and pistols. The +fire from the squares was so steady and well sustained, that, +with one exception, the enemy could effect nothing. They +rode round and round the squares for a few minutes, uttering +shouts of defiance and endeavouring to reach the men with +their spears; and finally, a good many saddles having been +emptied, galloped off as rapidly as they had come, their +long robes streaming out behind in the wind. The one +exception referred to was that of a group of three men +of the 1st West India Regiment and two of the 2nd, who, +having advanced too far in pursuit, had become separated +from their comrades, and, on the sudden appearance of the +cavalry, had not time to reach any of the squares. They +stood back to back, surrounded by the enemy, until overwhelmed +by force of numbers and ridden down, being +afterwards found lying where they had stood, surrounded +by eleven dead Mandingoes whom they had shot or +bayoneted.</p> + +<p>This cavalry charge was the last hope of the enemy; +and no sooner was it repulsed than they withdrew in great +disorder. The troops pursued for a short distance, but as +it was not deemed advisable to scatter the small force, +especially as the day was beginning to close, they were +soon recalled, and the men bivouacked on the ground they +had so ably won, the bivouac being so arranged that the +guns of the <i>Torch</i> could sweep the front and one flank.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span> +Wells were dug, the dead buried, and the night passed +without further disturbance.</p> + +<p>Next morning, the 17th, the Gambia Militia Artillery, +with 400 native allies, arrived and landed, and in the afternoon +the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, under Lieutenant-Colonel +Murray, after a short resistance, took and +destroyed the stockaded town of Carawan, situated to the +right of the position. Encouraged by this success, the +native allies and the Gambia Militia Artillery advanced to +the town of Swarra Cunda, to the left of the position, +and finding it abandoned, destroyed it also.</p> + +<p>During the ensuing night, H.M.S. <i>Arrogant</i>, Commodore +Edmonstone, arrived in the Gambia River, and early next +morning the <i>Dover</i> brought the Commodore, with a naval +brigade of seamen and marines, up to Swarra Cunda Creek. +This unlooked-for accession of strength determined Lieutenant-Colonel +Murray to advance into the interior, and +strike a blow that would bring the war to a conclusion. +Cattle were obtained for the field-guns, which were then +landed, and about noon on the 18th, the force marched +inland, four companies of the 1st West India Regiment +forming the right division, four of the 2nd West India +Regiment the left division, and two of the 1st the reserve, +with the guns on the flanks.</p> + +<p>The country through which the advance was made was +a level sandy plain, covered with tall grass, and dotted +here and there with clumps of baobab and dwarf palm.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span> +Occasionally a few clearings for the cultivation of the ground +nut were met, but as a rule the march was made through +grass more than waist high. The enemy showed in force, +but made no serious opposition to the advance; and, though +large bodies of cavalry were observed hanging about the +flanks and rear, they showed no disposition to close, and the +towns of Kinty-Cunda and Sabba were destroyed without +loss on our side, and very small loss, if any, on the part of +the enemy.</p> + +<p>The 19th and 20th were devoted to changing the camping +ground, and arranging a plan of campaign against Indear, +the king's town, in which the shipping might be used as a +base; but, on the afternoon of the latter day, a slave-girl, +who came into the camp to claim British protection, reported +that the king's warriors, having been largely reinforced, had +come down from Indear, and had erected a stockade on the +ruins of Sabba. Although it did not suit Lieut.-Colonel +Murray's plans to return to Sabba, he did not consider it +advisable to leave this unexpected challenge unanswered; +and, on the morning of February 21st, the force again +marched for Sabba.</p> + +<p>On approaching that town it was ascertained that a +double stockade had been built, which appeared to be full +of armed men, while detached parties were observed partially +concealed in the long grass to the left of the stockade, and +facing our right. The troops were halted and formed for +attack, the Naval Brigade, consisting of seamen and marines<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span> +from H.M.S. <i>Arrogant</i>, <i>Falcon</i>, and <i>Torch</i>, being in the +centre, four companies of the 1st West India Regiment on +the right, four of the 2nd on the left, and two of the 1st in reserve. +The howitzer battery at once opened on the stockade, +and, after a few rounds, the centre advanced to within effective +rifle range and commenced firing. Directly this movement +took place, the detached parties of Mandingoes on our right +approached skirmishing through the tall grass, and attacked +the four companies of the 1st West India Regiment, while +large bodies of cavalry simultaneously appeared on the +left, threatening the flank of the 2nd West India Regiment. +While the 1st West India Regiment was hotly engaged +on the right, the field-guns of the Gambia Militia Artillery, +under Colonel D'Arcy, who was present as a volunteer +and honorary colonel of that corps, were hastily brought +up, and opened fire on the stockade, to breach it. As +it was apparent that this would be a work of some time, +the timber of which the stockade was built being quite +stout enough to withstand for some time the fire of light +guns, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray directed the Commodore +to storm. In an instant the seamen extended, and, advancing +at a sharp run, clambered over the stockades, and, attacking +the enemy with the bayonet, soon carried the place. Acting +in concert with this forward movement of the centre, the +right (1st West India Regiment) closed on the natives +with whom they had been engaged, and, cutting them off +from the stockade, killed or wounded the entire force on<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span> +this side, with a loss to themselves of one officer (Lieutenant +Bourke) and twenty-two men severely wounded, besides +slight casualties. The cavalry on the left, seeing the turn +affairs had taken, withdrew without making any attack. +The Naval Brigade lost Lieutenant Hamilton, of the +<i>Arrogant</i>, and three men killed, and twenty-two wounded.</p> + +<p>Ensign Garsia, of the 1st West India Regiment, had +a narrow escape. Shortly before the Naval Brigade had +advanced to storm, he had been despatched by Lieutenant-Colonel +Murray with an order to Major Hill, commanding on +the left, and, in crossing the front of the stockade under a +heavy fire, both he and his horse were shot and rolled over +together, Ensign Garsia being very severely wounded. While +thus lying at a distance of some seventy yards from the +stockade, a Mohammedan, dressed in yellow—a colour only +assumed in this part of the world when the wearer is +engaged in some desperate enterprise—climbed over the +stockade and ran towards the wounded man with a drawn +scimetar in his hand. He escaped numerous shots that +were fired at him, reached Ensign Garsia, and had actually +raised his scimetar to strike off his head, when a wounded +sailor, who was lying on the ground, shot him dead, with +his cry of exultation on his lips.</p> + +<p>No sooner was the enemy dispersed and in full retreat, +than messengers arrived from the King of Jocardo, whose +territory is separated from Baddiboo by the Swarra Cunda +Creek, begging an interview with the Governor, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span> +promising that, if he would grant a three days' armistice, +he would bring together all the chiefs of the Baddiboo +towns, who were now anxious for peace, but afraid to come +in. The Governor acceded to these terms, but, in case of +negotiations failing, Lieutenant-Colonel Murray proceeded +with his preparations for an advance on Indear on the +morning of the 25th. On the 24th, the Governor received +another message from the King of Jocardo, begging him +to extend the armistice for another day, the distance to +the different towns being so great. This was granted, and +at 6 a.m. on the 26th, the King of Baddiboo came to terms, +promising to pay a considerable sum to the Government +as a fine for his past misdemeanours, and leaving hostages +in the Governor's hands.</p> + +<p>The officers of the 1st West India Regiment who took +part in this expedition were Lieutenant-Colonel A.W. +Murray, Captains H. Anton, J.A. Fraser, J. Fanning, +and G.H. Duyer, Lieutenants A. Temple, J. Moffitt, +R. Brew, T. Edmunds, J. Bourke, and Ensigns M.C. Garsia +and T. Nicholson. Lieutenant-Colonel Murray was awarded +the C.B. for his services.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE ASHANTI EXPEDITION, 1864.</p> + + +<p>The head-quarters and four companies of the 1st West +India Regiment had been removed from Nassau to Barbados +in the hired transport <i>Avon</i>, before that vessel sailed +for West Africa, and on the 3rd of March, 1861, the six +companies of the regiment embarked in her at the Gambia +for the West Indies. During the four years' tour of service +which they had just completed, five officers had fallen victims +to the fatal West African climate, Lieutenant Kenrick having +died at Sierra Leone, in August, 1857; Lieutenant Leggatt, +in February, 1859; Brevet-Major Pratt, in July, 1859; and +Captain Owens, in July, 1860; while Lieutenant E. Smith +had died at the Gambia, in September, 1859.</p> + +<p>On the arrival of the wing from West Africa, the regiment +was distributed in the West Indies as follows: The +head-quarters, with Nos. 5, 7, and 8, the Grenadier and +Light Companies at Barbados; Nos. 1 and 2 at St. Lucia; +No. 3 at Trinidad; and Nos. 4 and 6 at Demerara. Towards<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span> +the close of the year the practice of selecting men for flank +companies was forbidden by Horse Guards General Order, +and the grenadier and light companies became Nos. 9 +and 10.</p> + +<p>The regiment remained thus stationed until December, +1862, when the three existing West India Regiments were +called upon to furnish two companies each for the formation +of a new 4th West India Regiment, and Nos. 9 and 10 +Companies of the 1st West India Regiment were transferred. +In the same month, No. 1 Company rejoined head-quarters +from St. Lucia. The establishment of the regiment was +now eight instead of ten companies as formerly.</p> + +<p>On the 23rd of December, 1862, a detachment of three +companies (Nos. 5, 7, and 8) embarked in the troopship +<i>Adventure</i>, under Lieutenant-Colonel Macauley, and proceeded +to Honduras, arriving there on January 3rd, 1863. +A war of reprisals between the Santa Cruz and Ycaiché +Indians was then raging on the frontier, and the greatest +vigilance was necessary to prevent violation of British +territory, the detachments of the regiment at the outposts +of Orange Walk and Corosal being continually employed.</p> + +<p>In March, 1863, the whole of the southern side of Belize +was destroyed by fire, and the detachment of the 1st West +India Regiment there stationed received the thanks of the +Legislative Assembly for the assistance it had rendered in +preventing the conflagration spreading, a sum of $200 being +voted for the men, "as an acknowledgment of the valuable<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span> +services rendered by them." In this, or the preceding year, +companies were designated alphabetically instead of numerically; +No. 1 becoming "A," No. 2, "B," and so on.</p> + +<p>On the 31st of October, 1863, A Company, with the +head-quarters, embarked at Barbados on board the troopship +<i>Megæra</i>, which had arrived the day before from Demerara +with D and F Companies. The vessel then proceeded +to St. Lucia, where B Company was embarked, and all +four went to Nassau. The distribution of the regiment was +then: 4 companies at Nassau, 3 in Honduras, and 1 in +Trinidad.</p> + +<p>In 1863 occurred what is usually called the Second Ashanti +War. It was caused, as almost every Ashanti war or threat +of invasion has been caused, by the refusal of the Governor +of the Gold Coast to surrender to the Ashanti King fugitives +who had sought British protection. In revenge for this +refusal an Ashanti force made a raid into the Protectorate, +and reinforcements were at once asked for by the Colonial +Government. In December, 1863, B Company, 1st West +India Regiment, under Captain Bravo, embarked at Nassau +in H.M.S. <i>Barracouta</i> for Jamaica, and proceeded, towards +the end of February, 1864, to Honduras, in the troopship +<i>Tamar</i>. There E and G Companies embarked, and all +three, under the command of Major Anton, sailed for Cape +Coast Castle on the 2nd of March, arriving there on the 9th +of April. The officers of the regiment serving with these +companies were Major Anton, Captains Bravo and Hopewell<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span> +Smith, Lieutenants J.A. Smith, Gavin, Roberts, Smithwick, +Lowry, Barlow, Allinson, and Ensign Alt.</p> + +<p>On the arrival of the detachment of the 1st West +India Regiment at Cape Coast Castle, the strength of the +expeditionary force was as follows:</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="castle"> +<tr><td> </td><td align='right'>Officers.</td><td align='right'>Men.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>1st West India Regiment</td><td align='right'>11</td><td align='right'>300</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>2nd West India Regiment</td><td align='right'>6</td><td align='right'>170</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>3rd West India Regiment</td><td align='right'>6</td><td align='right'>170</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4th West India Regiment</td><td align='right'>30</td><td align='right'>850</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>5th West India Regiment</td><td align='right'>4</td><td align='right'>10</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align='right'>—</td><td align='right'>—</td></tr> +<tr><td> </td><td align='right'>57</td><td align='right'> 1,500</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p>The rainy season—the most unhealthy period of the +year on the Gold Coast—was then commencing, and the +Government appear to have had some idea of making +an advance upon Coomassie at its close—about the month +of June or July. In order to have everything in readiness +for the forward movement, depôts of stores and munitions +of war had been established at Mansu and Prahsu, and +at Swaidroo in Akim, detachments of troops being stationed +at these places for their protection. These detachments +the Colonel commanding the troops on the Gold Coast +determined to maintain during the rainy season, and it +fell to the lot of B and G Companies of the 1st West India +Regiment to be detailed for the fatal duty of relieving the +detachment then encamped at Prahsu.</p> + +<p>Towards the end of the month of April these two +companies, under Captains Bravo and Hopewell Smith,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span> +started amidst continuous torrents of rain on their march +of seventy-four miles to the Prah. They had, since their +arrival, been encamped with E Company on the open +space to the west of the town known as the parade +ground, there being no accommodation for them in the +Castle; and owing to the unsanitary condition of the +site and the want of proper shelter, had already begun +to suffer from the effects of the climate.</p> + +<p>On arriving at the Prah they encamped at the ford +of Prahsu, at a point where the river, making a sudden +bend, enclosed the encampment on three sides. Here in +the midst of a primeval forest, on the banks of a pestilential +stream, without proper shelter or proper food, they +remained for nearly three months. The sickness that +ensued was almost unparalleled. Before they had been a +month encamped, four officers and 102 men were sick +out of seven officers and 214 men who had marched +out of Cape Coast; and the hospital accommodation was +so bad that the men had to lie on the wet ground with +pools of water under them. The rains were unusually +severe, the camp speedily became a swamp, the troops +had worse food than usual, and, above all, were compelled +to remain inactive. The small force had no means +of communication with the coast, and no expectation of +a reinforcement; and, had the enemy made an appearance, +the troops were hardly in a fit state to defend +themselves. Day after day torrents of rain fell; it was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span> +impossible to light fires for cooking purposes except +under flimsy sheds of palm branches; and night after +night officers and men turned into their wretched and dripping +tents hungry and drenched to the skin. Neither +was there any occupation for the mind or body, and +universal gloom and despondency set in. It was no +unusual thing for two funerals to take place in one +day, and the unfortunate soldiers saw their small force +diminishing day by day, apparently forgotten and neglected +by the rest of the world.</p> + +<p>By a general order published at Cape Coast Castle, on +the 30th of May, 1864, the garrison at Prahsu was, on +account of the sickness there prevailing, reduced to 100 +men; and on the 6th of June, G Company, under Captain +Hopewell Smith, marched from the Prah and proceeded to +Anamaboe, a village on the sea-coast some thirteen miles +to the east of Cape Coast Castle. B Company still continued +to suffer severely, and on the 18th of June, 57 men +were in hospital out of a total strength of 100.</p> + +<p>At last the Imperial Government resolved to put a stop +to the waste of life that was taking place, and sent out +instructions to the Colonial Government that all operations +against the Ashantis were to cease, and the troops to be +withdrawn. The welcome intelligence reached Prahsu on +the 26th of June, but the work of burying the guns and +destroying the stores and ammunition, which had been collected +there at such great labour and expense that the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span> +Government did not care to incur it again in their removal, +occupied several days, and it was not until the 12th of July +that the detachment marched out of the deadly camp on the +Prah.</p> + +<p>On the 27th of July, the hired transport <i>Wambojeez</i> +arrived at Cape Coast Castle, to remove the detachments +of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments to the West +Indies, and on the 30th they embarked. The day before +their embarkation the following general order was issued:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="center">"(General Order, No. 285.)</p> +<p><span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 26em;">"Brigade Office, Cape Coast Castle</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 35em;">"<i>28th July, 1864</i>.</span> +</p> + +<p>"Paragraph 3.—The Lieutenant-Colonel commanding +feels great pleasure in publishing, for the information of +the officers and soldiers of the 1st and 2nd West India +Regiments about to embark for the West Indies, the following +handsome testimony of their soldierlike conduct while +employed on the late expedition, by His Excellency +Governor Pine, in which feelings and kind sentiments the +Lieutenant-Colonel fully concurs, adding his own thanks +to Major Anton and Captain Reece for the ready and +cheerful manner in which they co-operated with him in +carrying out the duties of the command, and to the officers +and men under their respective orders.</p> + +<p>"It is a pleasing duty to the Lieutenant-Colonel to +have to announce to these corps that, from the day they +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>took the field until this hour, not a complaint has been +brought by an inhabitant against any of the men, so excellent +has the conduct of all been.</p> + +<p>"It is also gratifying to Lieutenant-Colonel Conran to +see so few men on the sick list when about to embark, +considering the large numbers that were reported sick on +their return from the front."</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 25em;">"Government House, Cape Coast</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 34em;">"<i>27th July, 1864</i>.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</p> + +<p>"On the eve of the departure of the detachments of +the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, which have been +annexed to your command on my requisition since April +last, I request that you will be pleased to permit me, through +you, to record my thanks as Governor of these settlements +for the services they have performed conjointly with yourself +and regiment.</p> + +<p>"I feel that I have been the means of imposing upon +Her Majesty's troops a laborious, ungracious, and apparently +thankless duty; but my intentions and motives have been +so fully, and I trust, satisfactorily discussed throughout +Great Britain, that I dare hope that the officers and men +will believe that I invited them to participate in a constitutional +measure, which I felt convinced would add to their +military reputation and honour.</p> + +<p>"To the decision of Her Majesty's Government as to +its altered policy we are all compelled to bow, and it only +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>remains for me to express my regret to every officer and +man of the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments, for the +natural and laudable disappointment which they have +experienced in not being engaged in more active military +operations, and to tender my heartfelt thanks for the prompt +and ready obedience with which they responded to my +call on behalf of our Royal Mistress, and for their patience +and endurance under extraordinary trial.</p> + +<p>"Major Anton I have served with, and marked with +admiration his display of fortitude, moral courage, and +disinterested kindness during the fearful epidemic of 1859 in +the Gambia. Captain Bravo, as second in command in +the Gambia, was my esteemed friend, and enjoyed the +respect of all who knew him.</p> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + +<p>"This hasty and imperfect notice I trust you will not +deem unworthy of being communicated to the highest +military authority, and I shall esteem myself fortunate +indeed if I shall be instrumental in the remotest degree +in their advancement.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 26em;">"I have, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 28em;">(Signed) </span>"<span class="smcap">Richard Pine</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 22em;">"Governor and Commander-in-Chief, Gold Coast.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">"The Hon. Colonel <span class="smcap">Conran</span>,</span><br /> +"Commanding the troops on the Gold Coast."<br /><br /> +</p></div> + +<p>The <i>Wambojeez</i> arrived at Barbados on the 3rd of +September; there the detachment of the 1st West India<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span> +Regiment embarked by companies in H.M.S. <i>Pylades</i>, +<i>Greyhound</i>, and <i>Styx</i>, for Jamaica, and disembarked at Port +Royal on the 15th of September. H and C Companies +rejoining at Jamaica soon after from Honduras and Trinidad, +the distribution of the regiment was as follows: head-quarters +and three companies at Nassau, five companies in +Jamaica.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—Out of the 11 officers and 300 non-commissioned +officers and men who landed at Cape Coast Castle on +the 9th April, only 6 officers and 269 non-commissioned +officers and men re-embarked on July 30th, 5 officers +having been invalided, and 31 men having died during +their short stay of three months and a half.</p></div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE JAMAICA REBELLION, 1865.</p> + + +<p>In October, 1865, a rebellion broke out amongst the black +population of Jamaica. On the 7th of that month, at the +Petty Sessions at Morant Bay, a prisoner, who had been +convicted of an assault, was rescued from the police, and +on the 9th a warrant was issued for the apprehension of +two persons named Bogle and several others, who were +stated to have taken an active part in the riot of the 7th. +Six policemen and two rural constables proceeded, early +on the morning of the 10th of October, to execute this +warrant at Stony Gut, about five miles from Morant Bay, +where Paul Bogle and some other of the alleged rioters +lived. They found Bogle in his yard, and told him that +they had a warrant for his apprehension. He desired to +have the warrant read to him, which was done. He then +said that he would not go, and upon one of the policemen +proceeding to apprehend him, he cried out: "Help, here!" +At the same time, a man named Grant, who was with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> +him, and who was addressed as "Captain," called out, +"Turn out, men." Almost immediately a body of men, +variously estimated at from 300 to 500, armed with cutlasses, +sticks, and pikes, rushed out from a chapel where Bogle +was in the habit of preaching, and from an adjoining +cane-field, and attacked the policemen.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 80%;"> +<img src="images/fp287x.jpg" style="width: 80%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>The police were, of course, overpowered. Some of them +were severely beaten. Three of their number were made +prisoners and detained for several hours, being ultimately +only released upon their taking an oath that they would +"join their colour," and "cleave to the black."</p> + +<p>So far, perhaps, the disturbances might have been considered +to be nothing more than an ordinary riot; but the +proceedings of the rioters on the following day soon put their +intentions beyond all reasonable doubt.</p> + +<p>On the 11th of October the Vestry, consisting of certain +elected members and magistrates, assembled in the court-house +at Morant Bay about noon, and proceeded with their +ordinary business till between three and four o'clock, when +notice was given that a crowd of people was approaching. +The volunteers were hastily called together, and almost +immediately afterwards a body of men, armed with cutlasses, +sticks, bayonets, and muskets, after having attacked the +police station and obtained possession of such arms as were +there deposited, were seen entering a large open space facing +the court-house, in front of which the volunteers had been +drawn up. The Custos, Baron Ketelhodt, went out to the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span> +steps, and called to the people to know what they wanted. +He received no answer, and his cries of "Peace! peace!" +were met by cries from the crowd of "War!"</p> + +<p>As the advancing mob drew near, the volunteers retired +till they reached the steps of the court-house. The Custos +then began to read the Riot Act. While he was in the act of +reading it stones were thrown at the volunteers, and Captain +Hitchins, who commanded them, was struck in the forehead. +The captain, having received authority from the Custos, then +gave the word to fire. The order was obeyed, and some of +the rioters were seen to fall. The volunteers were soon +overpowered, and the court-house, in which refuge was +sought, was set on fire. Many people were barbarously +murdered while trying to escape. Eighteen persons, including +the Custos, two sons of the rector, the Island Curate +of Bath, the Inspector of Police, the captain, two lieutenants, +a sergeant, and three privates of volunteers were killed. +Thirty-one persons were wounded.</p> + +<p>After this the town remained in possession of the rioters. +The gaolers were compelled to throw open the prison doors, +and fifty-one prisoners who were there confined were released. +Several stores were attacked, and from one of them a considerable +quantity of gunpowder was taken. An attempt +was made to force the door of the magazine, where about +300 stand of arms were stored. Fortunately the endeavour +was not successful.</p> + +<p>Major-General L.S. O'Connor, commanding the troops<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span> +in Jamaica, was inspecting the left wing of the 1st West +India Regiment, under Major Anton, at Up Park Camp, +on the morning of the 11th of October, when the news of +the riot at Stony Gut on the 10th arrived, with a requisition +from Governor Eyre for 100 men in aid of the civil power. +In less than an hour Captain Ross's company paraded and +marched to Kingston, where they embarked in H.M.S. +<i>Wolverine</i>. Unfortunately, it not being supposed that there +was any necessity for urgency, the <i>Wolverine</i> did not leave +Port Royal for Morant Bay until daybreak on the 12th. +At about noon on the 12th the news of the massacre of +the magistrates reached Port Royal, where Major-General +O'Connor was inspecting the detachment of the 1st West +India Regiment, under Captain Luke. In two hours from +the receipt of the intelligence, the company embarked on +board H.M.S. <i>Onyx</i>, and landed at Morant Bay on the +morning of the 13th.</p> + +<p>Captain Ross, on arriving at Morant Bay, had found the +town deserted by all the Europeans, except Mr. Georges, who +was severely wounded with three musket balls in his leg. The +bodies of the unfortunate magistrates, many of which were +barbarously mutilated, were buried by this company. This +duty performed, the men patrolled the roads in the neighbourhood, +and many ladies, whose husbands had been +murdered or taken prisoners, and who had fled with their +children, on the approach of the rioters, to bamboo thickets +or other shelter, hearing the sound of the bugles, came in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span> +for protection. Numbers of them had passed the night in +copses, from which, trembling with terror, they had seen +their houses pillaged.</p> + +<p>On the 12th of October, large parties of the rebels, +armed with guns and cutlasses, marched in military order +through Bath and other contiguous districts. Stores were +pillaged, and property taken or destroyed. Blue Mountain +Valley Estate, Amity Hall, Monklands, which is sixteen +miles from Morant Bay, and Hordley Estate, were all +attacked by the insurgents, the occupiers barely escaping +with their lives. At Blue Mountain Valley and Amity Hall, +barbarous murders were perpetrated.</p> + +<p>On the 13th of October, martial law was proclaimed +throughout the county of Surrey (except the county and +city of Kingston), and Major-General O'Connor immediately +took steps to hem in the disturbed districts. On the 15th +of October, a detachment of the 1st West India Regiment +was sent to Port Antonio; and at mid-day, Captain Hole, +of the 6th Regiment, with 40 men of his own corps, and +60 of the 1st West India Regiment, under Ensign Cullen, +marched from that place to Manchioneal, twenty miles +eastward of Port Antonio. On the same day, 120 men of +the 6th Regiment, under Colonel Hobbs, occupied (as head-quarters) +Monklands, in the district of the Blue Mountain +Valley, about sixteen miles from Morant Bay. Captain +Strachan's company of the 1st West India Regiment proceeded +to Spanish Town, whence Lieutenant Allinson, with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span> +31 men, was sent on to Linstead, where a repetition of the +Morant Bay massacre was apprehended. A detachment of +the 6th was sent to Buff Bay to protect some valuable +sugar estates.</p> + +<p>On the 13th and two succeeding days the insurgents +continued their course through Port Morant northward +to Manchioneal, and on to Mulatto River and Elmwood; +the last of which places is situated in the most northerly +part of St. Thomas-in-the-East, where that parish abuts +upon Portland. As they advanced with the cry of "colour +for colour" they were joined by a considerable number +of negroes, who readily assisted in the work of plundering. +The houses and stores were sacked. The intention also +of taking the lives of the whites was openly avowed, and +diligent search was made for particular individuals. But +in each case the imperilled person had timely notice, and +sought safety in flight.</p> + +<p>Elmwood was the point furthest from Morant Bay to +which the disturbances extended; the arrival of the troops +at Port Antonio, on the 15th, putting a stop to the further +progress of the insurgents northwards. Thus in the course +of four days the rebels had spread over a tract of country +extending from White Horses, a few miles to the west +of Morant Bay, to Elmwood, at a distance of upwards of +thirty miles to the north-east of that place.</p> + +<p>In the meantime, detachments of troops were rapidly +converging upon the disturbed districts. As the rebels<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span> +were reported to be occupying Stony Gut, an almost impregnable +ravine three miles in length, a detachment of +the 6th Regiment was sent to dislodge them. Captain +Luke, 1st West India Regiment, by a rapid and judicious +movement of his company towards Cuna Cuna Gap, rescued +from the hands of the insurgents upwards of eighty +Europeans and influential people of colour, who had, with +their wives and children, been in hiding for three or four +days in the woods and mountains, and conveyed them +to a place of safety. Captain Hole moved towards Bath +from Manchioneal, and, in a despatch to Brigadier-General +Nelson, he mentions "a meritorious act of three privates +of the 1st West India Regiment deserving commendation. +The three men got separated from their party, and proceeded +as far as the Plantain Garden River, where a +great number of rebels are lurking. The soldiers encountering +the rebels, shot several—among them three of the +murderers of Mr. Hire—and brought back with them two +cartloads of plunder, among which was some of Mr. Hire's +clothing, and other property."</p> + +<p>Kingston, as has been said, was exempted from martial +law, and consequently became the refuge of the most disaffected +people. Arrests were made hourly, and upwards +of two hundred political prisoners were confined in the military +custody of the 1st West India Regiment at Up Park +Camp, which was under martial law. Threats were daily +circulated that the city would be fired in various places, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span> +the streets were patrolled by day and night. Sunday, the +22nd of October, was said to be fixed for a massacre of the +loyal inhabitants while at church, and such universal panic +prevailed, that every place of worship was on that day empty.</p> + +<p>The insurgents gradually dispersed as the troops advanced, +numbers being captured. On the 23rd of October, +Paul Bogle, the ringleader, was taken; and, on the 24th, was +tried and hanged. On the same day, George William +Gordon, a coloured member of the House of Assembly, who +had been tried by a court-martial on the 21st, and found +guilty of complicity in the rebellion, was hanged at Morant +Bay. All the insurgents taken in arms were put to death, +and the houses of those who were known to have taken part +in the insurrection were burned. By these vigorous measures +all outward signs of resistance were crushed, and the movement +prevented from becoming general; though reports +were constantly received from various parts of the island, of +disloyalty and seditious intentions.</p> + +<p>On the 29th of October, letters D and F Companies of +the 1st West India Regiment, with Major McBean, Captains +Ormsby and Smithwick, Lieutenants Lowry, Niven, Hill, and +Bale, and Ensign Cole, arrived from Nassau. Detachments +were at once sent to Port Maria under Captain Ormsby, to +Savannah la Mar under Lieutenant Hill, and to Vere under +Lieutenant Bale. The 2nd West India Regiment, arriving +from Barbados, was stationed along the north-western coast +of the island.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span></p> + +<p>From evidence subsequently obtained it was evident that +the rising had been long planned, and that the outbreak at +Morant Bay was premature. It is clear that meetings took +place, where bodies of men were drilled, oaths administered, +and the names of persons registered. The insurgents were +so confident of ultimate success that the crops were uninjured, +and the buildings for the most part preserved; +they openly avowing that they intended taking them for +themselves, when the whites were expelled. The rebels +appear to have expected that the Maroons would join +them, but that people remained faithful to their allegiance, +and assisted in the suppression of the disturbances.</p> + +<p>Although all the rebels in the field were taken or dispersed +before the end of October, the island was not +entirely quiet for some time after; and as late as the +14th of December, a detachment of the 1st West India +Regiment, under Captain Ross, was sent from Black River to +Oxford Estate, thirty miles distant, that place being reported +to be disaffected.</p> + +<p>Major-General O'Connor, in his despatch reporting the +restoration of order, says: "The men employed in the +field, exposed to the tropical sun, heavy rains, constant +and long marches by day and night, have all (the +2nd 6th Regiment, and the 1st West India Regiment) +highly distinguished themselves by their patience, perseverance, +and general good conduct." He might have +added that the fidelity of the black soldiers of the 1st<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span> +West India Regiment could hardly have been put to +a more crucial test. Nine-tenths of those men were +Jamaicans, born and bred, and in the work of suppressing +the rebellion they were required to hang, capture, and +destroy the habitations of not only their countrymen and +friends, but, in many instances, of their near relatives. Yet +in no single case did any man hesitate to obey orders, nor +was the loyalty of any one soldier ever a matter for doubt.</p> + +<p>Governor Eyre having, by his prompt and vigorous +measures, saved the colony of Jamaica from a repetition +of those horrors which devastated the French West India +Islands in the early part of the century, was subjected to +a most vindictive and ungenerous attack on the part of +the Exeter Hall party in England. By that party the +judicial executions of the rebels were stigmatised as +"atrocities," while the massacre at Morant Bay and the +murders of the planters were only spoken of as "unfortunate +occurrences." Owing to their clamour, a commission was +sent out from England to inquire into the state of affairs +in the colony. The commission arrived at the following +conclusion: "That though the original design for the overthrow +of constituted authority was confined to a small +portion of the parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East, yet that +the disorder, in fact, spread with singular rapidity over an +extensive tract of country, and that such was the state +of excitement prevailing in other parts of the island, that +had more than a momentary success been obtained by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span> +insurgents, their ultimate overthrow would have been +attended with a still more fearful loss of life and property."</p> + +<p>Many of the disaffected negroes, finding that they were +being backed up by an influential party in England, preferred +the most unfounded charges against several of the +officers who had been most active in the suppression +of the rebellion. Amongst others, Ensign Cullen, of +the 1st West India Regiment, was charged with having +had three men wantonly shot at Duckinfield Suspension +Bridge, on the 21st of October, while on the march +from Manchioneal to Golden Grove; and Staff-Assistant-Surgeon +Morris, who had been in medical charge of Ensign +Cullen's detachment, was charged with shooting a fourth man.</p> + +<p>After these charges had been allowed to hang over +these officers' heads for nearly a year, they were given +an opportunity of clearing themselves before a general court +martial, which assembled at Up Park Camp on the 2nd of +October, 1866, and terminated its proceedings on the 4th of +December. It is needless to say that both were acquitted.<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a></p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span></p> +<p>For the valuable and efficient services rendered by +the regiment during this rebellion, the House of Assembly +in Jamaica voted the sum of £100 to be expended in +plate.</p> + +<p>In March, 1866, all being quiet in Jamaica, Captain +Smithwick's company returned to Nassau in H.M.S. <i>Sphynx</i>, +being followed by Captain Ormsby's company, in August, +in H.M.S. <i>Barracouta</i>.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> The following was the composition of the court: +</p><p class="center">Lieutenant-Colonel R.T. Farren, C.B., Depôt Battalion—President.</p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="battalion"> +<tr><td align='left'>Major</td><td>W.R. Williamson,</td><td>48th</td><td> Regiment</td><td align='left' rowspan="2" class="bracket3">}</td><td align='left' rowspan="8">Members.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left'>J.H. Campbell,</td><td align='left'>71st</td><td align='center'>"</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Captain</td><td>F.D. Walters,</td><td align='left'>44th</td><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left' rowspan="2" class="bracket3">}</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left'>J.G. Day,</td><td align='left'>28th</td><td align='center'>"</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left'>J.A. Barstow,</td><td align='left'>89th</td><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left' rowspan="2" class="bracket3">}</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left'>J.L. Seton,</td><td align='left'>102nd</td><td align='center'>"</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left'>C.V. Oliver,</td><td align='left'>66th</td><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left' rowspan="2" class="bracket3">}</td></tr> +<tr><td align='center'>"</td><td align='left'>J.T. Ready,</td><td align='left'>66th</td><td align='center'>"</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p class="center">Captain Maclean, Rifle Brigade—Officiating Judge Advocate.<br /> +Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel C.F.J. Daniell, 28th Regiment—Prosecutor.</p> +</div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h3> + +<p class="center">AFRICAN TOUR, 1866-70.</p> + + +<p>In August, 1866, it again became the turn of the 1st +West India Regiment to furnish a portion of the garrisons +of the Western Coast of Africa. The system of +these garrisons had again been changed, and now consisted +of one battalion divided between Sierra Leone and +the Gambia, and half a battalion distributed between the +Gold Coast and Lagos. At this time the left wing of +the 2nd West India Regiment was garrisoning the two +latter colonies, and the 1st West India Regiment was to +garrison the two former.</p> + +<p>On the 29th of August, 1866, four companies under +Major Anton embarked at Jamaica in H.M.S. <i>Simoom</i>, +and proceeded to Africa; two being landed at the Gambia +on the 28th of September, and two at Sierra Leone on +the 6th of October. The <i>Simoom</i>, returning to the West +Indies, embarked the remaining company at Jamaica in +November; and proceeding to Nassau, the head-quarters<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span> +and three companies there stationed were also embarked, +the whole arriving at Sierra Leone, under Captain Bravo, +on the 31st of December. The distribution of the regiment +now was: Head-quarters, with A, B, D, E, F, and G +Companies at Sierra Leone; C and H Companies at the +Gambia. Major Anton was in command at the latter +station, and on the 25th of May, 1867, Lieutenant-Colonel +Yonge arrived at Sierra Leone and assumed command +there.</p> + +<p>In the beginning of August, 1867, a disturbance of a +serious character occurred on the Gold Coast at Mumford, +a town situated half-way between Cape Coast Castle and +Accra; and Lieutenant H.F.S. Bolton, 1st West India +Regiment, who, being temporarily in the employ of the +Colonial Government, was Civil Commandant of the latter +town, was despatched with a party of the 2nd West +India Regiment to establish order. The cause of the +disturbance was an old-standing quarrel between two of +the native companies at Mumford, and a conflict had +taken place, resulting in a large number of killed and +wounded. On the arrival of the troops the principal +offenders were arrested, and order was restored.</p> + +<p>Since the arrival of the regiment in Africa, small detachments +had been furnished from Sierra Leone to Sherbro, +Songo-town, and the island of Bulama, at the mouth of +the Jeba River. In September, 1867, the troops were withdrawn +from the latter station.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span></p> + +<p>In October, 1867, Lieutenant Bolton was employed in +arresting some recalcitrant chiefs at Pram-Pram, near +Accra, Lieutenant Ness, 2nd West India Regiment, with a +detachment of that corps, acting under his orders. The +service was attended with considerable difficulty and some +danger, and the following general order was published on +the subject, dated Cape Coast Castle, January 15th, 1868:</p> + +<p>"The officer commanding the troops has much gratification +in publishing in orders an extract of a letter received +from the Horse Guards, expressing the approval of His +Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, +of the manner in which the difficult duties were carried +out by the officers and troops employed in the recent +expedition to Pram-Pram.</p> + +<p>"'The attention of the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief +having been drawn to a despatch, received at the +Colonial Office, from the Administrator-in-Chief of the West +Africa settlements, containing a very favourable account of +the conduct of Lieutenant H.F.S. Bolton, of the 1st West +India Regiment, and Lieutenant (now Captain) Ness, of the +4th West India Regiment,<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> and of the troops under their +command, on a recent expedition to some chiefs at Pram-Pram +and Ningo, on the Gold Coast; I am directed to +acquaint you that His Royal Highness considers the report<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> +to be highly satisfactory, and I have to request that you +will express to the officers and troops employed on the +service in question, His Royal Highness's approval of the +manner in which they carried out the very difficult duties +they had to perform.'"</p> + +<p>On the 9th of August, 1868, at the request of the +Governor-in-chief, the garrison of the 2nd West India +Regiment on the Gold Coast being much below its allotted +strength, E Company, 1st West India Regiment, 100 strong, +proceeded to Cape Coast Castle, under Lieutenant C.J.L. +Hill, and, in consequence of this reduction of the Sierra +Leone garrison, the Songo-town detachment was withdrawn.</p> + +<p>In January, 1869, a company under Captain K.R. Niven, +with Ensign W.A. Broome, was despatched to Sherbro +Island for the protection of British subjects, an invasion +of that island being hourly expected. The presence of the +troops soon produced the desired effect, and the detachment +returned to Sierra Leone on the 27th of February.</p> + +<p>In April, 1869, in consequence of the difficulty experienced +by the Colonial Government in arresting certain rebellious +chiefs at the Amissah River, about twenty miles to the east +of Cape Coast Castle, the police having been attacked and +driven off, the Acting Administrator, Mr. W.H. Simpson, applied +for a military party to aid in establishing the authority +of the Government over the people of that place; and, on +the 7th of that month, Lieutenant E.G. Macdonald, 1st +West India Regiment, with twenty-five non-commissioned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span> +officers and men of letter E Company, marched for Anamaboe, +leaving that place next morning for Amissah River. On +arriving there the chiefs were captured with some little +difficulty, and the party returned to Cape Coast next day.</p> + +<p>On the 1st of April, 1869, the 4th West India Regiment +was disbanded, and the three remaining West India regiments +were each augmented by one company; the detachment +of the 4th West India Regiment at Jamaica being +formed into the ninth, or letter "I," Company of the 1st West +India Regiment. On the 30th of September, 1869, it embarked +for Honduras in the brigantine <i>W.N.Z.</i>, under Major +McAuley, arriving at its destination on the 14th of October.</p> + +<p>In May, 1869, the Gambia was visited by a severe epidemic +of cholera. Owing to the sanitary measures adopted by +Major W.W.W. Johnston, 1st West India Regiment, commanding +the troops, the regiment escaped with only eighteen +deaths out of the 200 men there stationed between the 5th of +May and the 6th of June, the period when the epidemic was +at its height; while in the town there were more than 1500 +deaths, out of a population of some 5000.</p> + +<p>In 1870 the three years' tour of service of the regiment +on the West Coast of Africa expired. The 3rd West India +Regiment having been disbanded, a considerable reduction in +the West African garrisons became necessary, and it was +intended that the relief for the eight companies of the 1st +West India Regiment should consist of four companies of +the 2nd. On the 24th of May, the head-quarters, with A, B,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span> +and F Companies, under Captain Samson, embarked at Sierra +Leone in H.M.S. <i>Orontes</i>, which, proceeding to the Gambia, +took on board the two companies there on the 29th. The +head-quarters, with the three companies from Sierra Leone, +landed at Jamaica on the 27th of June, and the <i>Orontes</i> then +sailed for Nassau, where the two companies from the Gambia +were disembarked. On the return of the troopship to the +West Coast of Africa with the four companies of the 2nd +West India Regiment, the company of the 1st West India +Regiment at Cape Coast Castle was embarked on the 24th of +August, and the remaining two at Sierra Leone on the +27th. All three proceeded to Jamaica, under the command +of Captain J.A. Smith, and landed at Kingston on the 3rd +of October. The distribution of the regiment was now as +follows: head-quarters and six companies at Jamaica, two at +Nassau, and one at Honduras. On the 15th of November, +F Company, under Captain Butler, embarked at Jamaica +for Honduras; thus making up the detachment at that +station to two companies.</p> + +<p>During the West African tour of 1866-70, two officers +succumbed to the influence of the climate, Lieutenant Gavin +having died at Sierra Leone on the 22nd of February, 1869, +and Lieutenant Maturin on the 7th of December of the same +year.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> By the Gazette of September 25th, 1867, Lieutenant R.E.D. Ness, +2nd West India Regiment, was promoted Captain, by purchase, in the +4th West India Regiment.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE DEFENCE OF ORANGE WALK, 1872.</p> + + +<p>On the 1st of September, 1872, a most determined attack +was made by the Ycaiché Indians on the outpost of Orange +Walk, British Honduras, which was garrisoned by thirty-eight +men of the 1st West India Regiment, under Lieutenant +Joseph Graham Smith.</p> + +<p>Orange Walk is situated on a deep and sluggish stream +in the northern district, named the New River,<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a> at a distance +of some thirty-three miles from its mouth, and, in 1872, +contained a population of about 1200 souls, the majority +of whom were either Indians or Hispano-Indians, and +indifferent to British rule. The business portion of the +town, and most of the shops or stores, were on hilly ground, +considerably above the river-bed, and built here and there, +without an attempt at order or regularity. About midway +between the river and this upper portion of the town was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span> +the barrack, consisting of one large room, sixty feet by thirty +feet, the two ends of which were partitioned off, leaving +the central part for the men's quarters. The partitioned +portion at the south end was used as a guard-room. The +walls of the building were constructed of <i>pimentos</i>, or round +straight sticks, varying from half-an-inch to three inches +in diameter, driven firmly into the ground, in an upright +position, as close together as possible, and held in their places +by pine-wood battens. The roof was composed of palm-leaves, +or "fan-thatch." The floor was boarded.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 80%;"> +<img src="images/fp305x.jpg" style="width: 80%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>On the south-eastern side of the barrack, the ground +fell towards the river, which was about fifty yards distant. +About ten yards from the water's edge was a large quantity +of logwood, packed in piles four feet high, and some little +distance from each other. Across the road, on the southern +side, were several native houses; to the east, and about +forty yards distant, was a group of four small buildings consisting +of commissariat stores and the officers' quarters; +while the nearest building on the north was the Roman +Catholic Church, about eighty yards off.</p> + +<p>How or when the invaders crossed the Rio Hondo, the +northern boundary of the colony, has not been ascertained; +but it is a significant fact, suggestive of strong suspicions +against the loyalty of the Indian and mixed Spanish-Indian +population, whose small settlements were dotted here and +there on the line of march of the invaders, that no information +was conveyed, either to the district magistrate at<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span> +Orange Walk, or to the officer commanding the small +detachment, that an enemy was at hand, prepared, as the +settlers must have known, to attack and plunder the town.</p> + +<p>The Indians, consisting of about 180 braves, or fighting +men, and 100 camp followers, led by Marcus Canul, chief +of the Ycaiché, approached the town about 8 a.m. on Sunday, +the 1st of September. They were divided into three sections, +each of 60 men, and they entered the town at three different +points; one attacking the upper portion, and pillaging and +setting fire to the houses and stores, the other two marching +directly upon the barracks, but from opposite sides. Of these +latter two, one took up a position behind the stacks of +logwood, thus commanding one side and one end of the +barrack; and the other established itself close to the officers' +quarters, under cover of a stone building, which commanded +the other side of the barrack and the end already commanded +from the stacks of logwood.</p> + +<p>So sudden and unexpected was the attack, that Lieutenant +Graham Smith and Staff-Assistant-Surgeon Edge, +who were both at the time having their morning baths, +barely had time to escape to the barracks; Lieutenant +Smith, with nothing on but his trousers, and Dr. Edge +in a state of nudity; while the first notice the men in the +barrack had of the approach of the enemy, was the shower +of lead which rattled on the building.</p> + +<p>Lieutenant Graham Smith says: "At about 8 a.m. on +September 1st, I was bathing, when I heard the report of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span> +a gun and the whizz of a bullet along the road running past +the south end of the barrack-room. I looked out of the +door of my house facing the barracks, and saw the corporal +of the old guard, which had just been relieved, running +towards me. He said, 'The Indians have come.' I repeated +this to Dr. Edge, who was living in the same quarters with +me, then put on my trousers, ran across to the barrack-room, +and got the men under arms as quickly as possible."</p> + +<p>Before Lieutenant Graham Smith had reached the +barracks, the two divisions of the enemy had taken up +their respective positions, and were pouring in unceasing +discharges of ball, which penetrated the pimento sticks +and raked the building from end to end. The guard, the +only men who had ammunition in their possession, returned +the fire, and at this moment Lieutenant Smith arrived with +Dr. Edge.</p> + +<p>Sergeant Belizario, coming forward and asking for ammunition +to serve out, reminded Lieutenant Smith that he +had left the key of the portable magazine, in which the +ammunition was kept, in his quarters. The open space +between his quarters and the barrack-room was swept +with an unceasing shower of lead; but there was no help for +it, and the key had to be fetched. Accompanied by Sergeant +Belizario, Lieutenant Smith ran over to his house, seized +the key, and ran back. Most marvellously both escaped +injury, though the ground all around them was cut up by +bullets. The portable magazine was kept in the partitioned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span> +end that served as a guard-room, and there was no door of +communication between the central portion, where the men +lived, and this room. Sergeant Belizario therefore ran out +of the barrack-room, along the side of the building, into +the guard-room, and endeavoured to drag the portable +magazine back with him. He succeeded in moving it +outside the guard-room and a little way along the wall, +but further he could not drag it. All this time he was +exposed to a heavy fire, and every musket-barrel from +the stone building on the eastern side of the barrack +was pointed at his body. Finding that all his efforts to +move the magazine were fruitless, Sergeant Belizario unlocked +it, and, taking out the ammunition, passed packet +after packet to the men inside, through the opening under +the eaves left for ventilation, between the thatched roof +and the top of the pimento wall, till the magazine was +emptied. This done, he returned to the barrack-room. He +seemed to have borne a charmed life, for he was untouched, +while the portable magazine was starred with the +white splashes of leaden bullets.</p> + +<p>A hot fire was now opened by the soldiers, and Lieutenant +Graham Smith, taking a rifle, placed himself at the +west door of the barracks to try and pick off some of the +most daring of the Indians. Whilst there he was struck +in the left side, and, at the same instant, Private Robert +Lynch, who was standing next him, fell dead, pierced by +two shots.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span></p> + +<p>Notwithstanding his wound, which was very severe, the +ball penetrating the left breast a little above the heart, and +passing nearly through him, finally lodging under the left +shoulder-blade, Lieutenant Smith continued directing and +encouraging his men; and finding that the whole interior +was swept by the missiles of the enemy, against which the +frail pimento-sticks were no protection, he ordered the men +to turn down their cots, and, lying on their beds, to fire over +the iron heads of the cots. In this position they were +tolerably well sheltered, though the Indians were so close +that several of the iron heads were shot through.</p> + +<p>In this place it will be proper to refer to a soldier who, +all this time, was outside the barrack. This was Private +Bidwell, who, when the Indians arrived, had just been posted +sentry on a commissariat store close to the officers' quarters. +The occupation of one of this group of buildings cut him off +from the barrack-room; so, after bayoneting one Indian, he +ran over to an enclosure belonging to Don Escalente, situated +to the north of the store. From the shelter of the fence of +this enclosure he fired into the Indians in the stone building +till his ten rounds of ammunition were exhausted. He then +said to Don Escalente, "I am going over to the barracks +for more cartridges," and, before he could be dissuaded, ran +out from the shelter and endeavoured to cross the open space +to the barrack. On the way he received a mortal wound, but +succeeded in joining his comrades.</p> + +<p>The Indians, impatient at the delay caused by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span> +obstinate resistance of the soldiers, now vacated the +houses on the further side of the road, opposite the +southern end of the barracks, and set fire to the thatched +roofs, hoping to involve the barracks in a general conflagration. +The houses burned fiercely, and the flames +spreading across the road, caught a small kitchen situated +not ten yards from the barracks. The Indians raised +yells of triumph, for they considered it certain that their +foes would now be driven from their shelter and then +easily overpowered by force of numbers. Indeed, it is +difficult to understand how the dry palm-thatch of the +barracks did fail to ignite, but it did so fail, and the +kitchen, after blazing up violently for a few minutes, fell +in and burned itself out harmlessly.</p> + +<p>By the destruction of these buildings the position of +the soldiers was improved, the Indians now having no +cover immediately opposite the south end of the barrack, +and being compelled consequently to concentrate behind +the stacks of logwood. A party, however, of them made +a circuit and appeared on the north-west corner of the +barrack, from whence they commanded the road bounding +the north side of the building.</p> + +<p>After the firing had continued for an hour and a +half, Mr. Price, and another American gentleman from +Tower Hill Rancho, about four miles from the barracks, +having heard what was taking place, mounted and rode +towards the scene of the conflict. Creeping up the river<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span> +bank unperceived through the thick woods, they suddenly +rode into and fired upon the Indians who were in rear +of the stacks of logwood. The latter, taken by surprise, +and not knowing by what unexpected force they were +attacked, left their cover for a moment and appeared on +the side nearest to the barracks. The soldiers perceiving +this movement, and thinking that the Indians were going +to attempt to rush the building, fixed bayonets, and some +ran to the doors to defend the entrances. Mr. Price and +his companion, taking advantage of this and the momentary +surprise of the Indians, rushed forward and threw +themselves into the barracks.</p> + +<p>The enemy's fire redoubled after this, and it was hotly +kept up until about half-past 1 o'clock; it then began to +slacken, and by 2 o'clock had ceased altogether. For some +time no one stirred, it being suspected that the cessation +of the attack was only an Indian ruse; but after a quarter +of an hour had elapsed, Sergeant Belizario was sent out +with a party to reconnoitre. He reported that the enemy +was in full retreat, and was sent to follow them up and watch +their movements. No pursuit could be attempted. Lieutenant +Graham Smith was, by this time, incapable of further action, +and out of the detachment of thirty-eight men, two had been +killed and fourteen severely wounded.</p> + +<p>The attack lasted altogether six hours. The Indian loss +was about fifty killed; the number of their wounded could +not, of course, be ascertained, but amongst them was Marcus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span> +Canul himself, who was mortally wounded, and died before +recrossing the Hondo. Of the civilians, the son of Don +Escalente, a boy fourteen years of age, was killed, and seventeen +were wounded. While the Indians had been occupied +in their attack on the barracks, the European women and +children had escaped from the scene of the outrage and +crossed the river in boats. Thence they had made their +way through the dense forest to the village of San Estevan, +about seven miles below Orange Walk. Over 300 bullet-holes +were counted in the walls of the barrack-room, +and in many places the palmettos were shot away in +patches.</p> + +<p>On the morning following the attack, a rumour reached +the barracks that the Indians were again in force near the +town, and preparing to renew the attack. Every preparation +for giving them a warm reception was made; but Sergeant +Belizario and a small party, who went out to reconnoitre, +found that the rumour was false, although several Indians +were seen in the bush and fired upon.</p> + +<p>In the meantime the news of the invasion had reached +Corosal and Belize, and Captain F.B.P. White, with Lieutenant +Bulger and twenty men, arrived at Orange Walk at +midnight on the 4th, being followed next day by a further +reinforcement of fifty-three officers and men, under Major +W.W.W. Johnston, but the Indians had already retired +beyond the frontier.</p> + +<p>A colonist, in a letter to <i>The Times</i> on this affair, says:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Concerning the conduct and proceedings of the military +during and subsequent to the late invasion and attack, I have +nothing to say but what redounds to their credit and high +character as British soldiers; and if medals and crosses were +distributed among the dusky warriors of Her Majesty's land +forces in this part of her dominions as freely as among other +branches of the service, all I can say is that every one of the +brave fellows, who held with such determined valour and +tenacity the barracks at Orange Walk on that memorable +Sunday morning against such fearful odds, would be entitled +to a medal at least."</p> + +<p>The following general order was issued: "The Colonel +commanding the forces in the West Indies has received with +much satisfaction an account of the successful defence of the +post of Orange Walk, British Honduras, by a detachment +of the 1st West India Regiment, under the command of +Lieutenant J. Graham Smith, against an assault of a large +force of Indians.</p> + +<p>"He has much pleasure in recording his high approbation +of the gallant conduct of Lieutenant Smith, who, +severely wounded at the outset of the attack, maintained +the defence of his post, and retained command as long as +his strength enabled him to do so; it was then successfully +maintained under the direction of Staff-Assistant-Surgeon +Edge, and Sergeant Belizario, 1st West India Regiment, +to whom also great praise is due for their conduct and +exertions; the gallant conduct of Lance-Corporals Spencer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span> +and Stirling, Privates Hoffer, Maxwell, Osborne, Murray, +and W. Morris, has also been favourably mentioned.</p> + +<p>"The Colonel commanding will have great pleasure in +bringing the conduct of these officers and soldiers to the +favourable notice of His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal +Commanding-in-Chief, and also the judicious and energetic +measures taken by Major W.W.W. Johnston, 1st West +India Regiment, commanding the troops in British Honduras, +who proceeded in person to the post which had been assailed, +and followed up the retreating enemy."</p> + +<p>In reply to the report made by Colonel Cox, C.B., +commanding the troops, the following letter was received, +and ordered to be embodied in the records of the regiment:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 27em;">"Horse Guards, War Office, S.W.</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 32em;">"<i>15th November, 1872</i>.</span> +</p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>,</p> + +<p>"Having had the honour to receive and submit to +the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, your letter of +the 23rd September last, with its several enclosures, containing +a detailed account of the exemplary and gallant +conduct of a detachment of the 1st West India Regiment, +in repelling an attack of Indians on the Orange Walk +outpost of the Colony of British Honduras, together with +a letter on the same subject addressed to this department +by the officer commanding the 1st West India Regiment:</p> + +<p>"I have it in command to acquaint you that His Royal +Highness, after consultation with the Secretary of State +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>for War on the subject, has decided that the following +recognition shall be at once made of the services of the +officers and men employed on that occasion, viz.:</p> + +<p>"That Lieutenant Smith, late 1st West India Regiment, +who was gazetted to the 57th Regiment in August last, shall +be immediately promoted to a Company in the 97th +Foot.</p> + +<p>"That Staff-Assistant-Surgeon Edge shall be promoted +to the rank of Surgeon, as soon as he has qualified for +the higher position, and a notification to this effect will +be published in the London Gazette, hereafter.</p> + +<p>"That Sergeant Edward Belizario shall receive the +distinguished conduct medal, with an annuity of £10, to +be given at once, in excess of the vote, until absorbed on +the occurrence of a vacancy.</p> + +<p>"That Lance-Corporals Spencer and Stirling shall be +granted the distinguished conduct medal without annuity, +and promoted to the rank of Corporal, to be borne supernumerary +till absorbed.</p> + +<p>"I am also to request that the men of the detachment +specially named in the margin<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a> may be commended for +their good conduct, and the commanding officer of the +regiment requested to record their claims, and give such +recognition of them regimentally as may be possible from +time to time.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span></p> + +<p>"That you will publish these, His Royal Highness's +decisions, in your general orders.</p> + +<p>"And that a copy of this letter may be furnished to the +officer commanding the 1st West India Regiment, for the +purpose of being entered in the Regimental Records.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 28em;">"I have, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 26em;">(Signed) <span class="smcap">J.W. Armstrong, D.A.G.</span>"</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<p>In consequence of the attack on Orange Walk, and on +the application of the Governor of Honduras, Captain +Gardner, Lieutenant Bale, and fifty men of the regiment, +embarked at Jamaica, on the 25th of September, in H.M.S. +<i>Fly</i>, as a reinforcement for Honduras.</p> +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span></p> +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> See Map.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> Privates Hoffer, Maxwell, S. Osborne, Murray, R.A. Morris, and +W. Tell.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h3> + +<p class="center">THE ASHANTI WAR, 1873-4.</p> + + +<p>On the 9th of December, 1872, the King of Ashanti +despatched from Coomassie an army of 40,000 men to +invade the British Protectorate on the Gold Coast. This +army crossed the Prah in three divisions on January 29th, +1873, and spread itself slowly over the country, ravaging +as it advanced. In August, 1870, the garrisons on the +West Coast of Africa had been reduced to four companies, +two at Sierra Leone, and two at Cape Coast. This reduction, +no doubt, was one of the principal causes which led to the +invasion, for at that time there were only 160 soldiers of +the 2nd West India Regiment to defend 160 miles of +territory.</p> + +<p>In June, 1873, the head-quarters of the 2nd West India +Regiment being ordered from Demerara to Cape Coast +Castle, A Company of the 1st West India Regiment +embarked at Kingston, Jamaica, on the 10th of that month, +and proceeded to Demerara to garrison that place. In<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> +September, the native levies that had been raised on the +Gold Coast to resist the Ashantis being found utterly worthless, +it was decided to send three battalions from England +and the 1st West India Regiment from Jamaica, to invade +in turn the Ashanti territory and dictate terms of peace at +Coomassie.</p> + +<p>On the 15th of November, the two companies (C and H) +from Nassau, under the command of Major Strachan, arrived +at Jamaica, and, on the 3rd of December, the head-quarters +and five companies (B, C, E, G and H), under the command +of Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, embarked at Kingston on +board the hired transport <i>Manitoban</i>. Proceeding to +Barbados, A Company, which had been moved from +Demerara, was embarked on the 9th of December, and +the same evening the regiment sailed for the Gold Coast, +arriving at Cape Coast Castle on the 27th, and disembarking +on the 29th, 575 strong. The officers serving with the +expeditionary force were Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, +Major W.W.W. Johnston, Captains Sampson, Butler, Niven, +J.A. Smith, Steward, and Shearman, Lieutenants Allinson, +C.J.L. Hill, Bale, Molony, Cole, Bell, Clough, Elderton, +Beale-Browne, and Barne, and Sub-Lieutenants Harward, +Spitta, Hughes, Burke, Edwardes, Tinkler, and Ellis.</p> + +<p>The regiment on landing was encamped on Prospect and +Connor's Hills, two heights overlooking the town of Cape +Coast, and Colonel Maxwell assumed command of the +garrison in the Castle.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span></p> + +<p>Sir Garnet Wolseley having already driven the Ashantis +out of the Protectorate after the actions at Dunquah and +Abracampa in November, and having garrisoned the various +stations between Cape Coast and the Prah, had, a few days +before the regiment landed, gone on to Prahsu with his +head-quarter staff. The <i>Himalaya</i> and <i>Tamar</i>, with the +23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the 2nd Battalion Rifle +Brigade, which had been cruising about outside for sanitary +reasons, now came into the roadstead, where the <i>Sarmatian</i>, +with the 42nd Highlanders, was already lying, and everything +was ready for the advance on Coomassie.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, before daybreak on the 1st of January, the +right half-battalion of the Rifle Brigade landed and commenced +its march to the front, followed the next morning +by the other half-battalion. On the mornings of the 3rd +and 4th the two half-battalions of the 42nd landed, and +passed to the front in a similar manner.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 60%;"> +<img src="images/fp319x.jpg" style="width: 60%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>The Fantis had shown so much disinclination to act as +carriers, and so few had been obtained, that the advance +of these two battalions had exhausted all the available +carriers, and there were none for the 23rd Fusiliers. It +was necessary to adopt stronger measures, unless the expedition +was to fall through, and on the 4th of January the +1st West India Regiment was posted in a cordon of sentries +around the town of Cape Coast, while the armed police +seized all the able-bodied men in the town, except those +employed as canoe-men. This step was entirely successful,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span> +and on the morning of the 5th the right half-battalion of +the 23rd landed and marched to the front, being followed +next morning by C Company of the 1st West India +Regiment.</p> + +<p>The difficulty with the carriers had in the meantime +increased instead of diminishing. Numbers had deserted, +abandoning their loads, and the transport was almost in a +moribund condition, the 23rd Regiment being even re-embarked +for want of carriers. Sir Garnet Wolseley in this +emergency called upon the West India regiments for assistance, +saying that the fate of the expedition was hanging +in the balance; and in response to his appeal, they both +volunteered to carry supplies, in addition to their arms, +accoutrements, and ammunition.</p> + +<p>Accordingly, on the 7th of January, the head-quarters +of the regiment, under Colonel Maxwell, with A and E +Companies, marched to Inquabim, the first stage; being +followed the next morning by G and H Companies, under +Captain Butler; while B Company remained at Prospect +Hill to furnish the necessary garrison guards at Cape Coast +Castle.</p> + +<p>The head-quarters arrived at Dunquah on the 8th, where +C Company had been halted by Colonel Colley, who was +in charge of the transport and communications, and had +already been actively engaged driving in carriers and +furnishing escorts for the convoys of provisions.</p> + +<p>On the 9th, at 1.30 a.m., A Company, under Captain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span> +Shearman, paraded and marched into the Ecumfie district +for the purpose of driving in carriers from that neighbourhood, +and, at the same hour, the head-quarters and E +Company continued their march to Mansu, where they +arrived the same evening.</p> + +<p>Provisions being now urgently required at the stations +immediately in front of Mansu, 78 men of E Company, +being all that were available, and 140 of the 42nd Highlanders, +started at three o'clock in the morning of the 12th, +as carriers, each man with a load of 50 lb. weight, besides +his arms and accoutrements. On the evening of the same +day Captain Butler, with H Company, arrived at Mansu.</p> + +<p>The carriers continued deserting by whole tribes, and the +need of them had become so urgent, that orders were issued +to shoot any attempting to desert, while parties of the regiment +were continually passing backwards and forwards +between Dunquah and Mansu as guards over the convoys. +To relieve the pressure, 94 men of G and C Companies left +Dunquah on the 13th with ninety-four 50-lb. loads, and, +reaching Mansu the same day, started next morning at daybreak +for the Prah.</p> + +<p>On the 17th, Captain Butler marched with H Company +to Essecooma, a place about twenty miles due east from +Mansu, to drive in carriers, and a similar party was sent +out next day from Dunquah, under Lieutenant Roper, to +Adjumaco and Essiaman.</p> + +<p>During all these arduous duties, and since the 8th of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span> +January, so great was the scarcity of provisions at the front, +that the non-commissioned officers and men of the regiment +were placed upon half rations of salt meat and biscuit, +without the grocery ration.</p> + +<p>On Sunday, the 18th of January, the transport being +now in sufficient order, owing to the number of carriers +driven in from the surrounding districts by the regiment, +the advance of the army commenced, and the head-quarters +of the 42nd Regiment marched from Mansu; their left +wing, and 100 men of the 23rd Fusiliers, moving up from +Yancoomassie Fanti, and occupying their lines for the night. +The Rifle Brigade moved simultaneously to the front from +the stations ahead.</p> + +<p>Next morning, E Company, under Captain J.A. Smith, +marched with the left wing of the 42nd for the Prah, and +G Company, under Captain Steward, came up to Mansu +from Dunquah, leaving A and C Companies, under +Captains Niven and Shearman, at Dunquah and the +Adjumaco district.</p> + +<p>On the 23rd, orders were received from the front by +telegram, that the head-quarters and 200 men were to +march for the Prah at once, there to receive further orders. +Captain Butler, who had been ordered in with H Company +from Essecooma, two days before, arrived at Mansu the +same evening, and the next morning, the head-quarters and +G Company marched for the Prah, H Company following +on the 25th. Halting at Sutah and Yancoomassie Assin,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span> +the head-quarters arrived at Prahsu on the 27th, and on the +morning of the 28th, the 200 men required crossed the Prah +and marched to Essiaman. During this march the men +had been obliged to carry their <i>tentes d'abri</i>, blankets and +waterproof sheets, and seventy rounds of ball ammunition, +in addition to their field kits and arms and accoutrements. +On arriving at Essiaman, E Company, which, under +Captain J.A. Smith, had crossed the Prah a day or two +before, was found occupying an important post at the cross +roads.</p> + +<p>A few minutes after reaching this village, urgent orders +were received to push on as quickly as possible to the summit +of the Adansi Hills, and again proceed to the front with all +speed, leaving fifty men at Fommanah, the capital of Adansi. +On the 29th, the head-quarters were at Accrofumu; on the +30th, they crossed the Adansi Hills, and halted at Fommanah +for the night, leaving E Company, under Captain +Smith, at the cross-roads at the foot of the hills, in accordance +with later orders that had been received, and Lieutenant +Spitta with twenty-five men at the summit. The men were +now becoming much exhausted from their long marches, +marching, as they did, double stages every day. Their +burdens were unusually heavy for troops, and they were still +kept on half rations.</p> + +<p>At Fommanah a very pressing letter was received from +the chief of the staff, asking at what hour next day the +regiment might be expected to join the head-quarters of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span> +army at Insarfu, what numbers it could put into the field, +and whether the boxes of small-arm ammunition ordered +up from Prahsu had arrived with it. A considerable action +was considered imminent on the morrow.</p> + +<p>At daylight on the morning of the 31st, the head-quarters +marched to Ahkankuassie, leaving Captain Steward +and Lieutenant Hughes with fifty men at Fommanah. +At about eight o'clock the sound of heavy and sustained +musketry was heard, and the men, eager to join in the +first battle fought on Ashanti soil, pushed on. At Adadwasi +a large number of carriers, with reserve ammunition, +who had halted there, frightened at the sound of the +firing, were found, and were at once taken on, arriving +at Insarfu about 1.30 p.m.</p> + +<p>The firing, which had ceased for a short time, now +recommenced, the Ashantis making one of their favourite +flank attacks on Quarman, the next village in front. +The situation appeared grave, the town being crowded +with terrified carriers and wounded men, and Lieutenant +Hill with a half-company was sent out to act with the +2nd West India Regiment and skirmish.</p> + +<p>After a time, however, the musketry ceased, and the +carriers, with the reserve ammunition, were pushed on +hurriedly under the escort of a company of the Rifle +Brigade, the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments being +directed to hold Insarfu. Scarcely had the carriers +started than the firing again commenced, the ambushed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span> +Ashantis having attacked the convoy, which fell back +upon Insarfu. After a short delay, a second attempt was +made to get the ammunition through to the front, and +this time it proved successful. It was now dark, and +Captain Buckle, R.E., who had been killed that morning, +was buried outside the town, the firing party of the 1st +West India Regiment being employed as skirmishers to +protect the funeral party, instead of in the usual manner.</p> + +<p>The next morning, orders were received for the 2nd +West India Regiment to proceed to Amoaful, and hold it +until the return of the army from Coomassie; while the +1st West India Regiment was directed to hold Insarfu, in +which was the 2nd field hospital with 120 wounded officers +and men. The work was arduous in the extreme, the men, +when not on sentry or patrol, being employed in clearing the +thick bush round the town, and endeavouring to strengthen +the post. While the engagement at Amoaful, Quarman, and +Insarfu was going on, a party of the 1st West India Regiment, +which was escorting treasure from Fommanah to +Dompoassi, was fired upon by some ambushed Ashantis +about one hundred yards from the latter village. The +escort promptly returned the fire, but the carriers all dropped +their loads and ran away. After firing a few desultory shots +the Ashantis retired, and the escort remained with the +scattered boxes of specie, which were too numerous for them +to carry on themselves. Fortunately the fugitive carriers, +running headlong into Fommanah, spread the alarm, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> +Captain North, of the 47th Regiment, immediately marched +with a party of the 1st West India Regiment, under +Lieutenant E. Hughes, and a few men of Russell's Regiment, +to Dompoassi, near which he found the treasure quite safe, +it having, with the exception of one box, which had been +dropped by its bearer some three hundred yards down the +road, away from the rest, and where a turn in the path hid +it from sight, been collected together by the escort. No +trace was found of the enemy, and the party of the 1st +West India Regiment returned to Fommanah.</p> + +<p>On the morning of the 2nd of February, the head-quarters +of the army advanced from Amoaful to march +on Coomassie. There were, notwithstanding the defeat +on January 31st, still large numbers of Ashantis on +the flanks of the road, in the neighbourhood of Quarman +and Insarfu. During the day succeeding the battle, they +concentrated lower down the road, and, on the morning of +the 2nd of February, made a desperate attempt to sever +our line of communications by attacking the post of +Fommanah.</p> + +<p>"The post was in command of Captain Steward, 1st +West India Regiment, who had a garrison of 1 officer and +38 non-commissioned officers and men, 1st West India +Regiment; and Lieutenant Grant, 6th Regiment, with +102 of the Mumford Company of Russell's Regiment. There +were also present two transport officers—Captain North, +of the 47th Regiment, and Captain Duncan, R.A.—three<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span> +surgeons, and two control officers; and in the palace, which +was situated in the main street of the long straggling town, +and used as a hospital, were 24 European soldiers and +sailors, convalescents. The pickets had reported Ashantis +in the neighbourhood early in the morning, and had been +reinforced; but the village was far too large to be capable +of defence by this small garrison; and when, about 8.30 a.m., +the place was attacked from all directions by the enemy, +they were able to penetrate into it. Captain North, in +virtue of his seniority, assumed the command, but while +at the head of his men was shot down in the street of the +village, and was obliged by severe loss of blood to hand +over the command to Captain Duncan, R.A.</p> + +<p>"The enemy, as has been said, penetrated into all the +southern side of the village, which they set on fire; meanwhile +the sick from the hospital were removed to the +stockade at the north end of the village, which was cleared +as rapidly as possible, the houses being pulled down by the +troops and labourers acting under Colonel Colley's order.<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p> + +<p>"At half-past two, Colonel Colley reported as follows: +'We have now cleared the greater part of the village, +preserving the hospital and store enclosure. Difficult to +judge of numbers of the Ashantis; they attack on all sides, +and occasional ones creep boldly into the village, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> +generally keep under cover of the thick bush, which in +places comes close to the houses.' The firing ceased about +1 p.m.; but on a party going down for water an hour later, +they were hotly fired upon. No further attack was made +upon the post.</p> + +<p>"This attack on Fommanah seriously interfered with the +transport arrangements. Hitherto, though a few shots had +been fired at different convoys, the panics and difficulties +had always been overcome by the energy of the transport +officers; but the vigour and strength of this attack frightened +the carriers so thoroughly that it was impossible to move +them for some days." In this affair the 1st West India +Regiment lost one sergeant and five privates wounded, and +Russell's irregulars three men wounded.</p> + +<p>The Ashantis, although repulsed, still remained in the +neighbourhood of Fommanah, and on February 3rd, an escort +over a convoy of carriers, consisting of a sergeant and three +men of the 1st West India Regiment, was fired upon between +Dompoassi and Fommanah, the sergeant and one private +being wounded.</p> + +<p>The European Brigade pushed on to Coomassie, after +several days' hard fighting, entered the Ashanti capital on +the evening of the 4th of February, burned it and marched +out on the 6th, and arrived at Insarfu on the downward +journey on the 9th. Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston, commanding +the head-quarters of the 1st West India Regiment +at Insarfu, was directed to break up his post, burn the town<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> +as soon as all the troops had passed through, and then to +follow to Fommanah, where Sir Garnet Wolseley intended +remaining a few days, in order to endeavour to arrange a +treaty with the Ashantis.</p> + +<p>The head-quarter staff left Fommanah on February 14th +for Cape Coast, and the European troops being ordered to +push on, on account of the commencement of the rains, the +1st West India Regiment was detailed to relieve the 42nd +as the rear-guard of the army. On it fell the duty of +destroying the fortified posts to the north of the Prah, and +the removal of the sick and wounded and stores. Carriers +were still so scarce that it was not until the 20th that +Essiaman was cleared out and the stockade destroyed, and +the three rear companies of the regiment marched into the +bridge-head at Prahsu—which, during the advance to +Coomassie, had been held by C Company, under Captain +Niven—on the 21st. On the 23rd they crossed the Prah, +and the bridge was then destroyed.</p> + +<p>By the 27th of February all the European regiments had +embarked for England, the 2nd West India Regiment was +under orders for the West Indies, and upon the 1st West +India Regiment fell the duty of garrisoning the colony. Two +hundred men were left at Prahsu, where a strong redoubt had +been constructed, fifty at Mansu, and the remainder at Cape +Coast. On the departure of Sir Garnet Wolseley, on the +4th of March, Colonel Maxwell, of the 1st West India +Regiment, administered the government of the Gold Coast.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span></p> + +<p>Previous to the departure of the General the following +general order was published:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="center">"(General Order No. 43.)</p> + +<p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 26em;">"Head-Quarters, Cape Coast Castle</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 35em;">"<i>3rd March, 1874</i>.</span><br /> +</p> + +<p>"Before leaving for England the Major-General commanding +wishes to convey to the soldiers of the 1st and 2nd +West India Regiments his appreciation of their soldierlike +qualities, and of the manner in which they have performed +their duties during the recent campaign. Portions of the +2nd West India Regiment have been in every affair in +the war, and the regiment generally has undergone fatigue +and exposure in a most creditable manner.</p> + +<p>"When, owing to the desertion of carriers, the transport +difficulties became serious, the men of both these regiments +responded most cheerfully to the call made upon them, +and, by daily carrying loads, helped to relieve the force +from its most pressing difficulties.</p> + +<p>"In saying 'good-bye,' the Major-General assures them +he will always remember with pride and pleasure that +he had the honour of commanding men whose loyalty to +their Queen, and whose soldierlike qualities, have been so +well proved in the war now happily at an end."</p></div> + +<p>The rains having set in at the Prah, and much sickness +prevailing, it was decided to relieve the posts between +that river and the coast. In fact, the mortality that had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span> +occurred at Prahsu in 1864 showed that West India troops +should not be encamped there without urgent necessity; +and no such necessity now existed, as the King of Ashanti +had agreed to the treaty, which had been left unsettled +up to Sir Garnet Wolseley's departure. Captain J.A. Smith, +with fifty men of the regiment, escorted the Ashanti chiefs +sent down by the king, and arrived at Cape Coast on the +12th of March. On the 18th, H Company marched in +from Prahsu, and embarked on the 20th for Sierra Leone +in the transport <i>Nebraska</i>, which vessel also conveyed the +2nd West India Regiment to the West Indies. C Company +was the last withdrawn from the Prah, arriving at Cape +Coast on April 2nd.</p> + +<p>It had been most disappointing to the two West India +regiments to have been prevented from entering Coomassie, +within some twenty-five miles from which their head-quarters +were halted. West India regiments rarely have opportunities +of seeing active service elsewhere than on the West +Coast of Africa; and, although the duties assigned to them +in the second phase of the war were most important, holding, +as they did, the detached posts from the Prah up to the +front, keeping open the communications, protecting the +convoys, sick and wounded, and constantly furnishing +patrols and escorts, yet they felt it rather hard to have +been deprived, in their solitary field for distinguishing themselves, +of the honours of fighting beside their European +comrades at Amoaful and Ordahsu.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p> + +<p>On the return of the regiment from the bush, the fatigues +and exposures of the campaign began to have their effect +upon both officers and men. In ordinary years, in times of +peace, Europeans who are seasoned to tropical service, can +serve for twelve months in the deadly climate of West +Africa without suffering much loss; but any unusual exposure +or hardship is at once followed by an alarming +increase of sickness. The 1st West India Regiment was the +only corps which, after enduring all the fatigues of a +campaign in the most deadly climate in the world, did +not enjoy the advantage of a change to a healthier station. +Added to this, the season proved to be unusually unhealthy, +and that variety of African fever known as "bilious remittent," +which can only be distinguished from yellow fever +by the fact of its not being contagious, broke out. Sub-Lieutenant +L. Burke succumbed to this scourge on March +1st, Lieutenant T. Williams on April 9th, Lieutenant W.S. +Elderton on May 10th, and Sub-Lieutenant E.W. Huntingford +on June 12th, while Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, Lieutenant +Clough and Lieutenant Roper, being invalided, died +on passage to England, and Captain Butler after arriving +in England. In addition to these deaths, eight other officers +were invalided, and out of twenty-six officers who were +serving with the regiment on the 28th of February, only +ten were left in West Africa on the 30th of June.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span></p> + +<div class="footnotes"><h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> Colonel Colley had arrived at the northern side of the village, from +Ahkankuassie, soon after the command had devolved upon Captain +Duncan.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h3> + +<p class="center">AFFAIRS IN HONDURAS, 1874—THE SHERBRO EXPEDITION +1875—THE ASHANTI EXPEDITION, 1881.</p> + + +<p>While the regiment had thus been engaged on the Gold +Coast, the detachment left at Orange Walk had, in January +1874, had a narrow escape of a brush with the Santa Cruz +Indians. On the 2nd of that month, in accordance with a +requisition from the magistrate at Orange Walk, Captain +F.B.P. White and Lieutenant J.R.H. Wilton, with forty men +of the 1st West India Regiment, left that station about noon +for Albion Island, in the River Hondo, distant about twelve +miles, to demand the restitution of a woman who had been +abducted by an armed party of Santa Cruz Indians from a +place called Douglas, in British territory. The Hondo was +reached about 4.30 p.m., and Captain White, finding a number +of Santa Cruz Indians cutting bush, as if for an encampment, on +the British side of the river, directed them to accompany him; +and crossing to the island in their boats, sent them to tell the +chief that he had a message to deliver to him.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span></p> + +<p>On landing on Albion Island it was found that the public +ball-room of San Antonio, a large, open, shed-like building +peculiar to these Spanish-Indian towns, which was situated +on a small hill, was occupied by an armed force of the +Indians, about seventy strong. Opposite to them, on the +nearest rising ground, the detachment was at once formed +up, partly covered by a chapel.</p> + +<p>After some time the chief of the Santa Cruz came over to +Captain White's party, and inquired what was wanted of +him; when he was told that no message could be delivered +to him as long as he had an armed party on British soil, +and that he must surrender his arms. After some little +discussion the chief agreed to do so, provided that they +were returned when his men left the island; and, on these +terms, ten or eleven rifles were brought in; but while this +was being done, a trumpet sounded in the public ball-room, +and the Santa Cruz, quickly gathering together, began to +load their rifles. The chief, being asked for an explanation +of this sudden change, replied that his braves were only +cleaning their guns, but at the same moment a sub-chief +came up, and loudly declared that the Santa Cruz would +not give up their arms.</p> + +<p>The troops were rapidly posted in advantageous positions, +and Captain White then informed the chiefs that if their +men would not lay down their arms they must leave San +Antonio at once, first handing over the woman who had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span> +been abducted. Some discussion ensued, but Captain White +remaining firm, the chiefs agreed to go, and moved their +men down to the boats. At the last moment, however, +it was discovered that the woman, who was the cause of +the expedition, was in one of the boats, and their departure +was stopped until she was landed, and given in charge of the +troops.</p> + +<p>The Santa Cruz now refused to stir, but remained in +their boats, which were moored to the bank. It being +feared that the Indians were only delaying for reinforcements, +thinking to overpower the British in the darkness, Captain +White sent Lieutenant Wilton with ten men to give them +a peremptory order to push off within a quarter of an hour. +The Indians received the message with laughter, asking, +"What will you do, if we do not go?" It was now rapidly +becoming dark, and the country, wild and savage in itself, +was entirely strange to both officers and men. After ten +minutes had elapsed, without the Indians giving any sign +of departure, Captain White had the "close" sounded, drew +in his sentries, and descended towards the boats with fixed +bayonets. Upon this the Indians pushed off, and were +soon lost to sight in the darkness. The detachment remained +under arms all night at San Antonio, and next +morning, it having been ascertained that the Indians had +retired across the frontier, the troops returned to Orange +Walk.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span></p> + +<p>The following letter was forwarded upon this subject:</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 28em;">"Horse Guards, War Office</span>,<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 34em;">"<i>17th March, 1874.</i></span></p> + +<p>"<span class="smcap">Sir</span>, +</p> + +<p>"The Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief has +perused the report which you forwarded to the Adjutant-General +on the 29th of January, of the proceedings of +the troops at Orange Walk, in British Honduras, who +were called out in aid of the civil power against a band +of Santa Cruz Indians in January last, and I am to +request that you will cause Captain White, 1st West +India Regiment, by whom they were commanded, to be +informed that His Royal Highness considers that the +discretion and firmness displayed by him in the performance +of this difficult duty is very commendable to +that officer.</p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 26em;">"I have, etc.,</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 28em;">(Signed) "<span class="smcap">R.B. Hawley</span>,</span><br /> +<span class="smcap" style="margin-left: 30em;">"Asst. Mil. Sec."</span><br /> +</p></div> + +<p>In July, 1874, the head-quarters of the regiment were +moved from the Gold Coast to Sierra Leone, one company +being left in garrison at Cape Coast Castle, and +one at Elmina. As in June the two companies stationed +in Honduras had, with the one left in Jamaica, been +removed to Demerara, the distribution of the regiment +in July, 1874, was: Head-quarters and four companies<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span> +(A, B, C, and H) at Sierra Leone, two (E and G) on +the Gold Coast, and three (D, F, and I) in Demerara.</p> + +<p>In July, 1875, disturbances once more broke out in +British Sherbro. The inhabitants of the town of Mongray, +on the river of the same name, in that month made a raid +upon Mamaiah, a town on the British frontier, plundered +several factories there, and carried off thirty-three British +subjects as slaves. Fresh outrages were committed later on, +and, on the 8th of October, 1875, Lieutenant-Governor +Rowe, C.M.G., with forty men of the 1st West India +Regiment, under Sub-Lieutenant G.V. Harrison, and sixty +armed police, left Sierra Leone in the colonial steamer <i>Lady +of the Lake</i>. The detachment was landed at Bendoo in +Sherbro next day. Negotiations were at once opened with +the Mongray chiefs, resulting in the surrender of the captives +on the 15th, and on the 25th the party returned to Sierra +Leone.</p> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 80%;"> +<img src="images/fp337x.jpg" style="width: 80%;" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p>Almost immediately after, fresh disturbances broke out +in another portion of Sherbro, on the Bargroo River, and, +on the 15th of November, Lieutenant-Governor Rowe left +Freetown in the colonial steamer <i>Sir A. Kennedy</i>, with +Captain A.C. Allinson, Lieutenants J.H. Jones, and A.S. +Roberts, and ninety men of the 1st West India Regiment, +fifty armed police, a 4-2/5-inch howitzer, and a rocket-trough. +The disturbance arose from a raid of Mendis upon villages +in British territory, thirteen of which they plundered and +destroyed, afterwards erecting a "war-fence" at a place<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span> +called Paytaycoomar, in British Sherbro. Here the Commandant +of Sherbro, Mr. Darnell Davis, attacked them with +a few policemen, and was repulsed with a loss of three +killed and several wounded, himself severely.</p> + +<p>The expedition, on arriving at Sherbro, established a +camp at Tyama Woroo in Bargroo, and all preparations +for an advance being completed by the 27th of November, +the troops marched on that day, occupying Mosangrah on +the 30th. On the 3rd of December, Lowarnar, a town to +the eastward, was entered, and on the 5th a move was +made on the stockaded town of Gundomar, which was +abandoned by the enemy on the approach of the force. +The dead body of one of the captives taken from British +Sherbro, recently strangled, was found in the stockade, and +the town was accordingly burned.</p> + +<p>On the 6th the force advanced on Moyamba, which was +also found to be evacuated by the enemy, and was burned. +On the 9th the troops left Moyamba and marched to +Yahwi-yamah, which was also destroyed, with the outlying +stockaded villages of Mocorreh, Bettimah and Mangaymihoon. +On the 10th Modena was destroyed, and the force +marched through Mowato and Geeavar to Sennehoo, arriving +there on the 16th. To this latter town several of the chiefs +came in to treat, bringing 212 of the captives with them, +and on the 18th a treaty of peace was arranged, the Mendis +promising to pay a fine of 10,000 bushels of rice. The troops +returned to Sierra Leone on the 24th of December.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span></p> + +<p>The country through which the detachment of the 1st +West India Regiment had marched was most difficult. It +consisted of dense forest, through which the only advance +could be made along narrow paths, wide enough only for the +passage of men in single file, and obstructed by fallen trees, +swamps, and unbridged streams. Numerous swamps, black +and full of malaria, had to be crossed, and, though the noon-day +sun was excessively hot, the nights, owing to excessive +damp, were very cold. Heavy showers of rain fell almost +daily, and from sunset till an hour after sunrise the whole +country was buried in an impenetrable fog.</p> + +<p>The stockades were of the same character as those found +at Mongray, but were here in some instances further fortified +by mud walls, fifteen feet high, and about twelve feet thick +at the base. Inside the walls were ditches about six feet +wide and eight feet deep. In some of the towns, machicoulis +galleries had been constructed over the gates, and the +entrances further protected by semicircular mud bastions.</p> + +<p>In March, 1877, the 1st West India Regiment was relieved +on the West Coast of Africa by the 2nd West India +Regiment, E and G Companies embarking in H.M.S. +<i>Simoom</i>, at Cape Coast Castle, on the 24th of February, and +the head-quarters, with A, B, C, and H Companies, at Sierra +Leone on the 3rd of March. On arriving at the West Indies +the regiment was thus distributed: Head-quarters, with +A, D, E, and I Companies, at Jamaica, C and F at Honduras, +G and H at Barbados, and B at Nassau.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span></p> + +<p>During its three years' tour of West African service the +regiment had suffered very heavy loss amongst the officers. +In addition to the eight deaths that occurred in 1874, directly +after the Ashanti war, Captain W. Cole died in Ireland +of fever contracted on the Gold Coast; Lieutenant-Colonel +Strachan and Sub-Lieutenant Turner in England; and Sub-Lieutenants +S.B. Orr and G.V. Harrison at Sierra Leone +in 1876.</p> + +<p>The regiment remained without change in the West +Indies until December, 1879, when the head-quarters and +six companies embarked in H.M.S. <i>Tamar</i> for West Africa, +leaving D, E, and I Companies at the depôt at Demerara. +The head-quarters and four companies disembarked at Sierra +Leone on the 17th of January, 1880, and the two remaining +companies proceeded to Cape Coast Castle.</p> + +<p>In February, 1880, there being some slight disturbance +in the neighbourhood of the Ribbie River, a small party of +the 1st West India Regiment proceeded thither as an escort +to the Governor, with Lieutenants Madden and Tipping. +The whole returned to Sierra Leone without any casualty, +after an absence of a few weeks.</p> + +<p>On the 28th of January, 1881, news was received at Sierra +Leone that the Ashanti king, Mensah, had threatened an +invasion of the Gold Coast Colony, and a reinforcement was +urgently demanded. In consequence, Captain H.W. Pollard, +1st West India Regiment, commanding the troops on the +West Coast of Africa, despatched to Cape Coast Castle next<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span> +day in the mail steamer <i>Cameroon</i> letter B Company, under +Captain Ellis, and letter H Company, under Lieutenant +Garland. These two companies arrived at their destination +on the 2nd of February, and on the 9th the former proceeded +to Anamaboe. This rapid arrival of reinforcements induced +the king to repudiate the action of his envoys, but affairs +were still in a very critical situation, and much alarm prevailed +in the colony. Early in March, Lieutenant-Colonels +Niven and Smith and Major White arrived from England, +bringing with them letter A Company from Sierra Leone. +On the 18th of March, five companies of the 2nd West India +Regiment arrived in the hired transport <i>Humber</i>. Negotiations +were protracted till April, when an embassy arrived +from Coomassie, and the difficulty was finally settled. On +the 2nd of May, the head-quarters, with A, F, and G Companies, +returned to Sierra Leone, leaving B, C, and H at +Cape Coast Castle and Anamaboe. In February, 1882, +C Company also proceeded to Sierra Leone.</p> + +<p>It was intended at the termination of the African tour +of the regiment, in January, 1883, to reduce the garrisons +in West Africa from six to three companies, and the steamship +<i>Bolivar</i> was chartered to carry out the relief in two +trips. That vessel, however, was wrecked off the Cobbler's +Reef, at Barbados, and H.M.S. <i>Tyne</i> was sent in her place. +The latter embarked H Company at Cape Coast Castle on +the 6th of February, 1883, and F and G Companies at Sierra +Leone on the 14th, all three proceeding to Jamaica under<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span> +the command of Major C.J.L. Hill. On the return of +the <i>Tyne</i> to West Africa with three companies of the 2nd +West India Regiment, the head-quarters and remaining three +companies of the 1st West India Regiment, at Cape Coast +Castle and Sierra Leone, were embarked on the 1st and 11th +of April respectively, and sailed for Jamaica under the +command of Captain Ellis, arriving at their destination on +the 28th of April. On the 5th of May, B, G, and F Companies +embarked in the <i>Tyne</i>, the first two for Honduras +and the third for Nassau. On the conclusion of the inter-island +trooping, the <i>Tyne</i> proceeded with the head-quarters +and three companies of the 2nd West India Regiment to +West Africa, the Government having, in consequence of +threatened complications with Ashanti, abandoned their +scheme of reducing the African garrisons.</p> + +<p>The distribution of the 1st West India Regiment is now +(May, 1883): Head-quarters and three companies (A, C, and +H) at Jamaica, two (B and G) in Honduras, one (F) in Nassau, +and three (D, E, and I) in Demerara.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX.</h3> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Succession of Honorary Colonels.</span></p> + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary="colonels"> +<tr><td align='left'>Major-General John Whyte</td><td align='left'>24th April, 1795.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lord Charles Henry Somerset</td><td align='left'>5th January, 1804.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Sir Peregrine Maitland, K.C.B</td><td align='left'>22nd February, 1830.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Major-General the Hon. Sir Henry King, K.C.B.</td><td align='left'>19th July, 1834.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lieutenant-General Sir William Nicolay, K.C.H.</td><td align='left'>30th November, 1839.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lieutenant-General Sir Henry F. Bouverie, K.C.B., G.C.M.G </td><td align='left'>13th May, 1842.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lieutenant-General Sir G.H. Bromley Way</td><td align='left'>21st November, 1843.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>General Sir George Thomas Napier, K.C.B.</td><td align='left'>29th February, 1844.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>Lieutenant-General Sir George Bowles, K.C.B.</td><td align='left'>9th September, 1855.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>General Sir Arthur Borton, K.C.B</td><td align='left'>2nd May, 1876.</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p class="center"><span class="smcap">Succession of Lieutenant-Colonels.</span></p> + + +<div class='center'> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="succession"> +<tr><td align='left'>1. Leeds Booth</td><td align='left'>23rd May, 1795</td><td align='left'>From Brevet-Major, 32nd Foot.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>2. George Rutherford</td><td align='left'>30th Dec., 1797</td><td align='left'>From Major, 27th Foot, <i>vice</i> Booth to 87th Regiment.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>3. James Maitland</td><td align='left'>22nd April, 1803</td><td align='left'>From 60th by purchase, <i>vice</i> Rutherford, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>4. Alexander Cumine</td><td align='left'>20th March, 1804</td><td align='left'>From 75th Foot, <i>vice</i> Maitland, who exchanges.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>5. C.D. Broughton</td><td align='left'>21st April, 1804</td><td align='left'>By purchase, <i>vice</i> Cumine, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>6. Samuel Huskisson</td><td align='left'>2nd June, 1807</td><td align='left'>From Major, 8th Foot, without purchase, on establishment of a second<br /> Lieutenant-Colonelcy.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>7. Benjamin D'Urban</td><td align='left'>29th Sept., 1807 </td><td align='left'>From 9th Garrison Battalion, <i>vice</i> Huskisson, who exchanges.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>8. John Irving</td><td align='left'>9th Jan., 1808 </td><td align='left'>From 2nd West India Regiment, <i>vice</i> D'Urban, who exchanges.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>9. George H. Duckworth</td><td align='left'>16th Jan., 1808 </td><td align='left'>From Major, 67th Foot, by purchase, <i>vice</i> Irving, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>10. Henry Tolley</td><td align='left'>27th Feb., 1808 </td><td align='left'>From Major, 71st Foot, without purchase, <i>vice</i> Broughton, cashiered.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>11. W.S. Wemyss</td><td align='left'>18th June, 1808 </td><td align='left'>From 48th Foot, <i>vice</i> Duckworth, who exchanges.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>12. Joseph Morrison</td><td align='left'>2nd Dec., 1809 </td><td align='left'>From Major, 89th Foot, with purchase <i>vice</i> Tolley, appointed to 16th Foot.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>13. Jonathan Yates</td><td align='left'>21st July, 1810 </td><td align='left'>From Major, 47th Foot, by purchase, <i>vice</i> Wemyss, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>14. Clement Whitby</td><td align='left'>16 July, 1811 </td><td align='left'>From Major, 17th Foot, with purchase, <i>vice</i> Morrison, appointed to 89th Foot.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>15. J.M. Clifton</td><td align='left'>10th Sept., 1814 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, <i>vice</i> Yates, appointed to 49th Foot.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left' colspan="4"><br />(Lieutenant-Colonel Clifton retired, Jan. 23rd 1819, and the second Lieutenant-Colonelcy was abolished.)<br /> </td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>16. James Cassidy</td><td align='left'>12th Dec., 1822 </td><td align='left'>By purchase, <i>vice</i> Whitby, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>17. Francis Frye Brown</td><td align='left'>12th Jan., 1824 </td><td align='left'>From half-pay, 6th West India Regiment, +<i>vice</i> Cassidy, who exchanges.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>18. Richard Doherty</td><td align='left'>6th Dec., 1827 </td><td align='left'>From half-pay, <i>vice</i> Brown, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>19. William Bush</td><td align='left'>4th Sept., 1835 </td><td align='left'>From half-pay, <i>vice</i> Doherty, appointed to 89th Foot.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>20. Henry Capadose</td><td align='left'>22nd April, 1836 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, on re-establishment of a second Lieutenant-Colonelcy.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>21. Edward Rowley Hill</td><td align='left'>1st Jan., 1847 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, <i>vice</i> Bush, appointed Inspecting Field Officer of a recruiting<br /> district.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>22. Robert Hughes</td><td align='left'>14th April, 1848 </td><td align='left'> <i>Vice</i> Capadose, deceased.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>23. Fred. Aug. Wetherall</td><td align='left'>1st May, 1855 </td><td align='left'>From Major, 3rd West India Regiment, by purchase, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>24. Luke Smyth O'Connor</td><td align='left'>21st Sept., 1855 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, <i>vice</i> Hill, appointed to a Provisional Depôt Battalion.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>25. Edward Last</td><td align='left'>24th Nov., 1857 </td><td align='left'>From Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, 99th Foot, <i>vice</i> Wetherall, deceased.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>26. Henry Dunn O'Halloran</td><td align='left'>23rd March, 1858 </td><td align='left'>From Brevet Lieutenant-Colonel, Depôt Battalion, <i>vice</i> Last, + appointed to<br /> 21st Foot.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>27. Augustus William Murray</td><td align='left'>16th March, 1860 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, <i>vice</i> O'Halloran, retired upon full pay.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>28. Bowland Moffatt</td><td align='left'>4th March, 1862 </td><td align='left'> From half-pay, <i>vice</i> O'Connor, who retires upon half-pay.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>29. James Travers</td><td align='left'>4th March, 1862 </td><td align='left'> Without purchase, <i>vice</i> Murray, who retires upon half-pay on being + appointed <br />Deputy-Adjutant-General, Windward and Leeward Islands.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>30. James Shortall Macauley</td><td align='left'>29th July, 1862 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, <i>vice</i> Travers, retired on full pay.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>31. William M'Bean</td><td align='left'>18th Dec., 1866 </td><td align='left'>By purchase, Moffatt, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>32. G. Nigel K.A. Yonge</td><td align='left'>3rd April, 1867 </td><td align='left'>From half-pay, late 67th Foot, <i>vice</i> Macauley, who retires on half-pay.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>33. Henry Anton</td><td align='left'>8th June, 1867 </td><td align='left'>Without purchase, <i>vice</i> M'Bean, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>34. James Maxwell</td><td align='left'>17th Aug., 1870 </td><td align='left'>From half-pay, late 34th Foot, <i>vice</i> Yonge, who retires on half-pay.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>35. J.M. M'Auley</td><td align='left'>4th Oct., 1871</td><td align='left'><i>Vice</i> Anton, deceased.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>36. W.W.W. Johnston</td><td align='left'>24th Dec., 1873 </td><td align='left'><i>Vice</i> M'Auley, who retires.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>37. W.H.P.F. Strachan</td><td align='left'>15th April, 1874 </td><td align='left'><i>Vice</i> Maxwell, deceased.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>38. Knox Rowan Niven</td><td align='left'>24th March, 1877 </td><td align='left'><i>Vice</i> Strachan, deceased.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>39. Joseph Alexander Smith</td><td align='left'>29th Jan., 1879</td><td align='left'><i>Vice</i> Johnston, retired.</td></tr> +<tr><td align='left'>40. F.B.P. White</td><td align='left'>4th March, 1882</td><td align='left'><i>Vice</i> Niven, retired.</td></tr> +</table></div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span></p> + + +<p><span class="smcap">Stations of the 1st West India Regiment from June, 1795, +to June, 1883.</span></p> + +<p> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1795 (June).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 8 companies at Martinique.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1798 (December).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Morne Fortune, St. Lucia.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Maboya, St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1801 (July).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 8 companies at Martinique.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1802 (January).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Martinique.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at St. Vincent.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1802 (July).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at St. Vincent.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Martinique.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1802 (October).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 8 companies at St. Vincent.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1803 (April).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at St. Vincent.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Grenada.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1804 (May).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Dominica.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Vincent.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Grenada.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1807 (January).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">3 companies at Grenada.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1807 (November).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 10 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1808 (January).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">3 companies at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1808 (October).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 9 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1809 (February).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 8 companies at Martinique.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Barbados.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1809 (June).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Trinidad.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Martinique.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Barbados.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1809 (August).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 10 companies at Trinidad.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1814 (March).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 4 companies at Martinique.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">4 companies at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Dominica.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1814 (July).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 8 companies at Guadaloupe.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Marie-Galante.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Martin's.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1814 (December).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 10 companies at New Orleans.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1815 (February).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 10 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1815 (August).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 6 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">4 companies at Guadaloupe.</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1815 (December).</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">Bermuda.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1816 (March).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 10 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1816 (November).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 3 companies at Antigua.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Montserrat.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at St. Christopher's.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1819 (January).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 3 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1821 (October).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 3 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Demerara.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1823 (May).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 4 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Demerara.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1823 (September).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 2 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">3 companies at Demerara.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1824 (October).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 5 companies at Barbados.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1825 (February).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 4 companies at Trinidad.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Barbados.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1826 (February).</span><br /> +<br /> +Same as in 1825, with the addition of a recruiting company at Sierra<br /> +Leone.<br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1827 (January).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 3 companies at Trinidad.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Barbados.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Grenada.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Sierra Leone.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1834 (May).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 2 companies at Trinidad.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Barbados.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Grenada.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tortola.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Sierra Leone.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1837 (December).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 5 companies at St. Lucia.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Trinidad.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Demerara.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Vincent.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Sierra Leone.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1839 (December).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 2 companies at Demerara.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">3 companies at Barbados.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Trinidad.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Lucia.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Vincent.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Grenada.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Antigua.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Sierra Leone.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">13</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1840 (September).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 2 companies at Demerara.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Barbados.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Trinidad.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Vincent.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Grenada.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Dominica.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Sierra Leone.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1843 (November).</span><br /> +Head-quarters and 5 companies at Demerara.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">2 companies at Sierra Leone.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Grenada.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at Tobago.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">1 company at St. Vincent.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1844 (June).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, No. 8 and No. 5 at Demerara = 3 companies.<br /> +Light and No. 1 at Jamaica = 2<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">No. 2 at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">No. 3 at Dominica = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">No. 6 at Grenada = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">No. 7 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1845 (March).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, No. 1 and No. 8 at Jamaica = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 5 at Demerara = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 2 at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 3 at Dominica = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 6 at Grenada = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 7 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1846 (June).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 1, 3, 6, and 8 at Jamaica = 6 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 2 at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 5 at Tobago = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 7 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1847 (December).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 at Jamaica = 8 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 7 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1848 (August).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Nos. 3, 4, 6, and 7 at Jamaica = 5 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;"> Light and No. 8 at Nassau = 2<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 1 at Honduras = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 5 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 2 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8.5em;">1849 (March).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, No. 3 and No. 6 at Jamaica = 3 companies.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Light, No. 7, and No. 8 at Nassau = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 1 and No. 4 at Honduras = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 5 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 2 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1852 (September).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, No. 3, and No. 6 at Jamaica = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Light, No. 7, and No. 8 at Nassau = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 1 at St. Christopher's = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 4 at Barbados = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 5 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3.5em;">No. 2 at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14.5em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1853 (December).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, No. 2, and No. 5 at Jamaica = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No. 4 and No. 7 at Barbados = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No. 1 at St. Christopher's = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No. 8 at Dominica = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No. 3 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">No. 6 at the Gambia = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13.5em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1855 (December).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 2, 5, and 8 at Jamaica = 5 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No. 4 and No. 7 at Barbados = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 1 at Demerara = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 3 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 6 at the Gambia = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span><span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1856 (December).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, and No. 8 at Jamaica = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 2em;">Nos. 4, 5, and 7 at Barbados = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 1 at Demerara = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 3 at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">No. 2 and No. 6 at the Gambia = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1857 (June).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, No. 5 and No. 8 at Nassau = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nos. 1, 3, and 7 at Sierra Leone = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nos. 2, 4, and 6 at the Gambia = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1861 (April).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 5, 7, and 8 at Barbados = 5 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No. 4 and No. 6 at Demerara = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No. 1 and No. 2 at St. Lucia = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 3 at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1862 (December).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, and No. 1 at Barbados = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">Nos. 5, 7, and 8 at Honduras = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1em;">No. 4 and No. 6 at Demerara = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 2 at St. Lucia = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 5em;">No. 3 at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">10</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1863 (July).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A at Barbados = 1 company.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">B at St. Lucia = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">C at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">D and F at Demerara = 2 companies.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">E, G, and H at Honduras = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1863 (November).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, D, and F at Nassau = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">E, G, and H at Honduras = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">C at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 17em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1864 (April).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, D, and F at Nassau = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">B, E, and G on the Gold Coast = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">C at Trinidad = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9.5em;">H in Honduras = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1864 (October).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, D, and F at Nassau = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 4em;">B, C, E, G, and H in Jamaica = 5</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1865 (November).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A at Nassau = 1 company.<br /> +B, C, D, E, F, G, and H in Jamaica = 7 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">==</span><br /> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span><br /> + +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1866 (August).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, D, and F at Nassau = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 3em;">B, C, E, G, and H in Jamaica = 5</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 15.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1867 (January).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, E, F, D, and G at Sierra Leone = 6 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11.5em;">H and C at the Gambia = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 21em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 21.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 21em;">==</span><br /> + +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1868 (August).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, D, F, and G at Sierra Leone = 5 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10.5em;">C and H at the Gambia = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 13em;">E at Cape Coast = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 20em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 20.5em;">8</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 20em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1870 (November).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, D, E, and G in Jamaica = 5 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">C and H at Nassau = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10em;">F and I in Honduras = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1874 (January).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, C, E, G, and H on the Gold Coast = 6 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 14em;">F and I in Honduras = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">D in Jamaica = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 22em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 22.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 22em;">==</span><br /> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span><br /> + +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1874 (July).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, C, and H at Sierra Leone = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">E and G at Cape Coast = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">D, F, and I at Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 19em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1877 (April).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, D, E, and I at Jamaica = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">C and F in Honduras = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">G and H in Barbados = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8em;">B at Nassau = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 17em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1880 (February).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, B, H, and F at Sierra Leone = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">C and G at Cape Coast = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">D, E, and I in Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 19em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 19.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 19em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1881 (March).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, C, G, and H at Cape Coast = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 12em;">B at Anamaboe = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 11em;">F at Sierra Leone = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 8.5em;">D, E, and I in Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left:19em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1881 (June).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, F, and G at Sierra Leone = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">B, C, and H at Cape Coast = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7.5em;">D, E, and I in Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 17.5em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 17.5em;">==</span><br /> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span><br /> + +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1882 (March).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, C, F, and G at Sierra Leone = 4 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">B and H at Cape Coast = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">D, E, and I in Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;"> —</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 19em;"> 9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 18.5em;"> ==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1883 (March).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A and C at Sierra Leone = 2 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">B at Cape Coast = 1 company.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">F, G, and H in Jamaica = 3 companies.</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6.5em;">D, E, and I in Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">==</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 9em;">1883 (June).</span><br /> +(Head-quarters) A, C, and H in Jamaica = 3 companies.<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 7em;">B and G in Honduras = 2</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 6em;">D, E, and I in Demerara = 3</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 10.5em;">F at Nassau = 1</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">—</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16.5em;">9</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 16em;">==</span><br /> +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 360-361]</a></span></p> + + +<h3><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX.</h3> + +<h4>TO THE</h4> + +<h4>NAMES OF OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, AND PRIVATES</h4> + +<h4>OF THE</h4> + +<h4>FIRST WEST INDIA REGIMENT,</h4> + +<h4>MENTIONED IN THE FOREGOING PAGES.</h4> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Abercrombie, J., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a><br /></li> +<li>Allinson, A.C., <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a><br /></li> +<li>Alt, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br /></li> +<li>Anderson, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a><br /></li> +<li>Anton, H., <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Archdale, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a><br /></li> +<li>Atkins, R.W., <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Bale, J.E., <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_316">316</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Balmer, J., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Barlow, E.H., <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br /></li> +<li>Barne, W.C., <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span></li> +<li>Beale-Browne, G.E., <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Belizario, E. <i>Sergt.</i>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Bell, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>——, T., <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Bentley, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a><br /></li> +<li>Bidwell, <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a><br /></li> +<li>Bingham, E.H., <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a><br /></li> +<li>Bishop, <i>Surg.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +<li>Blackwell, N., <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a><br /></li> +<li>Bolton, H.F.S., <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a><br /></li> +<li>Booth, Leeds, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Borton, <i>Sir</i> A., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Bourke, J., <a href="#Page_263">263</a><br /></li> +<li>Bouverie, <i>Sir</i> H.F., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Bowles, <i>Sir</i> G., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Bravo, A., <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a><br /></li> +<li>Brennan, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a><br /></li> +<li>Brew, R., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>Brocklass, H., <a href="#Page_183">183</a><br /></li> +<li>Broome, W.A., <a href="#Page_301">301</a><br /></li> +<li>Broughton, C.D., <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Brown, F.F., <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>——, R., <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Bulger, C.O., <a href="#Page_312">312</a><br /></li> +<li>Burdett, G.S., <a href="#Page_169">169</a><br /></li> +<li>Burke, L., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Bush, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a><br /></li> +<li>——, W., <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Butler, D., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a><br /></li> +<li>——, F. le B., <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Byrne, T., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Calder, J., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +<li>Campbell, N., <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>——, W., <a href="#Page_32">32</a><br /></li> +<li>Cantrell, D. <i>Sergt. Major</i>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a><br /></li> +<li>Capadose, H., <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Carden, J., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Cassidy, J., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Cave, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a><br /></li> +<li>Chads, <i>Major</i>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a><br /></li> +<li>Chadwick, B., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a><br /></li> +<li>Chamberlayne, W.J., <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a><br /></li> +<li>Clarke, <i>Bt. Lieut.-Col.</i>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br /></li> +<li>Clerk, A., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Clifton, J.M., <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Clough, H.T., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Coffin, E. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br /></li> +<li>Coghlan, A., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a><br /></li> +<li>Cole, W., <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +<li>Collins, F., <a href="#Page_148">148</a><br /></li> +<li>——, J.P., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Connell, F.J., <a href="#Page_237">237</a><br /></li> +<li>Connor, W., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Costello, F., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Cotter, E., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Craddock, H., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Craven, <i>Corporal</i>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br /></li> +<li>Crump, <i>Corporal</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +<li>Cullen, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a><br /></li> +<li>Cumine, A., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Cunninghame, T., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Dalomel, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +<li>Dalton, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Darley, C.B., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Deane, T., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +<li>De Winton, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a><br /></li> +<li>Dixon, C. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a><br /></li> +<li>Doherty, R., <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Downie, H., <a href="#Page_138">138</a><br /></li> +<li>Duckworth, G.H., <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>D'Urban, B., <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Duyer, G.H., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Edmunds, T., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>Edwardes, C.G.W.E., <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Egan, J., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Elderton, W.S., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Ellis, A.B., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a><br /></li> +<li>Evans, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Fanning, J., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363]</a></span></li> +<li>Farquhar, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>Fitzgerald, C.L., <a href="#Page_261">261</a><br /></li> +<li>Fletcher, R. D'O., <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a><br /></li> +<li>Fraser, J.A., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>French, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a><br /></li> +<li>Froggart, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Gardner, D., <a href="#Page_316">316</a><br /></li> +<li>Garland, V.J., <a href="#Page_341">341</a><br /></li> +<li>Garsia, M.C., <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>Gavin, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a><br /></li> +<li>Gillard, <i>Bt. Major</i>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a><br /></li> +<li>Gillespie, R., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +<li>Goodinge, H., <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +<li>Graham, W., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Grange, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Harris, W.W., <a href="#Page_233">233</a><br /></li> +<li>Harrison, G.V., <a href="#Page_337">337</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +<li>Harward, <i>Sub. Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Hemsworth, G., <a href="#Page_177">177</a><br /></li> +<li>Henderson, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a><br /></li> +<li>Henry, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a><br /></li> +<li>Hill, C.J.L., <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_342">342</a><br /></li> +<li>——, E.R., <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Hoffer, <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Holbrook, T., <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Horsford, T., <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Hughes, E., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a><br /></li> +<li>——, R. <i>Lieut.-Col.</i>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>——, R., <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a><br /></li> +<li>Huntingford, E.W., <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Huskisson, S., <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Innes, <i>Colonel</i>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a><br /></li> +<li>Irving, J., <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Isles, E. Ellis, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Johnston, W.W.W., <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Jones, J.H., <a href="#Page_337">337</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Kenrick, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a><br /></li> +<li>Kent, J., <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>King, <i>Sir</i> H., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Lafontaine, J. <i>Corporal</i>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a><br /></li> +<li>Last, E., <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Leggatt, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a><br /></li> +<li>Lightfoot, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Lindsay, J., <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Lowe, W., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Lowry, A.G., <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a><br /></li> +<li>Luke, E.F., <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a><br /></li> +<li>Lynch, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a><br /></li> +<li>——, R. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Macauley, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[Pg 364]</a></span></li> +<li>——, J.S., <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>McAuley, J.M., <a href="#Page_302">302</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>McBean, W., <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>M'Callum, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>M'Connell, D., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>McDonald, A., <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +<li>Macdonald, E.G., <a href="#Page_301">301</a><br /></li> +<li>M'Grace, D., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>M'Kay, J.C., <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Mackay, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a><br /></li> +<li>McKenzie, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +<li>Mackrill, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br /></li> +<li>McLean, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>McShee, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>McWilliam, D., <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Madden, G.C., <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +<li>Magee, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a><br /></li> +<li>Maitland, J., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>——, Sir P., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Malcolm, R., <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a><br /></li> +<li>Marraud, C., <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Marshall, R., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Mason, <i>Sergt.-Major</i>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a><br /></li> +<li>Maturin, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a><br /></li> +<li>Mawe, T.G., <a href="#Page_261">261</a><br /></li> +<li>Maxwell, H., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +<li>——, J., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_320">320</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Meehan, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a><br /></li> +<li>Meighan, B., <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>Merry, <i>Sergt.</i>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br /></li> +<li>Miles, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a><br /></li> +<li>Millar, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a><br /></li> +<li>Miller, C., <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +<li>Moffatt, B., <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Moffitt, J., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>Molony, C.A., <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Montagu, C., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>——, G.C., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Montgomery, W., <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a><br /></li> +<li>Morgan, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +<li>Morris, W. or R.A. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Morrison, John, <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +<li>——, Joseph, <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Murray, A.W., <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Myers, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Napier, <i>Sir</i> G. T, <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Nicholson, T., <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>Nicolay, <i>Sir</i> W., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Niven, K.R., <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Nixon, L., <a href="#Page_124">124</a><br /></li> +<li>Nunn, A.A., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>O'Connell, <i>Capt.</i> 105, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a><br /></li> +<li>O'Connor, L.S., <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Odonnell, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span><br /></li> +<li>Ogston, M. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a> et seq.<br /></li> +<li>O'Halloran, H.D., <a href="#Page_345">345</a><br /></li> +<li>Oliphant, W., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>O'Meara, M., <a href="#Page_100">100</a><br /></li> +<li>Ormsby, W., <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a><br /></li> +<li>Orr, S.B., <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +<li>Osborne, S. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Owens, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Page, T., <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +<li>Palmer, R., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Petrie, J., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Pilkington, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a><br /></li> +<li>Plague, <i>Corporal</i>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a><br /></li> +<li>Pogson, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br /></li> +<li>Pollard, H.W., <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +<li>Powell, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a><br /></li> +<li>——, W., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Pratt, <i>Bt. Major</i>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a><br /></li> +<li>Prendergast, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a><br /></li> +<li>Pye, A.H., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Rainford, M., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Reed, J., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Reid, J., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +<li>——, W., <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Roberts, A.S., <a href="#Page_337">337</a><br /></li> +<li>——, C.T., <a href="#Page_80">80</a><br /></li> +<li>——, J.C., <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_279">279</a><br /></li> +<li>Robeson, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a><br /></li> +<li>Roper, J., <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Ross, W.J., <a href="#Page_289">289</a><br /></li> +<li>Rudgley, H., <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>Russell, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a><br /></li> +<li>Rutherford, G., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Samson, A.M.W., <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Satchell, W. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a><br /></li> +<li>Scott, D., <a href="#Page_83">83</a><br /></li> +<li>Shearman, F., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a><br /></li> +<li>Smith, E., <a href="#Page_276">276</a><br /></li> +<li>——, Hopewell, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a><br /></li> +<li>——, J.A., <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_303">303</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a>, <a href="#Page_331">331</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>——, J.G., <a href="#Page_304">304</a>, <a href="#Page_306">306</a>, <a href="#Page_307">307</a>, <a href="#Page_308">308</a>, <a href="#Page_309">309</a>, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>Smithwick, W. FitzW., <a href="#Page_279">279</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a><br /></li> +<li>Somerset, <i>Lord</i> C.H., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Speed, W.J., <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Spencer, <i>Lce. Corpl.</i>, <a href="#Page_313">313</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Spitta, H.H., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_323">323</a><br /></li> +<li>Splain, W., <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>Steward, C.B., <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_322">322</a>, <a href="#Page_324">324</a>, <a href="#Page_326">326</a><br /></li> +<li>Stewart, <i>Capt.</i>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a><br /></li> +<li>——, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a><br /></li> +<li>——, J., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a><br /></li> +<li>Stirling, <i>Lce. Corpl.</i>, <a href="#Page_314">314</a>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span><br /></li> +<li>Strachan, W.H.P.F., <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_318">318</a>, <a href="#Page_340">340</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Strong, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a><br /></li> +<li>Sutherland, J., <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Tell, W. <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_315">315</a><br /></li> +<li>Temple, A., <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a><br /></li> +<li>Thomas, <i>Ensign</i>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a><br /></li> +<li>Tinkler, J., <a href="#Page_318">318</a><br /></li> +<li>Tipping, C.W.G., <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +<li>Tolley, H., <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Torrens, <i>Pte.</i>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a><br /></li> +<li>Travers, J., <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Tunstall, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a><br /></li> +<li>Turner, J.M.S., <a href="#Page_340">340</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Upton, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Way, <i>Sir</i> G.H.B., <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Wemyss, W.S., <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Weston, R., <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a><br /></li> +<li>Wetherall, F.A., <a href="#Page_259">259</a><br /></li> +<li>Whitby, C., <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>White, F.B.P., <a href="#Page_312">312</a>, <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a>, <a href="#Page_336">336</a>, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +<li>Whyte, J., <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_343">343</a><br /></li> +<li>Wieburg, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a><br /></li> +<li>Williams, T., <a href="#Page_332">332</a><br /></li> +<li>Wilson, R., <a href="#Page_79">79</a><br /></li> +<li>Wilton, J.R.H., <a href="#Page_333">333</a>, <a href="#Page_335">335</a><br /></li> +<li>Winkler, J., <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a><br /></li> +<li>Wylie, <i>Lieut.</i>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a><br /></li> +</ul> + +<ul class="IX"> +<li>Yates, J., <a href="#Page_344">344</a><br /></li> +<li>Yonge, G.N.K.A., <a href="#Page_299">299</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a><br /></li> +</ul> + + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> +<h3>THE END.</h3> + + +<h4>CHARLES DICKENS AND EVANS, CRYSTAL PALACE PRESS.</h4> + + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The History of the First West India +Regiment, by A. 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