1806.
First detachment to the Cape of Good Hope—Misfortunes at Buenos Ayres—Reinforcement to Gibraltar—Services at Calabria—Formation of Maltese military artificers—Increase of pay to royal military artificers—Augmentation to the corps and reorganization of the companies—Establishment and annual expense—Working pay—Sub-Lieutenants introduced—Indiscipline and character of the corps.
In August of the previous year, an expedition under Sir David Baird sailed against the Cape of Good Hope, to which were attached one sergeant, two corporals, and seventeen artificers of the Plymouth company under Captain J. C. Smith of the royal engineers, who embarked on board the ‘Melantho’ transport. The artificers landed on the 4th January, 1806, with the artillery, and marched and encamped with them in the field; but Sir David Baird, conceiving that their services would be more beneficial in the castle after its capture, than in action, would not permit them to take part in the operations. They therefore halted about a quarter of a mile to the right rear of the position, and there remained until they marched with the troops into the castle. Ever since this capture, a detachment of the corps of varying strength has been employed in the colony, not only at Cape Town, but at many posts and forts at a considerable distance inland and upon the frontiers.
Two privates of the Cape detachment under Captain Kennett, of the corps, sailed in April with the force under General Beresford against Buenos Ayres. Landing at Point de Quilmes on the 25th June,[[139]] they were present at the surrender of the city on the 27th following. After a time the Spaniards, recovering from the panic which lost them their capital, retook it with signal success, and those of the British not killed, were taken prisoners. Captain Kennett was among the former, and one of the artificers was wounded. On the loss of their captain, the two men were attached to the artillery and served in the action of the 12th August, 1806, under Captain Alexander Macdonald, royal artillery: they subsequently were taken prisoners and remained so until January 1808, when they returned to England with the forces under General Whitelocke.
To supply the casualties at Gibraltar occasioned by the fatal fever of 1804, a detachment of 133 artificers,[[140]] under Captain H. Evatt, royal engineers, embarked on the 31st December, 1805, and landed at the fortress in February following. The strength of the companies was thus increased from 174 to 307 of all ranks.
Sir John Stuart, who commanded the army in Sicily, now undertook, at the solicitation of the Court of Palermo, an expedition against the French in Calabria. The detachment of artificers at Messina, reduced to twelve in number, furnished ten men, under Captain C. Lefebure, royal engineers, to accompany the troops. They were present on the 4th July at the battle of Maida; and afterwards at the siege of Scylla Castle from the 12th to the 23rd of the same month. Shortly after the capture, six of the party returned to their old quarters at Messina, leaving two non-commissioned officers and two artificers under Lieutenant George Macleod of the engineers, to superintend the restoration of the castle defences. In October the four men rejoined the detachment at Messina, where the whole continued to be employed in various engineering services for several years.
Artificers under military control and discipline being much required for the works at Malta, Lieutenant-Colonel R. T. Dickens, R.E., recommended the formation of three companies of Maltese tradesmen for the service of the engineer department; two to be stationed at Malta and Gozo, and one for employment in general duties in the Mediterranean, Gibraltar, and Egypt. English companies of artificers would have been proposed for the works of the stations named, had the efficiency and conduct of detachments previously sent from Gibraltar to Minorca, Sicily, and other parts of the Mediterranean, warranted it; “but,” says Sir Charles Pasley, “as the Gibraltar companies were, from circumstances, the worst in the corps, the detachments formed from them * * * * were found so very inefficient, that Maltese and Sicilians were preferred to Britons in the Mediterranean, for the important service of the royal engineer department.”[[141]] As well from this, as from other local[[142]] and economical considerations, the Government approved of the measure, and the royal authority for its accomplishment being obtained, the companies were formed on the 1st May.
The Mediterranean or war company consisted of—
| 4 | sergeants, | |
| 4 | corporals, | |
| 100 | privates, | |
| 1 | drummer, | |
| 10 | boys. | |
| Total | 119 |
and the companies for Malta and Gozo, numbered each—
| 2 | sergeants, | |
| 4 | corporals, | |
| 60 | privates, | |
| 1 | drummer, | |
| Total | 77 |
An adjutant from the royal engineers was appointed to the 1st company, and one, a foreigner—Matteo Bonavio[[143]]—to the other two companies at Malta and Gozo, to which was also added one sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant Guiseppe Sinerco, stationed at Malta. The total number of these companies with the staff amounted to 276. The pay of the war company was assimilated to that of the royal military artificers, while that of the other companies was fixed as under:—
| s. | d. | ||
| Sergeant-major or quartermaster-sergeant. | 3 | 0 | a-day. |
| Sergeant | 1 | 6 | ” |
| Corporal | 1 | 3 | ” |
| Private, or drummer | 1 | 1 | ” |
| Boy | 0 | 6 | ” |
The adjutants received 3s. per day each extra,[[144]] and the working pay of the non-commissioned officers and men was divided into two classes of 6d. and 9d., which they received in addition to their regimental pay. The non-commissioned officers, who were foremen, received as working pay 1s. a-day each.
These companies were formed into a corps with the title of Maltese military artificers, and, like the old artificer company at Gibraltar, remained a distinct and separate body. They were officered by the royal engineers. Their clothing consisted of a close blue cloth jacket with black collar and cuffs, and Ordnance buttons; open blue cloth pantaloons and a military hat and feather. The sergeants were distinguished by sashes, the corporals by chevrons, and the sergeant-major by a uniform like the sergeant-major of the English companies.[[145]]
This year Mr. Windham, the Secretary-at-War, warmly espoused the cause of the army, and ultimately obtained for it the redress he so earnestly sought. This was promulgated in the well-known Warrant called “ Windham’s Act,” which increased the pay of the soldier while serving, and provided a liberal pension for him on retirement, corresponding to his infirmities and services. On the 1st September, the Act alluded to was extended to the royal military artificers, and the advantages conferred upon the corps were as under:—
| Total amount of pay a-day. | ||||
| Increase. | ||||
| d. | s. | d. | ||
| Sergeant-major on the staff. | 5¼ | 3 | 11½ | |
| Sergeant | 3¼ | 2 | 6½ | |
| Corporals:— | ||||
| After 14 years | 3¾ | 2 | 4½ | |
| Between 7 and 14 years | 2¾ | 2 | 3½ | |
| Under 7 years | 1¾ | 2 | 2½ | |
| Privates and Buglers:— | ||||
| After 14 years | 2 | 1 | 4½ | |
| Between 7 and 14 years | 1 | 1 | 3½ | |
| Under 7 years | no increase | 1 | 2½ | |
In the prospect of a long war, to provide reinforcements for the execution of the extensive works in progress at Dover and Nova Scotia, and to be capable, to a certain extent, of meeting the contingencies that might arise, a royal warrant was issued dated 5th September, sanctioning a reorganization of the corps for general service, an augmentation of two companies, and a small increase to each of the other ten companies.
Under this arrangement the corps was distributed as follows, and the companies for the first time, appear to be distinguished by numbers; which, however, from the long habit of designating them by stations, soon became obsolete:—
| 1st. | Woolwich | Captain G. Hayter. | |
| 2nd. | Chatham | Major R. D’Arcy. | |
| 3rd. | Dover | Captain W. H. Ford. | |
| 4th. | Portsmouth. | Captain R. Fletcher. | |
| 5th. | Gosport. | Captain T. Fyers. | |
| 6th. | Plymouth. | Lieut.-Colonel T. Skinner. | |
| 7th. | Spike Island | Lieut.-Colonel Sir C. Holloway. | |
| 8th | { | Jersey Guernsey. | Captain J. Humfrey Major J. Mackelcan. |
| 9th. | Gibraltar | Captain H. Evatt. | |
| 10th. | Gibraltar | Captain G. Landmann. | |
| 11th. | West Indies. | Lieut.-Colonel W. Johnston. | |
| [[146]]12th. | Nova Scotia | Captain W. Bennett. |
By the authority of the warrant alluded to, the establishment of each company was remodelled, the ranks of Sub-Lieutenant and second corporal were created, and the total of all ranks per company increased from 100 to 126. Under the previous system of detaching men, the companies were mutilated, disordered and reduced; but under this enlarged organization, it was considered they would be more accessible, and better able to afford such accidental assistance as might be needed, without diminishing the companies to an inconvenient strength, or without particular detriment to the station. The subjoined detail shows the approved composition of a company at this period.
| 1 | Sub-Lieutenant,[[147]] a new rank, with pay of 5s. a-day.[[148]] | |||
| 1 | Sergeant-major. | |||
| 5 | Sergeants. | |||
| 5 | Corporals. | |||
| 10 | Second Corporals,[[149]] a new rank, pay fixed at 1s. 9d. a-day. | |||
| 30 | Carpenters, including 4 top sawyers. | |||
| 20 18 | Masons, Bricklayers, | } | including slaters, tiles, and plasterers. | |
| 10 | Smiths, | |||
| 10 | Miners, | |||
| 4 | Wheelers, | |||
| 4 | Collar Makers, | |||
| 2 | Coopers, | |||
| 2 | Painters, | |||
| 4 | Drummers. | |||
| Total | 126 | |||
The total establishment of the corps, including the adjutant and sergeant-major on the staff, amounted to 1,514, exhibiting an increase above the former establishment of 439 men; and its expense for one year, exclusive of the working pay and other miscellaneous allowances, reached the sum of 45,500l.[45,500l.] 17s. 7¼d. With the three companies of Maltese artificers, the corps mustered a force of 1,790 officers, non-commissioned officers, and men.
As a means of encouraging the men to exertion and good behaviour, their working pay was permitted to be increased, under the authority of the warrant before mentioned, from 6d. to 9d. or 1s. a-day. The non-commissioned officers invariably received the highest rate. None, however, could be advanced from the lowest to the superior rates without first being recommended to the commanding royal engineer at the station, by the junior officers, foremen, or overseers; and this system of rewards, except for special services, has been observed in the corps ever since.
The sergeant-majors who received the first commissions had been in the artillery, and were distinguished for their good services and bravery. To their zeal and expertness as soldiers, they added an intimate knowledge of drill and discipline—requisites of essential importance in the organization of a new force, but which, from the vague and indefinite character of the corps, became, almost necessarily, too temporizing and elastic to be sufficiently beneficial or respected.
Efforts had on one or two particular occasions been made to avoid the faults and supply the omissions of earlier years; but the improvement before alluded to, had not reached the expectations of those who felt an interest in the corps. One obvious reason was, the nominal appointment of officers to companies, who were so incessantly shifted, that it was not uncommon to find a company passing under the command of three or four different officers in the course of twelve months;[[150]] and another was, the reluctance with which some commanding officers permitted the temporary withdrawal of the men from the works for the purposes of drill and discipline.[[151]] The free use of the means to train the men to subordination and the use of arms, to restrain them from irregularities, and fully to develop the organization and purposes for which the corps was raised, being thus interrupted, naturally tended to vitiate and lower its military pride, spirit, and appearance.
Bald and grey-headed non-commissioned officers with ages varying from forty-five to sixty-five, good artificers and foremen, but lacking the energy and demeanour of soldiers, were no rarities in the royal military artificers. Disinclined to learn, they but very imperfectly understood their military station, and seldom exercised their authority, except in the emollient guise of persuasion and advice. On all sides there was a yielding, that in some measure obliterated the lines of distinction between the different grades. Their interests seemed to be reciprocal and interwoven, and the best workman was generally esteemed the best man. Almost every military idea was sacrificed for “the works,” in which it would be hazardous to say, that they did not labour with ability and industry.
To check the growth of these unmilitary principles and practices, to enforce respect for position and authority, and to assist in maintaining in the corps the exercise of proper discipline and drill, the Sub-Lieutenants were established. Their duties were like those of adjutants, whom they superseded, and were, therefore, held responsible to their Captains for the conduct, efficiency, internal management, and payment of their respective companies. This, however, was but a transient expedient. An instalment only of the good that was expected was realised;[[152]] and it was left for a later period to enlarge and perfect what in this year, though spiritedly commenced, fell considerably short of success.