History of the Royal Sappers and Miners, Volume 2 (of 2) / From the Formation of the Corps in March 1712 to the date when its designation was changed to that of Royal Engineers

by T. W. J. Connolly

APPENDIX V.

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Date of Appointment.	Sergeant-Majors.
1772 May 22.	Thomas Bridges. See note, p. [5], vol i.
1781 Sept. 29.	Henry Ince. See p. [31], vol i.
1787 Oct.	John Drew. See note, p. [68], vol i.
Nov. 1.	John Sipple, a native of Hesse-Cassel, born in 1740, joined from the royal artillery and was attached to the Portsmouth company. In June, 1791, he was transferred to the invalid artillery.
” 4.	Charles Palmer, from royal artillery as sergeant-major; was attached to the Chatham Company, and commissioned as Sub-Lieutenant December 1, 1806.
” 19.	Alexander Spence. See note, p. [68], vol i.
”	John Hopkins, joined the Plymouth company as sergeant-major, and died there March 1, 1788.
1788 Mar. 2.	William Browne, enlisted into the royal artillery in 1770, in which he became a sergeant-major in 1783. With that rank he joined the Plymouth company, and was commissioned as Sub-Lieutenant December, 1806.
”	Anthony Haig, enlisted as a matross, in 1770, into the royal artillery. Served in Canada from May, 1773, to November, 1787, and was at the siege of Quebec, where he was wounded, and favourably mentioned for his gallant conduct in general orders by Lord Dorchester. In 1788 he joined the Guernsey half company, and in 1795 was highly complimented by General Small for his efficient services in training and drilling the royal Guernsey cavalry. On December 1, 1806, he was commissioned to be Sub-Lieutenant.
1791 June 1.	James Smith, after a service of twenty-four years was transferred from the royal artillery, as sergeant-major, and attached to the Portsmouth company, in which he was made Sub-Lieutenant December 1, 1806.
Nov.	Charles Millar, enlisted in March, 1778, in the royal artillery, and served at the siege of Gibraltar. Was transferred to the corps, as a corporal, in July, 1788, and became sergeant-major of the Jersey half company. In October, 1797, he was discharged and appointed overseer in the department at Jersey, in which situation he continued until May 1809, when he was made a Sub-Lieutenant.
”	Joseph Chambers. See note, p. [20], vol i.
1793 Nov.	John Finlay, enlisted July, 1788, and accompanied the expedition to Holland as sergeant-major. On December 24, 1794, he was reduced to a private, and on his return from Flanders was sent to the West Indies, and died April 20, 1797, on board the ‘Orpheus’ transport.
1794 Jan. 1.	Matthew Hoey. See note, p. [90], vol i.
1795 Jan.	Andrew Gray, in 1793 accompanied the expedition to Holland, and served in the campaigns of the Duke of York until 1795. He succeeded to the sergeant-majorcy of the Flanders company on the reduction of John Finlay, and was promoted in December 19, 1801, to the corps of surveyors and draughtsmen.
May 11.	Thomas Fortune. See note, p. [117], vol i.
1790 Dec. 1.	Joseph Makin joined the royal artillery December 30, 1768; from the second battalion of which, he was transferred to the corps at Gibraltar May 21, 1774, and served at the siege of that fortress. In July, 1804, he was superannuated.
1799 May 15.	John Eaves, was a native of Brumen, in Hanover, and enlisted October 15, 1773, as a drummer in the royal artillery. His promotions were, first gunner, August 1, 1779; bombadier, August 1, 1781; corporal July 1, 1791; and sergeant, November 1, 1793. His active services were at Goree, from 1779 to 1781; Gibraltar, July, 1783, to November, 1785; West Indies, from December, 1785, to May, 1790; and the campaigns in Holland, from February, 1793, to May, 1795. He joined the corps as sergeant-major, and from his fine soldierlike appearance, experience, and knowledge of drill, was retained for duty at Woolwich; and, sometimes, during the absence of the adjutant, carried on the duties of the chief executive of the corps. Became Sub-Lieutenant December 2, 1806.
1800 May 2.	James Shirres. See notes, pp. [35], [120], vol i.
1802 April.	Matthew Prideaux, appointed to the half company at Guernsey, where he died November 6, 1803.
1803 Mar. 1.	Edward Watson. See notes, pp. [123], [135], vol i.
Nov. 1.	David Falconer, became Sub-Lieutenant in June, 1807. The whole of his service was passed at Gibraltar.
1804 Oct. 5.	John Levick, joined as an artificer from the artillery in April, 1791. Was sergeant-major of the company at Spike Island, where he died April 22, 1805.
1805 Oct. 8.	William Bishop, joined the corps as a sergeant from the artillery in October, 1805, when he was attached to the Spike Island company, from which he was pensioned at 2s. 1d. a-day, on December 31, 1814.
1807 Jan. 1.	Robert Wakeman, enlisted into the corps April 2, 1789, and on May 1, 1789, was promoted to be sergeant. Four years he served as sergeant-major of the company at Plymouth, and died there April 15, 1811.
” 12.	John Cutteridge had been two years in the 46th regiment, and enlisted into the royal military artificers, January 8, 1807. Many years of his service were spent at Cambridge in recruiting for the corps. In March, 1821, he was appointed quartermaster-sergeant, and in February, 1824, pensioned at 3s. 6d. a-day.
Mar 2.	George Robinson, from the artillery as sergeant-major, and commissioned as Sub-Lieutenant November, 1807.
July 1.	Thomas Longshaw, enlisted July 19, 1793. For many years he served in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and was an able mechanic and assiduous foreman. He became a Sub-Lieutenant in June, 1811.
Aug. 1.	Alexander Munro, was five years in the royal artillery, and transferred to the corps August 1, 1803. In January, 1805, he was promoted to be corporal, and in June, 1806, to be sergeant. He was a man of considerable ingenuity and talent, and for his services and useful inventions was made sergeant-major. On the formation of the establishment for field instruction at Chatham he was removed there to assist the director, and was commissioned as Sub-Lieutenant in June, 1811. See note, p. [186], vol i.
” 1.	Joseph Forbes, enlisted in the corps August 3, 1797, was promoted to be corporal March 1, 1803, and sergeant March 1, 1805. Being a skilful mason, his efficiency on the works frequently gained him the praise of his officers. From sergeant-major of the Dover company he was selected, on account of his attainments, to accompany the expedition to Walcheren, and, after serving at the siege of Flushing, died at Middleburgh, September 17, 1809.
Oct. 1.	Richard Turner, enlisted November 17, 1798, and gained the rank of sergeant in February, 1806. Most of his service was spent at Gibraltar. Became Sub-Lieutenant in March, 1812.
1808 Jan. 1.	James Galloway, joined from royal artillery. Enlisted in February, 1790, and served in Holland in 1799. The excellence of his conduct, and his imposing soldierlike appearance, won him the appointment of regimental sergeant-major. His efficiency in the office was quite a feature in his day; and in the absence of the adjutant he carried on the official business of the corps by corresponding with the commanding officers at the different stations. He was promoted to be quartermaster February 1, 1814.
Dec. 1.	John Black, enlisted July 24, 1790. Was sergeant-major to the Guernsey half company. At the close of the war was appointed quartermaster-sergeant.
1809 April 3.	Alexander Ross, enlisted January 7, 1789. Was both a carpenter and mason, and a valuable foreman. Was removed from Guernsey to be sergeant-major to the Portsmouth company. On the 19th October, 1808, he was discharged and appointed overseer of works in the royal engineer department, but his military knowledge and attainments again brought him into the corps in June, 1811, with the rank of Sub-Lieutenant.
July 10.	John Smith, from royal artillery, as corporal, December 31, 1807, in which he had served ten years, and was wounded in action near the Seven Churches, county of Wicklow, in June, 1798. After his promotion to be sergeant-major, he was attached to the Walcheren expedition, and was present at the siege of Flushing. In June, 1811, he was made a Sub-Lieutenant.
1811 Jan. 1.	John Dunbar, enlisted March 23, 1793, and in June, 1811, was commissioned as Sub-Lieutenant.
”	Patrick Whelan, joined from the 68th foot in June, 1803, as a corporal, and, serving many years with the corps in the West Indies, was present in many actions and captures. In June, 1811, he became a Sub-Lieutenant.
”	Robert Gibb, enlisted March 1, 1804, and in June, 1811, received a Sub-Lieutenancy.
June 1.	George Poe, enlisted December 1, 1791. Served most of his time on the works at Portsmouth. Was present at Oporto and Talavera in 1809. On his return from the Peninsula was promoted to be sergeant-major. In February, 1819, he was pensioned at 2s. 3d. a-day, and died at Woolwich in December, 1848.
1812 May 1.	Thomas Hounslow, served at Flushing. Cadiz, and Barrosa. For his efficiency and zeal, Colonel Ford, royal engineers, presented him with an elegant sword. Pensioned at 2s. a-day in March, 1817, he went to Canada, and obtained the appointment of foreman in the royal engineer department. About 1848 he died in London. A son of his, during the Papineau rebellion in Canada, was lieutenant and adjutant in the Beauharnois Loyal Volunteers. He did good service during the outbreak, and was taken prisoner by the rebels in November, 1848. He is now clerk of works in the royal engineer department at the Mauritius.
1815 April 1.	John Craig, died at Woolwich September 15, 1815.
Oct. 23.	James Douglas, enlisted September 1, 1806. Was second-corporal September 2, 1810; corporal, February 1, 1811; sergeant, August 1, 1812. Served at Roleia, Vimiera, Torres Vedras, Cuidad Rodrigo, Badajoz, Vittoria, San Sebastian, Bidassoa, Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, Toulouse, and Waterloo, besides in numerous lesser affairs. He was an excellent artificer and a brave soldier. In moments of danger his presence of mind and facility of resource and invention made his services valuable. He died at Woolwich November 9, 1827.
1821 Mar. 1,	Thomas Townsend, enlisted May 6, 1812. Was second-corporal, February 1, 1813; corporal, December 9, 1813; sergeant, August 12, 1814; and colour-sergeant April 1, 1816. Served a station at Gibraltar. Was a very fine soldier and a successful drill-master. For seven years he was the regimental sergeant-major at Chatham, and was commissioned as Second-Lieutenant and Adjutant in the 60th rifles in January 1828.
1827 Nov. 10.	James Hilton, served with credit in Holland in 1813 and 1814, and in the Netherlands and France to 1818. Was sergeant-major of the corps in France, and afterwards at Woolwich. Became quartermaster in 1835.
1828 Feb. 1.	Jenkin Jones, served a station at Barbadoes, and many years at the royal engineer establishment at Chatham, Was always an indefatigable and enterprising non-commissioned officer, and no man in the corps, perhaps, has been subjected to, and escaped without hurt, so many dangers. The innumerable experiments in mining, blasting, sapping, and the varied applications of gunpowder at the establishment in which he was engaged, were frequently not only attended with great hazard but accident. His particular services have been mentioned in the memoir. In 1848 he was appointed quartermaster to the corps.
1835 Nov. 10.	James Forbes, mentioned in the Memoir. Retired from the corps on a pension of 2s. 4d. a-day, in April, 1843, having received an appointment on the Trent and Mersey Canal.
1843 Apr. 12.	George Allan, served a station at Gibraltar. Was a very successful drill-master. His promotion as sergeant-major took him to Chatham, where his exertions and experience were of advantage in the practical education of the men in the field duties of the corps. As a reward for his services he received the commission of quartermaster to the royal engineer establishment, and in June, 1855, became a Captain in the Turkish Contingent Engineers.
1848 Feb. 1.	Michael Bradford. Promoted to be quartermaster in December, 1855.
1853 Apr. 1.	William Read, serving at Chatham.
1854 Aug. 1.	John J. Grinlinton, in the space of ten years became sergeant-major of the survey companies. Well educated, clear-headed, and accurate, he was intrusted with duties of great responsibility. For several years he annually disbursed about 24,000l. on the public service; and such was his physical activity and mental strength, that no amount of labour seemed to tire or weaken his energies. In the absence of his officers on particular duty, he acted with intelligence, decision, and firmness in emergencies and difficult cases. It was these capabilities, coupled with his gentlemanly manners, address, and deportment, that induced Colonel Hall, the superintendent of the ordnance survey, to bring forward his merits, to obtain for him a commission in the line. In this he succeeded. The Colonel stated, in his official recommendation of sergeant-major Grinlinton, that his ability could be turned to good account in a regiment by instructing young officers in the mode of sketching ground, describing localities and positions, and in various other staff duties essential for the movements of an army across a country. Being a good surveyor and draughts-man, and possessed of attainments to render him successful in services of reconnaissance, he was regarded as specially adapted for a post in the Quartermaster-General or Adjutant-General’s department of the army. In October, 1854, he was commissioned as ensign in the 65th regiment; and a few officers, under whom he had served, presented him with a purse of forty sovereigns, accompanied by a letter full of expressions of eulogy and esteem.
Oct. 6.	James Steel, serving on the ordnance survey at Southampton.
1856 Jan. 1.	John Jones, serving in Chatham.
”	John Poole, serving at Chatham. Has been in Canada, Cape of Good Hope, Turkey, and the Crimea. Was mentioned in a dispatch for distinguished conduct in an affair near Grass Kop Tower in February, 1851, under Ensign Gill, cape mounted rifles. Was at the formation of the lines of Boulair, and those on Inkermann heights after the battle of the 5th November, 1854. For a period he was the sergeant-major of the corps at the siege of Sebastopol.
	Quartermaster-Sergeants.
1811 June 1.	Francis Allen, enlisted July 6, 1793. Was present at the siege of Flushing. Most of his time was spent at Chatham. Pensioned in 1833. See note, p. [290], vol i.
”	George Hardie, after thirty years’ service, was discharged in March, 1817, on a pension of 2s. 4d. a-day.
1814 July 1.	Joseph Paul, gained his several steps of promotion with great rapidity, and died after seven years’ service, at Truro, in May, 1815.
1815 June 1.	George Hay, served thirteen years in the corps, and died at Woolwich, in November, 1820.
”	John Black, after a service of twenty-eight years was discharged in February, 1819, and died some years after at Chatham.
1821 Mar. 1.	John Cutteridge, on his removal from the recruiting service at Cambridge was found to be about 900l. in debt. Aberration of mind followed the discovery, and he was pensioned in February, 1824, at 3s. 6d. a-day.
1824 Mar. 1.	William Parker, was a man of varied information and a clever clerk. After twenty-five years’ service he was discharged in September, 1829.
1829 Oct. 1.	Britton Francis, was an able clerk, served many years at Gibraltar, and received much credit for his abilities and efficiency. Six years he filled the office of quartermaster-sergeant at Woolwich, and was discharged in October, 1835. He died at Newport, in 1851.
1835 Oct, 14.	John Bennett was discharged in January, 1843, after twenty-eight years’ service. See note, p. [257], vol i.
1841 Aug. 1.	Thomas Fraser, was discharged in July, 1849, and retired as a farmer to Kinlochunagan, Inverness. See note, p. [379], vol. i.
1843 Jan. 11.	Robert Shorter, was discharged in January, 1850, and is now a yeoman of the Queen’s guard. See note, p. [262], vol. i.
1849 July 11.	William Ralph, served at the Cape of Good Hope and Gibraltar for fourteen years. Was an active and intelligent non-commissioned officer. He was removed from Gibraltar, where he held the office of acting sergeant-major, to Chatham, on promotion, and was presented by the non-commissioned officers of the corps at that fortress with a silver snuff-box as a tribute of esteem for his character and impartiality. Discharged in May, 1854.
1850 Jan. 9.	Thomas Connolly, who was commissioned to the rank of quartermaster in June 1855.
1854 May 16.	Samuel March, serving at Chatham.
Aug. 1.	James Steel, promoted to be sergeant-major, October, 1854.
Oct. 6.	James Simpson. Most of his military career was passed on the national surveys, and in appreciation of his rectitude, intelligence and activity, was promoted to the rank of staff-sergeant. When the foreign battalions were being organized, he was presented with a staff-quartermastercy in the British Swiss Legion in June, 1855.
1855 June 26.	Noah Deary, served at Woolwich, and was discharged on receiving the appointment of foreman of works in the royal engineer department at the Cape of Good Hope.
July 1.	Benjamin Keen Spencer, serving at Southampton.
1856 Jan. 1.	Henry Brown, serving at Chatham.
	Bugle-Majors.
1811 June 1.	James Bailey, enlisted August 1, 1797. Served in Holland in 1799. Was first drum-major, and a few years after was appointed bugle-major. In July, 1835, he was discharged and died at Guernsey, about 1849.
1835 July 8.	David Youle, serving at Chatham.
	Staff-Sergeants.
1855 Oct. 9.	James Rainey Mutch, chief clerk to the Assistant Adjutant-General. See Appendix [vii].
”	John Jones, chief clerk and draughtsman to the director of the royal engineer establishment. Served five years at Corfu, and while with the Baltic fleet was present at the capture of the Aland Islands and destruction of Bomarsund. Promoted to be sergeant-major, January, 1856.
1856 Jan. 1.	Richard Leonard, succeeded the former on promotion. Served nearly eight years at Gibraltar, where he was the chief military clerk under the commanding royal engineer. So well did he discharge his duties that Colonel Rice Jones—a most particular officer—treated him with unlimited confidence.

Though the title of staff-sergeant is general in the service for all grades above that of colour-sergeant, the designation is employed as a specific rank for the two senior clerks of the corps.