In the August following his Royal Highness the Duke of Clarence, as Lord High Admiral of England, visited Portsmouth and honoured the 50th Regiment by presenting us (on Southsea Common, in presence of all the troops in garrison) with new colours, accompanied by a most flattering speech. After the review his Royal Highness, the Duchess of Clarence, and the Colonel-in-Chief, General Sir James Duff, and many of the county families of Hampshire, were entertained at a luncheon in Portsmouth by the officers of the regiment. Lady Duff and my dear wife had the honour of receiving our guests, and about three hundred sat down.
I must here mention a remarkable instance of his Royal Highness’s memory. On his arrival at Portsmouth I was introduced to him by General Sir James Lyons, commanding the garrison, and on mentioning our wish that he should do us the honour to present our new colours he said, “Yes, I shall be very happy; I know the history of your regiment quite well, but you may bring me a memorandum on a card of the different actions it has been in.” Next morning I returned to his Royal Highness with a neatly written card showing the battles in which the regiment had been engaged, commencing with Minden, August, 1759. Looking at it, he said, “Sir, you had not a man at Minden; your regiment was then quartered at Haslar barracks.” I answered, “I beg your Royal Highness’s pardon, but we always thought our regiment, or some portion of it, was at Minden, and I have myself seen an old breast-plate with the word ‘Minden’ on it, but I will have another card made out and omit the word.” “Quite unnecessary,” he said, and, taking his pen, he scratched it out. I then observed that a very old gentleman who was once in the regiment was then living near Portsmouth, and that I would go and see him, as he might perhaps give me some information on the subject. I took my leave and returned to barracks, and told my colonel and the other officers about my conversation with his Royal Highness; they all laughed, and maintained that our flank companies were at Minden, and urged me to go at once and see old Captain Thompson. I found him, and he in like manner maintained that our flank companies were at Minden. I returned in triumph, fully believing that his Royal Highness was wrong, and on waiting on him next day I mentioned my interview with Captain Thompson; but again he said, “No, no; you had not a man there,” so I took my leave to prepare for the morrow’s parade. We decided on writing to the Army Agents, Messrs. Cox & Co., begging them to go at once to the War Office and request an immediate inspection of the public returns of that period, and of the troops employed at the battle of Minden. In due course we received their answer stating that we had not a man of the 50th Regiment there. His Royal Highness remained at Portsmouth ten days longer, and was entertained daily during that time.
We embarked in a steamer at Liverpool on the 29th June, 1830, and landed on the following forenoon at Dublin. Next morning the 50th Regiment marched in two divisions, headquarters and six companies, under Colonel Woodhouse, for Waterford, and four companies under my command to Clonmel, and in a few months we moved on to Templemore, with detachments at Thurles and Roscrea; and here we enjoyed ourselves very much, Sir Henry Garden and other residents in the neighbourhood having shown us every attention. I was for some time in command of the regiment at Templemore, and it was here that I first had the honour of forming the acquaintance of Lieut. General Sir Hussey Vivian (afterwards Lord Vivian), who then came to us on a tour of inspection, and who expressed himself much pleased with the regiment. He was very fond of introducing field movements of his own, and on this occasion asked me to “change front from open column to the rear on a centre company.” I told him there was no such movement in the book—but that I would at once do it. He said, “Stop, until I explain it to you.” I begged he would not, but allow me to proceed, and without hesitation I ordered the right centre company to wheel on its centre to the rear, the left wing to go to the right about, and then ordering the right centre company to stand fast, and all the others to form line on that company, by right shoulders forward, the left wing halting and fronting by companies, as they got into the new line, followed by independent file firing from the centre, and by each company as they got into the new alignments, supposing this sudden change of front to be occasioned by the unexpected appearance of an enemy from a wood in our former rear. This fire was kept up for some time, and then we charged the supposed enemy and carried all before us.
Sir Hussey was much pleased, and when our manœuvring was over he ordered me to form the regiment into hollow square, and then addressed us, and complimented me very much, saying I was the first commanding officer who at once took up his ideas of providing against a sudden surprise from an enemy, and that he “should not fail to make a special report of my efficiency.” And I know that afterwards he did so, and that when he got next day to Birr barracks, to inspect the 59th Regiment, he called upon the colonel of that regiment to do the same manœuvre, in which that officer altogether failed, and then Sir Hussey again spoke of how “Major Anderson and the 50th had performed his wishes without the slightest hint or hesitation.” I have mentioned this at length, because it was much talked of at the time, and I was really proud of the opinion of so able and distinguished an officer, and because, as I shall hereafter show, this trifle led to much good to me some years afterwards.
CHAPTER XVIII
TO NEW SOUTH WALES
Dr. Doyle’s sermon—Ordered to New South Wales—Sail for Sydney with three hundred convicts—Mutiny at Norfolk Island—Appointed colonel commandant there
I WAS detached with four companies to Maryborough: soon afterwards the well-known priest, the Rev. Dr. Doyle, visited the place, and on the Saturday of his arrival it was publicly announced that he would preach in the Catholic chapel. Being a very celebrated and popular preacher, many of the Protestant inhabitants attended; the church was crowded beyond comfort and standing-room, and all waited past the appointed hour with anxiety and impatience. At last he appeared in front of the altar in his full white robes, and, fronting the congregation, stared fiercely and wildly all around the assembled crowd; he then took off his biretta and threw it violently at his feet, and with his right arm stretched out and his fist clenched he shouted: “I have not come to preach to you, you midnight assassins, you skull-crackers! I am come to tell you that the hand of God is suspended over you, and that you shall not know the end thereof, until you are swept from the face of this earth and open your eyes in hell!”
The congregation moaned and crossed themselves again and again; there followed endless sobs and lamentation, then a dead silence for a minute or two. The Rev. Father now roused himself again and said (pointing to me), “There is the officer commanding the troops, he has got the King’s commission in his pocket; and” (turning round to another part of the gallery) “there is the officer commanding the police, he has got the Lord-Lieutenant’s commission in his pocket; and I have got” (slapping his hand violently on his side) “the seal of Christ in my pocket. You midnight assassins, go and repent of your sins, while you have yet time.” He then retired, and the congregation broke up moaning and crossing themselves as before, and my dear wife and I were truly glad to escape without further fear of molestation. The cholera was raging at this time, and such was the terror occasioned amongst the lower classes by the Rev. Father’s denunciation that it was said the deaths from cholera were more than usual for some time afterwards.
We returned to Birr barracks after this, leaving a strong detachment still at Maryborough, and early in April a letter was received by our commanding officer to hold the regiment in readiness to embark for New South Wales. The ship Parmelia took on board some of her freight of convicts at Gravesend, then sailed for the Cove of Cork to embark the remainder; there we received two hundred more, making in all about three hundred criminals. They were under the medical charge of Dr. Donoughoe, a very pleasing Irishman, and our captain during the voyage was equally pleasant. We were detained some weeks at the Cove from adverse winds and other causes, and during that time it was very distressing to witness the daily scenes which took place between the Irish convicts and their numerous heart-broken relations. They came in boatloads to our ship daily; they were not allowed to come on board, but only to talk to their kindred, who crowded over the ship’s side or at the port-holes, and these interviews lasted for hours. At last, about the beginning of November, 1833, we got clear off and sailed for Sydney. The voyage was long, but on the whole pleasant. The convicts behaved well except on one occasion, when one nearly murdered another by striking him violently on the head with a pumice stone used for scrubbing the decks. For this daring and murderous assault the offender was placed in heavy irons, and next morning the whole of the convicts were paraded on deck, and with my detachment under arms and loaded, on the poop and in the cuddy, the prisoner was brought forward, stripped, and tied to the main rigging, and there received the severe corporal punishment of a hundred lashes. This had the desired effect, and from that day all was order and regularity. We arrived in Sydney on the 2nd March, 1834; the convicts were landed next day and marched to their quarters, and my detachment to the Sydney barracks.