On the 24th June, twenty-five of the detachment moved with a part of the army to the river Orio, and, under fire, levelled the parapets and works of the Carlists.
In October, four men of the party in plain clothes under orders of secrecy, accompanied Colonel Colquhoun of the royal artillery, and Lieutenant Vicars of the engineers, to the headquarters of Muñagorri, to assist in putting him in motion and to secure his position. The mission reached Sara on the 17th, then passed to a hill to the east of La Rune mountain, about four miles from the village, where the chief was posted, and afterwards to St. Jean Pied de Port; but owing to the opposition of Aquirre, the commandant of Valcarlos, who would not allow the pacificators to take up quarters in his neighbourhood, the expedition, unable from this cause to assist the Fuerist chief, returned to San Sebastian on the 24th October.
The same sappers, in plain clothes as before,[[321]] accompanied the above-named officers on a second mission to Muñagorri in November. The party reached St. Jean Pied de Port viâ Bayonne on the 5th. Aquirre, acting under the orders of Espartero, was firm in his resolution to resist the pacificators in the occupation of Valcarlos; and as he would not yield a pass to the force of Muñagorri, the project of entering Spain at Valcarlos was necessarily abandoned, and the expedition once more retraced its steps to San Sebastian, where it arrived on the 16th.
Late in the same month, twelve men of the detachment were sent to the Bidassoa to fortify the position taken up by the Fuerist chief. A fatality attended all his movements and projects. St. Marcial had been fixed upon by him to establish his force there; but before the operation could be effected, the Queen’s troops under General O’Donnell were already in possession of it, and the approach of Muñagorri was therefore interdicted. Another position, however, was soon selected near the Bidassoa, and a redoubt forthwith commenced. Sixty peasants from San Sebastian and a small force from the ranks of the Fuerists formed the working party. The latter were indolent to the last degree, and even the presence of Muñagorri and Jarregui failed to inspire them with the necessary energy. The sappers worked from morning till nightfall, and often remained on duty the entire day, exposed the whole time to the drenching storm. All the works were marked out, and every detail for the defence was conducted by the sappers under the direction of Lieutenant Vicars, and their zeal and usefulness were noticed in commendatory terms. After completing the defences, the party rejoined Lord John Hay’s force early in January, 1839.
In May one sergeant and twelve privates were detached to the north of Scotland, and employed on the trigonometrical survey of that part of the country until December under the direction of Lieutenant Robinson, royal engineers. This mountain detachment endured much fatigue in carrying out the service, and for their diligence and exertion in conducting the operation, received a high character.
Six rank and file were employed on a similar duty at the Frith of the Clyde under Captain A. Henderson, R.E., and rejoined the corps on the 24th October. The men were selected on account of their physical strength, and were in every respect found equal to the arduous requirements of the service.
The insurrection in the Canadas, headed by Papineau, induced the Government to send a company to that colony. Captain Colin Mackenzie with one sergeant and thirty-seven rank and file went out in the ‘Hastings,’ seventy-four, as a guard of honour to Lord Durham when his lordship was appointed Governor-General in Canada. The remainder, three sergeants and forty-five rank and file, sailed in the steamer ‘Dee.’ The guard of honour landed at Quebec on the 29th May, and the ‘Dee’ detachment on the 14th June. A proportionate quantity of intrenching tools and engineer stores were landed with the company.
At the celebration of Her Majesty’s coronation on the plains of Abraham in June, 1838, the Earl of Durham minutely inspected the company, and in the presence of several general officers, noticed the steadiness with which the company marched past. This expression the Governor-General repeated at the chateau of St. Louis on the 28th June, and added, that the soldier-like appearance of the sappers and their steadiness under arms exceeded his expectations. The good conduct of the company also elicited his lordship’s approbation.
While at Niagara, on the 11th September, the company was reviewed by Major-General Sir George Arthur, with the King’s dragoon guards and 43rd regiment, and his Excellency spoke in praise of the appearance of the company, its marching and manœuvring.
Soon after, the head-quarters of the company were removed to the Niagara frontier to place it in a state of defence. The work of reparation commenced with Fort Mississaqua. About this time twelve non-commissioned officers and men were removed, for engineer services, to Amherstburg, and another party of twenty-two of all ranks was detached to Montreal. The latter was detained at Cornwall for a few days by Major Phillpotts of the corps, and, under Lieutenant Roberts, formed the advanced guard with a detachment of the 71st light infantry, in a successful attack on the rebels at Beauharnois on the 10th November, 1838. The good conduct of this party was acknowledged by Colonel Carmichael who commanded the attack.