Corporal William Read[[374]] had again the management of the voltaic battery, which was almost in constant use, and gave every satisfaction. The powder expended in the operations was 15,000 lbs. Innumerable were the charges fired against the wreck, none containing less than 18 lbs. of gunpowder, nor more than 260 lbs. All the privates showed the greatest energy and activity in the duties they were called on to perform. Both in boats and the work necessary for getting up the fragments of the wreck, whether at the windlass or capstan, &c., in the repair of the launches, the preparation of the charges, and the loading and unloading of the cylinders, they were found prompt, spirited, and efficient, and their example was very beneficial in exciting the emulation of the sailors. So well indeed had the detachment been constituted, that, for its numbers, it was equal to the execution of any mechanical service which the operations demanded. In their general duties privates James Hegarty and Joseph Ireland were the most conspicuous.[[375]] Exertion and ship fare made the whole party strong and hardy, and a few weeks roughing it on shipboard turned them out as weather-beaten and brawny as seamen.
During this season at Spithead there was a strong gale from the eastward, and the storm-flag was hoisted at Gosport. No boats would venture out, and the ‘Success’ frigate, with a part of the detachment on board, was in danger of parting from her anchors and drifting to sea. Lieutenant Symonds was on shore at the time, and thinking his presence necessary to secure her safety, determined to attempt the passage. The civil divers, accustomed to perilous boat service, said no boat could live in such a sea, and the Port-Admiral refused his permission for Lieutenant Symonds to proceed unless on his own responsibility. Unable from the raging storm to row out of the harbour, he, with four sappers, hauled the gig along shore for more than two miles, and when a good offing was gained, the lug-sail was hoisted and the boat pushed off. With the tact and sagacity of a skilful pilot, Lieutenant Symonds guided the gig, now skirting the furious wave, now skimming across its angry top, and anon lost for a time between the furious billows of a long, deep trough. To lessen the danger of the fearful venture, the men lay down in the boat for ballast, and pulling off their boots, used them, with noble exertion, in baling out the water as she shipped the sea. At length, to the utter amazement and joy of the party on board, the gig reached the frigate. Then, however, the peril was increased, for frequently like a log she was dashed against the hull of the vessel, and as frequently nearly foundered; but by the spirited exertions of the brave lieutenant and his intrepid crew, the boat was eventually secured, and all gained unhurt the deck of the ‘Success.’ Lieutenant Symonds then took such further precautions as were indispensable for the safety of the ship, and she successfully outrode the storm. The names of the gig’s crew were privates John Hegarty, Andrew Anderson,[[376]] Thomas P. Cook,[[377]] and John Campbell:[[378]] the two latter became colour-sergeants in the corps.
On the completion of the citadel at the Mauritius, the half-company stationed there was removed on the 7th October, under the command of Lieutenant G. R. Hutchinson, R.E., in the ‘Isabella Blyth’ to the Cape of Good Hope, where it landed on the 27th of the same month. The chief of the work at Port Louis was executed by the sappers, in which privates William Reynolds and William Crawford[[379]] displayed the most skill and obtained the most credit. Four detachments had been sent to the Mauritius, whose united strength reached fifty of all ranks: of these the casualties amounted to ten deaths and one drowned.
Sergeant John Hemming and seven rank and file embarked at Woolwich on the 9th April, 1840, and landed at the Cape of Good Hope in July. The party was detached under Captain Henderson, R.E., to assist the colonial astronomer, Mr. Maclear, in the remeasurement of La Caille’s arc of the meridian. All were armed with rifles and accoutrements to protect them in a wild country, and the sergeant was selected to take charge of the detachment from his well-known steadiness and intelligence. Working pay was granted to each for his services, according to individual exertion and general usefulness, up to 3s. per day.
A few weeks were spent in the preliminary business of adjusting the instruments in Cape Town, when the party, to which some men of the 25th regiment had been added, left in September for Zwartland and Groenekloof, west of the Berg River. On this extensive plain the base was measured with the compensation bars invented by Colonel Colby, but as La Caille’s arc could not be identified, a new line very near to it was laid out and measured about seven miles in length, which occupied from October, 1840, to April, 1841.[[380]] In this service the party carried out the subordinate details. They assisted in driving the pickets and the placement of the trestles to sustain the bars. These were scientifically fixed by the colonial astronomer and Captain Henderson, aided by the sappers. Two men were also appointed to guard the last point of observation whilst the bars were being carried forward and adjusted; and another occasionally attended to the registration of the observations. Thus the work continued until the whole distance was measured. The delicate nature of the duty rendered it very irksome, and required much assiduous care in its performance. The jar of a bar simply would have been sufficient to cause the loss of a day’s work. Nearly the whole time the sappers worked from four in the morning till eight or nine at night. In July, 1841, the party returned to winter quarters.
By the terms of a treaty, dated 15th July, 1840, Mehemet Ali was required to accept certain conditions within a limited time, and, if he declined, the forfeiture of the pachalic of Acre and the loss of Egypt were to follow. Having allowed the time to elapse, offensive operations commenced to compel him to evacuate Syria. England being greatly involved in the treaty, the British Cabinet at once sent a fleet under Admiral Sir Robert Stopford to the coast, with which was a small force of the ordnance corps, to assist the troops of the Sultan in this service.[[381]]
On the 7th August one sergeant and eleven rank and file embarked at Gibraltar on board the ‘Pique’ frigate, under Colonel Sir Charles Smith, Bart., R.E., for active duty with the fleet. A liberal assortment of intrenching and tradesmen’s tools accompanied the party. On the 1st September it arrived at Beirout, and a landing was effected on the 10th. Second-corporal John Moore[[382]] accompanied the first detachment that landed, and was present at the advanced position above the Dog River.
On the same day the sappers landed at D’Junie from the ‘Pique’ frigate, and after occupying the lines were employed in repairing and improving them until the 10th October. Corporal Henry Brown and private John Greig[[383]] were in the meantime sent on in the ‘Hydra’ steamer, and were present on the 25th and 26th September at the taking of Tyre and Sidon. Soon after their return to D’Junie, the whole party embarked in the ‘Stromboli’ steamer, and served at the capture of Beirout on the 10th and 11th October. On the 3rd November, sergeant Black and three privates were present on board the ‘Princess Charlotte’ at the taking of Acre, and were the first troops that entered that famous city. In all these operations the sappers were under the orders of Lieutenant Aldrich, R.E. “Their conduct,” writes that officer, “in their extensive and arduous duties, and under suffering from great sickness, has been most exemplary;” and again, in a despatch from Lord Palmerston, the approbation of Her Majesty’s Government is conveyed for the share the party took in the capture of Acre, and for the zeal and ability displayed by them in restoring the defences of the place after its capture.
A second detachment of ten rank and file arrived at Beirout on the 13th December in the ‘Hecate’ steamer, under Lieutenant J. F. A. Symonds, R.E., from Woolwich, and was sent in the ‘Vesuvius’ to Acre, to reinforce the sappers, and to assist at the breaches, taking with them a supply of intrenching tools. The sapper force in Syria now consisted of one sergeant and twenty-one rank and file.