The latter vessel arrived first, reaching Table-bay on October 30. Here an order was at once given to land the women and children; and to take in supplies and camp-equipments. This being done the left wing sailed on November 4, for Algoa bay, where they arrived on the 12th and anchored opposite the town of Port Elizabeth.
On the day following their departure the ‘Equestrian’ arrived at Table-bay, and having in like manner landed heavy baggage, women and children, and taken in stores and camp-necessaries, proceeded to Algoa bay on the 11th and arrived there about November 20.
On the 14th the ‘Fairlie’ having drawn as near the shore as possible, surf-boats came alongside, and were soon filled and rowed to the shore until they took the ground. Then Fingoes carried the Riflemen pick-a-back to the dry sand. As soon as all were landed, they marched through the town of Port Elizabeth, and piled arms and encamped about half-a-mile beyond it to the left of the Graham’s-town road. The necessary supplies and equipments having been procured, not without difficulty which Horsford’s energy and perseverance surmounted, this wing began its march under a burning sun for Kaffirland. They reached Graham’s-town, a distance of about 100 miles, on the 23rd.
They halted here on the 24th and on the following day moved to Manley flats; on the 26th to Cawood’s post; and on the 27th reached Waterloo-bay. The next day, after receiving a field ration of rice, salt, sugar, and green coffee (these troops being thus supplied with that valuable but unusable berry in its natural state, as they were afterwards in the Crimea) they marched to Newton Dale; on the 29th to Fort Peddie; on the 30th to the Chalumna river; and on December 1 joined the 2nd Division of the army, which was commanded by Colonel Henry Somerset of the Cape Mounted Rifles. In this march the men suffered severely from the sun; their faces being almost skinned as their forage-caps had no peaks; and their shakos had been given into store at Graham’s-town, and were never returned to them.
The Head-quarter wing disembarked at Port Elizabeth, on November 25; commenced their march, by the same route, on the 24th, and joined the 2nd Division of the army, then encamped on the Buffalo river, on December 12.
On December 21 the Battalion marched, and on the 25th encamped near the great Kei river, and during the rest of the month furnished frequent patrols on both banks. One Rifleman was killed, and one wounded by the Kaffirs on December 31 in the performance of these duties.
The Depôt companies embarked on January 28, 1846, at the North Wall, Dublin, in the steamer ‘Albert’ for Liverpool, where they landed on the following day; and proceeded by rail-road to London, and thence to Dover, which they reached on the following day, and were quartered in the Castle; furnishing a subaltern’s detachment to Sandgate Castle.
On May 18 they marched to Chatham; and after a short stay there proceeded in a steamer to Sheerness on June 1.
The 2nd Battalion left Halifax, in H.M.S. ‘Belleisle’ on August 1, and arrived at Montreal on the 22nd and were there quartered during the remainder of the year.
The Service companies of the 1st Battalion with the exception of Captain Gibson’s company which was left on the other side of the Kei river not having returned from a previous expedition, marched on January 2, 1847, at three P.M., with the Division commanded by Lieutenant-General Sir Peregrine Maitland, for the Kei river, and arrived within about two miles of it at seven in the evening, and halted for the night. The march had been a very hot one; but soon after sunset a tremendous storm of thunder, lightning and hail came on; this was followed by a deluging rain, which drenched the men to the skin in a few minutes. They had no tents; no fires; not even pipes were allowed to be lighted, nor was a word permitted to be spoken above a whisper. For the Kaffirs were near them; and had they known exactly where the troops were bivouacked would have attacked. But the night was very dark, and they remained unmolested.