Our Sailors: Gallant Deeds of the British Navy during Victoria's Reign

by William Henry Giles Kingston

The Indian Mutiny.

The “Shannon’s” brigade in India.

From the Journal of Lieutenant E. Hope Verney, RN, published by Saunders and Otley.

HM screw steam-frigate Shannon, of fifty-one guns, 600 horse-power, and 2667 tons, at that time the largest frigate afloat, was commissioned at Portsmouth by Captain William Peel on the 13th of September 1856, and destined for the China Seas. On her arrival at Hong-Kong, Lord Elgin, hearing of the outbreak of the mutiny in India, embarked in her with a body of troops for Calcutta. She arrived on the 6th of August in the mouth of the Ganges, when Captain Peel offered the services of his crew, with the ship’s guns, to the Governor-General to form a naval brigade. On the 14th, Captain Peel, with a number of officers and 450 seamen, embarked in a flat, towed by a river steamer, and proceeded up the Hooghly, to join the force advancing to the relief of Lucknow. On the 18th, they were followed by another party of five officers and 120 men, under the command of Lieutenant Vaughan,—the frigate being left with 140 men, under the command of Mr Waters, the master.

The steamers were of light draught, and could proceed but slowly with the heavily-laden flats in tow against the strong current. The vessels anchored at night, and proceeded on their voyage during the day, when the men underwent a course of drilling, to fit them for the service they had undertaken. At length, towards the end of October, they reached Allahabad, at the junction of the Jumna and Ganges; and while one division was left to garrison that place, the remainder proceeded on towards Cawnpore by land. While at Futtehpore, near the Ganges, information was received that a party of rebels were in the neighbourhood; and 100 men of the naval brigade, commanded by Captain Peel, with Lieutenant Hay, Mr Garvey, Lieutenant Stirling, RM, and Mr Bone, and 430 men of different regiments, under command of Colonel Powell, started in pursuit. “After marching about twenty-four miles, at three p.m. they came in sight of the enemy, found entrenched in a strong position behind some hillocks of sand; and, driving their skirmishers out of a field of corn, engaged and defeated them, capturing two guns and an ammunition waggon. The whole force of the enemy exceeded 4000 men, of whom about 2000 were Sepoys, who fought in uniform. The enemy’s artillery was well served, and did great execution. The gallant Colonel Powell, pressing on to the attack, had just secured two guns, when he fell dead with a bullet through his forehead.”

Captain Peel then took the command. It was not till half-past four that the enemy fired their last shot and retreated, leaving 300 killed behind them, while the British loss was 95 killed and wounded. Of the naval brigade, Lieutenant Hay, RN, was wounded in the hand, and Lieutenant Stirling, RM, severely in the leg.

On the 12th of November, the naval brigade arrived before Lucknow. On the 14th, an attack was made on the city, when the Martinière College and another large building were captured. While the brigade’s guns were in action, one of them exploding, killed Francis Cassidey, captain of the maintop and severely wounded several other men.

Again, on the 16th, the naval brigade guns were engaged in the attack on Secundra Bagh, when Lieutenant Salmon, RN, was severely wounded, and Martin Abbot Daniel, midshipman, was killed by a round shot in the head.

In writing to his father, Captain Peel says: “It was in front of the Shah Najeef, and in command of an eight-inch howitzer, that your noble son was killed. The enemy’s fire was very heavy, and I had just asked your son if his gun was ready; he replied, ‘All ready, sir’; when I said, ‘Fire the howitzer’; and he was answering, ‘Ay, ay,’ when a round shot in less than a moment deprived him of life. We buried him where he fell, our chaplain reading the service; and, in laying him in his resting-place, we felt, captain, officers, and men, that we had lost one the best and noblest of the ‘Shannons.’”

Twelve or thirteen of the naval brigade were wounded on this occasion, and three or four were killed. On the following day, that masterly movement took place by which the women and children, and sick and wounded, were safely brought out of Lucknow; and on the 24th, one of England’s noblest heroes—Sir Henry Havelock—died.