In consequence of the attack on Orange Walk, and on the application of the Governor of Honduras, Captain Gardner, Lieutenant Bale, and fifty men of the regiment, embarked at Jamaica, on the 25th of September, in H.M.S. Fly, as a reinforcement for Honduras.

CHAPTER XXIX.

In June, 1873, the head-quarters of the 2nd West India Regiment being ordered from Demerara to Cape Coast Castle, A Company of the 1st West India Regiment embarked at Kingston, Jamaica, on the 10th of that month, and proceeded to Demerara to garrison that place. In September, the native levies that had been raised on the Gold Coast to resist the Ashantis being found utterly worthless, it was decided to send three battalions from England and the 1st West India Regiment from Jamaica, to invade in turn the Ashanti territory and dictate terms of peace at Coomassie.

On the 15th of November, the two companies (C and H) from Nassau, under the command of Major Strachan, arrived at Jamaica, and, on the 3rd of December, the head-quarters and five companies (B, C, E, G and H), under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, embarked at Kingston on board the hired transport Manitoban. Proceeding to Barbados, A Company, which had been moved from Demerara, was embarked on the 9th of December, and the same evening the regiment sailed for the Gold Coast, arriving at Cape Coast Castle on the 27th, and disembarking on the 29th, 575 strong. The officers serving with the expeditionary force were Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, Major W.W.W. Johnston, Captains Sampson, Butler, Niven, J.A. Smith, Steward, and Shearman, Lieutenants Allinson, C.J.L. Hill, Bale, Molony, Cole, Bell, Clough, Elderton, Beale-Browne, and Barne, and Sub-Lieutenants Harward, Spitta, Hughes, Burke, Edwardes, Tinkler, and Ellis.

The regiment on landing was encamped on Prospect and Connor's Hills, two heights overlooking the town of Cape Coast, and Colonel Maxwell assumed command of the garrison in the Castle.

Sir Garnet Wolseley having already driven the Ashantis out of the Protectorate after the actions at Dunquah and Abracampa in November, and having garrisoned the various stations between Cape Coast and the Prah, had, a few days before the regiment landed, gone on to Prahsu with his head-quarter staff. The Himalaya and Tamar, with the 23rd Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the 2nd Battalion Rifle Brigade, which had been cruising about outside for sanitary reasons, now came into the roadstead, where the Sarmatian, with the 42nd Highlanders, was already lying, and everything was ready for the advance on Coomassie.

Accordingly, before daybreak on the 1st of January, the right half-battalion of the Rifle Brigade landed and commenced its march to the front, followed the next morning by the other half-battalion. On the mornings of the 3rd and 4th the two half-battalions of the 42nd landed, and passed to the front in a similar manner.

The Fantis had shown so much disinclination to act as carriers, and so few had been obtained, that the advance of these two battalions had exhausted all the available carriers, and there were none for the 23rd Fusiliers. It was necessary to adopt stronger measures, unless the expedition was to fall through, and on the 4th of January the 1st West India Regiment was posted in a cordon of sentries around the town of Cape Coast, while the armed police seized all the able-bodied men in the town, except those employed as canoe-men. This step was entirely successful, and on the morning of the 5th the right half-battalion of the 23rd landed and marched to the front, being followed next morning by C Company of the 1st West India Regiment.

The difficulty with the carriers had in the meantime increased instead of diminishing. Numbers had deserted, abandoning their loads, and the transport was almost in a moribund condition, the 23rd Regiment being even re-embarked for want of carriers. Sir Garnet Wolseley in this emergency called upon the West India regiments for assistance, saying that the fate of the expedition was hanging in the balance; and in response to his appeal, they both volunteered to carry supplies, in addition to their arms, accoutrements, and ammunition.

Accordingly, on the 7th of January, the head-quarters of the regiment, under Colonel Maxwell, with A and E Companies, marched to Inquabim, the first stage; being followed the next morning by G and H Companies, under Captain Butler; while B Company remained at Prospect Hill to furnish the necessary garrison guards at Cape Coast Castle.

The head-quarters arrived at Dunquah on the 8th, where C Company had been halted by Colonel Colley, who was in charge of the transport and communications, and had already been actively engaged driving in carriers and furnishing escorts for the convoys of provisions.

On the 9th, at 1.30 a.m., A Company, under Captain Shearman, paraded and marched into the Ecumfie district for the purpose of driving in carriers from that neighbourhood, and, at the same hour, the head-quarters and E Company continued their march to Mansu, where they arrived the same evening.

Provisions being now urgently required at the stations immediately in front of Mansu, 78 men of E Company, being all that were available, and 140 of the 42nd Highlanders, started at three o'clock in the morning of the 12th, as carriers, each man with a load of 50 lb. weight, besides his arms and accoutrements. On the evening of the same day Captain Butler, with H Company, arrived at Mansu.

The carriers continued deserting by whole tribes, and the need of them had become so urgent, that orders were issued to shoot any attempting to desert, while parties of the regiment were continually passing backwards and forwards between Dunquah and Mansu as guards over the convoys. To relieve the pressure, 94 men of G and C Companies left Dunquah on the 13th with ninety-four 50-lb. loads, and, reaching Mansu the same day, started next morning at daybreak for the Prah.

On the 17th, Captain Butler marched with H Company to Essecooma, a place about twenty miles due east from Mansu, to drive in carriers, and a similar party was sent out next day from Dunquah, under Lieutenant Roper, to Adjumaco and Essiaman.

During all these arduous duties, and since the 8th of January, so great was the scarcity of provisions at the front, that the non-commissioned officers and men of the regiment were placed upon half rations of salt meat and biscuit, without the grocery ration.

On Sunday, the 18th of January, the transport being now in sufficient order, owing to the number of carriers driven in from the surrounding districts by the regiment, the advance of the army commenced, and the head-quarters of the 42nd Regiment marched from Mansu; their left wing, and 100 men of the 23rd Fusiliers, moving up from Yancoomassie Fanti, and occupying their lines for the night. The Rifle Brigade moved simultaneously to the front from the stations ahead.

Next morning, E Company, under Captain J.A. Smith, marched with the left wing of the 42nd for the Prah, and G Company, under Captain Steward, came up to Mansu from Dunquah, leaving A and C Companies, under Captains Niven and Shearman, at Dunquah and the Adjumaco district.

On the 23rd, orders were received from the front by telegram, that the head-quarters and 200 men were to march for the Prah at once, there to receive further orders. Captain Butler, who had been ordered in with H Company from Essecooma, two days before, arrived at Mansu the same evening, and the next morning, the head-quarters and G Company marched for the Prah, H Company following on the 25th. Halting at Sutah and Yancoomassie Assin, the head-quarters arrived at Prahsu on the 27th, and on the morning of the 28th, the 200 men required crossed the Prah and marched to Essiaman. During this march the men had been obliged to carry their tentes d'abri, blankets and waterproof sheets, and seventy rounds of ball ammunition, in addition to their field kits and arms and accoutrements. On arriving at Essiaman, E Company, which, under Captain J.A. Smith, had crossed the Prah a day or two before, was found occupying an important post at the cross roads.

A few minutes after reaching this village, urgent orders were received to push on as quickly as possible to the summit of the Adansi Hills, and again proceed to the front with all speed, leaving fifty men at Fommanah, the capital of Adansi. On the 29th, the head-quarters were at Accrofumu; on the 30th, they crossed the Adansi Hills, and halted at Fommanah for the night, leaving E Company, under Captain Smith, at the cross-roads at the foot of the hills, in accordance with later orders that had been received, and Lieutenant Spitta with twenty-five men at the summit. The men were now becoming much exhausted from their long marches, marching, as they did, double stages every day. Their burdens were unusually heavy for troops, and they were still kept on half rations.

At Fommanah a very pressing letter was received from the chief of the staff, asking at what hour next day the regiment might be expected to join the head-quarters of the army at Insarfu, what numbers it could put into the field, and whether the boxes of small-arm ammunition ordered up from Prahsu had arrived with it. A considerable action was considered imminent on the morrow.

At daylight on the morning of the 31st, the head-quarters marched to Ahkankuassie, leaving Captain Steward and Lieutenant Hughes with fifty men at Fommanah. At about eight o'clock the sound of heavy and sustained musketry was heard, and the men, eager to join in the first battle fought on Ashanti soil, pushed on. At Adadwasi a large number of carriers, with reserve ammunition, who had halted there, frightened at the sound of the firing, were found, and were at once taken on, arriving at Insarfu about 1.30 p.m.

The firing, which had ceased for a short time, now recommenced, the Ashantis making one of their favourite flank attacks on Quarman, the next village in front. The situation appeared grave, the town being crowded with terrified carriers and wounded men, and Lieutenant Hill with a half-company was sent out to act with the 2nd West India Regiment and skirmish.

After a time, however, the musketry ceased, and the carriers, with the reserve ammunition, were pushed on hurriedly under the escort of a company of the Rifle Brigade, the 1st and 2nd West India Regiments being directed to hold Insarfu. Scarcely had the carriers started than the firing again commenced, the ambushed Ashantis having attacked the convoy, which fell back upon Insarfu. After a short delay, a second attempt was made to get the ammunition through to the front, and this time it proved successful. It was now dark, and Captain Buckle, R.E., who had been killed that morning, was buried outside the town, the firing party of the 1st West India Regiment being employed as skirmishers to protect the funeral party, instead of in the usual manner.

The next morning, orders were received for the 2nd West India Regiment to proceed to Amoaful, and hold it until the return of the army from Coomassie; while the 1st West India Regiment was directed to hold Insarfu, in which was the 2nd field hospital with 120 wounded officers and men. The work was arduous in the extreme, the men, when not on sentry or patrol, being employed in clearing the thick bush round the town, and endeavouring to strengthen the post. While the engagement at Amoaful, Quarman, and Insarfu was going on, a party of the 1st West India Regiment, which was escorting treasure from Fommanah to Dompoassi, was fired upon by some ambushed Ashantis about one hundred yards from the latter village. The escort promptly returned the fire, but the carriers all dropped their loads and ran away. After firing a few desultory shots the Ashantis retired, and the escort remained with the scattered boxes of specie, which were too numerous for them to carry on themselves. Fortunately the fugitive carriers, running headlong into Fommanah, spread the alarm, and Captain North, of the 47th Regiment, immediately marched with a party of the 1st West India Regiment, under Lieutenant E. Hughes, and a few men of Russell's Regiment, to Dompoassi, near which he found the treasure quite safe, it having, with the exception of one box, which had been dropped by its bearer some three hundred yards down the road, away from the rest, and where a turn in the path hid it from sight, been collected together by the escort. No trace was found of the enemy, and the party of the 1st West India Regiment returned to Fommanah.

On the morning of the 2nd of February, the head-quarters of the army advanced from Amoaful to march on Coomassie. There were, notwithstanding the defeat on January 31st, still large numbers of Ashantis on the flanks of the road, in the neighbourhood of Quarman and Insarfu. During the day succeeding the battle, they concentrated lower down the road, and, on the morning of the 2nd of February, made a desperate attempt to sever our line of communications by attacking the post of Fommanah.

"The post was in command of Captain Steward, 1st West India Regiment, who had a garrison of 1 officer and 38 non-commissioned officers and men, 1st West India Regiment; and Lieutenant Grant, 6th Regiment, with 102 of the Mumford Company of Russell's Regiment. There were also present two transport officers—Captain North, of the 47th Regiment, and Captain Duncan, R.A.—three surgeons, and two control officers; and in the palace, which was situated in the main street of the long straggling town, and used as a hospital, were 24 European soldiers and sailors, convalescents. The pickets had reported Ashantis in the neighbourhood early in the morning, and had been reinforced; but the village was far too large to be capable of defence by this small garrison; and when, about 8.30 a.m., the place was attacked from all directions by the enemy, they were able to penetrate into it. Captain North, in virtue of his seniority, assumed the command, but while at the head of his men was shot down in the street of the village, and was obliged by severe loss of blood to hand over the command to Captain Duncan, R.A.

"The enemy, as has been said, penetrated into all the southern side of the village, which they set on fire; meanwhile the sick from the hospital were removed to the stockade at the north end of the village, which was cleared as rapidly as possible, the houses being pulled down by the troops and labourers acting under Colonel Colley's order.[63]

"At half-past two, Colonel Colley reported as follows: 'We have now cleared the greater part of the village, preserving the hospital and store enclosure. Difficult to judge of numbers of the Ashantis; they attack on all sides, and occasional ones creep boldly into the village, but generally keep under cover of the thick bush, which in places comes close to the houses.' The firing ceased about 1 p.m.; but on a party going down for water an hour later, they were hotly fired upon. No further attack was made upon the post.

"This attack on Fommanah seriously interfered with the transport arrangements. Hitherto, though a few shots had been fired at different convoys, the panics and difficulties had always been overcome by the energy of the transport officers; but the vigour and strength of this attack frightened the carriers so thoroughly that it was impossible to move them for some days." In this affair the 1st West India Regiment lost one sergeant and five privates wounded, and Russell's irregulars three men wounded.

The Ashantis, although repulsed, still remained in the neighbourhood of Fommanah, and on February 3rd, an escort over a convoy of carriers, consisting of a sergeant and three men of the 1st West India Regiment, was fired upon between Dompoassi and Fommanah, the sergeant and one private being wounded.

The European Brigade pushed on to Coomassie, after several days' hard fighting, entered the Ashanti capital on the evening of the 4th of February, burned it and marched out on the 6th, and arrived at Insarfu on the downward journey on the 9th. Lieutenant-Colonel Johnston, commanding the head-quarters of the 1st West India Regiment at Insarfu, was directed to break up his post, burn the town as soon as all the troops had passed through, and then to follow to Fommanah, where Sir Garnet Wolseley intended remaining a few days, in order to endeavour to arrange a treaty with the Ashantis.

The head-quarter staff left Fommanah on February 14th for Cape Coast, and the European troops being ordered to push on, on account of the commencement of the rains, the 1st West India Regiment was detailed to relieve the 42nd as the rear-guard of the army. On it fell the duty of destroying the fortified posts to the north of the Prah, and the removal of the sick and wounded and stores. Carriers were still so scarce that it was not until the 20th that Essiaman was cleared out and the stockade destroyed, and the three rear companies of the regiment marched into the bridge-head at Prahsu—which, during the advance to Coomassie, had been held by C Company, under Captain Niven—on the 21st. On the 23rd they crossed the Prah, and the bridge was then destroyed.

By the 27th of February all the European regiments had embarked for England, the 2nd West India Regiment was under orders for the West Indies, and upon the 1st West India Regiment fell the duty of garrisoning the colony. Two hundred men were left at Prahsu, where a strong redoubt had been constructed, fifty at Mansu, and the remainder at Cape Coast. On the departure of Sir Garnet Wolseley, on the 4th of March, Colonel Maxwell, of the 1st West India Regiment, administered the government of the Gold Coast.

Previous to the departure of the General the following general order was published:

The rains having set in at the Prah, and much sickness prevailing, it was decided to relieve the posts between that river and the coast. In fact, the mortality that had occurred at Prahsu in 1864 showed that West India troops should not be encamped there without urgent necessity; and no such necessity now existed, as the King of Ashanti had agreed to the treaty, which had been left unsettled up to Sir Garnet Wolseley's departure. Captain J.A. Smith, with fifty men of the regiment, escorted the Ashanti chiefs sent down by the king, and arrived at Cape Coast on the 12th of March. On the 18th, H Company marched in from Prahsu, and embarked on the 20th for Sierra Leone in the transport Nebraska, which vessel also conveyed the 2nd West India Regiment to the West Indies. C Company was the last withdrawn from the Prah, arriving at Cape Coast on April 2nd.

It had been most disappointing to the two West India regiments to have been prevented from entering Coomassie, within some twenty-five miles from which their head-quarters were halted. West India regiments rarely have opportunities of seeing active service elsewhere than on the West Coast of Africa; and, although the duties assigned to them in the second phase of the war were most important, holding, as they did, the detached posts from the Prah up to the front, keeping open the communications, protecting the convoys, sick and wounded, and constantly furnishing patrols and escorts, yet they felt it rather hard to have been deprived, in their solitary field for distinguishing themselves, of the honours of fighting beside their European comrades at Amoaful and Ordahsu.

On the return of the regiment from the bush, the fatigues and exposures of the campaign began to have their effect upon both officers and men. In ordinary years, in times of peace, Europeans who are seasoned to tropical service, can serve for twelve months in the deadly climate of West Africa without suffering much loss; but any unusual exposure or hardship is at once followed by an alarming increase of sickness. The 1st West India Regiment was the only corps which, after enduring all the fatigues of a campaign in the most deadly climate in the world, did not enjoy the advantage of a change to a healthier station. Added to this, the season proved to be unusually unhealthy, and that variety of African fever known as "bilious remittent," which can only be distinguished from yellow fever by the fact of its not being contagious, broke out. Sub-Lieutenant L. Burke succumbed to this scourge on March 1st, Lieutenant T. Williams on April 9th, Lieutenant W.S. Elderton on May 10th, and Sub-Lieutenant E.W. Huntingford on June 12th, while Lieutenant-Colonel Maxwell, Lieutenant Clough and Lieutenant Roper, being invalided, died on passage to England, and Captain Butler after arriving in England. In addition to these deaths, eight other officers were invalided, and out of twenty-six officers who were serving with the regiment on the 28th of February, only ten were left in West Africa on the 30th of June.

CHAPTER XXX.

While the regiment had thus been engaged on the Gold Coast, the detachment left at Orange Walk had, in January 1874, had a narrow escape of a brush with the Santa Cruz Indians. On the 2nd of that month, in accordance with a requisition from the magistrate at Orange Walk, Captain F.B.P. White and Lieutenant J.R.H. Wilton, with forty men of the 1st West India Regiment, left that station about noon for Albion Island, in the River Hondo, distant about twelve miles, to demand the restitution of a woman who had been abducted by an armed party of Santa Cruz Indians from a place called Douglas, in British territory. The Hondo was reached about 4.30 p.m., and Captain White, finding a number of Santa Cruz Indians cutting bush, as if for an encampment, on the British side of the river, directed them to accompany him; and crossing to the island in their boats, sent them to tell the chief that he had a message to deliver to him.

On landing on Albion Island it was found that the public ball-room of San Antonio, a large, open, shed-like building peculiar to these Spanish-Indian towns, which was situated on a small hill, was occupied by an armed force of the Indians, about seventy strong. Opposite to them, on the nearest rising ground, the detachment was at once formed up, partly covered by a chapel.

After some time the chief of the Santa Cruz came over to Captain White's party, and inquired what was wanted of him; when he was told that no message could be delivered to him as long as he had an armed party on British soil, and that he must surrender his arms. After some little discussion the chief agreed to do so, provided that they were returned when his men left the island; and, on these terms, ten or eleven rifles were brought in; but while this was being done, a trumpet sounded in the public ball-room, and the Santa Cruz, quickly gathering together, began to load their rifles. The chief, being asked for an explanation of this sudden change, replied that his braves were only cleaning their guns, but at the same moment a sub-chief came up, and loudly declared that the Santa Cruz would not give up their arms.

The troops were rapidly posted in advantageous positions, and Captain White then informed the chiefs that if their men would not lay down their arms they must leave San Antonio at once, first handing over the woman who had been abducted. Some discussion ensued, but Captain White remaining firm, the chiefs agreed to go, and moved their men down to the boats. At the last moment, however, it was discovered that the woman, who was the cause of the expedition, was in one of the boats, and their departure was stopped until she was landed, and given in charge of the troops.

The Santa Cruz now refused to stir, but remained in their boats, which were moored to the bank. It being feared that the Indians were only delaying for reinforcements, thinking to overpower the British in the darkness, Captain White sent Lieutenant Wilton with ten men to give them a peremptory order to push off within a quarter of an hour. The Indians received the message with laughter, asking, "What will you do, if we do not go?" It was now rapidly becoming dark, and the country, wild and savage in itself, was entirely strange to both officers and men. After ten minutes had elapsed, without the Indians giving any sign of departure, Captain White had the "close" sounded, drew in his sentries, and descended towards the boats with fixed bayonets. Upon this the Indians pushed off, and were soon lost to sight in the darkness. The detachment remained under arms all night at San Antonio, and next morning, it having been ascertained that the Indians had retired across the frontier, the troops returned to Orange Walk.

The following letter was forwarded upon this subject:

In July, 1874, the head-quarters of the regiment were moved from the Gold Coast to Sierra Leone, one company being left in garrison at Cape Coast Castle, and one at Elmina. As in June the two companies stationed in Honduras had, with the one left in Jamaica, been removed to Demerara, the distribution of the regiment in July, 1874, was: Head-quarters and four companies (A, B, C, and H) at Sierra Leone, two (E and G) on the Gold Coast, and three (D, F, and I) in Demerara.

In July, 1875, disturbances once more broke out in British Sherbro. The inhabitants of the town of Mongray, on the river of the same name, in that month made a raid upon Mamaiah, a town on the British frontier, plundered several factories there, and carried off thirty-three British subjects as slaves. Fresh outrages were committed later on, and, on the 8th of October, 1875, Lieutenant-Governor Rowe, C.M.G., with forty men of the 1st West India Regiment, under Sub-Lieutenant G.V. Harrison, and sixty armed police, left Sierra Leone in the colonial steamer Lady of the Lake. The detachment was landed at Bendoo in Sherbro next day. Negotiations were at once opened with the Mongray chiefs, resulting in the surrender of the captives on the 15th, and on the 25th the party returned to Sierra Leone.

Almost immediately after, fresh disturbances broke out in another portion of Sherbro, on the Bargroo River, and, on the 15th of November, Lieutenant-Governor Rowe left Freetown in the colonial steamer Sir A. Kennedy, with Captain A.C. Allinson, Lieutenants J.H. Jones, and A.S. Roberts, and ninety men of the 1st West India Regiment, fifty armed police, a 4-2/5-inch howitzer, and a rocket-trough. The disturbance arose from a raid of Mendis upon villages in British territory, thirteen of which they plundered and destroyed, afterwards erecting a "war-fence" at a place called Paytaycoomar, in British Sherbro. Here the Commandant of Sherbro, Mr. Darnell Davis, attacked them with a few policemen, and was repulsed with a loss of three killed and several wounded, himself severely.

The expedition, on arriving at Sherbro, established a camp at Tyama Woroo in Bargroo, and all preparations for an advance being completed by the 27th of November, the troops marched on that day, occupying Mosangrah on the 30th. On the 3rd of December, Lowarnar, a town to the eastward, was entered, and on the 5th a move was made on the stockaded town of Gundomar, which was abandoned by the enemy on the approach of the force. The dead body of one of the captives taken from British Sherbro, recently strangled, was found in the stockade, and the town was accordingly burned.

On the 6th the force advanced on Moyamba, which was also found to be evacuated by the enemy, and was burned. On the 9th the troops left Moyamba and marched to Yahwi-yamah, which was also destroyed, with the outlying stockaded villages of Mocorreh, Bettimah and Mangaymihoon. On the 10th Modena was destroyed, and the force marched through Mowato and Geeavar to Sennehoo, arriving there on the 16th. To this latter town several of the chiefs came in to treat, bringing 212 of the captives with them, and on the 18th a treaty of peace was arranged, the Mendis promising to pay a fine of 10,000 bushels of rice. The troops returned to Sierra Leone on the 24th of December.

The country through which the detachment of the 1st West India Regiment had marched was most difficult. It consisted of dense forest, through which the only advance could be made along narrow paths, wide enough only for the passage of men in single file, and obstructed by fallen trees, swamps, and unbridged streams. Numerous swamps, black and full of malaria, had to be crossed, and, though the noon-day sun was excessively hot, the nights, owing to excessive damp, were very cold. Heavy showers of rain fell almost daily, and from sunset till an hour after sunrise the whole country was buried in an impenetrable fog.

The stockades were of the same character as those found at Mongray, but were here in some instances further fortified by mud walls, fifteen feet high, and about twelve feet thick at the base. Inside the walls were ditches about six feet wide and eight feet deep. In some of the towns, machicoulis galleries had been constructed over the gates, and the entrances further protected by semicircular mud bastions.

In March, 1877, the 1st West India Regiment was relieved on the West Coast of Africa by the 2nd West India Regiment, E and G Companies embarking in H.M.S. Simoom, at Cape Coast Castle, on the 24th of February, and the head-quarters, with A, B, C, and H Companies, at Sierra Leone on the 3rd of March. On arriving at the West Indies the regiment was thus distributed: Head-quarters, with A, D, E, and I Companies, at Jamaica, C and F at Honduras, G and H at Barbados, and B at Nassau.

During its three years' tour of West African service the regiment had suffered very heavy loss amongst the officers. In addition to the eight deaths that occurred in 1874, directly after the Ashanti war, Captain W. Cole died in Ireland of fever contracted on the Gold Coast; Lieutenant-Colonel Strachan and Sub-Lieutenant Turner in England; and Sub-Lieutenants S.B. Orr and G.V. Harrison at Sierra Leone in 1876.

The regiment remained without change in the West Indies until December, 1879, when the head-quarters and six companies embarked in H.M.S. Tamar for West Africa, leaving D, E, and I Companies at the depôt at Demerara. The head-quarters and four companies disembarked at Sierra Leone on the 17th of January, 1880, and the two remaining companies proceeded to Cape Coast Castle.

In February, 1880, there being some slight disturbance in the neighbourhood of the Ribbie River, a small party of the 1st West India Regiment proceeded thither as an escort to the Governor, with Lieutenants Madden and Tipping. The whole returned to Sierra Leone without any casualty, after an absence of a few weeks.

On the 28th of January, 1881, news was received at Sierra Leone that the Ashanti king, Mensah, had threatened an invasion of the Gold Coast Colony, and a reinforcement was urgently demanded. In consequence, Captain H.W. Pollard, 1st West India Regiment, commanding the troops on the West Coast of Africa, despatched to Cape Coast Castle next day in the mail steamer Cameroon letter B Company, under Captain Ellis, and letter H Company, under Lieutenant Garland. These two companies arrived at their destination on the 2nd of February, and on the 9th the former proceeded to Anamaboe. This rapid arrival of reinforcements induced the king to repudiate the action of his envoys, but affairs were still in a very critical situation, and much alarm prevailed in the colony. Early in March, Lieutenant-Colonels Niven and Smith and Major White arrived from England, bringing with them letter A Company from Sierra Leone. On the 18th of March, five companies of the 2nd West India Regiment arrived in the hired transport Humber. Negotiations were protracted till April, when an embassy arrived from Coomassie, and the difficulty was finally settled. On the 2nd of May, the head-quarters, with A, F, and G Companies, returned to Sierra Leone, leaving B, C, and H at Cape Coast Castle and Anamaboe. In February, 1882, C Company also proceeded to Sierra Leone.

It was intended at the termination of the African tour of the regiment, in January, 1883, to reduce the garrisons in West Africa from six to three companies, and the steamship Bolivar was chartered to carry out the relief in two trips. That vessel, however, was wrecked off the Cobbler's Reef, at Barbados, and H.M.S. Tyne was sent in her place. The latter embarked H Company at Cape Coast Castle on the 6th of February, 1883, and F and G Companies at Sierra Leone on the 14th, all three proceeding to Jamaica under the command of Major C.J.L. Hill. On the return of the Tyne to West Africa with three companies of the 2nd West India Regiment, the head-quarters and remaining three companies of the 1st West India Regiment, at Cape Coast Castle and Sierra Leone, were embarked on the 1st and 11th of April respectively, and sailed for Jamaica under the command of Captain Ellis, arriving at their destination on the 28th of April. On the 5th of May, B, G, and F Companies embarked in the Tyne, the first two for Honduras and the third for Nassau. On the conclusion of the inter-island trooping, the Tyne proceeded with the head-quarters and three companies of the 2nd West India Regiment to West Africa, the Government having, in consequence of threatened complications with Ashanti, abandoned their scheme of reducing the African garrisons.

The distribution of the 1st West India Regiment is now (May, 1883): Head-quarters and three companies (A, C, and H) at Jamaica, two (B and G) in Honduras, one (F) in Nassau, and three (D, E, and I) in Demerara.

APPENDIX.

Stations of the 1st West India Regiment from June, 1795, to June, 1883.

1795 (June).
Head-quarters and 8 companies at Martinique.

1798 (December).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Morne Fortune, St. Lucia.
2 companies at Maboya, St. Lucia.

1801 (July).
Head-quarters and 8 companies at Martinique.

1802 (January).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Martinique.
2 companies at St. Vincent.

1802 (July).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at St. Vincent.
1 company at Martinique.
1 company at Antigua.

1802 (October).
Head-quarters and 8 companies at St. Vincent.

1803 (April).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at St. Vincent.
2 companies at Grenada.

1804 (May).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Dominica.
1 company at St. Vincent.
1 company at Grenada.

1807 (January).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Barbados.
3 companies at Grenada.
1 company at Tobago.

1807 (November).
Head-quarters and 10 companies at Barbados.

1808 (January).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Barbados.
3 companies at Antigua.
1 company at Tobago.

1808 (October).
Head-quarters and 9 companies at Barbados.
1 company at Tobago.

1809 (February).
Head-quarters and 8 companies at Martinique.
2 companies at Barbados.

1809 (June).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Trinidad.
2 companies at Martinique.
2 companies at Barbados.

1809 (August).
Head-quarters and 10 companies at Trinidad.

1814 (March).
Head-quarters and 4 companies at Martinique.
4 companies at St. Lucia.
2 companies at Dominica.

1814 (July).
Head-quarters and 8 companies at Guadaloupe.
1 company at Marie-Galante.
1 company at St. Martin's.

1814 (December).
Head-quarters and 10 companies at New Orleans.

1815 (February).
Head-quarters and 10 companies at Barbados.

1815 (August).
Head-quarters and 6 companies at Barbados.
4 companies at Guadaloupe.

1815 (December).
Bermuda.

1816 (March).
Head-quarters and 10 companies at Barbados.

1816 (November).
Head-quarters and 3 companies at Antigua.
1 company at Montserrat.
2 companies at St. Christopher's.
2 companies at St. Lucia.
2 companies at Dominica.
—
10
==

1819 (January).
Head-quarters and 3 companies at Barbados.
2 companies at Antigua.
2 companies at St. Lucia.
2 companies at Dominica.
1 company at Tobago.
—
10
==

1821 (October).
Head-quarters and 3 companies at Barbados.
1 company at Demerara.
1 company at Tobago.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
—
8
==

1823 (May).
Head-quarters and 4 companies at Barbados.
1 company at Demerara.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
—
8
==

1823 (September).
Head-quarters and 2 companies at Barbados.
3 companies at Demerara.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
—
8
==

1824 (October).
Head-quarters and 5 companies at Barbados.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
—
8
==

1825 (February).
Head-quarters and 4 companies at Trinidad.
1 company at Barbados.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
—
8
==

1826 (February).

Same as in 1825, with the addition of a recruiting company at Sierra
Leone.

1827 (January).
Head-quarters and 3 companies at Trinidad.
1 company at Barbados.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
1 company at Grenada.
1 company at Sierra Leone.
—
9
==

1834 (May).
Head-quarters and 2 companies at Trinidad.
1 company at Barbados.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
1 company at Grenada.
1 company at Tortola.
1 company at Sierra Leone.
—
9
==

1837 (December).
Head-quarters and 5 companies at St. Lucia.
1 company at Trinidad.
1 company at Tobago.
1 company at Demerara.
1 company at St. Vincent.
1 company at Sierra Leone.
—
10
==

1839 (December).
Head-quarters and 2 companies at Demerara.
3 companies at Barbados.
1 company at Trinidad.
1 company at Tobago.
1 company at St. Lucia.
1 company at St. Vincent.
1 company at Grenada.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Antigua.
1 company at Sierra Leone.
—
13
==

1840 (September).
Head-quarters and 2 companies at Demerara.
2 companies at Barbados.
1 company at Trinidad.
1 company at Tobago.
1 company at St. Vincent.
1 company at Grenada.
1 company at Dominica.
1 company at Sierra Leone.
—
10
==

1843 (November).
Head-quarters and 5 companies at Demerara.
2 companies at Sierra Leone.
1 company at Grenada.
1 company at Tobago.
1 company at St. Vincent.
—
10
==

1844 (June).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, No. 8 and No. 5 at Demerara = 3 companies.
Light and  No. 1 at Jamaica        = 2
No. 2 at Trinidad        = 1
No. 3 at Dominica      = 1
No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1
No. 6 at Grenada       = 1
No. 7 at Cape Coast  = 1
—
10
==

1845 (March).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, No. 1 and No. 8 at Jamaica = 4 companies.
No. 5 at Demerara     = 1
No. 2 at Trinidad        = 1
No. 3 at Dominica      = 1
No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1
No. 6 at Grenada       = 1
No. 7 at Cape Coast  = 1
—
10
==

1846 (June).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 1, 3, 6, and 8 at Jamaica = 6 companies.
No. 2 at Trinidad        = 1
No. 4 at Sierra Leone = 1
No. 5 at Tobago         = 1
No. 7 at Cape Coast   = 1
—
10
==

1847 (December).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 at Jamaica = 8 companies.
No. 4 at Sierra Leone  = 1
No. 7 at Cape Coast   = 1
—
10
==

1848 (August).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Nos. 3, 4, 6, and 7 at Jamaica = 5 companies.
 Light and No. 8 at Nassau         = 2
No. 1 at Honduras      = 1
No. 5 at Sierra Leone = 1
No. 2 at Cape Coast  = 1
—
10
==

1849 (March).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, No. 3 and No. 6 at Jamaica  = 3 companies.
Light, No. 7, and No. 8 at Nassau    = 3
No. 1 and No. 4 at Honduras = 2
No. 5 at Sierra Leone             = 1
No. 2 at Cape Coast              = 1
—
10
==

1852 (September).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, No. 3, and No. 6 at Jamaica = 3 companies.
Light, No. 7, and No. 8 at Nassau = 3
No. 1 at St. Christopher's    = 1
No. 4 at Barbados               = 1
No. 5 at Sierra Leone          = 1
No. 2 at Cape Coast           = 1
—
10
==

1853 (December).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, No. 2, and No. 5 at Jamaica = 4 companies.
No. 4 and No. 7 at Barbados   = 2
No. 1 at St. Christopher's = 1
No. 8 at Dominica            = 1
No. 3 at Sierra Leone       = 1
No. 6 at the Gambia         = 1
—
10
==

1855 (December).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 2, 5, and 8 at Jamaica = 5 companies.
No. 4 and No. 7 at Barbados     = 2
No. 1 at Demerara     = 1
No. 3 at Sierra Leone = 1
No. 6 at the Gambia   = 1
—
10
==

1856 (December).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, and No. 8 at Jamaica = 3 companies.
Nos. 4, 5, and 7 at Barbados  = 3
No. 1 at Demerara      = 1
No. 3 at Sierra Leone = 1
No. 2 and No. 6 at the Gambia = 2
—
10
==

1857 (June).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, No. 5 and No. 8 at Nassau = 4 companies.
Nos. 1, 3, and 7 at Sierra Leone = 3
Nos. 2, 4, and 6 at the Gambia   = 3
—
10
==

1861 (April).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, Nos. 5, 7, and 8 at Barbados = 5 companies.
No. 4 and No. 6 at Demerara  = 2
No. 1 and No. 2 at St. Lucia    = 2
No. 3 at Trinidad     = 1
—
10
==

1862 (December).
(Head-quarters) Grenadier, Light, and No. 1 at Barbados = 3 companies.
Nos. 5, 7, and 8 at Honduras   = 3
No. 4 and No. 6 at Demerara  = 2
No. 2 at St. Lucia    = 1
No. 3 at Trinidad     = 1
—
10
==

1863 (July).
(Head-quarters) A at Barbados   = 1 company.
B at St. Lucia  = 1
C at Trinidad   = 1
D and F at Demerara   = 2 companies.
E, G, and H at Honduras = 3
—
8
==

1863 (November).
(Head-quarters) A, B, D, and F at Nassau = 4 companies.
E, G, and H at Honduras = 3
C at Trinidad = 1
—
8
==

1864 (April).
(Head-quarters) A, D, and F at Nassau = 3 companies.
B, E, and G on the Gold Coast  = 3
C at Trinidad = 1
H in Honduras = 1
—
8
==

1864 (October).
(Head-quarters) A, D, and F at Nassau = 3 companies.
B, C, E, G, and H in Jamaica = 5
—
8
==

1865 (November).
(Head-quarters) A at Nassau          = 1 company.
B, C, D, E, F, G, and H in Jamaica = 7 companies.
—
8
==

1866 (August).
(Head-quarters) A, D, and F at Nassau = 3 companies.
B, C, E, G, and H in Jamaica     = 5
—
8
==

1867 (January).
(Head-quarters) A, B, E, F, D, and G at Sierra Leone = 6 companies.
H and C at the Gambia  = 2
—
8
==
1868 (August).
(Head-quarters) A, B, D, F, and G at Sierra Leone = 5 companies.
C and H at the Gambia = 2
E at Cape Coast = 1
—
8
==

1870 (November).
(Head-quarters) A, B, D, E, and G in Jamaica = 5 companies.
C and H at Nassau  = 2
F and I in Honduras = 2
—
9
==

1874 (January).
(Head-quarters) A, B, C, E, G, and H on the Gold Coast = 6 companies.
F and I in Honduras = 2
D in Jamaica  = 1
—
9
==

1874 (July).
(Head-quarters) A, B, C, and H at Sierra Leone = 4 companies.
E and G at Cape Coast  = 2
D, F, and I at Demerara = 3
—
9
==

1877 (April).
(Head-quarters) A, D, E, and I at Jamaica = 4 companies.
C and F in Honduras = 2
G and H in Barbados = 2
B at Nassau               = 1
—
9
==

1880 (February).
(Head-quarters) A, B, H, and F at Sierra Leone = 4 companies.
C and G at Cape Coast  = 2
D, E, and I in Demerara  = 3
—
9
==

1881 (March).
(Head-quarters) A, C, G, and H at Cape Coast = 4 companies.
B at Anamaboe = 1
F at Sierra Leone  = 1
D, E, and I in Demerara  = 3
—
9
==

1881 (June).
(Head-quarters) A, F, and G at Sierra Leone = 3 companies.
B, C, and H at Cape Coast  = 3
D, E, and I in Demerara   = 3
—
9
==

1882 (March).
(Head-quarters) A, C, F, and G at Sierra Leone = 4 companies.
B and H at Cape Coast  = 2
D, E, and I in Demerara  = 3
 —
 9
 ==

1883 (March).
(Head-quarters) A and C at Sierra Leone = 2 companies.
B at Cape Coast  = 1 company.
F, G, and H in Jamaica   = 3 companies.
D, E, and I in Demerara = 3
—
9
==

1883 (June).
(Head-quarters) A, C, and H in Jamaica = 3 companies.
B and G in Honduras  = 2
D, E, and I in Demerara  = 3
F at Nassau  = 1
—
9
==