History of the Royal Sappers and Miners Vol. 1, by Thomas William John Connolly

462. With the reputation of being the best diver in Europe, he sailed for China in February, 1845. In April, 1847, he was present in the expedition to Canton, and took part in the capture of the Bogue and other forts. Soon after he was reduced from sergeant, but his energy of character and perseverance brought him again into favour, and he is now a sergeant in the corps. He was present during the summer of 1854 at the capture of the Aland Islands, including the demolition of the forts of Bomarsund. After his return from the Baltic he was placed at the disposal of Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney of the House of Commons, to learn the properties and management of a brilliant light that gentleman had discovered, and which he proposed to use in the trenches before Sebastopol to exhibit the enemy, at night, in their works. The experiments were carried out under the auspices of Lord Panmure; and the sergeant evinced so complete an acquaintance with its principles, that the inventor determined to intrust him with its use in the field. Submitted, however, for trial with rival lights to a committee at Woolwich, it was soon seen that its results did not equal its pretensions, inasmuch as the light at a distance was far less intense than in the vicinity of the operator. In this way sergeant Jones was relieved from a nightly exhibition, which would have made him a certain mark for the enemy to shoot at. On the occasion of the trial he also used the Drummond light, a twin invention with that of Mr. Gurney. The third light was an electric flame; all of which were condemned for the sole and sufficient reason that our own workmen would have been more exposed by the illumination than those of the garrison. Sergeant Jones served subsequently in the Crimea.

464. Discharged with a pension of 1s. 10d. a-day, in April, 1848, and obtained from the Surveyor-General of Prisons the appointment of foreman over the contractors, on the part of the Government, at 5s. a-day. Subsequently he was removed by promotion to be foreman of works in the convict establishment at Woolwich, which embrace the supervision of the convicts working both in the arsenal and dock-yard. His salary, with rent and rations, exceeded 130l. a-year. He now fills a similar situation at Chatham, with a more lucrative recompense.

465. Subsequently became a sergeant, and was employed on special duty at Round Down Cliff, Dover, and in the drainage works at Windsor. After passing five terms at Sandhurst, he was rewarded for his intelligence and good service, with a case of drawing instruments; and in September, 1848, was promoted to the rank of staff-sergeant at the College. Several interesting models, made by himself, of military importance, he presented to that institution.

468. Joined the corps from the military asylum at Chelsea. By his attainments and merits he was in time promoted to the rank of corporal. His career, however, was marked by occasional intemperance, which at length settled into confirmed drunkenness and mental eccentricity. Unable to control his propensity to intoxication, he became a useless soldier, and after twenty years' service was discharged without a pension. He is now a vagrant and a beggar.

470. The voyage was full of incident. On the freight-ship, ‘Gilbert Henderson,’ sailing from Woolwich, the crew mutinied and left her at the Nore. A fresh crew, chiefly foreigners, unable to speak English, was engaged, and soon after putting to sea, the ship took fire, but the exertions of the company soon extinguished it. Near Dungeness she ran on a sand-bank, but by working all night, she was got off. When about a fortnight’s sail from Port Elizabeth, she was overtaken by a heavy squall, which carried away the greater part of her gear, and her fore and main masts. To complete the chapter of accidents, the disembarkation took place in a heavy surf, and as boats refused to venture out, the men, women, and children were borne to land on the backs of nude blacks.

472. Made an etching of the ‘Adelaide Oak,’ in the Home Park, which, submitted by Sir Henry de la Beche to Lord Liverpool, obtained for him a complimentary introduction to Prince Albert. His Royal Highness accepted the etching, and expressed himself much pleased with the beauty and minuteness of the execution.—‘Morning Post,’ Saturday, August 19, 1843. The tree had a pretty seat hut nearly half round the bottom of its trunk, and in another part of it was a remarkable hollow occasioned by time. Her Majesty the Queen Dowager had been known frequently to sit reading under its ample shade, and on that account it was considered to be her favourite oak. Hogan afterwards presented, through Colonel Wylde, an etching of the ‘Victoria Oak,’ in the Green Park, to the Prince; and His Royal Highness, in thanking the giver, expressed the admiration he felt for his talents as an artist, and rewarded him with the sum of 5l. These handsome pair of etchings are now the property of Her Majesty. Hogan never received promotion in the corps, as he was unqualified for command; and being discharged, on the usual pension in January, 1845, soon afterwards emigrated to South Australia.

An anecdote, which is unique in its way, may be added of this good easy man. At Trinity College, Dublin, he had gained prizes as an artist, but when he enlisted, was as ignorant of the use of fire-arms as a child. Having fired blank cartridge in the usual routine of drill, he was considered to be ripe enough to enter upon the more advanced stage of firing ball. Accordingly, with others of his company, he was ordered to attend this instructional duty. When directed to prime and load, he was observed to separate the bullet from the cartridge and throw it away. Sergeant Hilton, who had charge of the party, picked up the discarded bullet; and on asking Hogan his reason for biting it off, he replied, “Sure, sir, I didn’t know that the knob was of any use!”

481. The senior non-commissioned officer, sergeant James Mulligan, was much noticed for his attainments and exertions. His duties with the commission were of a nature to require the exercise of patience and resolution, and demanded always a scrupulous, unremitting attention. In this he was never found to fail, but rendered valuable services, “which,” adds Colonel Estcourt, “few civilians could have undertaken, or, if capable, would not have undertaken, but for the highest salary.” Mulligan’s survey-pay was 3s. 9d. a-day. After his discharge, in September, 1846, he was awarded, for his high merit, a silver medal, and a special gratuity of 25l. On leaving the corps he retired, with ample pecuniary means, to Ireland.

484. Vance is noticed in Colonel Pasley’s 'Practical Operations for a Siege’Siege’ for his assistance in executing some of the wood engravings to the work. He was an excellent carpenter and modeller, but his efforts at engraving show but little refinement. Untaught in the art, his attempts to supply the place of competent practitioners can only be regarded as the neat and more advanced stages of carpentering. Pity, however, that such a man, so apt, so ready—should have been enslaved by his vices. A drunkard, in the most degraded sense of the word, no one regretted, when his service expired, to see him quit the corps.

487. In the life of some men there happen singular incidents, which give either a romantic or a strangely-degraded cast to their career. In this category corporal Macpherson may be fairly included. He was a very talented and superior artificer, and his general knowledge and experience made his services conspicuous. At Hythe he absented himself, and leaving his clothes on the bank of the canal, a belief prevailed that he was drowned; he, however, turned up about a year afterwards, and was convicted of the crime of desertion. But soon gaining favour by his diligence and talents, he rose rapidly to the rank of sergeant, and was entrusted with responsible duties at Gibraltar, Hudson’s Bay, and finally in Nova Scotia. At Halifax he again deserted, with 206l. of the public money, but a vigilant piquet being on his trail, he was apprehended at Annapolis, fortunately for the captain of his company, with the whole of the treasure in his pocket. Being tried and convicted he was sentenced to fourteen years' transportation. A review of his useful services, and the humane intercession of Colonel Savage, R.E., his commanding officer, obtained for him a full pardon—only to be followed by the basest ingratitude and crime. A few months elapsed, and the forgiven felon a third time deserted. On the passage to the States he robbed a gentleman with whom he got into conversation, but as the theft was discovered before the debarkation took place, the gentleman repossessed his money, and a gold watch supposed to be stolen. On landing, the gentleman took steps for the apprehension of the delinquent, but, by artful remonstrances, he made the public believe that the reason of his arrest was not for theft as alleged, but for desertion from the British service. At once the mob sympathized with his fate, rescued him from custody, and he is now at large in the States. The gold watch, brought to Halifax by the gentleman, proved to be the property of a comrade.

494. This non-commissioned officer acquired, in his early service, a sound knowledge of surveying in all its branches. For more than eighteen years he had charge of large parties of surveyors and draughtsmen, and his systematic habits and intelligence rendered his assistance of great advantage. Well adapted for carrying out any arrangement connected with the survey, and for conducting the beneficial employment of large parties over extensive districts, he was, in 1846, selected for the exploration duty above referred to; and his report on a portion of the line, which embraced the intricate parts of the Cobiquid Mountains, was considered of sufficient interest to receive a place in the ‘Parliamentary Blue Book,’ on the subject of that railway. In April, 1853, he was pensioned at 1s. 11d. a-day, and, on quitting the corps, bent his course westward and settled in Canada.

496. Had charge of the implement store, at 48, City-quay, which embraced the receipts and issues of thousands of wheelbarrows and hand-carts, and a great assortment of road and draining tools. These sergeant Baston was often employed to purchase, and to obtain them he perambulated both town and country. The duties entrusted to him were performed with promptitude, accuracy, and fidelity. Mr. M‘Mahon, the civil engineer, found him an exceedingly useful and zealous assistant. He is now colour-sergeant in the corps; is a well-read and talented man, and his qualifications as an artificer and overseer have rendered him capable of much higher employment. He joined the corps a lad, from the royal military asylum, and his acquirements and usefulness have entirely arisen from his own application. Besides his home services, he has passed with credit about seventeen years at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Corfu.

503. One of the party discharged under Governor Grey’s order was corporal William Forrest. Governor Robe, in a despatch to Earl Grey, spoke of his entire approbation of the corporal’s conduct, both as a soldier and surveyor. Captain Frome, the surveyor-general, attributed the rapid progress of the field surveys, and the general correctness of the work, to his steady zeal and talent. At first he superintended four or five detached survey parties, and laid out and corrected their work; but when a sufficient quantity of land had been divided into sections, corporal Forrest was transferred to the triangulation of the known portions of the colony, and connected all the detached surveys with the trigonometrical stations. This service he conducted in a most satisfactory and creditable manner. Returning to England, he was discharged in April, 1848, and is now living, in ease and comfort, at Edinburgh on his pension and his savings.

Transcriber’s Note

Hyphens appearing in compound words on a line or page break are retained or removed based on the preponderance of instances of the word elsewhere in the text.

On occasion, tabular data which spanned pages repeated some headings. These repetitive lines are moot in this format, and have been removed.

On p. 231, the footnote number, now n222, was missing from the note, and has been restored.

There is a minor inconsistency in placing a space before the abbreviation ‘lbs.’ In the several places that the space lacking, one has been added.

The list of Illustrations and the text refer to Plates XVI. and XVII., which will appear in the 2nd volume of this work.

Errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The corrections below refer to page and line in the original printed text. The prefix ‘n’ refers to the note number as it is numbered in this text.

4.17	artificers were, with few exceptions[,] dismissed;	Added.
43.3	Recruiting[,] reinforcements	Removed.
135.22	on board the ‘Ajax’[:/,]	Replaced.
137.19	in the [dgerms] which contained the field equipment	a large high-pooped Nile boat
159.3	reached the sum of 45,500l[,/.]	Replaced.
179.10	present at the second s[ei/ie]ge of that fortress	Transposed.
n203.1	Jones’s ‘Sieges,[’] ii., p. 107, 2nd edit.	Added.
215.13	commanding them in divi[vis/si]ons	Replaced.
227.14	on his way from Sandwich to Michili[ M/m]achinac	Replaced.
235.1	to recommend the officers [u/a]nd men	Replaced.
247.38	embraced th[e] abolition of the rank	Restored.
n274.1	‘Graham’s Town Journal,[’]	Added.
n284.14	He became forema[d/n] of works in November, 1844	Replaced
303.28	the summer of every year had been [past]	sic
308.7	would have thrown th[o/e]m wholly into the hands	Replaced.
332.27	sixty lbs. of tolerably good flour.[”]	Added.
337.32	a piece of torn and shred[d]ed blanket	Inserted.
369.34	to allow two persons to pass each other[.]	Added.
372.29	and the detachment retur[n]ed again to Chatham.	Inserted.
397.31	b[l]ood was flowing profusely	Inserted.
402.22	could they have done so.[”]	Added.
445.12	So exquisit[i]ely was the work performed	Removed.
n484.1	‘Practical Operations for a Siege[”/’]	Replaced.
467.14	checking the same simultaneo[n/u]sly	Replaced.
n504.1	Debates in the ‘Times,’ March 6, 1[48/84]7	Transposed.