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Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross: a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

History

Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross: a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

Great Britain -- History, Military -- 19th century; Great Britain. Army -- Biography; Soldiers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Victoria Cross

witness that England can appreciate and reward such acts of gallantry. We
were glad to learn that the services of Dr. Manley, R.A., had met with
the same recognition. The duties of an army surgeon rarely afford him
an opportunity of displaying gallantry in the field; but he has often
to exhibit a moral courage as worthy of our admiration as the dashing
bravery of him who heads a forlorn hope. It requires no usual amount of
courage to minister to the wants of the wounded and dying on the field of
battle amid the bullets of the enemy, and this was done by Dr. Manley
with as much _sang froid_ as if he had been performing an operation in
St. George’s Hospital.

It has often struck us how little faith can be placed in the best
historical narratives, when we consider the difficulty, if not the
impossibility, of attaining to the truth regarding an affair of recent
occurrence, even when we have an opportunity of consulting the principal
actors. The storming of the Gate Pa is no exception to this rule. The
fugitives assert that an officer gave the order to retire; the officers
deny that such an order was ever given. We have mentioned above that
the panic originated from the return to the pa of the Maoris who had
endeavoured to escape, and were driven back by the fire of the 68th; we
have heard it strenuously urged that the Maoris never left the pa, but
had merely concealed themselves in the subterraneous chambers, where
they lay _perdus_ till they heard the approach of the storming party.
It went the round of the papers that the 68th Regiment three times in
succession endeavoured to storm the pa, and were as often repulsed. It
was not the duty of the 68th to storm the pa; they were assigned their
position in the rear to cut off the enemy’s retreat; they indignantly
deny that they ever attempted an assault or suffered a repulse. Their
trifling loss in killed and wounded renders it impossible that they ever
quitted their position. We merely mention these discrepancies to show
that a little scepticism is not out of place in the study of history, and
that the future historian of the war in New Zealand will find some little
difficulty in arriving at the truth.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

History

Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross: a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

Great Britain -- History, Military -- 19th century; Great Britain. Army -- Biography; Soldiers -- Great Britain -- Biography; Victoria Cross

witness that England can appreciate and reward such acts of gallantry. We
were glad to learn that the services of Dr. Manley, R.A., had met with
the same recognition. The duties of an army surgeon rarely afford him
an opportunity of displaying gallantry in the field; but he has often
to exhibit a moral courage as worthy of our admiration as the dashing
bravery of him who heads a forlorn hope. It requires no usual amount of
courage to minister to the wants of the wounded and dying on the field of
battle amid the bullets of the enemy, and this was done by Dr. Manley
with as much _sang froid_ as if he had been performing an operation in
St. George’s Hospital.

It has often struck us how little faith can be placed in the best
historical narratives, when we consider the difficulty, if not the
impossibility, of attaining to the truth regarding an affair of recent
occurrence, even when we have an opportunity of consulting the principal
actors. The storming of the Gate Pa is no exception to this rule. The
fugitives assert that an officer gave the order to retire; the officers
deny that such an order was ever given. We have mentioned above that
the panic originated from the return to the pa of the Maoris who had
endeavoured to escape, and were driven back by the fire of the 68th; we
have heard it strenuously urged that the Maoris never left the pa, but
had merely concealed themselves in the subterraneous chambers, where
they lay _perdus_ till they heard the approach of the storming party.
It went the round of the papers that the 68th Regiment three times in
succession endeavoured to storm the pa, and were as often repulsed. It
was not the duty of the 68th to storm the pa; they were assigned their
position in the rear to cut off the enemy’s retreat; they indignantly
deny that they ever attempted an assault or suffered a repulse. Their
trifling loss in killed and wounded renders it impossible that they ever
quitted their position. We merely mention these discrepancies to show
that a little scepticism is not out of place in the study of history, and
that the future historian of the war in New Zealand will find some little
difficulty in arriving at the truth.

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross: a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

Brave British soldiers and the Victoria Cross: a general account of the regiments and men of the British Army, and stories of the brave deeds which won the prize "for valour"

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