History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Vol. 1: Compiled from the Original RecordsDuncan, Francis
History
History of the Royal Regiment of Artillery, Vol. 1: Compiled from the Original Records
Duncan, Francis
Great Britain. Army. Royal Regiment of Artillery
Young Schalch's hands were rather tied in the matter; for he was limited
to a radius of twelve miles round London. Had this not been the case, it
is hardly probable that he would have named as the Depôt for national
Artillery Stores, and as the National Arsenal—both of which he must have
foreseen the place of his selection would become—a place so exposed as
Woolwich. As it was, however, being limited to so small an area, his
selection was a natural one for other than the reasons which would first
occur to him, as it already had a special connection with Artillery
manufactures, and with that Board under whose orders he was to work.
Few countries, and fewer Boards, have ever had a more faithful servant
than he proved. As Superintendent of the Foundries, which were built at
his suggestion, he lived for sixty years, "during which time not a
single accident "occurred."[8] The Royal Artillery may well be proud of
such a man, who, although not in the Regiment, was so intimately
connected with it by the nature of his duties; and as all the management
of the various departments in the Arsenal is in the hands of officers of
the Regiment now, there is no better model for them to study than this
father, so to speak, of Woolwich Arsenal. And the interest which must be
felt in him for his own skill and services is increased by the knowledge
that no less than six of his descendants have held commissions in the
Royal Artillery.
* * * * *
Appended to the chapter will now be found the diary of Borgard, to which
allusion has so often been made, copied from a manuscript in the Royal
Artillery Regimental Library. In addition to the short account of his
services, it contains lists of the various battles and sieges in which
he took part, and the dates of his various commissions.
"An Account of the Battels, Sieges, &c., wherein Lieutenant-General
Albert Borgard hath served, with what time and station, and in what
Prince's service, as also the dates of his commissions during the time
of his being in the English service, viz.—
"In the KING OF DENMARK'S Service.
1675. "Served as a cadet in the Queen's Regiment of Foot, and was at
the siege of Wismar (a town in the territories of Mecklenburg), then
belonging to the Sweeds, which was taken by the Danes in the said
year in the month of December."
1676. "Was ordered from the Army with a Detachment of Foot on board
the Fleet. A battle was fought with the Sweeds near Oeland in the
Baltick, the 11th of June, wherein the Danes obtained a compleat
victory. With the aforesaid Detachment in the month of July we
landed in Schonen, and joyned the Danish Army at the Siege of the
Castle at Helsingborg, which place the Danes took from the Sweeds in
the said month by capitulation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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