History of the Royal Sappers and Miners, Volume 2 (of 2): From the Formation of the Corps in March 1712 to the date when its designation was changed to that of Royal EngineersConnolly, T. W. J. (Thomas William John)
History
History of the Royal Sappers and Miners, Volume 2 (of 2): From the Formation of the Corps in March 1712 to the date when its designation was changed to that of Royal Engineers
Connolly, T. W. J. (Thomas William John)
Great Britain. Army. Royal Sappers and Miners
Two other companies were quickly reorganised to reinforce the corps in
the East. These were the tenth under Captain Bent, to form the pontoon
train, and the eighth from Gibraltar, under Captain Bourchier. The
former embarked at Woolwich in the ‘City of London’ steamer, on board of
which was Lieutenant-General Sir De Lacy Evans and staff, and the staff
of the Duke of Cambridge. Sir De Lacy Evans was well pleased with the
conduct and services of the company on board, for they had much to
attend to in strengthening the horse-boxes. Landing at Constantinople on
the 24th April, the company was quartered in Scutari barracks, as was
also the eighth on debarking from the ‘Albatross,’ on the 9th May. The
pontoons sent out in the ‘Melbourne’ in charge of corporal William
Dickson, an able and intelligent non-commissioned officer, reached
Constantinople on the 13th May.
The sappers attached to Her Majesty’s ship ‘Fury’ being transshipped to
the ‘Agamemnon,’ bearing the flag of Rear-Admiral Lyons, served with the
squadron in a obsolete’ on the coasts of Circassia, Georgia, and
Anatolia, and were present on the 19th May in the reduction of Redout
Kaleh.
Next morning the party landed, and were employed for two days as
overseers in the defensive occupation of the place, under the orders of
Lieutenant H. Cox and H. B. Roberts, of the royal marine artillery.
Parties from all the ships were ashore at the works. The Turks, utterly
unacquainted with the mode of protecting themselves by intrenchments,
were instructed by the sappers. A Russian barrack was speedily
loopholed, a stone building in a commanding situation was converted by
massive planks into a block-house as an outwork, and a parapet was
formed, flanked by a deep marsh. Houses, too, that could not aid in the
defence were thrown down, whilst others, well sited, were turned into
points of security and resistance. The old fort on the land side was
also strengthened with additional works. When these services were
sufficiently advanced, the Turks with two sappers were left to complete
the defences, and the Anglo-French working parties, with the remainder
of the sappers, returned to their ships.
Renewing its cruise, the squadron anchored off Bardan. Landing Captain
Brock, R.N., Captain Stanton, R.E., a doctor, and four sappers, they
started, guided by an escort of Circassians commanded by Ismail Bey,
over the mountains, to communicate with the prophet-warrior Schamyl.
Late in May, Lord Raglan ordered the sappers, when employed as
artificers “in repairing tools, constructing wharves, and the like,” to
receive working pay; the non-commissioned officers at the rate of 1_s._
a-day, and the privates 6_d._ to 1_s._ a-day each, according to conduct
and ability. The non-commissioned officers appointed conductors of
stores, photographers, electricians, &c., were granted 2_s._ a-day each.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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