A Middy's Recollections, 1853-1860

Born in April 1841, I was about six months more than twelve years old when I joined the Royal Navy. My father was the seventh Earl of Sandwich; my mother, a daughter of the Marq...

I joined the _Princess Royal_, commanded by my uncle, Lord Clarence Paget, and found that beautiful 91-gun line-of-battle ship lying at Spithead, preparing for sea. The family b...

On the 14th of April, lying in this same bay, we suddenly saw a mass of bunting flying on board the _Duke of Wellington_. The signal, indeed, gave us great joy. It announced tha...

Our ships had some experience of attacking forts (in the Black Sea) on the 17th of October 1854. We did not damage the forts. On the other hand, we received a good dose in retur...

The new Captain was a horrid speculation to us juniors. When it was announced that he was Sir Lewis Tobias Jones, dread ran through us. He was what we called a “taut hand”: an o...

Early in September 1855 it was generally known that the game was nearly up with the Russians. Sebastopol could not hold out much longer. The bombarding had been very heavy and c...

We stayed a few days at Constantinople _en passant_. I enjoyed as many hours as possible ashore at the Embassy with the kind Lord Stratford de Redcliffe and his charming family....

Within a month of the letter from Captain Keppel to my father, I was appointed to the _Raleigh_, sailing frigate of 50 guns, then fitting out for the East Indies and China stati...

One day was much like another, though, I am sure, we middies enjoyed the whole business. There was constant interest in watching the good ship speeding along, driving great bow...

The only time I can recollect being in comparatively abject terror, knowing that I must be killed to a certainty, and among the first to die, was when I was employed pirate-hunt...

After leaving the Cape we steered a southerly course for some days, so as to get hold of the south-east trade winds, which took us north to the line, making a poor passage of it...

On the 14th of April 1857 we were sailing along close-hauled on a lovely day. A nice, gentle breeze was blowing; land and islands were all round us; and we had got within thirty...

After ten days or so of hard work and exposure on this desert island, I was sent to the _Nankin_, a 50-gun frigate, and took passage in her to Hong-Kong, to await events.

After Fatshan actual war operations were more or less over; but we had a deal of pirate hunting. All the trading-junks were more or less pirates if occasion offered: the whole c...

The Mutiny was at its height. Regiments bound to China had been stopped at the Cape or at Singapore, and sent on to India. The _Shannon_, a 51-gun frigate, was told off for duti...

In describing what I saw of the Mutiny I shall not be able to give a very correct account of the places we went to, more especially as to the names. I must be pardoned for mista...

From this period--the end of December 1857 until the 10th of February 1858--our work consisted in sending out detachments to destroy villages and the houses of rebel Rajahs. On...

All the 4th of March we were busy strengthening our entrenchments, filling up tumbrils and ammunition hackeries: in short, preparing. Information had arrived that the enemy were...

It was a pretty sight when we marched away. All our old comrades cheered us; the Ghoorkas, the Bengal Yeomanry Cavalry, and the 13th Foot, who had been our companions during the...

The _Pearl_ arrived at Spithead early in June, and was immediately paid off. Our Lieutenants were all promoted, and the midshipmen were to have their Lieutenants’ commissions wh...