Naval Brigade

“ In the first of these, with the 42nd and 65th, were the marines and Naval Brigade. As the brigade advanced, the enemy swarmed down to the attack, and the soldiers with their rifles, and the sailors with their machine guns, opened a tremendous fire upon them; but the Arabs still came on with desperate bravery. ”

“ Anxious to see the nature of the difficulties with which the troops were contending, I went out to the right column, and found the naval brigade lying down and firing into a dense bush, from which, in spite of their heavy firing, answering discharges came incessantly, at a distance of some twenty yards or so. The air above was literally alive with slugs, and a perfect shower of leaves continued to fall upon the earth. The sailors complained that either 399 the 23rd or 42nd were firing at them, and the same complaint was made against the naval brigade by the 42nd and 23rd. ”

“ It is part of the ordinary duty of a London fireman to be a hero, and he never fails when it is expected of him.
It is natural to think of the brigade as a miniature Navy. It smells of the sea in every way. The captain is a naval man. Its crew of 1,009 are seamen, and the work of the brigade is of a nature readily performed by sailors, who are used to danger, and skilled in the art of hanging on to the skyline by their teeth.
Even the apparatus is peculiarly adapted for the use of the horny-handed sons of the sea. ”

“ The Naval brigade, commanded by Capt. E. P. Jones, H.M.S. Forte, was composed of detachments (or landing parties) from H.M.S. Terrible, Forte, and Tartar; to it were attached the Natal Naval Volunteers; its armament consisted of two 4.7-in. and fourteen 12-pr. 12-cwt. guns. The Field artillery consisted of the 1st brigade division (7th, 14th, and 66th batteries) under Lt.-Col. H. V. Hunt, and the 2nd brigade division (64th and [p. 333] 73rd [214] ) under Lt.-Col. L. W. Parsons. ”

“ Although told to abandon their guns they had carried them bodily away with them in the retirement. Forced to recognise that such guns were quite useless in the field, and unable to obtain better weapons locally, they had eagerly volunteered to join the Naval brigade under Captain Jones. Fortunately they obtained their wish, and the Naval brigade gained the services of a body of men who soon proved their sterling worth, and whose traditions will henceforth always be closely associated with those of the Royal Navy. ”

“ Captain E. P. Jones, H.M.S. Forte, as senior officer of the Naval Brigade, has earned my most heartfelt thanks. The assistance they have rendered to me has been invaluable; the spirit of their leader was reflected in the men, and (p. 154) at any time, day or night, they were always ready, and their work was excellent.
Commander A. H. Limpus and Lieutenant F. C. A. Ogilvy, H.M.S. Terrible, and Lieutenant H. W. James, H.M.S. Tartar. These three Officers were indefatigable. ”

“ The force need not be numerous. Designed, as the Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers have been, for the especial work of coast and harbour defence, it is not necessary that the corps should be very numerous. It certainly need not exceed the numbers of our amateur yachtsmen and oarsmen, for whom the opportunity, now offered, of taking their share in the national defence, is chiefly intended. Enough will have been done, if a brigade can be formed at each of the principal ports, of a strength varying from 200 to 600 men. ”

“ The Naval Brigade landed here under my command will consist of four officers, and thirty nine men of this ship, three officers and fifty-five men of the "Modeste," and six men of the "Ringdove," making in all one hundred and seven officers and men.
I have been informed by General Ross, that when he has made arrangements for the transport of troops from Qualla Kansa, at which place the seamen will be most useful in constructing rafts ; he will be glad for me to land the Naval Brigade. On the llth instant, I received instructions from the Brigadier-General to land the "Modeste's" men ”

“ However, by the 27th of March all was ready for a start, and the relieving column set out in the following order. The vanguard was composed of the Naval Brigade, formed of the seamen and marines of her Majesty's ships "Shah" and "Tenedos"—640 men and two Gatlings; the 91st Regiment (ten companies) , 900 men; 99th Regiment (five companies) , 400 men; 3rd Buffs (two companies) , 180 men; Mounted Infantry, 150 men; Mounted Native Contingent, 200 men; Native Infantry Contingent, 1600 men—making a total of 3720 infantry and [157] 350 cavalry. ”

“ I have the honor to enclose a return of what has been suffered by those of the naval department acting with the army on this occasion [2] ; and it is, Sir, with the greatest pride and pleasure I report to you, that the brigade of seamen with small arms, commanded by Captain Crofton, assisted by Captains Sulivan, Money, and Ramsay, the three senior commanders in the fleet, behaved with a gallantry and steadiness which would have done honor to the ablest troops, and which attracted the admiration of the army. ”

“ Mr Lascelles, naval cadet, aide-de-camp to Captain Peel, greatly distinguished himself, seizing a rifle from a wounded man of the 88th, and charging with that regiment. About this time the brigade was joined by Captain Oliver Jones, RN, on half-pay, as a volunteer, who did good service on various occasions.
“Our army on the march is a sight affording much interest and amusement,—such a menagerie of men and beasts, footmen and cavalry, soldiers and sailors, camels and elephants, white men and black men, horses and oxen, marines and artillery, Sikhs and Highlanders. ”

“ The services of the various Naval Brigades appear to have been highly appreciated by Major-General Colborne, Brigadier-General Ross, and the Colonels commanding the various corps to which the Brigades were attached. The naval officers and men were fortunate in being employed on expeditions calculated to call fully into play their sailorlike qualities. ”

“ No very formidable armada was that of a handful of pygmy vessels, commanded by (p. 358) a young officer who had never heard the thunderous cannonade of a naval battle, or seen the decks of his ships stained with the blood of friends and daily companions. Yet the work of the little squadron saved the United States from invasion, won for the young commander a never-dying fame, and clothed the vine-clad hills, the pebbly beaches, and the crystal waters of Put-in-Bay with a wealth of proud, historical associations. ”

“ The flags were saluted by the booming of cannon from the batteries of the ships, and with cheers from the officers and men of the squadron and the people on the shore, and thus the transaction was completed, and the navy of the United States began to be.
The ships were slight in force, their equipments meager and deficient, and of inferior quality at best. The men had but little experience in naval warfare, and their officers scarcely much more. There were men of undoubted courage and capacity among them, however, and several to whom the profession of arms was not entirely new. ”

“ Where an army officer has a change when he leaves the trench for his billet, there is none for the naval officer, who, unlike the army officer, is Spartan-bred to confinement. The army pays its daily toll of casualties; it lies cramped in dugouts, not knowing what minute extinction may come. The Grand Fleet has its usual comforts; it is safe from submarines in a quiet harbour. Many naval officers spoke of this contrast with deep feeling, as if fate were playing favourites, though I have never heard an army officer mention it. ”

“ The class of recruits required for the Royal Navy Artillery Volunteers possess advantages of intelligence and education, far beyond those which the practical seamen can enjoy; and we may anticipate, from the experience already acquired, that they will form some of the smartest gun's crews in any branch of the naval service. There is neither insurmountable difficulty, nor unduly fatiguing labour, in the drill at the great guns. ”

“ On the 12th Aug. the first division of troops, consisting of about 10,000 men, in about 200 transports, sailed for the enemy’s coast, escorted by a squadron of men of war, commanded by Vice-Admiral Mitchell. Contrary winds and very tempestuous weather prevented the fleet from reaching the point of debarkation until the 26th, on which day the whole of the vessels were anchored in safety; and on the following morning the troops were landed near the Helder, under cover of a warm and well-directed fire from the bombs, gun-brigs, and other small vessels. ”

“ Every exertion was immediately made to send a force sufficient for the object; a body of marines from the squadron, a company of infantry from Fort Trumbull, and a part of Captain French’s militia company of artillery, with a field-piece, and a considerable number of volunteers, were soon in motion: a part of the marines and volunteers in carriages, and Captain French, with his detachment and field-piece, arrived at the river at 4 o’clock ”

“ Our coast-line is very extensive, and needs watching at a considerable number of unprotected spots. Besides regular troops, Volunteer infantry, and cruising war-ships, it has long been felt that a naval artillery corps would be a useful addition for serving in gunboats and mortar rafts, and operating in the new art of torpedo-defensive warfare. ”

“ There can be no impropriety, however, in making the general statement that in all navies the endeavor is made to keep the mobilization plans continually up to date, and to have them prepared in such detail that every officer and enlisted man in active service, the retired list, the naval reserve, and the naval militia, will become instantly available for a predetermined duty, and that every shore station and every necessary vessel will be ready to take part. ”

“ They are main-deck chase-ports.
BRIDLES. The upper part of the moorings laid in the queen's harbours, to ride ships or vessels of war. (See Moorings.)
BRIG. A two-masted square-rigged vessel, without a square main-sail, or a trysail-mast abaft the main-mast. This properly constituted the snow, but both classes are latterly blended, and the terms therefore synonymous.
BRIGADE. A party or body of men detached for a special service. A division of troops under the command of a general officer. In artillery organization on land, a brigade is a force usually composed of more than a battery ”

“ If I had a brig, with a junior officer to yourself, I would send her to you. I shall not fail to appreciate the zeal and gallantry of Lieutenant Campbell, the other officers and men employed on this service, the merit of whom deserve every thing. I hope your prizes will be a small reward for their very good conduct: on the service of annoying the coast, which you are so very effectually doing, I should recommend by no means to incommode your ship with prisoners, unless they are Frenchmen. ”

“ The Royal Navy Artillery Volunteers are raised under an Act passed in 1873, and are directly subject to the authority of the Admiralty. They may be assembled for actual employment, their duties then consisting of coast or harbour service. They are not required to go aloft, or to attend to the engine fires, but in regard to berthing and messing must conform to the arrangements usual with seamen. The force is formed into brigades, each brigade consisting of four or more batteries, of from sixty to eighty men. ”

“ All Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers, when assembled for drill or inspection, or voluntarily doing any naval duty either afloat or on shore, will be under the command of the Commander-in-Chief, or Senior Naval Officer of the district within which such Royal Naval Artillery Volunteers are undergoing drill or inspection, or doing duty. ”

“ During these operations, thanks to the brilliant courage, vigor, dash, and tenacity of its men, who refused to be disheartened by fatigue or losses; thanks to the activity and energy of the officers, and thanks to the personal action of Brigadier-General Harbord, the efforts of the brigade were crowned with success, realizing after [Pg 335] twelve days of incessant struggle an important advance over the most difficult of terrain and the capture of two support points of the highest importance, Bouresches village and the fortified wood of Belleau. ”

“ Before the war we had foreseen 255the fact that the Navy would on mobilisation have many thousands of men in their depots for whom there would be no room in any ship of war that we could send to sea. I had therefore proposed to the Committee of Imperial Defence in 1913 the formation of three brigades, one composed of Marines and the other two of men of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve and of the Royal Fleet Reserve. These brigades it was intended to use to assist in home defence in the early stages of a war. The cadres were therefore easily formed from the available resources. ”

“ Sir,– I have the honor to transmit you an account of the termination of the late unfortunate battle with the enemy’s squadron.
“On coming on the quarter-deck, after your being wounded, the enemy’s second brig, at that time on our weather beam, shortly afterwards took a position on our weather bow to rake us; to prevent which, in attempting to wear, to get our starboard broadside to bear upon her, a number of the larboard guns being then disabled, we fell on board the Queen Charlotte, running up to leeward of us, and in this situation the two ships remained for some time. ”