"CAMP BLINKWATER,
"Nov. 9th, 1851.

The 74th was engaged in no enterprise of importance for the next two months, headquarters having meantime been removed to Fort Beaufort. In January 1852 preparations were made under Major-General Somerset, by the first and second divisions, for a combined movement to destroy the enemy’s crops in the Chumie Hoek, Amatolas, and on the left bank of the Keiskamma River. The Major-General marched from Fort Beaufort on the 26th of January 1852 for that purpose, with a force which included upwards of 250 of all ranks of the 74th. Detachments of the regiment were left at Post Retief, Blinkwater, Riet Fontein, and Fort Beaufort.

The Major-General, with the force under his command, arrived at the Amatolas on the 27th, and on the 28th commenced the destruction of the enemy’s crops, which was carried on at the Amatolas, Chumie Hoek, and near the Gwali Mission Station, up to the 24th of February, with little interruption from the enemy and no loss to the regiment.

The destruction of that part of the crops allotted to the first division having been completed, the Major-General marched on the 25th en route for Haddon on the Koonap River, where he arrived on the 29th, and formed a standing camp.

At about two o’clock on the morning of the 4th of March, a patrol under Lieutenant-Colonel Yarborough, 91st Regiment, consisting of all the available men of that corps and of the 74th Highlanders, together with a troop of the Cape Mounted Riflemen, marched to the Waterkloof to destroy a number of kraals belonging to a party of the enemy who had located themselves on the sides of the mountain near Browne’s Farm. This force arrived at the scene of operations about sunrise, and immediately attacked the kraals, which they completely destroyed, and captured a number of horses and cattle which were concealed in a dense bush in an adjacent kloof. These kraals were well defended by the enemy, and the time necessarily occupied in securing the horses and cattle allowed the enemy to collect in large numbers from every part of the Waterkloof. They kept up an incessant fire upon the troops until their arrival at Nel’s Farm, where a position was taken up by the 74th and 91st Regiments, which kept the enemy in check until the horses and cattle were driven beyond their reach, after which the enemy dispersed, and the troops returned to camp. The casualties in the regiment on this occasion were 1 private killed and 4 wounded.

On the 7th of March the Commander-in-Chief arrived at the Blinkwater with all the available force of the 2nd division, for the purpose of carrying out, in connection with the 1st division, a combined movement against the Fuller’s Hook, the Waterkloof, and Kroome Heights, which were still occupied by Macomo and his best warriors. These operations were carried on between the 10th and the 16th of the month, and the regiment was engaged with the enemy on several occasions during that time, but happily without sustaining any loss. 410 women, among whom who Macomo’s great wife, many children, 130 horses, 1000 head of cattle, and a number of goats were captured, together with some arms and ammunition, and all the property in Macomo’s Den.

The Commander-in-Chief, in referring to these six days’ operations in a general order, spoke of them as a success which may well be expected to lead to a permanent and lasting peace. "The Kaffir tribes," he said, "have never been previously thus punished, and the expulsion over the Kei being effected, tranquillity on a permanent basis may be hoped for. No soldiers ever endured greater fatigues, or ever encountered them with more constant cheerfulness and devotion to their sovereign and country."

On the 16th of March the 1st division returned to its standing camp, which had been removed on the 13th to the Gola River, near the entrance of the Waterkloof; and the troops belonging to the 2nd division returned to their stations.

The Waterkloof, Fuller’s Hoek, and Blinkwater being now considered cleared of the enemy, the Commander-in-Chief ordered a combined movement to take place against large bodies of the enemy that had established themselves between the Kaboosie Mountains and the Kei River. To effect this, the 1st division marched on the morning of the 18th of March; and having been joined on the 26th at the Thorn River by a burgher force, which was to co-operate with the troops, reached the Thomas River on the 29th, where a standing camp was formed. The 2nd division, at the same time, sent patrols to the Kaboosie Nek, Keiskamma Hoek, and the banks of the Kei River, and a large number of burghers was in the field co-operating with the troops.

On the 5th of April a patrol, under Lieutenant-Colonel Napier, Cape Mounted Riflemen, consisting of 162 men, from the headquarters of the 74th, along with detachments of the various other corps, marched for the junction of the Thomas and the Kei Rivers, where it was supposed large numbers of the enemy’s cattle were concealed.

This force arrived at and bivouacked on the Quantino, a branch of the Thomas River, on the evening of the 5th, and on the following morning resumed their march in three separate columns. Large herds of cattle were seen about ten o’clock in the morning near the junction of the Thomas and the Kei Rivers, and signal fires were lighted up by the enemy in various directions. After a successful contest of several hours’ duration, in which 100 of the enemy were supposed to have been killed, this force captured, with little loss, large numbers of cattle, horses, and goats, with which they returned to the standing camp on the Thomas River. The Commander-in-Chief, Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, Bart., in a general order, spoke in the highest terms of these services, as being of such a character that a speedy termination of the war might be looked for, which must lead to the establishment of permanent peace to the country.

The standing camp was moved on the 10th of April to the Windvogel, a branch of the Kei River. Lieutenant-General the Hon. George Cathcart, appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope in succession to Sir Harry Smith, who was recalled, having assumed the command and arrived at King William’s Town, Major-General Somerset proceeded to that town to receive instructions regarding future operations.

Lieutenant-General Sir Harry George Wakelyn Smith, G.C.B., Bart., on resigning the command, bade farewell to the army which he had so efficiently commanded in a general order, in which he said:-

"I have served my Queen and country many years; and, attached as I have ever been to gallant soldiers, none were ever more endeared to me than those serving in the arduous campaign of 1851 and 1852 in South Africa. The unceasing labours of night marches, the burning sun, the torrents of rain, have been encountered with a cheerfulness as conspicuous as the intrepidity with which you have met the enemy in so many enterprising fights and skirmishes in his own mountain fastnesses and strongholds, and from which you have always driven him victoriously." [There is no doubt that the energetic Sir Harry Smith was made the scape-goat of the shortcomings of the Government at home. Among other things, he had been accused "of using the language of hyperbole in describing the numerous rencontres which have occurred, and of giving praise to the gallant officers and troops as well as burghers." Possessing, however, some experience in war, he says, in his spirited despatch to Earl Grey, dated Camp, Blinkwater, March 17, 1852, "I must maintain that such is not the case. Troops acting in the open field expect not the stimulus of praise; the soldier sees his foe, and his British courage rises at each step; but he who, after perhaps a night-march of great length, has to ascend mountains, or penetrate dense bush and ravines, filled probably with a daring and intrepid enemy, as resolute as athletic, ready to murder any one who may fall into his hands, and when warfare is of the most stealthy and enterprising kind, appreciates the praise of his commander, because, when his acts are conspicuously daring, he is conscious he deserves it. He does his duty; but human nature renders even the soldier’s intrepid heart sensible of the approbation of his superior, which he is proud to know may reach the eye of his parents and friends."]

During the next few months the 74th was kept incessantly moving about in detachments from one post to another, the bare recital of which movements would only fatigue the reader. The regiment was constantly employed either on patrol, in waylaying parties, or on escort duties, the work involved in such movements being, as we have already said, far more trying and fatiguing to the soldier than a regular series of field operations against a large and thoroughly disciplined army.

The long protracted war was definitely brought to a close by the "final clearing of the Waterkloof," in September 1852, under personal command of General the Hon Sir George Cathcart; when a large number of prisoners and of horses were taken, many Kaffirs killed, and their villages and strongholds destroyed. The names of "Capt. Bruce, 74th, commanding a detachment from Post Retief," and of "Lieut. W R. King, commanding a detachment of the 74th Highlanders," were mentioned in General Orders on this occasion, with some others from different regiments engaged.

We have only heard of one instance in which an attempt was made to sully the honour and honesty of the 74th; that was by the Rev. Henry Renton, a Scotch missionary, who at a public meeting in Glasgow made some remarks reflecting on the conduct of the 74th Highlanders. We cannot believe that a Scotchman would maliciously attempt to sully the honour of a Highland regiment; and, of course, a Christian minister never so far should forget himself as to give utterance to a statement which he does not believe has a foundation in truth, especially when that statement, as in the present case, involves the reputation of so many of his fellow-countrymen, and, it is to be presumed, fellow-Christians. That the Rev. Henry Renton, whose honesty of intention, then, we cannot doubt, was under a misapprehension when he rashly—perhaps in a gush of "holy rapture," as Burns puts it—made this statement at the public meeting in Glasgow, is clear from the following letter written on the subject by Major-General Somerset :—

"Grahamstown, August 18, 1852.

"SIR,—Having observed in several of the public journals that, at a recent public meeting, Mr Renton, a Scotch minister, took occasion to attack the character of the 74th Highlanders for their conduct when encamped at the Owali Station on the Chumie River, in the month of February last, stating that the men of that corps had plundered and destroyed the garden of the widow Chalmers while the savage enemies had always spared her property; I desire to state, in justice to the 74th Highlanders under your command, that the statement is a false and gratuitous attack on your gallant regiment, whose unvaried discipline and excellent conduct have ever met my fullest approbation.

"Shortly after the troops arrived in camp at Gwali, a guard was detached to afford Mrs Chalmers protection, and if any produce was taken out of her garden, it must have been in total ignorance that any person was residing on the property—the Kaffirs who had been residing on the grounds having all fled into the bush.

"I consider the attack of Mr Renton, whose character is so well known on the frontier, to be an attempt to enhance the value of his statements in favour of those barbarians whose atrocities he has attempted to palliate, and whose cause he so earnestly patronises.

"You will be good enough to make this expression of my sentiments known to the 74th Highlanders under your command.

"I have the honour to be, &c,
"H. Somerset,
"Major-General.

"To Major Patton,
"Commanding 74th Highlanders."

Major-General Somerset having been appointed to the Staff in India, Colonel Buller, C.B., Rifle Brigade, assumed the command of the 1st division on the 27th of August 1852.

Lieutenant-Colonel John Macduff, from the St Helena Regiment, having been appointed to the 74th Highlanders, joined at Fort Beaufort on the 17th of October 1852, and assumed the command of the regiment.

The Commander-in-Chief having determined upon sending an expedition into the Abasutus country against Moshesh, to enforce the payment of a fine of cattle and horses imposed upon that chief the detachments from Fort Browne, Koonap Port, Riet Fontein, Post Retief joined headquarters at Fort Beaufort in the beginning of November, and on the 10th of that month the headquarters, under Lieutenant-Colonel Macduff—strength, 2 captains, 5 subalterns, 3 staff, 12 sergeants, 5 buglers, and 244 rank and file—marched for Burghersdorp, where the forces intended for the expedition were to assemble under the personal command of His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief. A detachment was left at Fort Beaufort under Major Patton, consisting of 2 captains, 1 subaltern, 2 staff, 11 sergeants, 4 buglers, and 141 rank and file.

On the 11th of November, the force was joined by a detachment of artillery and 2 guns under Captain Robinson, and a detachment of the Cape Mounted Rifles, under Major Somerset, the whole being under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Macduff. Proceeding by stages towards its destination, the force was joined on the 16th by Captain Brydon’s company from Whittlesea, consisting of about 150 men, increasing the strength to 1 lieutenant-colonel, 3 captains, 6 subalterns, 3 staff 17 sergeants, 7 buglers, and 404 rank and file; on the 17th to the Honey Klip River; on the 18th to Kisas Smidts River; on the 19th to the Vleys on the Stormberg Mountains; on the 20th to the Stormberg River, on the 22nd it reached Burghersdorp, and joined the troops under Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre of the 73rd regiment, who had arrived at Burghersdorp on the previous day.

On the 23rd, the headquarters of the Cape Mounted Rifles joined the force, and on the 28th, His Excellency the Commander-in-Chief arrived, and the troops were divided into brigades, the 74th Highlanders, the 2nd (Queen’s Regiment), and one Rocket Battery, forming the first brigade of infantry, under Lieutenant-Colonel Macduff, 74th Highlanders.

On the 28th of November, the march was recommenced by brigades, and the village of Plaatberg was reached on the 13th.

Moshesh’s sons, Nehemiah and David, arrived in camp the same evening, and on the 15th, that chief himself appeared and had an interview with the governor, who informed him that if his fine of horses and cattle was not paid within three days, he would be obliged to go and take them.

On the 18th, Nehemiah arrived with 3450 head of cattle; but the remainder not having been sent within the stipulated time, the cavalry and 2nd brigade advanced on the 19th to the Drift on the Caledon River, leaving the camp and cattle at Plaatberg in charge of the 1st brigade. This force moved against Moshesh on the morning of the 20th, and after a sanguinary contest on the Berea Mountain, which lasted during the day, captured 4500 head of cattle, and some horses and goats. During that night Moshesh sent a letter to the Governor, saying that he had been severely punished, and suing for peace, which the Governor granted on the 21st, and the troops returned to camp on the 22nd.

One company of the 2nd, or Queen’s, and one of the 74th, under Captain Bruce, marched for Plaatberg on the afternoon of the 19th, and reinforced the troops engaged. The cattle were sent for distribution to Bloem Fontein, and the troops commenced their march on their return to the colony on the 24th of December. On their arrival at the Orange River, it was found so swollen from recent rains that the troops, waggons, and baggage had to be conveyed across on two pontoons, which operation occupied six days.

The troops marched on their return to the colony by nearly the same route by which they had advanced, a detachment of the regiment, under Captain Bruce, of 2 sergeants, 1 bugle; and 40 rank and file, being left at Whittlesea.

The Governor and Commander-in-Chief took his leave of the troops in a general order dated "Camp Boole Poort, 26th December 1852," in which he spoke in the highest terms of their conduct during the expedition.

Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre also, on resigning command of the division, published a division order, in which he spoke of the general character of all non-commissioned officers and soldiers as having been most exemplary. "To the officers generally he feels that his thanks are especially due; their example and exertions have rendered his task of commanding very easy." Among the officers particularly named by Lieutenant-Colonel Eyre were,— Lieutenant-Colonel Macduff of the 74th Highlanders, commanding the 1st brigade, from whose judgment and experience he derived great assistance; Captain Hancock, 74th Highlanders; Lieutenant and Adjutant Falconer, 74th Highlanders, acting Brigade-Major, and Dr Fraser, 74th Highlanders, &c.

The first brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Macduff, arrived at Bryce’s Farm, on the Kat River, on the 19th of January, 1853. On the following day the regiments composing the brigade returned to their stations; the 74th proceeding to Fort Beaufort, where it arrived on the 21st, and where, on the 20th, a small detachment from the regimental depot had joined.

In the beginning of February orders were received for the regiment to proceed to King William’s Town to reinforce the 2nd division. It accordingly marched from Fort Beaufort on the 3rd, under Lieutenant-Colonel Macdun; leaving a small detachment at Fort Beaufort. The regiment arrived at King William’s Town on the 7th, and was ordered to proceed to the Duhne or Itembi Mission Station, accompanied by detachments from the 12th Royal Lancers, the Royal Artillery, and the Cape Mounted Riflemen; the whole under the command of lieutenant-Colonel Macduff, of the 74th Highlanders, the intention being to form a connecting link in a chain of posts surrounding the Amatolas. Numerous patrols were sent out to keep up a communication with the post at Kaboosie Nek, and to examine the country near the sources of the Kaboosie and the Buffalo rivers, and the valley between the Iseli range and Murray’s Krantz.

Peace, however having been established in March, the regiment marched from the Duhne Station to Fort Beaufort, arriving there on the 26th.

On the termination of the war, His Excellency published a general order, which we shall give at length, as serving to convey the idea formed by a competent judge of the urgent nature of the duties which the soldiers engaged in the Kaffir War had to perform, and also showing the important results of the operations in which the 74th bore so conspicuous a part.

"HEADQUARTERS, GRAHAMSTOWN,
"March 14, 1853.

"The Commander of the Forces congratulates the army under his command on the termination of the war of rebellion which has troubled the eastern frontier of Her Majesty’s South African Dominions for more than two years, and which at one time assuming the character of a war of races, had it not been arrested by their gallantry, perseverance, and unparalleled exertions, must have overwhelmed the inhabitants of the eastern district of the colony. And indeed it is impossible to calculate the extent to which it might have reached.

"In conveying his thanks to the army for their meritorious services, His Excellency desires to include those of the Colonial service, Europeans, Fingoes, and Loyal Hottentots, who, under gallant leaders, nobly emulated the brilliant examples set them by Her Majesty’s troops.

"The field of glory opened to them in a Kaffir war and Hottentot rebellion is possibly not so favourable and exciting as that which regular warfare with an open enemy in the field affords; yet the unremitting exertions called for in hunting well-armed yet skulking savages through the bush, and driving them from their innumerable strongholds, are perhaps more arduous than those required in regular warfare, and call more constantly for individual exertions and intelligence.

"The British soldier, always cheerfully obedient to the call, well knows that when he has done his duty, he is sure to obtain the thanks and good opinion of his gracious Queen.

"It is His Excellency’s duty, and one which he has had the greatest pleasure in performing, to call Her Majesty’s attention, not only on particular occasions, but generally, to the noble conduct of all officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of this army, throughout the arduous contest in which they have been engaged; and they may rest assured it will not pass unheeded.

"It cannot fail to be an additional gratification to them to reflect that the result of their exertions has been the total and final clearance of the Waterkloof, Fish River, and all the other strongholds of the enemy within the colony. The surrender of the rebel chiefs, Sandilli, Macomo, and the Gaika people, who have been expelled from all their former territories, including the Amatolas, which now remain in possession of Her Majesty’s troops, and the removal of that hitherto troublesome race to the banks of the Kei; the complete submission of the Bassutus, the Sambookies, and the Anna-Galiekas, and the extinction of the Hottentot rebellion; and that thus, thanks to their noble exertions, where all was war and rebellion two years ago, general and profound peace reigns in South Africa."

"A. J. CLOETE,
"Quartermaster-General."

"Colonel Buller, C.B., Rifle Brigade, commanding 1st Division, made his inspection of the regiment on the 5th of May, when he expressed to Lieutenant-Colonel Macduff his entire satisfaction with the regiment in every respect.

Before concluding our account of the doings of the 74th Highlanders during the Kaffir War, we must tell the story of an action which sheds more glory upon those who took part in it than a hundred well-fought battles, or the taking of many cities; an action in which discipline and self-denial triumphed gloriously over the love of dear life itself.

On the 7th of January 1852, the iron paddle troopship "Birkenhead," of 1400 tons and 556 horse-power, commanded by Master Commanding Robert Salmond, sailed from the Cove of Cork, bound for the Cape of Good Hope, with detachments from the depots of ten regiments, all under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Seton of the 74th Highlanders. Altogether there were on board about 631 persons, including a crew of 132, the rest being soldiers with their wives and children. Of the soldiers, besides Colonel Seton and Ensign Alexander Cumming Russell, 66 men belonged to the 74th.

The "Birkenhead" made a fair voyage out, and reached Simon’s Bay, Cape of Good Hope, on the 23rd of February, when Captain Salmond was ordered to proceed eastward immediately, and land the troops at Algoa Bay and Buffalo River. The "Birkenhead" accordingly sailed again about six o’clock on the evening of the 25th; the night being almost perfectly calm, the sea smooth, and the stars out in the sky. Men, as usual, were told off to keep a look-out, and a leadsman was stationed on the paddle-box next the land, which was at a distance of about 3 miles on the port side. Shortly before two o’clock on the morning of the 26th, when all who were not on duty were sleeping peacefully below, the leadsman got soundings in 12 or 13 fathoms: ere he had time to get another cast of the lead, the "Birkenhead" was suddenly and rudely arrested in her course; she had struck on a sunken rock, surrounded by deep water, and was firmly fixed upon its jagged points. The water immediately rushed into the fore part of the ship, and drowned many soldiers who were sleeping on the lower troop deck.

It is easy to imagine the consternation and wild commotion with which the hundreds of men, women, and children would be seized on realising their dangerous situation. Captain Salmond, who had been in his cabin since ten o’clock of the previous night, at once appeared on deck with the other naval and military officers; the captain ordered the engine to be stopped, the small bower anchor to be let go, the paddle-box boats to be got out, and the quarter boats to be lowered, and to lie alongside the ship.

It might have been with the "Birkenheid" as with many other passenger-laden ships which have gone to the bottom, had there not been one on board with a clear head, perfect self-possession, a noble and chivalrous spirit, and a power of command over others which few men have the fortune to possess; this born "leader of men" was Lieutenant-Colonel Seton of the 74th Highlanders. On coming on deck he at once comprehended the situation, and without hesitation made up his mind what it was the duty of brave men and British soldiers to do under the circumstances. He impressed upon the other officers the necessity of preserving silence and discipline among the men. Colonel Seton then ordered the soldiers to draw up on both sides of the quarter-deck; the men obeyed as if on parade or about to undergo inspection. A party was told off to work the pumps, another to assist the sailors in lowering the boats, and a third to throw the poor horses overboard. "Every one did as he was directed," says Captain Wright of the 91st, who, with a number of men of that regiment, was on board. "All received their orders, and had them carried out, as if the men were embarking instead of going to the bottom; there was only this difference, that I never saw any embarkation conducted with so little noise and confusion."

Meanwhile Captain Salmond, thinking no doubt to get the ship safely afloat again and to steam her nearer to the shore, ordered the engineer to give the paddles a few backward turns. This only hastened the destruction of the ship, which bumped again upon the rock, so that a great hole was torn in the bottom, letting the water rush in volumes into the engine-room, putting out the fires.

The situation was now more critical than ever; but the soldiers remained quietly in their places, while Colonel Seton stood in the gangway with his sword drawn, seeing the women and children safely passed down into the second cutter, which the captain had provided for them. This duty was speedily effected, and the cutter was ordered to lie off about 150 yards from the rapidly sinking ship. In about ten minutes after she first struck, she broke in two at the foremast—this mast and the funnel falling over to the starboard side, crushing many, and throwing into the water those who were endeavouring to clear the paddle-box boat. But the men kept their places, though many of them were mere lads, who had been in the service only a few months. An eye-witness, speaking of the captain and Colonel Seton at this time, has said—"Side by side they stood at the helm, providing for the safety of all that could be saved. They never tried to save themselves."

Besides the cutter into which the women and children had been put, only two small boats were got off, all the others having been stove in by the falling timbers or otherwise rendered useless. When the bows had broken off, the ship began rapidly to sink forward, and those who remained on board clustered on to the poop at the stern, all, however, without the least disorder. At last, Captain Salmond, seeing that nothing more could be done, advised all who could swim to jump overboard and make for the boats. But Colonel Seton told the men that if they did so, they would be sure to swamp the boats, and send the women and children to the bottom; he therefore asked them to keep their places, and they obeyed. The "Birkenhead" was now rapidly sinking; the officers shook hands and bade each other farewell; immediately after which the ship again broke in two abaft the mainmast, when the hundreds who had bravely stuck to their posts were plunged with the sinking wreck into the sea. "Until the vessel totally disappeared," says an eyewitness, "there was not a cry or murmur from soldiers or sailors." Those who could swim struck out for the shore, but few ever reached it; most of them either sank through exhaustion or were devoured by the sharks, or were dashed to death on the rugged shore near Point Danger, or entangled in the death-grip of the long arms of sea-weed that floated thickly near the coast. About twenty minutes after the "Birkenhead" first struck on the rock, all that remained visible were a few fragments of timber, and the main-topmast standing above the water. Of the 631 souls on board, 438 were drowned, only 193 being saved: not a single woman or child was lost. Those who did manage to land, exhausted as they were, had to make their way over a rugged and barren coast for fifteen miles, before they reached the residence of Captain Small, by whom they were treated with the greatest kindness until taken away by H.M. steamer "Rhadamanthus."

The three boats which were lying off near the ship when she went down picked up as many men as they safely could, and made for the shore, but found it impossible to land; they were therefore pulled away in the direction of Simon’s Town. After a time they were descried by the coasting schooner "Lioness,’ the master of which, Thomas E. Ramsden, took the wretched survivors on board, his wife doing all in her power to comfort them, distributing what spare clothes were on board among the many men, who were almost naked. The "Lioness" made for the scene of the wreck, which she reached about half-past two in the afternoon, and picked up about forty-five men, who had managed to cling to the still standing mast of the "Birkenhead." The "Lioness," as well as the "Rhadamanthus," took the rescued remnant to Simon’s Bay.

Of those who were drowned, 357, including 9 officers, belonged to the army; the remaining 81 formed part of the ship’s company, including 7 naval officers. Besides the chivalrous Colonel Seton and Ensign Russell, 48 of the 66 men belonging to the 74th perished.

Any comment on this deathless deed of heroic self-denial, of this victory of moral power over the strongest impulse, would be impertinent; no one needs to be told what to think of the simple story. The 74th and the other regiments who were represented on board of the "Birkenhead," as well as the whole British army, must feel prouder of this victory over the last enemy, than of all the great battles whose names adorn their regimental standards.

The only tangible memorial of the deed that exists is a monument erected by Her Majesty Queen Victoria in the colonnade of Chelsea Hospital; it bears the following inscription :—

"This monument is erected by command of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, to record the heroic constancy and unbroken discipline shown by Lieutenant-Colonel Seton, 74th Highlanders, and the troops embarked under his command, on board the "Birkenhead," when that vessel was wrecked off the Cape of Good Hope, on the 26th of February 1852, and to preserve the memory of the officers, non commissioned officers, and men who perished on that occasion. Their names were as follows:-

"Lieutenant-Colonel ALEXANDER SETON, 74th Highlanders, commanding the troops; Cornet Rolt, Sergeant Straw, and 3 privates, 12th Lancers; Ensign Boylan, Corporal M’Manus, and 34 privates, 2nd Queen’s Regiment; Ensign Metford and 47privates, 6th Royals; 55 privates, 12th Regiment; Sergeant Hicks, Corporals Harrison and Cousins, and 26 privates, 43rd Light Infantry; 3 privates 45th Regiment; Corporal Curtis and 29 privates, 60th Rifles; Lieutenants Robinson and Booth, and 54 privates, 73rd Regiment; Ensign Russell, Corporals Mathison and William Laird, and 46 privates, 74th Highlanders; Sergeant Butler, Corporals Webber and Smith, and 41 privates, 91st Regiment; Staff Surgeon Laing; Staff Assistant-Surgeon Robinson. In all, 357 officers and men. The names of the privates will be found inscribed on brass plates adjoining."