History of the Royal Marines 1837-1914 HE Blumberg
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History of the Royal Marines 1837-1914 HE Blumberg (Minor editing by Alastair Donald) In preparing this Record I have consulted, wherever possible, the original reports, Battalion War and other Diaries, accounts in Globe and Laurel, etc. The War Office Official Accounts, where extant, the London Gazettes, and Orders in Council have been taken as the basis of events recounted, and I have made free use of the standard histories, eg History of the British Army (Fortescue), History of the Navy (Laird Clowes), Britain's Sea Soldiers (Field), etc. Also the Lives of Admirals and Generals bearing on the campaigns. The authorities consulted have been quoted for each campaign, in order that those desirous of making a fuller study can do so. I have made no pretence of writing a history or making comments, but I have tried to place on record all facts which can show the development of the Corps through the Nineteenth and early part of the Twentieth Centuries. H E BLUMBERG Devonport January, 1934 1 P A R T I 1837 – 1839 The Long Peace On 20 June, 1837, Her Majesty Queen Victoria ascended the Throne and commenced the long reign which was to bring such glory and honour to England, but the year found the fortunes of the Corps at a very low ebb. The numbers voted were 9007, but the RM Artillery had officially ceased to exist - a School of Laboratory and nominally two companies quartered at Fort Cumberland as part of the Portsmouth Division only being maintained. The Portsmouth Division were still in the old inadequate Clarence Barracks in the High Street; Plymouth and Chatham were in their present barracks, which had not then been enlarged to their present size, and Woolwich were in the western part of the Royal Artillery Barracks. Owing to the long peace and the neglect of the Services, promotion was stagnant and a Commission was held this year which makes very sad reading: as a result an Order in Council was published on 21st June 1837 increasing the Establishment of Retired Officers, which afforded some relief, but gives a sorry picture of the position of affairs: "The Inefficiency of the Officers holding the rank of Colonel Commandant in the Royal Marines who, from slowness of promotion in the Corps, must almost necessarily have reached an age incapacitating them from active exertion before they attain command of a Division, has occupied the serious attention of successive Boards of Admiralty. Further steps are necessary. At a survey held by our orders by a member of the Board, the Physician General of the Navy, and the DAG Royal Marines, three out of the four Commandants were found unfit to discharge their duties. The Board therefore propose to create six additional retirements on Full Pay for Colonels Commandant, the full and retired pay to be £1.18.6 per diem. Also three retirements on full pay for Colonels 2nd Commandant, one additional full pay retirement for Lieutenant Colonels and five for Captains This made the full pay retired establishment up to 8 Colonels Commandant, 3 for Colonels 2nd Commandant, 4 for Lieutenant Colonels (there was an increase to 6 on 10 August 1840), 25 for Captains and 10 for First Lieutenants The Order went on to say that experience of late years had shown that owing to the number of men embarked in small ships without officers etc, the number of officers on shore, in proportion to men, was larger than required; the number of companies was therefore reduced to 90 with 2 Artillery Companies, allowing one Captain and two Subalterns to each, thereby reducing 12 Captains and 4 Subalterns, also abolishing the supernumerary Artillery Captain, though he was restored on 15 May, 1838. Further, to place the Marine Corps on the same footing as the Artillery and Engineers, and to accelerate promotion the 2nd Commandants were granted the rank of Colonel, and the rank of Major was abolished. Of the Subalterns, two-thirds were to be First-Lieutenants and the remainder Second-Lieutenants On 1st January 1838, Lieutenant Colonel Sir John Owen (afterwards KCB KH) became DAG, an appointment that he held until 12 December 1854; under his fostering care conditions in the Corps much improved. Sidearms - On 5 November 1837 an order was issued that Army and Marines were to discontinue wearing of sidearms except on duty. This of course did not affect the Sergeants' swords and at the same time the exception must have been made which allowed Corporals of the Portsmouth Division to wear them when walking out. Prior to this they must have been generally worn, because an order of 30 January 1830 (Plymouth) shows that a punishment for misconduct was deprivation of wearing sidearms in streets or at Church Parade except on duty. In 1838 the numbers voted were 9,000. In 1839 the numbers voted were 9000. Officers - On 19th December it was laid down that in future all candidates for Commissions would be required to possess competent knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, euclid and trigonometry, and be able to write English from dictation: the examinations were held at the RN College, Greenwich. War in Spain. 1856-1859 - We must now turn to the operations that occurred during this period, in which portions of the Corps were gaining further laurels. First, there were the operations in Spain in support of the Christinos against the Carlists, who were trying to usurp the throne and oust the line that later was represented by King Alfonso, well known to the Corps of the present generation. When King Ferdinand died in 1833 there were two claimants to the throne: his daughter Isabella, with the Queen Mother, whose supporters were known as Christinos; and his brother Don Carlos, who according to the old Salto 2 Law was the male heir. For some reason France and England supported the Christinos, and Great Britain allowed a British Legion to be raised consisting of 2 Cavalry Regimen-be and 10 Infantry Battalions under Lieutenant General Sir de Lacy Evans. They also lent the assistance of the British Squadron under Lord John Hay, and sent a Battalion of Marines under Major John Owen, and a Field Battery of RMA under Captain R Steele, RMA with some RA and RE detachments to assist them. The Squadron secured the possession of the north Coast of Spain, so that they could land where they pleased, but they could not go inland beyond the guns of the Fleet. The Battalion (the Detachment from Plymouth under Major Owen, KH, embarked on 27 April) was formed at Santander in May 1836, and on the 15th of that month 100 men from the Battalion and a part of the detachment of HMS Castor under 2nd Lieutenant Halliday were sent to garrison Portugalette at the mouth of the Bilbao river. They were here joined by another detachment under Lieutenant G C Langley. They fortified - and incidentally 'cleaned' - an old Spanish monastery and made a battery armed with two long 32 prs and two 9 pdrs On 5th May at San Sebastian the Legion, aided by the fire of HMS Phoenix and other ships, drove off the Carlists and captured some guns, but had later to fall back to San Sebastian. The RM Battalion was brought round to Portugalette and proceeded to Bilbao, but after a week was withdrawn and returned to San Sebastian. On 27th May 1838, the Third Brigade of the Legion, supported by the Royal Marines, advanced across the river Urimea to the east of San Sebastian, covered by the fire of the steamers and gunboats, and the guns on the Fortifications together with the RMA Field Battery. They forded the river in three places and bivouacked on a hill near Ametza, whilst a feint was made to the westward by a detachment of Royal Marines in the Salamander and Reyna to draw off the Carlists. At 3 am on 6th June the Carlists drove in the pickets of the Legion and attacked in force at 8 am. The Royal Marines were called up to support the Spanish, and the three leading companies deployed and opened fire. The Carlists fell back and the Marines returned to their bivouac, Captain Garmston and two Privates being wounded. On 28th May, 70 men of the Castor under Lieutenants Halliday and Langley were taken to the eastward and landed at Passages, where they marched to the top of the hill, which commanded the harbour and the hills round. On the next day they were reinforced by Lieutenant Clapperton and 12 RMA; here they built a redoubt, under the direction of Lord John Hay, which was shaped like a ship and was given the name of the 'Ship'. It was armed with two 6 prs and two 3prs, also a 4 pr and 20 pr Rocket Tube. Seamen from the Fleet came up to help make and can the redoubt; also a company under a Captain from the Battalion. It was only about six miles across country to San Sebastian, so they could watch the fighting going on there. About 2 am on the 9th June the little garrison of 300 was attacked by 400 Carlists. At daylight, when visibility was better, the Carlists were driven off: Lieutenant Langley was wounded in the leg and gained the Order of San Fernando. The garrison of the 'Ship' was than augmented by two companies from the Marine Battalion, also the Marines of the Pearl, Tweed, and Royalist, besides 300 Spaniards and 4 Companies from the Legion. On 10th July, 1836, the Battalion was concentrated at Passages, and on 11th July, General Evans with about 5000 men moved towards Fuentarabia; Lieutenants Halliday and Clapperton with 52 men being left to hold the 'Ship' redouBrevet General Evans apparently wished to prevent reinforcements being thrown into Irun and Fuentarabia, so he seized the bridge near the Monastery of Guadaloupe.