Born at Limerick, Ireland, c.1835.
In 1854 he gave as his next-of-kin his "Father, Edward O'Brien — with the Regiment in the Crimea". And when he died in India in 1858 his next-of-kin was "Father, Edward O'Brien — with the 4th Q.O. Light Dragoons." Presumably this was 1021 Edward O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons.
[PB: See also the notes on 1507 James O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons, for family relationships. His brother?]
Enlisted at Dublin on the 31st of August 1850.
Age: 15 years 4 months.
Height: 4' 11".
Trade: None.
Taken prisoner of war at Balaclava, 25th October 1854.
Rejoined the regiment from Russian captivity on the 22nd of October 1855.
He is mentioned in the book, Reminiscences of Crimean Campaigning and Russian Imprisonment [date/edition?], by 1277 Robert Farquharson, 4th Light Dragoons, for an incident when a party of Englishmen were on the march to Odessa to be repatriated in September/October of 1855. After describing how a party of the prisoners had arrived at a good-sized village near Elizabethgrad in Southern Russia where some weeks before a party of Turkish prisoners had been involved in a fight in a market during which an old man from the village had been killed, and also one of the Turks:
This caused the village people, when the English party marched through, to bar them from obtaining any refreshments — this causing another fight — which the English won.
The day following we marched into Elizabethgrad.
Whilst on the march we had missed Jack Campbell (a sailor from the "Monarch") and a man of my regiment named Michael O'Brien, who however both joined us in that town. They had stopped behind in the last village to get something and when the people saw them by themselves they took their advantage and attacked them, sending them on to us with black eyes and bruised heads.
This roused the ire of a number of Irishmen in our party, and as we had to remain in the town a whole day some 13 or 14th of them volunteered to go back and chastise them — which they accordingly did, in an efficient manner..."
A nominal roll of men of the regiment at the Cavalry Depot, Scutari, made out on the 9th of November 1855, shows him as a Prisoner under sentence of Court-martial from the 4th of November.
(See the record of 1292 Joseph Armstrong, 4th Light Dragoons for details of the courts-martial held on the returned prisoners of war.)
Michael O'Brien's statement to the Court:
"As the 4th Light Dragoons were returning after the Charge on the 25th of October 1854, my horse was shot under me and I was made a prisoner by the Russians. I was conducted to their Camp and afterwards forwarded into Russia, where I remained until the 27th of August 1855 when I was sent to Odesssa and after being detained there for three weeks was sent on to Balaclava, which I reached on the 26th October 1855 [sic]."
Next of kin (in 1854): Father, Edward O'Brien — with the Regiment in the Crimea. (Presumably this was 1021 Edward O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons.)
Transferred to the 7th Hussars at Aldershot on the 1st of August 1857. Regimental No. 79.
Served in the field in Oude, East Indies, 4th of February — 14th of May 1858, including the Siege of Lucknow, 2nd — 16th of March 1858.
Died in India on the 13th of May 1858.
Entitled to the Crimean medal with clasps for Alma, Balaclava, and Sebastopol.
Mutiny medal with clasp for Lucknow.
On his medals, see also the record of 1507 James O'Brien, 4th Light Dragoons.
(There is a photograph of his medals in the 4th Hussar file.)
Died in India on the 13th of May 1858.
Michael O'Brien is shown in the Regimental "Casualty Returns" for the period as being born at Ballymanus, Ireland. He left no will, and his credits were given as £6/10/3d. Also as "Entitled to Prize-Money for Lucknow, but has not yet received same." His next-of-kin was given as "Father, Edward O'Brien — with the 4th Q.O. Light Dragoons."
His place of death was given as Ahmednugger, but another source states that it was at Newabgungee. He probably died from "Sunstroke" (heat exhaustion) as the Regimental History states that on one occasion nine men died of this in a single day. It further states that thirty-three men died of this cause in the summer of 1858, whilst 250 more had to be evacuated to hospital. Many of the men "fell asleep in their tents, and never awoke."
In a later edition (1899) of Farquharson's Crimean Campaigning, in the possession of O'Brien's greater family, there is another reference to him besides that already noted:
"When the Indian Mutiny had broken out, and reports came home of the terrible massacres at Cawnpore and other places in India, troops were at once despatched from England to assist in quelling the Mutiny, and amongst the cavalry regiments which were ordered out was the 7th Hussars.
Men were allowed to volunteer from the home regiments to strengthen those going out and Michael O'Brien joined the 7th Hussars, and when that regiment arrived at Calcutta, it was at once despatched to join Sir Colin Campbell's little army before Lucknow.
One day, in the midst of a hot and fierce fight with the mutineers, an officer of O'Brien's troop fell from his horse, badly wounded: the Sepoys were rapidly advancing, when Michael, seeing the deadly danger his officer was in of being hacked to pieces by these fiends, deliberately rode back, dismounted, got the wounded officer onto his horse's back and conveyed him safely to his regiment, and that under a perfect hail of bullets from the enemy.
O'Brien was recommended for the Victoria Cross, but alas, poor fellow, died of sunstroke before the honour could be conferred on him."
[PB: I have not been able to find this 1899 edition. The earlier editions, 188?, end with Farquharson being released from Russian captivity, so they obviously contain nothing of his experiences in India.]
There is no mention in any of the known Regimental Histories of Michael O'Brien or of such an incident taking place. However, Cornet William Bankes of the 7th Hussars was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the life of a brother-officer in almost exactly identical circumstances. It could be that this has been confused in some way.
[PB: there is an account of how Bankes won his VC at Lucknow, India, here accessed March 2015.