11th Hussars
The regiment was stationed in Dublin in 1854 when it embarked 18 officers and 297 men in three divisions, sailing on May 8th, 15th and 20th, 1854. The headquarters set sail on May 15th, and was detained in the Dardanelles for 10 days by contrary winds.
It reached Scutari on June 29th, and Varna on July 1st, 1854. It disembarked on July 3rd and camped with a squadron, which had arrived on an earlier date. On July 7th, the headquarters with two troops marched form Varna to Devna which it reached on July 9th, 1854. Shortly after the whole regiment assembled at Devna where it remained till July 27, 1854. On that day the Light Brigade, including the 11th Hussars marched for Yeni-Bazaar, a two days march, where the 11th Hussars encamped near the 17th Lancers.
On August 26, 1854 the 11th Hussars with the Light Brigade moved via Yasitepe and Devna (a three days march) and encamped near Varna. On September 2nd and 3rd it marched down to the beach and embarked aboard the Trent and the London, sailing on the 11th for Eupatroria in the Crimea, where it disembarked on September 17 and 18, 1854.
On the 19th, the 11th Hussars and the 13th Light Dragoons were the advance guard for the army and it encamped near Balaklava on the 27th. After a few days it moved up to the front as an escort for the commander in chief and encamped under the garden wall at headquarters. It moved three times in early October, first to the rear of the 3rd Division, then to the rear of the Light Division, and then to ground close to the Windmill. It remained here only a few days before joining the Light Brigade near Balaklava. It was engaged at Balaklava, on October 25, 1854.
On the night of October 25, 1854 it took up a position overlooking the Woronzoff Road near the Col de Balaklava. After a few days it moved to the vicinity of the Turkish redoubts until early in November when the Light Brigade camped on the plateau before Sebastopol, in the rear of the Guards where it remained till December 2, 1854. On December 3, 18564 the regiment was ordered Kadekoi.
In May 1855 it was joined by three drafts. And by two further drafts in July 1855. It sent one of the four squadrons from different regiments to the Baidar valley on July 22, 1855.. In September 1855 a draft of 77 men joined. On October 18, 1855 the men were hutted and the horses placed under canvas.
It was the only cavalry regiment to winter in the Crimea, and it remained till July 1856. The headquarters sailed from Balaklava on July 4, 1856. The regiment landed at Portsmouth on July 28th and marched to Aldershot where it was mustered on July 31, 1856. The regiment, 18 officers and 297 men were joined in the East by 16 officers and 306 men. (p.68-75)
[Margrave, Newsletter, add reference etc]
Shipping movements of the 11th Hussars 1854-56
You will all have seen from the officer profiles I have been working on that where I can I do like to supply data on an officer's shipping movements to and from the east. This is starting to appear as data from the muster rolls is added to the Mss. The rolls require the compiler to state dates aboard ship, but not the name of the ship. It was very much up to the whim of the compiler each quarter whether ship names were added to the rolls in some fashion. Sometime it is and sometimes it is not.
Hence I generally look to other sources just in case.
I start with the regimental potted histories in the Medical History of the war. I also check with the regimental histories, most of which I Xeroxed years ago. Sometime the data appear in these sources and sometimes it does not. Where it does appear it is not always complete or even accurate. I place little reliance on these works and consult them only for 'key words' (ship names) to use in searching The Times. This can often be used as a reliable guide to the names and dates of sailing of vessels as well as a list of the names of the officers carried by each vessel.
But not always!
If there is any point to this brief article it is to provide a warning for the unwary as well as to demonstrate how to tease out the truth.
According to the Medical History this regiment was stationed in Dublin in 1854 when it embarked 18 officers and 297 men in three divisions, sailing on May 8th, 15th and 20th, 1854. The headquarters set sail on May 15th; it reached Scutari on June 29th and Varna on July 1st, 1854, disembarking on July 3rd 1854.
According to the regimental history (Williams, The Historical Records of the Eleventh Hussars Prince Albert's Own) on May 15, 1854, the headquarters embarked for the East, then two service squadrons (4 troops) embarked at Kingstown, Ireland, by detachments during the second week of May 1854. The vessels engaged included the Panola (with Capt. W G B Cresswell's troop), and the Tyrone. The regiment it says, arrived in the east, June 21, 1854, and disembarked at Varna, in late June, and early July 1854.
There is yet another source that can be consulted for this regiment, Lummis & Wynn, Honour the Light Brigade. This says that 16 officers belonging to this regiment embarked in May 1854, aboard the Trent. This does not sit easily with the regimental history that says the shops engaged in this service "included" the Panola and the Tyrone. Of course 'included' does support the notion that the Trent may have been engaged but Honour the Light Brigade credits the vessel with 16 out of the 18 officers that w ere originally shipped east. This seem to be a bit too good to be true.
Not one of these sources deals with subsequent shipping movements. You will all know that the Cavalry Division was transferred to Turkey for the winter of 1855-56 and did not rejoin the army. It was repatriated form Scutari during the spring and early summer of 1856.. The 11th Hussars was the exception. It never left the Crimea till it was sent home the following summer. For the other regiments then there was an intermediate sea journey, Balaklava to Scutari in November 1855 before the journey home in 1856. Hence all the other regiments had not less than three voyages and in some cases four of more.
For a start the regiments that were landed in whole or in part in Turkey in May and early June 1854 were then shipped to Varna in mid June. In some cases cavalry squadrons or cavalry troops arriving later that summer were shipped direct to Varna. Also the expedition to Kerch in May and June featured a cavalry element that was carried to and from the place by ship, and the Light Brigade (as reorganised in July 1855) was also shipped to Eupatoria in September 1855, before joining to the Cavalry Division sent to winter on the Bosphorus. The requirement to state days aboard ship means that one can normally identify regimental cavalry officers engaged in these various voyages, but it is frequently not possible to name the vessels concerned.
And so to the 11th. How did it get to the east in May and June 1854? Well, certainly not aboard the Trent. That vessel was engaged in conveying another regiment to the east.
In addition to the muster rolls there are other reliable contemporary sources that can be consulted. For a start there were about a half a dozen published returns naming the vessels that were engaged in the transport service in 1854, 1855 and 1856.
Each Return varies a little from the others but at least one, not only names the vessels, it also contains details of tonnage, charter dates and rates, and cargo (goods, horses and people) and this can certainly be consulted for data on the transportation of the army to the east.
It supplies names of ships that can then be compared with data in the muster rolls and for the provision of information for a 'key word' search of The Times.
To the east:
It will be found from this data that six vessels were used, the Asia, Glendaloug, Panola, Paramatta, Tyrone and the War Cloud. They were fitted out at Liverpool and sent over to Dublin to pick up the regiment. It is not always clear how the disparate regimental troops (2 squadrons of two troops each) made it from Constantinople to Varna but we cannot have everything. In this instance there is a Return that names each of these ships with the dates of the voyage to Constantinople as well as the number of officers men and horses carried to the east by each vessel. To one degree or another additional data was published in The Times.
Now to these sources:
'It is reported - for even yet it is nothing but [a] report - that the 11th Hussars are to embark on Thursday, at the Northwall on board steamers, for conveyance to Liverpool, where transports will be provided for the conveyance of the regiment to the seat of war'. (The Times, April 20, p. 12, Column A) 'About half-a-dozen of the transports fitting out at Liverpool are now taking in hay and other stores. They are called the 'Dublin fleet' and will be despatched to that city at the end of this week. They are intended principally for the conveyance of the 11th Hussars to the seat of war' (The Times, April 24, p. 12, Column B)
'The troopships Glendalough and Asia sailed from Liverpool on Monday, and the War Cloud and Paramatta yesterday, for Kingstown, where they will embark troops for the East. The War Cloud and Paramatta will take the 11th Hussars (Lord Cardigan's), with bedding, supplies, &-c... To-day two other troopships, the Tyrone and the Panola, will take their departure from the Mersey for the Irish ports' (The Times, May 3, 1854, p. 9, Column C)
'There is at length a prospect of the 11th Hussars being embarked for the seat of war. The Glendalough transport 1,058 tons burden, and to carry 50 horses of that regiment, arrived at Kingstown on Wednesday morning at 8 o'clock service number is 55. The remaining five vessels are expected' (The Times, May 5, 1854, p. 12, Column B)
'The 11th Hussars have at last received orders to be ready on Saturday morning for embarkation from Kingstown. The Glendalough, Captain Howson, which arrived on Wednesday, together with the Tyrone, the Asia, the War Cloud, the Panola, and the Paramatta, has been fitted up for their accommodation, and will convey the regiment to the seat of war. One of the officers of the regiment was at Kingstown during Thursday, making arrangements for the embarkation. Lord Cardigan is still in London' (The Times, May 6, 1854, p. 10, Column C)
'The second division of the 11th Hussars assembled in complete service order on Tuesday morning [May 9, 1854] on the parade-ground, The vessel in which they embarked was the Asia, a merchant ship of 800 tons burden (Captain Newland, master), the interior of which has been fitted with every convenience and requisite calculated to promote the health and comfort of the men and their horses. The division consisted of 41 men and 50 horses, and the officers who go out with it to the seat of war are Captain Cook and Lieutenant Haughton. The third division of this fine corps was to embark yesterday (Wednesday) morning' (The Times, May 11, p. 12, Column B) '
The Panola, 955 tons, will also sail from the Mersey to-day for Dublin, where she will embark horses belonging to the 11th Hussars. The Arabia, a fine vessel of 1,022 tons, the Coronelli, and the Rip ran Winkle, which are being fitted at Liverpool for the conveyance of horses to the seat of war, are in a forward state, and will soon be ready to receive them. The Asia transport was towed out of Kingstown harbour on Wednesday morning, and made sail for Malta with a troop of the 11th Hussars on board' (The Times, May 12, 1855, p. 7, Column F)
Now to the known data on each of the six vessels as taken from the Return and The Times:
The Asia, no. 53: Sailed from Dublin, May 10 & arrived Constantinople, June 18. 1855. Carried 46 horses, 4 officers & 46 men. (Transports Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 29 January 1855 for a Return of the ships engaged as regular Transports, with the Names etc. John Jones Dyer, Chief Clerk, Admiralty 26 May 1855)
'The second division of the 11th Hussars assembled in complete service order on Tuesday morning [May 9, 1854] on the parade-ground, Portobello Barracks, Dublin, and, having been carefully inspected by Major-General Cochrane and Major Douglas, were formed into a cavalcade, headed by the bands of the Royal Horse Artillery, the 3d Dragoon Guards, and the 16th Lancers. On issuing from the barracks the troops were loudly cheered by their comrades and by a large crowd of persons who had assembled to witness their departure. They proceeded at a walking pace, followed by the sight-loving multitude, for a considerable distance out of the city, the interest of the occasion being augmented by the presence of the three bands, which accompanied the division as far as Ball's-bridge, and would perhaps have gone farther, if they had not been deterred by the unsettled appearance of the weather.
The troop reached Kingstown about 10 o'clock, and the business of embarkation commenced shortly afterwards, and was conducted in the same manner as on the preceding day, a large crowd, including a number of fashionable, having attended to -witness the operation. The vessel in which they embarked was the Asia, a merchant ship of 800 tons burden (Captain Newland, master), the interior of which has been fitted with every convenience and requisite calculated to promote the health and comfort of the men and their horses. The division consisted of 41 men and 50 horses, and the officers who go out with it to the seat of war are Captain Cook and Lieutenant Haughton.' (The Times, May 11, p. 12, Column B)
'The Asia transport was towed out of Kingstown harbour on Wednesday morning, and made sail for Malta with a troop of the 11th Hussars on board' (The Times, May 12, 1855, p. 7, Column F)
The Glendalough, no. 55: Sailed from Dublin to Constantinople, May 9 to June 10, 1854. Carried 50 horses, 3 officers and 50 men. (Transports Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 29 January 1855 for a Return of the ships engaged as regular Transports, with the Names etc. John Jones Dyer, Chief Clerk, Admiralty 26 May 1855)
'There is at length a prospect of the 11th Hussars being embarked for the seat of war. The Glendalough transport 1,058 tons burden, and to carry 50 horses of that regiment, arrived at Kingstown on Wednesday morning at 8 o'clock service number is 55. The remaining five vessels are expected' (The Times, May 5, 1854, p. 12, Column B);
'The 11th Hussars, who have been stationed for some years at Dublin, having lately received orders to depart for the seat of war, the first division, consisting of three officers, 49 men, and 50 horses, proceeded on Monday morning to Kingstown, where a transport ship (the Glendalough) was provided for their accommodation. It is almost unnecessary to state that they were loudly cheered on the road, a large number of persons having assembled to see them off, although the hour at which they left barracks was so early as a quarter past 8 o'clock a.m. The men, who appeared one and all to be in high spirits, rode two and two out of the barrack gate amid the cheers of their comrades and the other soldiers within the walls, and were preceded by the fine bands of the 11th Hussars, 3d Dragoon Guards, and 16th Lancers. On reaching Kingstown the work of embarkation commenced, and in the space of three hours the whole division, including men, horses, baggage, &c., was comfortably accommodated on board the Glendalough. The arrangements for the reception of the troops were unexceptionable. The officers who have embarked with this division for the seat of war are Captain Edmund Peel, Lieutenant A. W. Saltmarshe, and Assistant-Surgeon Wilkin' (The Times, May 10, 1854, p. 12, Column C)
'By our Malta correspondence, dated May 30, we learn that French and English troops continued to arrive, but less frequently than heretofore... By the Glendalough, on the 30th, 21 days out, 5) horses, Captain E. Peel, Lieutenant Saltmarshe, Assistant. Surgeon Wilkin, and 49 troopers of the 11th Hussars' (The Times, June 7, 1854, p. 10, Column E)
The Panola, No. 71: Sailed Dublin to Constantinople, May 20 to July 6, 1855. Carried 55horses, 4 officers & 53 men. (Transports Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 29 January 1855 for a Return of the ships engaged as regular Transports, with the Names etc. John Jones Dyer, Chief Clerk, Admiralty 26 May 1855)
'The troopship 71 is taking forage en board for the remainder of the 11th Hussars and their horses' (The Times, May 19, p. 10, Column B)
'The Panola, 955 tons, will also sail from the Mersey to-day [May 12, 1854] for Dublin, where she will embark horses belonging to the 11th Hussars' (The Times, May 12, 1855, p. 7, Column F)
'A small detachment of the 11th Hussars embarked on board the Panola transport at Kingstown on Friday morning. They left Portobello Barracks at 8o'clock, and marched direct for Kingstown, accompanied by a large number of soldiers from other regiments, and a crowd of civilians, who loudly cheered them as they passed along. The embarkation was effected under the direction of the Adjutant General, Lieutenant-Colonel Clarke. The transport will be towed out of harbour this day' (The Times, May 22, 1854, p. 9, Column F)
'The British transport Panola, with the 11th Hussars on board, passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on the 6th inst.; all well' (The Times, June 19, 1854, p. 9, Column D)
The Paramatta, no. 52: Sailed from Dublin on May 13, Malta on June 6, & arriving Constantinople, June 22, 1854.. Carried 3 officers, 38 men & 37 horses. (Transports Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 29 January 1855 for a Return of the ships engaged as regular Transports, with the Names etc. John Jones Dyer, Chief Clerk, Admiralty 26 May 1855)
There are no references to this vessel in The Time beyond those noted above.
The Tyrone, no. 57: Sailed Dublin, May 17 and arived at Malta, June 17, 1855; Carried 52 horses, 5 officers & 55 men. (Transports Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 29 January 1855 for a Return of the ships engaged as regular Transports, with the Names etc. John Jones Dyer, Chief Clerk, Admiralty 26 May 1855)
'On Monday [May 15, 1854] the splendid troopship Tyrone, Captain Knowles, completed the embarkation of the last section of the officers, men, and horses of the 11th Hussars. On the same evening, all things being completed and ready for sea, the Tyrone was moved from the pier to her moorings in the centre of the harbour, the captain intending to put off to sat 12 o'clock on Tuesday. On that morning, however, 16 of her crew mutinied, and refused to work the vessel, and before the hour of sailing arrived they deserted her and came ashore. Eight of them were taken into custody, and on being brought before the police magistrate and the complaint lodged against them, they were committed to Kilmainham goal to abide their trial at the next commission' (The Times, May 18, 1854, p. 12, Column D)
'The Tyrone, troopship 57, was towed out of Kingstown harbour at 3 o'clock on Wednesday, having received or board, under police escort, the refractory members of he: crew. She went down the Channel under full sail' (The Times, May 19, p. 10, Column B)
The War Cloud, no. 56: Sailed Dublin, May 8 arriving Constantinople, June 17, 1854. Carried 56 horses, 3 officers & 57 men. (Transports Return to an Order of the Honourable The House of Commons dated 29 January 1855 for a Return of the ships engaged as regular Transports, with the Names etc. John Jones Dyer, Chief Clerk, Admiralty 26 May 1855)
There are no references to this vessel in The Times beyond those noted above.
To the Crimea
We then come to the conflicting accounts of the transfer of the regiment to the Crimea.
We are told by Medical History, that on September 2nd and 3rd the regiment marched down to the beach and embarked aboard the Trent and the London, sailing on the 11th for Eupatoria in the Crimea, where it disembarked on September 17 and 18, 1854. On October 18, 1855 the men were hutted and the horses placed under canvas. It was the only cavalry regiment to winter in the Crimea, and it remained till July 1856.
However, the shipping 'Return' referred above is very explicit, the Trent, Royal Mail Steam Packet Co, carried the 11th Hussars from Varna to the Crimea, September 4 to 22, 1854. It makes it clear that the London no 34 was not engaged in this service. The London was employed in carrying the Ambulance Corps from Varna to Eupatoria. I will not be able to check the regiment's muster rolls for a week or so but having seen a large number I know how easy it can be to mis-read them and I cannot but suppose at this time that Loomis & Wynn mis-read the rolls. How, however is another matter.
The rolls were compiled quarterly the first day of each being January 1, April 1, July 1 and October 1 and so shipping data on the passage east would appear in the rolls for April to June 1854, while that for the passage to the Crimea should appear in the rolls for July to September 1854. It is not easy to mistake shipping date for May with that for September.
Passage home
According to Medical History, the headquarters sailed from Balaklava on July 4, 1856. The regiment landed at Portsmouth on July 28th and marched to Aldershot where it was mustered on July 31, 1856. Apart from that the only other information traced on the repatriation of the regiment is this, taken from The Times:
The Argo, sailed from Balaklava, on May 24, 1856 and arrived Spithead Aug 4, 1856, carrying Lt G A Maddock, 11th Hussars (The Times, Aug 6, 1856, page 7, column B)
The Orinocco arrived Spithead, July 4, 1856 from the east with Maj Cooke, Lt Annesley, & Vet Surgn Bailie, 90 men & 44 horses (The Times, Sat July 5, 1856, page 5, column C).
The Calcutta, sailed from Balaklava, on July 4th, 1855, with 32 officers, and 237 NCOs & men of the 11th Hussars & arrived at Spithead, July 27, 1856 with (inter alia) Capt Dallas Yorke, Lts Cockburn & Yates, Cornet Wilkin, Asst Surgn Miller, Vet Surgeons Anthony & Gloag & WM Kontze;
In conclusion
It is disappointing that in this instance The Times does not name the officers carried east by each of the 6 ships named but by comparing dates aboard ship for each officer with dates at sea published for each vessel in the Return referred to above, it should be possible to name the vessels concerned - assuming, as sems to be the case, that the muster rolls do not name the 6 ships.
[Source: Margrave, Newsletter, add reference etc]
More on the Shipping movements of the 11th Hussars 1854-56
The previous Newsletter (December 2009) detailed the regiment's shipping movements as shown in various issues of The Times. One hopes that the muster rolls (which were not inspected till a week ago) would confirm the published entries, but this is not always the case.
The muster rolls supply dates aboard ship, which as I have already explained is not the same as dates at sea. Last month I finished the biographies of the officers of the 11th Hussars and the 12th Lancers and I see from the muster rolls that the first arrivals from the Lancers arrived in the Crimea in mid May but were supplied with rations aboard ship till June 1, 1855.
Dates aboard ship for the first arrivals in the east of the 11th Hussars were as follows.
-May 8 to June 15, 1856. Named in the muster roll to these dates were Captain Peel, Lt Saltmarshe, & Asst Surgeon Wilkin. They were named to the Glendalough by The Times, May 10, 1854.
-May 9 to June 24, 1856. Named in the muster roll to these dates were Captain Cook, Cornet Houghton & Paymaster Hely. Cook & Houghton are named as passengers aboard the Asia by The Times, May 11, 1854, and so these dates must relate to the Asia.
-May 11 to June 21, 1856. Named in the muster roll to these dates were Capt Dallas & Lt Trevelyan. They were probably aboard the Paramatta said to have carried 3 officers, 38 men and 37 Horses, with sailing dates Dublin, May 13 & Constantinople, June22, 1854.
-May 12 to July 3, 1854. Named in the M/Rs to these dates were Lt Inglis & Cornet Palmer. Location June 30, 1854 not stated but they were at sea May 31, 1854.
-May 15 to July 3, 1854. Named in the muster roll to these dates were Major Douglas, Lt Vansittart, Adjutant Ennis, Surgeon Crosse & Veterinary Surgeon Gloag, They were probably aboard the Tyronne, said to have carried 5 officers, 55 men and 52 horses, sailing dates May 17 Dublin to Constantinople, June 21, 1854. At least one of these men (Vansittart) was at Devna on June 30, 1854 suggesting the others may have remained aboard ship at Varna.
-May 19 to July 10, 1854. Named in the muster roll to these dates were Captain Cresswell, Lt The Hon J Annesley & Quartermaster Kauntz. They were probably aboard the Panola, said to have carried 4 officers, 53 men and 54 horses, with sailing dates Dublin May 20 & Constantinople, July 6, 1855 but Creswell was at Devno, June 30 while the others were at sea this date.
-The Transports Return says that 22 officers sailed to the east in May 1854 aboard the vessels named below, but only 19 officers are named in the muster rolls as having sailed to the east at this time.
Asia - 4 officers
Glendalough - 3 officers
Panola - 4 officers
Paramatta - 3 officers.
Tyronne - 5 officers.
War Cloud - 3 officers.
I have only been able to reliably identify the officers who were shipped east aboard the Asia and the Glendalough.
When it came to returning the regiment to Britain in the summer of 1856, the muster rolls supply dates and ships names for 13 officers as follows:
Argos, 1 name - Lt Geo A Maddock. Days aboard ship, given as May 24 to August 4, 1856.
Calcutta, 8 names - Capt Dallas-Yorke, Lts Claude Cockburn, Heny J Wilkin, & John Yates, Quartermaster Henry Kauntze, Asst Surgeon O B Miller, Veterinary Surgeon John Gloag and Probationary Veterinary Surgeon Paul Anthony. Days aboard ship, given as July 4 to 27, 1856.
Orinocco, 2 names - Captain Edwin Cook & Lt A L Annesley. Days aboard ship, given as June 19 to July 5, 1856.
Tonning, 2 names - Capt Jas Miller & Lt George B Price. Days aboard ship, given as June 20 to July 18, 1856.
[Source: add info.]