Waterford - 59th Regiment in wreck of Sea-Horse, 1816
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Ireland Genealogy Projects Archives
Waterford Index
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File contributed by: C. Hunt & M. Taylor
59TH REGIMENT IN WRECK OF SEA-HORSE, 1816 TRAMORE,
[From the Rev R. H. Ryland's "History of the County and City
of Waterford," 1824]
'In the month of January, 1816,the Sea Horse transport,
having on board the second battalion of the 59th foot, was
driven by a raging tempest into this inhospitable bay. It
occurred in the day time; the vessel struck and went to
pieces, when 292 men, 71 women and children perished in
sight of the assembled thousands; only 30 men were
preserved. The survivors witnessed their companions and
relatives deposited in one vast grave.
A handsome mausoleum was ordered to be placed over their
remains; the work is now finished,(1824), but the expense of
it being still unpaid, it has not yet been erected.
The following inscription is on the stone' :-
"BENEATH THIS TOMB ARE DEPOSITED THE REMAINS OF
Age Age
Major Charles Douglas 29 Lieut. William Gillespie 19
Capt. James Macgregor 23 Ensign Andrew Ross 19
Lt. & Adj. Abraham Dent 26 Ensign Rowland F Hill 19
Lieut. William Veal 21 Surgeon James Hagan 30
Lieutenant Robert Scott 23 Assistant Surgeon Lambe 26
Lieutenant James Geddes 21 Qr. Master William Baird 38
Of His Majesty's 2nd Battalion 59th Foot
Who perished in the Bay of Tramore
on the 30th day of January, 1816
By the wreck of the Sea-Horse Transport
To their revered memories
This testimonial is erected by
Lieut. Colonel Austin, Lieut. Colonel Hoysted
and the other surviving officers of the Battalion;
Also a monument at the Church of Tramore"
"Returning to their native land | where they looked for
solace and repose, | after all the toils and dangers they
had endured, | For the security of the British Empire, | and
the deliverance of Europe, |Their lives were suddenly cut
short By the awful dispensation | of an all-wise but
inscrutable Providence: | But the memory of those gallant
achievements, | On which they bore so distinguished a part |
under the guidance of the Illustrious Wellington | will
never be forgotten, but shall continue to illuminate | the
historic page and animate the hearts of Britons | to the
most remote period of time."
__________
"In the burying-ground of the new parish church in the
village of Tramore, a monument was erected by the surviving
officers. The principal circumstances of the melancholy
event are recorded in the following words :_
'On the south side' -
"Lugo, 6th & 7th of January, 1809
Corunna, 16th of January, 1809
Walcheren, August, 1809"
This monument was erected by Lieut, Colonel Austin, Lieut.
Colonel Hoysted and the other surviving officers of the 2nd
Battalion of His Majesty's 59th Regiment, as a testimonial
of tjeir profound sorrow for the loss of their gallant
Brother officers who perished in the wreck of the Sea-Horse
Transport in the Bay of Tramore on the 30th day of January
1816: and as a tribute to the heroic & social virtues which
adorned their short but useful lives.
__________
'N.B. The mausoleum at Drumcannon Churchyard' :-
'On the east' :-
"Vittoria, 21st of June, 1813
St. Sebastian, 31st of August, 1813
Biddasoa, 7th October, 1813"
"On the 30th day of January, 1816 the Sea-Horse Transport.
Capt. Gibbs, was wrecked in Tramore Bay; upon which
melancholy occasion, 12 officers and 264 Non-Commissioned
Officers & Privates of His Majesty's 2nd Battalion, 59th
Regiment, together with Lieut. Allen, R. N., 15 sailors and
71 women and children perished within a mile of the shore.
Of the hapless inmates of this ill-fated vessel, only 4
officers and 62 soldiers and seamen were providentially
rescued from the raging ocean"
__________
'On the north' :-
"Nivelle, 10th of November, 1813
Nieve, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th of December, 1813
Bayonne, February & March, 1815
Sacred to the memory of
Major Charles Douglas Lieut. William Gillespie
Capt. James Macgregor Ensign Andrew Ross
Lt. & Adj. Abraham Dent Ensign Rowland F Hill
Lieut. William Veall Surgeon James Hagan
Lieutenant Robert Scott Assistant Surgeon Lambe and
Lieutenant James Geddes Quarter-Master W. Baird
of the 2nd Battalion 59th Regiment who were lost
by the wreck of | the Sea-Horse Transport | Your
heroic deeds, Brave Warriors| will never be erased from
the page of history and though | cypress instead of laurels
encircle your temples, your ceno-|taph is erected in
the bosoms of your countrymen"
'On the west' :-
"Waterloo, 18th June, 1815
Cameray, 24th of June, 1815
Surrender of Paris, 6th of July, 1815
The 2nd Battalion of the 59th Regiment | commenced their
Military Career in the Autumn of 1808 | when they
accompanied Sir David Baird to Corunna | and were
conspicuously brave in the arduous campaign | under Lieut.
General Sir John Moore. | They partook of the Expedition to
Walcheran. They also bore a distinguished part in the
principal Actions | that were fought on the Peninsula in
1813 & 1814 | under the command of | The Illustrious
Wellington; | and finally participated in the renown of the
ever-memorable day of Waterloo, and the second surrender of
the French capital.." __________
'A considerable number of the soldiers were interred in the
sand, at the distance of a hundred yards from the sea.'
SOURCE:
Journal of the Association for the Preservation of the
Memorials of the Dead in Ireland, v5 FHL# 19040038