Shannon's Naval Brigade

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Captain William Peel (1824–1858), naval officer, third and favourite son of Sir Robert Peel, second baronet (1788–1850), prime minister, and his wife, Julia, née Floyd (1795–1859), daughter of Sir John Floyd, was born on 2 November 1824

On 13 September 1856 he commissioned the Shannon, a powerful 50-gun steam-frigate, for service in China. She did not sail until the following March. At Singapore she was met by the news of the Indian mutiny, and took Lord Elgin up to Hong Kong, arriving on 2 July. Admiral Sir Michael Seymour sent the Shannon back to Calcutta on July 16, with Elgin on board, together with a detachment of marines and soldiers. At Calcutta, Peel formed a naval brigade. On 14 August he left the ship with 450 men, six 24-pounder Bengal artillery guns, and two 8 inch howitzers. At Allahabad on 20 October he was reinforced by a party of 120 men, and from then on was present in all the principal operations. The coolness of his bravery was everywhere remarkable, and his formidable battery gave most efficient service: the huge guns were, under his orders, moved and worked as though they were light field pieces. On 21 January 1858 he was nominated a KCB and an aide-de-camp to the queen.

In 1858 Peel's brigade employed six naval 8 inch guns from the Shannon. Peel mounted these massive weapons, weighing 65 cwt each, on carriages locally constructed by the sailors. They provided the firepower to overcome the massive walls of Indian forts, and to keep down British casualties.

In the second relief of Lucknow on 9 March 1858 Peel was severely wounded in the thigh by a musket bullet, which was cut out from the opposite side of the leg. Still very weak, he reached Cawnpore on his way to England, and there, on 20 April, he contracted smallpox, of which he died on 27 April, aged thirty-three. He never married. His services in the field were the highlight of the Lucknow campaigns. His men achieved unparalleled feats of arms and endurance that broke the will of the enemy.

Peel was an officer distinguished alike for his bravery and his resourcefulness. He benefited from the rapid promotions provided for the son of a prime minister, although his father never actively solicited them; however, no one ever doubted that he was a worthy recipient. In creating a legendary Victorian hero, concentrating on his courage and tragic death, his hagiographers did scant justice to his professional skill and intellectual achievements. His death deprived the navy of one of its most brilliant officers; his career had only just begun.

Summary

On 14 August 1857 the Naval Brigade (Capt Peel, 450 men and 6 field guns) left HMS Shannon aboard a barge towed by the steamer Chunar.

On 18 September Lieut Vaughan and 120 men left HMS Shannon aboard a barge towed by the steamer Benares.

Related articles

For details of events involving Shannon's Naval Brigade see the following articles

1 November 1857	Battle of Kujwa
12 November 1857	Battle of Alambagh
14 November 1857	Actions at Dilkusha and Martiniere
16 November 1857	Battle of Secundra Bagh
17 November 1857	Second Lucknow Relief
28 November 1857	Second Siege of Cawnpore
2 January 1858	Battle of Kallah Nuddee

Brigade Complement

First Detachment

Left Calcutta 14 September 1857

Captain William Peel RN VC
Lieut Thomas J Young RN	Won VC at Secundra Bagh
Lieut William C F Wilson RN
Lieut Hay RN	Wounded at Cawnpore 27 Nov 1857
Lieut Nowell Salmon RN	Won VC at Secundra Bagh
Capt Thomas C Gray, Royal Marines
Lieut William Stirling, Royal Marines	Wounded at Kujwa
Lieut Lind of Hazeley, Swedish Navy
Rev E L Bowman
Dr Flanagan
Mr Comerford, Asst Paymaster
Mr Martin Abbot Daniel, Midshipman	Killed at Secundra Bagh
Mr Garvey, Midshipman
Mr Edward Daniel VC, Midshipman
Lord Walter Kerr, Midshipman	Wounded at Cawnpore
Lord Arthur Clinton, Midshipman
Mr Church, Midshipman
Mr Brown, Engineer
Mr Bone, Engineer
Mr Henri, Engineer
Mr Thompson, Gunner
Mr Bryce, Carpenter
Mr Stanton, Asst Clerk
Mr Watson, Naval Cadet
Mr Lascelles, Naval Cadet
450 other ranks among whom were
Bosun's Mate John Harrison	Won VC at Secundra Bagh
Foretop Capt William Hall	Won VC at Secundra Bagh

Second Detachment

Left Calcutta 1 September 1857

Lieut James W Vaughan RN
Lieut Henry R Wratislaw RN
Mr Edmund Verney, Mate
Mr Way, Midshipman
Mr Richards, Naval Cadet
120 other ranks

Other named personnel

Ordinary Seaman William Ballard	Wounded at Kujwa
Ordinary Seaman John Connor	Wounded at Kujwa
Able Seaman Morris Currun	Wounded at Kujwa
Able Seaman James Finder	Wounded at Kujwa
Able Seaman James French	Wounded at Kujwa
Captain Edward Baker AG	Wounded at Kujwa
Ordinary Seaman John Jordan	Wounded at Kujwa
Able Seaman William O'Neill	Wounded at Kujwa
Ordinary Seaman John Metcalf	Wounded at Kujwa
Thomas Langston RM	Wounded at Kujwa
Able Seaman William Ashton	Killed at Kujwa
Richard Kelly RMA	Killed at Kujwa
Leading Seaman Alexander Hewston	Killed at Kujwa
Michael Shea RM	Died 7 Nov 1857
Able Seaman Edward Robinson	Won VC at Lucknow
Maintop Captain Francis Cassiday	Killed at Dilkusha 14 Nov 1857
Petty Officer Devereux

External links

HMS Shannon Wikipedia
HMS Shannon www.pdavis.nl
Hall's VC at Shah Najaf Mosque Google Books

Historical books on-line

The Shannon's Brigade in India by Edmund Hope Verney 1862 (Google Books)