The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-10-21 00:00:00

FUNERAL OF FIELD-MARSHAL SIR
JOHN BURGOYNE.

_
On Tnes.liv, the remains "t the late
inirgovue were deposited in St. Peter's
Church within the Tiiwer of Loudon. Representa-
tives iieher Majesty :mil of the Prince of Wales, to-
gether with the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Edward
it Sase-Weimar, Mr. Canlwell, and Mr. Ayrton,
were !sweat The route of the funeral prneession
b y way of (oxford-street, :show Holborn, over the
new N'iaduct, and thence through ('hap-due to Tower-
hilt Many shops were dosed, and on the Thames
most of the vessels dropped their Hags to half-mast
high. There was a large assemblage of spectators,
amongst whom mourning was general.

The Time. thus notices; the hero's funeral :
Tuesday. the 17th. Wax the anniversary—Mid 17 years ago
o the day—that Oiere st...it on a tin a land reillote
from this, with arms folded and resolute face, a lithe sinewy
old man, watildng keenly • scene of a sort which it is rod
given to many awl. to Ace. Theft, lay before him a 101'11113Q
city, witle-strceted, broad.terraced, with domes and steeples
shining in the sun, loog ranges of stately buildings resting
on the sea creek, guarded by strong forts, and proud in its
array ef floating batteries, lone Imes of eremellated wall, a
frowning earlibtrork, and a suite stone tower rising from
the cos ert ..f its gabione I parapet From ship and fort,
from wall and embrasured deft nee, redoubt, root tower
rolled inceasant thunder of cannon, volleying like musketry,
arid sweeping into a spray of sand and foam of dust tile crests
of parallels, and ripping the earth with iron teeth.
Nearer beneath hill oe lay the zigzags and trenches, broken
here and there into s.dhl batteries, from which came, Increas-
ing in force and power and volume, the answer of our Eng-
lish guns. and, lessening in strength and frei money, the reply
of our gallant allies. Generals who hail seen great service.
officers who knew well the import of each incident as it
arose, looked at the old niaii s face and said to each
other. "'she wonder what sir John thinks of it. What
will Sir John do ?" For he was then the prealding mind—
the genius of that 17111 of I ictober, when the great filet that
the Mlles must bombard Sebastopol before they could hope
to enter it was verified, and Ili, one thought that day if
he skill of generals or the valour of troops, but laid
all the stress mot anxiety of the moment on the craft
of the veteran Engineer. In the trenches, constrrieted
by his care, lay secure the lines of (Inittel. Infantry, on
which he in his turn relied for the consummation of
his work. WO when at the close of that eventful day the
chiefs resolved that no me should lie made of their ail,s
and bayonets, the grim old sohlier lint up hiS glass and
uttered his pithy verdict, " Very well ' The more you
look at it, the leas you will like it." And very true it was :
true as his instant grasp of the situation when the Mlles
were ordered to embark, when they had to select a place for
landing, when they had to consider tom they were to ap-
proach the nut, kernel and all, of abb.+ they haul peeled the
husk at the Alma, and when finally they had to sit down
before it Mid liainmer,hll remit! for the weak place, which
he found out at inice. lie W. then an oil Mall, The .1 ciny
Lion and I .ur columns record his services before he sailed for
the Crimea, and there was his last military service in the field.
cint of It and in office he did many. Who knr,svu of [hula
About as many as knew his name and could weigh his worth
before the Duke of Wellington suddenly addressed a letter to
is Mall whose patronymic WAS 104 B)noilynnnts wilt,
" trick" for lair arms. His hibours were inct &mit and
many a silent force an truly never break tato
self assertion iwet ita Mill,: to his vigorous initiative.
There were thousands if peonle myriads alto, ist —swanning
along the street curbs unit in the windows, unit on the house-
tops. to see the hearse of the old General pa., who very
probably regarded It as the receptacle of the remains of
some old fogey." 'there is iii counti) in the world which
knows so little of the *Tykes of those who best sent. her
very often as Engialhi ; alien known lielie al'e hialitlinsi.
Why will not Sir John Burgoyne harlot in West JJJ l ister
Abbey or St. last'. If you asked soldiers at,., w ere
acquainted with his career, and were altar ctigilitalit if the
merits of these who have been so T t, they would be
unable to give a reply.
The nation should honour the man who is the type of the
hest nut-oaf lax future. On Tower-hill, on Tnesday, there
was assembled no '• Carlotta, careless crowd,' for inside the
barrier there Was a V(l7 Sympathetic " professional"
gathering, Outside, in all Made., be it Said tO a multitude
whose appetitefor sight-seeing—their raison fr,'( re to he there
at all • was most meagrely fed on waifs and strays of uniforms,
there was very good behaviour. Inside the front lines, guarded
by Beefeaters, there was such a gathering of English soldiers
of the past, the present, and let us hope the future, as has 11,4
been seen for many along day, and may never he seen agatn.
'there were Meal there who had served with John Burgoyne at
Pedalos, there were, Dm, the pupils in his great siege lesson
who have passed through the schoirls and are masters if sits.
It was something to make one's heart heat a little to WC
"the old fellows," who must in all human probability no
soon follow their comrade. Of the officers of hen iran
whom he commanded In the ('riniea there were many pee'
sent. though " llonlon of the Right Attack "Is gone. Chap.
man was there, Shinto.. We believe), Browne, bus-art, Led-
not, Cowell. Drake, Donnelly, and probably several others.
The Duke of Callihrilige allot ItioSt of tile Head tMaiters Stan',
Sir. R. Airey. Major ilelleral Ad) e, Leateliallt-o.lolla
. . .

suer, attcuthn!. Ir I ..rthell. vlio u:ts,retly expetel, 15L8

present. sir Edward Lugard WWI also there ; Ntr
WO, 1. with many Artillery oftkers, was in attemlance ;
• crowds of General officers, who only come later in order
because this is not an official fiat: sir W. c odrington,
Llllllll. sir .1. Cheape. Sir It. Dacres, Sir J. rennefather. Lord
Rokeby, sir J. Scarlett, sir it. Bell, sir A. Lawrence, Ellice,
Sir J. St. George, Prince Edward of Saxe Har.
dinge, colonel M. hrfice, Colonel Hepburn, sir Garnet
Wolseley, Aleyrick, W. Colville. The Hooschold Cavalry
were represented by officers from each regiment (('aptains
Curzon, tiuinitiy, &c.). The Foot Guards :rave a large contin-
gent, in addition to the officers of the battalion of scuds Fusilier
lillardr on duty. The Army Medical Department and Control
Department were well honoured in the presence of distin-
guished memhers of their body. That there -was any order In
the marshalling of them, or any pretence of arrangement,
would be much to aver. Bat 11011010 W o,r, other, as the
guns were tlring—four comets short only of the salute due
to hying Royalty is the recognised honour to a deceased
Field-Marshal—there grew Wit f the great array of scarlet
and blue, silver and gold and plume, a kind of procession.
which followed the coffin into one of the dingiest and most
poverty-stricken edition s in which a Christian congregation
ever offered prayers to If coven.

The Duke of Cambridge and the Representatives of her
.11ajesty, the Prince I.f Wales, the Duke of Edinburgh, awl
the King of the Belgians occupied the pews fronting the
pulpit. The whole of the remaining pews were filled with
general and other officers the galleries were reserved for
the families of officers and friends of the deceased.

The coffin, of beautiful polished oak, was covered with a
black velvet pall, over which were laid the vrimsgi satin
robes of the Order of the Lath, the sword, sash, cocked
hat, and numerous orders of the deceased. m the coal',
lit was an engraved 'date stating the name, military rank,
nod .dtices of the deceased, with the dates of I.i irth and
death.

The family mourners and general and other officers liar.
lag taken the places assigned to them the soknin service
commenced.

The ehaidain was assisted by the Rev. Robert W. Fonest,
the clergyman who attended the deceased in his last Illness,
and the service was read by both rev. gentlemen ill a solemn
unit a deeply Impressive manner. When the body was
lowered into the grave—iminediately under the altar—and,
again, at the conelusion of the service, a salute of 17 gulls was
tired and in ended a mournful and impressive, but, in many
respects, most interesting and even brilliant ceremonial.