The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-03-28 00:00:00

RETURN OF GENERAL WOLSELEY
AND HIS STAFF.

On Saturday mornin, Sir Garnet Wolseley landed at Ports-
mouth frm the Manstoban. and was received with a great
deal of enthusiasm, no Lolt Correspondent of the Ditty
Neu% In a most interesting letter, thou describes the
event:—

The Allan liner Manitoban, with Sir Garnet Wolseley
standing on the poop in the midst of a group of men
whose names will live as long as She Ashantee cam-
paign is remembered, entered Portsmouth Harbour
on Saturday morning wiihout shy of those marks of
enthusiastic welcome which marked the arrival of
the Tamar. Like the Tamar, the Manitoba', had on
the previous night dropped anchor at Spithead at an
hour too late for the news to spread in Portsmouth,
and, odd following the precedent, she entered the
harbour at an hone when half the world was asleep,
and the other belt was getting its breakfeet. The
St. VOlCellt, which occupies th.. post of honour on these
occasions, being among her Majesty's ships the one
moored merest to the ertrence to the harbour, hut,
riedly got its band together, and as the long white
hull of the Manitoban glided by, the strains of " See
the Couqueriog Hero ('men" were wafted to her over
the water. The bend of the Duke of Wellington, not
to be outdone in the matter, was piped up, MA doubt.
less struck a common chord of unison in the breasts of
the group on the Manituban's deck when it played
"Home, Sweet Horne."

Thete were some there who bad brought home with
them a memory of perilous moment., which must have
made the tune sound strangely sweet. There was the
Commander-M.Chir f himself leaning over the bulwarks,
not fillite 1.0 3 outidol looking as his portraits paint
him, perhaps unduly aged iv appearance by the try
hairs that ohm thickly under hi, round felt hat. Near
him VMS Colonel Graves, chief of the Staff, who was
in the thickeet of the tight at Onliwn, and raw the
bornirg of Coomassie. Not far off viis Colonel Evelyn
Wood, who has lost his chance of the Victoria Cross
for bravery displayed in Ashantee only because he had
already won the coveted prize elsewhere. Colonel
Wood has brought home with him an Ashantee slug
which he received in his breast at Amnaful when lead-
ing on his men. This put him hors de combat for a
short time, but as soon as he could stand ..n his feet he
sent an urgent message to Sir Garnet Wolseley beg.
giug permiasion to go to the front again with at least
one company of his regiment. The petition was made
the more urgent by the entreaties of young Arthur
Eyre, lieutenant in the Colonel's command. Eyre had
gone through all the fighting with Wood's regiment,
and repined sorely at the inaction that followed up in
his leadtr's laying up. "We shall have no more
fighting now Wood's down!" he said. But there
was one more battle in store for him. Sir Garnet
yieldtd to Colonel's Wood's entreaty, and ordered
him to the front. The Colonel selected a hundred men
of his regiment, and with them and young Eyre
marched in a single night over the ground the main
body had taken three days to traverse. They fell in
with the rimy at Dab, in good time to lead the van
there, and at the battle of Ordain, which opened the
gates of Coomamie, where young Eyre was shot dead
by Colonel Wood's side, and so had for ever slaked his
noble thirst for battle. Amongst the group is Colon&
Colley, of the 2nd Queen'it, who organized th• trans-
port service, without which all the pluck of the men
and the generalthip of the officers would have been
unavailing. Now that it is all over, and the fight
I, won, officers talk freely of the recurrence of critical
moments when all seemed lost for lack of transport.
: But in the darkest moments Colonel Colley did not
l despair, and never once swerved fr•m his determination
to carry out what he had undertaken to accomplish.
There, also, is Major Baker, who did all the work as
chief of the Staff from the time Colonel McNiel was
woondvil till Colonel Graves got out ; and Captain
Buller, the head of the intelligence department, the
first man in the palace of King Coffee at Coommaie ;
and Captain Brackenbury, military secretary, who,
though he suffered grievously from the climate, refused
to be put on the sick list and did a man's work all
through the campaign ; and Major Russell, the
gallant defender of Abracampa. One figure is wanting
to complete the group, for Lord Gifford is ashore on
the jetty watching the ship come is. Portsmouth,
which, like all the world, letui read of Lord
Giffor l's exploits, was surprimed to find that the beard'
lose youth with the gentle, almost womanlike, face, who
was chatting pleasantly with Captain Laecelles and
had a smile for every one, was the terrible scout who
hung upon the skirts of the Ashantee army all the way
Irvin the Prah to Coomsesie. Lord Gifford as been
recommended for the Victoria Cross for his gallantry
at Bequa, and the recommendation is endorsed by the
hearty approval of every fighting man in the expedi-
tion. "Gifford wan always ahead of us," said one,
" with a body of scouts, numbering from 100 to fifty.
Sometimes he made tong forced marches that wine in
themselves marvels. I remember him coming into
camp one day in a famished state, having had nothing
to eat for tbirty•six hourn Ile used to go &heti,
feeling him way through the both and reconnoitring.
The gallant Naval Brigade was represented on the
quarter deck of the Martitoken by Lieutenant Beane,
Sub-Lientenant Coker dub Lieutenant Kennedy, and
Dr. Fisher. The service's which the Brigade, as the
pioneer corps of the expedition, rendered dozing the
campaign will probably be recognised by liberal pro-
motions. Whi n the first detachment of soldiers
arrived at Cape Coast, they found the Naval Brigade
already at work, and at work they remained till the
British flag was planted in the streets of Coomassie.
Starting 300 strong, only 100 marched back from
the Ashantee capital, ono-third being invalided
before the goal wee reached, and the remaining third
being carried back sick after the town WM burnt. Of
the 22 officers who started in command only three were
able to marth back—Lieutenant Evane, Lieutenant
Mann, mid Lieutenant Piper. Mr. Coker, after
: participating in all the fighting, was knocked over by
• the fever in the hour of final victory, and was carried
back to the coast in the ambolancee. Dr. Fisher, who
when occasion offered showed that he could fight as
well as cure, went through the while of the campaign,
his cheeriul presence and indomitable good temper
being of themselves a cordial for the sick.

I t-wae about hall-past eight when the Ma n itoban wee
moored at the watering jetty in the dockyard, amid the
cheers of the little group that had collected there. Sir
Rodney Mundy, Port Admiral, and Sir Leopold
1111.11intock, Superintendent of the Dockyard, were not
long in arriving to offer their congratulations to Sir
Garnet and his officers, Captain Luicellee, the Quarter.
ma-ter-General, having already presented hie. The
Mayor of Portsmonth, Mr. Kent, wee next introduced,
and invited Sir Garnet to be present at the banquet ,
which Portsmouth is getting ready for the Aabauue ;
tion,k. The General replied that the state of his '
health was such that, as soon as his duties would per.
mit, he should leave England for a brief stay in s .
climate approximating somewhat more closely to that .
in which be had spent the last four mouths; but that
after such brief interval he would be most happy to
accept the invitation. . , „ The dockyard men came i
running down to meet the victorious General as ne
walked through the yard on hie way to the private
, station, and almost carried him into the carriage,
; cheering lustily the while, At the general
I station of the South Western Railway in the
town an immense crowd had congregated to I
see the officers pain through, Amongst those I
present was Lord Templetown, to whom Sir Garnet I
Wolseley descended as the train drew up, remaining a
few minutes in conversation, By a strategic move.
moat the crowd was divided, one half being left on one
side of the station and seeing nothing, the other being
privileged to cluster ronn i the windows of the car- I
rieges and stare at the occupants. Sir Garnet, sitting
at the aide of the carriage nearest the platform, hell an
Informal levE,, the crowd slowly paenng by In file,
some five or six deep, the General ooestantly bowing
his acknowledgment. At a quarter-pant ten the
train steamed out of the station amid prolonged cheer.
earn. et brings, with him the thousand 01030611 of .
gold peel by Rug Koffee as a first instalment 01 the,
indenmicy. Re also brings the umbrella of Easimin-
quanta, one of the oldest and most renowned of the
Ashanti* Generale. This trophy wag captured at