The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-07 00:00:00

(Copy.)

" C. WYVILL."

" STATEMENT OF DR. CIILHANE, OF HER MAJESTY'S
LATE STEAMSHIP BIRKENHEAD.

" That her Majesty's steam ship Birkenhead struck
the gound at two A.M. on the morning of the 26th of
February, somewhere near Point Danger, and in twenty
minutes after filled and went down. The quarter boats
were lowered, and about 65 persons got into them; the
gig was also down. While getting the paddlebox boats
out, the heave of the ship in sinking washed them away.
Many were drowned below before they could effect their
escape to the upper deck. Dr. Culhane and eight men
landed in the gig, near Port D'Urban, where Mr. Ph il-
lipson has a store about thirty miles from the wreck.
Nothing had been heard of the other two boats, except
that they pulled out to sea to get picked up by a sailing
vessel."

" Lin' OF THE PERSONS SAVED FROM THE BIRKEN-

HEAD BY THE THREE BOATS.

" Officers—Dr. Culhane, assistant-surgeon ; Mr.
Richards, vast.-r's assistant; Mr. Renwick, first-class
assistact-engineer; Mr. Hire, clerk
" Seamen and St ,keys—John Bowen, Thomas Dunn,
_ _

eorge Till, John Smith, Charles Noble, Thomas Daley,
Thomas Langmaid, John Ablibolt, George Randall, John
King, Thomas Dew. Henry Cheeseman, Abel Stone,John
WCabe, William Chase, George Kelly, Martin Mole,
Robert Finn, George Windsor, Thomas Harris, John
Lewis, John Wood.

" Marines—John Drake (sergeant), William North-
oven (private), Thomas Daniels, John Cooper.
" Boys—W. Gale, Charles Mathews, J. R. Howard.
di Total, 33 in number.
" Soldiers.—John Moore, M. Maley, P. Peters. John
Peters, Thomas Chadwick, Robert Page, Henry Double,
Henry Vernon, James Gildea, Benjamin Worill, P.
M'Crery, 2d Regiment; Sergeant Tulle, W. Bush, Wm.
Clark, Thi,s. Coa, James Goldin, John Hei rieb, James
Wade, William Welch, 6th Regiment; Daniel Waters,
Thomas Sangaw, John Irvin, James Johnson, Robert
Dolan, John Yale, John Simon, P. Ward, 12th Regi-
ment; John Herin. E. Ambrose, James West, 43d
R,,gitneot; Adam Keating, 45th Regiment; William
Burlow, Thomas Nuo.ll, Thomas Smith, W. Sooter,
Mies; Sergeant iiilberrY, W. Bushe, Thomas Cash,
James Fitzpatrick, W. Halfpenny, P. May, M. O'Brien,
P. Lynch, John Sullivan, William Wood, 73d Regiment;
Sergeant Harold, William Boycc, Charles Ferguson,
James Henderson, D. Kirkford, Walter Taylor, John
Smith. Charles W alker, Daniel Shaw, 74th gimettt;
John Stanley, David Carey, P. Mullins, P. Cunuynham,
John Cougham, 91st Regiment; John Lamb, John
Walaisley, Frederick Winterbottom, 91st Regiment.
" Women —Mrs. Darkins, Mrs. Nesbitt, Mrs. Mullins,
Mrs. Montgomery, Mrs. Gwichar, Mrs. Spruce, Mrs.
Hudson.
" 13 children.
" Mr. Bowen, staff surgeon.
" Total-1 officer and 62 soldiers; 7 women, and 13
children."

"Colonial-office, March 1, 10 o'clock A.m.
" The following documents, received from Commodore
Wyvill, are published, as affording some further relief to
public anxiety.
" Jourr MONTAGU, Secretary to Government.
" Castor, Simon's Bay, Match 1.
"To his Excellency Lieutenant-Governor Sir Harry
Smith, G.C.8., Governor and Commander-in-Chief,
&c., Cape Town,
" Sir,--I beg to report, for your Excellency's infor-
mation, the return of her Majesty's steam-vessel Rha.da-
manthus from the scene of the melancholy wreck of the
Birkenhead at this anchorage, at three o'clock this
morning, having on board 68 of the survivors who had
succeeded in landing on the coast near to Point Danger,
of whom I send lists, and from Captain Wright's state-
ment I find that no others have been saved. The coat
had been examined for upwards of 20 miles by a whale
boat, by people on shore, and by the boats of the Rhada-
manthus. Dyer's Island had also been searched. All
the sufferers of this unfortunate wreck are on board her
Majesty's ships Castor and Rhadamauthus, and the
soldiers very thinly clothed. I have to request your
instructions as to the disposal of the troops, and beg that
directions may be given for the necessary clothing to be
furnished.
"I have the honour to be, Sir, your Excellency's
moat obedient servant,
" C. WYVILL, Commodore."
" L

-PICT OFT iE N
1:1.1 lilt nh i
2N: ERA:
LATitmr, ox POINT
OF OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS WHO
Gerina' L.
Higgins,Peter
HER MAJE,„x,,..I" DANGER FROM THE WRECK OF
"J. °lin Dodd, °
$. Hunt,
tJ,. Bma.yHdanr lLancers;, A. Auther, W. Babb, J
ei:et,nanyl
imetnt• J Kiti on*
A. Lactikiel, Hea.tVhtorioss.
Bridges, G. Wells, w'. Smith obdy, 6th Re'ginient.' G.
Donned
e,G. Lyons. G.
12th Regiment; J.
H. Maltier, J. Stanfield
Brachley, M. Hornett, 1". la
Regiment; Sergeant. D. Andre?: J. Woodward,_l43d
J. Mae°. .?4th
Holden, MI
J. Hanlon,
Sullivan, J. O'Reilly, W. Dobson, Stanfield, 60th Regiment; D.
ment; G. Taylor, M'Mullin, R. darttiteroe, lad Regi-
ment;
Munroe, J. M‘Gregor,
Holden, P. Flynn, J. Cordey,.A. M‘lisy, 4 itr!olent; J.
Lauver, J. Haggard, 91st
.Regiment. . ..... • Utson, J.
" Officers—Captain Wrigh', 91st, Regiment; Lie
ate.
Gerardot, 43d Regiment; Ensign Luc:is, 73d ler!'"
eat.
ment; Cornet Bond, 12th Lancers.
" Total, 46 soldiers and 4 officers,
"LIST OF OFFICERS AND SEAMEN OF THE BIKILEN.
HEAD TAKEN OFF POINT DANGER.
"Edward Crosser, A.B. ; Samuel Harris, A. 8.;
Thomas Handrail, stoker; Edvrard Wilson, boatswain's
mate; James Wessum, sailmAtEr's mate; James Licy,
captain mizentop; James M'Neal, cooper's mate; Henry
Maxwell, quitter-master; A. JEffiy, paymaster nd
purser's steward; E. Gardner, stoker; R. Tiggle, A. 8.;
John Hoskins, stoker; W. Luck, Private, R.M.; Thomas
Kearns, ditto; George Wyndham, B. first class; Benja-
min Turner, ditto.
"Officers—Mr. Barber, assistant-engineer; Mr. Ar-
chibald, gunner.
"Total, 2 officers and 16 seamen."

The following report ha been eslaressed to the
Con ;
1n11:,E(lan t kj, Town kAptzan bight, of
the 91st Regiment, one of the survivors:—
" "Simon's Bay, March 1, 1852.
Sire—lt is with feelings of
.the deepest regret that I

LO ND N,

have to announce to you the loss of her Majesty's
steamer Birkenhead, which took place on a rock about
two and a half or three miles of Puna Danger, at 2 A.M.
26th Fooruary.
" Tee sea was smooth at the time, and the vessel was
steaming at the rate of eight and a half knots an hour.
She struck the rock, and it penetrated throngh her bot-
tom just aft of the foremast. The rush of easier was so
great that there is no doubt that most of the men in the
lower troop desk were drowned in their hammocks.
The rest of the men and all the officers appeared on
deck, when Major Seaton called all the officers about
him and impressed on them the necessity of preserving
order and silence among the men. He directed me to
take and have executed whatever orders the commander
might give me. Sixty men were immediately put to the
chain pumps on the lower afterdeck, and told off in three
reliefs; 60 men were put on to the tackles of the paddle-
box boats, end the remainder of the men were brought on
to the poop, so as to terse the fere part of the ship. She
was at this time rolling heavily. The commender ordered
the horses to be pitched out of the port gangway, and
the cutter to he got ready for the women and children,
who had all been collected under the poop awning. As
soon as the horses were got over the side, the women
and children were passed into the cutter, and under
charge of Mr. Richards, master's assistant, the boat then
stood off about 150 yards. Just after they went out of
the ship the entire bow broke off at the foremast, the
bowsprit going up in the air towards the fore topmast,
and the tunnel went over the side, carrying away the
starboard paddle box and boat. The paddle-box boat
capsized when being lowered. The large boat 4n the
centre of the ship could not be got at.
"It wee aboht twelve or fifteen minutes after she
struck that the bow broke off. The men then all went
up on the poop, and in about five minutes more the ves-
sel broke in two, crosswise, just abaft the engine-room,
and the stern part immediately filled and went down.
A few men jumped off just before she did so, but the
greater number remained to the last, and so did every
officer belonging to the troops. All the men I put on
the tackles, I fear, were crushed when the funnel fell;
and the men anti officers below at the pumps could nor,
I think, have reached the deck before the vessel
broke up aid went down. The survivors chiug,
some to the rigging of the mainmast, pert of which rc at
out of the water, and others got hotel or flo.nieg piece,
of wood. 'I think there must have been about 200 on
the drift wood. I was on a large piece along with five
others, and we picked up nine or 10 more. The swell
carried the wood in the direction of Point Danger. As
soon as it got to the weeds and breakers, finding that it
would not support all that were on it, I jumped eff and
await 012 shore; sad when the others, and also those that
were on the other pieces of wood, reached the shore, we
proceeded into the country, to try to find a habitation
of any :sort, where we could obtain shelter. Many of
the inert were naked, and almost all without shoes.
Owing to the country being covered with thick, thorny
bushes, our progress was slow, but after walking till
about 3 P.M., having reached land about 12, we ceme
to where a waggon was outspanued, and the driver of it
directed us to a small bay, where there is a but of a
fisherman. The buy is called Standtord'e Cove. We
arrived there about sunset, and as the men had nothing
to eat I went on to a farm-house, about eight or nine
miles from the Core, and sent back provisions for that
day. The next morning I sent another day's provisions,
and the men were removed up to a farm of Captain
Smalee', about 12 or 14 miles up the country. Lieu-
tenant Girardot, of the 43d, and Cornet Bond, of the 12 h
Lancers, accompanied this party, which amounted to 68
men, including 18 sailors.
I then went down to the coast, end during Friday,
Saturday, and Sunday I examined the rocks for more
than twenty miles, in the hope of finding some men who
might have drifted in. I fortunately fell in with the
crew of a whale boar, that is employed scaling on Dyer's
Lland I got them to take the boat outside the seaweed,
while I went along the shore. The seaweed on the
coast is very thick, and of immense length, so that it
would have caught most of the drift wood. Happily,
the boat picked up two men, and I also found two. Al-
though they were all much exhausted, two of there
having been in the water thirty-eight hoary, they were
all right, the next day. except a few bruises. It was
eighty-six hours on Sunday afternoon whea I lout the
coast since the wreck had taken place ; and as I had
carefully examined every part of the rocks, and also
sent the whale-boat over to Dyer's Island. I can safely
assert that when I left there was not a living soul on
the coast of those that Shad been on board the ill-fated
Birkenhead.

"Oa Saturday I met Mr. Mackay, the Civil Com-
mi,sioner of Caledon, and also Field• Cornet Villiers.
The former told me that he had ordered the men who
had been at Captain Smales' to be clothed by him, ho
baying a store at his farm. Forty soldiers received
clothing there. Mr. Mackay, the field-cornet, and my-
self, accompanied by a party of men brought down by
Mr. Villiers, went along the coast as far vs the point
that runs out to Dyer's Island, and all the bodies that
were met with were interred. There were not many,
however, and I regret to say it could be easily accounted
for. Five of the horses bot to the shore, and were
caught and brought to me. One belonged to myself,
one to Mr. Bond, of the 12th Lancers, and the other
three to Major Seaton, of the 74th, Dr. Laing, and
Lieutenant Booth, of the 73d. I handed the horses
over to Mr. Mackay, and he is to send them on to me
here, so that they may be sold, and that I may account
for the proceeds,

On the 28th of February her Majesty's ship
Rhadamanthus was seen off Sandford's Cove ; so I
went down there, and found that Captain Bunce,
the Commander of the Castor frigate, had landed
and gone up to Captain Smales, to order the men
down to the Cove so as to embark in the steamer
to be conveyed to Simon's Bay. On Sunday, when
I was down o❑ the coast, the field-cornet told me that at
a part where he and his men had been a few bodies were
washed up and buried; also a few box's, Tchich were
broken in pieces and the contents strewed about the rocks.
I then ceased to hope that any more were living, and
(mule down to the Cove to join the other men. We
arrived there at about 6 P.M. _

" The order and regularity that prevailed on board,
from the time the ship struck till she totally disappeared,
far exceeded anything that I thought could be effected
by the best discipline; and it is the more to be wondered
at, seeing that most of the soldiers had been but a short
time in,the service. Every one did as he was directed,
and there was not a murmur or a cry among them until
the vessel made her fitful plunge. I could not name any
individual officer who did more than another. All re-
ceived their orders, and bad them carried out, as if the
men were embarking instead of going to the bottom;
there was only this diErence, that I never saw any em-
barkation conducted with so little noise or confusion.
"I inclose a list of those embarked, distinguishing
those saved. I think it is correct, except one man of the
91st, whose name I cannot find out. The only means I
had of ascertaining the names of the men of the different
draughts, was by getting them from their comrades who
are saved. You will see by the list inclosed, that the
loss amounts to nine officers and 349 men, besides thot.e
of toe crew; tho tend number embarked being 15, officers
and 476 Dunn (one officer and 18 men were disembarked
in Simon's-bay).
"I am happy to say that all the women and children
were put safely on board a schooner that was about
seven miles off when the steamer was wrecked. This
vessel returned to the wreck at about 3 p 3r , and took off
40 or 50 men that were clinging to the rigging,, and then
proceeded to Simon's Bay. One of the ship's boats, with
the assistant-surgeon of the vessel and eight men, went
off, and lauded about .15 miles from the wreck. Had
the boat remained about the wreck, or returned after
landing the assistant-surgeon on Point Danger—about
which there was no difficulty—l am quite confident that
nearly every man of the 200 who were on the drift wood
might have been saved, for they might have been picked
up here and there, where they had got in among the
weeds, and landid as soon as eight or nine were got into
the boat. Where most of the drift wood stuck in the
weeds the distance to the shore was not more than 400
yards, and as, by taking a somewhat serpentine course,
I managed to swim in without getting foul of the rock,
or being tumbled over by a breaker, there is no doubt
the boat might have done so also.
" One fact I cannot omit mentioning. When the vessel
was just about going down the commander called out,
" All those that can swim, jump overboard, and make
for the boats." Lieutenant Girardot and myself were
standing on the stern part of the poop. We begged the
men not to do as the commander said, as the boat with
the women must be swamped. Not more than three
made the attempt.
" On Sunday evening, at six P.M., all the men who
were at Captain Smales', and the four I had with myself
on the coast, were embarked in boats and taken on board
the Rhadamadthus, and we arrived in Simon's Bay at
three A.M. on Monday, the Ist of March; 18 of the men
are bruised and burnt by the sun, and the Commodore
has ordered them into the Naval Hospital. The rest are
ail right, and 70 require to be clothed. I need scarcely
say that everything belonging to the men was lost.
" I have, &c,,
" EDWARD W. C. WRIGHT, Captain 91st Regt.
"Lieutenant-Colonel Ingleby, R.A., Com-
mandant of Cspe Town.
" 1,3.-1 must not omit to mention the extreme
kindness and attention shown by Captain Smales to the
men at his house; and by Captain Ramsden of the
Lioness schooner, and his wife, to those taken on board
his vessel. " E. W. C. W."