The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-16 00:00:00

Naval and Military Intelligence

The Immortalite, 35, screw frigate, Captain George Han-
cock, was paid out of commission at Portsmouth yesterday
tinder the stiperintendenoe of Captain H. Caldwell, C. 8.,
commanding the steam reserve at that port. George
Hassell, boatswain's mate; received a gratuity of £lO and a
silVer medal for long service, and a pension of 422, Wil-
liam Smith, boatswain's mate, received a gratuity of
£l5 and a silver medal, and a pension of £36. The
Immortalite was commissioned at Portsmouth on the
16th of November, 1860, and sailed from Spithead on the
7th February, 1861, for the Mediterranean. After serving
at the island of Majorca as escort to the Empress of Austria,
the Immortalite left Palma for Gibraltar and England on
the 6th of May, 1861, and arrived at Plymouth on the 29th.
On the 10th of August, 1861, she sailed from Plymouth for
Halifax, Nova Scotia, to join the British squadron under
Admiral Milne on the North American and West India
station. There she remained until ordered to England to
pay out of commission on the 15th of June, 1861, when she
sailed from Bermuda, arriving at Spithead on the 2d July.
Dining the time the Immortalite was attached to the North
American and West India station she performed very im-
portant duties. Among those may be noticed her despatch
to Annapolis by the British Admiral on the arrest by Com-
modore Wilkes of Messrs. and Mason, to communi-
cate with Lord Lyons, and her subsequent cruise and con-
voy of British shipping off the island of Bermuda. On the
ship receiving orders at Portsmouth to pay out of commis-
sion, a few days after her arrival in England from the West
Indies, it was stated that her crew called for and gave three
cheers for the captain. We understand this is not literally
correct, as such a public expression of feeling on the part of
the crew of one of her Majesty's ships would be contrary to
Admiralty regulations, and farther, that whatever expres-
sion of feeling was exhibited by the crew on their receiving
the news that the ship was to be paid out of commission in
lieu of being refitted to join the Channel fleet, which had
been her first orders, was manifested in the absence of Capt.
Hancock.
The Geyser, paddle, Commander Thrupp, sailed from
Portsmouth yesterday, with men from the Immortalite.
The encampment of the ere* of her Majesty's ship Ra-
coon, Count Gleichen, on the island of Inchcolm, Firth of
Forth, i
Forthto-day.
The acoon arrived in
the before going out on a
u malignant
figNnoarneet acya:with PR
i t o
on be
the broke
29thn ujpunte e
o coalrinee Alfred. On ar-
riving there e thei e
twooa Coast
of smallpox were reported,
and in two other cases the disease seemed to be threatened.
The invalids were removed to the Royal Infirmary of Edin-
burgh, where one of theth died Lifter fotir date' illnessi and
where the second still remains ; the two suspected cases did
not prove to be smallpox, and they have recovered. The
proposal was immediately made to encamp the crew on shore
and thoroughly cleanse the ship. The small island of Inch-
colm was selected as the cami ground, and tents were
procured from Edinburgh Caatpiong .
anchorage in the sound between t The Racoon selected an
he island and the Fifeshire
coast, and about 30 men were left on board to purify and
fumigate the ship, Toe crew were specially inspected by
the medical officers, and those Who did
not show satisfactory
marks of vaccination were subjected to the operation. The
health of the men on shore has been excellent, and the
ordinary sick list has daily been diminishing until it has
been reduced not only below the average, but almost to a
blank rettirlio The steps takes hate not only put a Stop to
what threatened io be a severe outbreak of epidemic disease,
but greatly improved the general health of the crew. On
the re-embaroation of the men, and
after the netiessery pre-
Paration hare been made for sailing, the Racoon will leave
the
proceed to Firth of Forth and
14Yen in Norway, where
will rejoin his ship:
Prince Alfred, who has meantim IPe
gone
out in the Aurora,
•
In order to encourage the
_mechanics and other hands
employed on the Achilles, 20, 6,121 tons, 1,250 horse power,
fitting for sea at Chatham, to
lUSe every possible exertion in
interne. fitment hastening forward the aof that frigate, Capt.
W. H. Stewart, C. 8., superinteftdent of the dockyard, has
issued a minute to the officers and e,
:•atkinen direCtifig that
be used
every possible exertion may ; and stating that it will
afford hint great pleasure to bring under the specie,' notice
of the Nerds of the Admiralty ank of the 4.
°metals or work-
men who may distinguish ladfs
by extraordinary steal
or exertiong on board the iron aie in bothpleting her
for sea. A special order has also been received frbm the
Admiralty. directing that additional gangs of workmen and
mechanic* are to be placed on the Achilles, who are to be
employed until 9 p, m: each
evening'44 further orders.
No elertibni ate to lie Spired to complete the Aohillea,
for sea by the end of the present moutli,
rititittlisiaid-
ing the extraordinary efforts which are now being made at
Chatham to get the Achilles out of hand, it is
probable
that Seine hOnsiderable time *ill elapse after her Qom lotion
speciallybefore her guns, which are now
`manfacttired for
her at the Royal gun factory,
re arceived ate rea y to be put on board,
tiers C
According to existing archath am—which,
however;'however;'ate liable to important alterationsthe Achilles
will be armed eiclUsivielk vtith then!
eriew 100-pounder smooth
bore wrought iron gun, throwing I_V 'lto' shot, with
a minimum charge of powder of 25_0c.
81h1
The Minotaur, ironfrigate, now
fitting in the Victorial9 , will carry a battery
guns, in addition
of 22 of the same description of , to which,
be furnished with four 0 the 300-pounder
however, she will
Armstrong grins. It is not yet decided whether the
Achilles will tarty any of the 300-Igoa..urnished to her beforendm 8, but it is probable
be i
that a couple of those guns will

from gillbank, for the purpose
she proceeds on active serviCe•
ChOanthTamhu,
brsydeaxyparenssutr:acirno,us party of convicts arrived at
of being employed on the works for the extension of
Chatham Dockyard and the formation of the new docks
and basins, on which about 1,000 convicts are daily etu.
ployed. They were conveyed from the railway station at
Stroud to St. Mary's Prison in a number of omnibuses and

vans, in charge of several warders.
The following appointments have been made at the Ad-
miralty :—Capt. J. P. Luce, to the Esk, vice Hamilton—
Commander W. H. Fenwick, to the Harrier, vice Hay—
Commander Edward Field, from the Trincomalee to the
Doodulus, vice Fenwick—Sub-Lieut. Chas. J. Scholefield
and Sub.-Lieut. Edward S. Evans, to the Curaooa—the
Rev R. N. Jackson, Chaplain and Naval Instructor, to the
Challenger—Frank Buckley, Naval Instructor, additional,
to the Victory—Dr James Henry, surgeon, to the Aboukir

—and W. E:O'Brien, surgeon, to the Wasp_Commander
W. J. Pollard to the' Trincomalee, vice Field—Lieut.

Albert Dent, to the Curacoa—Lieut. Henry F. Crohau, to