The Victoria Ceoss. — We learn from the London Gazette of July 26, that Her Majesty has been pleased to signify her intention to bestow the Victoria Cross on Samuel Mitchell, captain of the foretop of the Harrier, "For gallant conduct at the attack at Te Papa, Tauranga, on the 29th of April last, in entering the pah with Commander Hay, and, when that officer was mortally wounded, bringing him out, although ordered by Commander Hay to leave him, and seek his own safety." -Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, 1/10/1864.
Victoria Cross. — The Sydney Herald of the 22nd ult. says, referring to the distribution of prizes for rifle firing “On this occasion the Military, the Marines and Seamen of the ships of war in harbour, the Royal Artillery, the Volunteer Artillery, the Volunteer Rifles, and the Naval Brigade, will be brigaded together, to witness the presentation by his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief of the Victoria Cross to a seaman named Samuel Mitchell, of her Majesty’s ship ‘Harrier,’ for his bravery in rescuing from the hands of the enemy at Tauranga, in New Zealand, the late Commander Hay, of the Harrier, after the gallant commander had received a mortal wound.” -New Zealander, 10/10/1864.
PRESENTATION OF THE VICTORIA CROSS.
(From the Sydney Morning Herald.) Peace is a holy and a blessed thing. War is the crime of a few, the misery of many. A Christian can hardly think of the latter without a shudder, or of the former without an emotion of thankfulness. If we strive to typify them, instinctively, as it were, we clothe Peace in a blooming and beauteous form, and surround her with all that is softest and sweetest, while War is ever the furious giant —
“his face deformed with scars And foul with blood.”
Such is our natural and spontaneous estimate of their respective characters, and in the abstract it is doubtless a true one. When "we look for new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness,” we look for the time when men shall learn war no more, but shall be at peace with themselves and with each other. The spirit made perfect shall have no more inward conflicts; the perfected society shall be unvexed by outward fightings. But the race is not as the goal — the voyage is not as the haven where we would be. Both individuals and nations must become far other than they are ere wars and fighting shall be at an end for them. Meanwhile, though we deplore war as an evil, we must bear in mind that it is an evil scarcely separable from our imperfect and probationary state, and not wholly without its compensations. The siege and the battle-field call forth men’s highest powers of doing and suffering. They afford free scope for the exercise of qualities truly heroic — valour, patience, and presence of mind — the most unshrinking firmness, the most generous self-devotion. They bring out, in strong relief and on the grandest scale, not only all the manly virtues, but all that is gentlest and most beneficent in womanhood. The six hundred who braved the iron hailstorm in “the valley of death,” the thin red line from whose unwavering front the Russian masses shrank back dismayed — the undistinguished heroes whose prowess in the stern melee at Inkermann upheld the honor of our arms through that “soldier’s battle” — will find no brighter page in history than Florence Nightingale and the nurses of Scutari. Even the present fratricidal American struggle, the bloodthirsty pride which keeps the men of the North toiling to enslave seven millions of their own free brethren under the hypocritical pretext of liberating a race whom they themselves despise and persecute, seems half-redeemed by the stubborn courage of the Federal troops, and yet more by the loving and lovely ministrations of the Northern women among the victims of Northern ambition. Yes, war may be a stern — nay, a ruthless teacher, but we doubt if the world, in the nineteenth century, would be better without its lessons.
We have been led into this train of thought by an event worthy of note in our colonial annals; the public bestowal of the Victoria Cross on a seaman of H.M.S. Harrier. The scene which the Domain presented on Saturday afternoon was in every way impressive and worthy of the occasion. But for the untoward detention of the Ministry and their principal followers by a prior engagement elsewhere, nothing would have been wanting which might do honor either to the unpretending hero of the day, or to the illustrious order of merit wherein he was to be enrolled. On this head, indeed, it is needless to add a word to what was said, not less sincerely than gracefully, by his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief, to whom the self-denying courtesy of Commodore Sir W. Wiseman resigned the distinction of representing the royal foundress of the Order. “I feel myself,” said Sir John Young, “especially honored in being made the channel through which such an honor is conveyed to so worthy a recipient.”
It seems superfluous to glean after so accomplished a speaker, and to tell again the tale of Samuel Mitchell’s gallantry, so simply yet so forcibly told by his Excellency to thousands of attentive and sympathising hearers. We may remark, however, that it was no mere flash of successful daring — no mere sally of animal courage, which has placed the simple topman of the Harrier in that noble brotherhood, among the bravest of the brave. When blood is hot and the nerves are strung by the tension of physical conflict, many a combatant, though cast in no heroic mould, may be hurried on by “the rapture of the strife” — hurried into forgetfulness of danger and defiance of odds. But there is a higher calmer valour, which obeys not the impulse of combativeness but the law of duty — prepared to do or suffer anything rather than abandon a trust, or sink from the discharge of an obligation. Such was the valour which stamped the career of a Nelson and a Wellington. Such, too, — for principles are greater than even the greatest names — was the valour which has now been decorated on Samuel Mitchell. When those around him were panic-stricken, he retained his full presence of mind; his full consciousness of what he ought to do. And he did it — did it firmly and fearlessly, in the deliberate preference — if it were God’s will — to dishonor. While others consulted their own safety by flight, he resolutely tarried to bear away his gallant commander and friend from the enemy’s stronghold. .A long way — a helpless burden — the hostile shot whistling around him; yet he faltered not in his task, but with
“ that gentleness
“Which, when it mates with manhood, makes a man,”
made of his own body a shield for his wounded leader till lie reached a place of safety. And in doing this, but to prolong a life whose hours, alas! were already numbered, he seems to have had no thought of self — no notion of shaming or excelling others — no eye to any reward beyond the simple consciousness of a duty done. We may well rejoice that such a merit has been so soon and so nobly recognised; that he now wears a badge of honor which many an admiral might envy, if there could be envy among the brave.
The tale has been told in our ears, and its moral pointed by a ceremony which will not soon be forgotten even in this sight-loving city. Well for us if that moral find a welcome and a lodging in our hearts. That true honor is to be sought and found in the path of duty alone is a truth for every place and for all time ; not to be aired now and then for an hour’s parade, but to live in the life of each one of us, if that life is to be for the glory of our Creator and the benefit of our fellow-men.
But beyond this general lesson, addressed alike to all, the solemnity just witnessed seems to carry special warnings and suggestions to particular classes of our community. “Go your ways” — its seems to say — “ye members of a struggling Government, — go your ways, and quit yourselves like men. Do what you feel to be right, without fear or favor, without temporising or truckling. Thus only can office be worth retaining; thus only, if you must fall, will you fall respected and regretted. Go your ways, ye Legislators, in what should be an honored Assembly — think less of yourselves and more of your country; talk less and do more! Go your ways, ye trading patriots, intent on blowing your own brazen penny-trumpet, and puffing your own claims to a golden meed for imaginary deservings! Go your ways, and contrast with shame — if, indeed, you are capable of shame — the rich largess which you affect to grumble at with the simple bronze cross by which a truer and nobler man has felt his utmost service overpaid. Go your ways, ye selfish agitators, to whom all worth is odious, and who hope to rise by pulling down whatever is above you; who sow dissension between class and class, that you may proclaim yourselves the redressers of fictitious wrongs. Ponder on the scene you witnessed, when thousands of all ranks rejoiced at the honor paid to one honest, unpretending specimen of nature’s nobility. Learn how lofty a privilege it is to warm the hearts of a multitude with a genuine glory — how mean and degrading a success to bewilder their brains that you may embitter their spirits!”
“Go your ways, ye volunteers of New South Wales! Pray that the dexterity which you are acquiring by steady target practice, and the soldierly practice which you are learning in the mimic evolutions of the parade ground, may never be displayed among the stern realities of actual warfare. But if this may not be; if this hitherto peaceful colony must one day pass through the dread ordeal of fire and steel; then pray that there may be found abundantly among you not only the firm foot, the quick eye, the steady hand, but that chivalrous sense of duty which turns all these to their best and highest use; without which valour is but a dazzling meteor, and patriotism a disguise for ambition.” -Wanganui Chronicle, 19/10/1864.
PRESENTATION OF THE VICTORIA CROSS, AND DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES OF THE N.S.W. RIFLE ASSOCIATION.
(From the Sydney Morning Herald, Sept. 26.)
On Saturday afternoon, between nine and ten thousand persons assembled in the Outer Domain, to assist at the public presentation of the Victoria Cross to Samuel Mitchell, an able seaman of the Curacoa (a well-merited honour awarded to that individual by the express command of her Majesty), likewise to witness the distribution of the annual prizes adjudged by the New South Wales Rifle Association to those marksmen amongst our Volunteers who lately distinguished themselves in the amicable contest at Randwick. Anything more beautiful than the calm and cloudless day which had been selected, or more pleasing than the half-military half civic pageant which gave life to the proceedings it would be difficult — perhaps impossible — to imagine. Dense masses of cheerful, well-dressed people of both sexes — who good-humouredly submitted to the judicious arrangements of the police, and those other restrictions which are inseparable from such an affair-congregated on the green sward of the Domain for a considerable while before the appointed time, waiting for the programme to commence with that amount of patience and quiet decorum for which our great gatherings in Sydney are, happily, so remarkable. On the eastern barrier the enclosure set apart for the twofold ceremony, here was, at half-past two p.m., already a vast multitude of spectators — ladies and gentlemen on foot near the rails, and equestrians and carriage folk further back, on the rising ground beneath the trees. A similar concourse, extending its area every moment, having even then appeared on the western face of the Domain, along the road near the oak trees, and down the slope towards the spot to be occupied by his Excellency and suite, and by Commodore Sir William Wiseman. The Volunteer Artillery were on the ground soon after half-past two o clock, and took up their position in good style; shortly subsequent to which the exhilarating music of the fine band of the Marines of H.M.S Curacoa was heard ringing merrily through the trees as the seamen and marines of that ship and the Harrier and Esk, with a detachment of artillery, came sweeping along the road from Lady Macquarie's Chair to the post assigned to them as witnesses of the honours about to be conferred upon their gallant comrade. As the brave fellows stepped past the platform and in front of the people, they were received with unmistakable marks of admiration; and no wonder for a finer body of men than the seamen of the abovenamed ships has never been seen in Sydney. They were obviously in an excellent state of discipline and honest, cheerful exultation, their appearance as they marched by — clad in their white and blue shirts and snowy caps, and armed with carbines — being highly creditable both to their commanders and respective officers. The marines and artillery who came with them formed in columns four deep on the right of the platform; extending westerly so as to form part of the three sides of a cordon, by which the necessary space was kept clear for what was to take place. To the west of the Marines the line was continued by the dark blue and scarlet uniforms of the Artillery — the Western and Northern boundaries being kept by a company of the 12th Regiment, by the two battalions of the Rifle Volunteers, and by the New South Wales Naval Brigade. Immediately facing the Rifles was a commodious platform shaded from the fervid rays of the sun with an awning, and draped with national flags. It was occupied by his Excellency Sir John Young, Sir William Wiseman, and Sir W. M. Manning, the president of the New South Wales Rifle Association, and by Mr. Walter Lamb, the vice-president, accommodation being also there afforded for Lady Young, Lady John Taylour, Lady Stephen, and several others. His Excellency and suite appeared on the ground in the company of Sir William Wiseman, shortly before four o'clock.
Doubtless the annual distribution of prizes to tli6 Volunteers had much to do with the attraction which brought such crowds to the Domain, but there was, on the present occasion, something beyond the award of prizes to the best shots amongst our Volunteers. The unprecedented fact that there was to be a public presentation of the Victoria cross — a real order of merit instituted by Her Majesty (under a Royal Warrant dated 29th of January, 1856) for the purpose of adequately, and without discrimination as to rank or caste, rewarding the gallant services of officers and men in the British Army and Navy —was a circumstance which put all persons in Sydney on the qui vive, quickening their generous sympathies, and awakening their natural curiosity. Such a signal recognition of personal valour as was to be evidenced by the award of the glorious bronze cross for ever to be associated with the name of our honoured Sovereign — had never before been made in this colony, and there was a novelty about the idea in the minds of thousands, by whom such a decoration might, perhaps, either be looked upon as a sort of semi-feudal distinctions, or, on the other hand, at best be rendered as meaningless and common-place as the testimonial pencil-case, gold tooth-pick, or preposterous piece of plate which some persons are always presenting to nobodies for next to nothing. To those who are familiar with the mighty influence exercised over millions of men in France by that grand and comprehensive institution the Legion of Honour, the establishment by the British Queen of such a distinction as the Victoria Cross for the common reward of British valour in the army and navy, will, nevertheless, be duly appreciated, and will be hailed as an instalment of that public recognition of merit which all citizens in a free, well-governed State have a right to aspire after and enjoy. The institution of the Victoria Cross was, beyond all question, an admission that merit did exist, and had existed, respecting which the Herald's College was silent — that long before the Moyen Age, and apart from its thousand glowing traditions, there was a natural inborn chivalry in which the prince's child and the peasant's son were or might be on terms of perfect equality in the minds of all right thinking men.
The recipient of the Victoria Cross on Saturday last is a slight, active, good-looking young seaman — if anything rather under the ordinary size of a fullgrown man, with a frank and open face, in which a physiognomist would find it hard to trace any signs of the generous daring by which he has distinguished himself. And not only has he been distinguished for his courage, for which he has received one of the highest marks of honour which his Sovereign can bestow, upon a subject in her own name and in the name of her people: for it is very gratifying to think that his conduct as a seaman, is reported to have been, for many years past, "very good," so that in addition to our admiration for his valour we are happy to find that he is, in other respects, fully entitled to our esteem and respect.
Samuel Mitchell was one of those who were in the disastrous and bloody affair at the storming of the Gate Pah, at Tauranga, in New Zealand, on the 29th of April last, when, through some surprise, the British troops were seized with a sudden panic at the moment of victory, and — in spite of the heroic efforts of their officers, most of whom were slain in the vigorous discharge of their duty — fled from the murderous fire of their concealed assailants. Amongst those officers who were shot down by the Maoris, as they lay hidden in their well constructed casemates, was the lamented Commander Hay of the Harrier, the leader of the forlorn hope, who fell mortally wounded, near where Samuel Mitchell (an able seaman under his command) was standing. Whilst a general rush was being made from the spot on the part of the seamen engaged and of the troops of the 43rd Regiment, Mitchell turned, and raising his commander in his arms, began to carry him out of the spot under a heavy fire of musketry. The dying man said to his humble friend and follower "Mitchell, I am mortally wounded; never mind me; save yourself." Samuel Mitchell replied — "Shall I leave you here to be butchered? Certainly I will not. I will carry you whilst I can walk;" — and carry him he did out of that accursed spot to a place of safety. The officer died, but with his dying breath he expressed an earnest hope that Mitchell's heroism would be rewarded as it deserved to be. That desire has been fulfilled. The heroism of his preserver will now never be forgotten; when the history of the New Zealand war comes to be written, and as long as valour is honoured, the name of Samuel Mitchell shall be had in our remembrance, and his conduct held up as a noble example.
The troops took up their position in the prescribed order, viz.: the Seamen and Marines of H.M. ships now in harbour, the Artillery, troops of the Line, Volunteers, and Naval Brigade, numbering in all 1225 men.
His Excellency inspected the troops, and afterwards went to the covered platform, accompanied by Commodore Wiseman. By desire of his Excellency, the naval portion of the Brigade took up a position in front of the stage, — a formation which had the effect of entirely shutting out the Volunteers from any view of the proceeding — the officers, however, by perhaps excusable laxity of discipline, left their places to catch a of the imposing ceremony — the other officers remained in the line at open order.
His Excellency then spoke as follows: —
I feel assured the moment Sir William Wiseman made it known that there was to be a presentation of the Victoria Cross in Sydney, that the public would zealously respond, that crowds would hasten to do honour to the ceremony, and that the Volunteers would co-operate to the utmost, as indeed it is evident they have done by joining the meeting in force, and having the distribution of their prizes rather in the Domain than as usual at Randwick. My expectations have not been disappointed. The immense assemblage which spreads over the Domain in every direction manifests the warm sympathy entertained by the people of New South Wales for the British arms and British interests, and their resolve to do all they can to add weight to the reward about to be bestowed on their valiant countryman The Volunteers, whose ranks I rejoice to see so well filled, cannot but feel well content to stand side by side with sailors and soldiers, — few, indeed, in numbers, but a worthy sample of the whole — who have seen active service in various parts of the world, and have been recently engaged in perilous warfare in defence of our fellow-colonists in New Zealand. The association cannot but be gratifying to the Volunteers on an occasion likely to be in the annals of the place as it is novel and interesting. It cannot fail to be interesting to all who value at their just rate the qualities on which the defence and independence of a country must ever be based. To most present it cannot but be novel. To myself it has this of novelty — that although on occasions when the officer commanding the troops in Corfu presented the Victorian Cross to men who had earned it by the valorous discharge of their duty in the presence of the enemy. I have attended and witnessed the presentation, yet I have never before had the honour of acting for the Sovereign, and of making the presentation myself. For the prominent position I am placed in at the present moment, my acknowledgments are due to Sir William Wiseman, who might properly have vindicated it for himself, on account of his high command, of his having stood "in front of bloody war" just lately in New Zealand, and of his having on more than one occasion risked his life with distinction in the service of his Queen and country. But Sir William Wiseman — so well entitled to the foremost place — has yet assigned it to me, and I will attempt to fulfil its functions by first reading the dispatch which Sir William Wiseman has received from the Lords of the Admiralty, stating the gift of the Cross, and the form in which they wished the presentation to be made.
"Admiralty, 25th July, 1864.
"Sir, — I have received, and laid before my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, your dispatch of the 3rd of May last, reporting the gallant conduct of Samuel Mitchell, captain of the foretop of the Harrier, at the attack of Te Papa, and I am commanded by their lordships to transmit to you the decoration of the Victoria Cross, which her Majesty has been graciously pleased to confer upon Samuel Mitchell.
"I am desired by their lordships to signify their direction to you to take the earliest fitting opportunity of having the Cross presented to Samuel Mitchell in her Majesty's name.
"The presentation to take place in such a public and formal manner as may be considered best adapted to evince her Majesty's sense of the noble daring displayed by Samuel Mitchell before the enemy, and to enhance the value of the decoration; and a report of the proceedings which may be adopted on this occasion is to be forwarded for the purpose of being recorded in the register of the decoration, as well as a copy of any general order you may issue on the subject.
"I am, &c., W. G. Romaine."
Commodore Sir William Wiseman, C.B., &c."
I will next read a statement of Samuel Mitchell's service for which the decoration was awarded. —
"On the 29th of April, when the Pukehinahina pah was stormed, Samuel Mitchell, at that time acting as coxswain to the late commander Hay, who led the storming party, accompanied him into the pah, when commander Hay was mortally wounded, and the storming party were compelled to retreat, leaving several of the wounded officers and men behind, Samuel Mitchell refused to leave his commander, although repeatedly ordered to do so and seek his own safety by commander Hay, he carried his wounded commander out of the pah under a very heavy fire, and saw him conveyed safely into camp. For this signal act of valour Her Majesty has been pleased to confer the Order of the Cross on Samuel Mitchell."
I am happy to add that this young man, so distinguished for bravery and coolness, bears, an excellent general character, as the following proves: —
Curacoa, Fitzroy Dock, 23rd September, 1864. Samuel Mitchell entered Her Majesty's navy August, 1857, and has served up to the present time, a period of seven years, with the character of "very good."
The gift of the day — the Order of the Victoria Cross — was established by Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen as an honourable distinction to be worn by those of her subjects who distinguished themselves above their fellows in action. It likewise entitles the holder, if a petty officer or seaman, to a gratuity of £10 per annum for life, with an additional £5 for every bar that may be added to the Cross." I will now proceed to touch briefly on the times and events which led to the institution of this order of merit — this much-coveted decoration — the Victoria Cross. The happy thought is said to have occurred to her Majesty the Queen when her lamented consort was still alive, and at a conjuncture when it was well known the royal pair sympathised deeply and warmly with the feelings which agitated the public mind during the Crimean War, with all its excitement and exigencies, its triumphs and its sufferings. Their hearts beat in unison with the heart of the country. They shared the common joy which pervaded all ranks when the tidings came that our soldiers had scaled the heights over the Alma and forced back from their position the brave and well disciplined Russian columns, and still more when it was told how the ground was held at Inkerman, against the same redoubtable foeman, coming on in overwhelming numbers — held with stubborn valour till time was given for our own reliefs and supports, and for our gallant French allies, to form up and secure the victory which the surprise of the attack and the vast preponderance of force had in the first instance well nigh wrested from our standards. Great was the pride and joy of those days; not less the tribulation when it came to be known that winter and privation, and disease, had thinned the ranks capable of such achievements, and that the men whose force and onset the enemy had been unable to withstand in the field, were lying by thousands in hospitals helpless and feeble, imploring and blessing the ministrations of a woman's hand. Never was a nation's feelings more deeply stirred. From this conflict and variety of emotions arose the desire that some memorial of the time should b« invented. Something special as a landmark for the future, aud a token of the appreciation in which the country held the efforts of those who were exhausting their lives for her glory and defence. The Queen, ever equal to the occasion, and ever true to her people's sympathies, instituted the order of merit which bears her name. The Victoria Cross met the requirements of the hour and of the country, and at the same time supplied a want long felt and censured with regard to the British, Naval, and Military services. There was no order open to all ranks, in distinction, which the private soldier might share in common with his officer. The French had instituted the Legion of Honour, open to all, and it diffused chivalrous sentiments throughout their whole army. I recollect seeing, years ago, in my boyhood, two French veterans, once privates, wearing decorations of a high class; one had saved the life of an Austrian officer of rank in one of the great victories won by the first Napoleon; the other had performed a feat like that whose reward we are assembled to witness and applaud — he had carried his wounded colonel off one of those hotly contested fields in which the French encountered the British soldiery in Spain. The great military historian of that very war in Spain wrote — " The rays of glory fall but feebly on the helmets of those who serve in the ranks." But now it is no longer so; the reproach is taken away. There is a distinction open to all grades, and amidst the advantages and improvements which the foresight and justice of the country have of late years imparted to the Army and Navy the Victoria Cross stands eminently forth —an order of merit open to all grades, a freemasonry of honour, an equality of distinction which would add lustre to the loftiest nobility, and which will ever be as much coveted by the high-born and the wealthy as by the poorest man, whose valour and good fortune place his name on the glorious list. Such personal distinctions as the Victoria Cross are the moral treasure of a State, by which it animates and rewards public virtues and public services, and which, without national injury, or entailing burdens on the country, operate with resistless force on brave and generous minds. In the name, and on behalf of the Queen, I have the high honour and satisfaction of presenting the Victoria Cross to Samuel Mitchell.
The insignia of the Victoria Cross is of that octagonal, or eight-pointed form, usually designated as Maltese, being formed of bronze, with the Royal crest — "the crowned lion," — on a crown in the centre, having underneath it an escroll, bearing this inscription — "For Valour." It is worn on the left breast (with a blue ribbon for the navy) being attached to the ribbon by a bar, in the middle of which is a V. —The initial of Her Majesty the founder.
At the conclusion of the address, his Excellency descended from the platform, and advancing to Mitchell proceeded to pin the cross on to his breast, amidst a low murmer of intense excitement, that broke forth like a torrent, when his Excellency, who had returned to the stand, called for three cheers for the gracious Sovereign on whose behalf he had acted. The cheers ran down the line of the troops, regular and irregular, and were caught up by the crowd in front, rear, and on each flank. Then flowed three cheers for the brave recipient of the regal favour; and then came a scene that was remarkable in every way. Mitchell, who was about to retire was stopped, by the ladies and gentlemen who had the privilege of entry to the enclosure, and his medal was examined and he himself congratulated to a greater extent than the crowd behind thought justifiable. After numerous calls to Mitchell to "Never mind them, come here," and to "Give fair play," the crowd became unmanageable, the paltry barrier of iron hurdle disappeared, and in an instant the place was inundated by a living wall of people, who rushed upon Mitchell, eager as hungry wolves, but only eager to do honour to the brave, and to make much of the recipient of royal favour. He was surrounded, was pulled hither and thither, but all in the best of spirit and with a bearishness of frolic that nautical Jack in particular so well understands, and so fully appreciates. The police could do nothing. The affair was so unpremeditated and spontaneous an outburst that they were powerless, whilst it was so hearty and genuine, that it was better left to work itself off. This was to some extent done by Mitchell, at the instance of those who surrounded him going to the line of rails that kept back the crowd, in order to give them what they demanded, a sight of the hero of the day. But here he was seized upon and raised upon the shoulders of some half-dozen sturdy fellows, and in this way was paraded up and down the field, and the last we saw of him in the distance was his figure mounted high up through St. Mary's Gate, where they set on a horse, — and so they accompanied down King-street and through the other principal streets of the city the man whom their august Sovereign had — and not without good reason — delighted to do public honour. -Lyttelton Times, 22/10/1864.
Ross Museum.
I see that in some parts of the Colony a recognition has been made of a few who have been decorated for their personal bravery. There are very few probably, even in the district, that know there is a Victoria Cross man living on the banks of the Mikonui river, a few miles south of Ross. Samuel, but more generally known as Sam, Mitchell is a modest, unassuming fellow. Like a good many more in South Westland, he "knocks out” a living by a little cropping, a little stock raising, and a little mining, his income being supplemented by a small pension of £10 a year. The deed for which he obtained the Victoria Cross is to be found chronicled in "British Battles on Land and Sea” under the heading, Gate Pah, a fight which took place in the North Island, the extract reads: — “The worst feature in this incident was that soldiers and sailors alike abandoned their wounded officers to the foe. But we find one admirable exception in the person of Samuel Mitchell, captain of the foretop, H.M.S. Harrier, who showed messmates what was the duty of a British seaman in the hour of danger. When Commander Hay fell mortally wounded he refused to abandon him, though repeatedly urged by him to consult his own safely. But Mitchell refused to quit his dying officer, and, raising him in his arms, carried him outside the pah, amid a shower of bullets. He thus saved his commander from failing into the hands of the enemy, and his humanity was not forgotten. It was reported to Sir William Wiseman, through whom, as duly reported in the London Gazette, he obtained the Victoria Cross.” Strangely enough, though in a shower of bullets, he escaped unhurt, having only two bullet holes in his jacket. -Lyttelton Times, 20/4/1888.
A DROWNING FATALITY.
(BY TELEGRAPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.)
Hokitika, this day. Samuel Mitchell was drowned in the Mikonui River on Friday, and his body was found on the beach 18 miles south yesterday. It is surmised that he tried to cross the river to secure his boat, and was carried down by the flood. He was missed on Friday night, but his fate was not definitely known till yesterday. He was an old man-o'-warsman, and held the Victoria Cross. He leaves a wife and a grown-up family. It is believed his life is insured for £500 in the government office. -Auckland Star, 20/3/1894.
I regret to state that an old resident of the Ross district, named Samuel Mitchell, has been mining under peculiar circumstances since last Friday. He owned a farm hard by the southern bank of the Mikonui river, and gained a livelihood for himself and family between that and beachcombing. Last Friday about noon he was known to have left the beach and gone towards the Mikonui river to secure his boat against the rising flood. Since then all trace of him has been lost. The boat was found, and it is supposed that Mitchell in endeavouring to secure it had fallen into the swollen tide and been carried out to sea and drowned. Search continued night and day, and resulted in the finding of the body last Monday afternoon on the sea beach, 30 miles south of the Mikonui. Samuel Mitchell was a Victoria Cross man, and gained the medal for his pluck in carrying his wounded officer (Captain Hay) out of the Gate Pa during showers of bullets in the Maori war. "Sam" was a great favourite here. Happily his life was insured, so that his widow and children will benefit thereby. His remains were interred this afternoon with military honours. -Otago Witness, 29/3/1894.
According to Wikipedia, Samuel's left his VC in a sea chest in a Sydney boarding house, intending to have the chest sent on when he was settled in New Zealand. But he lost contact with the boarding house owners and the medal turned up for sale after he died.
At Messrs Glendining's galleries last Friday £50 was given for a Victoria Cross awarded to Samuel Mitchell, R.N., for great bravery in the New Zealand War. -Evening Star, 4/1/1909.
RECOVERED - AFTER MANY YEARS.
It is a good many years now since the late Samuel Mitchell, V.C., of Mikonui, Ross, lost his Victoria Cross decoration. The late Mr Mitchell served in the Maori War in the North Island in the ’sixties, and in one of the pah engagements, carried a wounded officer out of' action, at imminent danger of himself personally. For that brave deed the young naval was awarded Queen Victoria’s most coveted decoration. Later this valuable decoration, together with the Maori War medal, was lost by some means, and for years following the demise of Mr Mitchell, the family could obtain no trace of the souvenirs of loyal and devoted service.
Medals of the value of the Victoria Cross, are not numerous, and .the family set about a world search. Ultimately it, was discovered that the medal which the family coveted so much as a treasure of their father’s bravery, was in England, having been purchased by an army officer who collected Imperial decorations. The decoration had been purchased at a sale for £70, and the purchaser was loath to part with a souvenir so valuable to his collection. But the family was persistent in the efforts, and on the occasion of a visit of Lord Jellicoe to the district, he was approached and promised to do all he could. Later the Duke of York was here, and again the enquiries were set m motion. Probably as a result of this influential investigation, success was achieved, but not till after much correspondence and the repayment of the £70, the cost, to the purchaser at Home. The money was sent through the New Zealand High Commissioner, and last week the Mitchell family at Ross had the great satisfaction of receiving the two medals which had been lost and missing for so long over sixty years.
The family received great assistance in the correspondence from Messrs Park and Murdoch, and the latter specially identified himself in the matter, affording the best advice, and all of which was given gratuitously, for which those concerned are most grateful, while they are specially rejoiced to have restored to them reminders of their father’s bravery so dear to them and to his memory. -Hokitika Guardian, 1/10/1928.
Samuel Mitchell's Victoria Cross is now under the guardianship of the Hokitika Museum.
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