Until the senior constable said, “I would like to arrest him now.”
The colonel nearly had a heart attack. “Don’t interrupt me when I am speaking, do you hear?” No one spoke. When the colonel realised that they were all looking at him, he gave an embarrassed, “Yes, of course you can.”
Michael asked the colonel, ”Why am I being arrested?”
The colonel said, “Don’t you know? Constable, haven’t you told him? I thought you said he was a dangerous man. The only risk I can see is the dog asleep at his feet.”
The constable pulled a sheet from his pocket and read, “Michael Keogh is charged with interfering with the lawful duties of a constable in that he grabbed hold of a bridle and caused the horse to unseat the constable.”
Michael asked, “Does it say why?”
The senior constable did not answer. He placed handcuffs on Michael’s wrists and then tied them to his pommel. He ordered his constables to search the house. The constables found the Keogh’s treasure box and brought it out into the sunlight.
“Open it,” ordered the colonel.
They prised the hasp lock open to reveal the oilskin covering the cape. After unrolling the oilskin, they unwrapped the cape and saw the magnificent sword and cape of Colonel Monroe.
The colonel immediately decided he would have these treasures. “I am claiming these articles for and on behalf of the Crown. Lieutenant Hall, take possession of the box, if you please.”
Michael stood there in shock. It was his responsibility to retain these treasures for the Irish people. Now the hated British Army had confiscated them. He felt angry and ashamed. Colonel Lang waved his arm and the troop turned to follow him. Lieutenant Hall had dismounted to see to the closing of the box with two of his troopers.
Michael walked all the way into town tied to the constable’s saddle. He was thirsty, hungry and tired, by the time they arrived at the barracks. They placed him a small cell in which he could hardly stand upright. At sundown they gave him a mug of water, a piece of bread and dry meat. Michael had no idea what they intended to do with him. Would he be brought before the magistrate here or be sent to Limerick, Cork or Galway. Another question — when? Nothing moved fast in the justice system of Ireland so he resigned himself to a long wait. How wrong he was! Two days later he was brought before the Kilrush Magistrate whom he knew by sight. The hearing was set for the following week, giving time for witnesses to be located and ordered to appear to testify.
Michael was lead into the old bluestone building at the beginning of proceedings. He wrinkled his nose at the damp musty smell emanating from the tattered carpet. He looked around noting the magistrate’s large desk, and a smaller desk in front of it for the clerk. The prosecutor and the defence counsel desks were immediately in front of the public seating. Over on the side wall was a small boxed-in section where he was lead to; two constables sat either side. There was a jury box, but today it would not be used; indeed it rarely was. The witnesses were sitting on a bench seat outside the courtroom in a long draughty hall, waiting to be called.
There were bench seats for the public that could hold around fifty people and another twenty could stand at the back of the courtroom. It was a very spartan building.
Even the magistrate had an air of days gone by. He wore the traditional wig and gown, however, each had lost its original colour. He was a long lean man, bald and with a strong, set jaw. He walked to the bench, and took his seat. As he looked around, one could sense his demeanour — one of authority, lacking compromise of any sort — and it set the tone for the day.
Michael’s trial was full of apprehension for his family and friends who had known him from his infant days. All his family was in the court room. He could see the severe frown on his father forehead and Maeve’s tearful face. It made his heart heavy to know that he was causing such grief to his family and he could only hope that it did not cause them any problems after whatever sentence he was given.
The Magistrate opened proceedings by having the charges read. Then he asked for the plea — guilty or not guilty. Michael declined to answer.
The prosecutor called the first witness — Senior Constable Smith. He called three times and after receiving no response he advised the magistrate that the main witness was not in court. The magistrate adjourned the proceedings until the following day and told the prosecutor to find the senior constable or issue a warrant for his arrest.
The next day was no different. The senior constable had vanished. He had not been seen in Kilrush for over five days. The magistrate was in a dilemma. Obviously something had happened, but what? He decided to proceed with the case so the prosecutor called each constable who was present at the incident in turn. Two of the constables said that they had seen the defendant grab hold of the horse’s bridle. The defence counsel asked them if they knew why the defendant had grabbed the bridle. One constable admitted he saw the senior constable kick a woman with a child in her arms.
The magistrate summed up, “I am convinced that an offence has been committed. The authority of the law officers cannot be interfered with for any reason.” He made no comment about the reason the offence had been committed.
The magistrate noted that the young man in the dock looked strong and was a shipwright. He had received a letter that very morning advising that Tasmania was seeking convicts. The other Australian colonies were trying to stop the Colonial Office from sending more convicts, except Perth, in the west. The magistrate made up his mind.
He ordered Michael Keogh to stand. He then read his verdict. “You have been found guilty of unlawful interference of a constable performing his duty. You are hereby sentenced to seven years penal servitude in Van Diemen’s Land.”
The Keogh family sat there stunned. Would they ever see Michael again? It was 1853 and Michael was now twenty-two years old. What did the future hold for him? Only time would tell.
CHAPTER TWO
Deceit in the Army
The Hall family had been residents in the Cumberland district for over nine centuries. They were descendants of the robber bands that had inhabited the Hadrian’s Wall district after the Romans had left the British Isles. They were Yeoman farmers and had owned land in the Lazonby district for generations. Their land had excellent soil for both agriculture and livestock farming, as it was bordered by the Eden River.
The district was well known throughout England for its quality food production. The river meandered its way through the farm lands heading north to the sea via Carlisle, the principal county city. Further to the west there were magnificent lakes, unsurpassed for their beauty in all of the British Isles. The local winters were cold but the summers were mild, ensuring that the countryside was always green.
John Hall knew much of the Cumberland country. He often visited his local relatives and travelled with his father, who had extensive property holdings in the area.
He was born at his father’s Brackenshire Estate, three miles from the village of Lazonby. His sister, Mary, was five years younger and David was nine years his junior. His father, Joseph, had hired a tutor to teach the children; she was also their bookkeeper.
His childhood had been happy. His mother doted on her children and his father kept a balance with his sternness. His mother had two live-in servants — a cook and a nanny. This help allowed her to spend considerable time with the children during their formative years. She used this time wisely to ensure that they were educated in formal manners, tidiness and personal presentation. Their mother’s efforts helped them later in their adult life and careers.
John started riding when he was six years old, after his father gave him a pony for his birthday. He became a proficient rider in a short time and delighted his father when he rode at the local agriculture shows. His father would sit among his friends with an ale in one hand, pointing out his son to anyone who would listen with the other hand.
John enjoyed being with his sister and brother regardless of their age difference; they were a very close fa
mily. Their tutor devoted considerable time to each of the children and was pleased with their progress. John had attained a commendable level in his reading, writing and arithmetic studies. It was now time to move to his next level of education as advised by John’s tutor.
It was planned that when the Hall boys’ reached ten years of age, they would attend Carlisle Boarding School and then go to Manchester University. John had been a quiet and studious child and continued to be somewhat reserved when he was sent to the Carlisle Boarding School. He found boarding school unsettling, primarily because he had never associated with many boys of his age before.
Fortunately the teachers were skilled at handling this common problem for new students. They arranged table games in the evening and moved students from table to table each night. After two weeks nearly all the new students had settled into school life and had found a good friend or two. John made two friends — George Nickle and Owen MacLean. Both boys were sons of serving military officers, whose families were from the Eden Valley district. Owen MacLean lived only twenty miles from John’s home. His father Colonel MacLean was well known. He had built Lazonby Hall. George’s family lived in Carlisle.
The school expected each student to perform to the best of his ability. They were assessed each term, prior to returning home with a sealed report for their parents. Many students were shocked when their parents opened the reports but this lead to them striving harder from then on.
John passed all his examinations without being a spectacular student but he was considered to be a potential achiever. At the end of his boarding school years in 1847 he received a very good final report and both he and his father were delighted to find that he had been recommended for university entry.
John joined Manchester University in 1848 and stayed until 1850. He found university life more relaxed and soon realized that success was entirely due to the result of efforts. Performance was not monitored as it was at boarding school. He heard of some students had repeated a first year level subject, for three years! It was only when he went to university that he started to show his leadership ability. He excelled in science, military history, and politics and became known for being very capable at debating. He had entered the university with no idea of career, but gradually found himself becoming interested in obtaining a commission in the British Army.
His friends, George and Owen, had followed him to university. Although, they followed different careers; George was studying law and Owen, civil engineering. He was surprised that neither of them was interested in a military career.
John decided to major in military history and, with his father’s agreement, obtained his commission. He was posted in 1851 to a military training school near Aldershot in Southern England.
His knowledge of military history gave him a distinct advantage over most of the other young officers and helped him achieve high marks.
John enjoyed the field exercises with gunnery firing and training manoeuvres with their platoons. He showed aptitude in moving his platoon into both defensive and offensive positions.
John kept to himself; most of the other officers were from the aristocracy and behaved as such. He would not have been surprised if some of them did not complete their training. Some were totally incompetent. Their titles and money were of no help in the training field where they could not hide their performance from their peers no matter who they were.
During a cannon field firing exercise, John saw an example of this total lack of concern or interest from his fellow trainee officers. This cannon firing exercise was conducted only by the trainee officers; no troopers were involved. The cannon team consisted of four men. Their first step was to line up the cannon on its target. Second, they had to place wedges firmly both in front and behind the wheels. The breech was opened, the ball inserted, the cartridge case in place then the breech block was closed and locked.
The team next to John was to fire their cannon first. This trainee team went through the drill and duly fired the cannon, but one of the back wedges was not in place. The cannon erupted with a loud explosion and it bucked backward, skewing to the right. The cannon ball hit a building, shattering the roof and one wall. The trainee officers stood there for a few seconds and then started laughing, slapping their thighs.
John and his team stood there looking at their extraordinary reaction, after the stupid and potential disaster that they could have created. The trainee officers appeared to treat the incident as a joke. They did not consider that someone could have been injured or even killed.
The senior training officer strode over, a furious look on his face. He ordered the officers to line up and then marched them to the barracks; they still wore smirks on their faces. An investigation was held but the resultant decision was kept quiet. Two of the trainees left the training school the following day, one of them was the nephew of a duke. The remaining two were assigned to different teams.
John’s father presented him with an outstanding gelding. He was tall and jet black, with a high step. The horse handled the noise of the cannons and quickly learnt to stand still after a brief exposure to the smoke and gunpowder. The horse was, without doubt, the best horse John had owned and was destined to remain with John for many years. He named it Duke, due to its regal stance.
His time at the training school went quickly and graduation day soon arrived with all the officers keen to hear their orders. They had received their training course results and John was pleased to see he had achieved excellent results in every subject. The Commandant had recommended him for further promotional training at the end of his first posting.
On the day of the big event the officers were all attired in their dress uniforms. They looked smart in their red tunics, tall hats, white breeches and highly polished black leather boots. They were mounted on their steeds, which were all standing reasonably still. John thought that the horses sensed the importance of the occasion. The band started up with a rhythmic military tune. They rode down the parade ground in line and then the command ‘Eyes left’, saw them saluting the commanding officer on the podium. After a circuit of the parade ground the new officers halted and dismounted. The commanding officer marched down the line. Assisted by his aide, he handed each officer his personal sealed letter. They saluted him before they received their letter and saluted him afterwards. They all remounted and left the parade ground in single file. Immediately they reached the stables and dismounted they opened their letters.
John was to report to the Kilrush Military Barracks in Ireland within four weeks. A travel warrant was included with his orders. Where is Kilrush, he wondered?
John went back to the barracks to pack his equipment. He would leave for home tomorrow; he had a long ride in front of him. He would send most of his equipment and clothing ahead by coach and only carry a minimum for the four day trip. The next morning he reported to the commanding officer’s aide, to bid him farewell. He said goodbye to his fellow new officers who had yet to depart. It had been a demanding course and now he was pleased to be free. He would be on the open road and able to relax for the next few weeks.
He was now twenty-one years old and ready for a new career, wherever it may take him. He looked forward to seeing his family again, particularly his father.
He rode out of the barracks and, after reaching the main road, he picked up the pace continuing until noon when he reached a small inn. A short break for both rider and horse and he headed north again.
The countryside was covered with green paddocks and flowering shrubs along the roadside. The sun was shining frequently through the clouds. It was a pleasant day and he hoped it would continue for the next few days. Riding in the rain was not very agreeable to one’s person or temperament.
After three days the ride became monotonous and boring. The country had not changed but the sun had thankfully shone each day. The road was in good condition and he was frequently passed by coaches with the drivers cracking their whips and urging the four-in-hand on and on to their next
change of steeds. He had stayed at some rather dubious inns and spent most of the night worrying about Duke being stolen. John had used his chain and locked the stable doors but he still had restless nights.
¶
Finally John was near Penrith and close to his home. He would arrive by nightfall. Duke was standing up to the trip very well. John would put the horse out to pasture for the remainder of his stay at home to allow him to fatten up and get his glossy coat back. He needed a good curry combing and reshoeing.
“Mr Hall, sir,” called a voice from behind him. John looked back at the man. It was Jack Keane, his father’s senior farm supervisor. “Hello, sir, I didn’t expect to see you today.” Jack had been in town collecting bags of grain for this season’s planting.
“Hello, Jack, how are you? I’ve finished my training and I’m home for some leave.”
They decided to ride back together. They arrived home late in the afternoon. John put his horse out before coming into the house to be greeted by the family. They were all both surprised and delighted. John’s family had known he was coming but he wasn’t expected until the following week.
His father was the first to welcome him home. They shook hands, and John handed him his ‘Commission as an Officer and a Gentleman — Lieutenant John Hall’ and his letter of posting. His mother then hugged him and kissed him on the cheek. Mary kissed him and hugged him, which he happily returned. It was a happy moment. His brother, David, was at boarding school.
After he was settled the family sat down to dinner and chatted about the farm, friends and local events. John sat and listened. He enjoyed these spontaneous discussions. He knew he was now home with his loving family. He had not said one word about his military training experiences. That could wait until tomorrow. Tonight was for family news and local topics.
The Convict and the Soldier Page 5
