Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria

Pair: Private Michael Donaghy, 27th Foot, a survivor of the transport ship Charlotte, shipwrecked at Port Elizabeth in September 1854

Indian Mutiny 1857-59, no clasp (2376 Michl., Donaghy H.Ms. 27th Regt.) fitted with an unofficial Indian Mutiny type blank clasp; Army L.S. & G.C., V.R., small letter reverse (2376 Michl. Donaghy, 27th Foot) light contact marks, otherwise very fine (2) £600-£700

Michael Donaghy was born in the Parish of Cummer, near Clady, County Derry, and enlisted into the 27th Foot at Glasgow on 2 November 1849, aged 18. He served abroad in India for 7 years 215 days, and in South Africa for 9 days, having been shipwrecked at Port Elizabeth in the transport ship Charlotte, en route to India. He was discharged on termination of his second period of limited engagement, at Aldershot, on 20 February 1872. He was awarded the L.S. & G.C. medal without gratuity on 21 July 1870. Indian Mutiny medals were not authorised for the 27th Regiment until 1869 and unusually are named with the recipient’s regimental number, unlike the great majority that were issued earlier.

On 19 September 1854, the hired transport Charlotte, with a detachment of the 27th Foot on board, bound for Calcutta, put into Port Elizabeth for water. The ship was under the command of Captain Affleck and had left Queenstown with five officers and 163 men of the 27th Foot, 14 women and 26 children and a crew of 24. On the day following her arrival a heavy storm blew up and at 5 o’clock the Charlotte signalled that her cables had parted; by 8 p.m. she had drifted ashore. During the night the wreck was pounded to pieces and at 1 a.m. on the 21st it broke in two, while thousands of onlookers lined the water’s edge unable to render any assistance.

The Port Elizabeth lifeboat made three journeys to the ship, which proved out of reach of the rocket apparatus, but on the fourth journey it was wrecked, all the crew escaping. By daybreak little of the Charlotte remained, and 18 of the crew, 62 soldiers and, poignantly, 11 of the 14 women and all 26 of the children were drowned. The survivors numbered 115, including Captain Affleck who was saved by his son.

Sold with copied discharge papers and other research.