But when we come to men — to those gallant fellows who survived the battles and the dangers of the campaign — we feel om* loss is irreparable. What value can be placed on those noble artillerymen of the siege train who, with little praise or encouragement, have stood by their guns in so many bombardments, and who had acquired skill, practice, and hardihood in the greatest siege the world ever saw? It is to be hoped that the noncommissioned officers of the artillery will be rewarded for their exertions by the selection of one of their body to fill Itlr. Yellon's place. He rose from the ranks of the corps, and when he and Mr. Hayter were appointed as Commissaries of the Field Train, great was the commotion in Woolwich at such luiusual promotions.
Latterly, indeed, they are better off, so far as their prospects of rising in the service are concerned, for many sergeants of the artillery have received commissions in the Land Transport Corps, and are found most valuable and efficient officers, as quartermasters of brigade. The day before the explosion an accident took place in the Eedan, which was also attended with melancholy results. The following are the particulars: — On the 14th, Samuel Goodram, No. 6 Company, Coldstreams, another old soldier of the same regiment, named Betts, and a sergeant, were on duty in the Eedan, and the two men went into one of the casemates to remove some powder and rubbish, while the sergeant remained outside. Scarcely had the men entered before an explosion took place, which blew" up the magazine, and covered the men and the sergeant with earth and sand.
Goodram was blown into the air, and was then thrown down amid fi-agments of gabions and falling earth, which bmied him to the depth of five or six feet, and lietts was so terribly burnt that he died within an hour after the explosion. Goodram was dug out quite dead, and both men were buried in the Guards' cemetery next day. Thus were two excellent soldiers lost to the country, and I am the more particular in giving the names, in order that I may relate an anecdote of poor Goodram at the attack on the Redan, which I heard at the time, but forgot to mention till this moment. The night before the attack, the Coldstreams were on duty in the trenches, and were relieved some hours before the assault took place.
On arriving at camp it was found that a private named Samuel Goodram, a butcher by trade, was missing; and it was feared that he had gone away to some canteen to indulge in unfiithomable potations, or had been hit in some mysterious way as he came from the trenches. But great wrong had been done to this gallant soldier, who had remained behind from a pure love of fighting, and from a desire "to have a go in at the Boosians." Knowing that the assault would take place in a few hours, Goodram, as the regiment mustered and marched ott", had secreted himself in the trenches, and employed his leisure time before his comrades left in filling the breast of his coat and every available place about his person with cartridges from their boxes, fearing that his private supply ANECDOTE OF GOODRAM. 3o3 of fifty rounds would fail him before he had got his rill of lighting.
When the storming party was advancing fi'oni the fifth parallel, Goodram appeared, riile in hand, and joined it as a volunteer, and his regiment claim him as being the first private soldier in the lledan on that memorable day. He was twice driven out of the Redan, and was over and over again engaged individually with the Eussians, and in these encounters he received two wounds — one in the side and one in the arm — but still kept up a fire when driveii back by the last rush of the enemy's infantry, and forced over the parapet with the rest of our men into the ditch. Instead, however, of retiring with the others, as opportunity olfcred, and keeping in the ditch or getting under cover in the parallels, Goodram made an impromptu rifie pit on the broken glacis outside the ditch, and there he maintained his fii'e on the enemy till his ammunition became exhausted, and his wounds so painful, that he could no longer use his rifle.