Item #2649 Narrative of the Loss of the Sea-Horse Transport, Captain Gibbs, in the Bay of Tramore, On the 30th of January, 1816; upon which melancholy occasion perished 12 officers, 264 non-commissioned officers and privates of the Second Battalion of the 59th Regiment of foot, 15 sailors and 71 women and children, from particulars communicated by the surviving officers : also, some account of the wreck of the Lord Melville, and Boadicea transports, near the Old Head of Kinsale, on the 31st of the same month, when near 200 of His Majesty's 82d Regiment were unfortunately drowned : with a short sketch of the distinguished services of these gallant corps while under the command of His Grace the Duke of Wellington. J. J. M’Gregor.
Narrative of the Loss of the Sea-Horse Transport, Captain Gibbs, in the Bay of Tramore, On the 30th of January, 1816; upon which melancholy occasion perished 12 officers, 264 non-commissioned officers and privates of the Second Battalion of the 59th Regiment of foot, 15 sailors and 71 women and children, from particulars communicated by the surviving officers : also, some account of the wreck of the Lord Melville, and Boadicea transports, near the Old Head of Kinsale, on the 31st of the same month, when near 200 of His Majesty's 82d Regiment were unfortunately drowned : with a short sketch of the distinguished services of these gallant corps while under the command of His Grace the Duke of Wellington.

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Narrative of the Loss of the Sea-Horse Transport, Captain Gibbs, in the Bay of Tramore, On the 30th of January, 1816; upon which melancholy occasion perished 12 officers, 264 non-commissioned officers and privates of the Second Battalion of the 59th Regiment of foot, 15 sailors and 71 women and children, from particulars communicated by the surviving officers : also, some account of the wreck of the Lord Melville, and Boadicea transports, near the Old Head of Kinsale, on the 31st of the same month, when near 200 of His Majesty's 82d Regiment were unfortunately drowned : with a short sketch of the distinguished services of these gallant corps while under the command of His Grace the Duke of Wellington.

Waterford, [Ireland]: Printed by John Bull, Bookseller, Quay, 1816. 8vo, renewed spine with original red lettering-piece applied, gilt rules, original calf covers. 32 pp.

First and only edition of this scarce account of a shipwreck in the treacherous waters of the Bay of Tramore, notable for the loss of 264 soldiers of the 59th Regiment, which was much distinguished in the Napoleonic Wars.

Following the signing of the peace treaty with France on 6 December 1815, the 59th returned first to England, then on 25 January sailed from Ramsgate for Cork on board the Sea-Horse and Lord Melville transports. On the 29th, John Sullivan, the mate on the Sea-Horse and “the only person on board acquainted with the coast,” fell from the fore-rigging and died a few hours later. The vessel was soon caught in a tremendous gale. On the 30th, she lost her fore-topmast, the mainsail was shredded, and shortly thereafter she struck in Tramore Bay. All but a few perished in heavy seas, a mere mile from shore. Also included are brief accounts of the Lord Melville and the Boadicea, both wrecked, but the former with the loss of fewer lives. OCLC records only five copies, with just one in the U.S.

CONDITION: Good, title-page soiled with a few light brown stains.

Item #2649

Price: $2,250.00

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