Otley.

HM screw steam-frigate _Shannon_, of fifty-one guns, 600 horse-power,
and 2667 tons, at that time the largest frigate afloat, was commissioned
at Portsmouth by Captain William Peel on the 13th of September 1856, and
destined for the China Seas. On her arrival at Hong-Kong, Lord Elgin,
hearing of the outbreak of the mutiny in India, embarked in her with a
body of troops for Calcutta. She arrived on the 6th of August in the
mouth of the Ganges, when Captain Peel offered the services of his crew,
with the ship's guns, to the Governor-General to form a naval brigade.
On the 14th, Captain Peel, with a number of officers and 450 seamen,
embarked in a flat, towed by a river steamer, and proceeded up the
Hooghly, to join the force advancing to the relief of Lucknow. On the
18th, they were followed by another party of five officers and 120 men,
under the command of Lieutenant Vaughan,--the frigate being left with
140 men, under the command of Mr Waters, the master.

The steamers were of light draught, and could proceed but slowly with
the heavily-laden flats in tow against the strong current. The vessels
anchored at night, and proceeded on their voyage during the day, when
the men underwent a course of drilling, to fit them for the service they
had undertaken. At length, towards the end of October, they reached
Allahabad, at the junction of the Jumna and Ganges; and while one
division was left to garrison that place, the remainder proceeded on
towards Cawnpore by land. While at Futtehpore, near the Ganges,
information was received that a party of rebels were in the
neighbourhood; and 100 men of the naval brigade, commanded by Captain
Peel, with Lieutenant Hay, Mr Garvey, Lieutenant Stirling, RM, and Mr
Bone, and 430 men of different regiments, under command of Colonel
Powell, started in pursuit. "After marching about twenty-four miles, at
three p.m. they came in sight of the enemy, found entrenched in a strong
position behind some hillocks of sand; and, driving their skirmishers
out of a field of corn, engaged and defeated them, capturing two guns
and an ammunition waggon. The whole force of the enemy exceeded 4000
men, of whom about 2000 were Sepoys, who fought in uniform. The enemy's
artillery was well served, and did great execution. The gallant Colonel
Powell, pressing on to the attack, had just secured two guns, when he
fell dead with a bullet through his forehead."

Captain Peel then took the command.