Difference between revisions of "John Egan"
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THE GRAVE OF THE DRUMMER BOY | THE GRAVE OF THE DRUMMER BOY | ||
− | In the Ballaarat Old Cemetery there is a gravestone, erected in recent years, to John Egan the drummer boy of the 12th Regiment of Foot. The inscription reads: | + | In the [[Ballaarat Old Cemetery]] there is a gravestone, erected in recent years, to John Egan the drummer boy of the 12th Regiment of Foot. The inscription reads: |
Revision as of 16:35, 9 July 2013
Contents
Background
Goldfields Involvement, 1854
Post 1854 Experiences
According to the Muster Lists of the 12th Regiment of Foot, John Egan, Regimental Number 3159, drummer, was in the regimental hospital for 21 days following his injury, during the period 1st October 1854 to 31st December 1854. (That is, the musters of the last quarter of 1854.) He was paid as a drummer at 1 shilling, 1 penny and 3 farthings per day to the 20th February 1855 during which time he spent one further day in the hospital. On the 21st February 1855 he was promulgated in Official Orders as Private. Later, in 1856 he was transferred with the 12th Regiment to Tasmania and was still there on 30th June 1860! [1]
The Grave
THE GRAVE OF THE DRUMMER BOY
In the Ballaarat Old Cemetery there is a gravestone, erected in recent years, to John Egan the drummer boy of the 12th Regiment of Foot. The inscription reads:
In Memory Of
Drummer Boy 3159
JOHN EGAN
12TH Regiment of Foot
Killed in Line of Duty 28TH November 1854
This tombstone stands in the same consecrated ground as the monument to the military who lost their lives at the Eureka Riots. However, John Egan did not die in the line of duty at Eureka. He survived the injury that he sustained on 28th November, and went on to be court martialled and to cause trouble in the 12th Regiment for many years. Despite the popularly held belief of the "death of the Drummer Boy", current research reveals that he was still alive and was in Tasmania almost six years after the events at Eureka. [2]
See also
Further Reading
Corfield, J.,Wickham, D., & Gervasoni, C. The Eureka Encyclopaedia, Ballarat Heritage Services, 2004.
References
External links