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THE COVENANTER
mountains which surround Walchensee. only member of the 90th Regiment present
The first halt was at a forsthaus best during the battle for Rorke’s Drift.
described as a barn type of building with Daniel Sheehan a civilian clerk and a
some accommodation. How long they native of Cork Ireland, enlisted in the 6th
spent there is not known but it was
Regiment (The Warwickshire Regiment) in
presumably to allow for rest and
1870, Sheehan gave his age as 18 years 6
recuperation for men and mules as well as
months and he signed on for the.
for forward reconnaissance. Thereafter they
mandatory six years with the colours and
took to the hills and the loot was buried.
six in the reserve. He was allotted the
Some months later the US Army 10th
service number 2202 and began his service
Armored Division caught up with the
in. the 2nd Battalion of the 6th Foot.
Alpenkorps and recovered the bulk of the
During the next six, years his service record
booty. But there is no doubt that they
shows he obtained the ‘2nd class certificate’
missed some. The Commandant, Colonel
and he rose to the rank of Sergeant by
Franz Pfeiffer, left Germany after the war
January of 1876. His, thus far impeccable
and settled comfortably in Argentina. The
service record, was damaged by his going
suspicion is that he took the precaution of
AWOL for a week in June of the same year.
packing his pension with him. There has
Sheehan was apprehended and tried. He
also been a persistent rumour that there are
was sentenced to being reduced in the ranks
still alive a few old veterans who know
to Private. No fixed reason for his desertion
where some remains hidden. There was
was ever recorded on his service papers. On
certainly a significant shortfall in the
the 15th of December 1876 Private Daniel
amount said to have left the Reichsbank
Sheehan passed into the Liverpool District
and the amount ever recovered, hence ‘the
Reserve. Here Sheehan’s career takes an
almost inexplicable turn. He left behind his
largest robbery ever’.
reserve commitment, returned to Ireland
Now if B Company, or if any of the
and re-enlisted at the town of Birr. He
others who followed on, had known... As it
changed his name to James Graham, he
was, the closest they got to treasure was
joined the 90th Light Infantry (Perthshires)
when one of them snaffled the petty cash
giving his birthplace as
box! Trust B Company.
St. Mary’s near Dublin, his occupation as
Philip Grant (prg@blutmail.ch)
labourer and his height now recorded as 5ft
8 3/4in (an inch taller than his previous
The 90th’s man at
enlistment) and lastly he declared he had
Rorke’s Drift.
no previous military service.
Twenty nine days later Army Records
Some years ago a famous author and
caught up, with him. On February 26th
former Soldier by the name of John Prebble,
1877 he was arrested and confirmed for two
wrote a short article on the action at Rorke’s
months while awaiting his trial. May 2nd
Drift. This article began an unprecedented
he was tried and convicted of the charge of
interest in the battle and indeed the entire
fraudulent enlistment, he lost his 29 days of
Zulu war.
pension and good conduct service with the
The public’s interest in this war, soon led
90th in addition he lost his 6 years of
to the making of the historically incorrect
service accumulated for pension and good
1963 film "Zulu" starring Stanley Baker, and
conduct while serving with the 6th
a newcomer Michael Caine. Since then,
Regiment. He was also imprisoned till the
much research has been done into the
26th of June 1877.
leaders, the battles and the Zulu enemy.
On release, Private 1123 James Graham
Many fine books have emerged telling the
returned to the 90th and with the regiment
story of the war and it’s combatants
proceeded to South Africa where in January
including the role of the 90th Perthshire
of 1878 the regiment saw service against the
Light Infantry.
Gaikas and Galekas in the Eastern Cape
The value of Zulu war artefacts, such as
Frontier.
medals, badges and weapons went through
Graham, despite his previous
the roof. Researchers and medal collectors
transgressions. Had been promoted to
began delving into the service records of the
Lance-Corporal on the 7th of January 1878.
individual soldiers who served during this
He was not with the 90th when the
campaign. From this research an extremely
regiment marched to Helpmekaara year
interesting story emerged concerning the
later in January of 1879 on it’s way to
52
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