On April 28, 1829 William Neilson Hall (some sources give his middle name as Edward) was born to former slaves Jacob and Lucinda. The family was very poor and had grown by five more children by the time William was 15. In order to help support the family, the young Hall took a job aboard a merchant vessel plying out of Hantsport and over the next few years he served in numerous merchant vessels developing into an experienced seaman. In the winter of 1852, he left the merchant marine while in Liverpool, England and joined the Royal Navy.
Crimean War
For the next few years William Hall served in HMS Rodney attached to the Channel Fleet until the outbreak of the Crimean War in 1854. He served with distinction throughout the campaign and when the Crimean War was over he was transferred to the frigate HMS Shannon, commanded by Captain William Peel, VC.
Indian Mutiny
Shannon was in Hong Kong when word came that the sepoys in India had mutinied and she was dispatched to Calcutta. In August orders were received to dispatch as many men as could be spared. William Hall, now captain of the foretop, was amongst the “450 men, six 8” guns, two 24 pound howitzers and two field pieces” (these figures vary in different accounts) selected to march to the besieged city of Lucknow. The first leg of the journey took two months, traveling up the Ganges River, towing their cannons on barges, to Cawnpore, which had been recaptured by the time they arrived, then overland to their final objective.
Seige of Lucknow
Facing continual opposition the relief force arrived at Alumbagh, a few kilometers south of Lucknow, on November 12, 1857, with the loss of only two of their guns. The attack began on November 14 and continued for two days when it became apparent that one of the main strong points was the domed former mosque known as Shah Nulliff. Captain Peel and his naval brigade were ordered to position their guns as close to the walls as possible and blow them down.
Shannon’s crew dragged their cannon up to within 320 meters of the walls and began firing. One of the guns was a man short in its crew so William Hall volunteered to help serve the cannon. Despite the closeness, the guns failed to make a dent in the wall. In desperation, Captain Peel ordered the guns moved even closer to the walls. Two of the 24-pounders were manhandled to within 20 meters of the walls and the firing continued. Now violently dislodged bricks and stones from the walls were flying at Hall and the gunners as well as the musket balls from within the mosque.
The positioning of the gun was such that every time it recoiled it would leap back into range of the sepoys on the wall and Hall and his crew would jump out into the open and haul the gun back to fire it again. One by one the gunners fell until only Hall and a badly wounded Lieutenant Thomas Young, were left. With musket balls whizzing about him and chunks of brick and stone filling the air William Hall continued firing the remaining gun virtually single handedly until finally the wall was breached and the 93rd Highlanders were able to pour through the hole the guns had made. For this action described by Sir Colin Campbell as “almost unexampled in war”, William Hall was to receive the Victoria Cross.
Retires to Nova Scotia
HMS Shannon returned to Great Britain after the successful conclusion of the Indian Mutiny. William Hall received his Victoria Cross on October 28 at a ceremony aboard HMS Donegal in Queenstown, Ireland. Hall was promoted to quartermaster while serving in HMS Bellerophon and petty officer first class while in Royal Adelaide. A few months after this promotion he retired and was discharged on July 4, 1876. The former petty officer was offered a well paid desk job at Whitehall but he turned it down, preferring to return to his native Nova Scotia. William Hall died on his beloved farm at Horton Bluff on August 25, 1904.
Bibliography
Bridglal Pachai – William Hall – Four East Publications – 1995
Max Arthur – Symbol of Courage – Sidgwick & Jackson – 2004
William Silvester - Most of Bill's writing over the past few years has been for the philatelic press and consists primarily of columns and articles about the ...
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