'History of the Indian Navy. (1613-1863).' [‎34] (53/622)

34
HISTORY OF THE INDIAN NAVY.
the countries on either hand. Lieutenant Lynch then proceeded
to England by the 6 Nautilus,' and was one of the sufferers by
the shipwreck of the old brig, which had for so many yeai s borne
with credit the flag of the Indian Navy ; on leaving his ship
mates he crossed the Nubian Desert, on the northern limit of
Abyssinia, and proceeded down the Nile to Egypt, whence he
returned to England. In consequence of his great local ex
perience and general ability, he was nominated second in com
mand of the Euphrates Expedition, under Chesney (who was
given the local rank of Colonel), the other officers being his
brother. Lieutenant R. B. Lynch, of the 21st Bengal Native
Infantry; Captain Estcourt, of the 43rd Regiment Light
Infantry; Lieutenant Murphy, R.E., Lieutenant Cockburn,
R.A.; and the following officers of the Royal Navy:—Lieu
tenant R. Cleaveland, and Messrs. Charlewood, Eden, and Fitz-
james.* There were also two medical men (Dr. Staunton and
Dr. A. Staunton), and a number of skilled artizans carefully
selected from the artillery and engineers.
Lieutenant Lynch was sent in advance, and, by the time
Colonel Chesney had arrived in Syria with the men and material
of the Expedition, had made the necessary preparations for
landing at Suedia, in the Bay of Antioch. At the outset, diffi
culties of a political character, owing to the avowed intention of
Mehemet Ali to stop the Expedition, appeared to threaten an
advance into the interior, but Colonel Chesney expressed his
determination to persevere at all hazards. Accordingly, with
the assistance of the officers and men of H.M. s ship 6 Columbine,^
the stores and two flat-bottomed steamers for the navigation of
the Euphrates and Tigris, were landed, and, at length, Ibrahim
Pasha An Ottoman title used after the names of certain provincial governors, high-ranking officials and military commanders. , son of the Egyptian Viceroy, yielded an unwilling
consent to the departure of the Expedition. Meantime Lieu
tenant Lynch had been sent on a mission to Aleppo, and, on
his return, was sent to Bir, or Birejek, to ascertain which was
the best of the three available lines for reaching the Lake of
Antioch from the mouth of the Orontes, and also to make the
necessary preparations for the arrival of the Expedition at that
place, which was the intended station on the Upper Euphrates.
Lieutenant Lynch selected a site on the bank of the river,
about two-and-a-half miles below Bir, where he ascertained that
slips could be constructed for the two river steamers. ^ In the
meantime, the other officers and men of the Expedition were
busy surveying, and, by the 22nd of May, the 6 Tigris' was set
up and launched in readiness to ascend the Orontes, but, as it
was found that she could not stem the current and convey the
heavy material by water to Antioch, she was taken to pieces
# Some of these officers rose to distinction, such as the late Major Estcourt,
Adjutant-General of the forces in the Crimea, and the late Captain Eitzjames,
who perished with Sir John Eranklin.