This is a cenotaph. Alexander Seton is not buried here. His body was lost at sea. This is a memorial placed to his memory in the Daviot Kirkyard.
British Army Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Seton, 74th Highlanders, was the SBO [Senior British Officer] aboard the Royal Navy troopship, HMS Birkenhead, bound for Algoa Bay, Capetown, South Africa. She was a twin-paddled barque-rigged steam frigate, one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was under the commmand of Captain Robert Salmond RN, and embarked Portsmouth carrying troops from ten different regiments to serve in the 8th Xhosa War (then called the "Kaffir War"). The muster rolls went down with the ship and it is not known for certain the number of souls she was carrying on the final leg, but many of the officers had their families with them.Birkenhead hugged the coast and was rarely more than 3 miles from shore. On the night of 26th February 1852, when, off Point Danger, Cape of Good Hope, Birkenhead was holed by rocks to the extent that she would sink within 20 minutes. Lifeboats were lowered but there were insufficient for all those on board. Lieutenant Colonel Seton, his sabre drawn, gave the order for the officers and men to be called to attention on deck. They did not break rank even as Birkenhead sank beneath the waves. It had been feared that in the absence of such an order, the men might make for the lifeboats and swamp them. This incident, in which all the women and children survived, gave rise to the cry, "Remember the Birkenhead!" and the Birkenhead Drill was immortalised in great literary works by the likes of Rudyard Kipling. It wasn't until 1860 that the actual phrase "Women and Children first" was first used, but it followed the intent of Lieutenant Colonel Seton. There were 193 survivors, some of whom swam through shark-infested waters to the shore, but the ship's captain and Lieutenant Colonel Seton perished. The wreck remains designated as a wargrave. Memorials were erected at the Chelsea Royal Hospital, London, at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and at the lighthouse at Point Danger, and inspired by the bravery displayed that night,Frederick William IV of Prussia ordered an account of the incident to be read at the head of every regiment in his army.
The entry for Alexander Seton found in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 51, page 265 (public domain), is given below.
SETON, ALEXANDER (1814–1852), lieutenant-colonel, born at Mounie in Aberdeenshire on 4 Oct. 1814, was the second but eldest surviving son of Alexander Seton of Mounie, by Janet Skene, his wife, daughter of Skene Ogilvy, D.D., minister of Old Machar, Aberdeenshire. He was descended from Sir Alexander Seton, lord Pitmedden [q. v.] Alexander was educated at home until the age of fifteen, and then studied mathematics and chemistry for some months under Ferdinando Foggi at Pisa. On 23 Nov. 1832 he was gazetted second lieutenant in the 21st or royal North British fusiliers, and next year he was sent with part of his regiment to the Australian colonies. He returned to Scotland on leave in 1838, and was promoted to a first lieutenancy on 2 March. He rejoined his regiment in India, and received a company on 14 Jan. 1842. Shortly after he exchanged into the 74th, and was stationed at Chatham. There he studied for two years in the senior department of the Royal Military College, and in November 1847 received a first-class certificate. In 1849 he proceeded to Ireland as assistant deputy quartermaster-general of the forces there. He held this post till 24 May 1850, when he was promoted to a majority. On 7 Nov. 1851 he obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and about the same time was ordered to take command of the drafts destined for the Cape of Good Hope, where his regiment was engaged in the Kaffir war. He sailed in the steam troopship Birkenhead, which on the morning of 26 Feb. 1852 struck on a rock in False Bay, twenty miles south of Cape Town, and foundered in little more than ten minutes. In spite of the sudden nature of the catastrophe, Seton issued his orders with perfect calmness. The scene is said by an eyewitness to have resembled an embarkation, with the difference that there was less confusion. The boats could only contain the women and children, and out of 638 persons 445 were lost, Seton himself being killed by the fall of part of the wreck. He died unmarried, and his property descended to his younger brother, David. The heroism displayed by Seton and the rest of those on board the Birkenhead was commemorated by Sir Francis Doyle in a poem on ‘The Loss of the Birkenhead,’ in ‘The Return of the Guards and other Poems’ (1866; cf. R. L. Stevenson, Essay on Admirals, and Rudyard Kipling, Seven Seas).
[A Short Memoir of Alexander Seton, 1854; Burke's Landed Gentry, 6th edit.; Annual Register, 1852, pp. 470–2; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. ix. 492; Cornhill Mag. February 1897.]
British Army Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Seton, 74th Highlanders, was the SBO [Senior British Officer] aboard the Royal Navy troopship, HMS Birkenhead, bound for Algoa Bay, Capetown, South Africa. She was a twin-paddled barque-rigged steam frigate, one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was under the commmand of Captain Robert Salmond RN, and embarked Portsmouth carrying troops from ten different regiments to serve in the 8th Xhosa War (then called the "Kaffir War"). The muster rolls went down with the ship and it is not known for certain the number of souls she was carrying on the final leg, but many of the officers had their families with them.Birkenhead hugged the coast and was rarely more than 3 miles from shore. On the night of 26th February 1852, when, off Point Danger, Cape of Good Hope, Birkenhead was holed by rocks to the extent that she would sink within 20 minutes. Lifeboats were lowered but there were insufficient for all those on board. Lieutenant Colonel Seton, his sabre drawn, gave the order for the officers and men to be called to attention on deck. They did not break rank even as Birkenhead sank beneath the waves. It had been feared that in the absence of such an order, the men might make for the lifeboats and swamp them. This incident, in which all the women and children survived, gave rise to the cry, "Remember the Birkenhead!" and the Birkenhead Drill was immortalised in great literary works by the likes of Rudyard Kipling. It wasn't until 1860 that the actual phrase "Women and Children first" was first used, but it followed the intent of Lieutenant Colonel Seton. There were 193 survivors, some of whom swam through shark-infested waters to the shore, but the ship's captain and Lieutenant Colonel Seton perished. The wreck remains designated as a wargrave. Memorials were erected at the Chelsea Royal Hospital, London, at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and at the lighthouse at Point Danger, and inspired by the bravery displayed that night,Frederick William IV of Prussia ordered an account of the incident to be read at the head of every regiment in his army.
The entry for Alexander Seton found in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 51, page 265 (public domain), is given below.
SETON, ALEXANDER (1814–1852), lieutenant-colonel, born at Mounie in Aberdeenshire on 4 Oct. 1814, was the second but eldest surviving son of Alexander Seton of Mounie, by Janet Skene, his wife, daughter of Skene Ogilvy, D.D., minister of Old Machar, Aberdeenshire. He was descended from Sir Alexander Seton, lord Pitmedden [q. v.] Alexander was educated at home until the age of fifteen, and then studied mathematics and chemistry for some months under Ferdinando Foggi at Pisa. On 23 Nov. 1832 he was gazetted second lieutenant in the 21st or royal North British fusiliers, and next year he was sent with part of his regiment to the Australian colonies. He returned to Scotland on leave in 1838, and was promoted to a first lieutenancy on 2 March. He rejoined his regiment in India, and received a company on 14 Jan. 1842. Shortly after he exchanged into the 74th, and was stationed at Chatham. There he studied for two years in the senior department of the Royal Military College, and in November 1847 received a first-class certificate. In 1849 he proceeded to Ireland as assistant deputy quartermaster-general of the forces there. He held this post till 24 May 1850, when he was promoted to a majority. On 7 Nov. 1851 he obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and about the same time was ordered to take command of the drafts destined for the Cape of Good Hope, where his regiment was engaged in the Kaffir war. He sailed in the steam troopship Birkenhead, which on the morning of 26 Feb. 1852 struck on a rock in False Bay, twenty miles south of Cape Town, and foundered in little more than ten minutes. In spite of the sudden nature of the catastrophe, Seton issued his orders with perfect calmness. The scene is said by an eyewitness to have resembled an embarkation, with the difference that there was less confusion. The boats could only contain the women and children, and out of 638 persons 445 were lost, Seton himself being killed by the fall of part of the wreck. He died unmarried, and his property descended to his younger brother, David. The heroism displayed by Seton and the rest of those on board the Birkenhead was commemorated by Sir Francis Doyle in a poem on ‘The Loss of the Birkenhead,’ in ‘The Return of the Guards and other Poems’ (1866; cf. R. L. Stevenson, Essay on Admirals, and Rudyard Kipling, Seven Seas).
[A Short Memoir of Alexander Seton, 1854; Burke's Landed Gentry, 6th edit.; Annual Register, 1852, pp. 470–2; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. ix. 492; Cornhill Mag. February 1897.]
This is a cenotaph. Alexander Seton is not buried here. His body was lost at sea. This is a memorial placed to his memory in the Daviot Kirkyard.
British Army Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Seton, 74th Highlanders, was the SBO [Senior British Officer] aboard the Royal Navy troopship, HMS Birkenhead, bound for Algoa Bay, Capetown, South Africa. She was a twin-paddled barque-rigged steam frigate, one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was under the commmand of Captain Robert Salmond RN, and embarked Portsmouth carrying troops from ten different regiments to serve in the 8th Xhosa War (then called the "Kaffir War"). The muster rolls went down with the ship and it is not known for certain the number of souls she was carrying on the final leg, but many of the officers had their families with them.Birkenhead hugged the coast and was rarely more than 3 miles from shore. On the night of 26th February 1852, when, off Point Danger, Cape of Good Hope, Birkenhead was holed by rocks to the extent that she would sink within 20 minutes. Lifeboats were lowered but there were insufficient for all those on board. Lieutenant Colonel Seton, his sabre drawn, gave the order for the officers and men to be called to attention on deck. They did not break rank even as Birkenhead sank beneath the waves. It had been feared that in the absence of such an order, the men might make for the lifeboats and swamp them. This incident, in which all the women and children survived, gave rise to the cry, "Remember the Birkenhead!" and the Birkenhead Drill was immortalised in great literary works by the likes of Rudyard Kipling. It wasn't until 1860 that the actual phrase "Women and Children first" was first used, but it followed the intent of Lieutenant Colonel Seton. There were 193 survivors, some of whom swam through shark-infested waters to the shore, but the ship's captain and Lieutenant Colonel Seton perished. The wreck remains designated as a wargrave. Memorials were erected at the Chelsea Royal Hospital, London, at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and at the lighthouse at Point Danger, and inspired by the bravery displayed that night,Frederick William IV of Prussia ordered an account of the incident to be read at the head of every regiment in his army.
The entry for Alexander Seton found in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 51, page 265 (public domain), is given below.
SETON, ALEXANDER (1814–1852), lieutenant-colonel, born at Mounie in Aberdeenshire on 4 Oct. 1814, was the second but eldest surviving son of Alexander Seton of Mounie, by Janet Skene, his wife, daughter of Skene Ogilvy, D.D., minister of Old Machar, Aberdeenshire. He was descended from Sir Alexander Seton, lord Pitmedden [q. v.] Alexander was educated at home until the age of fifteen, and then studied mathematics and chemistry for some months under Ferdinando Foggi at Pisa. On 23 Nov. 1832 he was gazetted second lieutenant in the 21st or royal North British fusiliers, and next year he was sent with part of his regiment to the Australian colonies. He returned to Scotland on leave in 1838, and was promoted to a first lieutenancy on 2 March. He rejoined his regiment in India, and received a company on 14 Jan. 1842. Shortly after he exchanged into the 74th, and was stationed at Chatham. There he studied for two years in the senior department of the Royal Military College, and in November 1847 received a first-class certificate. In 1849 he proceeded to Ireland as assistant deputy quartermaster-general of the forces there. He held this post till 24 May 1850, when he was promoted to a majority. On 7 Nov. 1851 he obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and about the same time was ordered to take command of the drafts destined for the Cape of Good Hope, where his regiment was engaged in the Kaffir war. He sailed in the steam troopship Birkenhead, which on the morning of 26 Feb. 1852 struck on a rock in False Bay, twenty miles south of Cape Town, and foundered in little more than ten minutes. In spite of the sudden nature of the catastrophe, Seton issued his orders with perfect calmness. The scene is said by an eyewitness to have resembled an embarkation, with the difference that there was less confusion. The boats could only contain the women and children, and out of 638 persons 445 were lost, Seton himself being killed by the fall of part of the wreck. He died unmarried, and his property descended to his younger brother, David. The heroism displayed by Seton and the rest of those on board the Birkenhead was commemorated by Sir Francis Doyle in a poem on ‘The Loss of the Birkenhead,’ in ‘The Return of the Guards and other Poems’ (1866; cf. R. L. Stevenson, Essay on Admirals, and Rudyard Kipling, Seven Seas).
[A Short Memoir of Alexander Seton, 1854; Burke's Landed Gentry, 6th edit.; Annual Register, 1852, pp. 470–2; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. ix. 492; Cornhill Mag. February 1897.]
British Army Officer, Lieutenant Colonel Seton, 74th Highlanders, was the SBO [Senior British Officer] aboard the Royal Navy troopship, HMS Birkenhead, bound for Algoa Bay, Capetown, South Africa. She was a twin-paddled barque-rigged steam frigate, one of the first iron-hulled ships built for the Royal Navy. She was under the commmand of Captain Robert Salmond RN, and embarked Portsmouth carrying troops from ten different regiments to serve in the 8th Xhosa War (then called the "Kaffir War"). The muster rolls went down with the ship and it is not known for certain the number of souls she was carrying on the final leg, but many of the officers had their families with them.Birkenhead hugged the coast and was rarely more than 3 miles from shore. On the night of 26th February 1852, when, off Point Danger, Cape of Good Hope, Birkenhead was holed by rocks to the extent that she would sink within 20 minutes. Lifeboats were lowered but there were insufficient for all those on board. Lieutenant Colonel Seton, his sabre drawn, gave the order for the officers and men to be called to attention on deck. They did not break rank even as Birkenhead sank beneath the waves. It had been feared that in the absence of such an order, the men might make for the lifeboats and swamp them. This incident, in which all the women and children survived, gave rise to the cry, "Remember the Birkenhead!" and the Birkenhead Drill was immortalised in great literary works by the likes of Rudyard Kipling. It wasn't until 1860 that the actual phrase "Women and Children first" was first used, but it followed the intent of Lieutenant Colonel Seton. There were 193 survivors, some of whom swam through shark-infested waters to the shore, but the ship's captain and Lieutenant Colonel Seton perished. The wreck remains designated as a wargrave. Memorials were erected at the Chelsea Royal Hospital, London, at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh and at the lighthouse at Point Danger, and inspired by the bravery displayed that night,Frederick William IV of Prussia ordered an account of the incident to be read at the head of every regiment in his army.
The entry for Alexander Seton found in the Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900, Volume 51, page 265 (public domain), is given below.
SETON, ALEXANDER (1814–1852), lieutenant-colonel, born at Mounie in Aberdeenshire on 4 Oct. 1814, was the second but eldest surviving son of Alexander Seton of Mounie, by Janet Skene, his wife, daughter of Skene Ogilvy, D.D., minister of Old Machar, Aberdeenshire. He was descended from Sir Alexander Seton, lord Pitmedden [q. v.] Alexander was educated at home until the age of fifteen, and then studied mathematics and chemistry for some months under Ferdinando Foggi at Pisa. On 23 Nov. 1832 he was gazetted second lieutenant in the 21st or royal North British fusiliers, and next year he was sent with part of his regiment to the Australian colonies. He returned to Scotland on leave in 1838, and was promoted to a first lieutenancy on 2 March. He rejoined his regiment in India, and received a company on 14 Jan. 1842. Shortly after he exchanged into the 74th, and was stationed at Chatham. There he studied for two years in the senior department of the Royal Military College, and in November 1847 received a first-class certificate. In 1849 he proceeded to Ireland as assistant deputy quartermaster-general of the forces there. He held this post till 24 May 1850, when he was promoted to a majority. On 7 Nov. 1851 he obtained the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and about the same time was ordered to take command of the drafts destined for the Cape of Good Hope, where his regiment was engaged in the Kaffir war. He sailed in the steam troopship Birkenhead, which on the morning of 26 Feb. 1852 struck on a rock in False Bay, twenty miles south of Cape Town, and foundered in little more than ten minutes. In spite of the sudden nature of the catastrophe, Seton issued his orders with perfect calmness. The scene is said by an eyewitness to have resembled an embarkation, with the difference that there was less confusion. The boats could only contain the women and children, and out of 638 persons 445 were lost, Seton himself being killed by the fall of part of the wreck. He died unmarried, and his property descended to his younger brother, David. The heroism displayed by Seton and the rest of those on board the Birkenhead was commemorated by Sir Francis Doyle in a poem on ‘The Loss of the Birkenhead,’ in ‘The Return of the Guards and other Poems’ (1866; cf. R. L. Stevenson, Essay on Admirals, and Rudyard Kipling, Seven Seas).
[A Short Memoir of Alexander Seton, 1854; Burke's Landed Gentry, 6th edit.; Annual Register, 1852, pp. 470–2; Notes and Queries, 8th ser. ix. 492; Cornhill Mag. February 1897.]
Inscription
Sacred to the memory of
ALEXANDER SETON of Mounie Esq Lieut Col of Her Majesty's 74th regiment of Highlanders, son of the before named Alexander Seton Esq of Mounie & his wife Janet Skene b 4 Oct 1814. He commanded the troops on board HMS ship "Birkenhead", and was drowned together with about 400 men in the wreck of that vessel near Point Danger, Cape of Good Hope, on 26 Feb 1842. Immediately after the ship struck the sunken rock, Lieut Col Seton exerted himself to secure the safe removal of the women and children who were on board at the time and not one of these lost. Issung his orders with coolness, precision and complete presence of mind, forgetful of self, and setting a noble example to the brave men under his command, he devoted all his energies to the calls of duty and humanity and calmly faced a death more dreadful than that of the battlefield. He was distinguished for his talents as a mathematician and linguist, and his acquirements in various branches of literature and the fine arts were of high order.
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