The million-peopled city
Garwood, John
1853
The Burial-ground of Chelsea Hospital, and its Remarkable Epitaphs.
In one respect has an advantage over . It has a burial-ground of its own, in which only those connected with the Hospital are interred. The graves of the pensioners are only in a very few instances distinguished by any tablet, but here and there one exists, ordinarily characteristic in its epitaph. The following is an example:- | |
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This veteran, who was a native of , is said to have been married three times after he had attained the age of 100 years. His last marriage was on the year before his death, on . He served in the army for 80 years. He was in all the wars of , under , and likewise served under the , in . He was admitted an in-pensioner at , in the year of the peace of Utrecht. and each allowed him a crown a-week for some years before his death, in consideration of the services he had rendered his country. A picture of him when 110 is still extant.[1] | |
The following is an exact copy of the tomb of the first pensioner buried in the ground:- | |
" Here lyeth the Body of , who in the capacity of a Souldier served , , and their present Majts. and , whose pensioner he was, belonging to this their Majests. , and the first that was interred in this Burying place, who deceased the ." | |
is here buried, who only discovered her sex when she was discharged and sent to England, after being severely wounded at . She had her pension from , as if she had been a man, and even continued to wear her uniform. The late | |
142 | allowed her a pension of 30l. a-year. She died in , in . |
A somewhat similar case had occurred some 50 years before. Mrs. had served as a Dragoon, undiscovered; and her sex was only discovered on her receiving a wound in her body in wars in . She afterwards behaved with great valour in . For her courageous behaviour, she obtained, through ., an allowance from of one shilling a-day. She was buried, according to her desire, amongst the old pensioners, and three volleys were fired over her grave. Her third husband was himself a pensioner, and resided at.[2] | |
The celebrated , was buried here in , in the part of the ground devoted to officers, &c. of the Hospital. He was organist of the chapel, and attained the age of 88. | |
Footnotes: [1] Faulkner's "Chelsea," vol. ii., pp. 265-6. [2] "Political State of Europe," vol. lviii., p. 90, referred to by Faulkner. |