Cumming,John and or George Imlach, Banffshire

[andycand]

Hi, regarding the post re John Cumming-Jean Jameison as George Imlach Cummings parents, i have discounted that as they have the death as in Tennessee USA.My one died 1873 NZ, but thanks for helping, much appreciated.

Don't discount completely the John Cumming/Jean Jamieson marriage. The tree showing the death in Tennessee also has him born in Banff, Canada. The tree owner has obviously accepted the hints from Ancestry when entering the information. ie Banff as Canada rather than Scotland and Te as Tennessee rather than Te Karu. 2 other trees on Ancestry show those parents and Georges death in New Zealand.
You do need to find the original source of this information

Andy

[Mark Brewer]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum, but am trying to get in contact with "spacecookie". I am a New Zealand based military historian with an interest in writing an article about Inspector George Cumming. I've just noticed this post and am interested in confirming some of the details listed here, especially date and place of birth, marriage details and descendants. It is interesting that the New Zealand Medal roll and New Zealand military service file have his middle name listed at "Imlay" but that here it is listed as "Imlach". Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Mark Brewer

[Mark Brewer]

The following is what I have managed to ascertain so far:

George Imlay Cumming was a member of the New Zealand Armed Constabulary who had received the Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur for gallantry during the Crimean War.     An experienced soldier he served for 23 years in the British Army and eight and a half years with New Zealand forces.  George Cumming provided valuable service as an Armed Constabulary Divisional Commander, especially during the latter states of the New Zealand Wars, but this has largely been overshadowed by the exploits of McDonnell, Von Tempskey and Mair.  Yet he had a varied and very interesting career, and was highly regarded, especially on account of his commissioning from the ranks and decoration with the Légion d’honneur.  The combat experience and dedicated service that this honour recognises, contributed significantly to his later success in New Zealand.

George Cumming had provided lengthy service as an Imperial soldier and raised to the rank of Sergeant in the 57th (West Middlesex) Regiment of Foot by the time the unit landed in the Crimea in 1854 to join battle against the Russians.  Known as ‘The Die Hards’―because of their gallant stand during the Battle of Albuhera  during the 1811 Pensinular War―the 57th Regiment formed part of the 1st Brigade of the British 4th Division within the combined Anglo-French force.  After establishing a landing site the Allies aimed to advance South on Sevastopol, then besiege and defeat its inhabitants.  Cumming’s unit was held in reserve during the first major engagement at the Battle of the Alma on 20 September 1854, where the Allies forced the Russian defences to cross the River Alma on the drive south, but was soon after involved in the siege of Sevastopol. 

The Battle of Inkerman nearly a month later, was perhaps the 57th Regiment’s most significant contribution to the campaign.  After the Allies pushed south and established a base at Balaclava, the Russian field army began probing their Eastern flank and achieved some initial success when an ill planned British cavalry charge nearly destroyed the Light Brigade.  The Russians attacked again at first-light on 5 November 1854, crossing the Tchernaya River to assault the British 2nd Division positions on the heights over-looking Inkerman.  The 4th Division reinforced the defenders at 0800 hours with the majority of Regiments, including the 57th, moving to plug gaps in the line.   The 4th Division Commander Lieutenant General Cathcart lead the remainder in a counter-attack on the Russian left flank, but was enveloped and attacked from the rear resulting in his death.  Cumming’s 57th Regiment was then engaged in a lengthy close-quarters battle in the fog until the arrival of French forces turned the battle in favour of the Allies. 

Once the Russians determined they were unlikely to defeat the Allies in the field, they reinforced the Sevastopol fortifications resulting in a lengthy siege.  Unfortunately the British were ill prepared for the winter conditions and suffered significant casualties from sickness and the cold.  The first major attack on the besieged town did not occur until June 1855 when the Allies were repulsed with heavy losses.  Consequently, Cumming was promoted to Sergeant Major due to the death of his predecessor on 18 June and faithfully fulfilled his duties through until the fall of Sevastopol on 9 September 1855.  When nominations were called for British personnel to be recognised by the President of France, Commanding Officer of the 57th Regiment Lieutenant Colonel Henry Warre put forward the name of Sergeant Major George Cumming on 17 December 1855.

George Cumming was awarded the Légion d’honneur for his conduct throughout the long and arduous campaign.  The decoration was one of 586 awarded to British personnel by the President of France for service during the War with Russia.   Colonel Warre had recommended Cumming because he was “an exemplary N.C. [non-commissioned] Officer & was promoted for his gallant conduct & constant attention to his duties on the death of the Acting Sergeant Major”.   The award was subsequently made by Imperial degree in the Moniteur of 16 June 1856,  and confirmed in the London Gazette of 4 August 1856 in the grade of Croix de Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, along with four other members of his unit.   After the cessation of hostilities in the Crimea, Cumming and the 57th served in Malta and India, but in 1860 with tensions rising between Māori tribes and European settlers in New Zealand’s Taranaki region, the regiment was despatched from Bombay.

[Mark Brewer]

Sergeant Major Cumming and his wife arrived in Auckland with the 57th Regiment in January 1861. Throughout most of 1860 British units supported by local volunteers had been fighting war parties of Te Ati Awa, who were opposed to the sale of land at Waitara.  The campaign was characterised by a series of sieges as the British stormed pā after pā, often with heavy casualties.  General Officer Commanding Australia Major General Pratt took command as Māori reinforcements flooded in from the Waikato, using artillery and saps dug up to the outer palisades to conquer pā at Matarikoriko and Huirangi.   The 57th Regiment arrived in Taranaki in February as Pratt laid siege to the Te Arei pā in what would be the last battle of the First Taranaki War.   The subsequent truce provided an opportunity for the British to withdraw forces to South Auckland in order to counter anticipated Maori aggression in the Waikato.

When all other British forces were withdrawn to Auckland in April 1861, the 57th Regiment remained in Taranaki under Colonel Warre.  While tensions remained high the unit utilised well defended redoubts and ‘flying columns’ of up to 500 troops to maintain security in the region.  George Cumming was promoted as the 57th transitioned from the offensive to security and stability operations more akin to its traditional garrison role.  After 20 years service as a soldier in the British Army he was commissioned from the ranks and promoted to Ensign on 30 April 1861.   Cumming’s exact role in the unit at this time is unclear, but it is likely that his considerable experience and administrative ability would have helped in the establishment and maintenance of the 57th Regiment’s widely distributed and isolated outposts.

The Region remained relatively quiet for two years following the truce, until another dispute over land―this time at Tataraimaka―led to conflict and the commencement of what is now referred to as the Second Taranaki War.  Colonel Warre’s operational strategy had been influenced by French experience in Algeria and was based on the belief that “the presence of the troops must be felt throughout the island, and more especially in the disturbed or disaffected districts, and at the same time they must be prepared to meet and compete with an almost invisible enemy”.   Unfortunately, shortly after Cumming’s 57th Regiment established a new redoubt at Poutoko, a small party escorting a prisoner to New Plymouth were ambushed on 4 May 1863, resulting in the death of six soldiers and two officers―only the wounded Private Kelly survived.    Despite the initial success of these guerrilla tactics the Maori soon reverted to their more traditional approach to warfare based on defensive fortifications.

In an attempt to quickly suppress the renewed Maori uprising in Taranaki, British forces under General Alexander Cameron (also a Légion d’honneur recipient) stormed their main pa.  After a preliminary bombardment by field artillery and HMS Eclipse, the entire 57th Regiment (including Cumming) charged and took the Katikara pa on 27 June 1863.   The attack was in direct retaliation for the ambush in May, which had also provided Governor Grey with an excuse to invade the fertile Waikato Region―again resulting in the withdrawal of all military units from Taranaki less the 57th Regiment and local colonial volunteers.   But the British victory was not strategically decisive and marauding bands of toa continued to harass settlers and soldiers alike.   The Maori attacked in force again on 2 October 1863 when the 57th Regiment was reinforcing St Patrick’s redoubt in the Poutoko area.  Two companies of the 57th along with locally raised bush rangers were hard-pressed by the determined attack, but retained control of the fort in an action which resulted in a New Zealand Cross for one of the colonials and two Victoria Crosses for the 57th.

British success in the Waikato encouraged a recommencement of the 57th Regiment’s campaign in Taranaki during 1864, but it quickly became apparent they now faced a more formidable enemy.  A company of the 57th under Major Butler (also a Légion d’honneur recipient) supported by the Royal Artillery, Taranaki Militia and bush rangers attacked the pa at Kaitake on 25 March 1864, driving the local tribe back onto the slopes of Mt. Taranaki.   However, the Maori now revitalised by evangelistic converts to the biblical Pai Marire religion (commonly referred to as Hauhauism) reverted to guerrilla warfare.   The Hauhau attacked a sizable British force at Ahuahu on 6 April taking with them the head of its 57th Regiment commander Captain Lloyd, but were repulsed with heavy losses during an assault on the Sentry Hill redoubt three weeks later.  Colonel Warre then moved to subdue any remaining resistance in North Taranaki and by the end of 1864 the campaign had shifted its focus South towards Wanganui.

[Mark Brewer]

George Cumming resigned from the British Army at the end of 1864 and joined a locally raised volunteer unit.    Agents from regional militia had begun recruiting men with promises of land for farming, as part of a government plan to establish military settlements throughout the North Island.  Nine companies of Taranaki Military Settlers were subsequently formed in North Taranaki during 1864 and the early part of 1865.  On leaving the British Army Ensign Cumming was promoted to Captain and appointed Adjutant of the new unit on 2 December 1864.  He therefore stayed in New Plymouth working directly for the commander of the Taranaki Military Settlers Lieutenant Colonel Maxwell Lepper, while the 57th Regiment reinforced its garrison at Wanganui.   Unfortunately for the new recruits most of the land allocated to them was still in Maori hands, and instead of a quick victory followed by settlement of their 50 acres, many spent their obligatory three years service building and defending remote redoubts.   

The Taranaki Military Settlers mainly played a supporting role in the conflict with the Hauhau throughout 1865 and most of 1866.  The unit remained in North Taranaki providing security through the manning of static fortifications and the protection of local settlements, while the new British Commander Major General Chute led a series of long sorties with strong ‘flying columns’ between Wanganui and New Plymouth.  However, with other colonial units the Taranaki Military Settlers accepted a greater role in the war as the regular British units were withdrawn throughout 1866.   Eight officers and 170 men of the unit were moved south to the Waihi redoubt near Hawera in late 1866, with Captain Cumming as Adjutant.  But in early 1867 with many of the volunteers close to the end of their engagements and no sign of their allotted land in sight, ill-discipline and drunkenness became a major problem for those engaged in monotonous garrison duty.  Despite Cumming’s efforts it was not until Major Gorton colonial Commander of the Wellington District intervened that good military order was restored.

In response to low morale amongst some settler units and the need for a professional disciplined army, the New Zealand Government formed the Armed Constabulary as a permanent force to replace the disparate volunteer units in late 1867.  On establishment of the new force George Cumming was appointed to the rank of Sub-Inspector on 24 October 1867, to serve under Lieutenant Colonel (now Inspector) Thomas McDonnell commander of No. 2 Division.   Cumming’s first deployment was with a force of 70 constables led by McDonnell who were dispatched to the Buller/Westland region of the South Island to quell Irish Protestant and Catholic Fenian conflict on the gold fields in April 1968.   Their intervention was decisive in defusing the situation and Inspector McDonnell, Sub-Inspector Cumming and half the men returned to Patea after a fortnight.  But the remaining force served for a further month in Hokitika and one of the constables, the disgraced Crimean Victoria Cross and Légion d’honneur recipient (previously Royal Navy Ensign) Edward St John Daniel died of alcoholism during this time.

Further land confiscations in the Taranaki region led to renewed conflict with the local iwi and George Cumming was soon engaged in some of the fiercest fighting of his career.  Toa under the Ngaruahine chief Titokowaru, had killed several settlers and an Armed Constabulary constable in June 1868.  Then a month later they attacked the Turuturu Mokai redoubt which was garrisoned by members of No.2 Division .  Ten men (including some ex-members of the 57th Regiment) were killed including the post commander Sub-Inspector Frederick Ross who had his heart cut out.    The defenders were belatedly relieved by the mounted No.3 Division and Von Tempsky’s No.5 Division from the Waihi redoubt only three miles away.  McDonnell who had been away, swore revenge and Cumming accompanied him when the Field Force attacked Titokowaru’s pa at Te Ngutu o te manu on 21 August 1868.  The Maori encampment was captured and burned, after a sharp skirmish and the withdrawal of most of the defenders.   The European casualties attended to by the group’s chaplain, French Catholic Missionary Jean Rolland, were thankfully far smaller in number than they would be during the next battle.

[Mark Brewer]

In an attempt to decisively engage Titokowaru McDonnell sought to attack Te Ruaruru village in behind Te Ngutu o te manu on 7 September 1868, but the colonials were defeated with very heavy losses.  The force strayed close to the rebuilt pa where Titokowaru’s toa laid in ambush in the surrounding bush.  The Maori eventually enveloped and split McDonnell’s force which suffered at least 30 wounded and 19 dead including Major (now Inspector) Gustavus Von Tempsky commander of No. 5 Division.   Cumming fought alongside Lieutenant Colonel McDonnell whilst the force collected and carried off its wounded,  and the commander later called of his adjutant’s participation in the battle:

I told Captain Cumming to come on with me.  During the whole of this time the enemy were firing heavily at us in every direction.  Our way had to be cut through supplejacks and undergrowth, which, with the eight stretchers we now had, was a work of toil and difficulty.  We at length reached the creek that runs through [Te Maru], but still no track. Presently the news was brought to me that Major Von Tempsky, Captain Buck, and Lieutenant Hunter were shot dead...The natives now swarmed in our rear, and kept up a heavy fire, which I was obliged to return only occasionally, as my ammunition was very short; Captain Cumming and myself loading and firing now and then, and I was afraid the enemy might have got round to the crossing of the Waingongoro River before I could reach it.  We attained the opening at Ahipai pa just at dusk; here we received a parting volley from the enemy.

Several men had been left on the field of battle and others were still missing, to filter back or be killed by Titokowaru’s warriors over the next few days.  The reverse resulted in low morale, No. 5 Division’s mutiny and disbandment, and McDonnell’s fall from grace and replacement. 

George Cumming was promoted to the rank of Inspector on 8 September 1968, the day after the battle, in order to fill a position left vacant by one of those killed.   With McDonnell discredited Lieutenant Colonel George Whitmore, a retired Imperial officer who was previously Military Secretary to Major General Cameron and now Commandant of the Armed Constabulary, took control.   Cumming was subsequently appointed Whitmore’s adjutant and chief staff officer.  Yet the situation remained worrying with Titokowaru advancing south on Wanganui and establishing a new pa at Moturoa.  It became clear that the colonials would again need to seek battle with the Maori in order to alleviate the threat, but many were hesitant to return to arms.  Even George Cumming was so haunted by his experience at Te Ngutu o te manu―and perhaps thinking of his young family―that he confided in a friend ‘that if he was asked to go into the bush [again] he would resign his commission’.

Despite Cumming’s personal reservations Whitmore managed to talk him into rejoining the fight, and he bravely returned to the bush in command of No. 2 Division for the attack on Moturoa Pa on 7 November 1868.   As Major Hunter’s No.3 Division supported by local Patea volunteers attacked the pa from the front, Cumming’s No.2 Division and Inspector Robert’s newly raised No.6 Division provided fire support with massed volleys, while kaupapa and elements of No. 1 Division under Major Kepa attempted an outflanking manoeuvre through the bush.    But without artillery preparation the attack began to stall with heavy casualties, and a counterattack by the defenders around the flanks soon saw Cumming’s Division heavily pressed on the left.  The attackers withdrew under considerable pressure from the Maori, and with 22 colonial soldiers killed Whitmore’s first battle was as disastrous as McDonnell’s last.   As the armed threat to their stronghold’s reduced, Titokowaru’s raiding parties began to harass settlements close to the Wanganui township.

Inspector Cumming participated in the much anticipated attack on Titokowaru’s Pa at Taurganga Ika in February 1869.   Unfortunately while the build up, reconnaissance and advance to the Pa had resulted in several skirmishes and casualties, when Whitmore’s troops finally stormed the stronghold they found it empty.   As the Maori withdrew north away from the Colonial forces, they remained dangerous and continued to harass their pursuers.  Cumming was visiting Lieutenant Colonel McDonnell―who had once again taken command of No.2 Division―at Camp Te Karaka on 17 February 1869 when ten members of a party sent to collect fruit were ambushed in a peach grove, resulting in seven men killed and McDonnell’s resignation.    Despite the set-back Whitmore continued to pursue Titokowaru’s forces north, and by March 1869 had chased them back to North Taranaki.  But government successes on the West Coast were counterbalanced by on-going troubles in the East.

[Mark Brewer]

I still need to flesh out the following:

With the rise of Te Kooti in the East, Cumming soon moved to the Urewera with Whitmore and was placed in command of a force at Ahikereru in early May 1869.  Cumming’s force withdrew to Fort Galatea when Witmore became ill and he fought in the Urewera campaign under the command of Lieutenant Colonel St John.  Cumming again served under McDonnell in January 1970 during the storming and subsequent defence of the Tapapa Pa against Te Kooti’s forces.   In October 1870 a seventh Armed Constabulary district was formed at Wairoa and Inspector George Cumming was placed in command.

On 17 July 1971 Inspector Cumming was ordered to immediately take a force to Te Onepoto on the the southern shore of Lake Waikaremoana, to support the Arawa Flying Columns pursuing Te Kooti in the Urewera.   Cumming’s presence and particularly the logistic support he provided to the Flying Columns played a significant part in the success of Gilbert Mair and George Preece’s operations against Te Kooti.   Cumming subsequently returned to Wairoa as the Armed Constabulary commander of the district and in January 1973 applied for the New Zealand War Medal with Thomas McDonnell certifying that he had served under fire.  Unfortunately Inspector Cumming died at his Headquarters at Te Kapu in mid 1873 and his medal was instead presented to his widow in March 1875.  A Chevalier of the Légion d’honneur, George Imlay Cumming was a veteran soldier who gave significant service to New Zealand.

[GR2]

Hi. The original poster's profile says he was last here on 27th August. He should get an e-mail to say a new reply has been added, but you can also send him a personal message, by clicking on the message icon beside the profile icon at the side of his posts.

Re the name, one of my grandmothers was an Imlay with origins in 17th century Fyvie. Our family has used that spelling since at least 1729, the date of the oldest ancestor's personal signature, as opposed to his name being recorded by a clerk. From the late 18th century some family members started to alternate between "Imlay" and "Imlah" before settling on the spelling "Imlah", and a clerk sometimes writes "Imlach". One gravestone uses all three spellings. Generally, "Imlay/Imlah" are the more common spellings in Aberdeenshire, and "Imlach" is more common in Banffshire.

[kiwihalfpint]

From memory I think Spacecookie is a she


Cheers
KHP