Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 51.djvu/176

 near Bibram, at Patiali, and at Mainpuri, in which he defeated them by skilful tactics with little loss.

He joined Sir Colin Campbell at Fatehgarh on 7 Jan. 1858, and was left in command there as brigadier during the siege of Lucknow. ‘You'll be mobbed, my dear friend,’ said Sir Colin, ‘as soon as I leave, but you must hold out till I come back.’ He had only a small force, but finding that the mutineers were mustering in large numbers in the neighbourhood, he marched out on the night of 6 April, fell upon a body of them at Kankar, and routed them so thoroughly that the main road to the north-west was no longer in danger. In this brilliant affair his men ‘had marched, out and home, forty-four miles, had fought an action, defeating the enemy with considerable loss, and capturing their guns, ammunition, tents, stores, and baggage, and they had returned home safely with the captured guns, without leaving behind a single straggler, and, in spite of the tremendous heat, doing all in a little over twenty-two hours.’

In June he was sent to Shahjahanpur, and on 8 Oct. he surprised and defeated the Oudh mutineers at Bunhagong. In the following spring his brigade was broken up, as the fighting was at an end; and he retired soon afterwards with the rank of major-general. His retirement bore date 30 Aug. 1859. He had been made K.C.B. on 24 March 1858.

After spending several years in England, he settled in France on account of the milder climate, and he died at Paris on 11 Sept. 1876. Seaton's autobiography, ‘From Cadet to Colonel,’ was published in two volumes in 1866, and reprinted in one volume in 1877. It is a well-told story of an Indian soldier's career. He also wrote some papers on ‘Fret-cutting and Wood-carving,’ for a boys' magazine, and they were reprinted as a manual in 1875.

[From Cadet to Colonel; Stocqueler's Memorials of Afghanistan, pp. 213–27; Malleson's Hist. of the Indian Mutiny; Annual Register, 1876; Illustrated London News, 23 Sept. 1876.]

 SEAWARD, JOHN (1786–1858), civil engineer, son of a builder, was born at Lambeth, London, in January 1786, and began life as a surveyor and architect, working with his father. He was afterwards engaged by Grillier & Co., contractors for the erection of Vauxhall Bridge; the direction of that work was entrusted to Seaward, and this circumstance brought him the acquaintance of Jeremy Bentham and Ralph and James Walker. He next managed some lead-mines in Wales, acquired a knowledge of chemistry, and became friendly with Woolf, Trevithick, and other mechanical engineers. Returning to London, he superintended the construction of Gordon's, Dowson's, and other docks on the Thames, and became agent for the Gospel Oak Ironworks in Staffordshire. He was at the same time connected with the Imperial and Continental Gas Company, and introduced gas lighting into several towns in France, Belgium, and Holland. In 1823 he made drawings for a new London Bridge of three arches, each of 230 feet span. In 1824 he established the Canal Ironworks, Millwall, Poplar, for the construction of machinery, more particularly of marine engines. The first vessel built there in 1825, the Royal George, was intended to run between Dover and Calais. He joined the Institution of Civil Engineers as a member in 1826, and was a frequent attendant at the meetings.

A younger brother, (1800–1842), joined John about 1826; the brothers produced machinery for every part of the world, and made the name of Seaward widely known. In 1829 they assisted in the formation of the Diamond Steam Packet Company, and built the engines for the boats which ran between Gravesend and London. Of these, the Ruby and the Sapphire were types for speed and for accommodation. In 1836 the brothers brought out the direct-acting engines for the Gorgon and Cyclops, known as Seaward's engines, nearly dispensing with the heavy side-beam engines which up to that period were in general use. Their success was complete, and the saving obtained in the consumption of fuel by the double-slide valve, both for the steam and exhaust, with other improvements, caused the government to entrust the Seawards with the building of twenty-four steamboats and some smaller vessels. At the same time they adapted their engines to the vessels of the East India Company, the Steam Navigation Companies, and the ships of foreign governments. They early advocated the use of auxiliary steam power for the voyage to India, and experimented with the Vernon in 1839 and 1840 with great success (Trans. Instit. of Civil Engineers, 1842, iii. 385–401). They also designed large swing-bridges, dredging machines, cranes, and other dock-apparatus, besides machinery for lead, saw, and sugar mills. Among the improvements and inventions for which John Seaward was personally responsible were the tubular boilers, which are still used in the royal navy, the disconnecting cranks for paddle-wheel engines, the telescopic funnel, the self-acting nozzles for feed and for regulating the saturation of the