THE VOLUNTEER REVIEW AND SHAM FIGHT.
The great volunteer campaign at Southsea and Portsdown, which this year has been more than ever an object of popular interest and expectation, was duly enacted on Monday, and whether regarded as an occasion for testing the proficiency, ascertaining the progress, and enlarging the practical experience of this new and valuable army, or as presenting a pleasing spectacle to thousands of Easter pleasure-seekers, was attended with a degree of success which contrasts very agreeably with the gloomy forebodings to which the infelicitous initiation of the military arrangements naturally enough gave rise. The preparations made in the town were on a most extensive scale. Cornmencing with South Sea Common, the ground where the march took place was staked out and railed like a race course, commencing from the glacis of the fortifications, running along the grand parade on the western side, and extending eastward to Southsea Castle, and then diverging south and east to the Palmerston-road. The grand stand, stated to be capable of accommodationg some 2,000 or 3,000 persona, was erected with its rear to the sea, and there was another smaller stand to the eastward, capable also of accommodating 1,000 persons. It was opposite the centre of this grand stand that the flagstaff was raised, and the saluting was posted. From this spot the magnificent range of mansions and hotels which form the opposite side of the common presented, decorated as they were with the flags and banners of the various corps on their summits, an exceedingly gay and animated appearance. The approaches to and from Southsea Common were profuse with flags, decorations, and triumphal arches. Probably one of the most exciting and interesting sights connected with the preliminaries to the review was the arrival of the 1st Middlesex Artillery and the guns and a mounted troop of the Hon. Artillery Company on Saturday and Friday, nor is the narrative of the road march of the 1st Middlesex less interesting. The 1st Middlesex Artillery, with the two field batteries, under command of Col. Creed, with Major Smith, Captain and Adjutant Adams, and other officers, left the Wellington barracks punctually at eleven o'clock on Thursday and marched to Nine Elms station of the South Western Railway, where the men performed the duty of boxing their horses, and trucking their guns themselves. They proceeded by train to Petersfield, where they put up for the night, having previously performed several evolutions of brigade drill, and fired many rounds, having taken ammunition with them. Subsequently officers and men dined together. The march on Friday commenced at 10.30, halting at Horndean. Here they were met by the second Hants Artillery, headed by its band, under command of Lieut.-Col. Galt, and were accompanied by many hundreds of the townspeople of the borough of Portsmouth. On reaching the mayor's residence at Kington a most exciting scene took place, Colonel Creed called to pay his respects to the mayor, who received them in official costume, and the greeting was accompanied by the enthusiastic cheering of a large multitude, which increased continually as they entered Portsmouth by the Commercial-road and the Napier Column at Landport. Here, and throughout the route to the common, the entry was a perfect ovation, and the windows were crowded by the fair inhabitants, who vigorously waved their handkerchiefs. The men were splendidly mounted, and although the horses were spirited, they were kept well in hand by the drivers, who looked admirable. The Hon. Artillery Company on Sunday received equal honours.
On Saturday the shooting matches came off at Lumps Fort and Cumberland. The artillery prizes were competed for at the former place, and the rifle prizes at the latter. Owing to there not being sufficient time to carry out the competition to the extent originally contemplated, the artillery prizes were reduced to three in number, the first consisting of 10 cups value £3 each; the second of a cup value £2O, and ten sovereigns for the members of detachments; and the third being £10 in money. The artillery prize was won by the Tower Hamlets, Chelsea Battery; the 2nd by the 1st Detachment of 1st Sussex; and the 3rd by the 3rd Detachment of the 1st Sussex.
In the small arms competition, the Enfield Rifle Match was for a first prize of £l2 or a cup, a second of £8 or a cup, and a third £6. The Enfield All Comer’s Match was for £40, divided into five prizes, the first of which was £15, or a cup; the second £8, or a cup; and the third a pair of binocular glasses, or £6.
On Sunday divine service was performed on the Government green in the open air. It was attended by regular troops and volunteers in large numbers, and the scene was as picturesque as it was impressive. The Hon. Artillery Company attended the forenoon service at St. Thomas's Church, High-street, the Mayor and Corporation being present; and the sacred building was completely filled. At least one volunteer in uniform was to be seen in every pew. The sermon was preached by the Rev. N. H. M'Gashen. Each of the corps at present in town marched in full uniform, and headed by its band, to some one of the churches. The weather all day was extremely fine; and with banners flying, bands playing, and its leading thoroughfares and promenades crowded by men in varied and brilliant uniforms, Portsmouth were an air of gaiety such as is seldom presented on Sunday by any town on this side of the Channel.
ARRIVAL OF THE VOLUNTEERS.
The great mass of the volunteers rose with the dawn and proceeded to the different railway stations, according to the arrangements previously made. Though exceedingly cold, the weather was bright and promising, and the departure of the troops was thus effected under agreeable circumstances, the men apparently in high spirits, and entering the station yard with their bands playing. In accordance with the General Orders issued from the War Office on the 9th inst., the commanding officer of each corps, on its arrival at Portsmouth, at once reported himself to the Assistant Inspector of Volunteers at the railway station, after which they marched their corps, right in front, to the rendezvous on the glacis opposite Jubilee, King's, and Landport-terraces, and People's Park, in front of the railway station. On reaching their respective rendezvous, the corps piled arms, those arriving early being allowed to break off. The guns belonging to the field batteries were barked either previously or early in the morning on Southsea-common, on the ground to the eastward of the Clarence monument, where the ammunition was served out to them. At 10.30 these batteries were formed under the direction of the officer commanding. The cavalry was drawn up on the right of the guns in close column of troops.
THE MARCH PAST
The ground having been already staked out for the march past, and two commodious stands erected for the reception of visitors, the public began at an early hour to appropriate convenient positions for witnessing the interesting military spectacle. Upon the whole, however, the attendance of spectators was somewhat scant, and the two stands, which were capable of accommodating 3,000 persons, were not half filled. Just before the march past was commenced the cavalry were drawn up on the right of the guns, and at 11 o'clock the order given to advance. First came the cavalry, entirely composed of Volunteers, and consisting of the Bucks Light Horse. In their grey uniforms, round hats, and twisted feathers, they looked remarkably well, and they had not an indifferent horse among them. They were followed by the Taplow Cavalry Lancers, whom it is easy to distinguish from the Lancers of the regular army. Whether, in these days, the lance is a very useful weapon of attack or defence is, perhaps, more than questionable; but there can be no question whatever of the picturesque appearance of Lancers, and at Portsmouth the Taplow men elicited much admiration. Immediately after the Volunteer Cavalry came a field battery of the Royal Artillery, and next two battalions of the Marine Artillery, numbering over 1,000, and after them a Pontoon Train. The fine bearing of the Artillery of the British service is proverbial. The Marine Artillery are less known to the public at large, and therefore their appearance on Monday was a novelty to the mass of the Volunteers, as well as to vast numbers of the spectators. They are a splendid set of fellows, and either in the march past or in the manœuvres no corps showed to greater advantage. The marching of the 35th and 97th Regiments were also capital, and the men were loudly cheered. Of the Volunteers, some corps distinguished themselves even in the eyes of the military officers present; but in more than one instance the marching was positively bad, and the awkward attempts at dressing-up as the saluting point was approached were anything but creditable. The spectators at Portsmouth were not so demonstrative as those at either Brighton or Dover, but they were more critical, and when a corps did not acquit itself to their satisfaction some very audible and by no means complimentary observations came from the stands.
THE SHAM FIGHT.
The operations commenced with the completion of the position of the attacking force. A storm division proceeds to reinforce it on either side—one joining it on the left from Havant, and representing a landing at Sussex, and the other on the right from the direction of Fareham, and representing a landing at Southampton water. The attacking force consisted of the 1st and 2nd Division, and advanced in the following order :—The 1st Division, under Major-General Renny, from Fareham, occupied the ground in rear of Paulsgrove and Wymering. The 2nd Division, under Major-General Sir Alfred Horsford, K.C.B., moved upon Cosham from Havant. These two divisions, having established communications by means of their cavalry, threw out as far as the railway, the senior general officer then taking the command of the whole army. The 3rd and 4th Divisions, representing the main body of the defenders, replied to these movements by throwing out, each of them, a battalion of skirmishers over the new iron bridge and Portsbridge respectively, who, without advancing more than was necessary to obtain cover, opened fire on the pickets of the attacking force. The pickets of the attacking force were then reinforced. The garrison of Portsmouth, which had come by Kingston-crescent to Hilsea, acted as a reserve to the defenders behind the lines.
In this position the two parties were about half-past one o'clock. The enemy's position was in a line nearly east and west, his left resting upon Cosham, and his right upon Paulsgrove. A tremendous cannonading was soon directed against the lines and vigorously replied to from the parapets of the latter, but the garrison at length found themselves incapable of protracting the defence much longer. They thereupon determine to make a sortie against the enemy with their remaining force, and in that view the pontoon bridge is hastily thrown across the ditch and the channel beyond. At a given signal the defenders pour out of the fortress in three columns, the two left columns being composed of the 3rd Division, and the right hand one of the 4th. Throwing out their skirmishers to ascertain the exact position and strength of the enemy, they at last drive them beyond the South-Western Railway. At this period of the hostilities the village of Cosham became the scene of a most lively and interesting contest between the skirmishers of the two armies, which are alternately driven from the village, until the assailants are finally and completely dislodged from it. New pickets are now thrown out, supported by the artillery of the enemy on the heights of Portsdown-hill, and this leads to a close engagement of the skirmishers, resulting in the defenders getting the railway into their hands. The right Brigade, 4th Division, and another of the same divison, then deployed in two successive operations into the same continuous line constituting the second position of the defence. The attacking force having been driven from Cosham and Wymering and the intervening country, but still holding Paulsgrove as the key of the position, retreat in good order towards Fareham. At this period the defenders' gunboats steamed up Porchester Creek to support them, and performed a variety of very beautiful movements, the reply to them on the part of the assailants being made by heavy artillery at Paulsgrove. Finally the garrison of Portsmouth advanced through Cosham, up Portsdown-hill, by the road to Southwick, completely turning the enemy's left. This movement closed the operations, among the last being the admirable firing from the Snider rifles of the volunteers and regular forces.
It is gratifying to be able to state that the casualties were very few indeed. One man had his hand injured by a cartridge, another had his hand injured by a ramrod. There were two medical cases,—one of palpitation of the heart, and the other of exhaustion. Twenty trains had been kept ready at the station to bring the Volunteers back from Portsmouth. The first of these trains left at 5.35 p.m., and the last got away by a quarter-past 7. The ordinary traffic, which had been suspended from 4.15 was resumed before half-past 7, a special train being kept ready for Volunteer stragglers. Under the supervision of Mr. White, the stationmaster, similar arrangements had been made for the management of the up trains as those which had answered so well in the morning; and the result was that, at a quarter-past 9, there was no crush or difficulty, and the traffic between Portsmouth and London was positively slack.
A MILITARY CRITICISM.
A writer, who is described as "a military critic," contributes to the Times the following observations on the Easter Monday Volunteer Review at Portsmouth:—
The first point to strike a military observer after the arrival of the volunteers at Portsmouth was their reckless unsteadiness as they stood formed up upon the glacis slopes. Surely they had cared for their arms before coming down, and need not have kept a perpetual fire of percussion caps! Habits of that sort are bad and discreditable to them. The impression made upon the minds of soldiers who know the steadiness and attention necessary in war is just created by a perpetual chatterer upon men of business.
We pass over some minor faulty details, and come to the march past. First in order marched the yeomanry cavalry, almost startling military spectators by their thoroughly soldierlike appearance. There was a steadiness, strength, and easy, careless seat on horseback which showed that they had arrived at the point when men forget their horses as much as they do their legs in walking—managing them by a sort of instinct. Next came Captain French's battery of Royal Artillery. Officers, men, and horses moved steadily and with a perfect self-command, though a sudden check in front tried them severely. Then followed a detachment of the Royal Engineers with their pontoons, which were called by some wag "Brompton boilers." Such ungainly things cannot look well, but, again, men and horses were steady, and under perfect control. After them, volunteer batteries. We are no sticklers for perpetual worry about accuracy of lines and so forth, nor do we believe that good marching past is a necessary proof of efficiency. But if mounted men cannot keep their guns in line nor their horses at a walking pace for two minutes, it is clear that they have no command over them. Perhaps the knowledge on the part of some drivers that they had no straps and that their overalls were creeping steadily upwards upon their legs may have had some influence; but nothing should be made of this, for all garments shaped like trousers are an abomination for mounted men. Everybody gets into breeches and boots to ride comfortably, and no reason has ever been given why soldiers must be treated differently from other human beings in the matter of dress. Colonel Creed's corps had a decided superiority over all the other volunteer mounted artillerymen in general appearance and apparent command over their horses, yet there were as many trotting as walking animals in his batteries. The marine artillerymen on foot marched right well, tall and straight as an avenue of poplars. The volunteer infantry had no need to be jealous of the line regiments, and all swept along with heavy British stride. Lord Elcho's regiment was specially admired by military men, and, though we have heard that the men cultivate "marching past" more than other matters of equal or greater importance, we are bound to say that no proof of any such fault occurred during the day. Probably the statement has no foundation in fact. Preservation of distance is little attended to by volunteers, and if a sudden order were given to halt and wheel into line great would be the confusion. Their officers generally salute abominably, but that matters little. The only other noteworthy fact was the providence of one volunteer company, the flank man of which carried a carpet-bag, stuffed doubtless with good things. There was no stoppage after marching past. The troops marched straight upon their respective destinations, dividing themselves into attacking and defending armies.
We hope that no one will take the manoeuvres executed on Monday as representing real war. Numberless curiosities were apparent, not by any means due to the volunteers in the majority of instances. For instance, at the very commencement, the crest of Hilsea lines was crowned by masses of men who were just as much out of place there as a lady's muslin dress is if in contact with the bars of a fire. Skirmishers ought to have passed the bridge rapidly, followed by columns, but not a man should have shown his head over the parapet till his turn came to rush out under fire. Galloping on, we came upon the enemy posted on the slopes within range of artillery from the Hilsea lines yet not a man sought cover even when it lay within a few feet of him. If sham fights are to be of any practical use, they should be seized as means of instructing men in at least the rudiments of battle learning. It is not our present purpose to describe the fight, but we must mention one or two radical errors that should be guarded against in future. To begin with skirmishing. The order given was that there should be no firing at less range than 600 yards. This was a very liberal allowance, more than would generally occur in war, yet it was exceeded in many instances, and sometimes the unpardonable fault was committed, of firing for the sake of noise when no enemy was nearer than 1,000 yards. If target practice at long ranges is to teach our troops bad habits, all the elaborate training which soldiers undergo at Hythe and elsewhere will I have been worse than thrown away. Men wonder at the deadly fire of the Prussians, yet neglect to follow their good example of reserving their fire till the enemy is within 200 or at the most 300 yards, and both Prussians and Austrians were armed with rifles. For the future every bullet must be considered as wasted that does not bring down a man. Let us not forget our old traditions nor the praise bestowed upon the calm waiting British infantry by Marshal Bugeaud. Again the advantage of cover was not sufficiently appreciated on Monday. Volunteers who had a hedge and bank close behind them or in front frequently placed themselves in an open field or clustered in lanes, when they ought to have lined the hedgerows on either side. Sometimes the skirmishers retired too early, long before there was any necessity for a retrograde movement. Sometimes, they fired loosely at a concealed enemy placed itself in conspicuous positions, when they might just as well have taken shelter under a bank which would have concealed all but the guns themselves. A gun is a very small mark to hit. A gun-carriage and detachments of men form a large one. Must England follow the rash tactics of the Austrian army because her soldiers are as brave as theirs?
The spirit displayed by the volunteers after their long march was excellent. They proved their manliness by caring nothing for fatigue, and their enthusiasm by their eager faces. It was easy to see that the love of fighting is not extinct in English breasts. The volunteers are too good to be suffered to remain as they are without further instruction. If, as we believe, they are a great power and a most useful national force, every opportunity should be taken of improving them. Their marching powers are surprising, considering the classes from which they are chiefly taken; but, be it remembered, they carried no knapsack or baggage. At the beginning of the day they are modest and desirous to learn, but their fighting is the fighting of Bull's Run, and if the chances given were taken advantage of they would be a little more humble at the end of the day.