The Express.
London, England, 1861-04-02 00:00:00

WIMBLEDON

THE FIELD-DAY ON
COMMON.

If it is intended by these mimic performances of
bloodiest warfare to inure the volunteers to some of
the trying experiences of au actual campaign, such
weather as they had yesterday fur the iniuneuvres
on Wimbledou-common was just the thing. But
if the affair was got up for the pleasure of au as-
sembly of spectators, and to make a London holi-
day, then it was as great a failure as the rain and
the mud could make of it. The former alternative
being taken as the correct view of this occasion, it
must be acknowledged that the patience and pluck
with which the volunteers who went out to Wind)le-
Ace endured fur so many hours their exposure to
so much that was disagreeable, from the clouds
overhead and the ground under their feet, proved
their manhood, and their soldiership too, thus far,
in a very satisfactory manner.
That corner of Hyde-park lying behind the
Knightsbridge Barracks never looked wore dreary,
since a park it was, than it did at half-past eleven
o'clock, when the different Middlesex corps began
to meet there, before their march to the scene of
action. The sloppy turf, the dripping leafless
trees, the leaden sky, that sullenly, with an uni-
form persistence, kept shedding more water on so
many drenched human creatures below, and the
general expression of disapproval, not unmixed
with a grim derision on their faces and in their
talk, as if they considered somebody was taking au
undue advantage of the custom of the First of
April, and carrying the juke rather too far—these
unpleasant aspects of the morning in that place of
meeting promised ill for the amusement of the day.
But the civilian militia of this metropolis came up
like men of business, not for a day's diversion,
but for a day's work in the serious exer-
cise of their patriotic calling, and they
had not reckoned with the weather as for
an excursion of social caprice. They were
quite in the mood to have gone on through conti-
nuous rain from noon of day till dark of evening, if
such was their impending trial,; but a partial miti-
gation of its expected severity was allowed to re-
ward their cuurage. For no sooner had they begun
to step out, through the Rutland-gate of the park,
into the Knightsbridge road, than therein ceased to
fall, and during their two hours' march, through
Brompton and Fulham and over Putney-bridge,
the mud was the only present trouble which accom-
panied their steps ; and when they got upon the
sandy road which leads up hill to the common the
sun was shining, and there oven seemed to be some
hopes of getting dry.
This column of infantry wax escorted by the Mid-
dlesex Light Horse, about 40 strong, under Lord.
Truro's command. It consisted of three baths/Moe.
The first battalion, commanded by Major White-
head, was composed of the Victoria Rifles, or UT
Middlesex, 400 strong, under Captain Clark.son,
and the 4th Middlesex, or Harrow corps. The
second battalion was commanded by Lord Enfield,
and it was made up of several companies of the
29th North Middlesex (St. Pancras), of which he is
lieutenant-colonel, under Captain Waller Jones,
the adjutant of the corps, while Captain Rosa acted
as adjutant to Lord Enfield in his command of the
battalion. About 300 of this corps wore on the
field. Next came the third battalion, consisting of
six companies of the Civil Service Brigade (21st
Middlesex), the Artists' Corp4(3Bth Middlesex), 80
or 90 strong, and the 2nd City of London, formed
by Messrs. Spottiswoode, the Queen's printers, with
one of the vans belonging to her Majesty's Sta-
tionery Office, as a commissariat waggon, to
bring up the rear. This was the order of the
march from Hyde-park to Wimbledon-common, by
way of Putney-bridge. The Civil Service corps
was placed under Captain Ennis, the adjutant, and
Captain Du Plat Taylor, since its lieutenant-
colonel, Lord Bury, was commander-in-chief of the
day, and Captain Hawker, who is the senior of this
corps, had the command of the whole battalion.
Among those who led the Civil Service companies
that had mustered at Somerset-house to come out
on this occasion were Captain Toni Taylor and
Ensign Yates. The Artists' corps, commanded
by Captain Wyndham Phillips, was officered
also by Captains Leighton and Arthur Lewis,
Lieutenant Gale, and Ensign Talfourd. When the
three battalions already mentioned got out upon
the Common they found there the Surrey Light
Horse, under Captain Mellor, and the Ist Admi-
nistrative Battalion of Surrey Rifles, under Major
Jones. These formed part of the Surrey Brigade,
which was commanded by Lieut.-Col. M`Donald,
, of the Ist Surrey, while Lord Bury himself com-
a mended the Middlesex Brigade. The other corps
which arrived soon afterwards, before 2 o'clock,
were the 20th Middlesex (or Railway Rifles), com-
manded by Lieut.-Col. Bigge, with Captain Bowyer
as adjutant ; the ith Surrey, under Major
Bereaford, in command of a battalion (with Major
and Adjutant Jones) ; 12th Surrey, as the second
battalion, under Major Corkran, with Captain and
Adjutant Sir H. Chamberlayne ; Ist Surrey under
Captain Freeman ; Bth Surrey from Carshalton,
Titular Captain Hay. Altogether there must have
been three or four thousand men on the field, but it
was difficult to ascertain the exact strength
mustered by each of these corps, which did not
send all their companies on this occasion. The
staff was composed as follows :—Acting Adjutant-
General, Major Nelson, the district inspector of
Volunteers ; Acting Assistant-Adjutant-General,
Captain Lewis, of the Artists' Corps ; Acting Quar-
termaster-General, Lieutenant Walliker, of the
Civil Service Corps. There was no artillery. All the
cavalry on the field was placed under the command
of Lord Truro, when Major and Adjutant Smith
took the Middlesex Light Horse. This being the list
of particular commands, it should now be stated
that Colonel M`Murdo, the superintendent-general
of the volunteer forces, came to inspect the assem-
bled corps on this occasion, accompanied by Capt.
Williams as his aide-de-camp, and by Lord Sey-
mour. The general plan of the movements
which were exhibited in the afternoon may be
shortly described.
As a salutary and sensible measure, previous to
these martial evolutions, we must commend those
by whom the proceedings of the day were directed
for commencing with • good dinner. The Cisil
Service, and other corps of the same brigade, had
provided themselves, by contract, with an excellent
repast in • tent reserved for their own use ; Lord
Enfield had taken care of the North Middlesex, and
the 20th Railway Corps bad brought out with them
several carriers' waggons loaded with something to
eat. This was better than the starvation inflicted
last year on those who fought with their hunger at
the battle of Bromley, and who in the small hours
of • Sunday morning, having tasted no food sines
their breakfast on Saturday, returned in a famish-
ing state to their homes. Unless it were designed
to put theirvalour to the test of intestinal privation,
as well as to that of muscular fatigue and exposure to
inclement weather, since all these are probable suf-
ferings to be anticipated as the realities of war, it
was not quite justifiallie to manage or mismanage