The Express.
London, England, 1868-04-14 00:00:00

[ISTAXPIJ) It ADDITIONAL.]

having succeeded in effecting a landing on the Sus-
sex shore, proceeds in two divisions towards the
direction of Portadown-hill. The first division,
widish was under the command of Major-Geneeal
Ronny, and which comprised the volunteers set
down at Fareham, occupied the ground in rear of
Paul's-grove and Wymering,and the second division,
under Major-General Sir Alfred Hereford, IC.C.R,
moved from Havant upon the village of Coolant
The army of defence, as it arrived from Ports-
mouth, took up its position on the Hilesa lines,
various roads, earthworks, and bridges having
been constructed to enable them to properly
meet the attack of the enemy. About a
quarter to 2 o'clock, the enemy having established
communication between their two divisions by
means of cavalry, proceeded to throw out pickets
as far as the line of railway. The response which
this movement drew from the defensive party was
the firing of the first gun placed on the Hilsea lines.
Scarcely had the sound died away when the artillery
on the heights of Portadown-hill opened their fin
on the lines below, and the battle had thus fairly
made its beginning. The defensive army at Ma
threw out a battalion of skirmishers over the new
iron bridge, and Portsbridge respectively, and
these, without advancing more than was necessary
to obtain cover, opened fire on the pickets of the
attacking Toros. The commander of the enemy's
army was not slow in retorting upon the skir-
mishers, for he at once ordered his pickets to be
reinforced, and a smart fire was kept up between the
two for a considerable time, ending somewhat in the
discomfiture of the defensive skirmishers, for in
order to retrieve lost ground orders were given
that the artillery, which were in reserve behind
the Hilsea lines, should at once be placed in posi-
tion, and under the fin of their guns and that of
the skirmishers a sortie should be attempted
upon the enemy. No better illustration
of the admirable manner in which both the
men and horses of some of our volunteer
artillery corps have been trained could have been
afforded than at this movement. The lines of
Hilaea are at present in the roughest and most un-
finished state, and the roads andpathways leading
to the top of them are covered with sharp flint
stones. It may, therefore, be well imagined that the
task is neither easy nor pleasant to ascend such
roads, and the difficulty is rendered still more ap-
parent when it is known that heavy pieces of ord-
nance had to be dragged to the top and placed in
position. With hearty goodwill, however, the
men set to work, and, by dint of much preeeve-
ranee and admirable patience, they succeeded in
' attaining their object, and the guns reached the
summit of the lines. Here they were enabled to
command the valley before them, in which a portion
of theenemy's army was placed. The artillery having
opened fire it was necessary that the defensive
force should pass over the ditch and creek, which
surround the Ribose lines. For this purpose two
pontoon bridges had been thrown over the water—
one having been constructed by a large party of
Royal Engineers from Aldershot, under the com-
mand of Lieutenant Blood; and the other by •
Viof Hampshire volunteer engineers. Both
va were admirable specimens of this kind of
military work, and fully answered the '•-•
poses for which they were constructed. The
experienced engineers of our regular army
were able to adjust their buoys, saddles, balks
of timber, cheeses, or planks, buoy lines, &c., in ten
minutes, so that the bridge was ready in that time
for the passage of infantry, while in five minutes
more tho bridge had been made so secure that it
was capable of allowing a siege train to pass over it.
The methodical manner in which the men dis-
charged their duty—each to his own particular
post, and acting under the strictest discipline
—was subject for admiration by all the volun-
teers who witnessed the performance of this
work, and none the least of the many im-
portant lessons which are to be learnt from
the ahem volunteer fight of 1868 is that attending
the construction, and making of practical use, pon-
toon bridges, which have to be thrown over rivers
and creeks in the shortest possible space of time.
Over the two bridges of which we have spoken, and
the iron bridge higher up the creek, three columns
advanced, two of which were formed by the men of
the third division, and the other by those of the
fourth. In the meantime; the artillery of the at-
tacking force were brought into position, and le-
plied to the fire of the guns mounted on the Hikes
lines, while the line of skirmishers belonging to the
defensive army advanced, driving those of the
enemy from the line of railway. Up to this point
the immense mass of spectators on and around the
hill had an excellent view of the mimic warfare
which was being carried on. The movements of
the contending armies were plainly visible, and the
din and roar of heavy artillery and rifled can-
non lent an excitement to the scene
scarcely to be surpassed. Great energy was
displayed for the possession of the line
of railway, but the skirmishers of the enemy, who
had originally taken possession of it, were unable
to keep their ground against the deadly fire of their
opponents. Once in full retreat, the enemy were
pursued until they reached the villages of Cosham
and Wymering. It was atthis period of the battle
that the sightseers were treated to one of the most
exciting events of the day. The retreating army
of the enemy took possession of some of the streets
at the top of the hill leading from Cosham to Ports-
down, while the defending force, who were in pur-
suit of them, occupied the lower part of the village
nearest to the Mass lines. In this position they kept
up a continuous fire between each other along the
streets for some time, to the great alarm of several
of the oldest villagers, who could scarcely be mad* to
think that there was no serious earnestness about
the warlike scene which was being enacted in their
presence. To the majority of those who witnessed
this part of the,prooeedings, however, the event was
i alike exciting and nteresting, and the volunteers
themselves appeared to highly appreciate the im-
portant part which they were playing. Ultimately
the enemy were dislodged from their position at
the extremity of Cosham, and the battle once more
betook itself to the brow of Portedown-hill, the
line of the attacking force extending from the rear
of Paulagrove to the Widley Fort. The defending
force continued to advance, driving the enemy
completelely away from Cosham and Wymering
and the line of road connecting these places. The
general of the invading army, seeing the character
of his position, threw back his left, and then pro-
ceeded
to hold Paulsgrove as the key
of his position, in order to cover his re-
treat to Fareham, which was now immi-
nent. It was at this point that another interesting
feature in the day's proceedings was brought into
action, and that was the gunboats, launches, &c.
This naval flotilla had been got under weigh at
'noon, and under the command of Captain F. B.
Seymour, of the Victory, assisted by Commander
Stirling, of the Excellent, had proceeded op
Portsmouth harbour to Porehester Lake, where
they moored themselves in a position nearly oppo-
site to Southwick Fort. There was the gunboat
Stork, the Fancy gunboat, and the following
boats :—Bellerophon's pinnace, Duke of Wel-
lington's launch, Duke of Wellington's se-
cond launch, Gladiator's paddle-box boat, Gladi-
ator's pinnace, Pallas's pinnace Royal Oak's pin-
naoe, Terrible's paddle-box bad, Victory's launch, ,
Bellerophon's launch, Excellent's cutter, Excel-
lent's launch, Excellent's pinnace, Gladiator's
paddle-box boat, Pallss's pinnace, Royal Oak's
launch, Terrible's paddle-box boat, and Terrible's
pinnace. The gunboat Stork towed thus boats as
far as Porchestey Castle, where they wage east et,
and subsequently took up their appoin
in the creek, the tide being sufficiently se MI
hoer of the day to allow of their es&
'adorable distance up the The
securing thadaervices of these boats waste ern!
the defending force while they were presseft Obi
enemy in their retreat towards Fareknas 13111,

[ONE PENNY

cutters and pinnaces first opened fire, which wads
maintained by the divisions of first I:mulches and
paddle-box boats, second pinnaces, and cutters,
at the rate of about one round every five
minutes by each, but this number was in-
creased to three rounds per minute when the
enemy posted a strong force of artillery at
IPaulagrove to answer the fire which was being
showered upon them from the creek. Although
the naval display on this occasion was by no means
so imposing as that which was witnessed on the
occasion of the review at Dover last year, when 1,
several of our large ironclads took part in a minis_.
fight with the castle and fortresses of that town,
yet the gun boat performance of to-day added un-
questionable interest to the whole, and was an
evident source of attraction and gratification to a--
large number of ladies and gentlemen who from
the great Norman tower of the old historic Castle
of Porchester viewed the entire series of opera-
tions. Tho defending army having so completely
routed the enemy by which they were awaited, it
only remained for the finishing stroke of the battle
to be accomplished by the soldiers of the regular
army. It was accordingly arranged that a field
battery of artillery, composed of the 11th Brigade,
the 6th and 12th Bries of Royal Artillery, the
34th, 35th, and 97th ReOments of Foot, the 11th,
Depot Battalions, the Marine Artillery, &c., in an:
amounting to betweeni 5,000 and 6,006 men, should
act as a reserve force to the defending divisions.
Accordingly, when the defensive army had done
such exlent service the regulars were called out
to complete the work. The infantry were at once
formed into line on the hill at right angles with
the position which had been occupied by the force
of the enemy. Advancing with a stately and " gre-
nadier-like' step, the front rank opened fire upon
the retreating army. The character of the volley
at once attracted attention, for there was no mis-
taking the essential difference between the clans of
rifle which was now being used and the one which
had been fired in the battle up to this period.
The regulars were in possession of their Snider
weapons, and these they were firing at something like
the rate of eight shots per minute—a proceeding
which must have caused sad havoc in the ranks of
any retreating army, had the occasion unhappily
been one of a more serious character. Volley after
volley was fired in this way, and as from the Enfield
the volunteers had only been firing some
three shots per minute, an additional in-
terest was given to the close of the proceedings
by the mere fact of the soldiers of the line using
this vastly superior weapon of modern warfare.
Both in firing and marching in column the men
connected with the garrison of Portsmouth ac-
quitted themselves most efficiently, and England
has good reason to be proud of the stamina and
character of her soldiery when such regiments can
be turned out as those which to-day assisted the
volunteers upon Portsdown-hill. Respecting the
battle, nothing more remains to be said. The
enemy were completely routed, and glad to escape
from the field of battle—defeated, but not dis-
graced. Speaking of the whole proceedings, we can
only express our great satisfaction at the immense
success which attended everything that came
under our notice. People there were, and not a
few, who were ready to predict failure as
inevitable at Portsmouth, but it will be gratifying
to those who have the real interest of the volunteer
movement at heart to be told that fewer hitches
marked the performance of the evolutions in the field
on this occasion than we ever remember to have wit-
nessed before. Faults there were, both of omission
and commission, but these sopale into insignificance
compared with the successes that were achieved,
that it would be most uncharitable to further allude
to them. It would also be invidious to select for
commendation the performances of any particular
corps, when the vast majority were so good. We
desire only to express a hope that their soldier-like
bearing and conduct to-day will materially raise
them in the estimation of the public. Having
walked five miles to the scene of action, and en-
dured all the fatigues of the day, the return journey
was commenced to Portsmouth soon after four
o'clock, and safely accomplished in about an hour
and a-half. Many volunteers almost immediately
took their departure for home, while others pre-
ferred some little rest and efreshment before
leaving. In the early part of the evening the trains
appeared to be got away with considerable ragn-
lnrity, but as the numbers increased and the night
advanced the difficulties of regularity and punc-
tuality increased, and we fear many would not see
their domiciles until much beyond the hour at which
they had calculated. As regards the numbers who
took part in this review, although no official Vl-
turn has yet been made, there can be little doubt
that the original estimate of 32,000 volunteers and
6,000 regulars was something near the mark, and
the armies which yesterday fought in friendly
rivalry amounted to a total of little less than
40,000. The pleasures of the day were only marred
by a few slight accidents, as far as we were able to
learn ; and we sincerely trust that the review of
next year, wherever it is held, may peewee
similar attractions and achieve a similar success to
that of to-day.

THE ARRIVAL IN LONDON.
Owing to the unusually large number cf volLn-
' tetra concentrated at Portsmouth, the heavy day's work
to be gone through, and the limited station accommodation
in the town, it had been generally anticipated that great
difficulties would occur in the return home, and that it
would he impossible for the great body of the men to reach
' London until a very late hour in the evening. It is grati-
fying to be able to state that these gloomy anticipations
were not fulfilled, bat that, on the oentrary, on no pre-
dons Fader llamday were the volunteers brought beak to
London so eirlkastwith such regularity, and with aushan
, absence of anything approaching to confusion. The real-
, ways have proved emeelves fully equal to the task they
undertook to perform, and notwithstanding that they
I had to bring back last night • considerably
r larger number of men than they 'serried down
in the morning, the trains arrived in Loudon
, at • reasonable hour, and in regular and quick
emaciation. The railway offleials were, it is but far to
' state, much melded by the steady aad orderly condact
of the volunteers is entering the station sad taking
their plane is the traias, a very general desire bailiff
evinced too cooperate with the railway companies
making the Metre home as regular sad esedertside
as wee the departure in the moaning. One of the main
mutes of this happy termination of the day was, that
' no attempt was made to bring bask the men in corps as
t they went down, which bee heretofore occasioned delay
and confusion, but aa soon as • sufiicient number of men
were in the station a train wee loaded and sent off lyre-
epootive of what corps they belonged to. The consequmme
was that each train brought up men belong-
ing to almost every cerise present at the review.
The first train arrived at Waterloo station at 9.20,
sad was followed by others la quick SACOIIII4OII, so
that by 10.30 no hoe than six trains had arrived, aoatain-
ing 22 earthmen each, and it was fully expdded, no acci-
dent orving, that* the whole efothe taste, 11 is amber,
would be at the station before twelve cielock. The trios
at the London-bridge station came in about the same
times as these of Waterloo, where the mate result was ex-
pected. The South Wisteria Company loaded their
trains at the Doskyard station, and the Brighton and
South Coast Company at the Lendport statics. Great
crowds of people were assembled to welcome home the
volunteers, both at the Waterloo and Loudon-141P
stations, and tapir inquiries were made of these as to bow
the day had gone off after all the forebodings of failure,
and much gratification was evinced by all when the
general reply was that the day had been • diocese is
every respect. The dusty and laded appearance of the
men gave evident proof that they had performed • hard
day's work, in addition to having lad less than h.lf a
night's rest betas* commeseing it.

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