The Sun.
London, England, 1864-03-29 00:00:00

one fact there can be no doubt. A special train

with Volunteers' horses was timed to leave London-

bridge before 6 a.m., and to reach Shalford in less
than an hour and a half; this was still in process

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of being unladen at 9 o'clock.
Probably much of the difficulty that presented

itself in getting the troops on to the Heath in time
arose from circumstances over whioh no one can be

wetly said to have had control. In their warfare

le Federals have frequently experienced the diffi-

culty of advancing when once they quitted the
course of the navigable rivers. Treating the rail-
ways, for the sake of comparison, in a similar light,
the Volunteers yesterday found soon after they had
turned their backs upon these main lines of corn-

munication what obstacles lie in the way of actual

campaigning. For though, as already stated, the
district is easily accessible and the route throughout

abounds with natural beauties, the Heath itself

being but scantily resorted to has no good or regu-
lar approaches. There are but three lanes which

could be employed yesterday, all nearly on a par

in point of straightness, steepness, and sandiness.
One of them,—that leading from the Cbilworth
station,—was set apart for the public, and along one
or other of the remaining passes, distinguished re•
spectively as Phillips-lane and Great Tangley-
lane, the entire Volunteer foree, guns and all, had
to make its way. The light troop of the Hon.
Artillery Company left the road as often as it
could, and went scrambling up the hills with

catlike activity. The heavy guns of position, on
the contrary, had to plough their way slowly
and laboriously over the yielding soil, find•
ing at every step the literal truth of the warn-
ing issued from the War-office—" Phillips-lane, by
which the guns will be taken, is narrow and some-
what steep, and the road leading on to the Heath
is for a quarter of a mile heavy with sand." So
steep and so narrow was the path that, although
each gun was drawn by six horses, furnished in the
case of one battery by the farmers of the neigh-
bourhood, and in the other by a large brewery firm
in Guildford, the gunners, being unable to march in
military fashion beside the limbers, were compelled
to take out their handspikes and from behind to
assist in pushing on the wheels. In this manner
Lord Truro's Artillery battalion, having charge of
six 18-pounders and six 24 pounders, and the batta-
lion of Sussex Artillery, with six 18-pounders, were
enabled to attain ttie summit, and to place the guns
in position shortly after ten o'clock. Both the
horse artillery and field batteries of the Hon. Artil-
lery Company reached their destination at the same
time. The Ist Middlesex Artillery, under Colonel

Creed, ought also to hays made its ascent then, but
not being prepared to start at the right moment, or
for some considerable time afterwards, Colonel

Nl'Murdo said he could not permit it to run the risk
of choking ono of the roads by a stoppage, and
therefore directed it to postpone its departure till
the last of the infantry brigade had passed up. In
this latter process hours were necessarily consumed,
and the hopes of the spectators on the plains above,
which had been excited by the arrival of the ar.
tillery, sunk again as time passed by inactively
and the clouds began to gather ominously
round. Now and then a puff of music, sharp
and momentary as a jet of steam, was borne
to the ear on a current of wind more than
usually strong. Then again there was an inter.
val in which nothing was heard. About eleven
o'clock the first patch of scarlet showed itself above
the gloomy outline bounding the view at the ex-
tremity of the Heath, and from that time forward
there was a tolerably steady flow of armed men in
the direction of the further side of the Heath, some-
times narrowing to the dimensions of a riband, the
tints of which were scarcely discernible, sometimes

spreading out into a broad and brilliant sheet of
colour. As the troops arrived at two stations which
were at a distance of more than three miles apart,
it was impossible to ascertain with exactness either

the numbers or the order in which the brigades
came down. In the order there was certainly a
disruption of the programme, and in the numbers
of which the various corps were made up there
were either additions to or subt;actions from the
official lists furnished to the War-office. In the
absence of the official states, however, the latter
must be taken as the only authentic return, and
according to which the defending force, under Gen.
Russell, was composed as follows :
C irps in First Division.-Ist Sussex Artillery, six IS-
pounders-Ist Middlesex Artillery, four 18-pounders-Ist
Hants Artillery, let Cinque Ports Artillery, 2d Middlesex
Artillery, 2d Surrey Artillery, let City of London Artillery,
Ist Tower Hamlets Artillery, Ist Middlesex Engineers, Let
City of London Engineers, Ist Hants Engineers, 7th Bat-
talion Middlesex, 36th Mildh>sex, 2d Middlesex (South),
4th Middlesex, 9th _Middlesex (West), 11th Middlesex (St.
George's), 324 Middlesex, 15th Middlesex(London Scottish),
19th Middlesex, 21st Middlesex (Civil Service), 38th Mid-
dlesex, 22d Middlesex (Queen's), Ist Battalion-22d Middle •
sex (Queen's) 2d Battalion-29th North Middlesex, 46th
Middlesex, 2d City of London, 2d Battalion Surrey-
12th Surrey, Ist Battalion Surrey-3d Battalion Surrey--
let and 7th Surrey, 10th, 19th, and 23d Surrey, 2d Battalion
Hants-Ist and 2d Hants, 3d Battalion Hants-13th, 15th,
16th, and 18th Hants—making a total of about 9,740 men.
On the other hand, the attacking force, under
General Thamley, was thus composed :
Corps in Second Division.—Hon Artillery Company,
Horse Artillery, 2 6- pounder guns—Field Battery, four
6-pounder guns. Light Cavalry. 3d Middlesex Artillery,
four 18-pounders and four 21-pounders, Hon. Artillery
Company, 24 Battalion Middlesex, 26th Middlesex, 37th
Middlesex, 20th Middlesex, 28th Middlesex (London Irish),
39th Middlesex, 40th Middlesex, 48th Middlesex, 4th City
of London, let Battalion Sussex, 2d Battalion Sussex,
Ist Sussex, 2d Battalion Essex, 3d Battalion Essex, let Bat-

talien Kent, 6th Kent, 2d Cinque Ports, Ist City of Lon-
don, 3d City of London, lt t Battalion Tower Hamlets, 9th
Tower Hamlets, 2d and Bth Tower Hamlets, 4th and 6th
Tower Hamlets, lst Battalion Berks—making in all a total
of about 8,500 men,
Lieutenant-General Pennefather, K..C.8., com-
manded in chief, and the following were the mem-
bers of his Staff ;
Lieutenant-Colonel P. Bayley, Captain A. C. Boyle,
V.C., and Lieutenant D. H. Doherty. Aides-de-Camp--
Colonel J. W. Armstrong, C. 8., Assistant-Adjutant-Gene-
ral—Captain W. G. Lockhart, Deputy Assistant-Adjutant-
General—Lientenant-Colonel the Hon. H. H. Clifford,
V.C., Assistant-Quartermaster-General—Captain P. A. A.
T wynam, Deputy Assistant- Quartermaster- General—
Colonel Simmons, C,8., Royal Engineers—Lieutenant A.
L. Buckle, Royal Engineers, Aide-de-Camp---Colonel
Gambier, C,8., Royal Artillery—Captain Pearse, Royal
Artillery, Aide-de-Camp--Captain W. S. M. Wolfe, R.A.,
Brigade Major—and Colonel Buchanan, Royal Artillery.
The Blackheath of Guildford in no material re-
spect differs either in the inequality of its surface
or:the productions of its poor, thin soil, from the
large tracks of waste land like Chobham or Bag-
shot which occupy so large a portion of the county
of Surrey. In its general aspect Blackheath very
much resembles Chobham, so popular 10 years ago,
when the first of the modern encampments, and by
far the prettiest of them all, used to draw such
thousands to its reviews. There are the same undu-
lating dark-brown slopes and knolls, covered knee-
deep with tangled heather and moss ; the same long,
narrow, dusty tracks which serve as footpaths across
it, with one or two steep ridges which dominate the
whole ; and here and there, on the edges of the
Common, rough, wild thickets—for woods they can-
not be called—in which larches and firs, sparsely
intermingled with stunted underwood, just afford a
dubious cover to the skirmishers. On the northern
extremity, which the Volunteers approached by
Tangley-lane, the land was high and bold. overcook-
ing a beautiful valley well cultivated and dotted
here and there with homesteads—a perfect specimen
of rick English scenery, But the luxuriant vegeta-
tion of the valley soon gives place to the more hardy
furze and heather, the only products of this sterile
sandy region, broken at intervals with patches of
larches, oak, and fir. The light yellow sand contrasts
finely with the dark green of the pines, the purple
brown of the heather, and the blossom of the furze,
The small lane which has been ascended now be-
comes little better than a cart-track ; still it is suf-
ficiently well traced to be followed. It goes right
across the Heath in a direction north and south, and
the whole extent is traversed by footpaths in every
direction.
The little hamlet of Blackheath, which consists of
half a dozen houses, lies in a hollow on the east side
of the road. Beyond this again the ground rises ;
but if the hamlet be avoided, and a more westerly
direction taken, the depression does not intervene,
I the same ridge of hills stretching away across Far-
ley-heath to Hurtwood-common' where there are
• thousands of acres of uncultivated land.
Fro this side the heath forms a succession of

slopes more or less steep and diversified as to ruts
and rabbit holes till it terminates at Farley in the
thin belt of trees we have spoken of. It is not

exactly the kind of ground for any sport which re-
quires an exhibition of the speed of either man or
beast. The surface is always rough, uneven, and
much cut up, and in its best places is deep with
heather, in short, what any military man would term
difficult ground on which to show off the niceties of
regimental setting up. For cavalry the heath would
be all but impracticable, though, unlike Chobham,
which in other respects Blackheath so much re-

sembles, it is free from bog or quagmire from end to

end. Before the review commenced there were no

ack of prophets of evil, loud in their prognosti-

cations that the volunteers would be unable to keep

anything like formation on such a soil. But the

event proved that these dismal forebodings were
premature. Undoubtedly the volunteers would
have gotlon much easier on downs and pasture lands,
but it is far more creditable to them now to have

achieved the magnificent display of yesterday over

a country of which even military men were afraid
than if they had gone through the same man-

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oeuvres with faultless precision on a s ward like
that of Hyde Park. In mere picturesqueness the

choice of ground had every thing to recommend it,
and on almost every side from the heath the valleys
below opened out in long undulating blue vistas,
which were exquisitely beautiful, and fine scenery is
by no meaus an unimportant accessory in the suc-
cess of these great military displays. The real fault
of the heath is one which it is almost impossible to
remedy—namely, that it is too small. A large space
is required for the proper evolutions of a force of
18,000 men and 24 guns. Blackheath is only atl

:he most a mile and a half long by a mile wide

and unless on future occasions Farley-heath, which
adjoins Blackheath, be added to that yesterday
at the disposal of the authorities, it will be difficult

,o make these reviews either useful or effective

For some reason which has yet to be explained the
Volunteers were yesterday refused permission to
enter on Farley-heath at all.
In consequence of the delays already mentioned in
the arrival of the various corps it was impossible to
get them all in their places on the ground by 12
o'clock, but in half an hour or so afterwards nearly
all the attacking and defending forces began mov-
ing across the Heath in great masses to the positions
assigned to each. At this time there was a great
concourse of spectators on the ground which fringed
the woods with long irregular lines, or covered the
knolls and slopes with dense black groups. Towards
1 o'clock the who!e force was stationed at their
allotted points of attack and defence, and almost
precisely as the last complete disposition was made
the weather, too, finished its arrangements for the
day, and began to rain. The morning had been
lovely, and despite the delicate attentions of a north-

east wind, which drove the thin fleecy banks of
clouds along with ominous rapidity ; despite, too,
the mores disheartening fact that it was a great

Volunteer day, and, therefore, one which, according
to precedent, ought to stand in the almanack as
" stormy, with much rain," everyone steadily ig-
. .

nored the possibility of rain, and hoped against hope
in the fact of the fast accumulating low dark.clonds,
At last, as we have said, when everything was com-
pleted, the weather threw off all disguise and broke
in cold, sharp showers, which fell with unpleasing
frequency almost throughout the remainder of the
day. As a matter of course, no Volunteer minded
this, nor, to do them justice, did the spectators ap-
pear to regard it much, and the real business of the
day—the sham battle—went forward with as much
ardour and animation as might be expected from
Volunteers who have been used to nothing but wet
weather since the days they were first enrolled.

The actual details of the evolutions of which the
battle consisted may be summed up almost briefly,
for though the mock contest lasted at least two
hours, its most striking feature was the sustained
and tremendous fire kept up on both sides,
.as the
peculiar nature and limited space of ground forbad
any attempt atcomplicated or extended manoeuvres.
Major-Gen. Russell, with the defending forces we
have already enumerated, oceupiel the ridge of hills
stretching across the common, facing rather to the
south, where the main attack was anticipated from
Farley-woods. The assailants, under Major-General
Rumley, may be said, in fact, to have been divided
into two bodies—one of about 4,000 men, with
eight guns, while the main body of 5,000 men, with
two pieces of horse artillery and four field guns,
made a flank march unda.r cover of the woods, and
delivered the real attack on General Russell's ex.
treme left. It was this feint and real attack, and the
necessity which Gen. Russell was under to bring
his troops from his left to meet the fl ink attack on
his right, which constituted the evolution of the
day, in which, from the absence of cavalry, there
was a sameness almost amounting to monotony, as
far as the spectators were concerned. To do the
Volunteers mere justice, it is but fair to say that
they did their best by the rapidity of their move-
ments to make up for the want of cavalry, and to
them it was certainly one of the most fatiguing days
they have had for a long time. The great majority
of them !nest have been ten hours in the ranks be•
fore they started to return to London.
The movements commenced with the feint attack
on the right of the assailants, who suddenly showed
their skirmishers from under cover of the thin cop-
pices, and began a cautious advance, while their
guns were ostentatiously pushed forward to the
commanding eminences and began a heavy cannon-
nade. In a few minutes more and the whole of the
extreme right of the enemy showed itself, the skir-
mishers leading, the support in open columns of
companies, pouring down rank on rank in solid
lines, while the guns were slowly advanced after
them from point to point, so that the fire of the
artillery never slackened for a moment. With the
first indications of the onset all Gen. Russell's troops
were on the alert, though beyond throwing out their
skirmishers and moving forward a few corps in their
extreme right, no advance was attempted till the
numerical superiority of those making the feint
attack on the left was seen. Then their guns, too,
were brought forward, and their line of skirmishers
and supports advanced till almost their whole front
was at right angles with the concealed force of the
enemy, which lay under the ridges between the two
clumps of woodland. For some 20 minutes or so this
state of things remained—a heavy artillery duel
going on from the heights, while the sputtering fire
of the riflemen in front sunk and rose and spread
irregularly up and down the slopes and ridges. All
this time the attacking force were quietly massing
brigades under cover in such a position asthat when
they debonched into the plain Gen. Russell would
be completely outflanked. It was not until a move-
ment of the defending skirmishers was made against
this part of the field that the real attack was un-
masked. Then suddenly the aspect of things was
changed, and the movements at once assumed the
most animated and exciting appearance. From Where
Gen. Rumley lay concealed on the right a perfect
cloud of riflemen suddenly swarmed down into the
woods, while the 11011. Artillery Company,
in spite
of the difficult nature of the ground, brought up their
guns in splendid style, and commenced a flanking
fire which enfiladed the whole defending line. The
confined space of the ground and the woods in which
both forces met here ; the rapidity with which the
real attack was hurried on, and the unforeseen spots
from which assailants kept pouring forth; the bugle
notes to recal the skirmishers from the overwhelming
farce they had so unwarily provoked—all gave to
thissurprise an effect which was wonderfullyexciting,
and which perfectly resembled in its haste and in
some places by no means simulated confusion all the
main elements of a real b ittle and a real surprise.
The defending skirmishers who had entered the
wood were for the time thrown into real disorder,
and the haste with which the recal had been obeyed
by the main line left groups of 20 or 30 intermixed
among the trees, firing desperately against the
masses that were closing in upon them, and making
the coppice re-echo with a metallic clang that was
almost deafening. Fortunately, they managed to
extricate themselves, and gain the open, though,
had the laws of the sham contest permitted, it would
not have made several companies of the defenders
prisoners of war. Almost simultaneously with the
appearance of their skirmishers the steep slopes
leading out from the wood and in rear of the guns
began to be covered as if by
magic with advancing
troops, merchin2, as closely as they could, and hur-