The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-07 00:00:00

THE VOLUNTEER FIELD-DAY AT

BRIGHTON.

Every European country of note has its Champ
de ii!ars, established either by supreme authority,
or by custom founded on convenience and amount-
ing to prescription. Thus, Aldershott forms ens of
the recognised parade grounds of the British army,
and. Spithead is the site chosen for naval reviews, on
the rare occasions when any of these take place.
Brighton apparently is the point most favoured by
the kindred service of the Volunteers. The visits
paid to that watering place last year and the year
before were, indeed, experimental in their charac-
ter ; and the discovery came by surprise upon the
nation that in the course of a single day a force of
20,000 men could be transported 100 miles, and at a
point 50 miles distant from the base of operations
could conduct the movements of a regular engage-
ment. But this time the journey and the evolutions
were repeated as a matter of course, and the Volun-
teers' Field-day at Brighton on Easter Monday has
-taken its place as one of the institutions of the coun-
try. Mere sightseers, perhaps, did not exhibit the
same intense curiosity as on the former occasion,
when the idea of a seaside review was a comparative
novelty, when Easter fell somewhat later and the
season was consequently milder, and when the in-
fluence of the approaching Exhibition had unsettled
the minds of quiet families and diffused a passion
for public displays and railway travelling. The
knowledge that the spectacle could not be witnessed,
as heretofore, almost at the feet of the spectators on
the Grand Stand, and that it would be necessary to
follow either on foot or on horseback the movements
of the troops, may also have exercised a deterring
influence. But with all these altered circumstances,
the difficulty of obtaining accommodation in the
town was nearly, if not quite, as much felt as it
was last year ; and the crowd drawn together on
the Brighton Downs were only by comparison less
immense than those of the preceding anniversary.
Among the Volunteers themselves there was no
diminution of earnestness. On the contrary, there
were several incidents showing with what sincerity
they had entered into the proceedings connected
with the occasion. Some of these occurrences, ori-
ginating in the action of individuals, may not be
unworthy of imitation on a more extended scale
hereafter. Parties of Volunteers, for instance, in
order to test their powers of endurance, marched
down from London with their rifles and haversacks,
devoting two days to the journey, and arriving on
Saturday evening, so as to gain a day's repose before
taking the field with their comrades; others, em-
bracing the facilities liberally afforded by the rail-
way company, left town on Saturday morning, and,
having made beforehand the necessary arrange-
ments as to quarters, formed themselves during their
stay in Brighton into small regimental messes, the
best foundations of internal good fellowship and
esprit de corps. Of these social gatherings that con-
stituted.by the Civil Service Corps was the most
complete in all its arrangements as well as most in
keeping with the military type—a result which was
probably owing in no small degree to the exertions
of one of the officers, Captain Walliker, who
undertook the onerous duties of Quartermaster.
It is also just possible that the unusual numbers
which flocked to Brighton last year may have been
in some degree actuated by the desire to see Lord
Clyde, and to witness the perfect manner in which
large bodies of would be mancevred by that dis-
tinguished officer. Although similar expectations
were not created this year, the reputation of
Major-General Lord W. Paulet, C. 8., the com-
mander of the Portsmouth district, to whom the
movements of the day were intrusted, was a
guarantee that the troops would be ably handled.
Importance is further attached to this year's meeting
at Brighton from two circumstances which it was
instrumental in calling prominently into notice—
first, the advantages derivable from enlisting the co-
operation of Volunteer officers in the discharge of
duties devolving on the Staff ; and, secondly, the
rapid increase and development of the Artillery
branch of the Volunteer force. It is manifest that
if the local experience and technical knowledge of
Volunteer officers can be called into play in further-
ance of the plans of the War-office, and if they can
be made, as it were, the connecting links between
that Department and the civil agencies which it is
desired to set in motion, a very important step will
be gained, and for the future much of the jealousy
attaching, rightly or wrongly, to " Horse Guards'
interference" will be dissipated. As regards the
Artillery, it will be remembered that two years
ago the difficulty of procuring guns anywhere was
felt most strongly by Lord Ranelagb, and even at
the last review it was considered a satisfactory feat
when the presence of 16 pieces of cannon had been
secured. This time no less than 30 guns were con-
veyed to Brighton, and ably served throughout the
day—a fact which is especially gratifying when it
is borne in mind that the duties of artillerymen are
precisely those in which a thorough knowledge
and comprehension of drill are indispensable. In
handling great guns there is no such cover for
ignorance or irregular attendance as in infantry
regiments, where an inefficient man may sometimes
escape detection by getting into the rear rank and
copying the movements of his neighbours. It rests
upon the faith of official reports that we have
now 25,000 Volunteer artillerymen ready, in
case of need, to take charge of the guns in any
fortification existing or to be created, or to act
with the batteries in the open country ; and that
25,000 other members of the Volunteer Artillery
only neel a few weeks' continuous drill to render
them equally efficient. In the arrangements made
by the local authorities they did their best to guard
against the recurrence of demands similar to those
put forward after the review last year, which, if
pressed, might have rendered the military authori-
ties indisposed to sanction any further gatherings of
volunteers at Brighton. It seems some of the local
proprietors or their tenants whose crops were
trampled under foot, sent in a claim for £450, a
portion of this amount being intended to cover the
disappointment consequent on the non-fulfilment or
premature fulfilment of expectations connected
with a valuable sow. The War-office naturally
thought this a high price to pay for the privilege of
sending down an officer to pass the Volunteers in
review, and, moreover, that an expensive precedent
would be thus established. The department there-
fore replied in substance, "Ce n'est pas mon affairef
The Volunteers, perhaps, were liable equitably, but
who could determine the proportions chargeable to
the respective corps, or the pecuniary capacity of
each, assuming that the disposition existed to recog-
nise the debt ? The disposition, however, did not
essist, for everybody outside the town of Brighton
maintained that the locality and the railway, which
had benefited between them, according to some esti-
mates, to the extent of £lOO,OOO, ought to make
good the local damages incurred. Unlimited cor-
respondence ensued before the question could be
settled, if indeed it be settled even now. This
avoidedyear
embarrassing questions have been wisely
by the formation of a guarantee fund, the guaran-
tors, for their own protection, undertaking to value
the crops before and after the review.
The first impulse yesterday morning of every
one of the hundreds of Volunteers who had
taken up their quarters in Brighton on Satur-
day and Sunday must have been to draw up the
window-blind and scan with anxious curiosity the
prospects of the weather. Sunday had been dull
and cloudy, and in the afternoon there had been a
long downfall of driving, misty rain, which pro-
raised but ill for the comfort of those who had to
tramp for some hours through heavy ground and
damp grass,--to say nothing of the inconvenience
of wet jackets and the strong wind which blew from
the sea, right in the teeth of those who would have
to form the attackirg party. At 7 o'clock the lower-
ing. aspect of the sky caused many misgivings, but
the favourable predictions of the boatmen, each of
whom by virtue of his large experience in the signs
of the weather became for the time a kind of Admi-
ral Fitzroy in the eyes of the little knots of anxious
questioners who gathered round him, soon restored
a general confidence. To dispose at once of this im-
portant point, we may say that the day was all that
could be desired—fair, but cloudy, and with a light
breeze which cooled the air and made the hard day's
work infinitely less fatiguing. The day was kept
as a general holiday in Brighton. Few of the shops
were open, but the town was astir at an early hour.

Two changes in the arrangements of last year
brought an unusual number of spectators into the
streets—first, the evolutions were to take place in a
tract of country not visible from the Grand Stand,
which none but horsemen or hardy pedestrians
would be likely to to able to reach ; and in the next
place, the troops were to march on the ground by
one instead of by several converging routes, and,
therefore, from thousands of windows and from the
footpaths it was possible to get an excellent view
of the whole force under arms as it passed along.
The first body of volunteers—who, as usual, were the
Inns of Court—arrived in Brighton at 7 15. They
had paraded in the Temple before daylight at
4 30, and had left London-bridge at 5 41. With
them were the 2d, 3d, and 4th London, and the 3d
Middlesex. The next train, which came from Vic-
toria, arrived 10 minutes afterwards, and brought
the London Scottish, the Queen's (Westminster), the
Ist London, and several other corps. The point of
debarcation was, as last year, at the long shed close
to Montpelier-road, which afforded ample accommo-
dation for the men being formed and marching off
quickly. It was barricaded into two parts—the
south end being for the arrivals from London-
bridge ; the north for the Victoria trains, and there
was a seperate exit for each. The country corps
coming from the east and west countries ran into the
general terminus, so that, though the trains were
arriving in rapid succession for two hours and a
half, sometimes within ten minutes of each other
there was not the slightest confusion or delay.
Colonel M'Murdo and Colonel Luard, Assistant
Inspector, superintended the arrivals, and there
could be no Letter proof of the good discipline and
intelligence of the men than the rapidity with which
the tumultuous crowd just disgorged from the rail-
way carriages in a few minutes assumed order and
was marched away. In all there were 16 trains
from London,—six from Victoria, nine from Lon-
don-bridge, and one from Kensington,—starting at
regular intervals from 5 30 to 8 o'clock. Each train
was made up:with 22 carriages, and carried on an
average about 800 men and 40 officers. The im-
mense rolling stock which the London and Brighton
Company from its extensive excursion traffic are
obliged to keep on hand gave them exceptional faci-
lities for the transport of this large body of tra-
vellers, who, it must be remembered, had to be
provided for without disturbing the ordinary de-
mands of Easter Monday holyday makers. Last
year the company carried to Brighton 15,742
Volunteers, and brought home 16,639 ; in all
32,381 in and out, being an excess of 10,000 over
the previous year. Besides the Volunteers, there
were 23,227 visitors, out and home,—in all 55,608
passengers for Brighton alone; and no doubt, when
the returns are made up, the numbers this year will
prove to be little short. The railway officials and
the Volunteers themselves deserve equal credit for
the punctuality and order with which the trains
were despatched, and, judging from what was ac-
tually done, it is not going to far to say that but for
the exigencies of the regular traffic an army of
50,000 men might readily have been placed in
Brighton in fighting order by noon yesterday.
Having already called attention to the large num-
ber of Volunteer officers employed on the Staff this
year, we may mention that the organ of communi-
cation between ;the War-office and the Railway
Company this year was Captain Gregory, of the
Tower Hamlets Engineers, so that the Volunteer
service may now be congratulated on having one
officer who has an intimate knowledge of the means
to be employed in the transport of troops on a large
scale. Each corps as it arrived at the station
n arched off to the rendezvous marked out for it in
the town; and the local authorities of Brighton had
set apart the open space north of St. Peter's Church,
know as the Inclosure, St. Peter's Churchyard, the
North Steyne, and the Pavilion-gardens for this
purpose. The quartermaster's department of the ser-
vice seems to have been largely developed since last
year, for most of the corps, especially those which
started early, found a welcome breakfast ready pro-
vided for them. The Westminster and the London
Scottish breakfasted in the Town-hall, the Inns of
Court were accommodated at the Ring and Queen
IHotel, and for other corps large marquees had been
erected, where a liberal commissariat had provided
the necessary supplies. At 10 o'clock the men
were ordered to fall in, and the process of brigad-
ing began. The whole infantry force—which,
as far as it was possible to ascertain, numbered
about 16,000 men, was divided into two divisions.
The first division was commanded by Major-General
Russell, and the second by Major-General Sutton.
Some time was occupied in the process of incorpo-
rating with the contingents just arrived those mem-
bers of the same regiment who, having been upon
the spot since Saturday or Sunday, assumed the
bearing and much of the independent action of in-
habitants of the town. The stragglers having all
been recalled to the paths of duty, the process of
brigading was completed, and about half-past 11 the
various battalions began to move off, left in front,
in the direction of the racecourse. The windows as
well as the streets were crowded with spectators,
and along the roads which were not occupied by the
Volunteers streams of vehicles flowed steadily up-
hill. The cavalry and horse battery of the Hon.
Artillery Company, with the batteries of position,
had been already formed on the table-land at the
rear of the race stand, and as soon as the head of the
first infantry column made its appearance on the
summit of the hill the Lancers prepared to lead the
procession past the saluting base. Lord W. Paulet,
in whose immediate vicinity were the Earl of ,
Chi-
chester (lord-lieutenant of the county), the Earl of
Cardigan, and other personages of distinction, was
attended by the following officers, composing his
General Staff—Col. M. M'Mnrdo, C. 8., Inspector-
General of Volunteers ; Col. C. Morris, C. 8., Lieut.-
Col. R. G. A. Luard, Lieut.-Col. C. P. lbbetson,
Lieut.-Col. G. Hume, and Lieut.-Col. G. B. Harman,
Assistant-Inspectors of Volunteers.
The arrangements for keeping the ground were
not as satisfactory as they might have been, for
the regiments whose companies showed at all a
wide front were subjected to severe pressure on
the flanks as they marched towards the flag-
staff. The 9th Lancers of course cleared a path for
themselves; but after they had passed the specta-
tors closed in again, and once they formed a barrier
across the entire width of the racecourse, which
threatened to stop the progress of coming brigades.
This fine Lancer regiment, which was raised after
the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697, presented an im-
posing appearance as it passed the General in com-
mand. The Artillery Brigades, commanded by
Colonel Ormsby, immediately followed the regiment
of Lancers. The huge 18-pounder guns of position,
34- tons in weight, were each drawn by six horses,
and it was amusing to note the minor differences
observable in the manner of handling weapons of
exactly the same calibre by the metropolitan and
rural corps respectively. The Middlesex Artillery
guns were horsed from Pickford's stud, great care
being taken in matching colours, and in supplying
uniform jackets and the regulation
the drivers
short whips.
horses
plough, had their guns drawn by
with uniform
Sussex and Cinque Ports Artil-
lery, on the contrary,
ofanadll doubtless btl
carterse s s w well
theirn use dto
roughth
e
smock-frocks with the long-handled whips of agri-
cultural labour. Rude as such a cortege might ap-
pear,ith
aads ithitnerival and m
the elements oforeshow
afleyast as great
efficiency
system of
traction. The country carters, many of them wear-
ling rosettes in honour of the occasion, made their
I horses travel past at a
speed which the Middlesex
Artillery did not attempt. They had heard some-
thing of the celerity of the lion. Artillery Com-
pany's movements, and were determined that the
honour of their county should not suffer in their
hands. The animals became either as excited as the
men, or else seemed lost in wonder at the novelty of
the scene, and one huge " wheeler," placed between
the shafts of a gun carriage, resigning himself
to circumstances with a very bad grace, was
dragged along the turf by his companions very
much in the posture of a sitting elephant. A
supply of reserve horses accompanied the batteries.
The battery of light guns furnished by the Hon.
Artillery Company was deservedly admired and ap-
plauded, as was also the excellent troop known as
" Captain say's." Immediately following the Ar-
tillery Brigade was the fifth brigade of the First
Divisiou, under the command of Colonel Brewster,
which was taken out of its regular position, having

to play the part of "the enemy" in the subsequent i
movements. Conspicuous in this brigade was the
.celebrated Inns of Court battalion. Whether it be
that the members of this corps are in (try way su-
perior in physique, that they have better regimental
tailors, or from whatever other cause, it is an ad-
mitted face that they show to greater advantage on
occasions of this kind than the majority of other
volunteer regiments. Their uniform has been imi-
tated, and almost reproduced; the march which re-
vived and gave point to the sobriquet of "The
Devil's Own" has been adopted by various corps,
but the Inspector-General of Volunteers is said still
to adhere to the opinion he long ago expressed as to
the merits of the Inns of Court, the City of London
Brigade, and the Robin Hood Rifles. Tha 3d City
of London have chosen a trying colour for their uni-
form, but they bore the test satisfactorily, looking,
however, somewhat undersized by comparison with
their successors, the Six-Foot Guards, of whom but
a small deputation attended. In the next brigade
shades were rather promiscuously blended ; in by
no means isolated cases, red, grey, and green oc-
curred in the same company, and it seemed almost
a-matter of course when the black coat of a chaplain
introduced itself into one of the supernumerary
ranks. All the regiments of the brigade were by no
means open to observation under this head; but com-
manding officers should remember that one speck of
colour obtrusively placed will spoil the ensemble of
an entire battalion. Lord Radstock's brigade, and
especially his lordship's own regiment, the 9th Mid-
dlesex, showed to advantage, and would have still
further distinguished itself in the eyes of the pub-
lic, had not the bands, one and all, done everything
they could to mar the effect—some by ceasing to
play at the critical moment, others by striking up
vigorously at the same time, and others, again, by
striding away at the head of their battalions, leav-
ing the rear companies to march to that most dis-
tressing of all sounds, the echo of the big drum.
The Clerkenivell Corps has grown in numbers and
efficiency, and the Hcrnsey and Highgate companies
presented a neat and soldierlike appearance, to
which the knapsacks carried by the former no doubt
contributed. The Tottenham Corps tripped along

lightly and steadily, but some of its members should
remember that, however flattering the greetings of
bystanders, the best time for acknowledging them is
not at the moment of passing the saluting base.
As Lord Ranelagh's charger came in sight a shout
of welcome was raised, and the popular greetings
were prolonged while the gallant officer remained
in view. The acclamations were renewed on the
passing of his (the South Middlesex) corps, with
whose reputation for efficiency the people of Brighton
have long been familiar. A host of other well-known
regiments swept by before the line was exhausted.
The Artist Corps, who were warmly applauded ;
Sir J. V. Shelley's regiment, numerous, well drilled,
and seemingly with a maximum quantity of patent
leather in their accoutrements ; the Havelocks,
with a band much less numerous and ranks better
filled than in days of yore; the London Irish,
under Major Verner, an officer of standing in India'
who held the fort of Atuck against the mutineers;
the London Scottish, the only Volunteer corps
in whose ranks a Knight of the Garter marches
at the head of his company—a corps popular from
its own merits and the services of its chief;
the Civil Service, keeping a splendid line, and
making quite a gay appearance in their new shakos,
with a band which is one of the redeeming features
of Volunteer music. The City of London Brigade
and the Victoria Rifles encountered the flattering
reception which is always accorded to them, and
which was only surpassed by the approbation elicited
when the Ist Hants Light Horse went by at a rapid
pace, with the 9th Lancers, after the last of the in-
fantry battalions had passed. This regiment of vo-
lunteer cavalry represents a distinct principle in
equestrian tactics—namely, that firing should be
from the ground, and not from the saddle, which is
in accordance with the old " dragon," or dragoon
drill. They merely use their horses, which are in
every case of considerable value, to move with ra-
pidity from place to place, and Colonel 111,‘Murdo has
repeatedly expressed his opinion that in this man-
ner their single troop of 40 or 50 men will cover as
much ground as 500 soldiers of the ordinary stamp.
The ground selected for the movements which
followed the march past was infinitely better fitted
for the handling of large masses than the narrow
White Hawk Valley in which Lord Clyde tested the
training and bottom of the Volunteers last year.
No doubt the remove was a great disappointment to
the occupants of the Grand Stand, and of the num-
berless carriages which lined each side of the Race-
course. Last year the mimic warfare raged at their
feet, and they could follow each movement of attack
and defence, but yesterday when the troops had
marched by the sight was over for all who could not
follow them far afoot, struggling through tangled
gorse bushes, painfully trudging over loose uneven
ground, or breasting the steep Downs which at some
points rise at the most trying inclines. The perhaps
not unnatural opposition of the tenant farmers to
the destruction of their young crops, of course, was
alone a sufficient reason for the change ; but the more
open character of the ground permitted a much
greater extension of the lines, and, though the
movements might not have been so complicated or
so difficult of execution, in the eyes of the civilian
spectators, they were on a mach grander and more
imposing scale. Without a map it is not easy to
describe the field of yesterday's battle. On the far
side of the Red-hill, the western ridge of the horse-
shoe running round the White Hawk Down, lies a
deep valley or basin, bounded by an amphitheatre
of Downs, which sloop away at a gentle incline and
have their eastern and western spurs resting on the
sea, enclosing between them the two picturesque
villages of Ovindean and Rottingdean. The north-
eastern extremity of the amphitheatre, which rises
to some height, is known as Newmarket-hill, and in
the north-western corner lie the extensive buildings
of the Industrial school and the Warren-farm. At
the southern extremity of the valley, just in front
of Ovingdean, rises a hugh circular hill, which cuts
it in two and blocks access to the sea. When the
troops had reached the northernmost point of the
Racecourse the Fifth Brigade of the First Division
inclined to the right and made rapidly for this hill,
which was the position assigned to the "enemy."
Colonel Brewster, who last year performed the same
duty with so much skill and pertinacity, again com-
manded the invading force; and the troops under
him were his own corps, the Inns of Court, the
Garrison Brigade, 32d Middlesex, 3d London, 4th
and 6th Tower Hamlets, and 2d Administrative
Battalion, Essix. To his command, also, were at-
tached a field battery of four six-pounders of the
Hon. Artillery Company, and he was also supported
by a battery of four 18-pounders of the 3d Middlesex
Artillery. The rest of the Volunteers marched on for
another half mile or more, and ultimately took up a
position facing towards the sea in a south-westeriy
direction, separated by about a mile of undulating
ground from the enemy's position. The Second Divi-
sion formed the front line, massed in columns of bri-
gades at deploying distance, the right resting on
Warren-farm,and their left on a spur of Newmarket-
hill, and covered by a battery of four 6-pounders.
The First Division, acting as reserve, was drawn
ap 300 yards to the rear in contiguous columns at
quarter distance. In the rear of the Warren-
farm, at the extreme height of the ridge, and
sweeping all along the crest of the Red-hill, were
posted eight 18-pounders, two batteries of heavy
guns were posted in front of the first line, and a
couple of light guns of the Hon. Artillery Company
under the command of Captain Jay, were attached
to the cavalry, and followed them closely through.
outspite of the difficulties of the ground.
It w
o'clock before all the positions were
occupied, and the
spectacle then presented to the
thousands day
two in
almot crowed the
thousands of spectators who
side of Red-hill, was perhaps the smost imposingd
ever seen at a Volunteer Review. There were close
upon 20,000 men of all arms on the field—
" - a varied host whose ranks display
Each mole in which the warrior meets the fight ;
The deep battalion locks its film array,
And meditates his aim the marksman light ;
Far glance the lights of sabres flashing bright
Where mounted squadrons shake the echoing mead,
Lacks not artillery, breathing flame and night,
Nor the fleet ordnance whirled by rapid steed
That rivals lightning's flash in ruin and in speed."
As far as the hidden mysteries of Tmi it ary move-
ments can be penetrated and followed by a civilian