The Sun.
London, England, 1854-04-15 00:00:00

If I make myself understood in the above form there
will appear to have been out of 790 men of the battalion
whose firing it records in the lower line,
170 Marksmen for particular service.
400 Good service.
160 Of indifferent attainment.
60 Of no attainment at all.
The two first numbers give 570 men out of 790, capable
of a most destructive fire from 200 to 600 yards. Nor are
those of indifferent attainment to be looked on as in a
settled state. There are many young soldiers amongst
those, and men whom practice will yet instruct. You will
permit me also again to impress on you, that the half of
the above firing is " off hand." I now come to certain
questions, which, though I answered his lordship person-
ally, he desired me to record in my report.
The Minis ball is 10 to the pound ; the charge of the
Minie is 21s drs. The musket ball is 16 to the pound ; the
charge of the musket is 41 drs.
I will now take your letter of the 19th inst.
The weight of the Brunswick rifle ... i'lb.
The weight of the M ....
ini° (1851) 7oz. 105dr.
rifle brought
The sword and scabbard of the Bruns.wl—
Pck
the combined weapons to 111 b. 12oz. 15dr.
.
The bayonet and scabbard of the Mime bring these COM.
bined to 101 b. 11 oz. 12dr.
The weight, you willperceive, is with the old rifle, but
was fully compensated for by the hardiness of the arm the
havey heard it' re-
peatedusefulness of the swordn(btehyeonbdanadd.efelnsi e 'weapon) and
its formidable nature
by the old Peninsula
again and again,
had oked th • dinners t3faCe"
and
men, that often theytheir before other
divisions had well got the " pot on." The sword was
most useful in cutting and chopping wood. His lordship
has begged me to be most free and unreserved in offering
my opinions. It is with this invitation that I beg to
bring to the notice of the General Commanding-in-Chief
the great advantage that would accrue to all corps,
but most particularly to an advanced one, or one whose
province it is to be in readiness as soon as possible,
if one file of each section carried bill-hooks, in a leather
case, slung at the side or thrust beneath the pack straps. I
attach the greatest importance to this provision, could it
be effected. Great saving of fatigue and a help to the
celerity of cooking, a most desirable point where time and
the necessity of feeding men under any circumstances
exist.

RELATIVE SKILL.—Your letter expresses further his
lordship's desire to be informed of the relative skill of the
best shots in the regiment when firin, with the Minie and
Brunswick rifle. I have done this in " Company's Coin
parative Practice"' under margin note of 4thly. I proceed
however, to give the number of hits and misses of a good
though not the best, shots in the company from whose rod
I have made my other returns :
Rounds. Distance. Hits.
10
30 30.)
20 ... ..... 400
10
20

Alisses.

Eight men out of 80 men did equal to this, and two men
better, putting in 56 shots.
The best Brunswick rifle shot in this company put 42
out of GO shots in at 203 yards, but this was only one man.
The greatest number in, after this, is 31; and here again
this approach to any comparison with the best shot is only
by one man. The average of the rest is 20 out of 60.
To recapitulate the average of the Minie is, at from 200
to 600 yards out of 79 men,
17 men above half
40 near half in target.
16 one-third (near)
6 under 20 rounds
Raw= Or I,96l)lllQ.—The Xinie le loaded WA 01119