The Sun.
London, England, 1858-01-19 00:00:00

" Look on this picture and on this."—Hanase
The following letters have been addressed to the
editor of the Daily _News :
Sir,—The defeat of Major-General Windham, at
Oaveripore, his calculated to open, the eyes of the
public to au important, bat frequently disregarded,
truth—viz. that military skill is attained by no
royal or golden road ; that the handling of troops
en rase campagne, the choice• of a fighting position,
the launching of an attack, the conduct of a re•
treat, are ingredients of a complex science, which is
picke I up as it were grain by grain, acquired by
patient attention to dry details, by diligent study
of tactics, both regimental and divisional, and by
a practical, as well as theoretical, knowledge of
how Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery ought to
be worked in combination. It is , because En-
glish Generals, in too many instances, -have been
altogether ignorant of, or at best but superfici-
ally acquainted • with, the various branches of the
soldier's craft, that our milit4ry annals abound
with examples of highly-placed incompetency in the
field of battle. Neither Lord Hardinge nor Lord
Raglan, in their prime evercoininanded a battalion,
and yet in old age-they were both entrusts d with the
direction of armies. What was the consequence ?
Why, that the campaigns on the Sutlej and is the
"Crimea have not *jot of what is called " general-
' ship" to boast of. At a terrible—a needl-ss—outlay
in blood, those wars were fought through by the
desperate, and naked, so tespeak, valour of regi-
mental officers and privatte grenadiers. These victo-
ries were beyond doubt thi result of matchless
physical " pluck:" Not a leaf in these two laurel
wreaths can fairly be claimed by Intellect.
On the other hand, a few momentous weeks ago a
veteran who had learned his trade through a grim
apprenticeship, who had worked his way to the head
of an army by sheer Merit, although obstacles met
him at every upward step, although cruel insults
wrung his warrior heart—l mean Sir Colin Campbell
—shows us how great victories may be achieved at
a comparatively small expense of life; how vigour,
and savoir faire, and self-reliance, based on hard
experience, may at a pinch repair the errors of au
incapable lieutenant, and redeem the momentarily
slurred prestige of English troops. What gave
Campbell his stern resolve in a tremendous emer-
gency ? What gave him expertness in manceuvring?
Whence did he get strategic ability? What caused
that rare element " geneiatship" to be so signally
conspicuous in the relief of Lucknow and the sub-
sequent operations about Cavviipare ? I answer,
50 years' regimental, brig tele and divisional service,
in the Peninsula under A7ellington, in Scinde
under Napier, and in the Crimea—where his talents,
being unsupported by family or parliamentary in-
fluence, w.-re foolishly slighted has made Sir
Colin Campbell a master of his art. •
We will now glance at the career of General
•Wiedh tm. It presents quite a different picture from
the fine old battle piece we have been admiring.
Major-General Windham joined the Coldstream
Guards asEnsign and Lieutenant Dec. 30, 1826. He
became Captain and Lieutenant-colonel in that
corps Dec.. 29, 1846, and in 1850 exchanged to half=
pay with Lieutenant-Colonel Crombie. Thus, for
twenty-eight years Windham lived a thorough-
paced Guardsman, i.e., a lively "man about town,"
in no wise remarkable for professional acquirements.
It is worthy-of note, too, .that from this officer's en-
trance into the army. in 1826, till his retirement on
half-pay in 1850—about twenty four-years—he had
no opportunity of commanding anything more con-
siderable than a company of CAdstreams in Hyde-
park. But to proceed. In 1854 Sir George Cath-
cart placed Colonel Windham on his staff, and -took
him to the Crimea. With the fight on the Alma,
Windham, his division not being engaged, had
nothing to do. At Balaklava he was, like other
infantry officers, a passive spectator of the immortal
heroism of the Light Cavalry. At Inkermann he
had the good fortune to escape the fate of his brave
chief. As yet, therefore, nothing had occurred to
exalt Windham above his comrades. By those
who knew ,him he was regarded as a bold soldier
from which he was deseu e 191.11.30% GA Inordi-
nacy fame. On the Bth of September, 1855, the
memorable assault on the Roden took place. In
that horrible affray Windham conducted himself
to the satisfaction of Lord Raglan (it is said) and
certainly displayed greater coolness and decision
than did his General and old Mother officer, Sir
William Codrington. It is a mistake, however, to
suppose, as some persons have supposed, that
Windham was the last man to leave the Redan,
for a distinguished officer of the Light avision,
with many a stubborn soldier beside, remained in
the work half an hour after Windham had quitted
it for the purpose of obtaining reinforo3ments from
General Codrington—the officer who, it will be re-
membered, was shortly afterwards placed in chief
command of the British army, over the head of,'Sir
Colin Campbell, an older, a more tried, and one
may say it without injustice, a better soldier.
It is plain,
from the above sketch, that General
Windham's services against the Russians were
not of a character to gain for him very extended
instruction in the art of commanding a corps
d'armee in the open field. To recapitulate. At
the Alma he was inactive, of necessity ; at Bala-
klava he saw only a blote;dy mixture of brilliant
daring and of the grossest blundering ; at lnker-
mann he beheld Britons fight without other leading
than that of a few regimental officers. On the Bth
of September, 1855, he took part in a combat of a
similar nature. How, then, could it be reasonably
expected that the " Hero of the Redau" was, ou a
sudden, to rival the experienced Havelocks, Wilsons,
Neills, Eyres, and Nicholsons, whose feats of arms
have resounded throughout the world, and covered
the noble Indian army
with imperishable glory ?
Out of evil good often comes ; so the failure of
General Windham at Cawnpore
will not be without
profit, if it cause us narrowly to scrutinise the ante-
cedents of officers whom the Horse Guards propose
to put in important and dangerous situations—if it
warn us also against the folly of expecting to have
" Heaven-boru ' Generals ready made to our hands,
or even capable commanders from that courtly and
agreeable, but very imperfect, school of the militarysciences
desigoated the "Household Brigade.'—
I am, &c., AN OLD SOLDIER.
Jan. 18.

INDIAN GENERALS. Sir,— inevitably
arise the discussions which will
arise respecting the abolition of the East India Com-
pany's rule, it may be useful to recall to mind a few
recent facts. All the generals that have recently dis-
tinguished themselves have been either Company's
officers, or officers who have loni
served
n India.
Havelock, Neill, Nicholson, Wilscin, the Lawrences,
and Sir Colin himself, are ~<Ylorious examples of the
efficiency of that school. On the other hand, Gene-
out by the Horse Guards. If the future app
rals Anson, Barnard, and Windham have been sent
a
ointment
of our Indian Generals is entrusted to this depart-
ment, it is a question how long we shall be able
to retain India. It should not be forgotten, too,
in considering this subject, that in the Crimea,
where our army consisted, according to the oft-
repeated saying, of lions led by asses, Sir Colin
was passed over in favour of a junior but more
courtly officer, General Codrington. Such is the
judgment and discrimination that we may look for
in Horse-Guards appointraents.—l am, &c.
E. C. S.

agte'n a question is
tlilteeyast, useless ; but that
—.....„
GOVERNMENT PATRONAGE.
t i
eSni ru, —p oln think
stt
nos
hi
otjefae
epytteatrcei fltfeesct i n a y
abuse of government
obvious that declama-
unbdeermostu
discussion,seful atth
the
sppmolaoal tuimrntoeinosnatt wemhisee n 0 f
which
1, i y
be to take an enormous amount
of: patronage from the P.
r departments at home.
—Ast India Campany to
place i it in e
stthiee
n hands
India Company, as a
general rule, have used their patronage, is an-
swered at a word by enunciating a simple fact,
which is, that in an emergency
question
ahnedws
the o
East
the man to deal
with is never wanting. I shall merely refer to the
present crisis, and of course our glorious soldiers
of the Queen's service must be excluded ; hot the
names of the two Lawrences, Neill, Nicholson,
outran], Willoughby, Salkeld, Montgomery (civil)
Eyre, Sir R. Hamilton (civil), and dozens of others.
merely require to be recalled to mind in order to
prove the fact. Now for the home government
ap-
pointments to high commands. Let us take a few
selections :-
1. We have had Elphinstone, who lost our army
at Cahool--a gouty farmer, 20 years on half-pay
when sent on a great emergency to the East.
2. General Sir W. Gomm. His name is appro-
priate, and it will be sufficient to say that he is the
gentleman who writes up the supoys.
3. General Anson. 20 years on half-pay ; a rail-
way director, and a great man on the turf.
4. General Windham, many years on half-pay,
but recommended for his conduct at the attack on
the Redan by Mr. Russell, of the Times.
All these nominations speak for themselves.
It would be invidious to mention how many of
these appointments are of Guardsmen, who never 4