The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-25 00:00:00

MIDLAND COUNTIES VOLUNTEER

REVIEW.

A grand review of Volunteers belonging to the
midland counties was held yesterday, at Warwick,
by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. Inhabitants of
the metropolis are so accustomed to Volunteer dis-
plays, although the second anniversary of the move-
ment was but recently celebrated, that the fact of
9,000 or 10,000 men assembling on a particular
occasion might lose some of its interest before the
rival attractions of " an ascent by Blondin." But in
the midland counties, and especially in Warwick,
the case is different. Not merely do rural corps feel
that they have been deprived of a portion of that
fame to which their patriotic efforts entitle them by
the superior opportunities of display enjoyed by re-
giments in the capital,but these county gatherings,
few and far between, are the only means which
country corps possess of judging rightly of their
own progress and deficiencies by comparison with
what has been achieved in the same time by their
neighbours. To this the fact must be added that,
while the military spirit always beat high in War-
wick, a military display upon a large scale of late
years is a novel sight.
Under these circumstances it is not matter for sur-
prise that a project for bringing together in the old
county town many regiments contributed to the
national force by the midland counties should have
been received with eagerness, and preparation on a
great scale made to render the display worthy to
rank with those at Brighton, Wimbledon, and else-

where. Invitations were issued far and wide, and

were so generally responded to that, had all the

promises from outlying corps been acted upon, the

- - - -
representatives of the midland counties would have

been but the nucleus of the mass. It was also sup.

posed at one time that some of the corps wouldhave
bivouacked in Warwick for a couple of days, and
marquees were prepared with that object ; but the
negotiation broke down, partly owing to the natural

unwillingness even of Volunteers to expose them,
selves to the present broken weather under canvas
and partly, also, as is stated, from the inability of
commanding officers to induce the railway corn
panies to extend the limit for which tickets are
issued. The inhabitants of Warwick spared no
exertions to add to the success of the gathering.
The site chosen for the display was the racecourse,
near the town—a piece of ground admirably situ-
ated for county meetings and for all the purposes
of sightseeing, but scarcely adequate to the accom-
modation of a force approaching 10,000 men. In
shape an irregular oval, towards the end nearest the
town it rises till it attains an elevation which shuts
out the fields beyond from view, but near the stand-
house and over the remainder of area the surface is
tolerably level. A hedge which would have inter-
fered with the movements was grubbed up regard-
less of the protests and vested rights of Commoners.
The balcony and basement of the Grand Stand were
appropriated to the guests of the Lord-Lieutenant
of the county, Lord Leigh, of the Earl of Warwick,
and to the county magnates generally. The roof was
set apart for the deputy-lieutenants and magistrates;
and to the right and left of the standhouse special
galleries were added for the accommodation
of 6,000 spectators, in addition to stands erected
by private persons, which it was calculated might
hold 4,000 more. The railways leading to the town
were gorged with traffic, and the ordinary system
of the Rugby, Leamington, and Coventry line was
set aside for the occasion that its resources might be
devoted exclusively to the excursion trains. The
regiments began to reach Warwick shortly after
11 o'clock, and the arrangements made for their
reception were so simple and complete that mistake
was well nigh out of the question. Close to the
railway and upon a gently rising hill opposite the
station is an old Elizabethan farmhouse called the
"Priory," the grounds sloping down from which
were assigned as the mustering place for three of the
brigades. The falling rain and still more insinu-
ating damp of the grass would have made such
quarters less desirable than the road, were it not
that the refreshments intended for the different
corps before marching on to the race-course were
here laid out under separate marquees. The 4th
Brigade assembled in the Market-place and
managed to dine under the shelter afforded by the
Museum. Shortly before 2 o'clock the regiments
began to set themselves in motion for the Review
ground. The order of the day when completed
was as follows—To the extreme right, the Duke of
Manchester's corps of Mounted Volunteers, in three
troops, numbering in the aggregate 120. Next,
the Gloucestershire and Shropshire artillery, whose
numbers nearly doubled the preliminary estimate
furnished to the Horse Guards, being close upon 400
strong. With regard to the remaining brigades the
original calculations proved in the main to be accu-
rate, and they were thus distributed : First brigade
—The Ist Warwickshire (Birmingham) battalion,
800 strong ; the 2d Warwickshire, 500 ; the 2d
South Middlesex, with a company of the 26th Mid-
dlesex, 400 ; and the Ist Oxfordshire, 400 ; total,
2,000 ; ccmmanded by Lieut.-Col. the Hon. G. C.
Scott, Capt. Wolridge (Ist Worcestershire) acting as
Major ofßrigade. Second Brigade—lst,2d, 3d, and
4th battalions Staffordshire, numbering 2,800;
Lieutenant-Col. Bullen commanding; Melo'. of Bri-
gade, Captain Longstaff (2d Lincolnshire).—Third
Brigade—Northampton and Nottingham (East
Retford), 437; Gloucester and Buckingham, 523;
Bristol, 540 ; and Nottingham (Robin Hood's) 600
—total, 2,100; Lieut.-Colonel Bush (Ist Bristol)
commanding ; Major of Brigade, Major Kennedy
(Cheltenham).—Fourth Brigade—Leicester, 550 ;
Shropshire (Shrewsbury), 550; Worcestershire
(Hagley and Worcester), 600—total, 1,700 ; Lieut.-
Colonel Vernon (4th Staffordshire) commanding;
Major of Brigade, Major Locke (2d Shropshire).
These figures would show in round numbers that
a force of nearly 9,300 men was present. It will
be observed that all officers in command of bri-
gades, without exception, were Volunteers. Major
Dick, the Assistant-Inspector of the district, con-
trolled and superintended the arrangements, and
to his exertions, in a great degree, the suc-
cess of the display was owing. But one con-
tretemps occurred. The Duke of Cambridge, with
his usual punctuality, reached the ground at three
o'clock, and it was not till ten minutes afterwards
that one of the Shropshire corps made its appear-
ance. It then took up its position, but his Royal
Highness the Commander-in-Chief had previously
passed down the line and been received with a ge-
nere.l salute. And with regard to this ceremony a
andsuggestion is a noble may be offered. The National Anthem
the Duke fof spirit-stirring melody, and the ear of
tised to Cambridgeobject to
is, doubtless, too well prac-
i3Ct its performance in any time or
after band No. 4 has struck up
any key.
as the procession
down the ranks, band-
ea,eor finishing their several
masters 1,2, and 3 in°:iesat
tatax be greater
ing,soorutght also to bear
versions, though the
, the har-
inurebion change the air,
many certainly is not.
Staff taken
in mind that to cease play
of the
critieal moment of
appearance finest corps
past, may de
°art's that ever •
ep ed•
corps,i:n ira
Royal
? Highness having, with his ssatttr otypihse the
H
in succession. First cameell,up his position at the saluting base, the Volunt
ers
began to move past
e
bly mounted. Next marched_
mounted corps of the Duke of Manchester ad
theShrewsbury artillery ,
an
not merely for their deserts,
one from Bristol and onefrombutin
acknowledg-
mentto t
of the goodwill which induced them to under-
take a fatiguing journey to contributecess of the Midland Counties Review, the he suc-
y were
warmly cheered by the spectators.
The corps in which the greatest interest naturally
centred led the van of the Ist Infantry Brigade-
The advance of the Ist battalion of Warwick Rifles,
under command of Lieut.-Col. Mason, was slower
than the rate to which the movements of metropo-
litan Volunteers have accustomed the eye, and it
certainly did not attain Col. M'Murdo's favourite
rate of " 108 paces a minute • " but the step was
well marked, firm, and united, and the bearing of
the men erect and soldierly. The Voiuntcers of the
" Midland Counties " suffered no disparagement at
their hands, but, on the contrary, a very plain hint
was given to their Middlesex friends that it will
not do for Londoners, if they wish to lead, to
slacken their exertions. The 2d Warwickshire is a
corps, to some extent, Of newer formation, and con-
sequently could not be expected in all points to
equal itselder brother ; it contained some companies
whose appearance and discipline was highly credit-
able, but there were exceptional cases, and this re-
mark applies to nearly all the corps from rural
districts—in which the standard of merit was by
no means equally high. As the battalion was pecu-
liarly local in its character, however, it was greeted,