The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-12 00:00:00

[PRIM 4u. STAMPED 51).A

THE CAMP AT ALDERSHOT.

Though the routine fielddays at Aldershot, when
two or three times a week in the summer the un-
happy enemy was driven half-way to Winchester,
are now over, yet the large importation of militia-
men into the camp has rendered extra drill most
necessary ; advantage is therefore taken of every
tolerably fine day tcegive the men a smart,breath-
ing across the hills and valleys.
Yesterday the scale of operations was rather .en-
larged, and the forces of the camp were mustered
for a sudden general attack upon a neighbouring
military institution—the Cadets' College at Sand-
hurst. This plan involved mauceuvres of all kinds,
and required the assistance of the three branches
of the service, and as the first step was a march of
some 7 or 8 mle4, the whole force was under arms
in camp by 8 o'clock. The troops were in heavy
marching order ; each man carrying so many rounds
of blank cartridge, and apparently a good many
rounds of ammunition of a more pleasant kind in
their haversacks. Some waggons accompanied the
troops with barrels of beer for their further support
during the fatigue of the attack. There were se
veral regiments of Infantry, a strong force of Artil-
lery, with the 6th battalion of the Military Tr.,in,
and part of the Ist battalion, in all between 7,000
and 8,000 men. But the force in appearance
looked far more imposing, occupying a good two
miles of country road.
The whole force marched from oamp along the
road to Farnborough,• and so on through Frimley
to Sandhurst, where it arrived shortly before 11.
The day wawnnnsually fine, the sun bright and
clear, the air keen but bracing, and the mists that
lay about in and among the trees and valleys only
added greater variety to the picturesqueness of the
Beene. A. very large concourse of visitors from the
surrounding neighbourhood had assembled in the
grounds round the College, which were freely
thrown open to all comers, and from which the
best view of the proceedings could be gained.
The attacking force outnumbered the cadets by
50 to 1, for the latter, who were divided into three

companies, wore not 200 strong, and were only
waisted by some 15 or 20 cavalry, with a party of
engineers to work their four small guns. Never-

theless, the little band put a bold face on the matter;
they had already entrenched themselves, and now
stood firm, hopeless of victory, but determined to
fight for it. The nature of their position may be
son told. Tho large sheet of ornamental water in
front of the College terminates at either end in a
broad a deep canal, croveii by several bridgeß,
which of course formed the keys of their whole
position. Their force was divided into three bo. lies
—the extreme right, under Captain Dickens, occu-
pied the skirt of the wood oa the road near Forest-
lodge. The centre, under Major Mao, held
the York Town avenue in advance of the hike
bridge, the head of which was defended by a strong
gabionado and chevaux de-frisc. The main body o

the left under Col. Scott, occupied the wood in front
of King's-bridge, with a small party holding a very
narrow structure, called the Chinese-bridge. Biit
King's-bridge was the main point, and was defended
by a chevaux-de-frise and abattis, in rear of wific.l
again was a strong work called Adam's redoubt,
strengthened with a stockade and mined with a

heavy charge of powder. In rear of all was the Old
Flagstaff Battery, the cadet's last resource and ral-
lying point. Lieut.-General Sir 11,4rry Jones com-
manded the Sandhurst forces in chief. The Camp
forces under Major-General Knollye' advanced to
the attack in two main divisions, the right under
Major-General Lord W. Paulett, consisting of two
companies of Engineers with the pontoons, part of
the 4th Light Dragoons, a troop of Horse Artillery,
a field battery, .the Regt.,22,1 the 4th Middlesex
and Royal Wiltshire Militia eeiments. The centre
body, under Major-General the Hon. A. Spencer,
consisted of a field battery, the 15th and 96th Re-
giments, and the 4th Lancashire Militia. The Berks
Militia, assisted by a portion of the cavalry under
Major-General Laurenson, threatened on the left.
The plan of attack was a feint on the right of the
College position at Forest-lodge—a real attack on
the left at King's-bridge, to be followed and
sup-
ported by an attack on the centre from York Town.
The affair commenced with a skirmishing fire on
the right, which continued for some time, now
to tho noisy dignity of a regular fusillade and the,i
again dropping-to a mere random shot at long inter-
vals. Vedettes scoured about, but the nature of the
ground was against good reconnoitring, and thick
woods almost completely concealed their movements
and preparations on the right and centre. Under

cover of these. and protected by their skirmishers in
front, the main attack advanced against King's-
bridge, whore they were encountered in the wood
by the cadets, and a hoe vy tire instantly common eed.
Tnis, as more and more of the Camp forces cline
into action, was maintained with additional vigour
each moment, and at last swelled into a long•
sustained rattle, which instantly showed the
non-professional public where the great onset was,
and thither they flocked accordingly. The cadets
made a long fight of it, disputing every inch of
ground, and making every brake and tree a tempo-
rary lodgment for their sharpshooters. At length
the superiority of numbers of the enemy compelled
them tto give way and retire under the absttis at

the King's-bridge. This they did in good order,
still fighting as they retreated. The shore now re-
sounded from every part of the wood, which was
filled with a dense smoke, amid which' the masses
of the enemy were almost hidden, until, overcom-
ing all obstacles, they emerged on the banks of the
canal in front of the abattis and chevaux-de-frise.

These held them in check for a considerable time.
While the attack upon it was pressed with vigour,
and orders were sent to hurry up the field battery
and force it, the 4th Light Dragoons, a troop of
Horse Artillery, a party of Engineers, with the
pontoons and military train, and the 22d Regiment
were sent higher up the canal to effect a passage at
another point. A few minutes after this force had
been sent off on a mission so fatal to the defenders
the artillery came into play in the abattis, sending

its massive red streaks of flame into the very centre
of the felled trees, and scattering their leaves and
twigs like spray. At the same moment the attack
was pressed upon the centre, and now all along the
border of the lake were posted cannon, while the
woods swarmed with troops, and every gun and
Minie in the force' converged upon two points and
poured a volley of flame and smoke upon the King's
and centre bridges. There were a few minutes of
terrific uproar, during which the whole College and
ground became so wrapped in smoke that it was im-
possible, save for those actually with the troops, to
see what was passing. In the midst of this scene the
whole line of the enemy advanced against the two
bridges; at the centre the attack was repulsed amid
au awful din of small arms; at King's-bridge it was
successful—the cadetsretired,and by this movement
lost the day. They fell back into Adams's redoubt,
which was a very strong work, deeply trenched and
stockaded at the entrance, and which had been
mined in case of their being compelled to abandon it.
The enemy, however, after losing some time in de-
stroying the abattis, crossed King's-bridge, and at-
tacked the redoubt with artillery, while the detached
force, which had crossed higher up in pontoons and
by the Chinese-bridge, attacked it from the other
side. The redoubt became untenable, and the cadets
lit their mine and abandoned it, retiring into the
Flagstaff Battery, while the centre and right divi-
sion also fell back. To cover this movement their
handful of cavalry charged the Camp troops, which
were crossing the bridges and defiling in the open
ground beyond, and compelled them to halt andform
squares in their own defence. At the same time the
mine in the redoubt blew up with afearful explosion,
lifting a loose cloud of earth and stones high into the
air. These two checks, however, were only tempo-
rary. The attackwas pressed with a charge of the 4th
Dragoons, which swept the open ground like a whirl-
wind of men and horses, leaving a broad deep track.
of scattered turf where they had passed. This last
onset effectually drove the cadets back to the very
colonnade of the College, whither they were pur-
sued, when both parties came to a stand, and a ge-
neral delivery of all the spare ammunition took
place on all sides, and this sulphurous climax
brought the proceedings to a close.
Marching past then took place in the usual order,
the cadets taking precedence of all the infantry.
Their marching was most regular for such a very
juvenile body of soldiers, and their admirable con-
duct and discipline throughout the day elicited the
highest commendation from Gen. Knollys, and was,
in fact, a subject of general remark and admiration
among all the officers on the ground. The marching
of the Royal Wiltshire Militia was also considered
most excellent. Immediately after the review the
mounted troops returned to camp. The infantry
followed when they had refreshed and rested them-
selves. Tho Camp will berfrimv further
of the 3d W
er strengthened
t
on Thursday next by the
York Militia' and on Friday by the Royal Dum-
fries Militia. The Royal Southdown and Limerick
Militia Regiments are expected in camp next
week. These reinforcements will raise the strength
of the force there to upwards of 11,000 men.
Ti

he sums paid into the Paris Savings Bank last wok
amounted to 625,747 fr., from 6,622 depositors, of whom
844 were new, ttncl the rehnbersemente tp 234461 fr•