The Sun.
London, England, 1859-08-11 00:00:00

TILE CAMP AT ALDERSHOTT.

Within this month the troops at Aldershott have
begun to "camp out" in real earnest. A regiment
stationed under canvas for a month experiences
only the least discomfort of the most comfortless
of all modes of fife. Officers are to a certain extent

free to choose the position of their tents, and, if
time permits, are able to indulge in the luxuries of
a trench round their canvas domicile—perhaps a
rustic seat outside, or even an impromptu garden
of wild flowers. Under such an arrangement, of
course, none of the interminable exigencies and
mishaps incident to daily marching and nightly
camping anywhere can well be learnt, and the
Duke of Cambridge and the camp authorities, there-
fore, have very wisely determined to accustom both
men and officers to this most disagreeable phase of
a soldier's life. For this purpose each foot brigade,
accompanied by a proportionate force of cavalry
and artillery, takes its turn to march out to Wool-
mer, and after remaining there a day or two re-
turns to Aldershott by a different route, halting
after each day's march, and camping on whatever
ground is best adapted for the purpose. Thus the
second brigade, under Major-General the Hon. A.
Spencer, consisting of the 4th Battalion of the 60th
Rifles, the 9th Regiment, the 2d Battalion of the
11th, a squadron of the sth Dragoon Guards, and
the A troop of Horse Artillery, left camp on the
4th inst. The men paraded at 2 a.m., and com-
menced their march for Woolmer Forest early. All
were in full marching order, and equipped exactly
as if going en actual service against an enemy.
The force camped at Woolmer in the afternoon of
the 4th, and remained there till daybreak of the
6th, when another march was made in the direc-
tion of Aldershott, and the men camped on the
night of the 6th between Pystock Ridges and Fleet
Pond. Here it stayed till the morning of the Bth,
when another move was made to Sandhurst, in the
woods around which the third halt was called
till yesterday, when the brigade was again
early under arms, and returned to its former
quarters at Aldershott. On these marches,
as we have said, everything is strictly accord-
ing to the military rules of service before
the enemy. The same outpost duty and almost
the same vigilance on the part of the pickets is ex-
ercised. The men, too, live not only on rations, but
have to kill *their own meat and make and bake
their own bread. It is impossible to over-estimate
the value and importance of these two latter addi-
tions to the soldier's training. Any one who has
seen our soldiers in the Crimea mangling a bull
about the head witn a large stone will admit with
a shudder the necessity which exists for teaching
the men how to kill their food properly. Care,
however, must be taken to prevent the reckless
waste of meat which, unless the soldiers are
strictly watched, is certain to take place on
these occasions. It requires no comment to show
the importance of teaching all the men, of every
branch of the service, how to make their bread pro-
perly. When the bread is made by contractors sol-
diers are apt to be over nice, and refuse the ration
on the most frivolous pretexts. Now, however, that
the manufacture is intrusted to themselves they
must take they bread, whether good or bad, the
only choice they have being that unpleasant one
popularly known as " Hobson's." The whole idea,
too, of the brigades camping out by turns is most
excellent. A soldier learns more of his practical
duties in a week of such marching than he would
in six months' routine life In the huts at Aldershott.
There is as much difference between soldiering in
barracks and soldiering on a campaign as there is
between a yacht race and a naval engagement.
Since the beginning of this month several changes
have been made among the troops in camp. The
15th Hussars have been sent to Brighton, and the
Ist Life Guards have left for Windsor. The 36th
have gone to Plymouth, the Oxford Militia to Dover
and Shorncliffe, and the Bedfordshire Militia left
camp yesterday to do duty at the barracks at Dor-
chester, Marchwood, Weymouth, and Portland. To
replace these deficiencies there have arrived the 3d
battalion of Grenadier Guards, 700 strong; 2d bat-
talion of 19th Regiment, 850 strong; and the 2d
battalion of the 16th Regiment joined the camp
yesterday, while the 18th Hussars are expected to
arrive to-day (Wednesday). The total force at pre-
sent in camp is not short of 20,000 men of all arms,
distributed among the following brigades:—Cavalry
Brigade, under Major-Gen. Lawrenson--4th Dra-
goon Guards, sth Dragoon Guards, 11th Hussars
(and to-day the 18th Hussars), Ist battalion Mili-
tary Train, 2d ditto, and a small depot of the same
arm of the service. The Ist Infantry Brigade, under
Major-Gen. Lord W. Paulet, consists of the Ist bat-
talion 11th Regiment, 2d battalion 19th, Ist Staf-
ford Militia, and N orth Cork Rifles. The 2d Brigade,
under Major-Gen. the Hon. A. Spencer, consists of
the Ist battalion of the 9th Regt,'2d battalion 11th,
2d battalion 24th, and 4th battalion' 60th Rifles. The
3d brigade, under Major-Gen. Lawrence, is stronger
than the others, as it includes the 47th, Regiment,•
the 2d battalion of the 16th Wilts Militia, the An-
trim Rifles, and the Stirlingshire Militia.' The re-
serve, or 4th brigade, is under Lord F. Paulet,andmusters the 3d battalion of Grenadier Guards, the
2d battalion of the 12th, and the 2d battalion of the
17th. In artillery the camp is unusually strew, no
less than 54 guns being now attached to the
divi-
sion, including the A, B, and K troops of Horse
Artillery, and the field batteries, numbered from
one to eight inclusive, of the Bth Artillery
Brigade.
It is not probable that any reduction or alteration
will be made in the present state of the camp before
the middle or end of next month.
The march of improvement is showing itself
strongly at the camp, which now boasts its "influ-
ential organ" in the shape of a weekly paper en-
titled the Aldershott Military Gazette. As may be
supposed, it is almost exclusively devoted to camp
affairs, giving the general news of the cantonments,
current on dits, rumours of approaching changes,
and of changes that sometimes never approach at
all. It is, however, both useful and popular at
camp,and likely to be so with those who have friends
there. From it we learn that the number of per-
sons in camp on the Ist inst. (and the number still
remains much the same) was 24,192—viz., 939
officers, 19,863 rank and file ; wives of officers and
soldiers, 1,467 ; children of ditto, 1,923. The num-
ber of horses was at the same date 4,361, but at
present the number of horses is not over 4,000.