The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-26 00:00:00

THE ARMY.

In consequence of the increased number of gen-
tlemen cadets entered at the Royal Military Aca-
demy, Woolwich, for the present, quarter, several
additional masters have been engaged for the
various branches of education.

The head-quarters and service companies of the
73d Regiment, which arrived at Gravesend, from
India, in the Aliquis and White Eagle, sailing trans-
ports, disembarked from those vessels on Saturday,
when the head-quarters were forwarded to Ply-
mouth by steamer, and a portion of the regiment
left by railway for Chatham garrison, where they
-will remain for a few days, when they will leave
for Plymouth to join the remainder of the regi-
ment. The Aliquis sailed from Calcutta on the
20th of April last, and the White Eagle a few days
after, the former vessel bringing the head quarters,
numbering 400 men of all ranks, and the latter
vessel, 180 non-commissioned officers and men.
The following officers arrived with the 73d
Regiment :—Col. G. H. Smith, in command ;
Lieut.-Col. W. H. Lewes; Capts. J. W. Barnes,
S. V. F. Henslowe, R. J, Hereford, P. Gibaut,
Lieut. W. Mitford, Lieut. and Adjt. W. Gordon,
Lieuts. W. Bayley, A. H. Sharp, W. H. S. Pigott,
H. B. 0. Farrington, T. M. Warren, H. F. H. Gib-
son°, Ensigns J. T. Turner and T, N. E. Kenney,
Quartermaster J. G. Scott, Assist.-Surg. R. T. Scott,
and Assist.-Surg. J. Anderson, M. 8., Lieut.-Col. T.
Ross, Major H. M. Jones. and Paymaster L. Cas-
sidy, arrived by the overland route. On Saturday
Captoin Henslowe, Lieuts. Warren and Gibsone,
and 163 men of all ranks were forwarded to
Chatham barracks, where they will be quartered
until Thursday next.
At a general court-marshal recently held at the
camp at Colchester, under the presidency of Col.
Dixon, C. 8., acting-commandant, Private Thomas
Gaghan, of the 37th, was found guilty of insubordi-
nation and of assaulting Sergt. Everitt of the same
corps. lie was sentenced to one year's imprisonment
and to receive 50 lashes. This sentence has subse-
quently been confirmed By the War-office, with the
exception of the flogging, for which 40 days' extra
imprisonment has been substituted. The depot bat-
talion of the 37th is under orders to leave Colches-
ter during the present week to be stationed at
Pembroke. The followsng additions to the camp
will take place forthwith :—The 2d battalion of
the Ist Royals, consisting of 6 officers and 240 men,
from Birr ; 2d battalion of the sth Fusiliers, con-
sisting of 3 officers and 110 men, from Pembroke ;
and the 2d battalion of the 6th Foot, comprising 4
cfficers and 200 men, from Cork. Two detachments
have just left the camp for rifle practice at Lan-
guard Fort. Ensign Johnson, of the 56th, is under
orders for India, and Ensign Enins, of the 37th, for
Plymouth. Lieut. Hodgson, on the recommendation
of an army medical board, has obtained leave of
absence until October 17th.

The following movements of infantry regiments
have been ordered :—The depot companies of the
4th King's Own from Chichester to Chatham, to
be attached to the Ist battalion of the regiment :
the 2d battalion of the 73d from Chichester
to Chatham, to relieve the depot battalion ; the
depot companies of the Ist battalion of the 23d, from
Chatham to Walmer, to join the 2d battalion of the
regiment ; the depot companies of the 2d battalion
of the 20th' (East Devonshire) have arrived at
Chatham from Aldershot.
We have to record the death of General Francis
Moore, the senior general in her Majesty's service,
which took place on Thursday last, at his residence,
Bath, in his 94th year. The deceased had served
74 years, having entored the army in September,
1787. He was gaze Med Lieut. in August, 1791;
Capt., in June, 1793; Major, in July, 1794; Lieut.-
Col., in December of the same year ; Col., in January
1801 ; Major-Gen., in April, 1808 ; Lieut.-Gen., in
June, 1813; and General, in July, 1830.
We are requested to ti.t ate that the private soldiers
of the Woolwich division •of the Royal Marines
have been, as well as the non-commissioned officers,
13_means far as their limited mens allowed, liberal contri-
butors to a e fund raised for the widow and family
of Benjamin Bradshaw, shot at the Plumstead

Apcm,
.....,EcAß__
s,
HALL.--The following are the
names of gentle
the science andreleEn who have passed their examination in
Praoeutice of medicine, and received certifi-
cates b practise
Newnhana Crofts eambri Thursday, Aug-. 22 :—Henry Finch,
well, Canterbury, The .idgie; Nathaniel Engleheart Cress-
wing gentleman also on the
same day passed his first° 1°
Bonita), King's College, el'atl'Mation:—Albert Edward
Ointment and [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIev ,
Maternal Solicitude.—What ruut rta.
domestic remedies
Pills.—
would be avoided were these illy, ?Jallaio, and d;scomfort
ready to hand. In the nursery Hon 3Ntt3,7
The Ointmeurrria
, measles, and
invaluable. QblinseY, sore throat , diAleparations prove
oust be dili-
gently are cured by it.
iacta sedative
gently rubbed upon the affected pi trt till a
mutation,
has been absorbed by the pores. Its cooling and
qualities soon relieve all pain, , arrest all
subdue all serious symptoms, i uid safely re,onduct th
sufferer back to health. The Oh fitment heals ulcers, gore:
and scurvy. When Holloway's 1. Ills are taken to numeni
the healthful action of the un,g-t- unit, few diseases in the
young or adult can withstand 0 Asir power, none can en-
tirely resist it.

THE FRENCH ARMY.

(From the Special Correspondent of the Times.)

CAMP OF CHALONS, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 21.
When the French army appeared again on a
European battlefield it excited the astonishment of
the world by proving itself superior to friends and
adversaries. The hasty conclusion of course was
that there is a peculiar aptitude in Frenchmen to
make soldiers. This may or may not be, but it
need come into no account, for there is a simple
reason which is quite sufficient to explain this phe-
nomenon. There is a constant improvement going
on, and every experience is turned into account.
No doubt there is red tape enough in the French
as in any other army, but still somehow or other
the progress takes place. It was the case under the
Orleanists, and has been the case much more under
the present Emperor, who takes great personal in-
terest in the subject and has besides the power of
the " Fiat." Thus, after appearing with the first
iron-clad ships at Kinburn, attention was turned
to the guns, and when most people had scarcely
gone beyond an experiment in the matter, the
French appeared in the Italian war with their
whole field artillery metamorphosed into rifled
guns, which, both in mobility, range, and accuracy,
proved superior to anything until then known, and
have since served as a model to almost all the
armies of the Continent.

The war in Italy seems not to have been lost
either. There could be no mistake by any one who
saw the manoeuvring en corps d'artnee this morning.
The first thing which must have struck him is the
change in the uniform, of course decidedly for the
better. The Zouave breeches, the leathern leggings
reaching a little above the white linen gaiter, have
been universally adopted for the infantry soldier.
About the convenience of this there can be no more
question than about the smartness of it. It does
away with braces, which are no small inconvenience
to the heavily laden soldier; it enables the soldier
to lie down and sleep without being obliged to go
through all kinds of processes, or get up next morn-
ing more tired than ever. The tight legging is a
support to the leg and to the gaiter. I suppose th A
White gaitcr will be Lie yr entirely substituted for the
leathern one. This is an experience which has been
learnt from the Zouaves, who never wear, even in
the muddiest weather, their leathern gaiters, and
scarcely ever are known to be footsore, which is
frequently the case with leathern gaiters. The old
tunic has likewise changed, but in an opposite di-
rection ; it has taken the shape of the short tunic
of the Chasseurs-a-pied de la Garde. The change
was necessary on account of the first ; it is decidedly
smarter, rather less convenient; but as tunics are
put aside in campaigning, and the greatcoat is
adopted, this does not matter.
Another more important change is the universal
adoption of the rifle. This is since the Italian war,
in which only the Imperial Guard and a certain num-
ber of regiments had it. I cannot say whether it is
of the same pattern as then used, but the arm seems
to me shorter and more handy. Sights are abo-
lished, with the exception of the rifles of the Cl as-
sears, who keep their old weapon as it was. The
explanation is, that only troops d'elite will use sights
with discrimination, and that one can scarcely rely
on 350,000 men proving so ; be3ides which it is
maintained that the great mass of soldiers will
learn better to use their weapons by practice, like
sportsmen, at different distances, without going
through the double process of first judging the dis-
tances, and then adjusting the sights, which, above
all, under the fire of the enemy requires considerable
sangfroid. Certainly hitherto sights have not proved
themselves practically of much worth, but this is no
reason for giving up an improvement before it is
proved to be unattainable.
French people are proverbial for their desire to
be consequent—what is called logiqui. They have
adopted the rifle, and, of course changed their for-
mation, and, more or less, their whole field exercise,
It is the recognition of the maxim that nothing is
perfect in this world, not even the system. to which
the French owed so many successes, and that the
the introduction of the rifle must produce a corre-
sponding change in all movements. I suppose this
truth was brought home to the Emperor himself by
personal observation. Anyone knowing the French
regulations on field exercise and seeing the French
army on the battlefields of Italy would have been
almost inclined to doubt that he had. a French army
before him. He could find no trace of the wonderfully
pedantic regulations of 1831. It seemed as if every
regiment had adopted more or less its own regula-
tions, the only exception being, perhaps, the Chas-
seurs-a-pied, which had among themselves a certain
family likeness. All the others—lmperial Guard,
Zouaves, the regiments of the line—went on in,
their own way, which, in some instances, among the
latter, was no way at all. A little observation soon
showed me that, by the wars in Africa—the prac-
tical school of the French soldier—a kind of practi-
cal system, based on simple principles suggested by
experience, had developed itself. This development
was most visible in those who had gone longest
through that school, like the Imperial Guard and
the regiments forming the 2cl Corps d'Armee, en-
tirely composed of troops coming from the colony,
while the others tried with more or less success to
imitate this example.

Elsewhere the conclusion drawn from this circum-
stance would probably have been that the regula-
tions were not strict enough, and that in future
there ought to be more drilling in order to attain
perfection. Here, on the contrary, it was inferred
that the fault was in the regulations, which were
no longer adapted to the deadly rifle, and that a
system of evolutions based on the musket inoffensive
at 100 yards was scarcely fit in face of a rifle deadl y
at ten times that distance. A commission was ap-
pointed to draw up new regulations, and after a
labour of more than a year its project was sanctioned
in February last. It changes the very formation,
which was hitherto the basis of all evolutions. It
was three deep, and has became two deep now.
Which of the two is the better was long contro-
verted, the adversaries of the former arguing the
necessity of the third rank as an element of solidity,
while the supporters of the second insisted on the
uselessness of the third rank for firing, its exposure to
the fire of the enemy, and the benefit which might
be derived from it being used for the prolongation
of the line. The English and Swiss armies were the
only ones who adopted the latter view, and lately
the Sardinian.

Had the French army remained unchanged in its
composition it would have been probably long
before the formation two deep would have been
adopted. But a great modification has been taking
place gradually in this respect ; up to 1848 it was
very rare to find soldiers re enlisting after having
served their time; now great numbers do it, so that
the proportion of old soldiers is growing at a great
rate. The reason is the advantages offered now
which did not exist before. First, the price of a
remplacant has been raised to 2,000 f. The term of
service entitling a soldier to a pension has been
lowered to 25 years. The pension itself has been
almost doubled; considering, besides, that every
year's campaigning counts for two years' service,
and that almost every steady soldier arrives after a
long service to the rank of non-commissioned officer,
or, at least, gets the nzedaille, which gives a pension
of 100 f.; the soldier has a chance after less than
20 years of service to retire with a competence of
600 to 700 francs a year. Besides this, there is the
Imperial Guard, which like wise offers a chance of
bettering the soldier's position.

No wonder that the proportion of old soldiers is
daily increasing, and, if it continues, it will change
altogether the French army. It is scarcely neces-
sary to say what help this is in the lighter forma-
tion which has now been introduced.
The formation now introduced in the line of battle
is almost identical with that in the English and
Swiss armies ; the leading idea,being to supply the
third rank by the serrefiles formed of officers and:
sergeants. This, together with the distribution of
the rest of the non-commissioned officers or. the
flanks of the section, keeps the whole together.
It would be of little interest to your readers to go
into details as far as the manoeuvring goes; the
general character of it may be described as simpli-
fying and accelerating every movement, weeding
out considerably all complicated movements, which
are never possible on the battle-field, and trusting
more to the developed intelligence of the men and

the steadiness of the guides than to the dead accu-
racy of each individual man.
Slow step is altogether done away with, the pas
ordinaire being fixed at 77 to the minute, double
quick at 110 in a minute, besides which the pas
gymnastique of the Chasseurs has been introduced
in the line, wisely meeting a want which showed
itself every moment. Formerly to get quicker into
place the soldier took to irregular running ; now
this running has been regulated.
Indeed, the chief improvement in the new evolu-
tions is the adaptation of many things which were
already in use with the Chasseurs-a-pied. Accord-
ing to the old regulations, light infantry exercise
and skirmishing was properly the duty of the light
infantry regiments, and later, when these were done
away with, of the flank companies. The others,
although now and then put through the move-
ments, were scarcely regularly instructed ; hence
in most cases the soldier had to do it as best he
could. Now almost the identical movements in
square by the Chasseurs-a-pied have been intro-
duced as part of the education of each individual
soldier ; nay, it forms a prominent part of it.
The formation by fours is the basis of it for all
movements. The group has the name of compagnons
d'armes, destined, as they are, to act together.
Minute regulations are laid down, for instance, for
resisting cavalry attacks in groups, but everywhere
these are expressly laid down as rules for general
guidance.

The old complicated formation of squares like-
wise, an offshot of the idea of increased solidity,
has been entirely changed, and the simple square
adopted, with a reserve in the centre to strengthen
where an occasion presents itself.
These are some of the leading features in the
changes effected, and great they certainly are.
Most of the old worn-out hobbies have been de-
stroyed, and a new principle introduced, which had
slipped in, but had not been hitherto recognised
and adopted.
The whole infantry has been engaged in this
labour. The Duke of Magenta had to apply the
new system on a larger Reale with th,. troops in
camp, and he is reputed a hard taskmaster. Since
tho Emperor has arrived there is quite the feeling
of a holyday among the soldiers. Before his arrival
there were six to seven hours of divisional exercise,
four days a week, besides two great field-days on
Mondays and Fridays. Now the divisional exer-
cise are put off more or less, and the field-days
never last more than four or five hours.
Prince Joachim Murat and his children left this
afternoon for Paris, but General Fanti and General
Craufurd are still here.

The Emperor seems to take a delight in being as
much as possible about the camp, driving about,
riding, going to Ole theatre, frequently accom-
panied by the Prince Imperial, who is always seen
at the manceuvres, riding his pony.
To-morrow there are to be races under the grand
directeur des courses, General Fleury ; on Friday
another great field-day, and on Saturday the depar-
ture of the Emperor. But of course no one can
make conjectures about this, and it is quite possible
that the Emperor will remain till Monday, and
take his leave en Thursday. He looks very well,
and shows no trace of past illness.

AUGUST 22.

As a model for a standing camp, that of Chalons
leaves nothing to desire ; every contrivance has
been adopted to facilitate access in that out-of
the-way place, and to provide for the health, com-
fort, and amusement of the soldier. Up to the
time the camp was first established in 1857, the
hamlet of Mourmelon was only connected by a
country road with Chalons, while the old Roman
road, probably unrepaired since the conquerors of
the world left it, served as a means of communica-
tion with Rheims. Now two excellent chausses
have been constructed, mostly by the labour of the
soldiers in camp, besides which a branch railway
from Chalons penetrates into all parts of the camp,
so that all the materiel and stores find an easy way
to the very place of their destination. Now that
a railway net is spread all over Europe, and after
we have seen the important part which this new
agent in warfare played in the Italian campaign, a
practical knowledge of the working of this mode of
transport is by no means to be overlooked, especially
by cavalry, artillery, and engineers. Every one
who saw the awkward manner in which this was
done in the Italian war will readily admit this. I
don't think the subject has been regularly experi-
mented upon, but there are, at any rate, the means
for such experiments. But, in spite of the facilities
offered by the railway, the equipages militaires are
not idle either, and are sent backwards and for-
wards between the camp and the two places in
the neighbourhood. As far as I could see hitherto
horses have been superseded in a great measure, and
mules substituted—strong, sleek animals, evidently
coming from the Alps and Apennines, but whether
they are the remains of the Italian war or acquisi-
tions made in the newly-annexed territory, I cannot
say.

, As the camp is distributed at present it can
scarcely be said to occupy a military position. Dis-
posed along the chord of the arc formed by the river
the line faces south; with the artillery arsenal train,
Sze., in the right rear on the opposite . bank of the
stream, but Head•quarters, which are erected close
to a farm bought by the Emperor, are south of it—
that is, in front of the line. But still further south,
in a depression of the ground, a number of wells in-
dicate the means of forming another line of encamp-
ment, if there were sufficient troops to occupy it.
The village of Mourmelon le Petit and the railway
station border the camp to the west, on its right
flank. The extreme right of the line, leaning on a
windmill, is formed by the Ist brigade of the Ist
division of infantry, commanded, by General Comte
de Lorencey. This brigade consists of the 9th Chas-
seurs-li-pied, and the Bth and 30th of the Line. The
second brigade, 41st and Gist Regiments of the line,
is behind, on the opposite side of the river, as a
guard to artillery train, &c: It is commando(' by
Gen. Mongin. Leaning on the 30th come the four
regiments of Lancers, commanded by Gen. Roche-
fort, and behind them the division of Cuirassiers,
the last of whom arrived yesterday from Lune-
ville. All these troops are `under • canvass—
not the tent d'abri, 'but the nival square tents,
and a new description of circular tents with an inge-
nious apparatus for ventilation. A ring about seven
inches in diameter forms the:top, and is linked to a
circular piece of wood about a third more in dia-
meter, which reposes on the top of the pole support-
ing the tent, but leaving a smaller or larger opening,
by which the foul air can escape. Whoever has
been in warm weather in a tent will appreciate this
contrivance. Another improvement in these tents
is their greater width in comparison with their
height, which enables them far better to resist gusts
of wind. The Roman road coming from the point
where head-quarters are intersects this part of the
line, besides which the road from Mourmelon le
Petit to Mourmelon le Grand runs behind it along
the left bank of the stream.

The centre, with the exception of the 98th, which
is housed in four " quartiers" of huts, is composed
of the 10th Chasseurs, 82d, 83d (Ist Brigade), and
the 89th 98th of the Line (2d Brigade). The divi-
sioneo is commanded by General Mollard, a Savoyard,
who commanded
an
themni war,ded and a
the
u 3
edh
dSardinianireeted i division
i v is ion
during great
measure the attack on San Martino. The generals
of brigade are De Bonnet-Maurehlau-Pelhes and
De Laveaucoupt. The road from Chalons goes
right through this part of the camp to the village
of Mourmelon le Grand, which lies behind. The 3d
Division, commanded by Gen. Verge (in the war of
Italy commanding the Ist brigade of the Ist divi-
sion 3d corps d'arnzec), is composed of the 18th
Battalion Chasseurs-a-pied, 72d and 75th of the
Line (Ist Brigade-General Neigre), and the 99th
and 103 d (Savoyard), forming the 2d Brigade, under
Gen. Guerin. The 3,1 Division is, like the first, under
canvass.
The huts are constructed of wooden frames filled
out with brickwork, designated first with letters to
indicate the quarters and then with numbers so as
to point out the hut. Each quartier, consisting of
double rows of huts and intended more or less for a
regiment, is separated by a broad road bordered by
embryo poplar trees. Behind each quartier lie offi-
cers' quarters. Each hut is partitioned off into two,
about one-fourth for the non-commissioned officers
and the rest for the men. In one word, it is a bar-