The Sun.
London, England, 1868-04-14 00:00:00

THE SHIII FIGHT.

The mimic battle was fought with wonderful precision
as to time and distance from beginning to end. Shortly
before two the fight began. The enemy—that is, the
attacking party—had massed their divisions strongly on
the hill, where their artillery of position was stationed on
the summit of the ridge. The forts were harmless for
offensive purposes, for they were conceded as captured, and
their guns were all turned the other way. The struggle
began by the advance of a powerful body of skirmishers in
line against Hi!sea, who were too strong for the garrison
outposts, which, after holding some thickets and hedges to
give time for their supports within the lines to assemble
to their aid, were at last driven back a short distance.
This, however, was the only triumph of the poor enemy
throughout the day, and it was of the very briefest Jura.
tion. After the first alarm had spread, the whole lines of
Ililsea bristled with thousands of troops. Up and down,
far and near, the line of fire spread, and soon from out of
quiet nooks and little shady clumps of trees, where no one
dreamt that guns lay lurking, the artillery began to
roar. As it did so, the attacking force replied in turn,
and the guns became more and more vehement as the
rifles ceased. For some time it seemed, in spite of
all programme, as if the assailants would have the best
of it, for their guns dominated every part of the lines, and
their fire was quick and sustained, not only from all the
ridges, but from the park-like clumps of trees which hem
in the pretty little village of Wymering. But now a new
thlroillcr came upon the scene, and from the sea came the
danger of the assailant,;. Up the narrow creek, over which
the tide was now at its full, came the Stork and Fancy
gunboats, towing the large launches and cutters of the
Terrible, Gladiator, Victory, Duke of Wellington, Royal
Oak. and Pallas, each carrying a rifled gun at the bows,
and each with wall-armed crews. The fiz-e which they
instantly poured into the right wing of the enemy at
once deciilCl matters. A rather hasty retreat, therefore,

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'0 sooner had they made this mlvernent than
the garrlsou made a general sortie, and commenced en
attack with vigour which drove all before it, They
literally swarmed from all the works of the lines, and
almost as instantly as they reached the open the skir-
mishers were thrown out, reserves placed; and a rapid
advance made against the enemy. It was almost won•
derful to see the rapidity with which the force poured
forth, find the ease and precision with which they formed
up their ranks, even while advancing. At one part
of the Liles the bridges were not sufficient to eve eases

to the forces in the manner which the emergency
demanded, so a pontoon bridge was formed across the
creek. It would scarcely be credited, but this bridge was
constructed and fit for the passage of infantry within ten
minutes from the time of its commencement, and within
fourteen minutes after artillery passed over it. The
sortie from all parts of the garrison now became general,
and in such masses that the enemy were borne down and
had nothing left them but to recall their skirmishers
and supports, and, leaving a thin line in thickets and
hedgerows to annoy the 'advance, concentrate their
strength in the villages of Cosham and Wymering.
The taking of these villages was one of the most
animated parts of the whole day's programme. For the
first time the volunteers fought in the streets and amid
the houses. Every foot of ground was contended for in
alleys, houses, and stables, and the scene as, with all the
village windows crowded, the enemy was driven from
point to point was most exciting. In its hurry and rush
and storm of noise it seemed as pure a battle as was ever
fought, but without its carnage. At the end of the village
~f Cosham the enemy made a fierce stand, and for a time
held the upper part of the little hamlet, but they had lost
enough ground then to give their assailants room to deploy,
and column after column opened out against them.
The artillery got into positions commanding every spot in
the village, while between Wymering and Cosham the skir-
mishers and reserves were pushed forward so as to completely
divide the two positions,' and get in the rear of the latter.
There was no help for it then but a hurried retreat, and
the instant Cosham was lost the main London road was
lost with it. Up to this, sheltered by the village, great
columns of the now assailants were hurried to turn the
right flank of the enemy. The style in which the volun-
teers responded to this call of a rush to the front was most
creditable. Though they might well have been considered
as tired out by what they had already gone through, and
though the heat was great and the dust stifling, still they
came in great masses along the London road at the rate
of more than six miles an hour. Wymering was occu-
pied. with less resistance, for, with the rising tide, the
gunboats had come so close as to drive the enemy from
every part of it ; besides the loss of Cosham at once neces-
sitated a retreat from Wymering, and not only that, but a
change of front along the Portsdown hills to meet the
attacking force, which, by the possession of the London-
road, had quite turned their left flank, as their right had
been turned by the fleet at Wymering. The volunteers
did this admirably. The sight was now, as a mimic battle-
field, one of surpassing beauty. The enemy were ranged
in masses of lines between Forts Wilder and Southwick.
The light wind kept the smoke away and broke the
clouds of dust which marked the rush of infantry and
artillery from every point. Gun after gin as it got
into position began its roar, and the lines of infantry, now
deployed in front of each other, maintained a file fire that
was absolutely deafening. For a long time the enemy,
though always going back and losing ground yard by yard,
maintained a desperate defence, and the uproar of cannon
and rifles was terrific. In the midst of this great din
and clouds of smoke, and rush of guns and troops,
the 97th and 35th Regiments of the Line, with a
powerful force of RA-al Marine Artillery, were brought
quickly up the road on the enemy's right, and the
latter force, advancing in splendid order, came into
action against the flank of the eaemy with their breech-
loaders. It would be impossible to give an adequate
idea of the effect of this fire for rapidity. It seemed
an incessant volley, and the general impression was that
troops armed with the muzzle-loader would have no more
chance against breech-loaders than if they were armed
with bows and arrows. Under this fusilacle, which
struck with astonishment all who heard it, the enemy
were supposed to wither away, and it being then a
quarter to four, the time agreed upon, the bugles were or-
dered to sound " Cease firing," and the greatest and
the most successful review the volunteers have ever had
was brought to a close. The dispersal of the
various brigades and corps and their breaking up
to march off from all parts of the ground to their various
rendezvous were almost as brilliant sights as any afforded
by the varied manoeuvres of the day.

It is gratifying to be able to state that the casualties
were very few indeed. One man had his hand injured by
a cartridge, another his hand injured by a ramrod. There
were two medical cases—one of palpitation of the heart,
and the other of exhaustion. Twenty trains had been
kept ready at the station to bring the volunteers back
from Portsmouth. The first of these trains left at 5.35
1.m., and the last got away by a quarter-past seven.