Volunteer reviews of 1803--Review in honour of the Allied
Sovereigns, 1814--Popularity of Blücher--Review by the Queen in
1838--Volunteer review, 1860.
As far as I can learn, there were no more grand Volunteer reviews in
Hyde Park, until 26th Oct., 1803, and this, I think, is borne out by the
“gush” of the _Annual Register_ on the occasion, which would hardly have
occurred had they been frequent. “This was a truly proud day for the
country. It presented the sublime spectacle of a patriot Monarch, who
reigns no less distinguished in the hearts of his people than on his
throne, meeting the brave citizens of his metropolis, armed in defence
of his crown and of the British Constitution; and, with the
characteristic virtue of the sons of Albion, resolved to continue free,
or gloriously to fall with the liberty and independence of their
country. Such a spectacle is worthy of such a people: such a people are
deserving of the superior blessings they possess.”
The Volunteers mustered 12,401, and they were reviewed by the King. With
the exception of the Prince of Wales, all the Royal Princes were
present, the Duke of Clarence “in the uniform of the Teddington
Association.” The Queen was present, as were also the Princesses, and
the royal party was joined by the refugee French Princes, Monsieur
(afterwards Louis XVIII.) being dressed in green with red facings, the
Prince de Condé, in white, faced with blue; the Duc de Bourbon in white,
faced with red; and the Duc de Berri in green. There were no accidents,
although there were some 200,000 spectators; “every person who could
come from within a circle of twenty miles being collected. Many came to
town from a distance of above a hundred miles to be present at the
sight.”
“The _éclat_ with which the grand review of the London district of
volunteers went off on Wednesday, excited a laudable ambition in the
breasts of the Westminster, Lambeth and Southwark corps, to surpass, if
possible, their brethren in arms, in discipline, in zeal, and military
appearance.” They mustered 14,676 men, but the total Volunteer force in
the vicinity of the metropolis was then reckoned at 46,000. The morning
of 28th October opened very dispiritingly, even worse than on the 26th.
“The fog, however, not content with equalling that of Wednesday,
increased to such a degree, that, at half past seven, not a single
object could be seen in the park, and several Corps would have passed by
Oxford Street Gate, had they not been stopped there by a party of Life
Guards stationed there to guard the entrance. The eager expectation
which ushered in the morning now changed to fearful anxiety. It was too
dark to observe the expression of the countenance; but everybody, in
tones of despondency, began to express their apprehensions that all the
beauty of the military spectacle would be lost, and that a glimpse of
the troops could not be obtained, much less a full view of them, and
the embellishments of the scene. The houses, scaffolds, carts, caravans,
and carriages of all descriptions, drawn up for the accommodation of
spectators along the Bayswater Road, instantly began to drop their
prices; and would have fallen still lower, had not the fog fortunately
begun to clear away about half past eight, when the business of the day
again assumed a cheerful aspect, and the spectators eagerly assembled in
amazing crowds, and to a still greater extent than on Wednesday.”
The King, Queen, and all the Royal family were present, but on this
occasion there were no foreign visitors.
Although there were perpetual drills and inspections in Hyde Park, there
does not seem to have been a grand review until the one which took place
in honour, and in the presence of the Allied Sovereigns, the Emperor of
Russia, and the King of Prussia, who were then on a visit to the Prince
Regent, and it took place on Sunday, June 20, 1814. The following is
_The Times_ account of it.
“Yesterday, at an early hour, all the regular troops, together with most
of the Volunteer Corps in the metropolis and its vicinity, were in
motion to proceed to Hyde Park, for the purpose of being reviewed by the
Prince Regent, and his Imperial and Royal visitants. Immense crowds of
people, of all ranks, were at the same time seen flocking thither in
every direction; and, in consequence of an excellent regulation, by
which all carriages, except those of the Royal family, and all horsemen,
except military officers, were prohibited from entering the Park, these
spacious grounds afforded ample room and accommodation for the
multitudes of spectators.
“By half past eight o’clock, all the different troops of the line,
together with the corps of Yeomanry and Volunteers, had taken up the
positions assigned to them. The line, which partly ran parallel with the
wall of Kensington Gardens, extended from Buckden Hill to the Piccadilly
gate of Hyde Park; a brigade of horse artillery formed the extreme right
of the whole; next to them were drawn up successively in line, several
regiments of Dragoons, the Royal Horse Guards, the Blues, the Queen’s
Bays, and the Scots Greys; next followed two regiments of Light Horse,
we believe the 9th and 13th; the Surrey Yeomanry, with the London Light
Horse, and several other minor corps, completed the whole of the
cavalry.
“The different battalions of the three regiments of Guards not at
present employed on foreign service, headed the line of infantry. We did
not observe any other regiment of regular troops, and the rest of the
ground was occupied by battalions of Volunteers. They comprised most of
the Volunteer Corps still existing in the metropolis; and though, in
general, they did not muster very strong, yet, even in point of numbers,
their appearance was respectable. These troops are not again likely to
meet under arms for some time to come, and the close of their patriotic
military career well merited the distinguished honour of this day’s
review, by three of the most powerful Sovereigns in Europe.
“About ten o’clock, the Duke of York, accompanied by a numerous staff,
rode down the line. Soon after, the firing of a gun announced that the
Royal personages had entered the Park. They were preceded by a
detachment of the 10th Hussars: the Prince Regent had, on his left, the
Emperor of Russia, and on his right, the King of Prussia. The _cortège_
of the sovereigns was extremely numerous, and of the most brilliant
description, comprising all the distinguished military characters at
present in London. Among others, Marshal Blücher, Prince Platoff, Lords
Hill and Beresford were recognized and cheered by the spectators. The
effect of the whole was impressive, from the richness and variety of the
uniforms; but, above all, from that singular combination of august and
powerful Sovereigns, and of men who had conferred the greatest benefits
on Europe by their military talents.
“The Royal party, commencing with the extreme right, rode along the
whole of the line, and were received with presented arms, by the
different corps. They then took their stations near the centre of the
Park, when a _feu-de-joie_, in three successive rounds, was fired from
right to left. The effect of this continuous fire was exceedingly fine,
from the rapidity and precision with which it was executed. The
different corps then defiled by companies in front of the Royal
personages, and in this order marched off the ground, which concluded
the business of the review. We cannot, accurately, estimate the number
of troops on the ground; but, from the time occupied in their marching
in review, we should suppose that they must have amounted to 15,000. The
Dragoons, in particular, were
[Illustration: POPULARITY OF BLÜCHER, 1814.
Page 157.
]
admirable for their equipments and martial appearance. The day, though
lowering at times, and rather cool, was, upon the whole, extremely
favourable to the spectacle. We did not hear of any serious accident
happening; though some of the lower orders, who perversely mounted on
the trees in the Park, met with some falls by the breaking down of the
branches. We were sorry to observe that some of the younger plantations
were injured by the mob climbing upon trees insufficient to sustain
their weight. It was a pity this wanton mischief had not been
prevented.”
One person, at all events, who was present, must have carried away with
him, when he left England, a curious recollection of Hyde Park; for as
old “Vorwärts,” as Marshal Blücher was familiarly termed, (used, as he
must have been to being mobbed whenever he appeared in public,) was
walking one day in Hyde Park, it is said that the crowd went so far as
to investigate his person, and that the veteran was fain to put his back
against a tree for protection; a scene thus humorously caricatured.
There were no reviews of particular importance in Hyde Park until we
come to the present reign--when the Queen, soon after her Coronation,
reviewed a small but select body, about 5000, of artillery, cavalry, and
infantry, for the delectation of her foreign guests.
The following account is condensed from _The Times_ of July 10, 1838:--
“It was at one time proposed to hold a review of a much larger number on
Wormwood Scrubs, but considerations of expense interfered, and it was
settled that a smaller number of picked troops should be reviewed, as we
could not vie with the vast assemblages of troops which were sometimes
called together at Töplitz and elsewhere on the Continent. But the
foreign critics were loud in their praises of the appearance of all the
troops they saw, as regarded their perfect order and discipline, and the
admirable way in which the manœuvres and evolutions were executed,
and declared that they would have borne advantageous comparison, in
their different branches, with any troops in the world--but perhaps,
this was only their natural politeness.
“The Duke of Wellington, Lord Hill (Commander of the Forces), Lord
Combermere, with a host of distinguished officers, received the Special
Ambassadors from foreign States, the Duc de Nemours, Marshal Soult (Duc
de Dalmatie) and others--whilst the Duke of Cambridge (the Queen’s
uncle) arrived with a crowd of Continental Princes. The Queen took up
her position on the ground at twenty-five minutes to twelve; and, after
the Staff and noble and illustrious foreigners had paid their respects
to her, she proceeded in her carriage down the lines, each body of
troops presenting arms as she passed, and the bands striking up the
National Anthem.
“Then, returning to the flag, the troops marched past in slow time--went
through some evolutions, burnt a great quantity of powder; and, finally,
both lines advanced in parade order, headed by the Marquis of Anglesey,
and saluted her Majesty, who then retired. The Duke of Wellington and
Marshal Soult were vociferously cheered, and, as for the latter, many
persons not only cheered him as he moved on, but came beside his horse,
and grasped the veteran cordially by the hand, a freedom with which he
seemed rather pleased. During the review one of his stirrup leathers
broke and it was afterwards found that it was one of a pair much used by
Napoleon in his campaigns, and which had been furnished to the Marshal
by Messrs. Laurie and Marner, the saddlers.”
The next great review held in the Park takes a long stride in point of
time, and took place on 23rd June, 1860, when the Queen reviewed some
18,450 Volunteers. These had been called into existence by a circular
letter from General Jonathan Peel on 12th May, 1859, and the movement
became so popular, that about a year afterwards sufficient were enrolled
to enable this review to be held, and the result fully bore out the
wisdom of the experiment.
The following account is extracted from _The Times_ of June 25th,
1860:--
“The galloping about of the Staff was equal to a series of races, the
object of the running being an utter mystery to the uninitiated.
Something dreadful always appears to be happening at the end of the line
where the Staff is not, and away the group of uniforms tear to rectify
it; it is important perhaps, but to the public inexplicable. Everybody
felt grateful for the amusement furnished by a trumpeter of the Life
Guards, in the heavily laced coat and jockey cap, which favoured the
racing theory. He was attached to the Duke of Cambridge, and
occasionally blew a screech on his trumpet--a most wretched and
unwarlike sound, though it was, we believe, a signal of some kind;
certainly, it was a signal for laughter whenever it was heard. Another
source of amusement was the rather Lucretian and selfish enjoyment of
the perplexities of the dense crowd of officers and military personages
of various grades, in the railed space below the galleries. Ten feet
more of ground might have been given, and the want of it caused
confusion. The pressure at last was too great, and there was a rush
under the rail into the open. The police could then do nothing against
the plumes and epaulets. The disorder gave the Staff two or three
gallops to the spot. The Commander-in-Chief himself remonstrated, but
the disorder, which was not very serious after all, could not be
retrieved. The ground gained was kept; but, as a compromise, the front
ranks were directed to sit down, which they did, and Policeman 209 was
released from his responsibility. There was much speculation as to some
of the most gorgeous uniforms in this military miscellany which were
quite new to English eyes. Very wild guesses were made, but opinion
settled down on East Indian Horse Artillery and Cavalry, regular and
irregular. A magnificent Lord Lieutenant, whose place was near the
Queen, but who had lost his pass ticket, was sternly refused ingress,
and remained in the crowd undistinguished.
“At 4 o’clock, the first gun of the Royal salute apprised all that her
Majesty was entering the Park. A succession of cheers from the extreme
left announced it also. A detachment of Life Guards headed the
procession, which passed from left to right along the front of the
galleries. Her Majesty was in an open carriage, with the King of the
Belgians, the Princess Alice, and Prince Arthur. His Royal Highness
Prince Albert, in uniform, rode by the side of the carriage, near which
also were the Prince of Wales, and Prince Jules of Holstein-Glucksburg.
Aides de Camp, Equerries, the Adjutant-General, and other high military
officials preceded the carriage. It was immediately followed by the
venerable Lord Combermere, who was old in service before most of the
soldiers on the ground were born, for he counts 70 years, not of age,
but of service. His horse was led, and every attention was paid to the
veteran warrior. He wore the Order of the Bath, and the uniform of his
regiment, the Life Guards. In the two other carriages were the Princess
Louise, the Princess Mary of Cambridge and the Grand Duchess of
Mecklenburg Strelitz. In the line of procession followed the Lords
Lieutenant of the counties to which the several corps of Volunteers
belong.
“The _cortège_ passed nearly to the extreme left of the line of
Volunteers, then turned and proceeded slowly along the front of the
extreme right, and, turning again, drew up on the open ground in front
of the Royal Standard. The three bands of the Household Brigade were
stationed opposite the Royal carriages; through the intervening space
the Volunteer companies marched, those on the right of the line of
columns coming up first. It was half-past four when the 1st
Huntingdonshire Mounted Rifles passed her Majesty; and, at a few minutes
to six o’clock the 25th Cheshire closed the review, which lasted without
intermission for quite an hour and a half.
“Her Majesty left the ground at six o’clock, in the same order as she
arrived, but some time elapsed before the public could get clear of the
enclosures. The difficulty of getting a large body of troops out of the
Park has almost become a military axiom, but the difficulty is not
insuperable. The Volunteer officers solved the problem without
confusion, except a little crushing at the gates; but the crushing was
more among the spectators than the troops.”
[Illustration]
[Illustration: decorative bar]