hospitals in the Crimea, and it is with satisfaction that portions of
two paragraphs of the report are recorded here.
“The best example of a marquee hospital was that belonging to the
Guards, after they went to the front in June 1855.... Among the best
examples of a winter camp which came under the notice of the
Commission during the winter of 1855, was that of the Brigade of
Guards on the plateau, in laying out of which great care and
intelligence had evidently been bestowed. There was plenty of space
for allowing the air to circulate; the arrangement of the huts was
good, the ground was well trenched and drained, and many of the huts
were raised on stone foundations.”[357]
-----
Footnote 357:
Wyatt, 92, 93.
-----
Shortly before the conclusion of the peace an event of great interest to
our allies took place (March 16, 1856)—the birth of a son to the French
Emperor, an heir destined, it was confidently hoped, to preserve the
Napoleonic dynasty, and to hand down to posterity the glory of the great
founder of the Imperial House. Rejoicings were unstinted in Paris and in
London; and in the former place, where the peace Conference was sitting,
the representatives of all the Powers, not excluding Russia, added their
congratulations to the happy Emperor. Nor was the auspicious occasion
forgotten in the Crimea, where it was celebrated by a ball on the 1st of
April.[358] And yet how fickle is Fortune, and how she decided against
this unfortunate prince! He did not ascend the French throne, and was
but fourteen years of age when he was condemned to fly from his native
land, never to return to it. Napoleon III., overwhelmed by the united
might of Germany, was driven from his capital in 1870, and a few years
later he ended his days an exile in England. Living in our midst, his
son, the Prince Imperial, served in the British army, and lost his life,
when only twenty-three years of age, in a small skirmish in South
Africa; and thus he died before any new phase among his unstable
countrymen could recall him in the character of a pretender to the
French Imperial crown. _Sic transit gloria mundi._
-----
Footnote 358:
“A ball will be given to-morrow, in honour of the birth of the
Imperial Prince, by the Officers of the 1st Division of the Corps of
Reserve French army, in their camp on the Woronzoff road, near the
Sardinian army, to which all the English ladies and the Officers of
the English army are invited. Officers attending the ball will appear
in full dress uniform, but without swords and spurs” (_Head-Quarter
Memo._ , March 31, 1856).
-----
The interval between the conclusion of hostilities and the departure
from the Crimea was eagerly seized by many to visit their late enemy and
the places of interest to be found in the peninsula. A few extracts from
the diary of Colonel Tower will perhaps give a fair example of these
experiences.
“_April 8th._—Rode to Mackenzie Farm to visit the Russian camp; the
Russian Officers were extremely civil, and showed us all round their
camp. The men lived in excavations in the ground, like cellars, two or
three steps down, with a roof of branches or anything to make it
waterproof; fusty little holes, and the usual Russian soldier’s smell.
This is very peculiar, the tan of the leather is the chief ingredient,
and the sour smell of the black bread is another powerful ingredient.
They are decidedly unclean in their persons, and never appear without
their long brown coats and high boots.... They seem to be always
fetching water in their tins. The Officers seemed as pleased as we
were that the war was over, and regaled us with whatever liquor they
had, generally champagne.
”_April 13th._—We all went in a body to the Mackenzie heights [_i.e._
with Sir W. Codrington and his Staff], and were received by Luders
[the Russian General then in command] and his Staff. A capital
luncheon with every sort of delicacy was prepared for us, Pélissier
and his Staff also being there. About 10,000 Ruskis passed us in
review, as they were being sent away northwards. It was very
interesting, as we saw specimens of almost every branch of the Russian
service.... A great many Officers of the Guards who had volunteered
for service in the Crimea, marched past with the regiments to which
they were attached; also cavalry Officers with their sabres and spurs
in the infantry. They point their toes as they march past, like the
Prussians.
“_April 17th._—Luders returned Codrington’s and Pélissier’s visit, and
came down to have an exhibition of the English and French armies. We
were in line of contiguous columns, nearly 30,000 strong and 86 guns
(no cavalry), all in the most perfect order; I never saw anything so
well as our troops looked. The men had their best clothing on;
regiments all made up to their full strength; artillery with new
harness, horses in first-rate condition. I saw one of the Russian
Generals separate himself from the Staff, and ride down between the
Grenadiers and our Battalion, to see the size of the men and depth of
the column; he kept muttering exclamations of surprise and admiration,
and well he might. I think 30,000 puts it under the mark. The French
were in line with big intervals between their regiments, which made a
line extending almost to Kamiesh, and it must have been very tiring
riding all along such a line, but I suppose they thought it would make
them appear stronger. It would have looked much better if they had
also been in contiguous columns.
”_April 25th._—Rode with General Craufurd [Commanding Guards Brigade]
and Percy Feilding to the Alma; we got there easily in the mid-day,
and spent all the afternoon stepping the distance from the river to
the epaulment, clambering up where the French ascended the steep bank,
looking for Horace Cust’s grave. We found the field of battle exactly
as we left it, not a spade was put into the ground in the valley, not
a vine cultivated or a house rebuilt. It had quite the appearance of a
‘Field of blood.’
“Next day, off at daybreak to Bakshiserai—a good big town, full of
soldiers and Officers who were quartered there. We went by appointment
to our friend Trubetskoi, who had a very good house and put us up
famously; he introduced us to a set of Ruski Officers, who were the
most rollicking and debauched set I ever came across. They had a
tremendous orgie in our honour, drinking, singing, etc.; they mix
every liquor they can get together.... Percy and I rode back to our
camp that evening (the 27th), after taking leave of Trubetskoi, who
really did all he could to make our expedition pleasant.”
So the days passed on, varied, besides duty, by _fêtes_ of pleasure,
excursions, cricket matches, and races, until the embarkation took
place, and the Battalion returned to England. But, prior to this event,
a solemn duty was performed, and a resting-place for the dead was
prepared, where the remains of those who had fallen in the war might be
laid. A site selected on Cathcart’s Hill was enclosed, and a portion of
it was devoted as a burial place for the Brigade. A number of masons
from the Guards were employed, early in April, to build a suitable wall,
and fatigue parties were furnished to finish the work. The bodies of
most of the Officers and others, killed at Inkerman and elsewhere in the
vicinity, were exhumed, and reverently interred in the new cemetery. The
masses of the dead, however, could not then be removed there, so,
instead, the places where they lay were carefully fenced in. But this
arrangement did not last, because the enclosures became dilapidated
through time, and the graves were liable to be desecrated. A few years
ago this was remedied, and the bones of the departed, together with the
monuments erected by the care of their comrades, were taken to
Cathcart’s Hill, and are there preserved in perpetuity within the
cemetery which had been first laid out in the spring of 1856.
The welcome news that the Battalion was to be sent back home, published
on the 3rd of June, was preceded by a Divisional Order of Lieut.-General
Lord Rokeby, commanding the First Division, dated the 2nd:—
“As the embarkation of the various regiments will shortly cause the
dissolution of the First Division, Lieut.-General Lord Rokeby wishes
to permit himself the pleasure of expressing the grateful thanks he
entertains of the support he has received from all ranks during the
period he has had the honour of being in command. Every one has at all
times endeavoured to meet his wishes, and the Lieut.-General
confidently believes that the record of the army will afford proof of
the good results which have emanated from the cheerful spirit of
obedience which has characterized the conduct of the noble regiments
and corps of which it was formed. The state of the hospitals and the
general health of the regiments, under God’s blessing, speaks for and
forms the best reward of the Divisional and Regimental Medical Staff,
and the Lieut.-General requests Dr. Williams, and all junior to him in
that Department, to accept their full share of the thanks he presumes
to offer to all ranks, and the wishes he forms for their prosperity
and happiness.”
On the 4th of June, the Battalion embarked at Kamiesh Bay, and sailed
from the Crimea in H.M.S. _Agamemnon_, arriving at Spithead on the 28th,
whence they were sent by train to Aldershot camp. They had been absent
on foreign service for 2 years and 126 days (856 days), which time was
passed in the following places: Malta, 48 days; Scutari, 45 days;
Bulgaria, 75 days; Crimea, 627 days; and at sea 61 days.
The strength on embarkation from England (February, 1854) had been 35
Officers and 919 Non-commissioned officers and men, and during the
period of duty in the East, reinforcements amounting to 1141 men were
sent out in six drafts, making a total of 2060 men who served in the
war. The number of primary admissions from all causes into the
Regimental and general hospitals was 3101, of which 2785 were from
disease, 243 from wounds, and 73 from accidental injuries. Death reduced
the Battalion by 699 men, of whom 81 were killed in action, 54 died from
wounds, and 564 from disease: 65 men were invalided home by wounds, and
187 by disease; and 111 men were finally discharged the army on account
of disabilities contracted during active service—59 from the effects of
wounds, and 52 from those of disease.[359] Total loss of
Non-commissioned officers and men, 810. Ninety-one Coldstream Officers
were employed in the Russian war.[360] Of these, nine were killed in
action, viz. Lieut.-Colonels Hon. T. Vesey Dawson and J. C. Cowell,
Captains L. D. Mac-Kinnon, H. M. Bouverie, Hon. G. Eliot, Horace Cust,
and F. Ramsden, and Lieutenants E. A. Disbrowe and C. H. Greville; one
died of wounds, viz. Captain Hon. R. Drummond; three died of disease,
viz. Lieut.-Colonel Hon. R. Boyle, Colonel Trevelyan, and Captain Hylton
Jolliffe: total loss of Officers, thirteen. Seven were wounded, viz.
Major-General Sir H. Bentinck, Colonel Hon. G. Upton, Lieut.-Colonels J.
Halkett, Lord C. FitzRoy, Hon. P. Feilding, and C. Baring, and Captain
Hon. W. Amherst. Seventeen were invalided on account of illness, of whom
seven were unable to return to the Crimea. Several were obliged to leave
the seat of war on promotion, and altogether twenty-two seem to have
done duty at least twice before Sevastopol.
-----
Footnote 359:
Wyatt, 97; see Appendix No. XII. 3.
Footnote 360:
Five more were transferred to the Regiment (during the war); after
they had left the Crimea, viz. Majors Hon. W. Boyle, Conolly, V.C.,
and Maxse (the two last wounded), Captain Hedworth Jolliffe, and
Lieutenant W. Stirling. The latter fought against the Russians in the
Navy, as did also Lieutenant W. F. Seymour (who, however, joined the
Coldstream in the Crimea). Naval-Cadet J. B. Sterling, moreover,
served in the war, but he was not gazetted to the Regiment till 1861.
-----
The Crimean Guards Brigade, concentrated at Aldershot, remained there a
few days, and during that time the Battalion was inspected by the
Colonel of the Regiment, Field-Marshal Earl of Strafford, whose
presence, as a Coldstream Officer, formed a connecting link between the
glories of Waterloo and those achieved in the Russian war.
On the 8th July, Her Majesty the Queen appeared at the camp, and was
received by the troops quartered there who had lately come back from the
East. After the march past, a representative body of Officers and men,
who had been under fire, from each regiment, was formed up in a hollow
square round Her Majesty’s carriage, to listen to the gracious address
of welcome pronounced by the Queen herself to her brave men just
returned from an arduous and protracted war. The address was thus
published in Orders:—
Officers, Non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, I wish personally
to convey through you, to the regiments assembled here this day, my
hearty welcome on their return to England in health and full
efficiency. Say to them, that I have watched anxiously over the
difficulties and hardships which they have so nobly borne, that I have
mourned with deep sorrow for the brave men who have fallen for their
country, and that I have felt proud of that valour which with their
gallant allies they have displayed on every field. I thank God that
your dangers are over, whilst the glory of your deeds remains. But I
know that, should your services be again required, you will be
animated by the same devotion which in the Crimea has rendered you
invincible.
Colonel Tower, who was present upon this interesting occasion, throws
light upon it by recording in his diary that Her Majesty “made us a
capital speech, full of gratitude and good feeling, and got quite
eloquent; at last she quite broke down, and burst into tears when she
talked of the poor fellows that were not there to receive her thanks.”
He adds, “If she had seen us in the trenches in July, 1855, or in
Bulgaria in July, 1854, she would not have recognized her Brigade; we
were now [July, 1856] all so nice and smart.”
Next day the Crimean Battalions of the Brigade, 3200 strong, left
Aldershot to make their public entry into London. Parading at 5.30 in
the morning, they were conveyed to Nine Elms Station by train, where the
three bands met them. The day was observed as a general holiday; the
route taken was densely thronged by an enthusiastic crowd; the houses
were decorated with flags; and the church bells rang out a joyous peal
of welcome. On passing the Horse Guards, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge
met the column, and as soon as the men perceived their former Commander,
who had been with them at the hard-fought battle of Inkerman, “their
stern gravity gave way, and they honoured him with the heartiest
cheers.” As they defiled through Buckingham Palace, the Queen,
accompanied by the Royal children, by her mother the Duchess of Kent,
her uncle the King of the Belgians, and by other illustrious persons,
came to the balcony to greet her gallant troops with her gracious
presence. Arrived in Hyde Park, they found the other four Guards
Battalions, with the Colonels at the head of their respective Regiments,
formed up in a line of quarter columns, facing Park Lane, with
sufficient interval between them to receive the Crimean Battalions in
their proper places on parade; and while the latter marched into their
positions under the orders of Generals Lord Rokeby and Craufurd, their
comrades presented arms. The three Regiments, now complete, were then
handed over to their respective Colonels, to H.R.H. the Prince Consort,
Field-Marshal Earl of Strafford (seated in a carriage, because he was
too infirm to head his Regiment on horseback), and H.R.H. the Duke of
Cambridge. The Prince Consort having proceeded to join Her Majesty, the
Duke of Cambridge assumed command of the whole. On the arrival of the
Queen the bands played the national anthem, and the seven Battalions
marched past Her Majesty, to the air, “See, the Conquering Hero comes.”
The Brigade then advanced in Review order to the flagstaff; another
Royal salute was given; and the pageant came to an end.
On the same day the following Brigade Order was issued:—
“H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge has received Her Majesty’s Command,
through the Adjutant-General, to express to the Brigade of Guards Her
Majesty’s entire satisfaction and approval of the appearance of the
Brigade this day in the Park, which he requests the Commanding
Officers of Regiments to make known to the several Battalions under
their command.”
After the review, a complete change of quarters took place in the
Brigade: The 1st Grenadiers proceeded to Aldershot, 2nd Grenadiers to
Dublin (which was again occupied by the Household troops), 3rd
Grenadiers to Wellington barracks, Buckingham Palace, the Magazine, and
Kensington; 1st Coldstream to the Tower and St. John’s Wood, 2nd
Coldstream to Windsor; 1st Scots Fusilier Guards to Portman Street and
St. George’s barracks, 2nd Scots Fusilier Guards to Aldershot. A few
days later the Battalions of the Regiment were equalized, in that each
was formed of ten companies, instead of twelve and eight, as had been
the case during the war; two companies belonging to the 2nd Battalion
were therefore transferred to the 1st, and the Officers were posted as
follows:—
_Colonel._—Field-Marshal the Earl of Strafford, G.C.B., G.C.H.
_Lieut.-Colonel._—Colonel Hon. G. Upton, C.B.
1st Battalion. 2nd Battalion.
_Majors._—Colonel Gordon Drummond. Colonel Lord F. Paulet.
_Captains._—Colonels W. S. Newton; Colonels S. Perceval; W. Mark Wood
T. M. Steele, C.B. (_Mounted_). (_Mounted_).
Lieut.-Colonels C. L. Cocks; Lieut.-Colonels J. Halkett; C.
D. Carleton; A. St. G. W. Strong; Lord Burghersh, C.B.;
Herbert-Stepney, C.B.; J. Airey, Hon. A. Hardinge; Hon. P.
C.B.; C. S. Burdett; F. W. Feilding; W. Reeve; C. Baring;
Newdigate; Lord Dunkellin; W. G. Hon. H. Byng.
Dawkins.
_Lieutenants._—Majors J. H. Le Captains A. Fremantle (Adjutant); J.
Couteur; H. Armytage; A. Caulfeild; Majors Hon. W. Boyle;
Thellusson; P. S. Crawley; Sir J. J. Conolly; H. Maxse; Captains
Dunlop; G. L. Goodlake; Lord Hon. W. Amherst; C. Greenhill; H.
Bingham; Captains H. Tower; Hon. C. Jervoise; St. V. Whitshed; Hon.
W. Wellesley; Hon. W. Feilding; H. Campbell; Julian Hall; G.
Major M. Heneage; Captains Lord E. Wigram; A. Lambton; G. Rose.
Cecil; C. Blackett; G. FitzRoy;
Hon. R. Monck (Adjt.).
_Ensigns._—Lieutenants Sir W. Lieutenants E. S. Burnell; W.
Forbes, Bart.; Hon. W. Edwardes; Stirling; F. Seymour; R. Thursby;
H. J. Lane; A. Adair; W. F. N. Burnand; F. Buller; W. Wynne;
Seymour; S. T. Mainwaring; Hon. E. Reeve; H. Bonham-Carter; H.
E. Legge; Hon. W. Ogilvy; G. Fortescue.
Cameron.
_Quartermaster._—A. Falconer. A. Hurle.
_Surgeon-Major._—J. Munro, M.D.
_Battalion-Surgeon._—J. Skelton,
M.D.
_Assistant-Surgeons._—J. Wyatt; T. C. V. Cay; J. W. Trotter.
Rogers; F. Bowen, M.D.
_Solicitor._—W. G. Carter, Esq.[361]
-----
Footnote 361:
The difference made in the Regiment by the war will be seen by
comparing the above with the following, giving the list in February,
1854:—
_Lieut.-Colonel._—Colonel H. Bentinck.
_Majors._—Colonels C. Hay; Hon. A. Upton.
_Captains._—Colonels W. Codrington; Hon. G. Upton; J. Clitherow; G.
Drummond; (_Mounted_). Lieut.-Colonels Lord F. Paulet; H. Daniell;
Hon. R. Boyle; W. Newton: Colonel W. Trevelyan: Lieut.-Colonels S.
Perceval; M. Tierney; T. Crombie; Hon. T. V. Dawson; T. Steele; H.
Cumming; W. M. Wood.
_Lieutenants._—Captains C. Cocks; P. Somerset; J. C. Cowell; J. Halkett;
D. Carleton; Lord A. C. FitzRoy; C. Burdett; F. Newdigate
(Adjutant); L. MacKinnon; Sir G. Walker, Bart.; W. Dawkins; H.
Jolliffe; C. Strong; Lord Dunkellin; C. Wilson; Hon. A. Hardinge; F.
Burton; Hon. P. Feilding (Adjutant); W. Reeve; Hon. G. Eliot; C.
Baring; J. H. Le Couteur; H. Bouverie; H. Armytage.
_Ensigns._—Lieutenants Hon. H. Byng; A. Thellusson; H. Cust; P. Crawley;
Sir J. Dunlop, Bart.; G. Goodlake; F. Ramsden; Lord Bingham; H.
Tower; Hon. W. Wellesley; Hon. R. Drummond; P. Wyndham; E. Disbrowe;
A. Fremantle; C. Greville; M. Heneage.
_Quartermasters._—A. Hurle; A. Falconer.
_Surgeon-Major._—J. Munro, M.D. _Battalion Surgeon._—J. Skelton, M.D.
_Assistant-Surgeons._—F. Wildbore; J. Wyatt.
-----
[Illustration:
DRUMMER 1745.
N.R. Wilkinson del. A.D. Innes & C^o London Mintern Bros.
lith.
]
Where four allies were conducting a war in common, it was only natural
that there should be an interchange of medals and of decorations, and
this was done with no ungenerous hand. A new medal, more coveted than
any other by soldiers and sailors, was established early in 1856, both
for Officers and men in the Naval and Military services, who had
distinguished themselves before the enemy “for valour.” The distribution
of the Victoria Cross did not, however, take place until the 26th of
June, 1857, when all the claims for that most conspicuous honour had
been fully investigated. The day appointed for the ceremony was observed
as a general holiday, and a review was held in Hyde Park before Her
Majesty the Queen, who affixed to the breast of each man entitled to it,
the bronze cross he had won in the field by his personal bravery. In the
Coldstream the recipients of this proud distinction were Majors Goodlake
and Conolly, and Privates Strong and Stanlock.[362] This event, though
it took place more than a year after the conclusion of peace, is
connected with the Crimean struggle, and may be said to terminate the
history of the protracted hostilities that troubled our relations with
Russia. Thenceforward the war became a thing of the past, and its
memories were merged into or overshadowed by other events which occurred
elsewhere.
-----
Footnote 362:
See Appendix, No. XIII.
-----
We have seen how the struggle shaped itself; how disastrously it was
directed; and how devotedly our army maintained it, under very adverse
and wholly exceptional circumstances. We allied ourselves to a Potentate
whose tenure of power was precarious, whose interests were not our
interests, and who only wished to adopt a foreign policy of adventure to
reconcile his new subjects to his rule. His armies loyally supported
ours in the field, and there we happily formed a sincere respect for the
brave French troops who fought by our side. But the Government of
Paris,—objecting always to transfer the theatre of war to Asia, where
the enemy was really vulnerable,—restricted our field of operations to
Europe; and as Austria protected the Russians on the Bessarabian
frontier, we were forced at a late period of the year to make a descent
upon the Crimea. Unhappily we had made no preparations for such an
expedition, and had formed no plan for carrying it out; in fact, such an
invasion had not seriously entered into our calculations when we
declared war against the Tsar.
Thus, we landed fortuitously at a point where the road led to the north
side of Sevastopol, but where no harbours near that town, were at hand
to form a base of operations. Hence, without a base, we advanced to our
objective, and, in due course, and after a successful battle, we arrived
before it. But, on reaching this point, the Commander of our allies was
indisposed to carry out the plan to which we had committed ourselves. We
therefore shifted our forces by a strange flank march to the south side,
in the hope that we might there at least be enabled to bring the
campaign to a speedy conclusion. Sevastopol was at that time guarded by
a small garrison, composed of a medley of indifferent and badly armed
troops; it was imperfectly defended towards the land, and in this
direction it was an insignificant stronghold. Still, as long as it
remained in that state, we hesitated to make any or even the least move
against it; we preferred to wait to bring up our siege-train, and to
open regular approaches, with the expectation that the town would fall
before the cold weather should set in, and put an end to all field
operations.
But we had miscalculated. We did not take into account what a patriotic
and energetic garrison might achieve during the unexpected respite
granted them, nor did we perceive that we were altering, just as winter
was approaching, the whole plan of invasion from an expedition of
surprise to the more lengthened process of a regular siege. Thus, under
the direction of an Engineer Officer of genius, did Sevastopol assume
the proportions of a fortress, while the English and the French were
looking idly on; and before they could batter down simultaneously the
new works in front of each—which they allowed the enemy to
construct,—the Russian forces, drawn from the Danubian Principalities,
were hurried by forced marches into the Crimea, to the support of the
scanty troops that were then to be found there. The very moment we had
meant to deliver our final blow, the enemy’s arrangements were complete,
and we had to fight the unequal battle of Inkerman. Although we were
victorious there against tremendous odds, the result obliged us to spend
the winter on the barren and snow-swept plain of the Chersonese.
For this emergency we were entirely unprepared, and an intensely cold
season having begun early, our troops, as we have seen, suffered in
consequence. We then hung on to our positions before Sevastopol with
strong tenacity of purpose, and with a resolution which is above all
praise. But we could not resume the siege till the spring of 1855, and
it was early in September before the south side fell. Taught by
disaster, we then made every arrangement to continue the struggle with
the best prospects of success; but the French, having gained the objects
they had in view, became inactive; they clamoured for a cessation of
hostilities; and thus, to preserve an alliance into which we had
permitted ourselves to be drawn, we signed a peace of little value, and
so put an end to the war.
The successes gained were not due to the skill of the Government that
directed the struggle; they were solely due to that indomitable bravery,
discipline, and power of endurance which have ever characterized our
soldiers, as well as to the admirable system which made the British
regimental Officers and men second to none that existed at that time in
the other European armies.
The results of the war were dearly purchased. According to a return
presented to Parliament, 390 Officers and 20,425 Noncommissioned
officers and men were killed or died of wounds or of disease in the
Crimea, and 14,718 men were invalided at the conclusion of the war,
bringing the total casualties up to 35,533 of all ranks. But this return
omits to include casualties in the Naval brigade and in the Marines
(doing duty on land), and in the Commissariat, Transport, and Hospital
departments; nor does it seem to give our losses incurred during the
disastrous stay in Bulgaria, etc.: so that the figures do not represent
the entire losses to which even our Land forces were subjected.[363] On
the other hand, it was computed that the Russians lost as many as half a
million men. But this is a surmise, and the facts have never been known.
The estimate is probably exaggerated, though it is certain that the
enemy’s casualties were exceedingly great; but loss of men is not the
greatest calamity that could befall an Empire like Russia.
-----
Footnote 363:
Appendix XII. It will be observed that the losses mentioned in the
text do not take into account those of the Navy incurred on board
ship. On the 8th of May, 1856, Lord Panmure made a statement in the
House of Lords, to the effect that from the 19th of September, 1854
(that is, the day before the battle of the Alma), 270 Officers and
19,314 men were killed, or died of wounds or of disease, and that 2873
men were discharged the service as incapacitated for further service
by war; total, 22,457 casualties,—excluding, apparently, soldiers who
died on board ship, sailors and marines serving on shore, and
departmental troops. It seems strange that this imperfect statement
should be sometimes quoted, instead of the return above mentioned,
even though the latter is far from being satisfactory, and does not
complete the tale of the losses to the Naval and Military Forces of
the Crown during the war with Russia.
-----
Two events must be noted here which took place about this time, one of
which affected the whole army, and the other the Brigade only. On the
death of Lord Hardinge, who had succeeded the Duke of Wellington as
Commander-in-Chief in 1852, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge was appointed
to that high office, and assumed his new functions July 15, 1856—an
office which he held without interruption until the 31st of October,
1895, for a space of nearly forty years.
The day before, the following Brigade Order appeared:—
July 14, 1856. Her Majesty has been pleased to appoint Major-General
Lord Rokeby, K.C.B., to serve on the Staff of the army, with a view to
his exercising a general supervision over the Battalions [of Guards]
in England, including those at Aldershot; all communications having
reference to the Brigade of Guards will be addressed to him in future,
instead of the Field-Officer in Brigade Waiting as heretofore.
It may be well to explain that, previous to this appointment, orders to
the Brigade had been issued by the Field-Officer in Brigade Waiting—a
Commanding Officer of a Guards Regiment or Battalion, taken by
roster—who is always an Officer of the Sovereign’s Household. The effect
of the order just quoted, was to place a General Officer in actual
command of the Brigade, while the Field Officer in Brigade Waiting was
still retained to fulfil the Court duties, he being, as formerly, the
direct medium of communication between the Court and the Household
Infantry.[364]
-----
Footnote 364:
For some years, after 1856, it appears that the Field-Officer in
Brigade Waiting continued to exercise considerable control over the
military affairs of the Guards. The Major-General Commanding issued
general orders, the details of which were carried out by the
Field-Officer. Between 1856 and 1868 the Foot Guards were called a
Division; but April 27th of the latter year, the old term Brigade was
again restored, and it was directed that the General’s orders should
be called “Brigade Orders,” while those emanating from the
Field-Officer should be termed “Sub-brigade Orders.” The “Sub-brigade
Office” was abolished February 28, 1873. The Home District, created in
1870, was placed under the command of the Major-General Commanding the
Brigade of Guards, and this arrangement still prevails.
-----
CHAPTER XIII.
A PERIOD OF WAR, 1856-1871.
Reductions after the war—Comparison between the situations in Europe, in
1815 and in 1856—Fresh troubles and complications imminent—Many wars
and disturbances—Scientific instruction introduced into the
army—Practical training of the troops carried out—The material
comfort of the soldier attended to—Military activity in England in
1859—The Earl of Strafford succeeded by General Lord Clyde—Death of
H.R.H. the Prince Consort—Misunderstanding with the United States of
America—Chelsea barracks completed—Marriage of H.R.H. the Prince of
Wales—Death of Lord Clyde; succeeded by General Sir W. Gomm—The
Brigade of Guards Recruit Establishment—Public duties in
London—Fenian troubles in Ireland; the 1st and 2nd Battalions
succeed each other there; the Clerkenwell outrage—Reforms in the
armament of the British infantry.
The termination of the Crimean war, though it entailed considerable
reductions in the army, was not accompanied by the acute distress that
marked the close of the great struggle with France in 1815. In the
latter case, the country had been seriously engaged with a formidable
enemy for twenty years, and was constrained to devote all its resources
to crush him. For nearly a generation, Great Britain had been a nation
standing in arms, and thriving, so to speak, upon the success of her
operations by sea and by land. The sudden cessation of hostilities, and
the no less abrupt and violent change from a strong war footing to a
small peace establishment, caused a temporary dislocation in trade, and
this contributed in no small degree to create an unfortunate effect upon
the economic conditions under which the people were then living.
Whereas, in the more recent case, we were engaged for a relatively short
space of time, and were not involved in efforts which could bear
comparison with those we had been obliged to make earlier in the
century. Hence we were able to diminish our armaments without incurring
the same difficulties that had previously oppressed the industry of the
country; and arrangements could be safely made to reduce the regular
army by 50,000 men, and to disband all those other forces that were
brought together for the purposes of the Russian war. On the 1st of
November, 1856, the establishment of the Regiment was diminished by some
600 men, and was fixed on the following scale:—
Colonel. 1
Lt.-Colonel. 1
Majors. 2
Captains. 20
Lieutenants. 24
Ensigns. 16
Adjutants. 2
Qr.-Masters. 2
Surgn.-Major. 1
Surgeon. 1
Assist.-Surgns. 5
Solicitor. 1
Sergeants. 92
Drummers. 34
Rank and File. 1600
2 Battalions, 10 Cos. each.
Another difference between the peace of 1815 and that of 1856 is also of
sufficient importance to require a notice. The final defeat of Napoleon
at Waterloo found Europe exhausted by the long wars of the French
Revolution; and the Congress of Vienna effected such a settlement among
the civilized nations, of apparently so stable a character, that all
Governments believed in the certainty of a protracted period of
international tranquillity. Nor was this expectation disappointed, and
for forty years there were no complications to disturb the political
order that had then been established. But the assurance of peace led
many to suppose that the era of war had come to an end, and we in this
country were inclined to adopt that view—to such an extent, at least,
that we deprived the army of some of the departments which are necessary
to its existence in the field. So to say, we hid the remnant of the
standing army away from the sight of the nation, as an institution
almost out of harmony with the spirit of the age, and as an instrument
of offence which would scarcely be again required for practical use. The
warlike traditions of the past, however, remained in full vigour among
the British troops, between 1815 and 1854; nor was there any relaxation
of the strict principles of soldierlike bearing and conduct which had
been inaugurated and enforced by the Duke of York and by the Duke of
Wellington. No troops were more highly disciplined than those that
belonged to the British army; among none had the military spirit and
tone been so carefully fostered and so fully developed: and it was due
to the splendid qualities which had been instilled into them, that the
achievements of our men in the Crimea commanded the respect and the
admiration of the world. But the knowledge of even elementary military
sciences failed us; no instruction beyond drill was given; we had little
organization, no warlike grouping or cohesion of units, no transport, no
real power to take the field or to utilize there the magnificent troops
which their Officers had formed. The struggle with Russia had revealed
these defects; and, taught in the bitter school of adversity, we were
naturally slow, when the peace was signed, to destroy entirely those
auxiliary services which had been so painfully created in the midst of
war.
Now, the year 1856 was not like its predecessor, the end of a disturbed
period; it marked the very commencement of a new era of European
complications. The statesmen of the day were filled with no illusions,
and were well aware of the unsettled state of affairs which the peace of
1856 had inaugurated. The Italian question was directly raised; Austria
lost credit by her weak and vacillating action, and had become despised
and isolated; steps to secure the aggrandisement of Prussia were already
prepared; the policy of Napoleon III. was obscure and uncertain. Changes
in the old landmarks of the Continent and serious trouble loomed in the
near future. The threatening aspect of the coming storm, in short, was
easy to be discerned: it was only too manifest that England might have
to defend her rights, and could not afford, at such a moment, to neglect
the affairs of her army and navy.
As events turned out, the war-cloud hovered over the whole world, and
oppressed humanity with more or less intensity until 1871. Great Britain
had to contend against many difficulties; but they were not of serious
importance, except the Indian Mutiny,—which, breaking out unexpectedly
in 1857, was not crushed finally until 1859,—and except the rapid
advance of Russia across the barren steppes of Central Asia towards the
frontiers of our Empire of India. Of our minor troubles, we may note:
the Persian war, in 1856-57; the expedition to China, in 1857-61; the
subjugation of the Maori natives in New Zealand, 1864; the invasion of
Abyssinia, 1867-68; and the threatened dispute with the United States,
1861. In none of these, except the last, was the Brigade of Guards
concerned. On the borders of Europe, the Caucasian Switzerland of
Circassia was finally overpowered and assimilated with Russia, and the
one barrier to her progress in the East was at last swept away, 1859.
Nor was America free from disturbance. The United States, torn by
dissensions, fought a fratricidal war of secession, 1861-64, that ended
in re-establishing the authority of the Northern States over the
revolted South; while that political stormy petrel, Napoleon III., took
part in a policy of adventure, by attempting, though unsuccessfully, to
establish French influence, under cover of an Austrian prince, in
Mexico. But in Europe itself the trouble was greater: France and
Sardinia attacked Austria in Lombardy in 1859, and forced her to
relinquish her possession of that province; Italy also rose in rebellion
against the Princes that then ruled her States, and was consolidated
into one kingdom under Victor Emanuel, our late ally in the Crimea. In
1859, also, Napoleon III. showed considerable animosity against England,
and it was thought by many that there would be war with France. In 1864,
Austria and Prussia joined to wrest the Duchies of Schleswig Holstein
from Denmark: and two years later, having quarrelled over the booty,
they came to blows, when Prussia defeated her rival hopelessly in the
short and sharp campaign of a few weeks' duration in Bohemia, and
acquired a complete ascendency over Germany. Italy, at the same time
also, was enabled by foreign aid, to compel Austria to surrender her
hold on Venetia. Then came the great war of 1870-71, when France and
Prussia, regarding each with mutual jealousy and international hatred,
engaged in deathly strife, that resulted in the fall of Napoleon, in the
signal defeat of France, and in the refounding of the German Empire
under the autocracy of Prussia.
The results of these constant contests upon our own army were not, of
course, immediately apparent, nor could they produce a decided effect
all at once upon the course of our military administration. But
sufficient has been said to show that there were obvious reasons why the
lethargy which affected the vital concerns of the forces of the Crown in
1815, was not reproduced in 1856, and how it came about that the nation
began to take an increased interest in these most important affairs.
The Officers of the British army formed at that time a competent body.
Taken from a class where the best leaders of men might be expected to be
found, trained in the manly school of field sports and of outdoor
exercises, brought up to early habits of obedience and of discipline,
and endowed with the faculty of commanding the respect and the
confidence of their subordinates, they were as well qualified to manage
the rank and file placed under them in peace time, as they were
conspicuous for their bravery and for the good example they set when
danger pressed, or when difficulties were to be overcome in war time.
One thing only did they lack—they had little scientific knowledge of
their profession. To remedy this grave deficiency, a Council of Military
Education was appointed in May, 1857, to superintend the system of
education introduced among the Officers, and the examinations of
candidates for admission to the service. It cannot be stated that this
subject had been entirely ignored in the past, but it had been little
regarded. After 1857, however, considerable attention was given to it,
and the new system eventually expanded to its present dimensions—adding,
in fact, to the army, as part of itself, a military University, where
degrees are bestowed upon graduates, in their various ranks, who pass
its examinations. These degrees attesting the scientific and theoretical
proficiency of the candidates then became a necessary qualification for
promotion in the service, at first to the rank of Captain only, but
subsequently to a higher grade. In this respect, the policy has rather
been to form an examining Board, for the purpose of testing the
acquirements of Officers, than to institute something more akin to a
teaching University, with the result that what is called “cramming” (or
hasty learning of special subjects) has been largely increased, to the
detriment perhaps of a more solid system of instruction. At any rate,
whilst the old leaven of manhood and of common sense which has ever
characterized the body of British Officers has not been weakened, a form
of education calculated to teach technical and scientific duties in the
field has been accepted with gratitude and satisfaction.
This important reform was supplemented by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge,
the new Commander-in-Chief, who carried on the work, initiated by his
predecessor, Lord Hardinge, which had been strongly urged by H.R.H. the
Prince Consort. The camp of instruction established at Chobham in 1853
was moved to Aldershot, in the midst of a wide extent of heather
country; the Crimean huts were erected there, and the head-quarters of a
new military district were formed, where manœuvres could be
undertaken by large bodies of troops, and where the men could be taught
practically their numerous duties in the field. As will be seen, Guards
Battalions were often sent there for this purpose. Nor was musketry
neglected. Officers were told off as instructors in the art of correct
shooting with the rifle that had been introduced into the service; every
soldier was trained individually in its use, in a systematic way and in
accordance with the regulations laid down at the School of Instruction
established at Hythe; parties, moreover, of Officers, Non-commissioned
officers, and men were constantly sent there to undergo a course of
musketry, and receive a certificate of efficiency in that very necessary
branch of their military training.[365]
-----
Footnote 365:
_Brigade Order_ , August 20, 1856: “H.R.H. the General
Commanding-in-Chief appoints Captain Instructors of Musketry,
Brevet-Major Thesiger, 3rd Grenadier Guards; Major Le Couteur, 1st
Coldstream; and Capt. Hon. R. Mostyn, 2nd Scots Fusilier Guards.” But
it was not until the 30th of April, 1857, that regular Instructors of
Musketry appeared in the Army-list in the Coldstream, when Captain
Blackett and Major Conolly, V.C., were appointed in that capacity, in
the 1st and 2nd Battalions respectively.
February 7, 1857. “The Major-General has much pleasure in promulgating
the following, received from the Adjutant-General, dated Horse Guards,
February 4, 1857: 'The General Commanding-in-Chief, having received a
most satisfactory report of the result of the various practices in
shooting and judging distances by the parties lately attached to the
school of musketry, by which it appears that they have, in the
aggregate, attained a higher figure (38·98) than any batch of parties
hitherto under instruction at Hythe, I have it in command to request
your Lordship will make known to the Division of Foot Guards the
satisfaction with which the said report has been received by His Royal
Highness.'”
-----
It has been noted that General Sir W. Codrington utilized the time when
warlike operations practically ceased in the Crimea, by directing that
all British soldiers should be put through an efficient course of
musketry. After the war, the Guards continued to shoot on the range at
Kilburn, but in 1859 a camp was formed for them at Ash, where rifle
practice was carried out by companies, sent there in succession from the
Battalions in England during the spring and summer months. Next year a
Mounted Officer with a regular staff took command of the camp. Though
Ash and Aldershot were the usual places selected for the Guards'
musketry, companies were also sometimes sent to Eastbourne and to
Gravesend for this purpose.
In the winter months marching was practised, and great gun drill was
taught.[366] In 1861, gymnastic training was introduced, and in
September of that year, sergeants from the Brigade were sent through a
course, so as to qualify as instructors. A gymnasium was about this time
first constructed at St. John’s Wood barracks, and companies were
required to go there for a few weeks at a time. The gymnasium at Chelsea
barracks was ready in 1865, and another at Windsor in 1870. The physical
development of their men had before this been a special interest to the
Officers of the Brigade, who endeavoured to introduce a system of
outdoor gymnastics in the Guards, as far back as 1843. The practice,
however, on being objected to by the Duke of Wellington, was given
up.[367]
-----
Footnote 366:
The reader may perhaps be interested in knowing that one of the first
orders given by the Duke of Cambridge on succeeding to the supreme
command of the army related to marches. _Brigade Order_ , November 17,
1856: “In compliance with instructions received from His Royal
Highness, Commanding Officers will march out their Battalions at least
once a week, in complete marching order, not less than eight to ten
miles; the system prescribed in General Craufurd’s regulations for
conducting a march to be adhered to.” His Royal Highness had at
Scutari, in 1854, when in command of the First Division, drawn the
attention of the latter to these regulations. It must not, however, be
supposed that marching in peace time was unknown before 1856. For
instance, by Regimental Order, dated September 12, 1838, it was laid
down, “Whenever weather permits, the Battalion” (_i.e._ the 1st
Battalion; the 2nd was then in Canada) “is to be marched once in four
days.”
Footnote 367:
See Hamilton, _History of the Grenadier Guards_, iii. 145.
-----
It should be mentioned here that signalling courses were not introduced
into the army until 1869. Much attention was then immediately given to
this subject in the Brigade, and the Battalions of Foot Guards were
frequently complimented upon the efficiency they displayed as
signallers.
While military training in many of its various important aspects was
eagerly attended to, and was put upon a basis from which it could
receive its proper development, the material comforts and welfare of the
men were not neglected.[368] The cooking arrangements of the men in the
Crimea had been signally defective, as much on account of the conditions
under which they were placed, as by reason of the very little knowledge
which they had of the subject. This, no doubt, was a serious want, and
it militated against the health of the soldier. A school of cookery was
established at Aldershot in 1862, and Non-commissioned officers were
sent there to be trained in the new system then adopted. Considerable
interest was taken in this matter in the Brigade, reports were
frequently called for, and experimental stoves set up to secure the best
results combined with economy. Sergeant Cooks were appointed in the
Coldstream—in the 1st Battalion, December, 1863, and in the 2nd
Battalion, in the following March; but it was not until May, 1868, that
the establishment of the Regiment was increased by two sergeants for
this purpose, nor was it until May of the year before, that the
assistant cooks were struck off other duties. As part of the same
subject, it may be noted that the Commissariat Store at Chelsea barracks
for the bread and meat to be issued to the troops in London, was
established December 1, 1865, and an inspecting board of three Officers
met daily to examine and to report upon the supplies furnished by the
contractors.
-----
Footnote 368:
It may be of interest to observe here that a Committee of Officers
(nearly all belonging to the Brigade), under the presidency of Colonel
Ridley, Scots Fusilier Guards, assembled in London early in 1862 to
consider the question of the employment of men in trades.
-----
Reforms in the canteen system were introduced shortly after the
Crimean war. In conformity with instructions contained in the
Quartermaster-General’s letter of the 30th of November, 1857, boards
of Regimental Field-Officers were assembled quarterly to revise the
prices of articles sold, and to report upon the canteens inspected by
them. The accounts were examined more frequently, and suggestions were
invited as to the management of these institutions. In 1864, groceries
began to be supplied to the messes, so that the men might only pay
wholesale instead of retail prices, and married soldiers were
encouraged to take advantage of the low cost of articles sold there.
As the management became more efficient, the profits rose, and with
this fund at the disposal of Commanding Officers, a great deal was
done for the benefit of the men,—books and newspapers supplied at the
various metropolitan Guards, extra food provided on long field days,
being some of the items of expenditure that first appear to have
received the sanction of the authorities.
Nor should we omit to draw attention to the encouragement given to
outdoor games and amusements. Officers have always been inclined,
naturally, to introduce among their men the healthy exercises which they
themselves were taught at school, and which they continued to indulge in
after joining the service. Thus cricket was well known, and we have seen
that during the Russian war it was not neglected. Football, however, was
not as common then as it is now, nor had some other forms of athletic
sports taken a firm root in the public schools forty years ago. But as
they became better known there, so did they grow in popularity among the
troops—as also did boating at Windsor,—until at last they have become
well recognized institutions, to the great benefit of the men, and to
the immense advantage of the army. Hunting has always been a favourite
pastime among Officers, and where it is not sufficiently available they
often establish a drag hunt of their own. This was done at Windsor, in
the winter of 1856-57, mainly by the Coldstream, whose 2nd Battalion was
then quartered there. This institution flourishes to the present day.
When the Brigade had the out-quarter at Shorncliffe, as will be seen
further on, another drag hunt was also established there, but on leaving
that station it had to come to an end.
On the 17th of July, 1856, at the suggestion of the Major-General
Commanding the Brigade of Guards (Lord Rokeby), the Battalions who had
just returned from the Crimea applied for new Colours, and, on the 27th
of February following, the old Colours which had seen service in Russia
were deposited, escorted by Guards of Honour of the usual strength, in
the Royal Military Chapel at Wellington barracks.
Owing to the death of Colonel Gordon Drummond, Colonel Newton was
promoted Major, and took command of the 2nd Battalion, November 18,
1856.
On the 3rd of March, 1857, the 1st Coldstream relieved the 2nd Scots
Fusilier Guards at Aldershot (the 1st Grenadiers having been removed to
Town from that camp in December), and returned to London at the autumn
change of quarters (September 1st), when the 2nd Coldstream proceeded to
Dublin, and the 1st Scots Fusilier Guards to Portsmouth. On the return
of the latter (November 20th) the Brigade was again quartered in their
usual stations, viz. four Battalions in the West-end and the other three
in the Tower, Windsor, and the out-quarter (Dublin).[369] After this
time, Battalions were frequently sent to Aldershot for the purpose of
receiving practical instruction, but not to be stationed there for
merely general duty.[370] About this time also—that is, between the 1st
of September and the 7th of December, 1857—the Brigade furnished a
detachment of about 200 Officers and men at Deptford, where occasional
duty had been done by it, as we have seen, between 1815 and 1854.
-----
Footnote 369:
The new wing of Wellington barracks was ready for occupation about
this time; and it appears the present Kensington barracks replaced the
old buildings there, April, 1858.
Footnote 370:
The periods when the Coldstream were stationed in Aldershot are to be
seen in Appendix No. XV. “In compliance with the directions of H.R.H.
the Senior Colonel of the Brigade, the roster for casual home service,
and for the regular training of Battalions at Aldershot in the summer,
will in future be kept separately. The Major-General accordingly
desires that the three Lieutenant-Colonels will be so good as to
confer together with a view to preparing another roster as soon as
they are agreed upon the subject; their proposals will be forwarded to
this Office for approval” (_Brigade Order_ , Feb. 24, 1866).
-----
[Illustration:
SERGEANT 1775.
]
[Illustration:
OFFICER 1795.
]
N.R. Wilkinson del. Mintern Bros. Chromo.
While the Indian Mutiny obliged Government to strengthen the army in
India, drafts were collected at Colchester and Canterbury to be sent out
to the East as they were required. In April, 1858, fourteen Ensigns of
the Brigade (three from the 1st Coldstream) were sent to these places to
look after the men that were assembled there. The following letter,
dated July 3rd, from the Adjutant-General to Lord Rokeby, was published
and ordered by the latter to be entered in the Regimental records:—
The Inspector-General of Infantry having reported to His Royal
Highness, that, in consequence of the embarkation of numerous drafts
for India, there is no necessity for retaining the services of the
Officers of the Guards at Colchester and Canterbury, orders will
consequently be sent to those stations directing the Officers of the
Guards to return to their respective Battalions. In communicating this
decision to your Lordship, I am commanded to acquaint you that His
Royal Highness has much gratification in stating that he has received
from all quarters assurances of the excellent manner in which these
Officers have conducted the duties assigned to them, reflecting as it
does great credit on themselves and on the Regiments in which they
have been instructed.
The 2nd Coldstream, returning from Dublin to London, September 1, 1858,
brought a record of services performed in Ireland which was embodied in
a Garrison Order, dated Dublin, August 30, 1858:—
The Major-General Commanding the District, in directing the departure
of the 2nd Battalion Coldstream Guards, is unwilling to allow them to
pass from his command without acknowledging his unqualified
approbation of their conduct during the twelve months of their being
in Dublin, and his sincere regret at losing them. Possessed of all the
attributes which constitute excellence in a regiment, whether as
regards the zealous and strict attention to their duty on the part of
the Officers, the activity, intelligence, and trustworthiness of the
Non-commissioned officers, the obedient conduct, soldier-like
appearance, and respectful demeanour of the men, or the order and
regularity of the parade, the general cleanliness of the barracks, the
comfort of the hospital, the large attendance of the adults at school,
the comparative absence of crime, and the pervading system of the
corps, the Battalion has stood forth in the garrison as a model of
regimental discipline, to excite the emulation and stimulate a
generous rivalry. The Major-General, therefore, begs to offer his
thanks to Colonel Newton and his Officers for the support they have at
all times afforded, and to assure the Battalion that he will always
retain a lively recollection of the satisfaction he derived in having
it as a part of his garrison.
Colonel Hon. G. Upton, C.B., appointed Major-General, October 26, 1858,
was succeeded by Colonel Lord Frederick Paulet, C.B., as
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment; thereupon Colonel Newton assumed the
command of the 1st Battalion, and Colonel Spencer Perceval, promoted to
the rank of Major, was posted to command the 2nd Battalion.
As previously mentioned, events in the year 1859 produced the impression
that Napoleon III. was about to declare war against us, and visions of
invasion began to haunt us. Considerable military activity was displayed
at this time. Second battalions to twenty-five regiments of the Line,
and third and fourth battalions to the two Rifle regiments, the 60th and
Rifle Brigade, were raised and incorporated into the army: we find also
that, early in the year, the Brigade was called upon to furnish
Non-commissioned officers that could be spared, as drill instructors to
train the men of some of these new corps. Of these, the Coldstream
supplied four to the 2nd Battalion, 21st Regiment, at Newport, February,
1859. Nor was the condition of the Militia neglected, and Field-Officers
of the Guards, who had been sent to inspect the regiments when embodied,
were more frequently employed on this duty about this time. Now, in
1803, when Napoleon I. threatened to make a descent upon our coasts from
his great camp at Boulogne, bodies of Volunteers were raised to watch
our shores. The same thing happened in 1859, and, although our danger
was scarcely real, yet so strongly impressed were the people with the
facilities of transit across the narrow channel, which steam would give
an invader, and so convinced were they of the power and of the evil
designs of the French Emperor, that they began spontaneously to form
rifle corps for the defence of the country. This was the commencement of
the Volunteer movement which has now developed into an important
auxiliary branch of the forces of the Crown intended for service at
home. Its usefulness in the field has not yet been practically tested,
and we may well pray that the day when it must meet an enemy on our own
soil, may never come. But the influence it commands, by strengthening
the ties that bind the military and the civil elements, by rendering the
regular army popular, and by therefore facilitating the recruitment of a
good class of man, is well known; while the self-sacrifice of many who
devote their leisure to martial exercises, without prospect of reward,
is creditable to the British character, and tends to spread a wider
interest in military affairs than was formerly the case.
In the summer of 1859, many of the Officers of the Brigade were employed
in reporting upon the numerous ranges which had been proposed as
suitable sites for rifle practice. This duty did not cease until the
beginning of 1862, when facilities for musketry existed in almost every
district, and when the exercise became a popular pastime throughout the
country. A National Rifle Association was formed, and a Volunteer camp
established at Wimbledon (1860), where shooting competitions took place.
The meetings continued year after year with ever-growing popularity, and
detachments of Guardsmen were sent from London to perform the military
duties in camp and on the ranges. Colonel Tower (Coldstream Guards) was
the first Field-Officer selected to command these detachments, in 1865,
and since then the Brigade has regularly furnished an Officer of that
rank for this purpose, to attend the Rifle meetings, and, later (from
1874), to command the camp.
As far back as 1860, the drill of Officers of the Militia and Volunteers
was often superintended by Officers of the Brigade of Guards. In
October, 1870, moreover, schools of instruction were established at the
Tower and at Wellington barracks, which were eventually consolidated
into one, where Officers of the auxiliary forces, having passed a
practical course in drill, can obtain a certificate to that effect.
Colonel Hon. R. Monck (Coldstream Guards) was the first Commandant of
the school at Wellington barracks.[371]
-----
Footnote 371:
The following order appeared, dated December 13, 1870, when the
Schools of Instruction in London closed for the first time, for the
Christmas holidays: “The Secretary of State has recorded his sense of
the zeal and discretion which the Officers and Non-commissioned
officers attached to and in charge of these schools have exhibited,
which is proved by the success which has attended their duties, and
the results that have been directly and indirectly obtained, and which
reflect great credit upon the Commandants. H.R.H. the Field Marshal
Commanding-in-Chief is much pleased at receiving so satisfactory a
recognition of their services.”
-----
The Coldstream, having lost their Colonel by the death of Field Marshal
Earl of Strafford, the chief command of the Regiment was bestowed upon
General Lord Clyde, G.C.B., June 22, 1860, better known by the men in
the Crimea, as Sir Colin Campbell. After the war with Russia, this very
distinguished Officer was employed in India, where, appointed
Commander-in-chief, he took a conspicuous part in the suppression of the
Mutiny. Several other changes occurred in the Regiment about this time.
On the promotion of Colonel Lord F. Paulet, C.B., to the rank of
Major-General, Colonel Newton became Lieutenant-Colonel, whereupon
Colonel S. Perceval assumed the command of the 1st Battalion, and
Colonel Steele, C.B., appointed Major, of the 2nd (December 13, 1860).
In a few months, however, there was another change; Colonel Perceval was
promoted Lieutenant-Colonel, when Colonel Steele was posted to the 1st
Battalion, and was succeeded by Colonel Wood in the 2nd (July 2, 1861).
On the 1st of April, 1861, Major-General Lord Rokeby retired, and the
command of the Brigade devolved upon Major-General Craufurd. Shortly
afterwards (June 27th) a Major of Brigade was appointed in the Foot
Guards, and the new post was given to the senior Adjutant, Captain and
Adjutant Gordon, Scots Fusilier Guards.
In December, 1861, the whole country was plunged into deep mourning by
the premature death of the Prince Consort. It is less than the truth to
say that all hearts were moved with profound grief for the Queen in
this, the greatest of domestic afflictions; and at the decease of a
patriot Prince, whose sage counsels had so often ably directed Her
Majesty in many important matters, and who had done so much for the
intellectual elevation and the material advancement of her people. The
sorrow of the nation was felt nowhere more strongly than among the
Guards, who thereby lost their Senior Colonel, and whose inalienable
privilege it is to share, as part of the Sovereign’s Household, the
trials as well as the joys that visit the Royal Family.
This most sad misfortune happened at a moment of a misunderstanding with
the United States of America, when it was apprehended that war might
break out between the two countries, and when an expedition was being
fitted out to defend Canada should the crisis assume an acute stage. It
is scarcely necessary to go into the details of the dispute, well known
as the “Trent affair,” for the Coldstream took no part in the operations
which followed. Suffice it to say that two Battalions of the Brigade
(1st Grenadiers and 2nd Scots Fusilier Guards, under Major-General Lord
F. Paulet) were shipped to British North America, December 19th, and
remained there until the autumn of 1864. Fortunately peace was
preserved, and the expedition, while watching proceedings during the
civil war that was then raging in the States, assumed the character of a
movement of troops from one part of the British Empire to another, for
ordinary purposes.[372]
-----
Footnote 372:
In order to drill and organize Canadian Militia regiments, five
corporals of the Guards Battalions not sent to Canada, were selected
to proceed with the expedition, and the following terms were offered
to them: (1) to have the rank and pay of the next grade above that
they then held, from the date of landing; (2) to be supernumerary on
the strength of their Regiments, and to rejoin them on their return;
and (3) an allowance to be given to their wives during their absence
from home, or until the latter rejoin their husbands (_Brigade
Orders_ , Dec. 6 and 14, 1861).
-----
The 1st Battalion Coldstream, having gone to Dublin in October, 1861,
did not return to London until the next change of quarters in April
following, and so, for the first few months of 1862, there were but
three Battalions in the West-end, while the Tower was occupied by a Line
Regiment (the 1st Battalion of the 3rd Buffs). To lighten the duties,
the latter furnished a detachment at Wellington barracks, which
occasionally supplied the guards at Kensington Palace, the Magazine, and
at the British Museum. In April, 1862, the full complement of four
Battalions did duty in the West-end, and Dublin was given up as a Guards
station. On the return of the Canadian expedition the Tower was again
occupied by Guards, and the out-quarter was transferred to Shorncliffe.
Chelsea barracks, designed as we have seen in 1855, were ready for
occupation in the autumn of 1863, and an entire Battalion and a few
companies of another were stationed there. Subsequently, the
head-quarters of the latter, transferred from St. George’s, were also
placed in these barracks; while Portman Street had been given up in
September, 1863. The new wing of Wellington barracks had been occupied
prior to this date, and was opened shortly after the Crimean war, as we
have seen.[373] Thus considerably more space was obtained for the
Brigade in London, which was distributed almost as is the case in the
present day.[374] It is only necessary to add that the small barracks at
the Magazine were vacated, and handed over to the police authorities on
the 21st of December, 1866; that those at St. John’s Wood ceased to be
occupied by the Foot Guards about the year 1876; and that Windsor
barracks, which was a crowded and unsuitable building for a whole
Battalion, were greatly improved and enlarged, and were ready for
occupation in 1868.
-----
Footnote 373:
See footnote 376, p. 300, _ante_.
Footnote 374:
_Wellington barracks_, one entire Battalion, and another having
detachments at Kensington and Buckingham Palace barracks; _Chelsea
barracks_, one entire Battalion, and another with a detachment at St.
George’s barracks; Tower, one Battalion; _Windsor_, one Battalion; an
Out-quarter, one Battalion.
-----
On the 9th of November, 1862, Colonel Steele, was promoted
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment, _vice_ Colonel S. Perceval,
appointed Major-General; the command of the 1st Battalion then devolved
upon Colonel Mark Wood, and that of the 2nd Battalion upon Colonel
Dudley Carleton.
Many remember the marriage of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales to the Princess
Alexandra of Denmark, March 10, 1863, and the enthusiasm and joy evoked
throughout the length and breadth of the land at the auspicious and
popular event. Her Royal Highness arrived in London on the 7th, and
proceeded to Windsor, where the ceremony was performed, and the
following military arrangements were made for her reception in the
Metropolis. The 3rd Grenadiers furnished a Guard of Honour at
Bricklayers Arms Railway Station, the remainder of the Battalion being
in column of wings in front of St. James’s Palace; the 1st Battalion
60th Rifles, then at the Tower, were formed outside the station; the 2nd
Coldstream Guards in Waterloo Place lining the streets, with a Guard of
Honour (the Queen’s Guard strengthened to the usual complement) near the
Palace, and at right angles to the Grenadiers. The 1st Scots Fusilier
Guards were in line near Hyde Park Corner; the Park was occupied by some
17,000 Volunteers; and the 2nd Grenadiers were stationed at the Marble
Arch, and had a Guard of Honour at Paddington Station. The 1st
Coldstream, then quartered at Windsor, sent a Guard of Honour to Slough.
At the Royal wedding on the 10th, the Brigade was fully represented; the
2nd Grenadier Guards (in which Regiment His Royal Highness had served)
found a Guard of Honour at St. George’s Chapel; the 1st Scots Fusilier
Guards furnished another at the railway station on departure; and the
1st Coldstream, besides providing two Guards of Honour, one at the State
Entrance of the Castle, and the other at the Chapel, were also present.
The Berkshire Volunteers, moreover, had a Guard of Honour outside the
gates of the Castle. The Guards Battalions quartered in London
celebrated the occasion by parading in Hyde Park, where the 2nd and 3rd
Grenadiers and the 2nd Coldstream fired a _feu de joie_, while the 1st
Scots Fusilier Guards kept the ground. The day was observed as a general
holiday throughout the country, and all classes joined to express their
heart-felt congratulations on the happy alliance which had been made by
the Heir Apparent of the Throne.[375]
-----
Footnote 375:
For an account of the Royal wedding, see _Annual Register_ , 1863,
“Chronicle,” p. 36, etc.
-----
Nor ought we to forget to mention that a ball was given by the Brigade
in the Exhibition buildings, June 26th,[376] to the Prince and Princess
of Wales, in honour of the Royal marriage that had just taken place; the
Guard of Honour to receive Their Royal Highnesses was furnished by the
1st Scots Fusilier Guards.
-----
Footnote 376:
Interested in the success of the first great International Exhibition
of Arts and Sciences in 1851, one of the last works of the lamented
Prince Consort was to promote a second Exhibition of the same kind in
London; but he did not, unfortunately, live to see its completion. It
was opened on May 1, 1862, when the ceremony was attended by a
deputation from each of the Guards Regiments, who formed part of the
opening procession. The buildings were not removed in 1863, and were
utilized, as above stated, on the occasion of the Brigade ball. The
Albert Hall has now been erected upon this site.
-----
Several changes occurred in the command of the Brigade and Regiment
during this same year (1863). On the 25th of June, Lord F. Paulet,
having returned from Canada, was appointed Major-General of the Brigade
of Guards _vice_ Lieut.-General Craufurd.
At the death of General Lord Clyde, General Sir William Gomm, G.C.B.,
succeeded him as Colonel (August 15, 1863), and was thus again posted to
the Coldstream Guards, which he had joined as a Captain and
Lieutenant-Colonel just before the battle of Waterloo, and with which he
had served up to the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment, until
January, 1837, when he was promoted Major-General. Colonel Steele,
moreover, relinquishing the command of the Coldstream (November 24th),
the Lieutenant-Colonelcy devolved upon Colonel Wood, when Colonel
Carleton was posted to the command of the 1st Battalion, and Colonel
Stepney, C.B., to that of the 2nd Battalion.
Just at this moment, also, the Regiment lost their Bandmaster. Mr.
Charles Godfrey, who died much regretted in December, having joined the
Coldstream fifty years before (in 1813). This excellent musician had
efficiently conducted the Band ever since 1825.[377]
-----
Footnote 377:
See Appendix, No. V.
-----
We have seen that hitherto, when promotion took place, and when
the Senior Major either left the Regiment or was appointed
Lieutenant-Colonel, the Junior Major was invariably transferred to
command the 1st Battalion, and the Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel,
promoted Major to fill up the vacancy created, was posted to that
of the 2nd Battalion. The same rule prevailed as regards the
Acting-Majors (Mounted Officers), so that the senior and the third
senior always belonged to the 1st Battalion, and the second and
fourth seniors to the 2nd. It had also prevailed among the
Adjutants up to the first Canadian expedition in 1838, but then it
seemed to lapse as far as they were concerned, in the Coldstream
at least. This custom was abolished on the 19th of January, 1864,
when the following Order was issued:—
In compliance with instructions from H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, no
alteration in future is to be made in the posting of Majors Commanding
Battalions; these Officers are to remain in the Battalions in which
they were originally promoted, the Senior Major to receive the
difference in allowance which may be attached to the command of the
1st Battalion. By the same rule, Acting Majors will not change
Battalion except for promotion or on appointment to be Senior Acting
Major.
The following list shows the Officers belonging to the Regiment in
January, 1865:—
_Colonel._—General Sir William Gomm, G.C.B.
_Lieut.-Colonel._—Colonel Mark Wood.
_Majors._—Colonel Dudley Carleton; Colonel A. Herbert-Stepney, C.B.
_Captains._—Colonels J. Airey, C.B.; W. G. Dawkins; C. W. Strong; Hon.
H. Hardinge, C.B. (_Mounted_).
Lieut.-Colonels Hon. P. Feilding; W. Reeve; C. Baring; J. H. Le Couteur;
H. Armytage; G. Goodlake, V.C.; H. Tower; A. Fremantle; Colonel Hon.
W. Feilding; P. Crawley; M. Heneage; C. Blackett; G. FitzRoy; J.
Conolly, V.C.; Hon. R. Monck; Hon. W. Boyle.
_Lieutenants._—Captains C. Greenhill; H. C. Jervoise; Hon. H. Campbell;
Julian Hall; G. Wigram; A. Lambton; Hon. W. Edwardes; H. Lane; W. F.
Seymour; Hon. E. Legge (Adjutant); E. S. Burnell; Hon. G.
Windsor-Clive; R. Thursby; N. Burnand; FitzRoy Fremantle; F. Buller;
E. Reeve; H. Bonham-Carter; Hugh Fortescue (Adjutant); J. F. Hathorn
(I. of M.); H. Herbert (I. of M.); H. Brand; Denzil Baring; Hon. F.
Howard; R. Cathcart; C. Lee-Mainwaring.
_Ensigns._—Lieutenants Hon. V. Dawson; E. Chaplin; Sir E. Hamilton,
Bart.; G. FitzRoy Smyth; Lord Wallscourt; H. R. Eyre; J. B.
Sterling; G. G. Macpherson; C. Thomas; Hon. J. Vesey; Hon. F.
Wellesley; Hon. H. Legge; R. Hall; A. Farquhar; C. Alexander; W.
Ramsden.
_Quartermasters._—A. Hurle; and A. Falconer.
_Surgeon-Major._—J. Wyatt. _Battalion Surgeon._—C. V. Cay.
_Assistant-Surgeons._—J. W. Trotter; R. Farquharson; A. B. R. Myers.
_Solicitor._—R. Broughton, Esq.
To persons living in the present day it may perhaps seem strange to hear
of the rigid social laws which were current in our fathers' time against
smoking. This indulgence was regarded, only a few decades ago, as a more
or less uncivilized habit, which might be enjoyed on occasions in the
privacy of a man’s own apartments or in some far-away room of a country
house, out of sight of all general society, but never to be countenanced
in public. Hence, Officers on any sort of duty were not allowed the use
of tobacco even during hours of relaxation, and there were stringent
rules against the practice on the Queen’s Guard. In 1838, for instance,
attention is drawn to orders on that subject there, and again in 1844:—
“The Lieutenant-Colonels of the three Regiments of Guards have
observed with great regret that the regulations for the Guard table at
St. James’s Palace are not attended to, particularly as to smoking....
The Captain of the Guard in St. James’s Palace will have the goodness
to add to his report that there has been no smoking in the Officers'
apartments in St. James’s Palace, during the twenty-four hours he has
been on Guard.”[378]
-----
Footnote 378:
_Brigade Order_ , March 6, 1844.
-----
Nearly six years later the rule was modified, in that the prohibition
only applied to the mess room in the Palace, and the Captain’s
certificate was altered accordingly.[379] The Crimean War, no doubt, did
a great deal to destroy the old prejudice which existed on the subject;
for British Officers learnt the advantages of the weed in the trenches,
and were in close quarters with habitual smokers, the Turks and the
French. Still tobacco was not permitted in the barrack rooms, and, early
in 1859, the Medical Officers were seriously called upon to report
whether smoking there would be likely to prove deleterious to the health
of the men. It was not until October 28, 1864, that leave was given to
soldiers to smoke in the barrack rooms from the dinner hour to tattoo.
-----
Footnote 379:
_Ibid._ , Nov. 26, 1849.
-----
It has already been mentioned that the recruit establishment of the
Brigade had been transferred to Croydon in 1833, and there it remained
for thirty years, except only that the Grenadier section was moved to
St. John’s Wood barracks during the war with Russia, from March, 1854,
to the 18th of June, 1856. On the 1st of April, 1863, the recruits of
the three Regiments were taken to St. John’s Wood, for the purpose of
receiving gymnastic training, until the 2nd of August, 1865, when they
proceeded to Warley.[380] During all this time the establishment was
under the command of a resident Officer (Lieutenant and Captain), who
took the duty there for a fortnight (at St. John’s Wood for a week).
Considerable responsibility rested upon the Regimental Drill-Sergeant
for the training of the men, and several orders attest the fact that
these Non-commissioned officers did their work faithfully and
efficiently. In 1870, a permanent Commandant was appointed, when
Lieut.-Colonel Moncrieff, Scots Fusilier Guards, assumed the new post
(November 28th), and, soon after, another Officer was told off to
perform the duties of Adjutant, the resident Subaltern still remaining
for a fortnight as Piquet Officer. Besides the Medical Officer, and a
Quartermaster who was added later (in 1885), this staff of Officers was
all that looked after the Depôt until 1893, when it was again enlarged.
On the 12th of April, 1875, a board was assembled at Caterham to view
and report upon a site for the Guards Depôt, and this new quarter was
occupied on the 23rd of October, 1877. The Senior Drill-Sergeant,[381]
appointed Acting Sergeant-Major, May 5, 1881, was promoted
Sergeant-Major on July 1st following. The Depôt then contained a
Sergeant-Major, a Quartermaster-Sergeant, an Orderly Room Clerk, four
Colour-Sergeants, four Sergeants, twelve Corporals, and two Drummers;
and these men remained “on the rolls of their respective Battalions for
promotion and married leave.”
-----
Footnote 380:
The Grenadier section occupied Kensington barracks from the autumn of
1864 until the following March, when they went to Warley.
Footnote 381:
Drill-Sergeant Barrell, Coldstream Guards.
-----
In 1866 the public duties in London were reduced, and in July they stood
as follows:—
Capts. Subaltns. Sergts. Corpls. Drums. Prvts.
Queen’s Guard 1 2 2 2 3 36
Buckingham Palace Guard 0 1 2 2 1 27
Tylt Guard 0 1 2 2 1 18
Kensington Guard 0 0 1 1 0 15
Magazine Guard 0 0 1 1 0 9
—— —— —— —— —— ———
Total 1 4 8 8 5 105[382]
-----
Footnote 382:
There was, in addition, a small guard at Southwark military prison, at
St. John’s Wood barracks, when unoccupied by Battalions, and at the
Royal Academy, when open. The British Museum guard seems to have been
done away with about 1864. The Bank piquet remained as before. The
strength of the public duties during the Crimean war has been given in
the last chapter (p. 267); in March, 1835, it appears to have amounted
to, excluding the Bank piquet,—1 Captain, 4 Subalterns, 14 sergeants,
18 corporals, 5 drummers, and 302 privates.
-----
The years 1866 and 1867 are chiefly marked in the domestic history of
the country by the troubles in Ireland, and by the efforts of a secret
society, called the Fenians, to stir up rebellion and serious
disturbances, not only in that island but in England also. The Fenian
body, born and nurtured in the United States, had for some years been
endeavouring to infect the mass of Irishmen distributed throughout the
whole of the United Kingdom with their pernicious doctrines; and in a
sense they accomplished their object by intensifying a feeling that had
existed for many a generation between the Celtic and Saxon populations,
into one of extreme bitterness and animosity. Beyond this, however, they
achieved no immediate success; the illegal and violent measures they
advocated, while they caused a momentary panic among the peaceably
disposed, soon recoiled upon those who perpetrated them. Hence, the
movement speedily dwindled into insignificance, though it left behind a
residue of secret organization, which at no distant date was to support
another agitation, that again was destined to disturb the country.
In the beginning of 1866, the usual spring change of quarters in the
Brigade had been ordered to take place on the 1st of March; the 1st
Coldstream was to move from Chelsea to another station in the West-end,
and the 2nd Battalion from the Tower to Shorncliffe. But the troubles in
Ireland were then giving cause for much anxiety, and the order was not
executed. It was known that some few men belonging to Line Regiments had
secretly joined the Fenians; it was feared that an armed rising might
take place; an attempt to seize Chester Castle had just been frustrated
(February 13th), and a Battalion of the Scots Fusilier Guards had been
hurriedly despatched there to protect the place. A Guards Battalion was
thus urgently required in Dublin, and on the 20th of February the 1st
Coldstream were sent there at twenty-four hours' notice, “the sick,
boys, and men unfit for active service” being attached to the 2nd
Battalion. Shorncliffe was therefore given up as the Guards'
out-quarter.
The stay of the 1st Battalion in Ireland during the year, cannot be
termed a pleasant one. Preserving the public peace against the
machinations of a secret band of conspirators who succeeded temporarily
in deluding a portion of the people, and in partially alienating them
from their legitimate rulers, is a duty too nearly allied to the police
service to be a favourite one with soldiers. The work, however, was well
performed by the Battalion, and this is attested by the following order,
which was issued by the Major-General Commanding the Brigade, on the 6th
of March, 1867, when their tour of duty was completed in Dublin, and
when they returned to London:—
“The Major-General has much pleasure in publishing a Memorandum issued
by General Lord Strathnairn upon the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
leaving Dublin. It reflects the utmost credit on all ranks for having
earned so distinguished a compliment. The Major-General notices the
favourable mention of Captain Hon. E. Legge, his close attention to
his duty as Adjutant proves his zeal in the interest of his Battalion.
The Major-General directs that Lord Strathnairn’s Memorandum with this
Order be read to each Battalion of the Brigade. In a corps constituted
as the Brigade of Guards the character of any one Battalion reflects
upon the whole.”
Lord Strathnairn’s Memorandum ran thus:[383]—
“_Memo._ —The Commander of the Forces has every reason to be pleased
with the excellent discipline of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards
during the twelve months they have been under his Lordship’s command.
The requisitions of the Government have often during this time
necessitated extra duties for the preservation of the public peace,
all of which the Coldstream Guards have performed with strictness and
cheerfulness. The promptitude with which Lieut.-Colonel Le Couteur,
the Officers, the Non-commissioned officers and men of the Battalion
gave effect to the wishes of Lord Strathnairn for a thorough
organization of the Reading, Recreation, and Refreshment rooms which
tend so much to promote discipline, was very creditable to them. Lord
Strathnairn cannot record this favourable opinion of the 1st Battalion
Coldstream Guards without mentioning his high sense of the unvarying
zeal and ability displayed by the Adjutant, Captain Hon. E. Legge, who
during the twelve months has never been absent from his post.”
-----
Footnote 383:
Lord Strathnairn, as Colonel Rose, had been British Commissioner with
the French army during the Crimean War.
-----
The 2nd Coldstream relieved the 1st Battalion early in 1867, and also
remained in Ireland for twelve months under conditions nearly similar to
those that existed in 1866. At the end of this period, the
Lieutenant-Colonel was able to express to the Regiment the high opinion
entertained by the General Commanding the Forces of the 2nd Battalion,
and his own gratification at this good opinion “during trying times, and
when the men were exposed to mischievous temptations.”[384]
-----
Footnote 384:
_Regimental Order_ , Jan. 21, 1868. On the return of the 2nd
Coldstream, the following order, relating to duty in Ireland, was
published, March 19, 1868: “H.R.H. the Senior Colonel of the Brigade
of Guards has approved of changes in the roster for change of quarters
and casual services, by which Dublin remains in a special Irish
roster.”
-----
Nor had the Battalions of the Brigade stationed in London an easy time
during these two years (1866-1867), for they too were harassed by
popular effervescence. A reform bill was before the country, and many
demagogues, attended by their followers, found it easy to disturb the
public peace. Towards the end of July, 1866, the troops were confined to
their quarters; a wing of the 2nd Coldstream occupied Knightsbridge
barracks during the day; the Major-General took post at the Magazine, to
receive reports should anything extraordinary happen; the piquets were
increased; a magistrate was placed in every London barrack, and for a
few days all Officers on leave were recalled. Next year, the fear of
riots still haunted the authorities, and on several occasions the public
duties were doubled. But this was little when compared with the
excitement produced by the explosion at the Clerkenwell House of
Detention on the 13th of December—an outrage of a vile type, perpetrated
by the Fenians for the purpose of terrorizing the Government. Immediate
steps were taken to defend the Metropolis from a repetition of another
such dastardly attempt upon the lives of innocent persons, and for
nearly a month the troops were busily engaged, while the ordinary
military exercises, marches, gun drill, and gymnastic courses were
suspended. A guard was immediately sent to Clerkenwell, of 100 rank and
file, under three Officers; sentries carried their rifles loaded; strong
piquets, of 100 men under a Captain and Lieutenant-Colonel, were mounted
daily in the principal barracks; half the Officers doing duty were held
available for any sudden emergency, from five in the afternoon till
eleven o’clock at night; the Captain of the Queen’s Guard was made
responsible for calling upon the nearest piquet to turn out in case of
disturbance; a guard was furnished at Millbank prison, and over the
small-arm factories in London; signal communication by rockets was
established between the barracks and where an attack might be expected;
a party of the 2nd Scots Fusilier Guards was despatched to Cowes and to
Osborne; the Bank piquet remained on duty for twenty-four hours on
Sundays and on Christmas day, and all leave and furloughs were
suspended. At the Tower, moreover, where the 1st Coldstream were
quartered, the Officer of the main guard patrolled round the ditches and
wharves during the night. These arrangements were not relaxed till the
11th of January, 1868, and things did not resume their normal course
until somewhat later. But as a net result of the Clerkenwell outrage, it
may be mentioned that the metropolitan barracks were put in telegraphic
communication with the Horse Guards, and the work was completed in
March, 1868. By an order of the 31st of December, 1867, also, two
Non-commissioned officers per Battalion were told off to be instructed
in the duties of telegraphist.
In 1867, the Sultan of Turkey came to England, and in 1869 his nominal
vassal, the Khedive (the Viceroy of Egypt), did the same thing. There
were reviews upon these occasions in their honour, and other martial
displays; but these visits, though of political importance, need not
further be alluded to here, since, in a military sense, they entailed
only the ordinary duties performed by the Brigade when a foreign
Sovereign is received in State by Her Majesty the Queen.
Between 1866 and 1871 the following changes took place in the command of
the Regiment. In May, 1866, Colonel Wood having retired, Colonel Dudley
Carleton became Lieutenant-Colonel, and thereupon Colonel Airey,
promoted Major, assumed the command of the 1st Battalion, under the rule
of the 19th of January, 1864, already quoted; while Colonel Stepney
remained with the 2nd Battalion, until the 14th of August, when,
retiring on half-pay, he was succeeded by Colonel Strong. The latter
also shortly afterwards (March 15, 1867) went on half-pay, and the
command of this Battalion devolved upon Colonel Hon. A. Hardinge; on the
23rd of October following, Colonel Hon. Percy Feilding was promoted
Major, commanding the 1st Battalion, Colonel Airey having left the
Regiment. Colonel Hardinge succeeded Colonel Carleton as
Lieutenant-Colonel, September 2, 1868, when Colonel C. Baring was posted
to the command of the 2nd Battalion. Shortly afterwards the
establishment of the Regiment was reduced by one Major, and the
following Brigade Order was issued on the 29th of May, 1869, to direct
how this reduction should be brought about—
In conformity with a letter from the Military Secretary under date,
May 28, 1869, the Major-General notifies to the Brigade that Her
Majesty has been pleased to approve of the proposal of the Secretary
of State for War, that one Major in each Regiment of the Brigade of
Guards be gradually reduced, retaining the Lieutenant-Colonel, who
will take command of a Battalion in addition to that of the Regiment.
In accordance with the above arrangement, the vacancy in the Grenadier
Guards, caused by the promotion of H.S.H. Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar
to be Major-General, on the 23rd of February last, will not be filled
up; and the command of the 3rd Battalion Grenadier Guards, vacated by
such promotion, will devolve upon the Lieutenant-Colonel of the
Regiment, Colonel Bruce, from the above date.
The opportunity to give effect to this order did not come in the
Coldstream until January 4, 1871, when, on the retirement of
Colonel Hardinge, Colonel Hon. P. Feilding, C.B., was promoted
Lieutenant-Colonel, and still retained the command of the 1st
Battalion. Colonel C. Baring remained in command of the 2nd
Battalion until the 13th of August, 1872, when, retiring on
half-pay, he was succeeded by Colonel Goodlake, V.C.
In the Brigade, Lord Frederick Paulet, C.B., was succeeded by
Major-General Hon. J. Lindsay (January 29, 1867), and during the period
of his command the Guards Institute, near Vauxhall Bridge Road, was
opened by H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, July 11, 1867, as “a convenient
place of refreshment, resort, amusement, and occupation for
Non-commissioned officers and men stationed in London.” This club only
flourished a few years, and was closed in 1872, when the building was
bought by Cardinal Manning, and was converted by him into the present
residence of the Archbishop of Westminster. General Lindsay also
promoted a military industrial exhibition, which took place in Chelsea
barracks on the 9th of July, 1868; but on that date Major-General
Hamilton, C.B., had already succeeded him in the command of the Brigade,
having assumed it on the 1st of April. The latter, promoted
Lieutenant-General, left, April 1, 1870, and Major-General, H.S.H.
Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar, C.B., was then appointed in his place.
Of changes in the uniform of the Regiment, the following may be noted:
On the 6th of December, 1859, it was ordered that the chin-straps of the
bearskins were to be worn under and not on the chin; but this method,
apparently, was not long maintained in force. A mess dress was
authorized for the Officers of the Brigade, January 30, 1864. Silver
stars on the forage cap, and sling belts were to be worn by the
Sergeant-Major, Quartermaster-Sergeant, Bandmaster, Sergeant-Instructor
of Musketry, Drum-Major, Band-Sergeant, Drill Sergeants, Regimental
Orderly Room Clerk, Assistant Regimental Clerk, Battalion Orderly Room
Clerk, Hospital-Sergeant, Armourer-Sergeant, Master-Tailor, and the
Sergeant of Cooks, April 25, 1870. Lastly, on the 28th of June, 1872,
gold cords on the shoulders of the Officers' tunics were substituted for
the red silk cord which was worn on one side to secure the sash.
A Regimental Order, dated April 18, 1871, possesses an interest to the
Coldstream, which requires a place in this account of their services:—
“A communication having been received by Field-Marshal Sir William
Gomm, G.C.B., from the Secretary of the Royal Cambridge Asylum for
Soldiers' Widows, to the effect that, at a meeting of the General
Committee held March 9, 1871, a resolution was agreed to, according a
presentation in perpetuity to the above asylum to the Colonel of the
Coldstream Guards, the Regiment of H.R.H. the late Duke of Cambridge,
the fact is here noted as a Regimental record.”
In October, 1871, the names of the Officers posted to the two Battalions
were:—
_Colonel._—Field-Marshal Sir William Gomm, G.C.B.
_Lieut.-Colonel._—Colonel Hon. Percy Feilding, C.B.
1st Battalion.
_Majors._—Vacant.[385]
_Captains._—Colonels G. Goodlake, V.C.; Hon. W. Feilding (_Mounted_).
Lieut.-Colonels G. FitzRoy; G. Wigram; Lord William Seymour; Hon.
E. Legge; E. Burnell; N. Burnand; F. C. Manningham-Buller; J.
Hathorn.
2nd Battalion.
Colonel C. Baring.
Lieut.-Colonels A. Fremantle C. Blackett (_Mounted_).
Colonel Hon. R. Monck; Lieut.-Cols. H. Jervoise; Julian Hall; A.
Lambton; FitzRoy Fremantle; Lord Cremorne; E. Chaplin; G. FitzRoy
Smyth.
-----
Footnote 385:
Colonel P. Feilding commanded the 1st Battalion as well as the
Regiment. Instead of 16 Ensigns, there were 13,—7 in the 1st
Battalion and 6 in the 2nd Battalion. Vacancies were not filled up,
owing to the changes that were about to be introduced into the
Brigade of Foot Guards.
-----
1st Battalion.
_Lieutenants._—Captains H. Bonham-Carter; H. R. Eyre (I. of M.); Hon. F.
Wellesley; Hon. Heneage Legge; H. Aldenburg-Bentinck; Hon. H. Corry;
Hon. E. Boscawen; R. Goff; Waller Hughes; H. Bruce; E. Boyle; Hon.
Ronald Campbell (Adjutant).
_Ensigns._—Lieutenants F. Graves-Sawle; Hon. M. Stapleton; R.
Pole-Carew; Cyril Fortescue; Hon. C. Cavendish; A. Clark-Kennedy; F.
Arkwright.
_Quartermasters._—A. Falconer.
_Surgeon-Major._—J. Wyatt.
_Battalion Surgeon._—
_Assistant-Surgeons._—A. Myers; Whipple, M.D.
2nd Battalion.
Captains J. B. Sterling; C. D. Thomas; Hon. J. Vesey (Adjutant); R. S.
Hall; C. Alexander; W. Ramsden; Hon. E. Acheson; Hon. L. Dawnay; Hon.
E. Digby (I. of M.); W. Turquand; R. Follett; Amelius Wood; Hon. R.
Greville-Nugent; Hon. G. Bertie.
Lieutenants A. Moreton; J. G. Montgomery; F. Manley; Hon. Alfred
Charteris; Lord Ossulston; L. MacKinnon.
J. Birch.
Surgeon-Major C. V. Cay.
J. Trotter
This chapter should not conclude without making some mention of the new
armament introduced into the British infantry during the period under
review. The Danish war, 1864, and more especially the Austro-Prussian
struggle of 1866, revealed the immense superiority possessed by troops
in the field who were supplied with the breech-loading rifle, over those
that still retained the muzzle-loader. In the campaigns which have taken
place between the two Germanic Powers, it has been remarked that Prussia
has more than once been provided with better war _matériel_ than her
antagonist. In the Seven Years' War, Frederick the Great had an iron
ramrod, the Austrians a wooden one, and the advantages he gained thereby
were not inconsiderable. So in the Bohemian campaign of 1866, the
Prussians were armed with a breech-loader, and the mass of fire they
were able to develop on the battle-field was much greater and far more
effective than their enemy could return against them. The great
importance of this military question had not been neglected in England,
and the object-lesson caused by the struggle in Central Europe
stimulated the authorities to greater exertions. While, therefore, we
were considering what pattern of breech-loading rifle we should finally
adopt, immediate steps were taken to hurry on the conversion of the
Enfield into the Snider breech-loader, so that by the end of 1866
Commanding Officers of Guards Regiments were directed to send in
requisitions for the new converted weapon (December 19th). The rifle
eventually adopted was the Henry-Martini, which was served out to the
Coldstream in October, 1874. In time, the latter was discarded for the
small-bore magazine breech-loader (the Lee-Metford .303 Rifle), and this
was issued to the Regiment early in 1890. Immediately afterwards, the
ordinary black powder, which had been in use for many centuries, was
replaced by the present cordite, a smokeless nitro-explosive.
[Illustration: OFFICER 1839.]
[Illustration: OFFICER 1849.]
N. R. Wilkinson del. A.D. Innes & C^o. London. Mintern Bros.
Chromo.
CHAPTER XIV.
ARMY REFORM, 1871-1885.
Effect produced in England by the military successes of Prussia—Short
service and the reserve system introduced—Abolition of
army purchase—Abolition of the double rank in the Foot
Guards—Substitution of the rank of Sub-Lieutenant for that of Ensign
or Cornet—Manœuvres and summer drills—Changes in the
drill-book—Illness and recovery of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales—Death
of Surgeon-Major Wyatt, and of Field-Marshal Sir W. Gomm—General Sir
W. Codrington appointed Colonel of the Coldstream Guards—Death of
Captains Hon. R. Campbell and R. Barton—Company training—Pirbright
Camp established—Medical service in the Brigade—Change in the
establishment of the Regiment—Death of Sir W. Codrington, and
appointment of General Sir Thomas Steele as Colonel—Troubles in
Ireland—Alarm in London—The Royal Military Chapel.
The wars that disturbed the Continent could not fail to rouse the
serious attention of every thinking man in this country, and to make all
look closely into the causes which had brought about very unexpected
results. Englishmen were not surprised at the ease with which the great
Germanic Powers overcame the resistance of Denmark, in 1864: nor yet,
indeed, to see Austria driven from Lombardy when Napoleon III. set
himself to the task, in 1859; because the alliance which we had
contracted with the French in 1854, taught us to respect their army, and
to believe they possessed a system and organization which placed them at
the head of the military nations of Europe. But the struggles of 1866
and 1870-71 were of a very different nature. In the first case, we saw
Prussia suddenly emerge from a small peace to a strong war
establishment, strike swiftly and surely the minor States of Germany,
and swoop down on Bohemia, where, meeting an enemy apparently worthy of
her steel, and of about equal numerical strength to herself, she
annihilated his forces in a few weeks, and obliged him to conclude a
peace almost before he knew that fighting had commenced. In the second
case, we again saw Prussia, in union this time with the smaller Germanic
States, arm herself with even greater rapidity than before, concentrate
her large armies on the frontier of France, invade the territories of
her formidable rival, and lock up the bulk of the hostile forces in the
fortress of Metz, while she captured the remainder at Sedan. These
astounding successes occurred when scarcely two months had elapsed after
the declaration of the war, and the course of hostilities was so
favourable to the invader that, in less than seven months, France lay
prostrate at the feet of Prussia, and was obliged to sue for terms of
peace, humiliating to her national pride and derogatory to her great
position in Europe.
No statesman could neglect to examine the causes of these stupendous
events, and the institutions which had rendered them capable of
realization: no soldier could abstain from studying the new conditions
under which hostilities in the future must be conducted, and the
numerous questions of warlike interest which modern science had
introduced. It is not surprising that the Prussian system should
speedily have become our model in the affairs relating to the army, and
that the British nation should determine to make a searching inquiry
into its military concerns.
It is not necessary to attempt to give a description of all the matters
that claimed the earnest attention of the country at that time. Some of
them did not affect the Coldstream, or did so only in a slight manner,
and their discussion in this work may be omitted, or need receive but a
passing notice. Among them, however, the two following should be
mentioned: (1) the more efficient training of both Officers and men in
their duties, and in the new system of tactics which had to be adopted
in the field in consequence of the increased power of artillery, and of
the great development of the fire of the breech-loader; and (2) the
recruitment of the men, and the term of service during which they should
remain with their corps.
We have seen that, as early as 1856, considerable interest had been
taken in the first of these points, though it is also true that the
reforms introduced were merely in their infancy, and had not by any
means gone far enough. This was a natural result, because to effect a
change of a salutary character, the expenditure of money is necessary,
and public opinion must be moved before it can be obtained. The
successes of Prussia had not then thrown light upon the requirements
which a state of war in the present day exacts; and it was after these
victories had been achieved, and not before, that the country acquired
the faculty of realizing the advantages to be gained if all ranks are
efficiently taught the details of the military profession.[386] Later in
this chapter, an occasion will present itself to refer to some of the
methods undertaken to accomplish this object, and we now pass to the
second point, which, having a peculiar interest of its own, exercises a
special influence on the fortunes of every regiment that forms part of
the army.
-----
Footnote 386:
The army authorities have ever been alive to the necessity of
professional instruction. Examples are to be found in the handbooks
issued by Lieut.-General Lord Frederick FitzClarence (late Coldstream
Guards, who helped to arrest the Cato Street conspirators in 1820) and
by “A Field Officer” (Colonel Torrens, afterwards Major-General Sir
Arthur Torrens, late Grenadier Guards), issued in 1850 and 1851, and
if the reader can procure these publications, he will perceive they
are as up to date, of their time, as our best text-books of the
present day. It is a mistake to accuse the military authorities of
slackness, in respect to the training of soldiers. The blame rests on
the country which alone could supply funds, and which took no interest
in these affairs. During the continuance of the present phase in the
world’s history, when every Continental nation is armed to the teeth,
it is not likely that Parliament will withdraw its annual expenditure
upon the army any more than on the navy. But it is right to add that,
while the country can provide the money, public opinion will of itself
never be able to foster military efficiency, nor instil into the army
those qualities which make a man a soldier.
-----
Up to 1847 military service had been unlimited, and men who enlisted
might be held to remain with the Colours for life.[387] The system was
not satisfactory, and a change was then made by which men contracted to
serve for ten years only, with the power of remaining on eleven more,
should they be permitted to do so, and, at the end of that period, to
receive a pension. In 1867, the first term of service was raised from
ten to twelve years, and soldiers were encouraged to continue their
service for twenty-one years for pension.[388] The advantage of having a
reserve to fill up the ranks of the army in war time had, for some
years, occupied the attention of the authorities, and, before 1867, two
small attempts had been made to secure this object; but, though the
principle was admitted, very little was done in this direction. The war
of 1866, however, made the country realize the importance of a rapid
mobilization; and the Prussians, having practically shown how, with a
reserve at hand, they could, in a short space of time, convert a small
peace establishment into a fully equipped army ready to take the field,
we also desired to follow their example. In 1867, therefore, we
strengthened the reserve; but, as a matter of fact, we still merely
nibbled at the question, until 1870, when it at last received a more
thorough consideration. In that year the Enlistment Act was passed,
introducing “short service” and a more efficient reserve into the army.
-----
Footnote 387:
During an emergency, men had been allowed to enlist for limited
periods of service, varying from two to seven years (in the infantry),
or while hostilities lasted. This was notably the case in the reign of
Queen Anne, in 1745, 1759, 1775, and 1806-1829; but unlimited service
for life also ran concurrently in the army at the same time (_The Army
Book for the British Empire_ , pp. 17, 22, etc.).
Footnote 388:
_The Army Book for the British Empire_ , p. 54. See also pp. 49-67.
-----
By the new system, recruits enlist for twelve years, and engage to serve
the whole time with the Colours, or part of the time with the Colours
and the rest in the reserve, according to the conditions laid down by
the Secretary of State. At first, it was proposed that the two periods
should be equal; but this was soon modified to seven years in the ranks
and five in the reserve, and in the Guards (since 1883) to three and
nine, for such recruits who might prefer those terms. Hence, in the
Brigade, men may now enlist for three or seven years with the Colours,
and spend nine or five in the reserve; three-years men may, with the
consent of their Commanding Officers, extend their service in the ranks
to seven years, and from seven to twelve years, after which, still under
the same conditions, they are able to re-engage for some years more up
to twenty-one, with a view to obtain a pension.
Thus the present system is elastic, and has the merit of training a
larger proportion of the population to the use of arms than was formerly
the case; of enabling the nation to maintain a relatively small force in
peace time, which can be rapidly expanded into an army when hostilities
break out; and of reducing the pension list. It also increases the
domestic comfort of the men, for it definitely disposes of the question
of marriage of the rank and file, which, with long service, was
difficult, indeed impossible, to solve. The practical utility of the
plan has not yet been tested under the strain of war, and, until it has
been so tried, it is manifestly premature to unduly praise it; nor are
we yet in a position to judge whether the fighting material we now
possess, is as well endowed with the fortitude, virtue, and cohesive
force, which discipline bestows, as was the case in so eminent a degree
in the past. We can point to this, however, that Continental nations who
have tried their reserves in the field consider them to be fully equal
to any other troops they have in their ranks; and we, too, have had
experience of the noble qualities of comparatively untrained men in some
very critical situations and emergencies. But, of one thing, at least,
we may be sure: the reserve men will loyally come up when their presence
is required. Englishmen have never failed to respond to the call of
duty, and it is notorious, when even a fear arises that British
interests may be attacked, how quickly the manhood of the country rises
to the occasion, and offers to come forward to defend them. It cannot be
forgotten that, in 1878, when the then existing reserve was called out,
13,684 men, out of a possible of 14,154, reported themselves; and, in
1882, when 11,642 reserve men were summoned, 11,032 appeared.[389]
-----
Footnote 389:
_The Army Book, etc._ , p. 119. We have not paused to inquire how the
new system is suitable or the reverse to the requirements of small
wars, in which Great Britain is so constantly engaged, because this
question depends rather upon the manner in which the home battalion of
a regiment serves as a depôt to its colleague abroad; and as this
portion of the present army system does not affect the Guards, it is
obvious that its consideration is not necessary in this volume.
-----
The Prussian model, upon which we based our army reform, was departed
from in two important particulars. In one, the departure was fully
acknowledged and thoroughly explained in public; but not so the other.
In the first, we repudiated the idea of inflicting the evils and the
tyranny of universal service upon the country, and deliberately declined
to make the people liable to a blood tax, that wastes their wealth and
attacks their liberty and independence. Our military forces, hence, are
smaller than they would otherwise have been, and our means of
mobilization less rapid than those which exist on the Continent, because
our reserve men, living where and as they like, are not localized and
controlled in the manner which obtains among the Powers of Europe.
Nevertheless, we willingly gave up these advantages for the sake of
preserving our freedom, so dear to the mind of every Englishman, and the
foundation of our national prosperity. As we inhabit an island, and hold
the command of the sea by an overwhelmingly powerful navy, there was no
valid reason to press for any alteration in our time-honoured custom of
recruiting the army by voluntary enlistment.
The second departure from the Prussian organization seems to have been
as carefully hidden from the public gaze as the other was ventilated and
discussed. The system we chose to copy approached our own, in that the
Sovereign was the direct and immediate Chief of the army, and from a
purely military standpoint it is easy to perceive that such an
arrangement—adopted moreover, by every great Power that has a Sovereign,
and that aims at real military strength—is the best adapted to produce
the most efficient results. Our reformers, however, completely ignored
in this respect the model they announced they would follow, and as
Englishmen have never been a military race properly so called, they
scarcely saw or appreciated the change that was brought about, when the
Supreme Command, still vested in the Crown, was exercised through the
political channel of the Secretary of State (1870). The historian is
bound to record this vitally important alteration in the constitution of
the army—a change rendered desirable, perhaps, for reasons that are
outside the scope of this work,—for, it affects and must affect the life
of every regiment that composes it, and subjects many of the details of
purely military interest and of the military profession, to the
fluctuations and necessities of party strife.
Nor was it long before the army was made the victim of a political
dispute. The war of 1870-71 had roused the people to fever heat, and
army reform became the universal cry. Politicians, not gifted with
military instincts or knowledge, soon led their followers into those
points of the subject that best suited the interests of their party; and
as the “abolition of purchase” offered just such an advantage in the
parliamentary struggle then going on, it was eagerly seized upon as the
most urgent question of the hour. It cannot be said that army reform was
impossible without abolishing purchase, for every improvement introduced
could have been as easily effected, whether purchase had been retained
or not. But it is also true that the practice of buying and selling a
commission was an anomaly quite indefensible in itself, which deserved
to come to an end, and which was scarcely likely to survive for long. If
so, its abolition, safeguarding the interests of all concerned by it,
would have benefited the army more than can be said was the case, when
it was achieved in 1871, and thereby increased the influence of the
political party that carried it.
The purchase system had the disadvantage of checking the rise in their
profession of men of very moderate fortune, who entered the infantry or
cavalry;[390] and this without doubt was an evil which required
reformation, for it excluded from these branches of the army some whose
service there might have been of value to the country. On the other
hand, this defect was more theoretical than practical; and the system
had the advantage of keeping up a flow of promotion, and of keeping down
the pension list. It was not an arrangement by which any purchaser could
buy his steps; to be allowed to spend money for this purpose was a
privilege to which any conditions could be attached. So was it also a
cheap means of keeping up the supply of Officers, for the sale of a
commission was the only pecuniary reward that was expected, and
Parliament was not asked to spend money to provide gratuities, retired
pay, pensions, and the like, that now have to be given. Officers, in
short, tendered security for their good behaviour, and proved their
devotion to their profession by offering their service for a smaller
return in the shape of pay than they now receive.
-----
Footnote 390:
Purchase only existed in the infantry and cavalry, and not in the
artillery and Royal Engineers.
-----
The Bill to do away with this system passed the House of Commons, and
went in due course up the Lords, where it was read the first time. On
the second reading, a demand was made for further information on the
proposals that were then contemplated, and a resolution to that effect
was carried. Thereupon a Royal Warrant, July 20, 1871, was immediately
issued, which abolished purchase without the aid of Parliament, from the
following 1st of November.
On October 31, 1871, another Royal Warrant was published, which
contained two points that affected the Brigade: (1) it abolished what
has been called the “double rank,” and (2) it substituted the new rank
of Sub-Lieutenant for that of Ensign in the infantry, and of Cornet in
the cavalry, both of which had existed ever since the formation of the
standing army.
The abolition of the “double rank” is of too recent a date, and concerns
the Officers of the Brigade too intimately and personally, to be able
easily to discuss it at the present moment. It will be time enough to do
so at some future date, when war on a large scale has tested the quality
of the modern army, when it has been practically shown where the
military virtues are most plentifully to be found in it, and when we
shall have emerged definitely from the transition state in which the
reforms of 1871 has placed us. Guardsmen do recognise, and have for a
long time recognised, that the advantage which the double rank conferred
upon them was an anomaly which deserved to be swept away, for they have
ever been anxious to possess no purely military privilege which the rest
of their comrades did not enjoy, and have been eager to see removed
anything that might savour of favouritism, or give cause for jealousy.
Nevertheless, it is well to remember that the double rank was an
institution which had obtained the sanction of two centuries, and that
it was the survival of an ancient system which possessed some merit. In
the infancy of the British army, shortly after the Restoration of King
Charles II., brought about by General Monck and his Coldstreamers, there
was much debate over the vexed question of “precedence of command.” This
precedence, in some regiments, not all of them Guards regiments, was
fixed, not by seniority of commission, but by seniority of corps, and
this arrangement appears to have developed into the institution of the
double rank for the Foot Guards, and of Brevet rank for all.[391]
-----
Footnote 391:
Colonel Clifford Walton, C.B., _History of the British Standing
Army_ , A.D. 1660-1700, pp. 441, etc. (London, 1894). The reader
should remember that a form of the double rank still exists in every
regiment of the service; the Colonel of each being either a General
Officer or a Field-Marshal. Further on in this chapter it will be
seen, moreover, that the double rank was practically revived in the
infantry in 1881, when it suited Government to do so to serve their
own purposes.
-----
Now, it seems evident that the object in view, when these things were
arranged, was to maintain efficiency in the army; to keep up a flow of
promotion; and to prevent Officers from ranking low down in the army
list, when, by length of service or for other reasons, it was desirable
that they should rise with others in their profession. The regimental
system, being the basis of military advancement, then, as it is now, it
is obvious that unless some such means were adopted to accelerate the
promotion of an Officer, who belonged to a corps where men were
unwilling to leave the service, no efforts on his part could secure his
rise. Nor can it be forgotten that promotion stagnates in proportion as
Officers generally are attached to their profession and to their
corps,—that is, in not the least distinguished regiments of the army;
and if the regimental system have any value (and that it has a value is
evident, while the promoters of army reform showed their opinion of it
by retaining it), it becomes clear that relief is most required in those
regiments where duty is well performed, and where a high standard of
military efficiency is maintained. The principle laid down was neither
unwise nor unfair; and if in the case of the Foot Guards it was applied
with too generous a hand, it must still be remembered that this was
done, not less on account of their services in the field, than by reason
of the position they occupied in the army.
The sudden abolition of the double rank in 1871, put the Foot Guards in
a worse position than if it had never existed; but they still have the
honour of occupying a unique position in the army, for, while before
1871 they held the first place, after that date they sank immediately
down to the lowest place in their profession. The following table will
illustrate this fact:—
PROMOTION TO THE RANK OF CAPTAIN;[392] AVERAGE NUMBER OF YEARS' SERVICE.
┌──────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬─────────┐
│ │ BRIGADE OF GUARDS. │ CAVALRY. │INFANTRY │
│ │ │ │ OF THE │
│ │ │ │ LINE. │
│ ├────────────────┬───────────────────┼──────────┴─────────┤
│ │ To Regimental │ To Regimental │ To │
│ │ Lieutenant, │ Captain, bearing │ Regimental Captain │
│ │ bearing Army │ Army Rank of │ bearing no │
│ │ Rank of Capt. │ Lt.-Colonel. │ extra Army rank. │
├──────────────────┼────────────────┼───────────────────┼──────────┬─────────┤
│Between 1838 │ Years. │ Years. │ Years. │ Years. │
│ and 1871[393] │ 4-5/12 │ 14-8/12 │ 7-5/12 │ 9-11/12 │
│ ├────────────────┴───────────────────┤ │ │
│ │ To Regimental Captain, bearing │ │ │
│ │ no extra Army Rank. │ │ │
│ ├────────────────────────────────────┤ │ │
│ │ Years. │ │ │
│In 1884[394] │ 12 │ 7-1/12 │ 8-4/12 │
│In 1894[394] │ 12-3/12 │ 7 │ 8-5/12 │
└──────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴─────────┘
-----
Footnote 392:
The rank of Captain has been principally insisted upon, as it is the
decisive step in an Officer’s career. Once a Captain, an Officer who
distinguishes himself can obtain Brevet rank. As a Lieutenant, he is
unable to advance in his profession, except by regimental promotion.
Footnote 393:
In calculating the figures of this part of the Table, the promotions
have been taken which actually occurred in the years 1838, 1841, 1846,
1851, 1855, 1865, and 1870, in the whole of the Brigade of Guards, and
of the Cavalry, and in every fifth Regiment (5th, 10th, 15th, 20th,
etc.) of the Infantry of the Line.
The period 4-5/12 years, in the Table for the Brigade of Guards, would
have been 5-4/12 years, had the average length of service required to
promote an Officer of the Coldstream to Regimental Lieutenant, between
1838 and 1871, been given.
Footnote 394:
These figures have been taken in the same way as under Note 400, but
for the years 1884 and 1894.
The year 1884 has been selected because promotion of Officers of the
Brigade of Guards, who do _not_ enjoy the double rank, began then
generally to take effect. The first Coldstream Officer (without double
rank) took 13 years to become Regimental Captain; the second, 13-3/12
years.
It may be stated, that, in 1896, the senior Second-Lieutenants in the
Coldstream have all but six years' service—that is, nearly as much
service as it takes the average Cavalry Officer to attain to the rank
of Captain.
-----
The substitution of the rank of Sub-Lieutenant for that of Ensign led to
some curious results. By the rules established in October, 1871, a
Commission as a Sub-Lieutenant might be given to a successful candidate
who had passed certain examinations; and in order to qualify for the
rank of Lieutenant, a Sub-Lieutenant was required to serve
satisfactorily for twelve months in a regiment, and after such service
to go through a course of study, and to pass a professional examination,
fixed from time to time by the Secretary of State.
The position of the new Officer was unprecedented, and no one at first
knew exactly what he was. Accordingly, on March 5, 1872, we find that he
was forbidden to present himself before his Sovereign, because he was
“not positively confirmed as a Commissioned Officer;” but then, on the
21st of May following, he was stated to be a “regularly Commissioned
Officer, and, when qualified by a knowledge of his work, he was eligible
for Courts-Martial and all other military duties performed by Subaltern
Officers;” and at last, February 24, 1873, it was announced that he
would be received at Court. The trials of the aspirant to serve in Her
Majesty’s army did not end here. The new civilian chief who assumed the
direction of every military detail, determined that the stage of
initiation into the most glorious profession the world has produced
should be thorny, painful, and difficult. The Sub-Lieutenant, just as he
emerged from school and opened the first and brightest page of a happy
youth, was allowed to spend a year full of liberty among his new
companions in arms, and to enjoy to the uttermost the sweets of life as
they unfolded themselves before his vivid imagination. But the bright
holiday was brief, and when it ended, the hapless lad was to experience
a very different treatment. The year of enjoyment was over, and, giving
up his freedom, he was sent back to the rigid discipline of school, (in
this case even more severe than that to which he had been accustomed in
his boyhood). Here he was tutored, controlled, corrected, and crammed.
The power of a Secretary of State is great; but, just as he cannot make
water run uphill, so can he not alter the ardent character of a young
English gentleman, and the latter, we regret to say, rebelled at the
indignities heaped upon him! Solemn indeed were the warnings which his
sympathetic military superiors gave him. But they did more than this,
for they persuaded the political chief to avoid running counter to human
nature, and the rule was changed, and a more rational one substituted
for it. The Sub-Lieutenant went first to school, and then he joined his
Regiment.
It is pleasant now to leave these matters, and to turn once more to the
solid and effective improvements that were introduced about this time.
In 1871, manœuvres on an extended scale were, for the first time,
held in England, when a successful endeavour was made to conduct
operations which should, as far as possible, imitate those that have to
be undertaken in war time. Aldershot and its neighbourhood was selected
for these exercises, and they lasted for about seven weeks, commencing
early in August until the end of September. The Guards Brigade present,
was formed of the 1st Grenadiers, 2nd Coldstream, and 2nd Scots Fusilier
Guards. Next year similar manœuvres took place in Salisbury Plain,
which were even more successful than those of the year before. They
lasted about a month, beginning in the middle of August, and were
attended by the 3rd Grenadiers, 1st Coldstream, and 1st Scots Fusilier
Guards. In this year, also, Regimental transport was introduced, and, in
June, one Non-commissioned officer and twenty men of the battalions just
mentioned were sent to Woolwich to be trained as drivers. In 1873,
parties of the same strength, from the 2nd Grenadiers and 2nd
Coldstream, again proceeded to Woolwich for a similar course, this time
under the command of a Subaltern Officer from each Regiment, and
manœuvres, lasting a month, took place at Cannock Chase, in
Staffordshire. The two Battalions, above mentioned, formed the Guards
Brigade upon that occasion, each made up into eight companies (25
Officers, 641 Non-commissioned officers and men, exclusive of the
Regimental transport detachment). With this year the mimic war
undertaken to exercise every part of the army, the fighting units as
well as the transport, commissariat, medical services, etc., came to an
end: manœuvres cost money, and the recollection of the great struggle
between France and Germany was beginning to fade from the memory of
those whose privilege it is to pay taxes and return members of
Parliament. Henceforward summer drills were substituted for the larger
and more instructive operations.