R. D. Gibney

“ In no regimental camp can the same strict obedience to any order be insisted on or carried out. The absolute and complete silence in camp after "lights out," and that lights are out, is a great point gained; the clipping of the wings of those rejoicing in proclaiming dawn, and forcing such early birds to remain all still within their tents, until the bugle note gives freedom; the punctuality on parade, fitness of arms and uniform, respectful salute, and self-respect, are among the many things acquired by being brigaded with regulars. ”

“ Among the first to stir in the matter of self-defence and raising a corps of rifle volunteers was the city of Salisbury—England's Venice. Indeed, a rifle corps, consisting of one company and a sub-division, with its officers and non-commissioned officers, drill and practice grounds, and systematic teachings, had been established and worked before many other towns and cities had done much more than think something really ought to be arranged—of course not by themselves, but by the Government. ”

“ The blame for having uniforms of all sorts, kinds, and colours is not to fall on officers raising corps. The War Office had for the infantry red or black, or indeed the khakee of India as a choice; but to have given a decided order on the subject would have shown an interest in, or perhaps a belief in, the prolonged existence of these corps, and this was to be avoided. However, as mutual assembling together of corps for reviews and battalion purposes became more frequent, so did the absurdity of each company in a battalion having different uniforms and accoutrements become more evident. ”

“ The excuse for having left the path must be that our present time strangely resembles that of 1859, when we, the people, were left to our own resources, and by prompt action staved off or, as far as we know, absolutely knocked the idea of a successful invasion on the head. It is our duty now, as then, to look matters boldly in the face; to calculate all the pros and cons of the case, and not be led astray from what we in our hearts believe to be necessary, and should be done, regardless of the money it may cost, or of giving umbrage either to political parties or neighbouring nations. ”

“ It is not in the canteen that respect for officers and authorities is learned. The best non-commissioned officers, and men who are wide awake and cautious, on picket or sentry, are not from canteen frequenters. The canteen in the regular army and militia is a fruitful source of misery to the many, however well conducted it may be, but when open at all hours, from daybreak to last post, in a volunteer encampment, subject only in reality to the mere licensing laws of the country, it is little else than a curse. ”

“ If the reviews are held in large towns, such as Brighton, Dover, Portsmouth, &c., whole brigades of volunteers hang about, often for hours, from the time of arrival until the general assembly shall sound, meanwhile none the better for public-house entertainments and want of occupation; then are marched through streets to the ground selected—a march past, and a sham fight, in which firing and confusion are prominent features, as instruction could not there be given, and utter ignorance of the very outlines of skirmishing and attack by the majority of men, are only too visible. ”

“ Enthusiasm was on the wane, and it was plain enough to any but those holding out for some Utopian idea of the advantages to be derived in having only well-to-do men for volunteers, that a diminishing subscription list and inability of officers to continue the constant drag on their purses was not only a serious factor in attendances at squad and company drills, but was undermining discipline, and eventually would bring the majority of corps into little else than shooting clubs; an organization not at all desirable or in any way meeting [Pg 5] the demand for which the volunteers were raised. ”

“ On the 7th September, the battle of Wishford took place, and was commenced by a large portion of the southern army (using the Great Ridge as a screen) making a detour to the eastward, and then, when clear, crossing the Wiley lower down at Wilton, and attacking in force the left flank of the enemy at the time resting on the undulating ground above the village of Wishford. The attack was irresistible, and to all appearances unexpected; the numbers of the attackers being in excess of the defenders, and no help from centre or flank being given. ”

“ The troops which an enemy engaging in the invasion of this country would bring, must be selected men, and if opposed by riflemen, held together without knowledge of drill and discipline, but merely acting on the spur of enthusiasm, would scatter such as is chaff before the wind. ”

“ However, modern necessities have found a full use for the Punch Bowl, and may it long continue a practice ground for the Wilton Rifle Volunteers.
It may be as well now to describe the uniform of this corps as it was for officers and men on the first formation. Each corps had a different one—some soldier-like and useful, some perfectly hideous; but for a thing of beauty for ever, No. 14 beat all Wiltshire. Its colour was a light drab with facings of scarlet, but much of this concealed under an abundance of silver lace ”

“ We may be better prepared to resist invasion than we were in 1859, but are we so fully prepared, and are our forces so numerous, so armed, so fully equipped and so fully provided with guns, hospital comforts, carriage and commissariat, as would allow of our auxiliary forces being called upon suddenly to serve and, so serving, to hold their own and keep the field for a prolonged period? ”

“ It is very clever now in people to discover that in a neighbourhood such as Mere and Bradley there was too sparse a population from which to form and keep up two rifle corps, and that to have always sixty efficients on your roll entailed the necessity for very many more useless appendages being within hail. ”

“ The adjutant was to ride over from Warminster and take breakfast, and some water-colouring was to be done between that meal and the time of assembly. As proposed, so carried out, and on the appointed day, a bleak December morning, the adjutant, mounted on his best, started away for the captain's abode, there to find him at breakfast sure enough, but in pink, and evidently intent on hunting instead of drawing or drilling.
"I forgot all about the drill. Bother it, we can't have it. The hounds meet at Knoyle, so we haven't a moment to spare. Every fellow will be there, and you must come." ”

“ The next European war in which England is engaged, gives time for none of these processes; and not improbably the volunteer battalion, made up of scattered companies, full of half-drilled, ignorant bumpkins or mechanics, with no great-coats, paper-soled boots, and underclothing spare and worn, working as labourers in the wildest parts of Yorkshire, or the smelting works of Staffordshire, will be summoned by telegraph to join the head quarters at ——, and take part in the manœuvres deemed necessary to repel an invasion occurring or occurred on the coast. Will men then be weeded out? ”

“ The men were few, the country wild, and regular attendance at drill almost impossible, so it was broken up.
It will not be out of place here to say what then was meant by raising and supporting a rifle corps, and how great the enthusiasm and patriotism of both men and women must have been when they submitted to give so much and receive so little. In the movement ladies were most enthusiastic and helpful, contributing by gifts of money, uniforms, shooting prizes, and in holding bazaars. To the Government of the day not one shred of praise or thanks are due. ”

“ A battalion drill, for instance, was often the cause of no little heartburning. One corps, after much expense and trouble, would bring to the place of muster probably two-thirds of its strength; but this very strength required its being partially broken up for the purpose of equalizing companies, and perhaps many of the [Pg 2] best drilled men being amalgamated with very ignorant volunteers detached from another corps. This did not help to render the captain of the corps, or the men transferred, in a state of satisfaction with the day's work. ”

“ Trains ran more conveniently on such occasions, and it was an opportunity to get off one of the required battalion drills. For example, there is an assembly of the battalion at the Earl of Pembroke's beautiful park at Wilton. It is a great occasion, and Lord Palmerston with no end of the quality are to be present; so the muster is good, and all are anxious that not only the Prime Minister, but all the multitude shall see, that neither time nor money has been spared in making the flamingo-coloured regiment assembling before their eyes, thoroughly efficient, and able defenders of their country. ”

“ It is plain to a military man that a body of men so constituted, subsisting almost altogether on the liberality or length of purse of its officers and supporters, somewhat independent of authority, and held to duty by the provisions of the War Office letter to the Lord Lieutenants of Counties dated May, 1859, or by rules founded on the same, could have little stability; and that however much inspector-generals or assistant-inspectors might exert themselves, and endeavour to bring the force into forming an useful adjunct to the regular army, it would result in failure. ”

“ Much less could not have been offered, or regulations made by which an useful force to be relied on in the event of invasion might turn out to be worthless. Members were to find their own arms, only the gauge to be equal, smooth bores or rifles; equipments, uniform, and quantity of drill to be at discretion of members, and all rules and regulations to be left to the decision of each lord lieutenant of a county, thereby certainly ensuring a variety of systems. Out of such confusion it is wonderful that the present disciplined and reliable force has come ”

“ Notwithstanding the backwardness of the Government and their inability to see the absolute necessity of immediate action by raising some force less long in making efficient, and of a different class in life to regulars or militia, the country commenced with the greatest activity; and as rifle corps had been decided upon as both useful and dependable, few towns of any size but had such forming. ”

“ At an age when most men begin very much to appreciate the comforts of home, and indeed to whom it is necessary that exposure to sudden changes of weather be none too frequent, Major Clark joined the volunteers, and from that time for twenty years did he give not only his time but very liberally from his means to the furtherance of the movement. ”

“ On the formation of the 1st Administrative Battalion Wilts Rifle Volunteers, out of all the rifle corps raised in South Wilts, it was seen that the widely extended area from which this corps was drawn would become a source of difficulty and expense. The time occupied, the distances to be travelled, and the whole expense devolving on the men themselves, together with affairs of one district not coinciding with others, would make, and did make, general musters for a battalion drill anything but a sinecure. ”

“ Brave men enough, but mere bravery is foolery in modern warfare. Skill and perfect arrangements are now necessary to secure victory, and as the demand for the service of our volunteers would be sudden, so would they be unprepared for the task before them. ”

“ Rifle corps were raised anywhere, everywhere, anyhow, and nohow. War was imminent; the country was unprepared, terribly vulnerable, and the army and navy far too weak to afford protection. Influential gentlemen proposed rifle clubs, others were for arming keepers, and not a few anxiously inquired into the system pursued by the Victoria and Devonshire Rifles. To arm the people was a leap in the dark, and yet it had to be faced; and by May, 1859, the Government saw the "propriety of permitting the formation of rifle volunteer corps," and issued a circular accordingly. ”

“ One company situated at Mere, on the borders of Dorsetshire, had great expenses entailed upon them in attending camps or battalion drills, and were to a great extent dependent on one large landholder for support, and as expenses increased and supplies decreased, so was it with numbers and efficiency, and twenty-five, all told, was now the strength of the 8th Corps. No. 6 Corps, a body of men second to none for regular attendance, fair knowledge of drill, discipline, and general set up, were also conspicuous by their absence. ”

“ Getting up at cockcrow and doing extensive motions, or drilling without arms under the adjutant, is not to his taste, and if he can have a sick parent or a fair excuse for asking that his attendance in camp may be excused for a day, he quickly avails himself of it.
To show the difficulty the following is given. The captain, with orderly-sergeant and colour-sergeant, very busy over company books and registers, as the morrow is to be the inspection of the battalion, and all books and returns in the adjutant's office by 10 a.m. ”