THE CAMP AT CHOBHAM. (From the Atlas, June 18.)

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 851, 28 September 1853, Page 4

THE CAMP AT CHOBHAM. (From the Atlas, June 18.)

As early p.s six o'clock on Tuesday morning, tbe terminus of ihe South- Western Railway presented a scene of unusual bustle. The whole of the 95th Regiment, under the command of Colonel Hall, were waiting bag and baggage to be transmitted to their destination at Chertsey. Besides these troops, there were detached parties of other regiments, and an immense amount of military materiel, which imparted rather a warlk> look to the otherwise peaceful and mercantile appearance 'of the terminus. When upwards of a mile distant from the village at which the line stops, the continuous rolling of drum and sounding of bugle-notes could be plainly distinguished, which gradually resolved themselves into the quickstep-marches of the various regiments en route to Chobbam. Tbe little market-town of Chertsey bore an animated appearance. A littls out of the village and the road was completely blocked up by the companies of Artillery, which were clattering along the heavy road with that peculiar rattle which is caused by the movements of field-batteries. A little in advance of these, again, wending up the long green lanes, was the 95th, 900 strong. Along the road towards the camp common, and so far back as the eye could reach, was one continued line of pedestrians and equestrians — soldiers and civilians, horses, carriages and men — all moving steadily forward. There were carriages and four, and costermongers' carts — donkeys and blood-horses intermixed — squadrons of the 17th Lancers and companies of the Kiflle Brigade, with scattered parties of the 50th and 38th Regiments — vans conveying tbe effects of the officers, carts laden with forage for tbe horses and straw for the tents, drays of huge barrels of beer for tbe men, and hampers of wine for the mess-tents, genilemen guiding rat uated ladies out of the press,bugles blowing themselves hoarse with signal-notes, offi'ce/s rushing here and there collecting two men and 'osing tb. er, and calling upon them to fall in or fall out as the necessities of the case seemed to

require. But though all this was going od, none forgot to press steadily forward to where, on the summit of a steep hill, the continuous beating of drums and the white tents, argued that somethiug was »oin<j on. The various bodies at last disengaged themselves on the road, and formed upon the common -at the base of the hill, up which they now were rapidly proceeding, the brilliant uniforms, and gay pennons, and light movements of the Lancers forming a marked contrast with the compact body, sombre dress, and slow movements of the Rifle Brigade, by which they were immediately followed. Upon attaining an eminence nearly in the middle of the camp, a singular sight awaited the visitor. There, stretching on either hand, lay the encampment, the plan of 'which was clearly discernible by the poles with red flags marking the terminations of the different brigades ami lines. At that time (12 o'clock) none of the tents liad been pitched; indeed, the troops were coming in from the different quarters which had been asbigned them for the night. But while matters | ffere in this slate, the weather, which for the last half-hour had been threatening much, now fairly broke up in a heavy shower, which lasted ' some 35 minutes, and completely saturated, not only the ground, but the whole of the troops on the field, who were exposed without the least kind of shelter. While it was still pouring rain, the word was passed to the Household Brigade to "pile arms," and the instant the movement was effected, the men stripped off their knapsacks, and seemed to wait in an anxious suspense until the order for pitchi.ig the tents should come. The order to unfurl the tents (which had previously been deposited upon the ground assigned to each of the regiments) was issued afterwards, and the whole of the tlnce brigades ran forward, with a hearty cheer to their different positions. A very few minutes sufficed to unpack the tents and fix the upright pole which supports the centre of the canvass roof. When this much had been accomplished — and it only occupied about seven minutes — the clear-blown notes of a bugle gave notice to the men to stand by, and in another instant, simultaneously and as if by magic, upwards of 100 tents rose upon the field. Almost at the same time the 50ib pitched their tents in a most smart and soldierlike style. The Rifles followed next, with the same commendable rapidity, as also did the 42nd Highlanders. The 95th occupied the longest time in encamping their tents of any regiment, while the 93rd was the last to come upon the common. The Cavalry, which was posted on the right, under the immediate command of the Duke of Cambridge, pitched their tents with astonishing facility ; though having first to stable their horses and dispose of their cumbrous equipments, they were not under cover so soon as the Infantry. Almost immediately after pitching their tents, the men were dismissed to their different duties of carrying fuel, erecting the cavalry stables, and the usual routine work of an encampment, in which the cooking of some tons -weight of beef was not overlooked, From this time, about two o'clock, it commenced to thunder and rain almost incessantly until near six, by which hour most of the visitors had departed, and the camp was comparatively a* rest. Wednesday. — -The "'roops are fdbi settling down in thei." quarters. Famine next ilar or so nothing of importance is expected in the way ol manoeuvres, but with the beginning of the ensuing week at latest, the business of field operations will commence. Nearly all the outlying picquets have to be under arms at sis a.m. The other regiments have to parade at half-past — the same as when in barracks. Regular drills take place at three, or thereabouts, in the afternoon, the precise time being left at present to the choice of the commanders of the various regiments. In addition to these duties the men are employed in providing and carrying in of wood, forage parties, water parties, mourning guanl, &c. Large detachments of the men were much occupied to-day in p'ating straw mats to sleep on. Besides these lighter dudes, a number of troops are employed in digging trenches to carry off some of the superfluous moisture on the ground, which, if not properly attended to in time, will be found to affect the health of both men and beasts most seriously. In consequence if this dampness, a large number of the tents have been re-pitched in better situations, though of course they are compelled to remain on much about the same spots as originally selected. In some parts of ibe ground allotted to the Fusilier Guards the soil is very little better than actual bog land ; indeed, the whole of the foot _ regiments ,of the Household Brigade are most unfavourably placed in this respect. We shall now proceed to give a detailed account of the economy of the tents, and the exact position of the troops. The whole camp is pitched facing the north,- though as several Lills intersect the whole line of tents, many of the regiments are more sheltered by this arrangement than they would have been .by any other. The cavalry form the right wing of the line, the Ist Life Guirds, under Colonel Hall, occupying the rutermost post. Following this regiment coTie ihe 13th Light Dragoons, uider LieutenantColonel Doherty; the 1 7th Light Dragoons (Lancers), under Colonel Laurenson ; and thf 6th Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers.) Occupying the centre of the line is the Household Brigade, consisting of the Ist battalion of Grenadiers, the Ist battalion of the Scots Fusiliers, and the Ist battalion of the Coldstreams. The companies of the Sappers and Miners are also in ihe same line with the Foot Guards. These three battalions are under the command of Colonel Bentinck. Next the Guards, on the left wing, is the brigade of Major-General Fane, consisting of the 42nd Highlanders, the 95tb Foot, and the 50th Foot ; while, on the extreme left of all, is the brigade commanded by Major-General Sir de Lacy Evans, v v j Zt — lua 93rd Highlanders, the 38th lofantry, and the 2nd battalion of tbe' Rifle Brigade. The battery of the Royal Horse "Artillery, and the three field batteries of the Royal Artillery, under the command of Lieutenant-Colonel Bloomfield, are posted on remarkably high ground, almost facing the rest of thp camp, and as far across' the common as the Guilford road. This makes the whole line of the camp form fan irregular semi- , circle. Between the two point^pf this semicircle*: formed by the Cavalry on ijfe*)rigbt and the Rifles and Artillery on the left, an/ situated on an eminence commanding'a perfect mew> of the whole of the lines, are the marquees eft .Prince Albert, Viscount Hardinge, Coraraander-in-Chief ; Lieutenant-General Lord Raglan { General Lord Seaton, commanding the camp ; and the Duke of Cambridge, commanding the, cavalry. Here also

have beeu erected the tents of the staff officers including that of Colonel Vicars, tbe commanding officer of the Royal Engineers. The tents of the other regiments are pitched in tbe following manner — first premising that the ground which each occupies, is not only marked out and patrolled by its own sentries, but also further delineated by little flasks bearing the regimental motto and number. First of all, three tents are pitched in front of each regiment, in a line abreast of each other, and about 50 feet apart, for the main guard. The centre tent is occupied by the officer on duty, and in front of it, stuck into the ground, and placed crosswise like the letter X, are the regimental colors. The two tents on either side of this are occupied by the color sergeants and the men on duty, making in all about 50 men. About 300 yards in the rear of these main-guard tents, and forming a part of the general line of encampment, are the different regiments, each placed behind in a straight line with their main guard. To each company is alloted 6 tents, each accommodating 15 men. In a line with these 6 are also placed tbe three tents of the captain and the two subaltern officers ; and in the rear of these again comes tbe hospital tent, and the tents of the sur^eou ami assistant-surgeon. About 60 paces behind these are the tents of the three field officers of each respective regiment on the ground, with the colonel commanding in the middle, and the majors' tents on either sidp. Still more in ihe rear are the tents of the paymnsters, the orderly officers, and the mess tent for the officers ; and the whole of the close array is wound up by the canteen, and though last/not least, the huts for the soldiers' wives. About 300 yards in the rear is the rear guard, posted in a manner similar to the main guard already mentioned. To each tent, whether of officers or of men, two trusses of straw are allowed per week. This is generally fatrewed loosely ahout the inside, and serves to ktep it warm and comfortable. No lights are permitted in the men's tents at any time, and all are in quarters for the night by tattoo at half-past nine. Lights are permitted to the -officers until half-past ten ; they are in every inptance safety lamps ; many of the officers' tents are floored with cocoa-nut matting, while the rest have nothing under them but the damp heather. No officers are allowed to be about otherwise than in undress uniform, neither can they overstep the lines of the camp without special leave obtained for that purpose from their officer in-chief. This msrning as the soldiers were engaged in their usual avocations and field operations, and the officers wiling away the time as tluy best could in their tents, the signal came to turn out instantly ii full review order, and shortly afief, Prince Albert, accompanied by the Duke oT Saxe Coburg-Goiba, with Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, Captain the Hon. de Roos and Ciptain Baron Treskovv, appeared on the cor. man, at the extreme right of the encampment, and was received with a royal salute from all the troops- The Prince, who was attired in civilian's costume, accompanied by the Duke of Cambridge, Lord Seaton, and a brilliant staff of field officers, rode along the entire line, and inspected the men drawn up in fiont of their encampments. His Royal Highness, on returning, dismounted and inspected the arrangement of the tents of the infantry, i-nd the arcimraoddiion provided for the mg.i. Passing _*r to tba ri^kt ~wnJgy-if re -Riryal Highness walked through the stables of the 6th Dragoons and the other caTalry regiments, aud made numerous enquiries respecting the arrangements and comforts of both horses and men. On leaving the ground the Ist Life Guards 1 band played the National Authem, and saluted witb the usual honors.