DESCRIPTION

OF

BRITISH MILITARY FORCES.

of the Sovran,

By the constitution of Great Britain, the Sovran is the Military power Supreme Head and Captain-General of the Army. The orders of the Sovran, and of that power alone, are to be obeyed, as long as they are in harmony with the fundamental laws of the land.

To the Sovran belongs the power of declaring war, and concluding peace; although no treaty is binding unless signed by a responsible minister. This minister, in giving his name to the act, becomes responsible to the country, with his head, for the preservation of the national honour and the public interests.

On a proper vote by parliament, for the purpose, the Sovran can grant, or rather perhaps apportion, subsidies to an ally or indemnity to an enemy. The power of declaring war, however, is very limited, by the necessity of obtaining the approval of the nation, of applying to the nation for means, and the authority that exists in parliament in limiting the number of troops to be raised. But when the Administraarmy is once established by parliament, its supreme command and organization is in the hands of the Crown. All employments, promotions, and military honours, proceed from that power; at the same time, a responsible minister is the only

tion.

Administra- accountable medium of communication between the Sovran tion. and the public force. It is thus that the Crown "can do no wrong." In general, the responsible ministers are the Secretary of State for War, and the Home Secretary; though it has happened at times, that the heads of other departments have held the position of war ministers. The Secretary of State for War has the power, in respect of war, formerly held by the Secretary of State for War and the Colonies. He is a member of the Cabinet, and is charged with a general power of issuing instructions for the conduct of the army; with the promotion and direction of military expeditions; and the direction of the troops stationed in the colonies and dependencies of the British Crown.

The Secretary of State for the Home Department, also a member of the Cabinet, has the superintendence of the training and service of the militia, and the direction of the troops stationed in the United Kingdom.

The Secretary at War, with various powers, is, in his principal duties, the Financial Minister of War.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Queen's forces is the chief executive military officer of the army, in respect of the organization, instruction, and discipline of the army.

The Master-General of the Ordnance, (a Cabinet minister,) directs the personnel and materiel of the artillery and engineers.

The duties and powers of these various officers, will be found successively treated of in a subsequent portion of this book.

The Commander-in-Chief is aided in giving effect to the army, by his Staff, consisting of his Adjutant-General and Quartermaster-General, and their subordinate officers. The arms, ammunition, and military stores of every description, are supplied under the authority of the Board of Ordnance, of which the Master-General is the head.

tion.

The sustenance of the army rests in the hands of the AdministraCommissariat, a department of the Treasury which it has been proposed to place under the control of the MasterGeneral of the Ordnance.

The Board of Audit and the Commissioners of Chelsea Hospital, it will be seen, have important duties in the administration of the civil affairs of the army.

This brief mention of the administration and command of the army will be found more expanded in the chapters on "Civil Administration" and "Military Command."

In describing the organization of the Military Forces of the United Kingdom, a description of the troops naturally places itself first.

The Military Forces of this country, like most of its institutions, have risen into their present form in a singularly uncertain manner, from various necessities, and now rest for their legal constitutions on various and widely-different parliamentary sanctions.

Some portions of the Forces have an origin hidden in antiquity, others a recent parliamentary commencement; some, connected with events of the deepest interest in English history, scarcely maintain a practicable position, whilst other portions, new and untried, are in full power, and ready for action.

The Military Services, if they may be fairly so termed, are The Troops. these:-the Household Troops; the Infantry of the Line; the Cavalry of the Line; the Ordnance Corps, consisting of Artillery, Engineers, and Sappers and Miners; the Marines; the West India Regiments; and the Colonial Corps. These compose the Queen's Regular Troops, and consist of persons who make arms their profession.

In addition to the regular forces there are, as before mentioned, several bodies of troops regulated by their own

The Troops. separate laws, and which are raised or collected together merely for the purpose of being drilled or exercised, in order to aid or to supply the places of the regular troops in the time of war, invasion, rebellion, or other great emergency; these are the Militia; the Yeomanry Cavalry; the Fencibles; the Volunteer Infantry; the Dockyard Battalions; the Enrolled Pensioners; and a civic corps enjoying the title of the Honourable Artillery Company.

As all these various bodies of troops or services are fully described in the body of this work, it is unnecessary to relate their origin, or special laws and organization, in this place.

All troops, whether regular or not, are generally trained to four different kinds of service, and constitute different armes, as it is termed. These are Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, and Engineers. In this country, the Artillery and Engineers are joined under the general name Ordnance, but are quite distinct in training and effective operation. The Engineers consist of a body of highly educated officers, and are assisted in a peculiar manner, as will be seen, by a superior class of soldiers termed Sappers and Miners. The Marines, though trained to act as Infantry on land, are, in point of fact, intended to act principally at sea, where they are trained to assist in working the Marine Artillery.

These various armes and services take precedence according to a special regulation, whether in order of battle, in duties of honour, or those of parade. The order of precedence is as follows:-1. Life and Dragoon Guards. 2. Horse Artillery. 3. Cavalry. 4. Foot Artillery and Sappers. 5. Foot Guards. 6. Royal Veterans. 7. Infantry of the Line, according to their number and order of precedence. 8. The Marines rank next to the 49th regiment. 9. The Rifle Brigade next to the 93rd regiment. 10. The Militia regiments take rank after those of the Line, according to their respective numbers, as fixed by lot.

Each regiment has its distinguishing number, and many The Troops. have a special name, derived either from the province or town where the regiment was originally raised; or taken from the name of the nobleman who founded the regiment, or the name of a Highland clan, or granted by the Crown as a mark of honour. Many also bear mottoes, regimental badges, and the names of their victories, on their colours.

The first and principal arme of every army is its Infantry. Infantry. It has not the brilliancy of movement of Cavalry, or the science and mechanical knowledge required for Artillery; but its universal adaptation, limited only by the energy and versatility of the human frame, creates a means of executing military operations attainable only by other armes in certain situations and favourable circumstances. At the same time, it is the arme most easily raised; the readiest in training, cheapest to maintain, and presenting great facilities for transport. But though Infantry is of the highest importance in an army, as an effective body, yet, from the necessity of greater knowledge and a more enlightened training for perfection in other arms, the individuals of the Cavalry and Artillery hold perhaps a higher position than the individuals of the Infantry, and are therefore generally placed first by writers on military affairs. The formations and movements of Infantry, however, as at present practised, adapting them to every species of warfare and to all probable situations and circumstances of service, and being well calculated to show forth the brilliancy of military tactics, based on mathematical and scientific principles, place it first among the engines of military action. The word "Infantry" is said to be taken from one of the Infantas of Spain, who assembled the first well-ordered body of foot soldiers possessed by the Castilian Monarchy, and led them to victory against the Moors. They received the name of "Infantry"