Since Charles II.’s time, the Standing Army has gradually been increasing and improving. Voluntary enlistment dates from his reign, but it apparently has not always been sufficiently productive of men, for we find in the last century that debtors and criminals were obliged to serve in the ranks, in order to keep the Army up to strength. The pressgang was also in force till 1780. It is hardly astonishing then that some, nay, a great many, ill-educated people have been taught, by means of traditions handed down from their great-grandfathers, to look upon the Army as a sink of iniquity, and that they still hold extraordinary and utterly unreasonable views on the subject. They need be under no apprehension about letting their sons and relations enlist. The Army is now composed of a very good class of men, drawn chiefly from the labouring and not from the criminal classes (as some people seem to imagine). The proportion of educated recruits is rapidly increasing, a better class of men is now enlisting, and the military crime of to-day is absurdly small as compared with that of twenty years ago, and is still decreasing.
Organisation.
The Active Army is divided into—
- The Regular Army;
- The Native Indian Army; and
- The Colonial Forces.
1. The Regular Army consists of Cavalry, Artillery, Engineers, and Infantry; besides these are the non-combatant branches, consisting of the Army Service Corps, the Ordnance Store Corps, the Medical Staff Corps, the Pay, Medical, Chaplains, and Veterinary Departments, and a few more.
Cavalry.
The Cavalry consists of 31 regiments, including—
| 2 | Regiments of Life Guards (Household Cavalry). |
| 1 | Regiment of Royal Horse Guards (Blues) (Household Cavalry). |
| 7 | Regiments of Dragoon Guards (1st to 7th). |
| 3 | Regiments of Dragoons (1st, 2nd, and 6th). |
| 5 | Regiments of Lancers (5th, 9th, 12th, 16th, and 17th). |
| 13 | Regiments of Hussars (3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 10th, 11th, 13th to 15th, and 18th to 21st inclusive). |
The British Cavalry is the smartest in the world. In the Cavalry of nearly all foreign armies, Germany for instance, and France, the horses are trained to a degree that is unheard of in the English arm; thus their men require but little skill in riding, and may be described as good soldiers on horseback. Ours, on the contrary, are born horsemen, and do not need to have their horses so thoroughly trained. The consequence is that when our men find themselves in a predicament not provided for by the Regulations, their natural qualities stand them in good stead, and by their brilliant riding and dash they turn to good account a situation which might otherwise offer serious difficulties. The British Cavalry is divided into Heavy, Medium, and Light, according to the size and weight of the men. The Household Cavalry, 1st and 2nd Dragoons, are heavy, and are never quartered abroad, the Hussars are light, and all the rest are medium Cavalry.
