To a world familiar with warfare in which open order of troops is 2 sine qua non, this account of the formation of square to meet any attack whatsoever, makes curious reading. The tac-ties of the day, however, suited the weapons of the day, for it must be remembered that at that time the Volunteers were armed with muzzle-loaders, and the magazine rifle and machine-gun had yet to upset the old tradition of warfare.
'The concluding part of the report is where Captain Markham' shows himself a natural soldier. To the uninitiated it should be explained that these remarks about the state of crops and bridges and the disposition of the people are not by any means padding but important military information.
Further extracts from the documents will be published in due course.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.