There rang the death-knell of the old Regiments of the British Army! Can anything be more conclusive, or more depressing to a soldier? Is it calculated to foster that pride in, and love for, his own particular Regiment that every true soldier who has worn its uniform has for it? Look again at the “Army Circular” of the 8th April 1876, as to the clothing of the men of the “Brigade Depôts;” it is evident that a man belongs neither to one “linked” Battalion or to the other; he belongs to the “Brigade Depôt” only, and has nothing to do with the traditions or honour of the Regiment in which he may be serving. Would-be Army reformers, of whom we have now far too many, say, “Oh, very few Regiments now have the Title of the county in which they were raised, so all this is of no importance;” but they are not soldiers, so their opinion is valueless. Moreover, the assertion is only partly true, for it is nearly a century since most of the Regiments received the County Titles which they now bear. Would-be Army reformers are also responsible for the Appendix to “Army Circular” of the 1st of December 1877, giving the War Establishment of a Battalion of Infantry, in which it is actually proposed to send a Regiment of boys eleven hundred strong into the field with twenty-three Company officers, whilst four officers of the Regiment are part of, and nearly useless at, the “Brigade Depôt.” We hear and we read everywhere that the Army is over-officered, but what is the opinion of an old soldier, as given in his lecture at the Royal United Service Institution on the 30th November 1877? He says: “How can you expect fire-discipline, from year-old peasant-soldiers, whose non-commissioned officers have little, if any, greater training than themselves, and with a field average of three and a half officers per company of two hundred men? For better or for worse, we have now an army of boys. Take the word of a man who has seen much fighting, both by trained and untrained soldiers. It behoves us, if we would escape disaster in the hour of trial, to take such means as will induce our non-commissioned officers to remain under the colours, and not go forth into civil, or quasi-civil life. And yet more incumbent is it on us to listen to no arguments of theory that would reduce the number of our commissioned officers. Our Army is so small that, more than any other, for the sake of judicious daring, and of judicious economy of life, it must be well, brilliantly, and carefully led. And this cannot be when sparse officers are whelmed in a confused mass of men.” What do the advocates of short service and “Brigade Depôts” say to this? From the foregoing remarks it will readily be perceived that the desire of the Compiler of this book is not to destroy, but to revive, _everything_ connected with every Regiment in the service, and, although omissions may be noted, it is hoped it contains no errors.