Shortly afterwards (August 15th), the Colonelcy of the Regiment was bestowed by Her Majesty upon General the Earl of Strafford, G.C.B. (late of the Third Guards), and better known in the Coldstream as Sir John Byng, the gallant commander of the 2nd Guards Brigade during the campaign of 1815, and (when Sir G. Cooke was wounded) of the Guards Division at Waterloo.

London, in the summer of 1851, was the scene of the first great Exhibition of the Industry of all Nations—a scheme to promote the peaceable development of commerce, which was conceived, initiated, and organized by the enlightened energy of the late Prince Consort. This splendid display of the arts and sciences created extraordinary interest among all classes, both at home and abroad. The Brigade took its part in this undertaking by guarding the building, and by furnishing a piquet of one Officer and 50 men in case of emergency. The latter were quartered in the disused Knightsbridge barracks, and the usual autumn change of quarters was put off until the end of October.

On the 22nd of August, Colonel H. Bentinck was promoted Lieutenant-Colonel on the retirement of Colonel Chaplin, when Colonel Hon. A. Upton became Junior Major (2nd Battalion).

The year 1852 (September 14th) saw the death of the now aged Duke of Wellington—the great Commander who broke the power of Napoleon, and who, above all other Generals, raised the military prestige of England to that high standard of fame and glory, that made the British nation invincible in the field, and enabled her to stand single-handed against the conqueror of Europe. It is quite impossible in a work of this kind, to attempt to recapitulate a tithe even of the services which this great man rendered to his country. They stand recorded in history, and in the annals of the Coldstream they are partially described in the events which occurred up to 1818, when his active military career, as a General in the field, came to an end. Suffice it here to reproduce the touching General Order which Her Majesty caused to be published to the Army as soon as she learnt that her faithful soldier and servant had breathed his last:—

The remains of the illustrious dead having been removed from Walmer to London (November 10th), the lying-in-state lasted some days in Chelsea Hospital, when Guards of Honour were furnished daily by the Battalion finding the public duties; and thousands flocked to the scene to pay a last tribute to the memory of the greatest Englishman of the century. The funeral was fixed for the 18th, and the ceremony was on as imposing and magnificent a scale as a grateful country could devise upon so solemn an occasion of universal mourning and public sorrow. The procession started from the Horse Guards Parade, under an escort of six battalions, eight squadrons, and nineteen guns, together with representatives of every available regiment of the British Army,^[180] the whole under the command of Major-General H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge.

The infantry consisted of two brigades, one of which, under Major-General Shawe (late of the Coldstream), was composed of the 1st Battalions of the Grenadiers, Coldstream, and Scots Fusilier Guards. The 2nd Coldstream, then at the Tower, was posted near St. Paul’s, where the interment took place, while the flank companies of the 2nd and 3rd Grenadiers, the late Duke’s Regiment, took up a position within the iron railings there.^[181]

Eighteen months had barely elapsed, after the disappearance of the chief actor in the glories of the great wars that disturbed the beginning of the century, when the long European peace came to an end, and again there was a call to arms, and the nation was involved in the harassing anxieties of a sanguinary struggle in the East with Russia. The Crimean war opens up a new era in the military history of the country, and as the Coldstream participated largely in it, it will be described in the subsequent chapters. Meanwhile, it may be convenient to mention, as briefly as possible, some few of the changes and reforms that affected the army at large, and the Regiment in particular, during the period (1837-54), with which we are now more immediately concerned.

It may be stated that, during the reign of William IV., there was only a sergeant’s guard at Buckingham Palace; but in July, 1837, when Her Majesty took up her residence there, it was increased to one Subaltern and forty-four Non-commissioned officers and men. Again, before the Queen’s Accession, guard-mounting, attended by the flank companies of the Brigade, seems often to have been held more than once during the year; but since that time, it took place more regularly as a Birthday ceremonial. Moreover, prior to 1841, the public duties mounted, as a rule, all the year round from the Horse Guards Parade; from that date, however, they appear to have paraded there during the summer months only (May 1st-October 1st), when white trousers were worn by the troops. The practice of mounting the public duties from the battalion parades during the whole year, except for about a month, as at present, began about 1849.

As early as 1829, efforts were made to increase the comfort of the men on guard, by providing them with means to cook, or at least to warm, their dinners, which, prior to that date, had been served up to them in a very unsatisfactory manner. Later, other improvements were introduced into barracks. Suitable washing and cooking arrangements began to be organized (1838 and 1843), and fuel and light were authorized for a room to serve as a “library” for the use of men (1839). These changes, however, were not finally complete until 1849, in which year also, the new barracks at the Tower (Waterloo barracks) were finished and ready for occupation. It may be interesting to note that, in 1850, by an order from the Horse Guards, all bagatelle tables in barracks were forbidden; and this was interpreted to entail the removal of a billiard table which had been set up at Chichester, as the Field-Officer in Brigade Waiting considered it “in the same light as the bagatelle boards which have been so recently done away with by the Commander-in-Chief” (Brigade Order , July 24, 1850).

Regimental Savings Banks were established in the end of 1843, and were brought into operation in the Coldstream by a Regimental Order, dated January 22, 1844.

Considerable attention was paid to the well-being of the Recruit Depôt at Croydon, and it is satisfactory to record a Regimental Order of the 20th of June, 1843, showing that the system then adopted, met the requirements which it was intended to supply.

In 1849 new school arrangements were introduced there, and a routine of duty, both for the winter and summer, was fixed to enable the recruits to attend the classes regularly.

On the 19th of December, 1845, a medal for “Meritorious Service” was introduced into the army, to be presented, in addition to an annuity not exceeding £20, to sergeants recommended for distinguished service, and to be held while doing duty or together with pension. A yearly sum of £2000 was set apart for this purpose.^[182]

It may be remarked that in April, 1850, a modification was made in the manner of keeping the men’s accounts, and Officers were held responsible, as heretofore, to inspect and sign the pay and soldiers' settling books, as well as to see that any balances deposited in the Savings Bank were duly entered. A certificate to this effect was signed once a month.

Events contributed to cause the country generally, to bestow some greater attention on military matters than had been the case for many a long year. The fear that we might become involved in a serious dispute with the French, owing to affairs in Syria in 1841; the increasing hostility displayed by that people; and the revolution that disturbed Europe in 1848-49, induced us to make some augmentations to the regular forces, to reform the system of army service, and to reconstitute the militia.^[183] But the value of these changes would not have been complete unless other means had also been taken to improve the state of the army. It is known, and recognised with gratitude, that H.R.H. the Prince Consort devoted his great talents, with the earnestness that marked his character so strongly, to the well-being of the army, and laboured indefatigably to secure reforms and to increase efficiency.^[184] Lord Hardinge, the new Commander-in-Chief, successor to the Duke of Wellington, also took immense interest in the subject, with the result that the soldier’s firearm was improved, and that some system of practical training was at last provided for both Officers and men.

The armament of the Brigade underwent a change during the first sixteen years of Her Majesty’s reign. As far back as 1836, the Quartermasters of the 1st Coldstream and of the 3rd Grenadiers received “percussion muskets intended for trial;” but the old flintlock was still retained, until about the year 1843, when percussion caps were introduced, and the “pickers and brushes,” worn by the corporals and privates, were discontinued in the Regiment. The Minié musket-rifle was produced in 1851, and Brigade Orders, dated February 26th, and April 1, 1852, directed the seven Battalions of the Foot Guards to send two intelligent Non-commissioned officers to Woolwich, for the purpose of being instructed in its use. Early the following year, a few of these firearms were served out, when each Battalion of the Regiment received 200. A general distribution of the new musket-rifle, however, was not by any means complete when hostilities broke out in 1854, nor had the authorities apparently quite made up their minds upon its value; but, fortunately, sufficient progress had been made in its construction, and the Guards and the greater portion of the British Army, that took the field, were all armed with it before they met the Russians. It may therefore be stated at once, that the weapon which we had in the Crimea, was much superior to that used by the majority of the enemy’s troops. Another pattern was adopted in 1853, but it was not issued till later.

Prior to the introduction of the Minié rifle, musketry was imperfectly and irregularly practised. Battalions in out-quarters (Chichester and Dublin) contrived to do so, but in London it was not attempted. Officers took much interest in teaching the men the use of their firelock, and encouraged them to shoot by offering prizes for which they competed. The ranges were, of course, short—100 yards,—the results inferior, and only five or ten rounds per man were fired. The target, some 6 feet by 2 feet broad, was often embellished with a figure of a French Grenadier, to give the men zest in their efforts to hit it. In 1853, a range was procured near Kilburn, and on the 25th of August, the four Battalions in London were ordered to commence ball practice there as soon as possible. The year following, it was but natural that “incessant” musketry should be ordered, and in March a party was sent to the school of Hythe, which appears to have been opened about that time. In May, a return was called for on the musketry as practised at Kilburn, and Captain Le Couteur (Coldstream Guards), “having made himself acquainted with the method of instruction as carried on at Hythe,” was ordered to superintend all target practice of the 2nd Battalion which was then at home. It may be added, that drafts going out to the Crimea, were also ordered to practise musketry during the voyage out, and ammunition was provided for that special purpose. The present system of musketry now adopted in the army, appears to have grown out of these beginnings.

In 1852, several detachments, consisting of one Officer and 20 to 25 men of the 1st Battalion, were sent to Chatham for the purpose of being instructed in siege operations, and in the construction of field-works.

The next year was one of considerable military activity, brought about by the efforts of the Prince Consort, and by the fact that other nations, more especially Prussia, were devoting much attention to the training of their troops. A camp of instruction was formed at Chobham, under the command of Lieut.-General Lord Seaton, which lasted for two months, commencing from the middle of June. The Foot Guards proceeded there for their training in two Brigades, each remaining for a month,—the first consisting of the 1st and 3rd Grenadiers, 1st Coldstream, and 1st Scots Fusiliers, under Colonel H. Bentinck; the second, of the 2nd Grenadiers, 2nd Coldstream, and 2nd Scots Fusiliers, under Colonel Godfrey Thornton (Grenadier Guards). Captain Frederick Stephenson (Scots Fusilier Guards) was appointed Major of Brigade of both Brigades.

The instruction was of a practical character, and the troops acquired a knowledge of their duties in the field, which could in no other way be imparted to them. Some 16,000 were altogether present. Being the first peace manœuvres held in England (we should perhaps, in the present day, call them only summer drills), the camp at Chobham evoked much interest among all classes; and as the Queen, accompanied by the Prince Consort, frequently inspected the troops or was present when military exercises were performed, it became a centre of attraction to thousands of spectators, who flocked to see those unwonted displays of mimic warfare.

Thus ended the year 1853, the forerunner of the great war with Russia, which was so soon to try the value of the British army under the cruel test of hardships, difficulties, and privations. The army at that time had passed through a long period of peace; it had little theoretical knowledge of its profession, and was imperfectly served by those departments that are indispensable to its efficiency in the field. But it was a thoroughly disciplined army, one that knew its duty, that respected and obeyed authority, and that bore unflinchingly and without murmur, all the sufferings which it was called upon to endure. This was the army with which England again engaged in a serious European war. Nor was the country disappointed with the work that was performed. For, in spite of many shortcomings in administration and organization, and notwithstanding innumerable trials and difficulties, the troops maintained unsullied the honour of their Sovereign, by the conspicuous display of those pre-eminent and fundamental military virtues,—discipline and fortitude.