Chapter XVII: Introduction: Object of the work. Data of the Question (3)

Project for a Building:
42 // 42
Sketch, (first study in pencil.)
12 / 12
Drawing, (fair copy)
18 / 18
Details,
4 / 4
Memoir,
4 / 4
Abstraction of Measurements and Estimates
4 / 4
Study and preparation of a project of a building, in accordance
with certain given data.
The sketches, the result of the first study, are made in pencil;
the drawing is the fair copy of the sketch, modified as may be
necessary.
The memoir contains an explanation of the rules and principles
which must be observed in the construction of buildings, and the
grounds on which the dispositions contained in the building have
been adopted.
The abstraction of the measurements and their reduction to the
proper elements, and the estimates, are prepared in conformity
to the instructions laid down for the Engineer Service in towns:
these supply the estimated cost of the construction of the
building according to the project.
This work, common to the students of the two arms, is an
application of the first part of the course.
The scale for the drawing is in general 1-200th for the plans
and elevations, and 1-100th for the sections. It is restricted
by the condition that the whole of the drawings should be
given on a single sheet of paper.
The details need only occupy half a sheet of paper, and its
scales must depend on the size of the objects to be represented.
The details need only occupy half a sheet of paper, and its
scales must depend on the size of the objects to be represented.
The project for a building is an application of the first two
parts of the course, as well as of the 1st section of the 3d
part.

Diagram of the Stability:
9 // 9
Drawing,
6 / 6
Memoir,
3 / 3
Determination of the profile for a revetment wall, according to
certain conditions.
Verification of the stability of an arch, and calculation of the
pier supporting this arch. In the memoir a short explanation is
given of the theory relating to the strength of the revetment
walls and arches, as well as the results of the application of
these principles to the particular case.
The drawing is executed to the scale of 1-100th.
This work is an application of the 2d section of the 3rd part.

Project for an Hydraulic construction:
28 // 34
Sketches,
10 / 12
Drawing,
15 / 18
Memoir,
3 / 4
Study and composition of a project for a great work of art on
certain given data.
In the memoir an explanation is given of the principles and the
results of the theories which are to be applied in making this
project.
The arrangements adopted in the project are discussed for the
foundation and all other parts of the construction.
The scale of the drawing is chosen in such a manner that the
project may be placed on a single sheet; generally it is
1-200th, or smaller.
The project of a hydraulic construction is an application of
the 1st section of the 3rd part as well as of the 4th part of
the course.

Total, 110 // 116

[KEY]
NL No. Lectures
CL Credits for Lectures
+A With application
-A Without application
T Total
I No. Interrogations

------------------+-----------------------++------------------------
1st. Lectures.-- | Artillery. || Engineers.
+---+---------------+---++---+---------------+---
Parts of | | CL | || | CL |
the Course. | +------+---+----+ || +------+---+----+
|NL | +A |-A | T | I || NL| +A | -A| T | I
------------------+---+------+---+----+---++---+------+---+----+---
1st Part: | | | | | || | | | |
Elements of Masonry, form and dimensions of | | | |
the different parts of buildings, | || | | | |
| 18| 24*| 6| 30| 2|| 18| 24*| 6| 30| 2
2d Part: | | | | | || | | | |
Architecture of military buildings, | || | | | |
| 12| 18 |...| 18| 1|| 12| 18 |...| 18| 1
3d Part: | | | | | || | | | |
Theory respecting stability: | | || | | | |
1st section--Resistance of materials, || | | | |
| 6| 6 | 6| 12| 1|| 6| 6 | 6| 12| 1
2d section--Stability of revetment walls and arches,| | |
| 9| 10.5 | 6|16.5| 1|| 9| 10.5 | 6|16.5| 1
4th Part: | | | | | || | | | |
Hydraulic Constructions, | | | || | | | |
| 20| 24 | 12| 36| 1|| 20| 24 | 12| 36| 1
+---+------+---+----+---++---+------+---+----+---
Total, | 65| 82 | 30| 112| 6|| 65| 82 | 30| 112| 6

[* A lecture with application is equivalent to 1½ hours of work, and a lecture without application is equal to 3 hours.]

[KEY]
D Drawings and Sketches.
M Memoirs.
V Various.
H Attendances in halls 4½ hours.
O Attendances out of doors, 6 h.
C Credits.

------------------+-----------------------++------------------------
2d. Execution of | Artillery. Number of || Engineers. Number of
the Work. +---+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---+----
| D | M | V | H | O | C || D | M | V | H | O | C
------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---+----
Plan of a Building: | | | | | || | | | | |
Sketches (pen,) | 1 |...|...|...| 8| 50|| 1 |...|...|...| 8| 50*
Drawing, | 1 |...|...| 21|...| 95|| 1 |...|...| 21|...| 95
Memoirs, |...| 1 |...| 2|...| 20||...| 1 |...| 2|...| 20†
Project of a Building:| | | | | || | | | | |
Sketch, | 1 |...|...| 12|...| 55|| 1 |...|...| 12|...| 55
Drawing, | 1 |...|...| 18|...| 80|| 1 |...|...| 18|...| 80
Detail, | 1 |...|...| 4|...| 20|| 1 |...|...| 4|...| 20
Memoir, |...| 1 |...| 4|...| 35||...| 1 |...| 4|...| 35
Abstraction of quantities and estimates,|| | | | | |
|...|...| 1 | 4|...| 20||...|...| 1| 4|...| 20
Diagram of Stability. | | | | | || | | | | |
Drawing, | 1 |...|...| 6|...| 25|| 1 |...|...| 6|...| 25
Memoir, |...| 1 |...| 3|...| 25||...| 1 |...| 3|...| 25
Project of an Hydraulic construction. | || | | | | |
Sketch, | 1 |...|...| 10|...| 45|| 1 |...|...| 12|...| 55
Drawing, | 1 |...|...| 15|...| 70|| 1 |...|...| 18|...| 80
Memoir, |...| 1 |...| 3|...| 25||...| 1 |...| 4|...| 35
+---+---+---+---+---+---++---+---+---+---+---+----
Total, | 8 | 4 | 1 |102| 8 |565|| 8 | 4 | 1 |108| 8 |595

[* Of which 20 is for the out-of-door work, and 30 for the sketch.]

[† The time allowed for the preparation of the memoirs in the halls should be doubled, in order to take an account of the correction out of the halls of study.]

RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF INFLUENCE FOR THE COURSE.

Artillery, {Lectures, 112} 677, or about 680.
{Execution of Work, 565}

Engineers, {Lectures, 112} 707, or about 710.
{Execution of Work, 595}

XI.--PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE IN THE GERMAN LANGUAGE.

SECOND DIVISION.--FIRST YEAR’S STUDY.

_Number of Lectures_, 50.

Grammar and composition during the 25 Lectures forming the odd numbers.

Oral translations of German authors. Phraseology. Lecture on idioms, founded on the passages which have been translated and given in the form of conversation during the first half of the 25 Lectures forming the even numbers.

Dialogues and conversations, on various subjects of every-day life, such as are particularly useful to an officer traveling in Germany, carried on during the second half of the Lectures of the even numbers.

FIRST DIVISION.--SECOND YEAR’S STUDY.

_Number of Lectures_, 100.

Translations of German authors, and conversations in German on the passages translated, during fifty Lectures, reckoning the odd numbers.

Military reconnaissances, in the form of a dialogue in German and in French, during the first half of the fifty Lectures, even numbers.

Translation of French into German: 1st, Narratives; 2d, Historical and descriptive fragments; 3d, Dramatic scenes; 4th, Epistolary style, during the second half of the fifty Lectures, even numbers.

At the close of the second year, the Sub-Lieutenants give in a composition on a certain subject.

The Sub-Lieutenants most advanced are not obliged to follow the course in German, but they should make translations of articles taken from German military works. These translations, after having been corrected, are deposited in the Library of the School.

Abstract of the course in German:--

1st year’s study, 50 Lectures.
2d “ “ 100 “
---
Total, 150 at ½ hour each--112. 3 0.
Credits of influence, 110.

XII.--PROGRAMME OF A SHAM SIEGE.--(Common to the Artillery and Engineers.)

FIRST SECTION.--PRELIMINARY MEASURES.

ART. I.--_Commission charged to study the Project for a Sham Siege._

A Commission is charged with drawing up and presenting to the General commanding the School a project for a sham siege. This is composed of:--

The Colonel second in command of the School, President.
The Major of Artillery, }
The Major of Engineers, } Members.
The Professor of Artillery, }
The Professor of Fortification, }
Clerk.

The Professors of Artillery and Fortification may be replaced by the Assistant Professors.

The General Commandant of the School decides in a Council of Instruction on the dispositions to be adopted for the project of a sham siege.

ART. II.--_Preparatory Lectures._

By the Professor of Military Art, 2
1st. Considerations relating to the fortress of Metz.
Circumstances which might bring on a siege of it. Force of
the garrison and of the besieging army. Investment.
2d. Trace of the lines of circumvallation and of
countervallation.
By the Professor of Topography, 1
Execution of the second reconnaissance plan (_memoire_,)
(1 lecture.)
1st. Measure of the base. Plan of the ground of the attack.
Construction of the plans. Plans of the work executed.
By the Professor of Permanent Fortification, 2
1st. Discussion on the points of attack. Organization of the
_personnel_ and _matériel_ of the Engineers of the besieging
army and of the garrison.
2d. General progress of attack, and general dispositions of
defense.
By the Professor of Artillery, 2
1st. Composition of the personnel and matériel of the
Artillery of the besieging army. Transport of the siege
equipage.
2d. General dispositions of the artillery in the attack
and defense.

SECOND SECTION.--COMPOSITION OF THE PERSONNEL.

Director of the Siege.--The General Commandant of the School.

Chief of the Staff.--The Colonel second in command of the School.

Chief of the Artillery Service.--The Major of Artillery attached to the Staff.

Director of the Park of Artillery.--This may be given to the preceding.

Chief of the Engineer Service.--The Major of the Engineers attached to the Staff of the School.

Director of the Engineer Park.--This may be given to the preceding.

Major of the Trenches.--A Captain. Chiefs of Attacks. Captains.

Chiefs of Brigades.--Named by the General Commandant of the Siege.

THIRD SECTION.--CONFERENCES.

Before proceeding to the ground, the sub-lieutenants assist at conferences which are held for the purpose of explaining to them the successions of the several operations of the siege, as well as upon the traces which they have to execute. These conferences, eight in number, are divided as follows:--

The Chief of the Artillery Service will hold 4 conferences, and
The Chief of the Engineer Service “ 4 “

FOURTH SECTION.--TRACING OF LINES AND TOPOGRAPHICAL WORK.

1st. The second reconnaissance survey (comprised in the course of topography.) Tracing of lines; one day is allowed for this work.

2d. “Director” plan. The execution of this plan comprises out-of-door work and drawing. The out-of-door work includes the measurement of one or many bases, the observation of the angles which are formed by this base, and the direction of certain remarkable points in the city and fortification, and the formation of a net-work of triangulation, intended to co-ordinate the surveys of the details.

The work of constructing the plan consists in laying down, day by day, the surveys of the details of the ground, as well as of the traces executed. Five days are allowed for the execution of the topographical work, which precedes the opening of the trenches. The Director Plan is kept close up during the whole duration of the siege.

3d. Itineraries and sketches (comprised in the course of topography.)

The Professor of Topography directs the whole of the surveys and the execution of the Director Plan.

FIFTH SECTION.--TRACING OF THE WORKS OF ATTACK, AND ACTUAL EXECUTION IN FULL RELIEF OF CERTAIN WORKS.

The sub-lieutenants, divided into brigades, trace the works of the siege, under the direction of the officers of the staff, and take part in the superintendence of the works executed in full relief when the exigencies of the service will permit the chief of the Artillery Service and the Colonel of the Regiment of Engineers to place workmen at the disposal of the General Commandant of the School. Six days are appropriated to this work.

SIXTH SECTION.--WORK IN THE HALLS OF STUDY.

The work in the Halls of Study consists of:--

1st. A memoir on the sham siege, which memoir must be approved by the General Commandant of the School.

2d. Of a sketch representing one of the works traced or executed in full relief. These works in the Halls are performed during the interval of the attendances devoted to out-of-door work. Two days are appropriated to the preparation of the memoir, and two to the execution of the sketch. This time is included in the eleven days allowed to the sham siege.

RECAPITULATION FOR THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS.

[KEY]
NL No. of Lectures or Conferences.
CL Credits for Lectures or Conferences.
L Lectures.
Cf Conferences.
T Total.
Q No. of Questions.

----------------------+----+----------------+----+---
| | CL | |
Lectures and | +-----+----+-----+ |
Conferences. | | | | | |
| NL | L | Cf | T | Q |
----------------------+----+-----+----+-----+----+---
By the Professor | | | | | | *
of Military Art, | 2 | 3 |....| 3 |} |
“ Topography, | 1 | 1½ |....| 1½ |} |
“ Permanent | | | | | |
Fortification, | 2 | 3 |....| 3 |} |
“ Artillery, | 2 | 3 |....| 3 |} 2 |
Conferences by the Chief of the Service, | |
} of Artillery, | 4 | ... | 6 | 6 |} |
} of Engineers, | 4 | ... | 6 | 6 |} |
+----+-----+----+-----+----+---
Total, | 15 | 10½ | 12 | 22½ | 2 |
----------------------+----+-----+----+-----+----+---

[* One series of questions by the Chief of the Artillery Service, as to what relates to that arm.

One series of questions by the Chief of the Engineer Service, as to what relates to that arm.

A Credit of 11 is assigned to each series of questions.]

[KEY]
D Drawings.
M Memoirs.
H Attendances in the Halls.
I Credits.

--------------------+--------------------------------+---
| Number of |
+---+---+------------+------+----+---
| | |Attendances | | |
| | | out of | | |
| | | doors. | | |
| | +-----+------+ | |
Works of | | | of | of | | |
Application. | D | M |4½ h.| 8 h.| H | I |
--------------------+---+---+-----+------+------+----+---
2nd Reconnaissance Plan (Memoir.) | | | |
Topographical Work, | | | 4 | | | 20}| *
Itinerary and Sketch (Memoir,) | | | }|
Plan “Director,” | | | | | 1 | 5}|
Tracing of Lines, | | | | 1 | |{10 | †
Tracing of Works of Attack and of Defense, | |
| | | 6 | | |{25 |
Sketch, | 1 | | | | 2 | 1}| ‡
Memoir, | | 1 | | | 2 | 2}|
+---+---+-----+------+------+ 90 |
Total, | 1 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 5 |----|
--------------------+---+---+-----+------+------+----+---

[* Credits given by the Professor of Topography.]

[† Credits given by the Captains of the Staff, Chiefs of Brigades.]

[‡ Credits given by the Chiefs of the Service of the Artillery and Engineers.]

XIII.--PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE ON THE VETERINARY ART.

FIRST PART.--INTERIOR OF THE HORSE.

_Lecture 1_.--Classification and nomenclature of the various matters which constitute the horse. Skeleton (head and body.)

_Lecture 2_.--Skeleton (limbs.) Mechanical importance of the skeleton. Nomenclature and use of the muscles. Cellular and fatty tissues, grease, skin. Insensible perspiration.

_Lecture 3_.--Functions for maintenance. Arteries of the nerves. Animal heat.

_Lecture 4_.--On various functions.

SECOND PART.--EXTERIOR OF THE HORSE.

_Lecture 5_.--Proportions. Equilibrium. Description and importance of the natural beauties and defects of the head and region of the throat.

_Lecture 6_.--Description and importance of the other parts of the horse. Blemishes. Soft tumors.

_Lecture 7_.--Osseous tumors. Various accidents. Temperaments. Description of clothing, &c.

_Lecture 8_.--Data respecting horses.

_Lecture 9_.--To know the age. On various bad habits. Examination of the eyes; their diseases.

_Lecture 10_.--Defective paces, &c. Draught and pack horses. Mules.

_Lecture 11_.--Stud and remounts. Races.

_Lecture 12_.--Vicious horses, and different bits. Manner of bitting a horse. On grooms and punishment.

THIRD PART.--ON THE HEALTH OF THE HORSE.

_Lecture 13_.--Examination of the foot, and shoeing with the hot shoe.

_Lecture 14_.--Shoeing with the cold shoe. Different kinds of horse-shoe, &c.

_Lecture 15_.--On stables. Food. Rations.

_Lecture 16_.--Description and nomenclature of the saddle. Harness and pack. Various saddles.

_Lecture 17_.--On work and rest. Horse and mule on the road and in bivouac. On diseases and accidents.

Abstract of the course:--

Interior of the horse, 4 } 17 lectures at 1½ hours.
Exterior, 6 } Total time, 25½ hours.
Health, 7 } Credits, 25.

The instruction on horseback can, under certain circumstances, be considered as connected with this course; and questions are asked during the time when the sub-lieutenants are not engaged in actual riding exercise. This instruction is described under the head of Practical Military Instruction; it comprises at the maximum 272 attendances, and its credit of influence is valued at 240.

ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS’ REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.

I. ARTILLERY REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.

These are intended for the theoretical and practical instruction of officers, _sous-officiers_, and gunners.

Each School is under the orders of the General of Brigade commanding the Artillery in the military division in which it is situated.

Independent of the general officer, the school has the following staff:--

A Lieutenant (associated assistant to the General.)
A Professor of Sciences, applying more particularly to the Artillery.
A Professor of Fortification, of drawing, and construction of
buildings.
Two _Gardes_ of Artillery (one of the first, and the other of the
second class.)

There are, in addition, attached to each school the number of inferior officers (captains, lieutenants, or _sous-lieutenants_) required for carrying on the theoretical courses, which are not placed under the direction of the professors.

A captain of the first class, assisted by two first lieutenants, is the director of the park of the school. Another captain, also of the first class, but taken from the regiment of Pontooneers, has the direction of that portion of the bridge equipage necessary for the special instruction of this corps, as well as of the material of the artillery properly belonging to this instruction.

The lieutenant-colonel, assistant to the general, fulfills, independent of every other detail of supervision with which he may be charged, the functions of _ordonnateur secondaire_, in what concerns the expenses of the school and their propriety (_justification_.) He corresponds with the minister of war for this part of the service.

The instruction is divided into _theoretical_ and _practical_, and the annual course is divided into half-yearly periods, or into summer and winter instructions.

The summer instruction commences, according to different localities, from the 1st of April to the 1st of May, and that of the winter from the 1st of October to the 1st of November.

The winter and summer instruction is subdivided into school and regimental instruction.

The school instruction comprehends all the _theoretical_ and _practical_ instruction common to the different corps which require the assistance of the particular means of the school, the employment of its professors, locality, and material, as that of the practical instruction in which the troops belonging to the different corps of the army are united to take part.

The regimental instruction is that which exists in the interior of the regiments and the various bodies of the artillery. It is directed by the chiefs of these corps, who are responsible for it, with the means placed at their disposal, under the general surveillance of the commandant of the school.

The special instruction of the Pontooneers not admitting of their following the same instruction as the other regiments of artillery, the chief of this corps directs the special instruction according to certain bases prescribed by the regulations.

There are for the captains of artillery, each year during the winter half-year, six conferences for the purposes of considering and discussing projects for the organization of different equipages and armaments for the field service, and for attack and defense of places.

In a building belonging to each school of artillery, under the name of the hotel of the school, are united the halls and establishments necessary for the theoretical instruction of the officers and sous-officers, such as halls for _théorique_ drill and drawing, library, depots of maps and plans, halls for machines, instruments and models, &c.

Each school is provided with a physical cabinet and a chemical laboratory. There is also a piece of ground, called a polygon, for exercising artillerymen to the manœuvers of cannon and other firearms of great range. Its extent is sufficient in length to furnish a range of 1,200 meters, and in breadth of 600 meters.

Permanent and temporary batteries are established on this ground, and they seem not only for practice, but also to accustom the men to the construction of fascines, field batteries, &c.

The administration of each school, and the accounts relating to it, are directed by an administrative council, consisting of--

The General Officer commanding the Artillery (President.)

The Colonels of the regiments of Artillery in the towns where two regiments of the Artillery are quartered, and in other towns, the Colonel and Lieutenant-Colonel of the regiment.

The Colonel of the regiment of Pontooneers in the town where the principal part of the corps may be stationed, and in any other town the Lieutenant-Colonel or the Major.

The Lieutenant-Colonel associated assistant with the General
Commandant.

The functions of secretary of the council are intrusted to a _grade_ of the first class.

The functionaries of the corps of intendants fulfill, in connection with the administrative councils of the artillery schools, the same duties as are assigned by the regulations relating to the interior administration of bodies of troops. They will exercise over the accounts, both of money and material of the said schools, the same control as over the administration connected with the military interests of the state.

II. ENGINEER REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.

The colonel of each regiment has the superior direction of the instruction.

The lieutenant-colonel directs and superintends, under his orders, the whole of the details of the regimental instruction.

A major, selected from among the officers of this rank belonging to the _état-major_ of this arm, directs and superintends, under the orders of the colonel, the whole of the details of the special instruction.

The complete instruction consists of--

General instruction, or that of the regiment, by which a man is made a soldier.

Special or school instruction, having for its object the training of the miner or sapper.

The instructions are each separated into _theoretical_ and _practical_ instruction.

The theoretical instruction of the regiment comprehends the theories:--

On the exercises and manœuvers of infantry. On the interior service. On the service of the place. On field service. On the maintenance of arms. On military administration. On military penal legislation.

The practical instruction of the regiment comprises:--

The exercises and manœuvers of infantry. Practice with the musket.
Military Marches. Fencing.

The teaching of these various duties is confided to officers, _sous-officiers_, and corporals of the regiments, as pointed out by the regulation, and the orders of the colonel.

The fencing school is organized in a similar manner to those of the infantry, and the military marches are also made in the same way as in those corps.

The _special_ and _theoretical_ instruction consists of:--

Primary instruction. Mathematics. Drawing. Geography. Military history of France. Fortification and the various branches of the engineering work.

Three civil professors (appointed by competition) are attached to each regimental school, for the special theoretical instruction, as regards the primary instruction, drawing, and mathematics.

The courses are distributed and taught in the following manner:

Primary instruction for the Soldiers. }
French grammar for the Corporals. }
Book-keeping for the _Sous-Officiers_. }
By the Professor of Primary Instruction.

Elementary arithmetic for the Corporals. }
Complete arithmetic } }
Elementary geometry } }
for the Serjeants. }
Complete geometry } }
Trigonometry } }
for the Serjeant-Major. }
Surveys for the _Sous-Officiers_. }
Special mathematics for the Officers. }
By the Prof. of Mathematics.

Drawing for the Corporals and _Sous-Officers_.
By the Professor of Drawing, who is also charged with
completing the collection of models which relate to it.

The elements of fortification for the Serjeant-Majors. }
Construction, and theories on practical schools }
for the _Sous-Officiers_. }
Permanent fortification } }
The attack and defense of places } }
Mines } }
Bridges } }
Ovens } }
Topography } }
for the Officers. }
Geography } }
Military history of France } }
for the _Sous-Officiers_. }
By the Officers of the regiment, named by the Colonel,
independently of those appointed by the regulations

At the end of each course the colonel of the regiment causes a general examination to be made in his presence of the whole of the men who have followed this course, and has a list made out in the order of merit, with notes of the capacity and aptitude of each.

These lists are consulted in the formation of tables of promotion, and placed with the said tables before the inspector-general.

Each captain and lieutenant are obliged to give in at least a single treatise on five different projects, consisting of a memoir discussing or the journal of a siege, with drawing of the whole, and of details in sufficient number to render them perfectly intelligible.

The _special practical_ instruction is composed of seven distinct schools, relating to:--

Field Fortification. Saps. Mines and Fireworks. Bridges. Ovens.
Topography. Gymnastics.

And they comprehend, in addition, sham sieges, and underground war. Each of these seven schools is taught in accordance with the special instructions annexed to the regulation, which, however, are not published.

Winter is more especially devoted to the course of special theoretical instruction, which commences on the 1st November, and usually finishes on the 15th March, and the course of _special practical_ instruction is carried on during the summer from the 15th March to the 15th September. The second fortnight of September and the month of October are devoted to sham sieges and underground war, to the leveling of the works executed, and to the arrangement of magazines.

SCHOOL FOR INFANTRY AND CAVALRY

AT ST. CYR.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION. CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION. STAFF.

It will have been seen in the accounts of the Polytechnic School and the School of Application at Metz, in what manner young men destined for commissions in the artillery and engineers receive their previous education, and under what conditions appointments as officers in these two services are made in France. The regulations for the infantry, the cavalry, and the marines are of the same description. There are in these also the same two ways of obtaining a commission. One, and in these services the more usual one, is to rise from the ranks. The other is to pass successfully through the school at St. Cyr. Young men who do not enter as privates prove their fitness for the rank of officers by going through the course of instruction given, and by passing the examinations conducted in this, the principal, and putting aside the School of Application at Metz, the one Special Military School of the country.

The earliest foundation of the kind in France was the Ecole Royale Militaire of 1751. Like most other similar institutions of the time, it was intended for the young nobility. No one was to be admitted who could not prove four generations of _Noblesse_. The pupils were taught free of charge, and might enter at eight years old. Already, however, some marks of competition are to be discerned, as the best mathematicians were to be taken for the Artillery and Engineers. Buildings on the Plain of Grenelle (the same which still stand, occupying one end of the present Champs de Mars, and retaining, though only used as barracks, their ancient name,) were erected for the purpose. The school continued in this form till 1776, when it was dissolved (apparently owing to faults of discipline,) and replaced by ten Colleges, at Sorrèze, Brienne, Vendôme, and other places, all superintended by ecclesiastics. A new Ecole Royale Militaire, occupying the same buildings as the former, was added in 1777.

This came to an end in 1787; and the ten colleges were suppressed under the Republic. A sort of Camp School on the plain of Sablons took their place, when the war had broken out, and lasted about a year under the name of the Ecole de Mars.

Under the Consulate in 1800, the Prytanée Français was founded, consisting of four separate Colleges. The name was not long after changed to the Prytanée Militaire; and after some time the number was diminished, and La Flèche, which had in 1764 received the youngest pupils of the old Royal Military School, became the seat of the sole remaining establishment; which subsequently sunk to the proportions of a mere junior preparatory school, and became, in fine, the present establishment for military orphans, which still retains the title, and is called the Prytanée Militaire de la Flèche.

A _special_ Military School, in the meantime, had been set up at Fontainebleau in 1803, transferred in 1808 to St. Cyr, and thus taking the place of the Prytanée Militaire and of its predecessor, the original Ecole Royale Militaire, gradually assumed its present form.[15]

[Footnote 15: Founded the Ecole Royale Militaire, 1751. Junior
pupils transferred to La Flèche, 1764.

Suppression of the Ecole Royale Militaire and establishment of ten
Colleges, 1776.

New Ecole Royale Militaire, for the best pupils of the Colleges,
1777.

Suppression of the Colleges and of the Ecole Royale Militaire,
1787.

Foundation of the Ecole de Mars, May 1794.

Foundation of the Prytanée Français at Paris, Versailles, St.
Germain, Fontainebleau, 1800.

Foundation of the Ecole Spéciale Militaire at Fountainebleau,
1803.

The four Schools of the Prytanée Français are converted into the
Prytanée Militaire, 1806; and are transferred to La Flèche, 1808.

The Ecole Spéciale Militaire is transferred to St. Cyr, also in
1808.]

The course of study lasts two years; the usual number of cadets in time of peace is five, or at the utmost six hundred; the admission is by competitive examination, open to all youths, French by birth or by naturalization, who on the first of January preceding their candidature were not less than sixteen and not more than twenty years old. To this examination are also admitted soldiers in the ranks between twenty and twenty-five years of age, who, at the date of its commencement, have been actually in service in their regiments for two years.

The general conditions and formalities are the same as those already stated for the Polytechnic. It may be repeated that all the candidates, in accordance with a recent enactment, must have taken the usual degree which terminates the task at the _lycées_--the baccalaureate in sciences.

Those who succeed in the examination and are admitted, take an engagement to serve seven years either in the cavalry or infantry, and are thus under the obligation, if they are judged incompetent at the close of their two years’ stay at the school to receive a commission, to enter and serve as common soldiers. The two years of their stay at the school counts as a part of their service. It is only in the special case of loss of time caused by illness, that permission is given to remain a third year.

The ordinary payment is 60_l._ (1,500 francs) per annum. All whose inability to pay this amount is satisfactorily established, may claim, as at the Polytechnic, an allowance of the whole or of half of the expenses from the State, to which may be added an allowance for the whole or for a portion of the outfit (from 24_l._ to 28_l._) These _bourses_ or _demi-bourses_, with the _trousseau_, or _demi-trousseau_, have during the last few years been granted unsparingly. One-third of the 800 young men at the school in February 1856 were _boursiers_ or _demi-boursiers_. Candidates admitted from the Orphan School of La Flèche, where the sons of officers wounded or killed in service receive a gratuitous education, are maintained in the same manner here.[16]

[Footnote 16: About twenty-five are sent every year from La
Flèche. The admissions from the army (_i.e._, of soldiers between
twenty and twenty-five years old) do not amount to more than four
or at the utmost five per cent. They are very frequently young men
who have previously failed for St. Cyr, and who then enter the
army as privates, and come in as such. They have to pass the same
examination.]

It was the rule till lately that cadets appointed, on leaving St. Cyr, to the cavalry should be placed for two years at the Cavalry School at Saumur. This, however, has recently been changed; on entering St. Cyr those who desire appointments in the cavalry declare their wishes, and are put at once through a course of training in horsemanship. Those who are found unfit are quickly withdrawn; the remainder, if their place on the final examination allows of their appointment to the cavalry, are by that time sufficiently well practiced to be able to join their regiments at once.

Twenty-seven, or sometimes a greater number, are annually at the close of their second year of study placed in competition with twenty-five candidates from the second lieutenants belonging to the army,[17] if so many are forthcoming, for admission to the Staff School at Paris. This advantage is one object which serves as a stimulus to exertion, the permission being given according to rank in the classification by order of merit.

[Footnote 17: Few usually present themselves; and these also, it
is said, are very generally old _élèves_ of St. Cyr, who had not
succeeded in obtaining admission to the Staff School before. They
are not examined _with_ the pupils of St. Cyr, but are
intercalated in the list according to their merit.]

The school consists of two divisions, the upper and the lower, corresponding to the two years of the course. Each division is divided again into four companies. In each of these eight companies there are sub-officers chosen from the _élèves_ themselves, with the titles of _Sergent_, _Sergent Fourrier_, and _Caporal_; those appointed to the companies of the junior division are selected from the second year cadets, and their superiority in standing appears to give these latter some considerable authority, exercised occasionally well, occasionally ill. The whole school, thus divided into eight companies, constitutes one battalion.

The establishment for conducting the school consists of--

A General as Commandant.

A Second in Command (a Colonel of Infantry.)

A Major, 4 Captains, 12 Lieutenants, and 5 Second Lieutenants of
Infantry; the Major holding the office of Commandant of the Battalion.

A Major, 1 Captain, 34 Lieutenants, and 3 Second Lieutenants of
Cavalry to superintend the exercises, the riding, &c.

A Director of Studies (at present a Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers.)

Two Assistant Directors.

Six Examiners for Admission.

One Professor of Artillery.

One Assistant ditto.

One Professor of Topography and Mathematics.

One Professor of Military Administration, Military Art, and Military
History.

One Professor of Fortification.

One Professor of Military Literature.

Two Professors of History and Geography.

One Professor of Descriptive Geometry.

One Professor of Physics and Chemistry.

Three Professors of Drawing,

One Professor of German.

Eleven Military and six Civilian Assistant Teachers (_Répétiteurs_.)

There is also a Quartermaster, a Treasurer, a Steward, a Secretary of the Archives, who is also Librarian, an Almoner (a clergyman,) four or five Surgeons, a Veterinary Surgeon, who gives lessons on the subject, and twelve Fencing Masters.

The professors and teachers are almost entirely military men. Some difficulty appears to be found by civilians in keeping sufficient order in the large classes; and it has been found useful to have as _répétiteurs_ persons who could also be employed in maintaining discipline in the house. Among the professors at present there are several officers of the engineers and of the artillery, and of the staff corps.

There is a board or council of instruction, composed of the commandant, the second in command, one of the field officers of the school staff, the director of studies, one of the assistant directors, and four professors.

So, again, the commandant, the second in command, one of the field officers, two captains, and two lieutenants, the last four changing every year, compose the board or council of discipline.

St. Cyr is a little village about three miles beyond the town of Versailles, and but a short distance from the boundary of the park. The buildings occupied by the school are those formerly used by Madame de Maintenon, and the school which she superintended. Her garden has given place for the parade and exercise grounds; the chapel still remains in use; and her portrait is preserved in the apartments of the commandant. The buildings form several courts or quadrangles; the Court of Rivoli, occupied chiefly by the apartments and bureaux of the officers of the establishment, and terminated by the chapel; the Courts of Austerlitz, and Marengo, more particularly devoted to the young soldiers themselves; and that of Wagram, which is incomplete, and opens into the parade grounds. These, with the large stables, the new riding school, the exercising ground for the cavalry, and the polygon for artillery practice, extend to some little distance beyond the limit of the old gardens into the open arable land which descends northwards from the school, the small village of St. Cyr lying adjacent to it on the south.

The ground floor of the buildings forming the Courts of Marengo, Austerlitz, and Wagram appeared to be occupied by the two refectories, by the lecture-rooms or amphitheaters, each holding two hundred pupils, and by the chambers in which the ordinary questionings, similar to those already described in the account of the Polytechnic School, under the name of _interrogations particulières_, are conducted.

On the first floor are the _salles d’étude_ and the _salle des collections_ the museum or repertory of plans, instruments, models and machines, and the library; on the second floor the ordinary dormitories; and on the third (the attics,) supplementary dormitories to accommodate the extra number of pupils who have been admitted since the commencement of the war.

The commission, when visiting the school, was conducted on leaving the apartments of the commandant to the nearest of the two refectories. It was after one o’clock, and the long room was in the full possession of the whole first or junior division. A crowd of active and spirited-looking young soldiers, four hundred at least in number, were ranged at two long rows of small tables, each large enough, perhaps, for twelve; while in the narrow passage extending up and down the room, between the two rows, stood the officers on duty for the maintenance of order. On passing back to the corridor, the stream of the second year cadets was issuing from their opposite refectory. In the adjoining buttery, the loaf was produced, one kilogramme in weight, which constitutes the daily allowance. It is divided into four parts, eaten at breakfast, dinner, the afternoon lunch or _gouter_, and the supper. The daily cost of each pupil’s food is estimated at 1f. 80c.

The lecture rooms and museums offer nothing for special remark. In the library containing 12,000 books and a fine collection of maps, there were a few of the young men, who are admitted during one hour every day.

The _salles d’étude_ on the first floor are, in contrast to those at the Polytechnic, large rooms, containing, under the present circumstances of the school, no less than two hundred young men. There are, in all, four such rooms, furnished with rows of desks on each side and overlooked in time of study by an officer posted in each to preserve order, and, so far as possible, prevent any idleness.

From these another staircase conducts to the dormitories, containing one hundred each, and named after the battles of the present war--Alma, Inkerman, Balaclava, Bomarsund. They were much in the style of those in ordinary barracks, occupied by rows of small iron beds, each with a shelf over it, and a box at the side. The young men make their own beds, clean their own boots, and sweep out the dormitories themselves. Their clothing, some portions of which we here had the opportunity of noticing, is that of the common soldier, the cloth being merely a little finer.

Above these ordinary dormitories are the attics, now applied to the use of the additional three hundred whom the school has latterly received.

The young men, who had been seen hurrying with their muskets to the parade ground, were now visible from the upper windows, assembled, and commencing their exercises. And when, after passing downwards and visiting the stables, which contain three hundred and sixty horses, attended to by two hundred cavalry soldiers, we found ourselves on the exercising ground, the cavalry cadets were at drill, part mounted, the others going through the lance exercise on foot. In the riding-school a squad of infantry cadets were receiving their weekly riding lesson. The cavalry cadets ride three hours a-day; those of the infantry about one hour a week. The exercising ground communicates with the parade ground; here the greater number of the young men were at infantry drill, under arms. A small squad was at field-gun drill in an adjoining square. Beyond this and the exercising ground is the practice ground, where musket and artillery practice is carried on during the summer. Returning to the parade ground we found the cadets united into a battalion; they formed line and went through the manual exercise, and afterwards marched past; they did their exercise remarkably well. Some had been only three months at the school. The marching past was satisfactory; it was in three ranks, in the usual French manner.

Young men intended for the cavalry are instructed in infantry and artillery movements and drill; just as those intended for the infantry are taught riding, and receive instruction in cavalry, as well as artillery drill and movements.

It is during the second year of their stay they receive most instruction in the arms of the service to which they are not destined, and this, it is said, is a most important part of their instruction. “It is this,” said the General Commandant, “that made it practicable, for example, in the Crimea, to find among the old _élèves_ of St. Cyr, officers fit for the artillery, the engineers, the staff; and for general officers, of course, it is of the greatest advantage to have known from actual study something of every branch.”

The ordinary school vacation last six or seven weeks in the year. The young men are not allowed to quit the grounds except on Sundays. On that day there is mass for the young men.

The routine of the day varies considerably with the season. In winter it is much as follows:--At 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds; in twelve minutes they are all dressed and out, and the dormitories are cleared. The _rappel_ sounds on the _grand carré_; they form in their companies, enter their _salles_, and prepare for the lecture of the day until a quarter to 7. At 7 o’clock the officers on duty for the week enter the dormitories, to which the pupils now return, at a quarter to 8 the whole body passes muster in the dormitories, in which they have apparently by this time made their beds and restored cleanliness and order. Breakfast is taken at one time or other during the interval between a quarter to 7 and 8 o’clock.

They march to their lecture rooms at 8, the lecture lasts till a quarter past 9, when they are in like manner marched out, and are allowed a quarter of an hour of amusement. They then enter the halls of study, make up their notes on the lecture they have come from, and after an hour and a half employed in this way, for another hour and a half are set to drawing.

Dinner at 1 is followed by recreation till 2. Two hours from 2 to a quarter past 4 are devoted to military services.

From 4 to 6 P.M. part are occupied in study of the drill-book (_théorie_,) part in riding or fencing: a quarter of an hour’s recreation follows, and from 6¼ to 8½ there are two hours of study in the _salles_. At half-past 8 the day concludes with the supper.

The following table gives a view of the routine in summer:--

4½ A.M. to 4¾ A.M. Dressing.
4¾ “ to 7¼ “ Military exercises.
7¼ “ to 8¼ “ Breakfast, cleaning, inspection.
8¼ “ to 9½ “ Lecture.
9½ “ to 9¾ “ Recreation.
9¾ “ to 11¼ “ Study.
11¼ “ to 1 P.M. Drawing.
1 P.M. to 2 “ Dinner and recreation.
2 “ to 4 “ Study of drill-book (_théorie_) or fencing.
4 “ to 6 “ Study for some, riding for others.
6 “ to 6¼ “ Recreation.
6¼ “ to 8 “ Riding for some, study for others,
8 “ to 8½ “ Supper.

The entrance examination is much less severe than that for the Polytechnic; but a moderate amount of mathematical knowledge is demanded, and is obtained. The candidates are numerous; and if it be true that some young men of fortune shrink from a test, which, even in the easiest times, exacts a knowledge of the elements of trigonometry, and not unfrequently seek their commissions by entering the ranks, their place is supplied by youths who have their fortunes to make, and who have intelligence, industry, and opportunity enough to acquire in the ordinary _lycées_, the needful amount of knowledge.

Under present circumstances it is, perhaps, more especially in the preparatory studies that the intellectual training is given, and for the examination of admission that theoretical attainments are demanded. The state of the school in a time of war can not exactly be regarded as a normal or usual one. The time of stay has been sometimes shortened from two years to fifteen months; the excessive numbers render it difficult to adjust the lectures and general instruction so as to meet the needs of all; the lecture rooms and the studying rooms are all insufficient for the emergency; and what is yet more than all, the stimulus for exertion, which is given by the fear of being excluded upon the final examination, and sent to serve in the ranks, is removed at a time when almost every one may feel sure that a commission which must be filled up will be vacant for him. Yet even in time of peace, if general report may be trusted, it is more the drill, exercises, and discipline, than the theory of military operations, that excite the interest and command the attention of the young men. When they leave, they will take their places as second lieutenants with the troops, and they naturally do not wish to be put to shame by showing ignorance of the common things with which common soldiers are familiar. Their chief incentive is the fear of being found deficient when they join their regiments, and, with the exception of those who desire to enter the staff corps, their great object is the practical knowledge of the ordinary matters of military duty. “Physical exercises,” said the Director of Studies, “predominate here as much as intellectual studies do at the Polytechnic.”

But the competition for entrance sustains the general standard of knowledge. Even when there is the greatest demand for admissible candidates, the standard of admission has not, we are told, been much reduced. No one comes in who does not know the first elements of trigonometry. And the time allotted by the rules of the school to lectures and indoor study is far from inconsiderable.

EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION--STUDIES AT THE SCHOOL.

The examinations for admission are conducted almost precisely upon the same system which is now used in those for the Polytechnic School.[18] There is a preliminary or pass examination (_du premier degré_), and for those who pass this a second or class examination (_du second degré_.) For the former there are three examiners, two for mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and a third for history, geography, and German. The second examination, which follows a few days after, is conducted in like manner by three examiners. A jury of admission decides. The examination is for the most part oral; and the principal difference between it and the examination for the Polytechnic is merely that the written papers are worked some considerable time before the first oral examination (_du premier degré_,) and are looked over with a view to assist the decision as to admissibility to the second (_du second degré_.) Thus the _compositions écrites_ are completed on the 14th and 15th of June; the preliminary examination commences at Paris on the 10th of July; the second examination on the 13th.

[Footnote 18: The system was, in fact, first tried at St. Cyr, and
adopted, on the representation of the Mixed Commission, at the
Polytechnic. The previous method, by which different sets of
examiners took different districts, had created distrust and
dissatisfaction.]

The subjects of examination are the following:--

_Arithmetic_, including vulgar and decimal fractions, weights and measures, square and cube root, ratios and proportions, interest and discount, use of logarithmic tables and the sliding rule.

_Algebra_, to quadratic equations with one unknown quantity, maxima and minima, arithmetical and geometrical progressions, logarithms and their application to questions of compound interest and annuities.

_Geometry_, plane and solid, including the measurement of areas,
surfaces, and volumes; sections of the cone, cylinder, and sphere.

_Plane Trigonometry:_ construction of trigonometrical tables and the
solution of triangles; application to problems required in surveying.

_Geometrical representations_ of bodies by projections.

_French_ compositions.

_German_ exercises.

_Drawing_, including elementary geometrical drawing and projections;
plan, section, and elevation of a building; geographical maps.

_Physical Science_ (purely descriptive:) cosmography; physics, including elementary knowledge of the equilibrium of fluids; weight, gravity, atmospheric pressure, heat, electricity, magnetism, acoustics, optics, refraction, microscope, telescope.

_Chemistry_, elementary principles of; on matter, cohesion, affinity; simple and compound bodies, acids, bases, salts, oxygen, combustion, azote, atmospheric air, hydrogen, water; respecting equivalents and their use, carbon, carbonic acid, production and decomposition of ammonia, sulphur, sulphuric acid, phosphorus, chlorine; classification of non-metallic bodies into four families.

_History:_ History of France from the time of Charles VII. to that of
the Emperor Napoleon I. and the treaties of 1815.

_Geography_, relating entirely to France and its colonies, both
physical and statistical.

_German:_ the candidates must be able to read fluently both the written and printed German character, and to reply in German to simple questions addressed to them in the same language.

The general system of instruction at St. Cyr is similar to that of the Polytechnic; the lectures are given by the professors, notes are taken and completed afterwards, and progress is tested in occasional _interrogations_ by the _répétiteurs_. One distinction is the different size of the _salles d’étude_ (containing two hundred instead of eight or ten;) but, above all, is the great and predominant attention paid to the practical part of military teaching and training. It is evident at the first sight that this is essentially a military school, and that especial importance is attached both by teachers and pupils to the drill, exercise, and manœuvers of the various arms of the service.

The course of study is completed in two years; that of the first year consists of:--

27 lectures in descriptive geometry.
35 “ physical science.
20 “ military literature.
35 “ history.
21 “ geography and military statistics.
30 “ German.
---
Total, 174

In addition to the above, there is a course of drawing between the time when the students join the school early in November and the 15th of August.

The course of _drawing_ consists in progressive studies of landscape drawing with the pencil and brush, having special application to military subjects, to the shading of some simple body or dress, and to enable the students to apply the knowledge which has been communicated to them on the subject of shadows and perspective. This course is followed by the second or junior division during the first year’s residence.

The course of lectures in _descriptive geometry_ commences with certain preliminary notions on the subject; refers to the representation of lines on curved surfaces, cylindrical and conical, surfaces of revolutions, regular surfaces, intersection of surfaces, shadows, perspective, vanishing points, &c., construction of geographical maps, and _plan côté_.

The lectures in _physical science_ embrace nine lectures on the general properties of bodies; heat, climate, electricity, magnetism, galvanism, electro-magnetism, acoustics.

There are twelve lectures in _chemistry_; on water, atmospheric air, combustibles, gas, principal salts, saltpetre, metallurgy, organic chemistry.

There are fourteen lectures in _mechanics applied to machines_; motion, rest, gravity, composition and resolution of forces, mechanical labor, uniform motion, rectilinear and rotatory, projectiles in space, mechanical powers, drawbridges, Archimedean principle, military bridges, pumps, reservoirs, over and under-shot wheels, turbines, corn mills, steam-engines, locomotives, transport of troops, materials, and munitions on railways.