Military schools and courses of instruction in the science and art of war,

Chapter XLIII: Introduction

Text size

The necessities of the maritime service in France, public and private, military and commercial, have created a system, or at least a series of special schools for children whose parents are occupied on the sea, or youths preparing for the exigencies of naval affairs, several of which we will proceed to describe, with the aid of official documents,[11] without reference to the chronological order in which they have been instituted. The system includes

1. Nautical School for the Orphans of Sailors.
2. The Inflexible and other School-ships.
3. Naval Apprentice Schools at the government naval stations.
4. School for Boatswains and Shipmasters.
5. School for Naval Engineers and Stokers.
6. Naval Drawing School.
7. Schools of Navigation and Hydrography.
8. Naval School at Brest.
9. School of Naval Architecture at Paris.
10. School of Marine Artillery.
11. School of Hydrography.
12. Naval School of Medicine and Pharmacy.

[Footnote 11: Official Report on Paris Industrial Exhibition of
1866, group X. Official programmes of the several schools
noticed.]

In addition to the schools above enumerated, several of which will be described in detail, the French government has now under consideration the establishment at Paris of a Central School of Commerce and Navigation. The instruction, while it will be special, will not be technical, and will be designed for young persons who propose to enter either the military or mercantile marine, leaving the practical details of the particular branch of the service to be acquired elsewhere.

A system of maritime conscription for recruiting the navy, and strict regulations requiring special instruction in masters and mates of all mercantile vessels, are in force in France.

NAUTICAL SCHOOL FOR ORPHANS OF SAILORS.

Formerly, when the children of sailors were obliged at the age of seven to leave the asylums (_salles d’asile_,) which are open to them with such liberality, they had to stay for six years in the primary schools before, they were admitted to the “school for young sailors” (_école des mousses_,) where their professional education commenced. This state of things, entirely satisfactory when the child belongs to a family, is different when it is an orphan. Then there is a void to be filled.

An imperial decree, published Nov. 15th, 1862, at the suggestion of the Marquis of Chasseloup Laubat, provides for this want by furnishing at Brest an institution for the orphans of the navy, and placing it under the especial protection of Her Majesty, the Empress. Vice-Admiral, Count de Gueydon, gave all his care to the organization of this especial school, which was intended to gather the orphans of seamen, to place them under the protection of the navy, to educate and instruct them that they might follow in the steps of their fathers. They were placed under the supervision of lieutenant Picard of the navy. Their general instruction was confided to the _Brothers of the Christian Schools_, and the “Daughters of Wisdom” (_filles de la sagesse_) were intrusted with all the cares which such young children require.

We have nothing to say in this place of the excellent primary instruction given in this school, and will only notice briefly the special or professional instruction, which is imparted in a military style by divisions, subdivisions, companies, sections, squads commanded by masters, second masters, quarter-masters, and naval instructors. There are three sizes (the low, middle, and high,) each of which is commanded by a pupil.

The lessons which they receive consist of instruction in the management of sails, sailor’s practice, (_école de matelotage_,)the whistle, fife and drum, rowing, swimming, military practice, gun-practice, bayonet-practice, bats, _eillon_-drill, principles of music, gymnastics, and boxing. There is likewise given to them a physical and military education, which developes their strength and gives them the ability to study more closely.

On the 1st of January, 1867, there were in the school 415 pupils. Most of them are sent to the Seamen’s School (_école des mousses_,) when they have attained the thirteenth year of their age; those who are not considered fit to serve in the navy are struck off the lists and returned to their families.

Name of School.
3d Degree.
2d Degree.
1st Degree.

School of maneuvering on the naval gymnasium.
40 learn to mount to the mast-head and to hold themselves on
the sail-yards.
185 are just learning to take in the sails and the reefs,
and to make knots and splices.
190 take in the reefs and make knots and splices.

School of whistling.
20 learn to whistle.
10 give almost all the blasts of the whistle.
20 give all the blasts of the whistle.

School of rowing.
30 learn to row.
90 are just learning to row.
90 row.

Infantry school.
255 are drilled without arms.
20 are not fit yet to join the battalion.
140 are drilled in the gun-practice, bayonet-practice,
and form a battalion.

School of the fife and drum.
8 commence.
10 do pretty well.
7 do well.

School of gymnastics.
50 commence the elementary movements.
10 do pretty well.
30 do well.

School of music.
125 commence.
140 do pretty well.
150 do well.

The following table shows the number of pupils that had entered and left the school, up to Dec. 31, 1866:

-------------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------
| 1863. | 1864. | 1865. |1866.
+-------+-------+-------+-------
| | | |
Number of pupils on the 1st January, | -- | 224 | 256 | 420
| | | |
Entered during the year, | 247 | 102 | 235 | 157
| | | |
Total, | 247 | 326 | 491 | 577
| | | |
Left during the year. | | | |
{Sent to the school ship, |15} |53} |42} |93}
{Sent back to their families, | 6} 23 |15} 70 |26} 71 |67} 162
{Died in the hospital, | 2} | 2} | 4} | 2}
| | | |
Present on the 31st of December, | 224 | 256 | 420 | 415
-------------------------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------

THE INFLEXIBLE AND OTHER SCHOOL-SHIPS, AT BREST.

For a long time the children of sailors were placed on board the vessels of the fleet, where they lived in a state of servitude, and frequently arrived at a mature age without being able to read or write, while the gasket of the sailor formed characters which would not yield to any moral suasion. It is only since 1822 that they received, before being placed on board the vessels, an elementary and professional instruction, and since that time the school-ship has become the principal seminary for naval officers. The children must be at least twelve years old and their parents pledge themselves not to take them away from the school till they have reached the age of eighteen.

The school-ship, first established at Brest in 1823, was transferred to a corvette in 1836, to a frigate in 1851, and finally, in 1861, to the man-of-war, “_l’Inflexible_,” where it numbers at present 900 pupils from the age of 13 to 15. They remain here at least one and not more than two years, and receive a primary and professional instruction. After leaving the school they are placed on vessels of the fleet, where they continue to be under the special superintendence of the naval department. Even here they go through a regular course of instruction, given by one of the officers, and have thus an opportunity to continue the studies commenced on board the school-ship.

It would lead us too far here to enumerate in detail all the exercises performed on board the _Inflexible_. It will suffice to say that besides school instruction, the pupils are progressively accustomed to the practice of their profession, and learn everything which a sailor can be taught on board a vessel; the washing and cleaning of the vessel and of their linen, the rigging of the mast, the maneuvering of sail-boats and row-boats, which occupations fill the morning hours. After dinner, which takes place at 11 o’clock, they go on board two brigs, where they study and execute alone all that constitutes the practical art of the sailor.

It is not to be wondered at that these young sailors on board the _Inflexible_ get a liking for their occupation. Always in the open air, with good clothes, varied bodily exercises and abundant food, they acquire robust health and a thorough knowledge of their profession. Whilst two companies tack, two others go through military, exercises with rifles or guns, taking them to pieces, lashing the pieces, and in various ways maneuvering with the mountain howitzer, bayonet-fencing, &c. Some go to the sail-maker’s room and make hammocks. In 1857 there were selected 16 sail-makers and 20 steersmen from those in each company who showed most aptitude and taste for these specialties. This classification of the young sailors according to their professional ability, has produced very excellent results.

More recently still (by an imperial edict of Aug. 11, 1868,) a special section of sailor apprentices has been formed on board the “_Inflexible_” for children, who have not the required size and strength, (_taille_;) they are received into the school as apprentice sail-makers, carpenters and calkers. Pupils, after having reached the age of sixteen, are transferred to the school-ship _La Bretagne_.

The following table will give the statistics of this school to 1866.

[KEY]
NA Number Admitted.
CoT Chief of the Topmast.
T Topmen, (_gabiers_.)
FT Flying Topmen, (_gabiers volants_.)
S Supplementary.
L Left the Navy or died.

----------------------+--------------------------------------------
| | Left
| +-------+-----------+-----+-----+------
Date of Admission. | NA | CoT | T | FT | S | L |Total
----------------------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------
Present April 1, 1861 | 493| | | | | |
Admitted in 1861 | 275| 10 | 32 | 32 | 12 | 10 | 96
“ “ 1862 | 712| 30 | 202 | 66 | 157 | 54 | 509
“ “ 1863 | 579| 30 | 183 | 115 | 205 | 38 | 571
“ “ 1864 | 580| 31 | 173 | 152 | 212 | 28 | 596
“ “ 1865 | 545| 33 | 191 | 115 | 186 | 64 | 589
“ “ 1866 | 540| 39 | 190 | 110 | 158 | 72 | 569
----------------------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------
Total |3,724| 173 | 971 | 590 | 930 | 266 |2,930
----------------------+-----+-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+------

The chambers of maritime commerce at Bordeaux, Cette, Marseilles, Ajaccio, Havre, &c., have established similar nautical schools and placed them under the supervision of the government.

NAVAL APPRENTICE SCHOOLS.

There have been since 1824, in every one of the five naval stations of France, elementary schools, intended to give to the apprentices in the various workshops a degree of elementary knowledge, on the system of monitorial or mutual instruction. After some years of prosperity they were abandoned, in consequence of the great aversion then generally manifested against this method. The only one that remained was the school at Rochefort, which was under the superintendence of the Brothers of the Christian Schools. But in 1828 and 1829, under the ministry of Martignac, the Baronet Hyde de Neuville ordered their reëstablishment. Every one of these schools organized itself in its own way, and it was only in 1851 that a decree of April 7th prescribes uniform regulations.

We have nothing to say here on these apprentice-schools, which are simply primary schools for adults, to which are added special schools for rowing. Their professional instruction is given in the various workshops of the port, to which they have been assigned; the apprentice school has had during the year 1866, 954 pupils.

SCHOOLS OF BOATSWAINS.

The navy maintains schools called “_école de maistrance_” (_maistrance_ corps of under-officers of a ship,) where a certain number of workmen from the arsenals, chosen by open competition, receive the special theoretical instruction required for the boatswain and foremen of the various workshops.

The origin of these establishments goes back as far as 1819. A circular from the Secretary of the Navy, the Baronet Portal, of Aug. 17th, decreed the establishment, at the ports of Brest, Rochefort and Toulon, of special schools, in which a certain number of young workmen, destined for the “board of shipmasters” (_maistrance_) and chosen from among the most intelligent ones, should go through a theoretical and practical course of ship-building. The same circular contained a provisional regulation, giving the rules to be observed in these schools. The number of pupils in each was limited to 12, of which 8 should be carpenters, 1 pulley-maker, 1 blacksmith, 1 locksmith, 1 cooper, &c. These pupils should be chosen from among the most intelligent and best-behaved apprentices and young workingmen. They must know reading and writing, have served two years in one of the ports, and be at least eighteen and not more than twenty years old. The supervision of these schools was confided to a naval engineer.

We have just given an outline of the programme of admission required in 1819, because it is an official indication of the state of primary instruction at this period; but the same regulation proves that it was too high yet, for the minister allowed, for the first two years, the limit of age to be extended to 25 years.

The course of instruction which was to be given, comprised the first elements of mathematics, elementary geometry, the first elements of rectilinear trigonometry and the first elements of statics, &c. This course of studies was to last two years, and a system of examination and prizes was organized.

It was generally supposed that such an organization would obtain great success, and that the advantages which it presented would attract many pupils. But such was not the case. The working classes at that time were very much neglected, and there were very few who could read or write. Moreover the working men did not receive any pay whilst attending the school, and thirdly, there was no opportunity for these young men to perfect themselves in the practical exercises of their profession during the two years they studied the theory. The necessity of making some modification became clearer every day, and this was done by a royal decree of Feb. 9th, 1833.

Instead of choosing the pupils, competition was substituted, and as the primary instruction had advanced, candidates were required to be able to read fluently, to write neatly and correctly, and to be acquainted with the rudiments of arithmetic; they must be workingmen of the first or second class, must be 21 years old and have served for three years in some port; finally, they must furnish a certificate of their professional capacity, given by the foreman of their workshop, and countersigned by the director.

The course of instruction was to last two years, but the theoretical studies were confined to the first year; the second year was exclusively devoted to the practical application of the various professions of the pupils, the number of whom was increased, the recruits coming to a great extent from the naval ports. Brest was to receive 24, Rochefort 14, and Toulon 14; 52 in all, instead of 36.

In spite of the abolition of the limit of higher age, which gave a larger number of pupils access to the school, the recruiting of pupils still presented great difficulties. These were partly obviated by admitting assistant boatswains, and even boatswains, who were paid by the day. This measure was productive of very happy results; the number of pupils was soon increased and the studies were pursued with greater vigor.

The republican government, likewise, devoted its attention to these schools. A decree ordering a reörganization, was published April 23, 1856, and is to the present day in force. The conditions of admission were retained and extended to workingmen of the third class; the number of pupils assigned to each post was somewhat changed; the course of instruction was to last two years; during the first, the pupils spent the whole morning at the school, and during the second, only three mornings per week. Finally, it was agreed that the pupils were to be paid for the time which they devoted to the school, just as if they had worked in the dockyard.

PROGRAMME OF INSTRUCTION.

In order to make the scientific instruction of more practical use, the following programme was fixed for each year.

_First year._--Arithmetic, logarithms, square cube roots; 2, geometry; 3, elements of descriptive geometry; 4, elements of algebra up to equations of the second degree; 5, linear drawing; the course of arithmetic and algebra lasted a month and a half, from 10 o’clock till noon, instruction in drawing from 8 till 10. The two last months of the year were employed in reviewing all that had been taught during the year, and in preparing for the examination.

_Second year._--1, Common mechanics; 2, workshop accounts; 3, drawing. The course of mechanics and workshop accounts lasts two months. The half-day spent at the school is divided into three parts; the first is occupied in drawing, and lasts two hours; the second (either mechanics or workshop accounts) also two hours; the remainder of the time is devoted to optional studies. When the course of mechanics and workshop accounts is finished, the pupils are divided into two sections; the first comprises the carpenters, and workmen of similar rank; the second the mechanicians and workers in metal. During two months and a half the professor of mathematics teaches the section that works in wood the application of geometry to the drawing of working plans, explains to them all the details of the drawing of the frame, the stern, the bow and pieces, &c. He teaches them to calculate the _deplacements_ from the centre of the keel, or metre-centre. Finally, the pupils are taken to the molding-loft, in order to trace there a vessel in its true dimensions under the directions of a drawing-master. The metal-workers receive instructions from the professors of mathematics, on the property and application of steam; the functions of the various parts of a steam-engine; the applications of descriptive geometry to the drawing of the different parts of the steam-engine, &c.

The instruction in drawing receives in these schools all the attention which the development of naval construction demands. During the first year the pupils learn successively shading strokes of different thickness, simple and dotted; the construction and use of ladders. After this preparation, which applies to all, they execute professional drawings; the carpenters, plans of vessels after a copy; the mechanicians, plans of steam-engines and steam-boilers, &c. The time devoted to drawing during the second year is employed by the carpenters in drawing a fair copy of the complete furnishing material of a vessel, the details of the masting, the capstan, the helm, &c.; by the metal-workers in drawing a fair copy of the various machines. All these courses of instruction have been attended with satisfactory results; most of the pupils who have not been able to draw a straight line before entering the school, on leaving can draw in a creditable manner the working-plan of a vessel as well as of the most complicated machines.

From its foundation in 1819 till the end of 1862, the _Echo de maistrance_ at Brest has been attended by 429 pupils, viz.:

275 pupils actually in the service, viz.: 34 pupils; 60 workingmen; 57
assistant boatswains; 100 boatswains; 24 paid boatswains.

59 pupils died in the service, viz.: 5 pupils, 15 workingmen, 7 assistant boatswains, 22 boatswains; 7 paid boatswains; 1 naval storehouse-keeper.

95 pupils left or were discharged.

To get an idea of the manner in which the pupils pass the examination on leaving, it will be seen from the following table, which shows the results in the school at Brest during the last five years, that the instruction given has not been lost. The same is the case at Rochefort and Toulon.

--------+----------------------------------------------+--------
| Number of pupils who have | Total
Years. | attended the school. | number
+------------+----------+-----------+----------+ of
| With great | Success- | With good | Without | pupils.
| success. | fully. | results. | result. |
--------+------------+----------+-----------+----------+--------
1862 | 6 | 5 | 13 | 3 | 27
1863 | 3 | 4 | 20 | -- | 27
1864 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 4 | 29
1865 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 1 | 24
1866 | 6 | 9 | 14 | -- | 29
+------------+----------+-----------+----------+--------
Total, | 23 | 29 | 76 | 8 | 136
--------+------------+----------+-----------+----------+--------

SCHOOL FOR NAVAL ENGINEERS, STOKERS, ETC.

Since the introduction of steam into navigation, it is indispensable to have well-trained stokers and mechanicians, men who enjoy robust health, great presence of mind, prudence and an inventive genius when facing difficulties, skill in working metals, a knowledge of elementary mathematics and its application to their labor. In order to prepare such men, two special schools have been established by an imperial edict of Sept. 24, 1860, one at Brest, on board the _Urania_, and another at Toulon, on board the _Jena_. To be admitted to these schools, the conditions must be fulfilled which are required for the various grades in the _personnel_ of a steam vessel.

In order to recruit these schools, all the blacksmiths, braziers and weighers, (_ajusteurs_) who belong to the annual contingent of the army, may be sent officially, or at their own request, to the ports of Toulon and Brest, to be incorporated in the companies of mechanics of the navy. Civilians are admitted by contracting a voluntary engagement as stokers. All, however, must undergo an examination in manual labor, to show their physical capacity.

The course of instruction for stokers who are candidates for the grade of quartermaster, comprises, 1, arithmetic up to and including the rule of three, and square roots; 2, common geometry up to and including spherical bodies; 3, a concise knowledge of mechanics, and physics; 4, description and classification of steam-engines for vessels; the adjusting of their various parts, a concise knowledge of the property of metals and their use; 5, the practical management of machines and steam-boilers; 6, the repairing of machines.

It is evident that this instruction attracts to the service of the navy many intelligent and industrious young mechanics who would not enter it, because, not possessing the special knowledge required, they would not run the chance of remaining for a long time in the lowest grade, viz.: that of working stoker, the only one to which their attainments would allow them to aspire. In following this instruction, however, attentively and passing their examination successfully, they obtain the rank of pupil mechanicians, and even of quartermasters. In continuing their studies, they can rise still higher; their schools furnish them with the means, if they wish to become second boatswains. To the knowledge already acquired are added: 1, arithmetical progression; 2, the whole of planimetry; 3, theoretical mechanics and physics; 4, theory, description, regulation, and construction of steam-engines and steam-boilers; 5, the working and repairing of machines. By further pursuing their studies and working diligently, they can rise from second to first boatswain, and may ultimately obtain the position of principal mechanician, with the rank of lieutenant on men-of-war, and even of captain on corvettes, if they became chief mechanicians. The following table, giving the statistics of the school at Toulon, will show the success with which these schools have been attended.

[KEY]
G Designation of the different grades.
M4 May 1864
N4 Nov 1864
M5 May 1865
N5 Nov 1865
M6 May 1866
N6 Nov 1866
NA Number of pupils who have attended the school
during the half-year.
NE Number of pupils prepared at the school, who underwent
an examination.
NS Number of pupils who were successful at the examinations.

--+--------------------++--------------------++-------------------
| NA || NE || NS
+--------------------++--------------------++-------------------
| Competition of || Competition of || Competition of
G | M4| N4| M5|N5|M6|N6|| M4| N4| M5|N5|M6|N6|| M4| N4|M5|N5|M6|N6
--+---+---+---+--+--+--++---+---+---+--+--+--++---+---+--+--+--+--
For 1st Boatswain, || | | | | | || | | | | |
| 38| 34| 35|23|19|13|| 29| 24| 26|10|14|13|| 15| 10|12| 8| 8|10
2d Boatswain, (theoretical,)| | | | | || | | | | |
| 49| 41| 44|31|13|22|| 31| 37| 31|22|11|22|| 18| 22|16| 9| 7|19
2d Boatswain, (practical,) | | | | | || | | | | |
| 25| 29| 12| 4| 3| 3|| 23| 15| 7| 4| 3| 3|| 16| 10| 7| 4| 3| 3
Pupil Mechanic | | || | | | | | || | | | | |
| 6| 5| 23| 3|--| 1|| 4| 5| 14| 2|--| 1|| 1| 2| 2| 2|--| 1
Quartermaster, (theoretical,) | | | | || | | | | |
|129|124| 67|36|32|19||115|108| 35|34|--|12|| 99| 97|27|26|--|11
Quartermaster, (practical,) | | | | | || | | | | |
| 4| 2| --|--|--|--|| 3| 2| --|--|--|--|| 2| 2|--|--|--|--
Total | | | | | || | | | | | || | | | | |
|251|235|181|97|67|58||205|191|113|72|28|51||151|149|64|49|18|44
--+---+---+---+--+--+--++---+---+---+--+--+--++---+---+--+--+--+--

_Note._--Since the 1st January, 1865, the number of candidates being too great, the number of pupils has been reduced, but may again be increased, when occasion demands it.

NAVAL DRAWING SCHOOL.

An edict issued by Napoleon I, Sept. 27th, 1810, established at Brest and Toulon, on board the _Duquesne_ and the _Tourville_, drawing-schools for those who wished to enter the naval service, where theoretical and practical instruction was given. At the foundation of the naval school at Augoulême in 1816, these drawing-schools were transferred to the shore, became less exclusive, and admitted to their gratuitous course all young men from these two great naval stations who wished to adopt the naval profession. They have always been very largely attended.

SCHOOLS OF NAVIGATION AND HYDROGRAPHY.

Long before the navy had acquired any importance, maritime commerce had been immensely developed. The coasting and ocean trade required experienced and well-informed sailors. There were therefore in the principal seaports, gratuitous schools of navigation, whose aim was to disseminate theoretical knowledge. These schools were well conducted from the year 1584, when Henry III issued the first ordinance on the subject, by which boatswains and captains of merchant vessels had to undergo an examination of qualifications; but opportunities of instruction were wanting at that time, and it was reserved for Louis XIII to fill this void.

During the memorable siege of La Rochelle, Cardinal Richelieu became convinced that the knowledge of a captain, to whom the State intrusts a merchant-vessel, ought not to be confined to the most simple rules of the art of navigation. He consequently, in January, 1629, published a decree, ordering the establishment of schools of hydrography, open to all who intended to study navigation theoretically. The king himself engaged to maintain, at his own expense, a certain number of such schools, and encouragements were held out to all cities which would found such schools. The professors of hydrography were detained to assist at the examinations of captains, boatswains and coxswains.

Such was the origin of the first professional instruction in navigation. Here, as in all institutions of learning, the instruction of manhood succeeded that of youth. If the orders of Louis XIII were not as generally executed as they deserved, they were instrumental in producing a certain number of learned hydrographers, some of whom became the authors of the first treatises on navigation ever published in the French language.

A decree of Louis XIV, (August, 1681,) another by Louis XV, (September 14, 1764,) and third by Louis XVI, (January 1, 1786,) show that the ancient monarchy did not lose sight of this branch of instruction. In the last mentioned decree, the Marquis of Castries, Secretary of the Navy, united under one common law all these establishments, whose organization was far from uniform. The professors were in future chosen by competition. Two chairs of “hydrographic examiners” were created, charged with the superintendance of the instruction, to assist at the examinations.

A decree of the National Assembly, which became a law, August 16th, 1791, decided that gratuitous schools of hydrography should be established at the expense of the State, in thirty-four different places. This decree was supplanted by others published a few years later, further regulating the course of instruction.

During the wars of the first Empire, Napoleon I never forgot to extend the benefits of French institutions wherever his armies were victorious. To this circumstance several foreign seaports owe their excellent schools of navigation.

The hydrographic instruction was completely reorganized by a royal edict of August 7, 1825, under the ministry of Count de Chabrol. This is still in force with but few modifications. One professor is charged with giving instruction in each of the 42 schools of the Empire; two examiners have charge of the general supervision of these schools, and hold the annual examinations.

Instruction is gratuitous, and sailors can enter from the age of 13 upwards, but they rarely attend them before they are 22 or 23 years old. The professors, on five days of the week, impart instruction for four hours a day. There are two different courses; one superior and the other elementary; the first theoretical and practical, the other essentially practical. Wherever there is an observatory, the pupils are practiced in observations.

The programme of the theoretical instruction comprises: for ocean voyages, elements of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, elements of astronomy, navigation, use of instruments and nautical tables, elementary knowledge of steam-engines, as applied to navigation, French composition; for the coasting-trade, elements of practical arithmetic, geometry, practical navigation, elementary knowledge of steam-engines, nautical calculations. The examinations are annual, and no one is admitted to the practical examination, unless he has reached the age of 24, and has served five years on a French vessel. It comprises rigging, management of sails, a knowledge of coasts, currents, tides, and gunnery. After the practical examination has been successfully passed, the pupil must undergo the theoretical one.

For the results produced by these establishments, the average attendance of the schools of navigation, and the number of sailors, who have become captains or boatswains, we refer to the following tables.

_Number of sailors who have attended the schools of hydrography from 1849 to 1866; of candidates who have obtained the rank of “captain” for sea voyages, or “boatswain” for the coasting trade._

[KEY]
PS Pupils of the Schools.
AC (of the sea voyage.) Captains.
AB (of the coasting trade.) Boatswains.
---------------+--------------------------------
| NUMBER OF SAILORS.
+--------+-----------------------
Scholastic | | Admitted As
Year. | +-------+-------+-------
| PS | AC | AB | Total.
---------------+--------+-------+-------+-------
1849-50 | 1,307 | 163 | 331 | 494
1850-51 | 1,347 | 187 | 369 | 556
1851-52 | 1,344 | 156 | 325 | 481
1852-53 | 1,324 | 168 | 317 | 485
1853-54 | 1,255 | 208 | 292 | 500
1854-55 | 999 | 151 | 178 | 329
1855-56 | 1,116 | 148 | 182 | 330
1856-57 | 1,804 | 253 | 493 | 746
1857-58 | 1,907 | 252 | 426 | 678
1858-59 | 1,568 | 258 | 354 | 612
1859-60 | 1,525 | 234 | 278 | 512
1860-61 | 1,424 | 253 | 263 | 516
1861-62 | 1,422 | 213 | 244 | 457
1862-63 | 1,424 | 229 | 252 | 481
1863-64 | 1,571 | 279 | 276 | 555
1864-65 | 1,410 | 309 | 260 | 569
1865-66 | 1,205 | 270 | 278 | 548
+--------+-------+-------+-------
Total, | 23,952 | 3,731 | 5,118 | 8,849
Ann. average, | 1,409 | 219 | 301 | 520
---------------+--------+-------+-------+-------

_Ports where schools of hydrography are established, with the average number of pupils who annually attend every school, collected from official documents since the year 1849._

THE NAVAL SCHOOL AT BREST.

NAPOLEON, in 1810-11, established the first naval school-ships in France, the _Tourville_ being chosen for that purpose at Brest, and the _Duquesne_ at Toulon. These schools were placed under the orders of the maritime prefects of the two ports. In 1816, these two schools were abolished by decree, and a royal marine college was established at Angoulême. Several other changes took place, and in 1830 the college was replaced by a naval school on board the _Orion_, an old 74; this vessel was succeeded by several others, all of which have received the name of the second school-ship, the _Borda_, named after Captain Borda, a naval officer of great scientific and practical ability. The present ship is a noble three-decker, pierced for 120 guns, was launched in 1847, and took part in the Crimean war.

The _Borda_ is stationed at Brest, and its rigging has been reduced to that of a frigate. The forepart of the second gun-deck of the vessel still retains something of its old character, and is provided with six guns on each side for practice. The other parts of the vessel have been completely altered; the decks have been cut away, so as to form two large lecture-rooms and two school-rooms. Not only the pupils but also their professors and most of the officers are lodged on board the vessel. On deck are specimens of various kinds of guns in use in the French navy, and a gymnasium. The quarter-deck, which is continued to the mainmast, is divided, the forepart being appropriated to the pupils, and the aft to officers.

Candidates are admitted to this school after a public examination, which occurs annually. For admission to the examination the applicant must prove his French birth--his being at least fourteen years of age and not over seventeen years, and his having no infirmity that disables him for marine duty.

The requirements for admission are a knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, plane trigonometry, applied mathematics, natural philosophy, chemistry, geography, the English language, drawing. The candidates must prepare a composition in French, a translation from Latin, an exercise in English, a numeral calculation in trigonometry, a geometrical drawing, and an off-hand sketch of a head. There are two oral examinations on the above studies, the second of which is not attempted if the first, which is elementary, is unsatisfactory.

The commander of the _Borda_ is a full captain, and the instruction, which is practical as well as theoretical, is confided to eleven professors, of whom five belong to the hydrographic department, eight are full lieutenants, and one a principal engineer. The duties of the five hydrographic professors are thus divided:--Two teach astronomy and navigation, two analytical and mechanical science, and the last natural philosophy and chemistry. The duties of the other professors are thus arranged:--Two for literature, history and geography; two for the English language; and two for drawing. The lieutenants direct four courses of instruction, namely, naval architecture, the theory and practice of managing a ship, gunnery and small arms, with practice, and nautical calculations. The engineer professor teaches the theory and management of steam-engines and mechanics. The other officers are a captain of a frigate, (second in command,) a chaplain, a financial and an administrative officer, and two medical men. Besides these, there is a captain of gunnery and several under-officers of the marine and artillery.

The school sessions commence on the first of October, and on that day promotions of the pupils are made in the various classes. Those who have passed two years of study in the ship are called _grand ancients_, rank with naval aspirants of the second class, and are eligible to make a voyage of circumnavigation in another vessel appropriated to that purpose; pupils who have been one full year in the _Borda_ are called ancients, and the rest new boys, or in French naval language, _fistots_. The boys have each a number, and in all the ordinary routine of the school-ship, this takes the place of a name.

The elder pupils are employed as monitors over the younger, and each of the former has one or more allotted to him, not as a fag, but as a scholar, whom it is his duty to teach all he himself knows. It is said that the system succeeds admirably, and that for the first few months the instruction of the new comer is left almost entirely to his _ancient_; the new pupil thus escapes without difficulty many errors of discipline into which he would otherwise inevitably fall.

The discipline of the school is severe; the boys rise every morning, all the year round, at five o’clock, stow away the hammocks in which they sleep, attend prayers, and then commence their morning’s work.

They are well fed, having coffee or chocolate in the morning, dinner (old style) at 12 o’clock, a lunch of bread (_goûter_) at 4.30, and supper at 7.45, with bread _à discrétion_, and about four-tenths of a pint of wine at each of the two principal meals.

The morning studies are devoted to science; those of noon to practice with guns, or practical study, marine machinery, or drawing; and the evening to literature, the English language, or naval architecture. All the studies are pursued on board, with the exception of natural philosophy and chemistry, the professor of which has at his command in the town the collection of instruments and chemicals, as well as the lecture-room and laboratory of the central pharmaceutical establishment. At times, also, the pupils are taken to visit the vessels in process of construction, and the workshops in the arsenal, and to practice with small arms on shore.

There are eight boats attached to the _Borda_, and the pupils are practiced almost every day, and in all weathers, in rowing and sailing, under the eye of an officer, who watches the exercises from on board a small steam-gunboat attached to the school. The ordinary studies of the school end between six and seven in the evening, and the pupils turn in at nine o’clock for their eight hours’ rest.

Thursday and Sunday, as usual in France, are exceptional days, when, after nautical calculations, (which are never omitted,) the elder pupils or ancients practice with small arms on shore, and the juniors are drilled in the use of the sword, musket, and bayonet. After this they have six hours’ hard work in maneuvering two small corvettes, provided for the purpose, that belonging to the ancients being a screw-steamer.

The boys, as a rule, are at liberty on alternate Sundays, and the most advanced every Sunday afternoon. This is a recent innovation; the pupils used to be free scarcely more than once a month; but this gave rise to much discontent and some disturbance, and the rule has, therefore, been made less severe. In addition to this liberty, however, all the lads are allowed to see their friends for a short period during the exercises on shore on Sunday and Thursday mornings, and those who are not free on Sunday are taken on shore for a change in the afternoon. During the summer months the boys bathe in the sea.

A peculiar custom exists in the school--the boys are allowed to smoke during the hour of recreation after dinner, and at certain other times; and for this reason, that as it was found utterly impossible to stop the practice entirely, it was deemed better to recognize it in moderation, and thus stop its secret indulgence and the attendant danger of fire.

The punishments inflicted in the school are extra drill and confinement, either in a small cell or in a dark hole, with a regimen of bread and water; for very grave offences, boys are dismissed or expelled. On the other hand, the marks for good conduct are numerous; there are several examinations in the various classes during the nine months of the school year, and those pupils who gain the greatest number of marks are called _élèves d’élite_, and wear a gold anchor on their collars, or, in the case of the first twelve, two anchors; the pupil who has gained the largest number of marks bears the high but merely nominal rank of first brigadier, and he who enters the school with the greatest success at the examination is called major. A general examination takes place at the end of the year, when the ancients who pass become aspirants in the navy, and the juniors are raised to the upper class in the school; those who fail in the examination are either sent back to their class, or rejected as unfit for the naval career. The first and second prizemen, on quitting the school, receive each a quadrant in the name of the Emperor, and the third a telescope.

The elder pupils have nearly three months’ holiday, but the junior pass a month on board another vessel, the _Bougainville_, for what is called the summer campaign. This vessel, which was constructed specially for the school, is a screw dispatch-boat with engines of 120 horse power; the summer voyage is settled by the Minister of Marine, and includes a visit and examination of the ports of L’Orient and Cherbourg, touching at some remarkable points of the French coast, sometimes casting anchor off the English coast, and sometimes running as far as Ferrol in Galicia.

The _grand ancients_, when their holidays are over, that is to say on the first of October, join the _Jean Bart_, which makes an annual voyage of several months’ duration. This boat was built in 1852 and made its first voyage of this kind in 1864-5. She is an 80-gun ship, of the mixed class, having engines of 450 nominal horse-power. In August of the present year she will have completed her fourth and last voyage of circumnavigation, another vessel, the _Donawert_, now being prepared to succeed her. The upper gun-deck of the _Jean Bart_ is disarmed, and converted for the use of a part of the officers and the pupils, who number about a hundred, and occupy eight cabins, each with two portholes; here the young men eat, and drink, and sleep, as well as pursue their studies.

The officers of the _Jean Bart_ consist of a full captain in command, a second captain, a chaplain, ten lieutenants, one having charge of each pupil’s cabin, or _poste_, as it is called, and two giving instruction in sailing and gunnery; a surgeon-major, who gives instructions respecting the means of keeping a crew in health; two assistant-surgeons, an engineer, a drawing-master, and some others.

The Minister, as in the case of the summer cruise of junior pupils, settles the course to be taken by the _Jean Bart_. Generally the West India islands are visited in the months of March and April, when the pupils are principally exercised in hydrographical works off St. Pierre and Fort de France; in gunnery on board, and small-arms on shore; in the daily management of boats for embarkation and disembarkation; and in the management of sails in the intricate channels of the archipelago. They are shown, moreover, how to perform difficult operations, such as the unshipping of the rudder and bringing it on deck for examination, lifting a mast, &c. The pupils are required to keep written records of all such operations, and to illustrate the narrative when necessary with drawings. When they visit foreign yards and arsenals, they are expected to give minute accounts of what they have seen there, and besides a daily journal, to write critical notices of all the different machines, methods of rigging, and maneuvers, which they have witnessed.

The difficult channel of the Isle St. Sebastian, off the coast of Brazil, that of the Bermudas, the river Hudson, and the coast of Newfoundland, are among the places selected to initiate the pupils in the difficulties of navigation. At Annapolis, in the Chesapeake, a visit is paid to the National Naval School of the United States at the season when the general examinations take place in that establishment. The voyage usually terminates with a visit to Cape Breton and some points of Newfoundland; the fisheries and drying-houses of St. Pierre and Miquelon are generally visited, and the _Jean Bart_ returns to Brest between the 1st and 5th of August, having been absent ten months. A sailing brig named the _Obligado_ has lately been attached to the _Jean Bart_ as a supplementary vessel.

SCHOOL OF NAVAL ARCHITECTURE AT PARIS.

The construction of ships and engines in the French naval service is intrusted to the Corps of Marine Engineering, (_Corps du Génie Maritime_,) consisting of 121 officers, viz., 1 inspector-general, 10 directors of naval construction, 40 marine engineers, and 70 assistant engineers.

This corps is recruited from the graduates of the Polytechnic, and having passed satisfactorily the required examination for the public service, are sent to the School of Application of Naval Engineering at Paris, and to the dockyards, to learn their special business. The usual number in attendance is 30, and the annual cost of the school is about 100,000 francs.

The course occupies two years and a-half--three winters in Paris and two summers in the dockyards. The pupils having a good general education and a complete special knowledge of mathematics and geometrical drawing, the courses are from the start eminently practical.

The instruction in Paris during the first session consists of: 1, a course on construction; 2, on displacement and stability; 3, on strength of materials; 4, English; 5, free-hand drawing; 6, plan-drawing of vessels. During the second session it consists of: 1, a practical course on steam-engines; 2, a theoretical course on steam; 3, applied mechanics, machines in general; 4, English; 5, accounts; 6, plan-drawing, ships and engines; 7, pictorial drawing. During the third session: 1, course on stability, (2d part;) 2, on naval architecture; 3, naval artillery; 4, technology of workshops, special to the navy; 5, accounts; 6, English; 7, plan-drawing, projects for ships; 8, free-hand drawing.

In the first year ship-building is taken up; in the second, the steam-engine, and in the third the two are combined and completed. When in the dockyards, the pupils are placed under the order of the engineer in charge of works in execution, who sees that they are attentive to their duty, and have proper instruction. He also examines and certifies the journals which the pupils have to keep. The director of the school gives each pupil detailed instruction to guide him in the choice of the practical work he shall attend to. The first summer is devoted to the construction of ships, the second to that of engines. The pupils select the ports to which they will go, according to their standing in their class.

At the end of two years and a half, the pupils are examined by a board, and if found qualified, they are appointed assistant engineers of the third class. If they fail to pass, they may be allowed another year--but failing in that, they are definitely rejected.

The private pupils, natives or foreigners, who to the number of eight are allowed to attend the course in Paris, may obtain permission to go through the whole practical course in one of the imperial dockyards, but are not subjected to the same discipline as the regular pupils. On leaving, they receive from the director a certificate of the course gone through, their talent and diligence.

The school is under the immediate orders of a Director of Naval Construction, who is also one of the professors, and is assisted in the several branches taught by other professors, who are marine engineers, and a special teacher of drawing, and another of the English language.

MARITIME CONSCRIPTION.

The French naval service is supplied by a system of conscription analogous to that for the army. All persons, who reside on the coast, whose labor is on the sea, or on navigable rivers reached by the tide, are enrolled on arriving at the age of eighteen, and are liable to be summoned to the naval service until they are fifty, for an aggregate period of seven years.

SCHOOLS OF MARINE ARTILLERY.

There is at Brest, Toulon, and L’Orient, schools of marine artillery, besides floating schools at Brest and Toulon, for practice at firing at a mark at sea.

BOARD OF HYDROGRAPHERS.

The Board of Hydrographers is located at Paris. Pupils who have completed the polytechnic course enter the corps with the rank of _élève hydrographe_, with the same rank and advantages as naval architects. They are sent to the coast to make surveys, and after two years service in the field, and in office work under special instruction, become assistant hydrographers without further examination.

NAVY AND NAVAL EDUCATION IN FRANCE.

I. MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARINE.

The progress of the French Navy is represented in the following statistics taken from the Statesman’s Year Book for 1871: In 1780 the war fleet consisted of 60 first-class ships, 24 second class, and 182 smaller vessels,--total 266 ships, with 13,300 guns, and 78,000 sailors. In 1805, the number was reduced by casualties and neglect to 18 men-of-war, with 1,352 guns. In 1844 the whole force amounted to 226 sailing vessels, and 47 steamers, with 8,639 guns and 24,513 sailors. In 1855 the navy was reorganized, by the introduction of every new appliance of naval architecture, construction, and ordnance, with the following results, in 1869-70:

Classes. Number. Horse-Power. Guns.

1. Iron-clads, 62 28,150 672
2. Screw Steamers, 264 55,812 1,547
3. Paddle Steamers, 62 8,665 154
4. Sailing Vessels, 113 .... 672
--- ------ -----
Total, 401 92,627 3,045

The iron-clads _Magenta, Solferino, Couronne, Normandie, Invincible_, and the cupola ship _Taureau_, are plated, with rifle breech-loading guns, and are not surpassed in strength and destructive armament by the ships of any other navy.

Eleven of the smaller iron-clads, besides the ordinary floating batteries, are so constructed that when out of service they can be taken to pieces, packed up and stored away at the arsenal of Toulon.

The navy is manned by a marine conscription, which dates back to 1683. For this purpose the maritime population is divided into five grand divisions, the centres of which are the five great Naval stations, with 12 subdivisions, including all the great seaports. Within these divisions all men and youths from the 18th to 50th year of age, devoted to a sea-going life, are enrolled, to the number of about 170,000. Except in a national emergency the government dispenses with the services of all under 20, and over 40, as well as pilots, captains, fathers of large families, and seamen ready for long voyages in merchant ships.

The navy was officered in 1869 by two admirals, 16 vice admirals in active service, and 10 on the reserve list; 30 rear admirals in active, and 19 on reserve list; 130 captains of first class; 286 captains of frigates; 825 lieutenants; 600 ensigns; and 300 midshipmen, or aspirants;--total, 2,218 officers, and 39,346 sailors, who, together with engineers, dockyard laborers, surgeons, chaplains, brought up the number in actual service in 1869 to 74,403, which did not include 28,623 marines.

The commercial marine of France embraced in 1867, 15,259 vessels, with a tonnage of 1,042,811, ranging from 30 tons to 800 tons each, and employing over 150,000 seamen, including 40,000 officers, whose duties required special professional training. Of these, 607 were steamers, with an aggregate of 129,777 tons and 55,160 horse power. The value of the commerce of France for 1867-8 was 7,500 millions of francs.

II. NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS.

The French government was among the earliest to provide special schools for the officers of its merchant service as well as for its war-vessels. Prior even to the establishment, under an ordinance issued by Cardinal Richelieu, of schools for the study of navigation in 1629, Henry III., in 1584, had instituted examinations for boatswains and captains of merchant vessels, for which preparation had to be made with private teachers. In 1791 free schools of hydrography were authorized in thirty-four sea-ports; out of 24,000 pupils of these schools, from 1850 to 1866, 3,731 qualified themselves as captains of vessels in the foreign trade, and 5,118 for service in the coasting trade. Prior to 1800, in fitness of design and skill in construction, French naval architecture was superior to that of other countries.

The system of education for the mercantile and military marine embraced in 1866 the following schools:

1. Nautical School for the Orphans of Sailors.
2. The Inflexible and other School-ships.
3. Naval Apprentice Schools at the government naval stations.
4. School for Boatswains and Shipmasters.
5. School for Naval Engineers and Stokers.
6. Naval Drawing School.
7. Schools of Navigation and Hydrography.
8. Naval School at Brest.
9. School of Naval Architecture at Paris
10. School of Marine Artillery.
11. School and Board of Hydrography.
12. Naval School of Medicine and Pharmacy.

NAVAL AND NAVIGATIONAL SCHOOLS IN GERMANY.

Previous Next

Comments

Military schools and courses of instruction in the science and art of war,Chapter XLIII: Introduction

0%36 min left in chapter