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Title: Military schools and courses of instruction in the science and art of war - (Revised Edition)
Author: Barnard, Henry
Language: English
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Military Schools
and
COURSES OF INSTRUCTION
in the
SCIENCE AND ART OF WAR,
in
France, Prussia, Austria, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, Sardinia,
England, and the United States.
Drawn from Recent Official Reports and Documents.
by HENRY BARNARD, LL.D.
REVISED EDITION.
New York:
Published By E. Steiger,
22 & 24 Frankfort Street.
1872.
REVISED EDITION.
The first edition of Military Schools in France and Prussia was issued
in 1862, as a number of the American Journal of Education; and
subsequently in the same year this portion was printed as Part I. of a
comprehensive survey of the whole field of Instruction in the Science
and Art of War in different countries. The circumstances under which the
publication was begun, are set forth in the Preface to the imperfect
edition of 1862. Now that the survey in the serial chapters of the
Journal is as complete as the material at the command of the Editor, and
the space which he can give to this special subject enable him to make
it, the several chapters have been revised and brought together in a
single volume, to present the actual condition of this important
department of national education in the principal states of Europe, as
well as in our own country.
It is due to the late Col. Samuel Colt, the inventor of the Colt
Revolver, and the founder of the Colt Patent Fire-Arms Factory--two
enterprises which have changed the character and the mode of
constructing fire-arms in every country--to state that the information
contained in the first edition of this Treatise, was collected and
prepared at his request, to assist him in maturing the plan of a School
of Mechanical Engineering, which he proposed to establish on his estate
at Hartford, and on which, after the breaking out of the War of
Secession, he decided to engraft both military drill, and military
history, and to give that scientific instruction which every graduate of
our national Military and Naval Academies ought to possess. Soon after
Col. Colt’s death (Jan. 10, 1862), Mrs. Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, learning
what had been done in the direction of her husband’s wishes, authorized
the use which has been made, of the material already collected, in the
preparation of this treatise, and of the volume already published on
Technical Schools in different countries, and of any more which might be
collected and prepared at her expense, to illustrate any department of
his plan of a scientific school at Hartford.
HENRY BARNARD.
HARTFORD, CONN., March, 1872.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION, 3
I. FRANCE.
OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, 9
System of Military Instruction, 10
I. Polytechnic School at Paris, 11
1. Subject and Methods of Instruction prescribed
for Admission, 13
2. Scientific Course in _Lycées_ and other Schools
in reference to, 49
3. History, Management, Studies, Examinations, 55
4. Public Services, Legal and Military,
provided for by, 88
5. Programmes of Lectures and Courses of Instruction, 91
II. The Artillery and Engineer School of Application
at Metz, 133
III. The Regimental Schools of Practice for Artillery
and Engineers, 221
IV. The Infantry and Cavalry School at St. Cyr, 225
V. The Cavalry School of Practice at Saumur, 241
VI. The Staff School at Paris, 245
VII. The Military Orphan School at La Fleche, 257
VIII. The School of Musketry at Vincennes, 259
IX. The Military and Naval Schools of Medicine
and Pharmacy, 261
X. The Naval School at Brest, 263
XI. The Military Gymnastic School at Vincennes, 265
Remarks on French Military Education, 273
II. PRUSSIA.
OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY EDUCATION, 275
I. Outline of Military System, 281
II. Historical View of Military Education, 284
III. Present System of Military Education and Promotion, 293
IV. Examinations; General and Professional for
a Commission, 297
1. Preliminary or Ensign’s Examination, 297
2. Officers’ Examination, 302
V. Military Schools preparatory to the Officers’
Examination, 310
1. The Cadet Schools, or Cadet Houses, 310
2. The Division Schools, 321
3. The United Artillery and Engineers’ School, 325
VI. The School for Staff Officers at Berlin, 330
VII. Elementary Military Schools for Non-commissioned
Officers, 329
1. Military Orphan Houses, 339
Orphan-House at Potsdam, 340
Orphan-House at Annaburg, 345
2. The School Division or Non-commissioned Officers’
School, 348
3. Regimental Schools, 350
4. The Noble-School at Liegnitz, 350
VIII. Remarks on the System of Military Education
in Prussia, 351
APPENDIX, 351
The Artillery and Engineer School at Berlin, 353
The Staff School at Berlin, 395
III. AUSTRIA.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION 409-464
I. Schools of non-commissioned officers 411
II. School for officers 429
III. Special Military Schools 436
IV. Staff School at Vienna 447
V. Reorganization of Military Schools in 1868 453
VI. Cavalry Brigade School for officers 463
IV. BAVARIA, SAXONY, HOLLAND.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS OF BAVARIA 465-480
I. Cadet Corps--War School--Artillery, Engineers, and
Staff Schools 467
II. MILITARY ACADEMY AT DRESDEN 471
III. MILITARY ACADEMY AT BREDA 477
V. ITALY.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 481-500
I. Military Academy at Turin 483
II. Artillery and Engineer School 489
III. Staff School and Staff Corps 492
IV. Regimental School for officers 494
V. School for Artillery officers 498
VI. Nautical School at Genoa 499
VI. RUSSIA.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 501-514
I. Imperial Staff School at St. Petersburg 505
VII. SWEDEN, &c.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 515-516
VIII. GREAT BRITAIN.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 511-686
I. Council of Military Education 535
II. Royal Military College at Sandhurst 557
III. Royal Military Academy at Woolwich 585
IV. Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham 595
V. Professional Instruction for officers.
1. Survey Class at Aldershot.
2. Advanced Class of Artillery at Woolwich.
3. School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness 605
VI. Staff College and Staff appointments 619
VII. School of Musketry, and Army Schools 625
VIII. Naval and Navigation Schools 627
IX. English and other Naval Systems and Schools compared 655
1. French Naval and Navigation Schools 659
2. German Naval and Navigation Schools 681
IX. SWITZERLAND.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY INSTRUCTION 687-714
I. Federal Militia--Cantonal Cadet System--
Target Shooting 689
II. Federal Instruction of officers--experience of 1870 710
X. UNITED STATES.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 713-940
A. Military Education for Land Service 715
I. National Military Academy at West Point 721
II. Special Artillery School at Fortress Monroe 819
III. Military element in State Schools 825
IV. Individual and Corporate Institutions 838
V. Military Drill in Public Schools 865
B. Naval and Navigation Schools 887
I. United States Naval Academy at Annapolis 897
II. School of Naval Construction and Marine Engineering 937
III. Instruction for the Mercantile Marine 939
GENERAL REVIEW OF MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 945
MILITARY SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.
An account of the Military and Naval Schools of different countries,
with special reference to the extension and improvement, among
ourselves, of similar institutions and agencies, both national and
state, for the special training of officers and men for the exigencies
of war, was promised by the Editor in his original announcement of “_The
American Journal and Library of Education_.” Believing that the best
preparation for professional and official service of any kind, either of
peace or war, is to be made in the thorough culture of all manly
qualities, and that all special schools should rest on the basis, and
rise naturally out of a general system of education for the whole
community, we devoted our first efforts to the fullest exposition of the
best principles and methods of elementary instruction, and to
improvements in the organization, teaching, and discipline of schools,
of different grades, but all designed to give a proportionate culture of
all the faculties. We have from time to time introduced the subject of
Scientific Schools--or of institutions in which the principles of
mathematics, mechanics, physics, and chemistry are thoroughly mastered,
and their applications to the more common as well as higher arts of
construction, machinery, manufactures, and agriculture, are
experimentally taught. In this kind of instruction must we look for the
special training of our engineers, both civil and military; and schools
of this kind established in every state, should turn out every year a
certain number of candidates of suitable age to compete freely in open
examinations for admission to a great National School, like the
Polytechnic at Paris, or the purely scientific course of the Military
Academy at West Point, and then after two years of severe study, and
having been found qualified by repeated examinations, semi-annual and
final, by a board composed, not of honorary visitors, but of experts in
each science, should pass to schools of application or training for the
special service for which they have a natural aptitude and particular
preparation.
The terrible realities of our present situation as a people--the fact
that within a period of twelve months a million of able bodied men have
been summoned to arms from the peaceful occupations of the office, the
shop, and the field, and are now in hostile array, or in actual
conflict, within the limits of the United States, and the no less
alarming aspect of the future, arising not only from the delicate
position of our own relations with foreign governments, but from the
armed interference of the great Military Powers of Europe in the
internal affairs of a neighboring republic, have brought up the subject
of MILITARY SCHOOLS, AND MILITARY EDUCATION, for consideration and
action with an urgency which admits of no delay. Something must and will
be done at once. And in reply to numerous letters for information and
suggestions, and to enable those who are urging the National, State or
Municipal authorities to provide additional facilities for military
instruction, or who may propose to establish schools, or engraft on
existing schools exercises for this purpose,--to profit by the
experience of our own and other countries, in the work of training
officers and men for the ART OF WAR, we shall bring together into a
single volume, “_Papers on Military Education_,” which it was our
intention to publish in successive numbers of the NEW SERIES of the
“_American Journal of Education_.”
This volume, as will be seen by the Contents, presents a most
comprehensive survey of the Institutions and Courses of Instruction,
which the chief nations of Europe have matured from their own
experience, and the study of each other’s improvements, to perfect their
officers for every department of military and naval service which the
exigences of modern warfare require, and at the same time, furnishes
valuable hints for the final organization of our entire military
establishments, both national and state.
We shall publish in the Part devoted to the United States, an account of
the Military Academy at West Point, the Naval Academy at Newport, and
other Institutions and Agencies,--State, Associated, and Individual, for
Military instruction, now in existence in this country, together with
several communications and suggestions which we have received in
advocacy of Military Drill and Gymnastic exercises in Schools. We do not
object to a moderate amount of this Drill and these exercises, properly
regulated as to time and amount, and given by competent teachers. There
is much of great practical value in the military element, in respect
both to physical training, and moral and mental discipline. But we do
not believe in the physical degeneracy, or the lack of military aptitude
and spirit of the American people--at least to the extent asserted to
exist by many writers on the subject. And we do not believe that any
amount of juvenile military drill, any organization of cadet-corps, any
amount of rifle or musket practice, or target shooting, valuable as
these are, will be an adequate substitute for the severe scientific
study, or the special training which a well organized system of military
institutions provides for the training of officers both for the army and
navy.
Our old and abiding reliance for industrial progress, social well being,
internal peace, and security from foreign aggression rests on:--
I. The better Elementary education of the whole people--through better
homes and better schools--through homes, such as Christianity
establishes and recognizes, and schools, common because cheap enough for
the poorest, and good enough for the best,--made better by a more
intelligent public conviction of their necessity, and a more general
knowledge among adults of the most direct modes of effecting their
improvement, and by the joint action of more intelligent parents, better
qualified teachers, and more faithful school officers. This first great
point must be secured by the more vigorous prosecution of all the
agencies and measures now employed for the advancement of public
schools, and a more general appreciation of the enormous amount of
stolid ignorance and half education, or mis-education which now
prevails, even in states where the most attention has been paid to
popular education.
II. The establishment of a System of Public High Schools in every
state--far more complete than exists at this time, based on the system
of Elementary Schools, into which candidates shall gain admission only
after having been found qualified in certain studies by an open
examination. The studies of this class of schools should be preparatory
both in literature and science for what is now the College Course, and
for what is now also the requirements in mathematics in the Second
Year’s Course at the Military Academy at West Point.
III. A system of Special Schools, either in connection with existing
Colleges, or on an independent basis, in which the principles of science
shall be taught with special reference to their applications to the Arts
of Peace and War. Foremost in this class should stand a National School
of Science, organized and conducted on the plan of the Polytechnic
School of France, and preparatory to Special Military and Naval Schools.
IV. The Appointment to vacancies, in all higher Public Schools, either
among teachers or pupils, and in all departments of the Public Service
by Open Competitive Examination.
HENRY BARNARD.
HARTFORD, CONN., 1862.
[Errata for (first) Table of Contents:
VIII. GREAT BRITAIN.
VIII GREAT BRITAIN.
... V. 2. Advanced Class of Artillery at Woolwich.
Classs]
* * * * *
PART I
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN FRANCE.
* * * * *
AUTHORITIES.
The following account of the SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION IN FRANCE,
except in the case of three or four schools, where credit is given to
other authorities, is taken from an English Document entitled “_Report
of the Commissioners appointed_ (by the Secretary of War) _to consider
the best mode of reorganizing the system of Training Officers for the
Scientific Corps: together with an Account of Foreign and other Military
Education._” Reference has been had, especially in the Programmes and
Courses of Instruction to the original authorities referred to by the
Commissioners.
I. GENERAL MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF FRANCE.
Vauchelle’s Course d’ Administration Militaire, 3 vols.
II. THE POLYTECHNIC.
1. Fourcy’s Histoire de l’Ecole Polytechnique.
2. Décret portant l’Organisation, &c.
3. Règlement pour le Service Interieur.
4. Programme de l’Enseignement Interieur.
5. Programme des Connaissances Exigées pour Admission, &c.
6. Rapport de la Commission Mixte, 1850.
7. Répertoire de l’Ecole Polytechnique; by M. Marielle.
8. Calenders from 1833.
9. Pamphlets--by M. le Marquis de Chambray, 1836; by V. D.
Bugnot, 1837; by M. Arago, 1853.
III. SCHOOL OF APPLICATION AT METZ, AND St. CYR.
Décret Impérial, &c., 1854.
IV. SCHOOL FOR THE STAFF AT PARIS.
Manuel Réglementaire a l’Usage, &c.
V. ANNUAIRE DE L’INSTRUCTION PUBLIQUE, 1860.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS OF FRANCE
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The French armies are composed of soldiers levied by yearly conscription
for a service of seven years. Substitutes are allowed, but in accordance
with a recent alteration, they are selected by the state. Private
arrangements are no longer permitted; a fixed sum is paid over to the
authorities, and the choice of the substitutes made by them.
The troops are officered partly from the military schools and partly by
promotion from the ranks. The proportions are established by law.
One-third of the commissions are reserved for the military schools, and
one-third left for the promotion from the ranks. The disposal of the
remaining third part is left to the Emperor.
The promotion is partly by seniority and partly by selection.
The following regulations exist as to the length of service in each rank
before promotion can be given, during a period of peace:--
A second Lieutenant can not be promoted to Lieutenant
under 2 years’ service.
A Lieutenant “ “ Captain “ 2 “
A Captain “ “ Major “ 4 “
A Major “ “ Lieut-Col. “ 3 “
A Lieutenant-Colonel “ “ Colonel “ 2 “
But in time of war these regulations are not in force.
Up to the rank of captain, two-thirds of the promotion takes place
according to seniority, and the other one-third by selection.
From the rank of captain to that of major (_chef de bataillon ou
d’escadron_) half of the promotion is by seniority and the other half by
selection, and from major upwards, it is entirely by selection.
The steps which lead to the selection are as follows:--The general
officers appointed by the minister at war to make the annual inspections
of the several divisions of the army of France, who are called
inspectors-general, as soon as they have completed their tours of
inspection, return to Paris and assemble together for the purpose of
comparing their notes respecting the officers they have each seen, and
thus prepare a list arranged in the order in which they recommend that
the selection for promotion should be made.
We were informed that the present minister of war almost invariably
promoted the officers from the head of this list, or, in other words,
followed the recommendation of the inspector-general.
II. MILITARY SCHOOLS.
The principal Military Schools at present existing in France are the
following:--
1. The Polytechnic School at Paris (_Ecole Impériale Polytechnique_,)
preparatory to--
2. The Artillery and Engineers School of Application at Metz (_Ecole
Impériale d’Application de l’Artillerie et du Génie_.)
3. The Military School at St. Cyr (_Ecole Impériale Spéciale
Militaire_,) for the Infantry and Cavalry, into which the Officers’
Department of the Cavalry School at Saumur has lately been absorbed.
4. The Staff School at Paris (_Ecole Impériale d’Application d’Etat
Major_.)
5. The Military Orphan School (_Prytanée Impériale Militaire_) at La
Flèche.
6. The Medical School (_Ecole Impériale de Médicine et de Pharmacie
Militaires_.) recently established in connection with the Hospital of
Val-de-Grâce.
7. The School of Musketry (_Ecole Normale de Tir_) at Vincennes,
founded in 1842.
8. The Gymnastic School (_Ecole Normale de Gymnastique_) near
Vincennes.
9. The Music School (_Gymnase Musical_.)
10. The Regimental Schools (_Ecoles Régimentaires_.)
The military schools are under the charge of the minister of war, with
whom the authorities of the schools are in direct communication.
The expenses to the state of the military schools, including the pay of
the military men who are employed in connection with them, for the year
1851, are as follows:--
For Polytechnic School at Paris, _fr._ 554,911. 91
“ Artillery and Engineers School at Metz, 187,352. 06
“ Infantry and Cavalry School at St. Cyr, 682,187. 35
“ Cavalry School at Saumur, 196,170. 27
“ Staff School at Paris, 145,349. 96
“ Gymnastic School of Musketry at Vincennes, 33,211. 33
“ Regimental Schools, 108,911½,30
From this sum, 2,224,542_fr._, should be deducted 421,372_fr._ secured
from paying pupils, leaving the total cost to the state to be
1,803,308_fr._, or about $360,000, for about 2,100 pupils. The cost to
the state for training an officer of Artillery and Engineers is about
$1,500, and that of an officer of the Staff is about $1,400.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS OF INSTRUCTION
IN MATHEMATICS AS PRESCRIBED FOR ADMISSION TO THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF
FRANCE.
“L’ÉCOLE POLYTECHNIQUE” is too well known, by name at least, to need
eulogy in this journal. Its course of instruction has long been famed
for its completeness, precision, and adaptation to its intended objects.
But this course had gradually lost somewhat of its symmetrical
proportions by the introduction of some new subjects and the excessive
development of others. The same defects had crept into the programme of
the subjects of examination for admission to the school. Influenced by
these considerations, the Legislative Assembly of France, by the law of
June 5th, 1850, appointed a “_Commission_” to revise the programmes of
admission and of internal instruction. The President of the Commission
was THENARD, its “Reporter” was LE VERRIER, and the other nine members
were worthy to be their colleagues. They were charged to avoid the error
of giving to young students, subjects and methods of instruction “too
elevated, too abstract, and above their comprehension;” to see that the
course prescribed should be “adapted, not merely to a few select
spirits, but to average intelligences;” and to correct “the excessive
development of the preparatory studies, which had gone far beyond the
end desired.”
The Commission, by M. Le Verrier, prepared an elaborate report of 440
quarto pages, only two hundred copies of which were printed, and these
merely for the use of the authorities. A copy belonging to a deceased
member of the Commission (the lamented Professor _Theodore Olivier_),
having come into the hands of the present writer, he has thought that
some valuable hints for our use in this country might be drawn from it,
presenting as it does a precise and thorough course of mathematical
instruction, adapted to any latitude, and arranged in the most perfect
order by such competent authorities. He has accordingly here presented,
in a condensed form, the opinions of the Commission on _the proper
subjects for examination in mathematics, preparatory to admission to the
Polytechnic School, and the best methods of teaching them_.
The subjects which will be discussed are ARITHMETIC; GEOMETRY; ALGEBRA;
TRIGONOMETRY; ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY; DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.
I. ARITHMETIC.
A knowledge of Arithmetic is indispensable to every one. The merchant,
the workman, the engineer, all need to know how to calculate with
rapidity and precision. The useful character of arithmetic indicates
that its methods should admit of great simplicity, and that its teaching
should be most carefully freed from all needless complication. When we
enter into the spirit of the methods of arithmetic, we perceive that
they all flow clearly and simply from the very principles of numeration,
from some precise definitions, and from certain ideas of relations
between numbers, which all minds easily perceive, and which they even
possessed in advance, before their teacher made them recognize them and
taught them to class them in a methodical and fruitful order. We
therefore believe that there is no one who is not capable of receiving,
of understanding, and of enjoying well-arranged and well-digested
arithmetical instruction.
But the great majority of those who have received a liberal education do
not possess this useful knowledge. Their minds, they say, are not suited
to the study of mathematics. They have found it impossible to bend
themselves to the study of those abstract sciences whose barrenness and
dryness form so striking a contrast to the attractions of history, and
the beauties of style and of thought in the great poets; and so on.
Now, without admitting entirely the justice of this language, we do not
hesitate to acknowledge, that the teaching of elementary mathematics has
lost its former simplicity, and assumed a complicated and pretentious
form, which possesses no advantages and is full of inconveniences. The
reproach which is cast upon the sciences in themselves, we out-and-out
repulse, and apply it only to the vicious manner in which they are now
taught.
Arithmetic especially is only an instrument, a tool, the theory of which
we certainly ought to know, but the practice of which it is above all
important most thoroughly to possess. The methods of analysis and of
mechanics, invariably lead to solutions whose applications require
reduction into numbers by arithmetical calculations. We may add that the
numerical determination of the final result is almost always
indispensable to the clear and complete comprehension of a method ever
so little complicated. Such an application, either by the more complete
condensation of the ideas which it requires, or by its fixing the mind
on the subject more precisely and clearly, develops a crowd of remarks
which otherwise would not have been made, and it thus contributes to
facilitate the comprehension of theories in such an efficacious manner
that the time given to the numerical work is more than regained by its
being no longer necessary to return incessantly to new explanations of
the same method.
The teaching of arithmetic will therefore have for its essential object,
to make the pupils acquire the habit of calculation, so that they may be
able to make an easy and continual use of it in the course of their
studies. The theory of the operations must be given to them with
clearness and precision; not only that they may understand the mechanism
of those operations, but because, in almost all questions, the
application of the methods calls for great attention and continual
discussion, if we would arrive at a result in which we can confide. But
at the same time every useless theory must be carefully removed, so as
not to distract the attention of the pupil, but to devote it entirely to
the essential objects of this instruction.
It may be objected that these theories are excellent exercises to form
the mind of the pupils. We answer that such an opinion may be doubted
for more than one reason, and that, in any case, exercises on useful
subjects not being wanting in the immense field embraced by mathematics,
it is quite superfluous to create, for the mere pleasure of it,
difficulties which will never have any useful application.
Another remark we think important. It is of no use to arrive at a
numerical result, if we cannot answer for its correctness. The teaching
of calculation should include, as an essential condition, that the
pupils should be shown how every result, deduced from a series of
arithmetical operations, may always be controlled in such a way that we
may have all desirable certainty of its correctness; so that, though a
pupil may and must often make mistakes, he may be able to discover them
himself, to correct them himself, and never to present, at last, any
other than an exact result.
* * *
The _Programme_ given below is made very minute to avoid the evils which
resulted from the brevity of the old one. In it, the limits of the
matter required not being clearly defined, each teacher preferred to
extend them excessively, rather than to expose his pupils to the risk of
being unable to answer certain questions. The examiners were then
naturally led to put the questions thus offered to them, so to say; and
thus the preparatory studies grew into excessive and extravagant
development. These abuses could be remedied only by the publication of
programmes so detailed, that the limits within which the branches
required for admission must be restricted should be so apparent to the
eyes of all, as to render it impossible for the examiners to go out of
them, and thus to permit teachers to confine their instruction within
them.
The new programme for arithmetic commences with the words Decimal
numeration. This is to indicate that the Duodecimal numeration will not
be required.
The only practical verification of Addition and Multiplication, is to
recommence these operations in a different order.
The Division of whole numbers is the first question considered at all
difficult. This difficulty arises from the complication of the methods
by which division is taught. In some books its explanation contains
twice as many reasons as is necessary. The mind becomes confused by such
instruction, and no longer understands what is a demonstration, when it
sees it continued at the moment when it appeared to be finished. In most
cases the demonstration is excessively complicated and does not follow
the same order as the practical rule, to which it is then necessary to
return. There lies the evil, and it is real and profound.
The phrase of the programme, Division of whole numbers, intends that the
pupil shall be required to explain the practical rule, and be able to
use it in a familiar and rapid manner. We do not present any particular
mode of demonstration, but, to explain our views, we will indicate how
we would treat the subject if we were making the detailed programme of a
_course_ of arithmetic, and not merely that of an _examination_. It
would be somewhat thus:
“The quotient may be found by addition, subtraction, multiplication;
“Division of a number by a number of one figure, when the quotient is
less than 10;
“Division of any number by a number less than 10;
“Division of any two numbers when the quotient has only one figure;
“Division in the most general case.
“_Note._--The practical rule may be entirely explained by this
consideration, that by multiplying the divisor by different numbers, we
see if the quotient is greater or less than the multiplier.”
The properties of the Divisors of numbers, and the decomposition of a
number into prime factors should be known by the student. But here also
we recommend simplicity. The theory of the greatest common divisor, for
example, has no need to be given with all the details with which it is
usually surrounded, for it is of no use in practice.
The calculation of Decimal numbers is especially that in which it is
indispensable to exercise students. Such are the numbers on which they
will generally have to operate. It is rare that the data of a question
are whole numbers; usually they are decimal numbers which are not even
known with rigor, but only with a given decimal approximation; and the
result which is sought is to deduce from these, other decimal numbers,
themselves exact to a certain degree of approximation, fixed by the
conditions of the problem. It is thus that this subject should be
taught. The pupil should not merely learn how, in one or two cases, he
can obtain a result to within 1/_n_, _n_ being any number, but how to
arrive by a practicable route to results which are exact to within a
required decimal, and on the correctness of which they can depend.
Let us take decimal multiplication for an example. Generally the pupils
do not know any other rule than “to multiply one factor by the other,
without noticing the decimal point, except to cut off on the right of
the product as many decimal figures as there are in the two factors.”
The rule thus enunciated is methodical, simple, and apparently easy.
But, in reality, it is practically of a repulsive length, and is most
generally inapplicable.
Let us suppose that we have to multiply together two numbers having each
six decimals, and that we wish to know the product also to the sixth
decimal. The above rule will give twelve decimals, the last six of
which, being useless, will have caused by their calculation the loss of
precious time. Still farther; when a factor of a product is given with
six decimals, it is because we have stopped in its determination at that
degree of approximation, neglecting the following decimals; whence it
results that several of the decimals situated on the right of the
calculated product are not those which would belong to the rigorous
product. What then is the use of taking the trouble of determining them?
We will remark lastly that if the factors of the product are
incommensurable, and if it is necessary to convert them into decimals
before effecting the multiplication, we should not know how far we
should carry the approximation of the factors before applying the above
rule. It will therefore be necessary to teach the pupils the abridged
methods by which we succeed, at the same time, in using fewer figures
and in knowing the real approximation of the result at which we arrive.
Periodical decimal fractions are of no use. The two elementary questions
of the programme are all that need be known about them.
The Extraction of the square root must be given very carefully,
especially that of decimal numbers. It is quite impossible here to
observe the rule of having in the square twice as many decimals as are
required in the root. That rule is in fact impracticable when a series
of operations is to be effected. “When a number N increases by a
comparatively small quantity _d_, the square of that number increases
very nearly as 2N_d_.” It is thus that we determine the approximation
with which a number must be calculated so that its square root may
afterwards be obtained with the necessary exactitude. This supposes that
before determining the square with all necessary precision, we have a
suitable lower limit of the value of the root, which can always be done
without difficulty.
The Cube root is included in the programme. The pupils should know this;
but while it will be necessary to exercise them on the extraction of the
square root by numerous examples, we should be very sparing of this in
the cube root, and not go far beyond the mere theory. The calculations
become too complicated and waste too much time. Logarithms are useful
even for the square root; and quite indispensable for the cube root, and
still more so for higher roots.
When a question contains only quantities which vary in the same ratio,
or in an inverse ratio, it is immediately resolved by a very simple
method, known under the name of _reduction to unity_. The result once
obtained, it is indispensable to make the pupils remark that it is
composed of the quantity which, among the data, is of the nature of that
which is sought, multiplied successively by a series of abstract ratios
between other quantities which also, taken two and two, are of the same
nature. Hence flows the rule for writing directly the required result,
without being obliged to take up again for each question the series of
reasonings. This has the advantage, not only of saving time, but of
better showing the spirit of the method, of making clearer the meaning
of the solution, and of preparing for the subsequent use of formulas.
The consideration of “homogeneity” conduces to these results.
We recommend teachers to abandon as much as possible the use of examples
in abstract numbers, and of insignificant problems, in which the data,
taken at random, have no connection with reality. Let the examples and
the exercises presented to students always relate to objects which are
found in the arts, in industry, in nature, in physics, in the system of
the world. This will have many advantages. The precise meaning of the
solutions will be better grasped. The pupils will thus acquire, without
any trouble, a stock of precise and precious knowledge of the world
which surrounds them. They will also more willingly engage in numerical
calculations, when their attention is thus incessantly aroused and
sustained, and when the result, instead of being merely a dry number,
embodies information which is real, useful, and interesting.
The former arithmetical programme included the theory of _progressions_
and _logarithms_; the latter being deduced from the former. But the
theory of logarithms is again deduced in algebra from exponents, much
the best method. This constitutes an objectionable “_double emploi_.”
There is finally no good reason for retaining these theories in
arithmetic.
The programme retains the questions which can be solved by making two
arbitrary and successive hypotheses on the desired result. It is true
that these questions can be directly resolved by means of a simple
equation of the first degree; but we have considered that, since the
resolution of problems by means of hypotheses, constitutes the most
fruitful method really used in practice, it is well to accustom students
to it the soonest possible. This is the more necessary, because teachers
have generally pursued the opposite course, aiming especially to give
their pupils direct solutions, without reflecting that the theory of
these is usually much more complicated, and that the mind of the learner
thus receives a direction exactly contrary to that which it will have to
take in the end.
“Proportions” remain to be noticed.
In most arithmetics problems are resolved first by the method of
“reduction to unity,” and then by the theory of proportions. But beside
the objection of the “_double emploi_,” it is very certain that the
method of reduction to unity presents, in their true light and in a
complete and simple manner, all the questions of ratio which are the
bases of arithmetical solutions; so that the subsequent introduction of
proportions teaches nothing new to the pupils, and only presents the
same thing in a more complicated manner. We therefore exclude from our
programme of examination the solution of questions of arithmetic,
presented under the special form which constitutes the theory of
proportions.
This special form we would be very careful not to invent, if it had not
already been employed. Why not say simply “The ratio of M to N is equal
to that of P to Q,” instead of hunting for this other form of
enunciating the same idea, “M _is to_ N _as_ P _is to_ Q”? It is in vain
to allege the necessities of geometry; if we consider all the questions
in which proportions are used, we shall see that the simple
consideration of the equality of ratios is equally well adapted to the
simplicity of the enunciation and the clearness of the demonstrations.
However, since all the old books of geometry make use of proportions, we
retain the properties of proportions at the end of our programme; but
with this express reserve, that the examiners shall limit themselves to
the simple properties which we indicate, and that they shall not demand
any application of proportions to the solution of arithmetical problems.
PROGRAMME OF ARITHMETIC.
Decimal numeration.
Addition and subtraction of whole numbers.
Multiplication of whole numbers.--Table of Pythagoras.--The product of
several whole numbers does not change its value, in whatever order the
multiplications are effected.--To multiply a number by the product of
several factors, it is sufficient to multiply successively by the
factors of the product.
Division of whole numbers.--To divide a number by the product of
several factors, it is sufficient to divide successively by the factors
of the product.
Remainders from dividing a whole number by 2, 3, 5, 9, and
11.--Applications to the characters of divisibility by one of those
numbers; to the verification of the product of several factors; and to
the verification of the quotient of two numbers.
Prime numbers. Numbers prime to one another.
To find the greatest common divisor of two numbers.--If a number
divides a product of two factors, and if it is prime to one of the
factors, it divides the other.--To decompose a number into its prime
factors.--To determine the smallest number divisible by given numbers.
_Vulgar fractions._
A fraction does not alter in value when its two terms are multiplied
or divided by the same number. Reduction of a fraction to its simplest
expression. Reduction of several fractions to the same denominator.
Reduction to the smallest common denominator.--To compare the relative
values of several fractions.
Addition and subtraction of fractions.--Multiplication. Fractions of
fractions.--Division.
Calculation of numbers composed of an entire part and a fraction.
_Decimal numbers._
Addition and subtraction.
Multiplication and division.--How to obtain the product of the
quotient to within a unit of any given decimal order.
To reduce a vulgar fraction to a decimal fraction.--When the
denominator of an irreducible fraction contains other factors than 2 and
5, the fraction cannot be exactly reduced to decimals; and the quotient,
which continues indefinitely, is periodical.
To find the vulgar fraction which generates a periodical decimal
fraction: 1º when the decimal fraction is simply periodical; 2º when it
contains a part not periodical.
_System of the new measures._
Linear Measures.--Measures of surface.--Measures of volume and
capacity.--Measures of weight.--Moneys.--Ratios of the principal foreign
measures (England, Germany, United States of America) to the measures of
France.
_Of ratios. Resolution of problems._
General notions on quantities which vary in the same ratio or in an
inverse ratio.--Solution, by the method called _Reduction to unity_, of
the simplest questions in which such quantities are considered.--To show
the homogeneity of the results which are arrived at; thence to deduce
the general rule for writing directly the expression of the required
solution.
Simple interest.--General formula, the consideration of which
furnishes the solution of questions relating to simple interest.--Of
discount, as practised in commerce.
To divide a sum into parts proportional to given numbers.
Of questions which can be solved by two arbitrary and successive
hypotheses made on the desired result.
_Of the square and of the square root. Of the cube and of the cube
root._
Formation of the square and the cube of the sum of two numbers.--Rules
for extracting the square root and the cube root of a whole number.--If
this root is not entire, it cannot be exactly expressed by any number,
and is called incommensurable.
Square and cube of a fraction.--Extraction of the square root and cube
root of vulgar fractions.
Any number being given, either directly, or by a series of operations
which permit only an approximation to its value by means of decimals,
how to extract the square root or cube root of that number, to within
any decimal unit.
_Of the proportions called geometrical._
In every proportion the product of the extremes is equal to the
product of the means.--Reciprocal proportion.--Knowing three terms of a
proportion to find the fourth.--Geometrical mean of two numbers.--How
the order of the terms of a proportion can be inverted without
disturbing the proportion.
When two proportions have a common ratio, the two other ratios form a
proportion.
In any proportion, each antecedent may be increased or diminished by
its consequent without destroying the proportion.
When the corresponding terms of several proportions are multiplied
together, the four products form a new proportion.--The same powers or
the same roots of four numbers in proportion form a new proportion.
In a series of equal ratios, the sum of any number of antecedents and
the sum of their consequents are still in the same ratio.
II. GEOMETRY
Some knowledge of Geometry is, next to arithmetic, most indispensable to
every one, and yet very few possess even its first principles. This is
the fault of the common system of instruction. We do not pay sufficient
regard to the natural notions about straight lines, angles, parallels,
circles, etc., which the young have acquired by looking around them, and
which their minds have unconsciously considered before making them a
regular study. We thus waste time in giving a dogmatic form to truths
which the mind seizes directly.
The illustrious _Clairaut_ complains of this, and of the instruction
commencing always with a great number of definitions, postulates,
axioms, and preliminary principles, dry and repulsive, and followed by
propositions equally uninteresting. He also condemns the profusion of
self-evident propositions, saying, “It is not surprising that Euclid
should give himself the trouble to demonstrate that two circles which
intersect have not the same centre; that a triangle situated within
another has the sum of its sides smaller than that of the sides of the
triangle which contains it; and so on. That geometer had to convince
obstinate sophists, who gloried in denying the most evident truths. It
was therefore necessary that geometry, like logic, should then have the
aid of formal reasonings, to close the mouths of cavillers; but in our
day things have changed face; all reasoning about what mere good sense
decides in advance is now a pure waste of time, and is fitted, only to
obscure the truth and to disgust the reader.”
_Bezout_ also condemns the multiplication of the number of theorems,
propositions, and corollaries; an array which makes the student dizzy,
and amid which he is lost. All that follows from a principle should be
given in natural language as far as possible, avoiding the dogmatic
form. It is true that some consider the works of Bezout deficient in
rigor, but he knew better than any one what really was a demonstration.
Nor do we find in the works of the great old masters less generality of
views, less precision, less clearness of conception than in modern
treatises. Quite the contrary indeed.
We see this in Bezout’s _definition of a right line_--that it tends
continually towards one and the same point; and in that of _a curved
line_--that it is the trace of a moving point, which turns aside
infinitely little at each step of its progress; definitions most
fruitful in consequences. When we define a right line as the shortest
path from one point to another, we enunciate a property of that line
which is of no use for demonstrations. When we define a curved line as
one which is neither straight nor composed of straight lines, we
enunciate two negations which can lead to no result, and which have no
connection with the peculiar nature of the curved line. Bezout’s
definition, on the contrary, enters into the nature of the object to be
defined, seizes its mode of being, its character, and puts the reader
immediately in possession of the general idea from which are afterwards
deduced the properties of curved lines and the construction of their
tangents.
So too when Bezout says that, in order to form an exact idea of an
angle, it is necessary to consider the movement of a line turning around
one of its points, he gives an idea at once more just and more fruitful
in consequences, both mathematical and mechanical, than that which is
limited to saying, that the indefinite space comprised between two
straight lines which meet in a point, and which may be regarded as
prolonged indefinitely, is called an _angle_; a definition not very
easily comprehended and absolutely useless for ulterior explanations,
while that of Bezout is of continual service.
We therefore urge teachers to return, in their demonstrations, to the
simplest ideas, which are also the most general; to consider a
demonstration as finished and complete when it has evidently caused the
truth to enter into the mind of the pupil, and to add nothing merely for
the sake of silencing sophists.
* * *
Referring to our Programme of Geometry, given below, our first comments
relate to the “Theory of parallels.” This is a subject on which all
students fear to be examined; and this being a general feeling, it is
plain that it is not their fault, but that of the manner in which this
subject is taught. The omission of the natural idea of the constant
direction of the right line (as defined by Bezout) causes the
complication of the first elements; makes it necessary for Legendre to
demonstrate that all right angles are equal (a proposition whose meaning
is rarely understood); and is the real source of all the pretended
difficulties of the theory of parallels. These difficulties are now
usually avoided by the admission of a _postulate_, after the example of
Euclid, and to regulate the practice in that matter, we have thought
proper to prescribe that this proposition--_Through a given point only a
single parallel to a right line can be drawn_--should be admitted purely
and simply, without demonstration, and as a direct consequence of our
idea of the nature of the right line.
We should remark that the order of ideas in our programme supposes the
properties of lines established without any use of the properties of
surfaces. We think that, in this respect, it is better to follow Lacroix
than Legendre.
When we prove thus that three parallels always divide two right lines
into proportional parts, this proposition can be extended to the case in
which the ratio of the parts is incommensurable, either by the method
called _Reductio ad absurdum_, or by the method of _Limits_. We
especially recommend the use of the latter method. The former has in
fact nothing which satisfies the mind, and we should never have recourse
to it, for it is always possible to do without it. When we have proved
to the pupil that a desired quantity, X, cannot be either larger or
smaller than A, the pupil is indeed forced to admit that X and A are
equal; but that does not make him understand or feel why that equality
exists. Now those demonstrations which are of such a nature that, once
given, they disappear, as it were, so as to leave to the proposition
demonstrated the character of a truth evident _à priori_, are those
which should be carefully sought for, not only because they make that
truth better felt, but because they better prepare the mind for
conceptions of a more elevated order. The method of limits, is, for a
certain number of questions, the only one which possesses this
characteristic--that the demonstration is closely connected with the
essential nature of the proposition to be established.
In reference to the relations which exist between the sides of a
triangle and the segments formed by perpendiculars let fall from the
summits, we will, once for all, recommend to the teacher, to exercise
his students in making numerical applications of relations of that kind,
as often as they shall present themselves in the course of geometry.
This is the way to cause their meaning to be well understood, to fix
them in the mind of students, and to give these the exercise in
numerical calculation to which we positively require them to be
habituated.
The theory of similar figures has a direct application in the art of
surveying for plans (_Lever des plans_). We wish that this application
should be given to the pupils in detail; that they should be taught to
range out and measure a straight line on the ground; that a graphometer
should be placed in their hands; and that they should use it and the
chain to obtain on the ground, for themselves, all the data necessary
for the construction of a map, which they will present to the examiners
with the calculations in the margins.
It is true that a more complete study of this subject will have to be
subsequently made by means of trigonometry, in which calculation will
give more precision than these graphical operations. But some pupils may
fail to extend their studies to trigonometry (the course given for the
Polytechnic school having become the model for general instruction in
France), and those who do will thus learn that trigonometry merely gives
means of more precise calculation. This application will also be an
encouragement to the study of a science whose utility the pupil will
thus begin to comprehend.
It is common to say that an angle is measured by the arc of a circle,
described from its summit or centre, and intercepted between its sides.
It is true that teachers add, that since a quantity cannot be measured
except by one of the same nature, and since the arc of a circle is of a
different nature from an angle, the preceding enunciation is only an
abridgment of the proposition by which we find the ratio of an angle to
a right angle. Despite this precaution, the unqualified enunciation
which precedes, causes uncertainty in the mind of the pupil, and
produces in it a lamentable confusion. We will say as much of the
following enunciations: “A dihedral angle is measured by the plane angle
included between its sides;” “The surface of a spherical triangle is
measured by the excess of the sum of its three angles above two right
angles,” etc.; enunciations which have no meaning in themselves, and
from which every trace of homogeneity has disappeared. Now that
everybody is requiring that the students of the Polytechnic school
should better understand the meaning of the formulas which they are
taught, which requires that their homogeneity should always be apparent,
this should be attended to from the beginning of their studies, in
geometry as well as in arithmetic. The examiners must therefore insist
that the pupils shall never give them any enunciations in which
homogeneity is not preserved.
The proportionality of the circumferences of circles to their radii must
be inferred _directly_ from the proportionality of the perimeters of
regular polygons, of the same number of sides, to their apothems. In
like manner, from the area of a regular polygon being measured by half
of the product of its perimeter by the radius of the inscribed circle,
it must be _directly_ inferred that the area of a circle is measured by
half of the product of its circumference by its radius. For a long time,
these properties of the circle were differently demonstrated by proving,
for example, with Legendre, that the measure of the circle could not be
either smaller or greater than that which we have just given, whence it
had to be inferred that it must be equal to it. The “Council of
improvement” finally decided that this method should be abandoned, and
that the method of limits should alone be admitted, in the examinations,
for demonstrations of this kind. This was a true advance, but it was not
sufficient. It did not, as it should, go on to consider the circle,
purely and simply, as the limit of a series of regular polygons, the
number of whose sides goes on increasing to infinity, and to regard the
circle as possessing every property demonstrated for polygons. Instead
of this, they inscribed and circumscribed to the circle two polygons of
the same number of sides, and proved that, by the multiplication of the
number of the sides of these polygons, the difference of their areas
might become smaller than any given quantity, and thence, finally,
deduced the measure of the area of the circle; that is to say, they took
away from the method of limits all its advantage as to simplicity, by
not applying it _frankly_.
We now ask that this shall cease; and that we shall no longer reproach
for want of rigor, the Lagranges, the Laplaces, the Poissons, and
Leibnitz, who has given us this principle: that “A curvilinear figure
may be regarded as equivalent to a polygon of an infinite number of
sides; whence it follows that whatsoever can be demonstrated of such a
polygon, no regard being paid to the number of its sides, the same may
be asserted of the curve.” This is the principle for _the most simple_
application of which to the measure of the circle and of the round
bodies we appeal.
Whatever may be the formulas which may be given to the pupils for the
determination of the ratio of the circumference to the diameter (the
“Method of isoperimeters” is to be recommended for its simplicity), they
must be required to perform the calculation, so as to obtain at least
two or three exact decimals. These calculations, made with logarithms,
must be methodically arranged and presented at the examination. It may
be known whether the candidate is really the author of the papers, by
calling for explanations on some of the steps, or making him calculate
some points afresh.
The enunciations relating to the measurement of areas too often leave
indistinctness in the minds of students, doubtless because of their
form. We desire to make them better comprehended, by insisting on their
application by means of a great number of examples.
As one application, we require the knowledge of the methods of surveying
for content (_arpentage_), differing somewhat from the method of
triangulation, used in the surveying for plans (_lever des plans_). To
make this application more fruitful, the ground should be bounded on one
side by an irregular curve. The pupils will not only thus learn how to
overcome this practical difficulty, but they will find, in the
calculation of the surface by means of trapezoids, the first application
of the method of quadratures, with which it is important that they
should very early become familiar. This application will constitute a
new sheet of drawing and calculations to be presented at the
examination.
Most of our remarks on plane geometry apply to geometry of three
dimensions. Care should be taken always to leave homogeneity apparent
and to make numerous applications to the measurement of volumes.
The theory of similar polyhedrons often gives rise in the examination of
the students to serious difficulties on their part. These difficulties
belong rather to the form than to the substance, and to the manner in
which each individual mind seizes relations of position; relations
always easier to feel than to express. The examiners should be content
with arriving at the results enunciated in our programme, by the
shortest and easiest road.
The simplicity desired cannot however be attained unless all have a
common starting-point, in the definition of similar polyhedrons. The
best course is assuredly to consider that theory in the point of view in
which it is employed in the arts, especially in sculpture; i.e. to
conceive the given system of points, M, N, P, . . . . to have lines
passing from them through a point S, the _pole of similitude_, and
prolonged beyond it to M’, N’, P’, . . . . so that SM’, SN’, SP’,
. . . . are proportional to SM, SN, SP, . . . . . Then the points M’,
N’, P’, . . . . form a system _similar_ to M, N, P, . . . . .
The areas and volumes of the cylinder, of the cone, and of the sphere
must be deduced from the areas and from the volumes of the prism, of the
pyramid, and of the polygonal sector, with the same simplicity which we
have required for the measure of the surface of the circle, and for the
same reasons. It is, besides, the only means of easily extending to
cones and cylinders with any bases whatever, right or oblique, those
properties of cones and cylinders,--right and with circular
bases,--which are applicable to them.
Numerical examples of the calculations, by logarithms, of these areas
and volumes, including the area of a spherical triangle, will make
another sheet to be presented to the examiners.
PROGRAMME OF GEOMETRY.
1. OF PLANE FIGURES.
Measure of the distance of two points.--Two finite right lines being
given, to find their common measure, or at least their approximate
ratio.
_Of angles._--Right, acute, obtuse angles.--Angles vertically opposite
are equal.
_Of triangles._--Angles and sides.--The simplest cases of
equality.--Elementary problems on the construction of angles and of
triangles.
_Of perpendiculars and of oblique lines._
Among all the lines that can be drawn from a given point to a given
right line, the perpendicular is the shortest, and the oblique lines are
longer in proportion to their divergence from the foot of the
perpendicular.
_Properties of the isosceles triangle._--Problems on tracing
perpendiculars.--Division of a given straight line into equal parts.
Cases of equality of right-angled triangles.
_Of parallel lines._
Properties of the angles formed by two parallels and a
secant.--Reciprocally, when these properties exist for two right lines
and a common secant, the two lines are parallel.[1]--Through a given
point, to draw a right line parallel to a given right line, or cutting
it at a given angle.--Equality of angles having their sides parallel and
their openings placed in the same direction.
[Footnote 1: It will be admitted, as a postulate, that only one
parallel to a given right line can pass through a given point.]
Sum of the angles of a triangle.
The parts of parallels intercepted between parallels are equal, and
reciprocally. Three parallels always divide any two right lines into
proportional parts. The ratio of these parts may be incommensurable.--
Application to the case in which a right line is drawn, in a triangle,
parallel to one of its sides.
To find a fourth proportional to three given lines.
The right line, which bisects one of the angles of a triangle, divides
the opposite side into two segments proportional to the adjacent sides.
_Of similar triangles._
Conditions of similitude.--To construct on a given right line, a
triangle similar to a given triangle.
Any number of right lines, passing through the same point and met by
two parallels, are divided by these parallels into proportional parts,
and divide them also into proportional parts.--To divide a given right
line in the same manner as another is divided.--Division of a right line
into equal parts.
If from the right angle of a right-angled triangle a perpendicular is
let fall upon the hypothenuse, 1º this perpendicular will divide the
triangle into two others which will be similar to it, and therefore to
each other; 2º it will divide the hypothenuse into two segments, such
that each side of the right angle will be a mean proportional between
the adjacent segment and the entire hypothenuse; 3º the perpendicular
will be a mean proportional between the two segments of the hypothenuse.
In a right-angled triangle, the square of the number which expresses
the length of the hypothenuse is equal to the sum of the squares of the
numbers which express the lengths of the other two sides.
The three sides of any triangle being expressed in numbers, if from
the extremity of one of the sides a perpendicular is let fall on one of
the other sides, the square of the first side will be equal to the sum
of the squares of the other two, _minus_ twice the product of the side
on which the perpendicular is let fall by the distance of that
perpendicular from the angle opposite to the first side, if the angle is
_acute_, and _plus_ twice the same product, if this angle is _obtuse_.
_Of polygons._
Parallelograms.--Properties of their angles and of their diagonals.
Division of polygons into triangles.--Sum of their interior
angles.--Equality and construction of polygons.
Similar polygons.--Their decomposition into similar triangles.--The
right lines similarly situated in the two polygons are proportional to
the homologous sides of the polygons.--To construct, on a given line, a
polygon similar to a given polygon.--The perimeters of two similar
polygons are to each other as the homologous sides of these polygons.
_Of the right line and the circumference of the circle._
Simultaneous equality of arcs and chords in the same circle.--The
greatest arc has the greatest chord, and reciprocally.--Two arcs being
given in the same circle or in equal-circles, to find the ratio of their
lengths.
Every right line drawn perpendicular to a chord at its middle, passes
through the centre of the circle and through the middle of the arc
subtended by the chord.--Division of an arc into two equal parts.--To
pass the circumference of a circle through three points not in the same
right line.
The tangent at any point of a circumference is perpendicular to the
radius passing through that point.
The arcs intercepted in the same circle between two parallel chords,
or between a tangent and a parallel chord, are equal.
_Measure of angles._
If from the summits of two angles two arcs of circles be described
with the same radius, the ratio of the arcs included between the sides
of each angle will be the same as that of these angles.--Division of the
circumference into degrees, minutes, and seconds.--Use of the
protractor.
An angle having its summit placed, 1º at the centre of a circle; 2º on
the circumference of that circle; 3º within the circle between the
centre and the circumference; 4º without the circle, but so that its
sides cut the circumference; to determine the ratio of that angle to the
right angle, by the consideration of the arc included between its sides.
From a given point without a circle, to draw a tangent to that circle.
To describe, on a given line, a segment of a circle capable of
containing a given angle.
_To make surveys for plans._ (_Lever des plans._)
Tracing a straight line on the ground.--Measuring that line with the
chain.
Measuring angles with the graphometer.--Description of it.
Drawing the plan on paper.--Scale of reduction.--Use of the rule, the
triangle, and the protractor.
To determine the distance of an inaccessible object, with or without
the graphometer.
Three points, A, B, C, being situated on a smooth surface and
represented on a map, to find thereon the point P from which the
distances AB and AC have been seen under given angles. “The problem of
the three points.” “The _Trilinear_ problem.”
_Of the contact and of the intersection of circles._
Two circles which pass through the same point of the right line which
joins their centres have in common only that point in which they touch;
and reciprocally, if two circles touch, their centres and the point of
contact lie in the same right line.
Conditions which must exist in order that two circles may intersect.
_Properties of the secants of the circle._
Two secants which start from the same point without the circle, being
prolonged to the most distant part of the circumference, are
reciprocally proportional to their exterior segments.--The tangent is a
mean proportional between the secant and its exterior segment.
Two chords intersecting within a circle divide each other into parts
reciprocally proportional.--The line perpendicular to a diameter and
terminated by the circumference, is a mean proportional between the two
segments of the diameter.
A chord, passing through the extremity of the diameter, is a mean
proportional between the diameter and the segment formed by the
perpendicular let fall from the other extremity of that chord.--To find
a mean proportional between two given lines.
To divide a line in extreme and mean ratio.--The length of the line
being given numerically, to calculate the numerical value of each of the
segments.
_Of polygons inscribed and circumscribed to the circle._
To inscribe or circumscribe a circle to a given triangle.
Every regular polygon can be inscribed and circumscribed to the
circle.
A regular polygon being inscribed in a circle, 1º to inscribe in the
same circle a polygon of twice as many sides, and to find the length of
one of the sides of the second polygon; 2º to circumscribe about the
circle a regular polygon of the same number of sides, and to express the
side of the circumscribed polygon by means of the side of the
corresponding inscribed polygon.
To inscribe in a circle polygons of 4, 8, 16, 32, sides.
To inscribe in a circle polygons of 3, 6, 12, 24, sides.
To inscribe in a circle polygons of 5, 10, 20, 40, sides.
To inscribe in a circle polygons of 15, 30, 60, sides.
Regular polygons of the same number of sides are similar, and their
perimeters are to each other as the radii of the circles to which they
are inscribed or circumscribed.--The circumferences of circles are to
each other as their radii.
To find the approximate ratio of the circumference to the diameter.
_Of the area of polygons and of that of the circle._
Two parallelograms of the same base and of the same height are
equivalent.--Two triangles of the same base and height are equivalent.
The area of a rectangle and that of a parallelogram are equal to the
product of the base by the height.--What must be understood by that
enunciation.--The area of a triangle is measured by half of the product
of the base by the height.
To transform any polygon into an equivalent square.--Measure of the
area of a polygon.--Measure of the area of a trapezoid.
The square constructed on the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle
is equivalent to the sum of the squares constructed on the other two
sides.--The squares constructed on the two sides of the right angle of a
right-angled triangle and on the hypothenuse are to each other as the
adjacent segments and entire hypothenuse.
The areas of similar polygons are to each other as the squares of the
homologous sides of the polygons.
Notions on surveying for content (_arpentage_).--Method of
decomposition into triangles.--Simpler method of decomposition into
trapezoids.--Surveyor’s cross.--Practical solution, when the ground is
bounded, in one or more parts, by a curved line.
The area of a regular polygon is measured by half of the product of
its perimeter by the radius of the inscribed circle.--The area of a
circle is measured by half of the product of the circumference by the
radius.--The areas of circles are to each other as the squares of the
radii.
The area of a sector of a circle is measured by half of the product of
the arc by the radius.--Measure of the area of a segment of a circle.
2. OF PLANES AND BODIES TERMINATED BY PLANE SURFACES.
Conditions required to render a right line and a plane respectively
perpendicular.
Of all the lines which can be drawn from a given point to a given
plane, the perpendicular is the shortest, and the oblique lines are
longer in proportion to their divergence from the foot of the
perpendicular.
Parallel right lines and planes.--Angles which have their sides
parallel, and their openings turned in the same direction, are equal,
although situated in different planes.
Dihedral angle.--How to measure the ratio of any dihedral angle to the
right dihedral angle.
Planes perpendicular to each other.--The intersection of two planes
perpendicular to a third plane, is perpendicular to this third plane.
Parallel planes.--when two parallel planes are cut by a third plane
the intersections are parallel.--Two parallel planes have their
perpendiculars common to both.
The shortest distance between two right lines, not intersecting and
not parallel.
Two right lines comprised between two parallel planes are always
divided into proportional parts by a third plane parallel to the first
two.
Trihedral angle.--The sum of any two of the plane angles which compose
a trihedral angle is always greater than the third.
The sum of the plane angles which form a convex polyhedral angle is
always less than four right angles.
If two trihedral angles are formed by the same plane angles, the
dihedral angles comprised between the equal plane angles are
equal.--There may be absolute equality or simple symmetry between the
two trihedral angles.
_Of polyhedrons._
If two tetrahedrons have each a trihedral angle composed of equal and
similarly arranged triangles, these tetrahedrons are equal. They are
also equal if two faces of the one are equal to two faces of the other,
are arranged in the same manner, and form with each other the same
dihedral angle.
When the triangles which form two homologous trihedral angles of two
tetrahedrons are similar, each to each, and similarly disposed, these
tetrahedrons are similar. They are also similar if two faces of the one,
making with each other the same angle as two faces of the other, are
also similar to these latter, and are united by homologous sides and
summits.
Similar pyramids.--A plane parallel to the base of a pyramid cuts off
from it a pyramid similar to it.--To find the height of a pyramid when
we know the dimension of its trunk with parallel bases.
Sections made in any two pyramids at the same distance from these
summits are in a constant ratio.
Parallelopipedon.--Its diagonals.
Any polyhedron can always be divided into triangular pyramids.--Two
bodies composed of the same number of equal and similarly disposed
triangular pyramids, are equal.
_Similar polyhedrons._
The homologous edges of similar polyhedrons are proportional; as are
also the diagonals of the homologous faces and the interior diagonals of
the polyhedrons.--The areas of similar polyhedrons are as the squares of
the homologous edges.
_Measure of volumes._
Two parallelopipedons of the same base and of the same height are
equivalent in volume.
If a parallelogram be constructed on the base of a triangular prism,
and on that parallelogram, taken as a base, there be constructed a
parallelopipedon of the same height as the triangular prism, the volume
of this prism will be half of the volume of the parallelopipedon.--Two
triangular prisms of the same base and the same height are equivalent.
Two tetrahedrons of the same base and the same height are equivalent.
A tetrahedron is equivalent to the third of the triangular prism of
the same base and the same height.
The volume of any parallelopipedon is equal to the product of its base
by its height.--What must be understood by that enunciation.--The volume
of any prism is equal to the product of its base by its height.
The volume of a tetrahedron and that of any pyramid are measured by
the third of the product of the base by the height.
Volume of the truncated oblique triangular prism.
The volumes of two similar polyhedrons are to each other as the cubes
of the homologous edges.
3. OF ROUND BODIES.
_Of the right cone with circular base._
Sections parallel to the base.--Having the dimensions of the trunk of
a cone with parallel bases, to find the height of the entire cone.
The area of a right cone is measured by half of the product of the
circumference of its circular base by its side.--Area of a trunk of a
right cone with parallel bases.
Volume of a pyramid inscribed in the cone.--The volume of a cone is
measured by the third of the product of the area of its base by its
height.[2]
[Footnote 2: The volume of the cone is derived from that of the
pyramid; and it is to be noted that the demonstration applies to
the cone with closed base, whatever the figure of that base.]
Which of the preceding properties belong to the cone of any base
whatever?
_Of the right cylinder with circular base._
Sections parallel to the base.
The area of the convex surface of the right cylinder is measured by
the product of the circumference of its base by its height.--This is
also true of the right cylinder of any base.
Measure of the volume of a prism inscribed in the cylinder.--The
volume of a right cylinder is measured by the product of the area of its
base by its height.--This is also true of any cylinder, right or
oblique, of any base whatever.
_Of the sphere._
Every section of the sphere, made by a plane, is a circle.--Great
circles and small circles.
In every spherical triangle any one side is less than the sum of the
other two. The shortest path from one point to another, on the surface
of the sphere, is the arc of a great circle which joins the two given
points.
The sum of the sides of a spherical triangle, or of any spherical
polygon, is less than the circumference of a great circle.
Poles of an arc of a great or small circle.--They serve to trace arcs
of circles on the sphere.
Every plane perpendicular to the extremity of a radius is tangent to
the sphere.
Measure of the angle of two arcs of great circles.
Properties of the polar or supplementary triangle.
Two spherical triangles situated on the same sphere, or on equal
spheres, are equal in all their parts, 1º when they have an equal angle
included between sides respectively equal; 2º when they have an equal
side adjacent to two angles respectively equal; 3º when they are
mutually equilateral; 4º when they are mutually equiangular. In these
different cases the triangles may be equal, or merely symmetrical.
The sum of the angles of any spherical triangle is less than six, and
greater than two, right angles.
The lune is to the surface of the sphere as the angle of that lune is
to four right angles.
Two symmetrical spherical triangles are equivalent in surface.
The area of a spherical triangle is to that of the whole sphere as the
excess of the sum of its angles above two right angles is to eight right
angles.
When a portion of a regular polygon, inscribed in the generating
circle of the sphere, turns around the diameter of that circle, the
convex area engendered is measured by the product of its height by the
circumference of the circle inscribed in the generating polygon.--The
volume of the corresponding polygonal sector is measured by the area
thus described, multiplied by the third of the radius of the inscribed
circle.
The surface of a spherical zone is equal to the height of that zone
multiplied by the circumference of a great circle.--The surface of the
sphere is quadruple that of a great circle.
Every spherical sector is measured by the zone which forms its base,
multiplied by the third of the radius. The whole sphere is measured by
its surface multiplied by the third of its radius.[3]
[Footnote 3: Numerical examples on the areas and volumes of the
round bodies, including the area of a spherical triangle, will be
required by the examiners. The calculations will be made by
logarithms.]
III. ALGEBRA.
Algebra[4] is not, as are Arithmetic and Geometry, indispensable to
every one. It should be very sparingly introduced into the general
education of youth, and we would there willingly dispense with it
entirely, excepting logarithms, if this would benefit the study of
arithmetic and geometry. The programme of it which we are now to give,
considers it purely in view of its utility to engineers, and we will
carefully eliminate every thing not necessary for them.
[Footnote 4: The true distinction between ALGEBRA and ARITHMETIC
is so commonly overlooked that it maybe well to present it here,
in the words of Comte. “The complete solution of every question of
calculation is necessarily composed of two successive parts, which
have essentially distinct natures. In the first, the object is to
_transform_ the proposed equations, so as to make apparent the
manner in which the unknown quantities are formed by the known
ones; it is this which constitutes the _Algebraic_ question. In
the second, our object is _to find the value_ of the formulas thus
obtained; that is, to determine directly the values of the numbers
sought, which are already represented by certain explicit
functions of given numbers; this is the _Arithmetical_ question.
Thus the stopping-point of the algebraic part of the solution
becomes the starting-point of the arithmetical part.
“ALGEBRA may therefore be defined as having for its object the
_resolution of equations_; taking this expression in its full
logical meaning, which signifies the transformation of _implicit_
functions into equivalent _explicit_ ones. In the same way
ARITHMETIC may be defined as intended for _the determination of
the values of functions_. Henceforth, therefore, we may call
ALGEBRA _the Calculus of Functions_, and ARITHMETIC _the Calculus
of Values_.”]
Algebraical calculation presents no serious difficulty, when its
students become well impressed with this idea, that every letter
represents a number; and particularly when the consideration of negative
quantities is not brought in at the outset and in an absolute manner.
These quantities and their properties should not be introduced except as
the solution of questions by means of equations causes their necessity
to be felt, either for generalizing the rules of calculation, or for
extending the meaning of the formulas to which it leads. CLAIRAUT
pursues this course. He says, “I treat of the multiplication of negative
quantities, that dangerous shoal for both scholars and teachers, only
after having shown its necessity to the learner, by giving him a problem
in which he has to consider negative quantities independently of any
positive quantities from which they are subtracted. When I have arrived
at that point in the problem where I have to multiply or divide negative
quantities by one another, I take the course which was undoubtedly taken
by the first analysts who have had those operations to perform and who
have wished to follow a perfectly sure route: I seek for a solution of
the problem which does not involve these operations; I thus arrive at
the result by reasonings which admit of no doubt, and I thus see what
those products or quotients of negative quantities, which had given me
the first solution, must be.” BEZOUT proceeds in the same way.
We recommend to teachers to follow these examples; not to speak to their
pupils about negative quantities till the necessity of it is felt, and
when they have become familiar with algebraic calculation; and above all
not to lose precious time in obscure discussions and demonstrations,
which the best theory will never teach students so well as numerous
applications.
It has been customary to take up again, in algebra, the calculus of
fractions, so as to generalize the explanations given in arithmetic,
since the terms of literal fractions may be any quantities whatsoever.
Rigorously, this may be well, but to save time we omit this, thinking it
better to employ this time in advancing and exercising the mind on new
truths, rather than in returning continually to rules already given, in
order to imprint a new degree of rigor on their demonstration, or to
give them an extension of which no one doubts.
The study of numerical equations of the first degree, with one or
several unknown quantities, must be made with great care. We have
required the solution of these equations to be made by the method of
_substitution_. We have done this, not only because this method really
comprehends the others, particularly that of _comparison_, but for this
farther reason. In treatises on algebra, those equations alone are
considered whose numerical coefficients and solutions are very simple
numbers. It then makes very little difference what method is used, or in
what order the unknown quantities are eliminated. But it is a very
different thing in practice, where the coefficients are complicated
numbers, given with decimal parts, and where the numerical values of
these coefficients may be very different in the same equation, some
being very great and some very small. In such cases the method of
_substitution_ can alone be employed to advantage, and that with the
precaution of taking the value of the unknown quantity to be eliminated
from that equation in which it has relatively the greatest, coefficient.
Now the method of _comparison_ is only the method of substitution put in
a form in which these precautions cannot be observed, so that in
practice it will give bad results with much labor.
The candidates must present to the examiners the complete calculations
of the resolution of four equations with four unknown quantities, made
with all the precision permitted by the logarithmic tables of Callet,
and the proof that that precision has been obtained. The coefficients
must contain decimals and be very different from one another, and the
elimination must be effected with the above precautions.
The teaching of the present day disregards too much the applicability of
the methods given, provided only that they be elegant in their form; so
that they have to be abandoned and changed when the pupils enter on
practice. This disdain of practical utility was not felt by our great
mathematicians, who incessantly turned their attention towards
applications. Thus the illustrious Lagrange made suggestions like those
just given; and Laplace recommended the drawing of curves for solving
directly all kinds of numerical equations.
As to literal equations of the first degree, we call for formulas
sufficient for the resolution of equations of two or three unknown
quantities. Bezout’s method of elimination must be given as a first
application of that fruitful method of indeterminates. The general
discussion of formulas will be confined to the case of two unknown
quantities. The discussion of three equations with three unknown
quantities, _x_, _y_, and _z_, in which the terms independent of the
unknown quantities are null, will be made directly, by this simple
consideration that the system then really includes only two unknown
quantities, to wit, the ratios of _x_ and _y_, for example, to _z_.
The resolution of inequalities of the first degree with one or more
unknown quantities, was added to equations of the first degree some
years ago. We do not retain that addition.
The equations of the second degree, like the first, must be very
carefully given. In dwelling on the case where the coefficient of
_x_^{2} converges towards zero, it will be remarked that, when the
coefficient is very small, the ordinary formula would give one of the
roots by the difference of two numbers almost equal; so that sufficient
exactness could not be obtained without much labor. It must be shown how
that inconvenience may be avoided.
It is common to meet with expressions of which the maximum or the
minimum can be determined by the consideration of an equation of the
second degree. We retain the study of them, especially for the benefit
of those who will not have the opportunity of advancing to the general
theory of maxima and minima.
The theory of the algebraic calculation of imaginary quantities, given
_à priori_, may, on the contrary, be set aside without inconvenience.
It is enough that the pupils know that the different powers of √-1
continually reproduce in turn one of these four values, ±1, ±√-1. We
will say as much of the calculation of the algebraic values of radicals,
which is of no use. The calculation of their _arithmetical_ values will
alone be demanded. In this connection will be taught the notation of
fractional exponents and that of negative exponents.
The theory of numbers has taken by degrees a disproportionate
development in the examinations for admission; it is of no use in
practice, and, besides, constitutes in the pure mathematics a science
apart.
The theory of continued fractions at first seems more useful. It is
employed in the resolution of algebraic equations, and in that of the
exponential equation _a_^{_x_}=_b_. But these methods are entirely
unsuited to practice, and we therefore omit this theory.
The theory of series, on the contrary, claims some farther developments.
Series are continually met with in practice; they give the best
solutions of many questions, and it is indispensable to know in what
circumstances they can be safely employed.
We have so often insisted on the necessity of teaching students to
calculate, as to justify the extent of the part of the programme
relating to logarithms. We have suppressed the inapplicable method of
determining logarithms by continued fractions, and have substituted the
employment of the series which gives the logarithm of _n_+1, knowing
that of _n_. To exercise the students in the calculation of the series,
they should be made to determine the logarithms of the numbers from 1 to
10, from 101 to 110, and from 10,000 to 10,010, the object of these last
being to show them with what rapidity the calculation proceeds when the
numbers are large; the first term of the series is then sufficient, the
variations of the logarithms being sensibly proportional to the
variations of the numbers, within the limits of the necessary exactness.
In the logarithmic calculations, the pupils will be exercised in judging
of the exactness which they may have been able to obtain: the
consideration of the numerical values of the proportional parts given in
the tables is quite sufficient for this purpose, and is beside the only
one which can be employed in practice.
The use of the sliding rule, which is merely an application of
logarithms, gives a rapid and portable means of executing approximately
a great number of calculations which do not require great exactness. We
desire that the use of this little instrument should be made familiar to
the candidates. This is asked for by all the professors of the “School
of application,” particularly those of Topography, of Artillery, of
Construction, and of Applied Mechanics, who have been convinced by
experience of the utility of this instrument, which has the greatest
possible analogy with tables of logarithms.
Before entering on the subjects of higher algebra, it should be
remembered that the reductions of the course which we have found to be
so urgent, will be made chiefly on it. The general theory of equations
has taken in the examinations an abnormal and improper development, not
worth the time which it costs the students. We may add, that it is very
rare to meet a numerical equation of a high degree requiring to be
resolved, and that those who have to do this, take care not to seek its
roots by the methods which they have been taught. These methods moreover
are not applicable to transcendental equations, which are much more
frequently found in practice.
The theory of the greatest common algebraic divisor, in its entire
generality, is of no use, even in pure science, unless in the
elimination between equations of any degree whatever. But this last
subject being omitted, the greatest common divisor is likewise dispensed
with.
It is usual in the general theory of algebraic equations to consider the
derived polynomials of entire functions of _x_. These polynomials are in
fact useful in several circumstances, and particularly in the theory of
equal roots; and in analytical geometry, they serve for the discussion
of curves and the determination of their tangents. But since
transcendental curves are very often encountered in practice, we give in
our programme the calculation of the derivatives of algebraic and
fractional functions, and transcendental functions, logarithmic,
exponential, and circular. This has been long called for, not only
because it must be of great assistance in the teaching of analytical
geometry, but also because it will facilitate the elementary study of
the infinitesimal calculus.
We have not retrenched any of the general ideas on the composition of an
entire polynomial by means of factors corresponding to its roots. We
retain several theorems rather because they contain the germs of useful
ideas than because of their practical utility, and therefore wish the
examiners to restrict themselves scrupulously to the programme.
The essential point in practice is to be able to determine conveniently
an incommensurable root of an algebraic or transcendental equation, when
encountered. Let us consider first an algebraic equation.
All the methods which have for their object to separate the roots, or to
approximate to them, begin with the substitution of the series of
consecutive whole numbers, in the first member of the equation. The
direct substitution becomes exceedingly complicated, when the numbers
substituted become large. It may be much shortened, however, by deducing
the results from one another by means of their differences, and guarding
against any possibility of error, by verifying some of those results,
those corresponding to the numbers easiest to substitute, such as ±10,
±20. The teacher should not fail to explain this to his pupils.
Still farther: let us suppose that we have to resolve an equation of the
third degree, and that we have recognized by the preceding calculations
the necessity of substituting, between the numbers 2 and 3, numbers
differing by a tenth, either for the purpose of continuing to effect the
separation of the roots, or to approximate nearer to a root comprised
between 2 and 3. If we knew, for the result corresponding to the
substitution of 2, the first, second, and third differences of the
results of the new substitutions, we could thence deduce those results
themselves with as much simplicity, as in the case of the whole numbers.
The new third difference, for example, will be simply the thousandth
part of the old third difference. We may also remark that there is no
possibility of error, since, the numbers being deduced from one another,
when we in this way arrive at the result of the substitution of 3, which
has already been calculated, the whole work will thus be verified.
Let us suppose again that we have thus recognized that the equation has
a root comprised between 2.3 and 2.4; we will approximate still nearer
by substituting intermediate numbers, differing by 0.01, and employing
the course just prescribed. As soon as the third differences can be
neglected, the calculation will be finished at once, by the
consideration of an equation of the second degree; or, if it is
preferred to continue the approximations till the second differences in
their turn may be neglected, the calculation will then be finished by a
simple proportion.
When, in a transcendental equation _f_(X) = 0, we have substituted in
_f_(X) equidistant numbers, sufficiently near to each other to allow the
differences of the results to be neglected, commencing with a certain
order, the 4th, for example, we may, within certain limits of _x_,
replace the transcendental function by an algebraic and entire function
of _x_, and thus reduce the search for the roots of _f_(X) = 0 to the
preceding theory.
Whether the proposed equation be algebraic or transcendental, we can
thus, when we have obtained one root of it with a suitable degree of
exactness, continue the approximation by the method of Newton.
PROGRAMME OF ALGEBRA.
_Algebraic calculation._
Addition and subtraction of polynomials.--Reduction of similar terms.
Multiplication of monomials.--Use of exponents.--Multiplication of
polynomials. Rule of the signs.--To arrange a polynomial.--Homogeneous
polynomials.
Division of monomials. Exponent _zero_.--Division of polynomials. How
to know if the operation will not terminate.--Division of polynomials
when the dividend contains a letter which is not found in the divisor.
_Equations of the first degree._
Resolution of numerical equations of the first degree with one or
several unknown quantities by the method of substitution.--Verification
of the values of the unknown quantities and of the degree of their
exactness.
Of cases of impossibility or of indetermination.
Interpretation of negative values.--Use and calculation of negative
quantities.
Investigation of general formulas for obtaining the values of the
unknown quantities in a system of equations of the first degree with two
or three unknown quantities.--Method of Bezout.--Complete discussion of
these formulas for the case of two unknown quantities.--Symbols m/o and
o/o.
Discussion of three equations with three unknown quantities, in which
the terms independent of the unknown quantities are null.
_Equations of the second degree with one unknown quantity._
Calculus of radicals of the second degree.
Resolution of an equation of the second degree with one unknown
quantity.--Double solution.--Imaginary values.
When, in the equation _ax^{2} + bx + c = 0_, _a_ converges towards 0,
one of the roots increases indefinitely.--Numerical calculation of the
two roots, when _a_ is very small.
Decomposition of the trinomial _x^{2} + px + q_ into factors of the
first degree.--Relations between the coefficients and the roots of the
equation _x^{2} + px + q = 0_.
Trinomial equations reducible to the second degree.
Of the maxima and minima which can be determined by equations of the
second degree.
Calculation of the _arithmetical_ values of radicals.
Fractional exponents.--Negative exponents.
_Of series._
Geometrical progressions.--Summation of the terms.
What we call a series.--Convergence and divergence.
A geometrical progression is convergent, when the ratio is smaller
than unity; diverging, when it is greater.
The terms of a series may decrease indefinitely and the series not be
converging.
A series, all the terms of which are positive, is converging, when the
ratio of one term to the preceding one tends towards a _limit_ smaller
than unity, in proportion as the index of the rank of that term
increases indefinitely.--The series is diverging when this _limit_ is
greater than unity. There is uncertainty when it is equal to unity.
In general, when the terms of a series decrease indefinitely, and are
alternately positive and negative, the series is converging.
* * *
Combinations, arrangements, and permutations of _m_ letters, when each
combination must not contain the same letter twice.
Development of the entire and positive powers of a binomial.--General
terms.
Development of _(a + b √-1)^{m}_.
Limit towards which _(1 + 1/m)^{m}_ tends, when _m_ increases
indefinitely.
Summation of piles of balls.
_Of logarithms and of their uses._
All numbers can be produced by forming all the powers of any positive
number, greater or less than _one_.
General properties of logarithms.
When numbers are in geometrical progression, their logarithms are in
arithmetical progression.
How to pass from one system of logarithms to another system.
Calculation of logarithms by means of the series which gives the
logarithm of _n + 1_, knowing that of _n_.--Calculation of Napierian
logarithms.--To deduce from them those of Briggs. Modulus.
Use of logarithms whose base is 10.--Characteristics.--Negative
characteristics. Logarithms entirely negative are not used in
calculation.
A number being given, how to find its logarithm in the tables of
Callet. A logarithm being given, how to find the number to which it
belongs.--Use of the proportional parts.--Their application to
appreciate the exactness for which we can answer.
Employment of the sliding rule.
Resolution of exponential equations by means of logarithms.
Compound interest. Annuities.
_Derived functions._
Development of an entire function F(_x + h_) of the binomial
(_x + h_).--Derivative of an entire function.--To return from the
derivative to the function.
The derivative of a function of _x_ is the limit towards which tends
the ratio of the increment of the function to the increment _h_ of the
variable, in proportion as _h_ tends towards zero.
Derivatives of trigonometric functions.
Derivatives of exponentials and of logarithms.
Rules to find the derivative of a sum, of a product, of a power, of a
quotient of functions of _x_, the derivatives of which are known.
_Of the numerical resolution of equations._
Changes experienced by an entire function _f(x)_ when _x_ varies in a
continuous manner.--When two numbers _a_ and _b_ substituted in an
entire function _f(x)_ give results with contrary signs, the equation
_f(x) = 0_ has at least one real root not comprised between _a_ and _b_.
This property subsists for every species of function which remains
continuous for all the values of _x_ comprised between _a_ and _b_.
An algebraic equation of uneven degree has at least one real root.--An
algebraic equation of even degree, whose last term is negative, has at
least two real roots.
Every equation _f(x) = 0_, with coefficients either real or imaginary
of the form _a + b √-1_, admits of a real or imaginary root of the same
form. [Only the enunciation, and not the demonstration of this theorem,
is required.]
If _a_ is a root of an algebraic equation, the first member is
divisible by _x - a_. An algebraic equation of the _m_^{th} degree has
always _m_ roots real or imaginary, and it cannot admit
more.--Decomposition of the first members into factors of the first
degree. Relations between the coefficients of an algebraic equation and
its roots.
When an algebraic equation whose coefficients are real, admits an
imaginary root of the form _a + b √-1_, it has also for a root the
conjugate expression _a - b √-1_.
In an algebraic expression, complete or incomplete, the number of the
positive roots cannot surpass the number of the variations; consequence,
for negative roots.
Investigation of the product of the factors of the first degree common
to two entire functions of _x_.--Determination of the roots common to
two equations, the first members of which are entire functions of the
unknown quantity.
By what character to recognize that an algebraic equation has equal
roots.--How we then bring its resolution to that of several others of
lower degree and of unequal roots.
* * *
Investigation of the commensurable roots of an algebraic equation with
entire coefficients.
When a series of equidistant numbers is substituted in an entire
function of the _m_^{th} degree, and differences of different orders
between the results are formed, the differences of the _m_^{th} order
are constant.
Application to the separation of the roots of an equation of the third
degree.--Having the results of the substitution of -1, 0, and +1, to
deduce therefrom, by means of differences, those of all other whole
numbers, positive or negative.--The progress of the calculation leads of
itself to the limits of the roots.--Graphical representation of this
method.
Substitution of numbers equidistant _by a tenth_, between two
consecutive whole numbers, when the inspection of the first results has
shown its necessity.--This substitution is effected directly, or by
means of new differences deduced from the preceding.
How to determine, in continuing the approximation towards a root, at
what moment the consideration of the first difference is sufficient to
give that root with all desirable exactness, by a simple proportion.
The preceding method becomes applicable to the investigation of the
roots of a transcendental equation X = 0, when there have been
substituted in the first member, numbers equidistant and sufficiently
near to allow the differences of the results to be considered as
constant, starting from a certain order.--Formulas of interpolation.
Having obtained a root of an algebraic or transcendental equation,
with a certain degree of approximation, to approximate still farther by
the method of Newton.
* * *
Resolution of two numerical equations of the second degree with two
unknown quantities.
Decomposition of rational fractions into simple fractions.
IV. TRIGONOMETRY.
In explaining the use of trigonometrical tables, the pupil must be able
to tell with what degree of exactness an angle can be determined by the
logarithms of any of its trigonometrical lines. The consideration of the
proportional parts will be sufficient for this. It will thus be seen
that if the _sine_ determines perfectly a small angle, the degree of
exactness, which may be expected from the use of that line, diminishes
as the angle increases, and becomes quite insufficient in the
neighborhood of 90 degrees. It is the reverse for the _cosine_, which
may serve very well to represent an angle near 90 degrees, while it
would be very inexact for small angles. We see, then, that in our
applications, we should distrust those formulas which give an angle by
its sine or cosine. The _tangent_ being alone exempt from these
difficulties, we should seek, as far as possible, to resolve all
questions by means of it. Thus, let us suppose that we know the
hypothenuse and one of the sides of a right-angled triangle, the direct
determination of the included angle will be given by a cosine, which
will be wanting in exactness if the hypothenuse of the triangle does not
differ much from the given side. In that case we should begin by
calculating the third side, and then use it with the first side to
determine the desired angle by means of its tangent. When two sides of a
triangle and the included angle are given, the tangent of the half
difference of the desired angles may be calculated with advantage; but
we may also separately determine the tangent of each of them. When the
three sides of a triangle are given, the best formula for calculating an
angle, and the only one never at fault, is that which gives the tangent
of half of it.
The surveying for plans, taught in the course of Geometry, employing
only graphical methods of calculation, did not need any more accurate
instruments than the chain and the graphometer; but now that
trigonometry furnishes more accurate methods of calculation, the
measurements on the ground require more precision. Hence the requirement
for the pupil to measure carefully a base, to use telescopes, verniers,
etc., and to make the necessary calculations, the ground being still
considered as plane. But as these slow and laborious methods can be
employed for only the principal points of the survey, the more
expeditious means of the plane-table and compass will be used for the
details.
In spherical trigonometry, all that will be needed in geodesy should be
learned before admission to the school, so that the subject will not
need to be again taken up. We have specially inscribed in the programme
the relations between the angles and sides of a right-angled triangle,
which must be known by the students; they are those which occur in
practice. In tracing the course to be pursued in the resolution of the
three cases of any triangles, we have indicated that which is in fact
employed in the applications, and which is the most convenient. As to
the rest, ambiguous cases never occur in practice, and therefore we
should take care not to speak of them to learners.
In surveying, spherical trigonometry will now allow us to consider cases
in which the signals are not all in the same plane, and to operate on
uneven ground, obtain its projection on the plane of the horizon, and at
the same time determine differences of level.
It may be remarked that Descriptive Geometry might supply the place of
spherical trigonometry by a graphical construction, but the degree of
exactitude of the differences of level thus obtained would be
insufficient.
PROGRAMME OF TRIGONOMETRY.
1. PLANE TRIGONOMETRY.
Trigonometrical lines.--Their ratios to the radius are alone
considered.--Relations of the trigonometric lines of the same
angle.--Expressions of the sine and of the cosine in functions of the
tangent.
Knowing the sines and the cosines of two arcs _a_ and _b_, to find the
sine and the cosine of their sum and of their difference.--To find the
tangent of the sum or of the difference of two arcs, knowing the
tangents of those arcs.
Expressions for sin.2_a_ and sin.3_a_; cos.2_a_ and cos. 3_a_;
tang.2_a_ and tang.3_a_.
Knowing sin._a_ or cos._a_, to calculate sin.½_a_ and cos.½_a_.
Knowing tang._a_, to calculate tang.½_a_.
Knowing sin._a_, to calculate sin.⅓_a_--Knowing cos._a_, to
calculate cos.⅓_a_.
Use of the formula cos._p_+cos._q_ = 2cos.½(_p + q_)cos.½(_p - q_), to
render logarithms applicable to the sum of two trigonometrical lines,
sines or cosines.--To render logarithms applicable to the sum of two
tangents.
Construction of the trigonometric tables.
Use in detail of the tables of Callet.--Appreciation, by the
proportional parts, of the degree of exactness in the calculation of the
angles.--Superiority of the tangent formulas.
_Resolution of triangles._
Relations between the angles and the sides of a right-angled triangle,
or of any triangle whatever.--When the three angles of a triangle are
given, these relations determine only the ratios of the sides.
Resolution of right-angled triangles.--Of the case in which the
hypothenuse and a side nearly equal to it are given.
Knowing a side and two angles of any triangle, to find the other
parts, and also the surface of the triangle.
Knowing two sides _a_ and _b_ of a triangle and the included angle C,
to find the other parts and also the surface of the triangle.--The
tang.½(A - B) may be determined; or tang.A and tang.B directly.
Knowing the three sides _a_, _b_, _c_, to find the angles and the
surface of the triangle.--Employment of the formula which gives
tang.½A.
_Application to surveying for plans._
Measurement of bases with rods.
Measurement of angles.--Description and use of the circle.--Use of the
telescope to render the line of sight more precise.--Division of the
circle.--Verniers.
Measurement and calculation of a system of triangles.--Reduction of
angles to the centres of stations.
How to connect the secondary points to the principal system.--Use of
the plane table and of the compass.
2. SPHERICAL TRIGONOMETRY.
Fundamental relations (cos._a_ = cos._b_ cos._c_ + sin._b_ sin._c_
cos.A) between the sides and the angles of a spherical triangle.
To deduce thence the relations sin.A : sin.B = sin._a_ : sin._b_;
cot._a_ sin._b_ - cot.A sin.C = cos._b_ cos.C, and by the consideration
of the supplementary triangle cos.A = -cos.B cos.C + sin.B sin.C
cos._a_.
Right-angled triangles.--Formulas cos._a_ = cos._b_ cos._c_; sin._b_ =
sin._a_ sin.B; tang._c_ = tang._a_ cos.B, and tang._b_ = sin._c_ tang.B.
In a right-angled triangle the three sides are less than 90°, or else
two of the sides are greater than 90°, and the third is less. An angle
and the side opposite to it are both less than 90°, or both greater.
Resolution of any triangles whatever:
1º Having given their three sides _a_, _b_, _c_, or their three angles
A, B, C.--Formulas tang.½_a_ and tang.1/2A, calculable by logarithms:
2º Having given two sides and the included angle, or two angles and
the included side.--Formulas of Delambre:
3º Having given two sides and an angle opposite to one of them, or two
angles and a side opposite to one of them. Employment of an auxiliary
angle to render the formulas calculable by logarithms.
Applications.--Survey of a mountainous country.--Reduction of the base
and of the angles to the horizon.--Determination of differences of
level.
Knowing the latitude and the longitude of two points on the surface of
the earth, to find the distance of those points.
V. ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY.
The important property of homogeneity must be given with clearness and
simplicity.
The transformation of co-ordinates must receive some numerical
applications, which are indispensable to make the student clearly see
the meaning of the formulas.
The determination of tangents will be effected in the most general
manner by means of the derivatives of the various functions, which we
inserted in the programme of algebra. After having shown that this
determination depends on the calculation of the derivative of the
ordinate with respect to the abscissa, this will be used to simplify the
investigation of the tangent to curves of the second degree and to
curves whose equations contain transcendental functions. The discussion
of these, formerly pursued by laborious indirect methods, will now
become easy; and as curves with transcendental equations are frequently
encountered, it will be well to exercise students in their discussion.
The properties of foci and of the directrices of curves of the second
degree will be established directly, for each of the three curves, by
means of the simplest equations of these curves, and without any
consideration of the analytical properties of foci, with respect to the
general equation of the second degree. With even greater reason will we
dispense with examining whether curves of higher degree have foci, a
question whose meaning even is not well defined.
We retained in algebra the elimination between two equations of the
second degree with two unknown quantities, a problem which corresponds
to the purely analytical investigation of the co-ordinates of the points
of intersection of two curves of the second degree. The final equation
is in general of the fourth degree, but we may sometimes dispense with
calculating that equation. A graphical construction of the curves,
carefully made, will in fact be sufficient to make known, approximately,
the co-ordinates of each of the points of intersection; and when we
shall have thus obtained an approximate solution, we will often be able
to give it all the numerical rigor desirable, by successive
approximations, deduced from the equations. These considerations will be
extended to the investigation of the real roots of equations of any form
whatever with one unknown quantity.
Analytical geometry of three dimensions was formerly entirely taught
within the Polytechnic school, none of it being reserved for the course
of admission. For some years past, however, candidates were required to
know the equations of the right line in space, the equation of the
plane, the solution of the problems which relate to it and the
transformation of co-ordinates. But the consideration of surfaces of the
second order was reserved for the interior teaching. We think it well to
place this also among the studies to be mastered before admission, in
accordance with the general principle now sought to be realized, of
classing with them that double instruction which does not exact a
previous knowledge of the differential calculus.
We have not, however, inserted here all the properties of surfaces of
the second order, but have retained only those which it is indispensable
to know and to retain. The transformation of rectilinear co-ordinates,
for example, must be executed with simplicity, and the teacher must
restrict himself to giving his pupils a succinct explanation of the
course to be pursued; this will suffice to them for the very rare cases
in which they may happen to have need of them. No questions will be
asked relating to the general considerations, which require very
complicated theoretical discussions, and especially that of the general
reduction of the equation of the second degree with three variables. We
have omitted from the problems relating to the right line and to the
plane, the determination of the shortest distance of two right lines.
The properties of surfaces of the second order will be deduced from the
equations of those surfaces, taken directly in the simplest forms. Among
these properties, we place in the first rank, for their valuable
applications, those of the surfaces which can be generated by the
movement of a right line.
PROGRAMME OF ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY.
1. GEOMETRY OF TWO DIMENSIONS.
Rectilinear co-ordinates.--Position of a point on a plane.
Representation of geometric loci by equations.
Homogeneity of equations and of formulas.--Construction of algebraic
expressions.
Transformation of rectilinear co-ordinates.
Construction of equations of the first degree.--Problems on the right
line.
Construction of equations of the second degree.--Division of the
curves which they represent into three classes.--Reduction of the
equation to its simplest form by the change of co-ordinates.[5]
[Footnote 5: The students will apply these reductions to a
numerical equation of the second degree, and will determine the
situation of the new axes with respect to the original axes, by
means of trigonometrical tables. They will show to the examiner
the complete calculations of this reduction and the trace of the
two systems of axes and of the curves.]
Problem of tangents.--The coefficient of inclination of the tangent to
the curve, to the axis of the abscissas, is equal to the derivative of
the ordinate with respect to the abscissa.
_Of the ellipse._
Centre and axes.--The squares of the ordinates perpendicular to one of
the axes are to each other as the products of the corresponding segments
formed on that axis.
The ordinates perpendicular to the major axis are to the corresponding
ordinates of the circle described on that axis as a diameter, in the
constant ratio of the minor axis to the major.--Construction of the
curve by points, by means of this property.
Foci; eccentricity of the ellipse.--The sum of the radii vectors drawn
to any point of the ellipse is constant and equal to the major
axis.--Description of the ellipse by means of this property.
Directrices.--The distance from each point of the ellipse to one of
the foci, and to the directrix adjacent to that focus, are to each other
as the eccentricity is to the major axis.
Equations of the tangent and of the normal at any point of the
ellipse.[6]--The point in which the tangent meets one of the axes
prolonged is independent of the length of the other axis.--Construction
of the tangent at any point of the ellipse by means of this property.
[Footnote 6: They will be deduced from the property, previously
demonstrated, of the derivative of the ordinate with respect to
the abscissa.]
The radii vectores, drawn from the foci to any point of the ellipse,
make equal angles with the tangent at that point or the same side of
it.--The normal bisects the angle made by the radii vectores with each
other.--This property may serve to draw a tangent to the ellipse through
a point on the curve, or through a point exterior to it.
The diameters of the ellipse are right lines passing through the
centre of the curve.--The chords which a diameter bisects are parallel
to the tangent drawn through the extremity of that diameter.--
Supplementary chords. By means of them a tangent to the ellipse can be
drawn through a given point on that curve or parallel to a given right
line.
Conjugate diameters.--Two conjugate diameters are always parallel to
supplementary chords, and reciprocally.--Limit of the angle of two
conjugate diameters.--An ellipse always contains two equal conjugate
diameters.--The sum of the squares of two conjugate diameters is
constant.--The area of the parallelogram constructed on two conjugate
diameters is constant.--To construct an ellipse, knowing two conjugate
diameters and the angle which they make with each other.
Expression of the area of an ellipse in function of its axes.
_Of the hyperbola._
Centre and axes.--Ratio of the squares of the ordinates perpendicular
to the transverse axes.
Of foci and of directrices; of the tangent and of the normal; of
diameters and of supplementary chords.--Properties of these points and
of these lines, analogous to those which they possess in the ellipse.
Asymptotes of the hyperbola.--The asymptotes coincide with the
diagonals of the parallelogram formed on any two conjugate
diameters.--The portions of a secant comprised between the hyperbola and
its asymptotes are equal.--Application to the tangent and to its
construction.
The rectangle of the parts of a secant, comprised between a point of
the curve and the asymptotes, is equal to the square of half of the
diameter to which the secant is parallel.
Form of the equation of the hyperbola referred to its asymptotes.
_Of the parabola._
Axis of the parabola.--Ratio of the squares of the ordinates
perpendicular to the axis.
Focus and directrix of the parabola.--Every point of the curve is
equally distant from the focus and from the directrix.--Construction of
the parabola.
The parabola may be considered as an ellipse, in which the major axis
is indefinitely increased while the distance from one focus to the
adjacent summit remains constant.
Equations of the tangent and of the normal.--Sub-tangent and
sub-normal. They furnish means of drawing a tangent at any point of the
curve.
The tangent makes equal angles with the axis and with the radius
vector drawn to the point of contact.--To draw, by means of this
property, a tangent to the parabola, 1º through a point on the curve; 2º
through an exterior point.
All the diameters of the parabola are right lines parallel to the
axis, and reciprocally.--The chords which a diameter bisects are
parallel to the tangent drawn at the extremity of that diameter.
Expression of the area of a parabolic segment.
* * *
Polar co-ordinates.--To pass from a system of rectilinear and
rectangular co-ordinates to a system of polar co-ordinates, and
reciprocally.
Polar equations of the three curves of the second order, the pole
being situated at a focus, and the angles being reckoned from the axis
which passes through that focus.
Summary discussion of some transcendental curves.--Determination of
the tangent at one of their points.
Construction of the real roots of equations of any form with one
unknown quantity.--Investigation of the intersections of two curves of
the second degree.--Numerical applications of these formulas.
2. GEOMETRY OF THREE DIMENSIONS.
The sum of the projections of several consecutive right lines upon an
axis is equal to the projection of the resulting line.--The sum of the
projections of a right line on three rectangular axes is equal to the
square of the right line.--The sum of the squares of the cosines of the
angles which a right line makes with three rectangular right lines is
equal to unity.
The projection of a plane area on a plane is equal to the product of
that area by the cosine of the angle of the two planes.
Representation of a point by its co-ordinates.--Equations of lines and
of surfaces.
Transformation of rectilinear co-ordinates.
_Of the right line and of the plane._
Equations of the right line.--Equation of the plane.
To find the equations of a right line, 1º which passes through two
given points, 2º which passes through a given point and which is
parallel to a given line.
To determine the point of intersection of two right lines whose
equations are known.
To pass a plane, 1º through three given points; 2º through a given
point and parallel to a given plane; 3º through a point and through a
given right line.
Knowing the equations of two planes, to find the projections of their
intersection.
To find the intersection of a right line and of a plane, their
equations being known.
Knowing the co-ordinates of two points, to find their distance.
From a given point to let fall a perpendicular on a plane; to find the
foot and the length of that perpendicular (rectangular co-ordinates).
Through a given point to pass a plane perpendicular to a given right
line (rectangular co-ordinates).
Through a given point, to pass a perpendicular to a given right line;
to determine the foot and the length of that perpendicular (rectangular
co-ordinates).
Knowing the equations of a right line, to determine the angles which
that line makes with the axes of the co-ordinates (rectangular
co-ordinates).
To find the angle of two right lines whose equations are known
(rectangular co-ordinates).
Knowing the equation of a plane, to find the angles which it makes
with the co-ordinate planes (rectangular co-ordinates).
To determine the angle of two planes (rectangular co-ordinates).
To find the angle of a right line and of a plane (rectangular
co-ordinates).
_Surfaces of the second degree._
They are divided into two classes; one class having a centre, the
other not having any. Co-ordinates of the centre.
Of diametric planes.
Simplification of the general equation of the second degree by the
transformation of co-ordinates.
The simplest equations of the ellipsoid, of the hyperboloid of one
sheet and of two sheets, of the elliptical and the hyperbolic
paraboloid, of cones and of cylinders of the second order.
Nature of the plane sections of surfaces of the second order.--Plane
sections of the cone, and of the right cylinder with circular
base.--Anti-parallel section of the oblique cone with circular base.
Cone asymptote to an hyperboloid.
Right-lined sections of the hyperboloid of one sheet.--Through each
point of a hyperboloid of one sheet two right lines can be drawn, whence
result two systems of right-lined generatrices of the hyperboloid.--Two
right lines taken in the same system do not meet, and two right lines of
different systems always meet.--All the right lines situated on the
hyperboloid being transported to the centre, remaining parallel to
themselves, coincide with the surface of the asymptote cone.--Three
right lines of the same system are never parallel to the same
plane.--The hyperboloid of one sheet may be generated by a right line
which moves along three fixed right lines, not parallel to the same
plane; and, reciprocally, when a right line slides on three fixed lines,
not parallel to the same plane, it generates a hyperboloid of one sheet.
Right-lined sections of the hyperbolic paraboloid.--Through each point
of the surface of the hyperbolic paraboloid two right lines may be
traced, whence results the generation of the paraboloid by two systems
of right lines.--Two right lines of the same system do not meet, but two
right lines of different systems always meet.--All the right lines of
the same system are parallel to the same plane.--The hyperbolic
paraboloid may be generated by the movement of a right line which slides
on three fixed right lines which are parallel to the same plane; or by a
right line which slides on two fixed right lines, itself remaining
always parallel to a given plane. Reciprocally, every surface resulting
from one of these two modes of generation is a hyperbolic paraboloid.
General equations of conical surfaces and of cylindrical surfaces.
VI. DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.
The general methods of Descriptive Geometry,--their uses in
Stone-cutting and Carpentry, in Linear Perspective, and in the
determination of the Shadows of bodies,--constitute one of the most
fruitful branches of the applications of mathematics. The course has
always been given at the Polytechnic School with particular care,
according to the plans traced by the illustrious _Monge_, but no part of
the subject has heretofore been required for admission. The time given
to it in the school, being however complained of on all sides as
insufficient for its great extent and important applications, the
general methods of Descriptive Geometry will henceforth be retrenched
from the internal course, and be required of all candidates for
admission.
As to the programme itself, it is needless to say any thing, for it was
established by _Monge_, and the extent which he gave to it, as well as
the methods which he had created, have thus far been maintained. We
merely suppress the construction of the shortest distance between two
right-lines, which presents a disagreeable and useless complication.
Candidates will have to present to the examiner a collection of their
graphical constructions (_épures_) of all the questions of the
programme, signed by their teacher. They are farther required to make
free-hand sketches of five of their _épures_.
PROGRAMME OF DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.
_Problems relating to the point, to the straight line, and to the
plane._[7]
[Footnote 7: The method of the change of the planes of projection
will be used for the resolution of these problems.]
Through a point given in space, to pass a right line parallel to a
given right line, and to find the length of a part of that right line.
Through a given point, to pass a plane parallel to a given plane.
To construct the plane which passes through three points given in
space.
Two planes being given, to find the projections of their
intersection.
A right line and a plane being given, to find the projections of the
point in which the right line meets the plane.
Through a given point, to pass a perpendicular to a given plane, and
to construct the projections of the point of meeting of the right line
and of the plane.
Through a given point, to pass a right line perpendicular to a given
right line, and to construct the projections of the point of meeting of
the two right lines.
A plane being given, to find the angles which it forms with the
planes of projection.
Two planes being given, to construct the angle which they form
between them.
Two right lines which cut each other being given, to construct the
angle which they form between them.
To construct the angle formed by a right line and by a plane given
in position in space.
_Problems relating to tangent planes._
To draw a plane tangent to a cylindrical surface or to a conical
surface, 1º through a point taken on the surface; 2º through a point
taken out of the surface; 3º parallel to a given right line.
Through a point taken on a surface of revolution, whose meridian is
known, to pass a plane tangent to that surface.
_Problems relating to the intersection of surfaces._
To construct the section made, on the surface of a right and vertical
cylinder, by a plane perpendicular to one of the planes of
projection.--To draw the tangent to the curve of intersection.--To make
the development of the cylindrical surface, and to refer to it the curve
of intersection, and also the tangent.
To construct the intersection of a right cone by a plane perpendicular
to one of the planes of projection. Development and tangent.
To construct the right section of an oblique cylinder.--To draw the
tangent to the curve of intersection. To make the development of the
cylindrical surface, and to refer to it the curve which served as its
base, and also its tangents.
To construct the intersection of a surface of revolution by a plane,
and the tangents to the curve of intersection.--To resolve this
question, when the generating line is a right line which does not meet
the axis.
To construct the intersection of two cylindrical surfaces, and the
tangents to that curve.
To construct the intersection of two oblique cones, and the tangents
to that curve.
To construct the intersection of two surfaces of revolution whose axes
meet.
VII. OTHER REQUIREMENTS.
The preceding six heads complete the outline of the elementary course of
mathematical instruction which it was the object of this article to
present; but a few more lines may well be given to a mere enumeration of
the other requirements for admission to the school.
MECHANICS comes next. The programme is arranged under these heads:
Simple motion and compound motion; Inertia; Forces applied to a free
material point; Work of forces applied to a movable point; Forces
applied to a solid body; Machines.
PHYSICS comprises these topics: General properties of bodies;
Hydrostatics and hydraulics; Densities of solids and liquids; Properties
of gases; Heat; Steam; Electricity; Magnetism; Acoustics; Light.
CHEMISTRY treats of Oxygen; Hydrogen; Combinations of hydrogen with
oxygen; Azote or nitrogen; Combinations of azote with oxygen;
Combination of azote with hydrogen, or ammonia; Sulphur; Chlorine;
Phosphorus; Carbon.
COSMOGRAPHY describes the Stars; the Earth; the Sun; the Moon; the
Planets; Comets; the Tides.
HISTORY and GEOGRAPHY treat of Europe from the Roman Empire to the
accession of Louis XVI.
GERMAN must be known sufficiently for it to be translated, spoken a
little, and written in its own characters.
DRAWING, besides the _épures_ of descriptive geometry, must have been
acquired sufficiently for copying an academic study, and shading in
pencil and in India ink.
Will not our readers agree with M. Coriolis, that “_There are very few
learned mathematicians who could answer perfectly well at an examination
for admission to the Polytechnic School_”?
SCHOOLS OF PREPARATION FOR THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL
There are strictly speaking no Junior Military Schools preparatory to
the Polytechnic School, or to the Special Military School at St. Cyr.
These schools are recruited in general from the _Lycées_ and other
schools for secondary instruction, upon which they exert a most powerful
influence. Until 1852 there was no special provision made in the courses
of instruction in the _Lycées_ for the mathematical preparation required
for admission into the Polytechnic, and the Bachelor’s degree in science
could not be obtained without being able to meet the requirements in
Latin, rhetoric, and logic for graduation in the arts, which was
necessary to the profession of law, medicine, and theology. In
consequence, young men who prepared to be candidates for the preliminary
examinations at the Polytechnic and the St. Cyr, left the _Lycées_
before graduation in order to acquire more geometry and less literature
in the private schools, or under private tuition.
A new arrangement, popularly called the _Bifurcation_, was introduced by
the Decrees of the 10th of April, 1852; and has now come into operation.
The conditions demanded for the degree in science were adapted to the
requirements of the Military Schools; and in return for this concession
it is henceforth to be exacted from candidates for the Military Schools.
The diploma of arts is no longer required before the diploma of science
can be given. The instruction, which in the upper classes of the
_Lycées_ had hitherto been mainly preparatory for the former, takes
henceforth at a certain point (called that of _Bifurcation_) two
different routes, conducting separately, the one to the baccalaureate of
arts, the other to that of science. The whole system of teaching has
accordingly been altered. Boys wanting to study algebra are no longer
carried through a long course of Latin; mathematics are raised to an
equality with literature; and thus military pupils--pupils desirous of
admission at the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, may henceforth, it is hoped,
obtain in the _Lycées_ all the preparation which they had latterly
sought elsewhere.
Under this new system the usual course for a boy seems to be the
following:--
He enters the _Lycée_, in the Elementary Classes; or, a little later, in
the Grammar Classes, where he learns Latin and begins Greek. At the age
of about fourteen, he is called upon to pass an examination for
admission into the Upper Division, and here, in accordance with the new
regulations, he makes his choice for mathematics or for literature, the
studies henceforth being divided, one course leading to the bachelorship
of science, the other to that of arts.
In either case he has before him three yearly courses, three
classes--the Third, the Second, and what is called the Rhetoric. At the
close of this, or after passing, if he pleases, another year in what is
called the Logic, he may go up for his bachelor’s degree. The boy who
wants to go to St. Cyr or the Polytechnic chooses, of course, the
mathematical division leading to the diploma he will want, that of a
bachelor of _science_. He accordingly begins algebra, goes on to
trigonometry, to conic sections, and to mechanics, and through
corresponding stages in natural philosophy, and the like. If he chooses
to spend a fourth year in the Logic, he will be chiefly employed in
going over his subjects again. He may take his bachelor’s degree at any
time after finishing his third year; and he may, if he pleases, having
taken that, remain during a fifth or even a sixth year, in the class of
Special Mathematics.
If he be intended for St. Cyr, he may very well leave at the end of his
year in Rhetoric, taking of course his degree. One year in the course of
Special Mathematics will be required before he can have a chance for the
Polytechnic. Usually the number of students admitted at the latter, who
have not passed more than one year in the _mathematiques spéciales_ is
very small. Very probably the young aspirant would try at the end of his
first year in this class, and would learn by practice to do better at
the end of the second.
The following are the studies of the mathematical section of the upper
division as laid down by the ordinance of 30th August, 1854.
THE THIRD CLASS (_Troisième_,) at fourteen years old.
Arithmetic and first notions of Algebra. Plane Geometry and its
applications. First notions of Chemistry and Physics. General notions of
Natural History; Principles of classification. Linear and imitative
Drawing.
THE SECOND CLASS (_Seconde_,) at fifteen years old.
Algebra; Geometry, figures in space, recapitulation; Applications of
Geometry, notions of the geometrical representations of bodies by
projections; Rectilineal Trigonometry; Chemistry; Physics; and Drawing.
THE RHETORIC, at sixteen years old.
Exercises in Arithmetic and Algebra; Geometry; notions on some common
curves; and general recapitulation; Applications of Geometry; notions of
leveling and its processes; recapitulation of Trigonometry; Cosmography;
Mechanics; Chemistry concluded and reviewed; Zoölogy and Animal
Physiology; Botany and Vegetable Physiology; Geology; Drawing. (The
pupil may now be ready for the Degree and for St. Cyr.)
THE LOGIC, at seventeen years old.
Six lessons a week are employed in preparation for the bachelorship of
science, and in a methodical recapitulation of the courses of the three
preceding years according to the state of the pupil’s knowledge.
Two lessons a week are allowed for reviewing the literary instruction;
evening lessons in Latin, French, English, and German, and in History
and Geography, having been given through the whole previous time.
THE SPECIAL MATHEMATICS, at eighteen and nineteen years old.
Five lessons a week are devoted to these studies; in the other lessons
the pupils join those of the Logic class for reviewing all their
previous subjects, whether for the bachelorship in science or for
competition for admission at the _Ecole Normale_ or the Polytechnic.
It will only be necessary to add a few sentences in explanation of the
methods pursued in the upper classes of the _Lycées_. The classes are
large--from 80 to above 100; the lessons strictly professorial lectures,
with occasional questions, as at the Polytechnic itself. In large
establishments the class is divided, and two professors are employed,
giving two parallel courses on the same subject. To correct and fortify
this general teaching, we find, corresponding to the interrogations of
the Polytechnic, what are here called conferences. The members of the
large class are examined first of all in small detachments of five or
six by their own professors once a week; and, secondly, a matter of yet
greater importance, by the professor who is conducting the parallel
course, and by professors who are engaged for this purpose from other
_Lycées_ and preparatory schools, and from among the _répétiteurs_ of
the Polytechnic and the Ecole Normale themselves. It appeared by the
table of the examinations of this latter kind which had been passed by
the pupils of the class of Special Mathematics at the _Lycée_ St. Louis,
that the first pupil on the list had in the interval between the opening
of the school and the date of our visit (February 16th) gone through as
many as twenty-four.
The assistants, who bear the name of _répétiteurs_ at the _Lycées_, do
not correspond in any sense to those whom we shall hereafter notice at
the Ecole Polytechnique. They are in the _Lycées_ mere superintendents
in the _salles d’étude_, who attend to order and discipline, who give
some slight occasional help to the pupils, and may be employed in
certain cases, where the parents wish for it, in giving private tuition
to the less proficient. The system of _salles d’étude_ appears to
prevail universally; the number of the pupils placed in each probably
varying greatly. At the Polytechnic we found eight or ten pupils in
each; at St. Cyr as many as 200. The number considered most desirable at
the _Lycée_ of St. Louis was stated to be thirty.
It thus appears that in France not only do private establishments
succeed in giving preparation for the military schools, but that even in
the first-class public schools, which educate for the learned
professions, it has been considered possible to conduct a series of
military or science classes by the side of the usual literary or arts
classes. The common upper schools are not, as they used to be, and as
with us they are, _Grammar_ schools, they are also _Science_ schools. In
every _Lycée_ there is, so to say, a sort of elementary polytechnic
department, giving a kind of instruction which will be useful to the
future soldier, and at the same time to others, to those who may have to
do with mines, manufactures, or any description of civil engineering.
There is thus no occasion for Junior Military Schools in France, for all
the schools of this class are more or less of a military character in
their studies.
The conditions of admission to the examination for the degree of
Bachelor of Science are simply, sixteen years of age, and the payment of
fees amounting to about 200 fr. (10_l._) Examinations are held three
times a year by the Faculties at Paris, Besançon, Bordeaux, Caen,
Clermont, Dijon, Grenoble, Lille, Lyons, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nancy,
Poitiers, Rennes, Strasburg, and Toulouse, and once a year at Ajaccio,
Algiers, and nineteen other towns. There is a written examination of six
hours, and a viva voce examination of an hour and a quarter. It is, of
course, only a _pass_ examination, and is said to be much less difficult
than the competitive examination for admission to St. Cyr.--_Report of
English Commissioners_, 1856.
THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL OF FRANCE.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL AT PARIS, 11
SUBJECTS OF INSTRUCTION AS PRESCRIBED FOR ADMISSION IN 1850, 13
PREPARATORY COURSE IN THE LYCEES, 49
HISTORY, MANAGEMENT, CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION, COURSE OF STUDY,
EXAMINATIONAL SYSTEM, AND RESULTS, 55
I. FOUNDATION AND HISTORY, 55
Out growth of the Necessities of the Public Service
in 1794, 56
High Scientific Ability of its first Teachers, 58
Peculiar Method of Scientific Teaching, 59
Characteristic features of the _Répétitorial_ System, 59
The _Casernement_, or Barrack Residence of the Pupils, 60
Permanent Organization in 1809, 60
Commission of 1850, 62
II. OUTLINE OF THE PLAN, OBJECTS, AND MANAGEMENT, 63
Public Services provided for in its General Scientific
Course, 63
Admission by Competition in an Open Examination, 63
Annual Charge for Board and Instruction, 64
Exhibitions, (or _bourses, demi-bourses_,) and Outfits
(_trousseaux_,) 64
Length of Course of Study, 64
Number of Professors and Teachers, besides its Military
Staff, 64
Military Establishment, 65
Civil Establishment, 65
General Control and Supervision, 65
1. Board of Administration, 65
2. Board of Discipline, 65
3. Board of Instruction, 65
4. Board of Improvement, 66
III. CONDITIONS AND EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION, 66
Who may be Candidates for Admission, 66
Subjects of Entrance Examination, 66
Preliminary Examination, 67
Written Examination, 67
Oral Examination, 68
Scale of Merit, and Latitude in Amount of Credit given, 68
Reports of Examiners to Minister of War, 69
Co-efficients of Influence, varying with the Study and
Mode of Examination, 69
Decision of Jury on all the Documents of each Candidate, 70
Final Action of the Minister of War, 70
IV. SCHOOL BUILDINGS, COURSE AND METHOD OF STUDY, 70
Situation, Number, and Purposes of Buildings, 70
Daily Routine of Exercises, 72
Method of Teaching and Study, 73
Professorial and Répétitorial, 74
Interrogations, _Général_, 74
“ _Particulieres_ by the _Répétiteurs_, 74
One Répétiteur to every eight Pupils, 74
System of Credits for every Lecture, every Interrogation,
and Exercise, 75
Final Admission to Public Service, depends on daily and
hourly fidelity, 76
Division of First Year’s Work into three portions, 76
First portion--Analysis and Descriptive Geometry, 76
Second “ Mechanics, Geodesy, Physics, &c., 76
Third “ General Private Study, 76
Number and Subjects of Lectures in Second Course, 78
V. EXAMINATIONAL SYSTEM, 78
Ordinary Examinations, 78
1. By Professors on their own Lectures, both Written
and Oral, 78
2. By Examiners on the Manipulations of the Pupils, 78
3. By Répétiteurs every ten or fourteen days, 78
4. By Professors and Répétiteurs at the close of
each Course, 79
First Annual Examination, 79
Table--Co-efficient of Influence in Second Division of
First Year’s Course, 79
Specimen of Credits gained by one Student in First
Year’s Course, 80
Persons excluded from the Second Year’s Course, 81
Second Annual or Great Final Examination, 81
Conducted by the same Examiners as the First, 81
Oral, and extends over the whole Two Years’ Course, 81
Results based on each Day’s Study’s, Year’s, and
Examination’s results, 82
Tables--Co-efficients of Influence in Final
Classification, &c., 82
Order in which the Public Services are Selected, 83
VI. GENERAL REMARKS ON CHARACTER AND RESULTS OF THE
POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL, 84
APPENDIX, 88
PUBLIC SERVICES BESIDE THE ARMY SUPPLIED BY THIS SCHOOL, 88
1. Gunpowder and Saltpetre, 88
2. Navy, 88
3. Marine Artillery and Foundries, 88
4. Naval Architects. School of Application at L’Orient, 88
5. Hydrographers, 88
6. Roads and Bridges. School of Application at Paris, 89
7. Mining Engineers. School of Mines at Paris and
St. Etienne, 89
8. Tobacco Department 90
9. Telegraphs, 90
PROGRAMMES OF INTERNAL INSTRUCTION DURING THE TWO YEARS
OF STUDY, 91
1. Analysis, 91
First Year--Calculus, Differential, 91
Calculus, Integral, 93
Second Year--Calculus, Integral, (continuation,) 94
2. Descriptive Geometry and Stereotomy, 97
First Year--Descriptive Geometry, Geometrical
Drawing, 97
Second Year--Stereotomy: Wood-work, 103
Masonry, 103
3. Mechanics and Machines, 104
First Year--Kinematics, 105
Equilibrium of Forces, 105
Second Year--Dynamics, 112
Hydrostatics, 115
Hydraulics, 115
Machines in Motion, 116
4. Physics, 116
First Year--General Properties of Bodies,
Hydrostatics, Hydrodynamics, 117
Heat, 119
Statical Electricity, 123
Second Year--Dynamical Electricity, 124
Acoustics, 125
Optics, 126
5. Manipulations in Physics, 129
First and Second Year, 130
Distribution of Time, 131
THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL AT PARIS[8]
[Footnote 8: Compiled from “_Report and Appendix of English
Commissioners on Military Education_.” 1857.]
I. FOUNDATION AND HISTORY.
The origin of the _Ecole Polytechnique_ dates from a period of disorder
and distress in the history of France which might seem alien to all
intellectual pursuits, if we did not remember that the general stimulus
of a revolutionary period often acts powerfully upon thought and
education. It is, perhaps, even more than the Institute, the chief
scientific creation of the first French Revolution. It was during the
government of the committee of public safety, when Carnot, as war
minister, was gradually driving back the invading armies, and
reorganizing victory out of defeat and confusion, that the first steps
were taken for its establishment. A law, dating the 1st Ventose, year
II., the 12th of March 1794, created a “Commission des Travaux Publics,”
charged with the duty of establishing a regular system for carrying on
public works; and this commission ultimately founded a central school
for public works, and drew up a plan for the competitive examination of
candidates for admission to the service. It was intended at first to
give a complete education for some of the public services, but it was
soon changed into a preparatory school, to be succeeded by special
schools of application. This was the Ecole Polytechnique.
The school and its plan were both owing to an immediate and pressing
want. It was to be partly military and partly civil. Military, as well
as civil education had been destroyed by the revolutionists. The
committee of public safety had, indeed, formed a provisional school for
engineers at Metz, to supply the immediate wants of the army on the
frontier, and at this school young men were hastily taught the elements
of fortification, and were sent direct to the troops, to learn as they
best could, the practice of their art. “But such a method,” says the
report accompanying the law which founded the school, “does not form
engineers _in any true sense of the term_, and can only be justified by
the emergency of the time. The young men should be recalled to the new
school to complete their studies.” Indeed no one knew better than
Carnot, to use the language of the report, “that patriotism and courage
can not always supply the want of knowledge;” and in the critical
campaigns of 1793-4, he must often have felt the need of the institution
which he was then contributing to set on foot. Such was the immediate
motive for the creation of this school. At first, it only included the
engineers amongst its pupils. But the artillery were added within a
year.
We must not, however, omit to notice its civil character, the
combination of which with its military object forms its peculiar
feature, and has greatly contributed to its reputation. Amongst its
founders were men, who though ardent revolutionists, were thirsting for
the restoration of schools and learning, which for a time had been
totally extinguished. The chief of these, besides Carnot, were Monge and
Fourcroy, Berthollet and Lagrange. Of Carnot and Lagrange, one amongst
the first of war ministers, the other one of the greatest of
mathematicians, we need not say more. Berthollet, a man of science and
practical skill, first suggested the school; Monge, the founder of
Descriptive Geometry, a favorite _savant_ of Napoleon though a zealous
republican, united to real genius that passion for teaching and for his
pupils, which makes the _beau idéal_ of the founder of a school; and
Fourcroy was a man of equal practical tact and science, who at the time
had great influence with the convention, and was afterwards intrusted by
Napoleon with much of the reorganization of education in France.
When the school first started there was scarcely another of any
description in the country. For nearly three years the revolution had
destroyed every kind of teaching. The attack upon the old schools, in
France, as elsewhere, chiefly in the hands of the clergy, had been begun
by a famous report of Talleyrand’s, presented to the legislative
assembly in 1791, which recommended to suppress all the existing
academies within Paris and the provinces, and to replace them by an
entirely new system of national education through the country. In this
plan a considerable number of military schools were proposed, where boys
were to be educated from a very early age. When the violent
revolutionists were in power, they adopted the destructive part of
Talleyrand’s suggestions without the other. All schools, from the
university downwards, were destroyed; the large exhibitions or
_Bourses_, numbering nearly 40,000, were confiscated or plundered by
individuals, and even the military schools and those for the public
works (which were absolutely necessary for the very roads and the
defense of the country) were suppressed or disorganized. The school of
engineers at Mézières (an excellent one, where Monge had been a
professor,) and that of the artillery at La Fère, were both broken up,
whilst the murder of Lavoisier, and the well known saying in respect to
it, that “the Republic had no need of chemists,” gave currency to a
belief, which Fourcroy expressed in proposing the Polytechnic, “that the
late conspirators had formed a deliberate plan to destroy the arts and
sciences, and to establish their tyranny on the ruins of human reason.”
Thus it was on the ruin of all the old teaching, that the new
institution was erected; a truly _revolutionary_ school, as its founders
delighted to call it, using the term as it was then commonly used, as a
synonym for all that was excellent. And then for the first time avowing
the principle of public competition, its founders, Monge and Fourcroy,
began their work with an energy and enthusiasm which they seem to have
left as a traditional inheritance to their school. It is curious to see
the difficulties which the bankruptcy of the country threw in their way,
and the vigor with which, assisted by the summary powers of the
republican government, they overcame them. They begged the old Palais
Bourbon for their building; were supplied with pictures from the Louvre;
the fortunate capture of an English ship gave them some uncut diamonds
for their first experiments; presents of military instruments were sent
from the arsenals of Havre; and even the hospitals contributed some
chemical substances. In fine, having set their school in motion, the
government and its professors worked at it with such zeal and effect,
that within five months after their project was announced, they had held
their first entrance examination, open to the competition of all France,
and started with three hundred and seventy-nine pupils.
The account of one of these first pupils, who is among the most
distinguished still surviving ornaments of the Polytechnic, will convey
a far better idea of the spirit of the young institution than could be
given by a more lengthy description. M. Biot described to us vividly the
zeal of the earliest teachers, and the thirst for knowledge which,
repressed for awhile by the horrors of the period, burst forth with
fresh ardor amongst the French youth of the time. Many of them, he said,
like himself, had been carried away by the enthusiasm of the revolution,
and had entered the army. “My father had sent me,” he added, “to a
mercantile house, and indeed I never felt any great vocation to be a
soldier, but _Que voulez vous? les Prussiens etaient en Champagne._” He
joined the army, served two years under Dumouriez, and returned to Paris
in the reign of terror, “to see from his lodgings in the Rue St. Honore
the very generals who had led us to victory, Custine and Biron, carried
by in the carts to the guillotine. “Imagine what it was when we heard
that Robespierre was dead, and that we might return safely to study
after all this misery, and then to have for our teachers La Place,
Lagrange, and Monge. We felt like men brought to life again after
suffocation. Lagrange said, modestly, “Let me teach them arithmetic.”
Monge was more like our father than our teacher; he would come to us in
the evening, and assist us in our work till midnight, and when he
explained a difficulty to one of our _chefs de brigade_, it ran like an
electric spark through the party.” The pupils were not then, he told us,
as they have since been, shut up in barracks, they were left free, but
there was no idleness or dissipation amongst them. They were united in
zealous work and in good _camaraderie_, and any one known as a bad
character was avoided. This account may be a little tinged by
enthusiastic recollections, but it agreed almost entirely with that of
M. de Barante, who bore similar testimony to the early devotion of the
pupils, and the unique excellence of the teaching of Monge.
We are not, however, writing a history of this school, and must confine
ourselves to such points as directly illustrate its system of teaching
and its organization. These may be roughly enumerated in the following
order:
1. Its early history is completed by the law of its organization, given
it by La Place in his short ministry of the interior. This occurred in
the last month of 1799, a memorable era in French history, for it was
immediately after the revolution of the 18th of Brumaire, when Napoleon
overthrew the Directory and made himself First Consul. One of his
earliest acts was to sign the charter of his great civil and military
school. This charter or decree deserves some attention, because it is
always referred to as the law of the foundation of the school. It
determined the composition of the two councils of instruction and
improvement, the bodies to which the direction of the school was to be,
and still is, intrusted; some of its marked peculiarities in the mode
and subject of teaching. It is important to notice each of the two
points.
The direction of the school was at first almost entirely in the hands of
its professors, who formed what is still called its Council of
Instruction. Each of them presided over the school alternately for one
month, a plan copied from the revolutionary government of the
Convention. In the course of a few years, however, another body was
added, which has now the real management of the school. This is called
the “Council of Improvement” (_Conseil de perfectionnement_,) and a part
of its business is to see that the studies form a good preparation for
those of the more special schools (_écoles d’application_) for the civil
and military service. It consists of eminent men belonging to the
various public departments supplied by the school, and some of the
professors. It has had, as far as we could judge, an useful influence;
_first_, as a body not liable to be prejudiced in its proposals by the
feelings of the school, and yet interested in its welfare and
understanding it; _secondly_, as having shown much skill in the
difficult task of making the theoretical teaching of the Polytechnic a
good introduction to the practical studies of the public service;
_thirdly_, as being sufficiently influential, from the character of its
members, to shield the school from occasional ill-judged interference.
It should be added that hardly any year has passed without the Council
making a full report on the studies of the school, with particular
reference to their bearing on the Special Schools of Application.
The method of scientific teaching has been peculiar from the beginning.
It is the most energetic form of what may be called the _repetitorial_
system, a method of teaching almost peculiar to France, and which may be
described as a very able combination of professional and tutorial
teaching. The object of the _répétiteur_, or private tutor, is to second
every lecture of the professor, to explain and fix it by ocular
demonstration, explanations, or examination. This was a peculiarity in
the scheme of Monge and Foureroy. The latter said, in the first
programme, “Our pupils must not only learn, they must at once carry out
their theory. We must distribute them into small rooms, where they shall
practice the plans of descriptive geometry, which the professors have
just shown them in their public lectures. And in the same manner they
must go over in practice (_répéteront_) in separate laboratories the
principal operations of chemistry.” To carry out this system the twenty
best pupils, of whom M. Biot was one, were selected as _répétiteurs_
soon after the school had started. Since then the vacancies have always
been filled by young but competent men, aspiring themselves to become in
turn professors. They form a class of teachers more like the highest
style of private tutors in our universities, or what are called in
Germany _Privat-docenten_, than any other body--with this difference,
that they do not give their own lectures, but breaking up the
professor’s large class into small classes of five and six pupils,
examine these in _his_ lecture. The success of this attempt we shall
describe hereafter.
2. A change may be noticed which was effected very early by the Council
of Improvement--the union of pupils for artillery and engineers in a
single school of application. The first report in December 1800, speaks
of the identity in extent and character of the studies required for
these two services; and in conformity with its recommendation, the law
of the 3rd of October 1802, (12th Vendémiaire, XI.) dissolved the
separate artillery school at Châlons, and established the united school
for both arms in the form which it still retains at Metz.
3. In 1805 a curious change was made, and one very characteristic of the
school. The pupils have always been somewhat turbulent, and generally on
the side of opposition. In the earliest times they were constantly
charged with _incivisme_, and the aristocracy was said to have “taken
refuge within its walls.” In fact, one of its earliest and of its few
great _literary_ pupils, M. de Barante, confirmed this statement,
adding, as a reason, that the school gave for a while the only good
instruction in France. It was in consequence of some of these changes
that the pupils who had hitherto lived in their own private houses or
lodgings in Paris, were collected in the school building. This
“_casernement_” said to be immediately owing to a burst of anger of
Napoleon, naturally tended to give the school a more military character;
but it was regarded as an unfortunate change by its chief scientific
friends. “_Ah! ma pauvre école!_” M. Biot told us he had exclaimed, when
he saw their knapsacks on their beds. He felt, he said, that the
enthusiasm of free study was gone, and that now they would chiefly work
by routine and compulsion.
4. The year 1809 may be called the epoch at which the school attained
its final character. By this time the functions, both of boards and
teachers, were accurately fixed, some alterations in the studies had
taken place, and the plan of a final examination had been drawn up,
according to which the pupils were to obtain their choice of the branch
of the public service they preferred. In fact, the school may be said to
have preserved ever since the form it then assumed, under a variety of
governments and through various revolutions, in most of which, indeed,
its pupils have borne some share; and one of which, the restoration of
1816, was attended with its temporary dissolution.
Thus, during the first years after its foundation the Polytechnic grew
and flourished in the general dearth of public teaching, being indeed
not merely the only great school, but, until the Institute was founded,
the only scientific body in France. Working on its first idea of high
professorial lectures, practically applied and explained by
_répétiteurs_, its success in its own purely scientific line was, and
has continued to be, astonishing. Out of its sixteen earliest
professors, ten still retain an European name. Lagrange, Monge,
Fourcroy, La Place, Guyton de Morveau were connected with it. Malus,
Hauy, Biot, Poisson, and De Barante, were among its earliest pupils.
Arago, Cauchy, Cavaignac, Lamoricière, with many more modern names, came
later. All the great engineers and artillerymen of the empire belonged
to it, and the long pages in its calendar of distinguished men are the
measure of its influence on the civil and military services of France.
In fact its pupils, at a time of enormous demands, supplied all the
scientific offices of the army, and directed all the chief public works,
fortresses, arsenals, the improvement of cities, the great lines of
roads, shipbuilding, mining--carried out, in a word, most of the great
improvements of Napoleon. He knew the value of his school, “the hen” as
he called it, “that laid him golden eggs”--and perhaps its young pupils
were not improved by the excessive official patronage bestowed by him
upon “the envy of Europe,” “the first school in the world.” It can not,
however, be matter of surprise, that its vigor and success should have
caused Frenchmen, even those who criticise its influence severely, to
regard it with pride as an institution unrivaled for scientific
purposes.
It is not necessary to give any detailed account of the later history of
the school, but we must remark that disputes have frequently arisen with
regard to the best mode of harmonizing its teaching with that of the
special schools of application to which it conducts. These disputes have
been no doubt increased by the union of a civil and military object in
the same school. The scientific teaching desirable for some of the
higher civil professions has appeared of doubtful advantage to those
destined for the more practical work of war. There has been always a
desire on the one side to qualify pure mathematics by application, a
strong feeling on the other that mathematical study sharpens the mind
most keenly for some of the practical pursuits of after life. We should
add, perhaps, that there has been some protest in France (though little
heard among the scientific men who have been the chief directors of the
school) against the _esprit faux_, the exclusive pursuit of mathematics
to the utter neglect of literature, and the indifference to moral and
historical studies. Some one or other of these complaints any one who
studies the _literature_, the pamphlets, and history of the school will
find often reproduced in the letters of war ministers, of artillery and
engineer officers commanding the school of application at Metz, or of
committees from the similar schools for the mines and the roads and
bridges. The last of these occasions illustrates the present position of
the school.
On the 5th of June 1850, the legislative assembly appointed a mixed
commission of military men and civilians, who were charged to revise all
the programs of instruction, and to recommend all needful changes in the
studies of the pupils, both those preparatory to entrance[9] and those
actually pursued in the school. The commission was composed as
follows:--
M. Thenard, Member of the Academy of Sciences, and of the Board of
Improvement of the Polytechnic School, President.
Le Verrier, Member of the Academy of Sciences and of the Legislative
Assembly, Reporter.
Noizet, General of Brigade of Engineers.
Poncelet, General of Brigade of Engineers, Commandant of the
Polytechnic School, Member of the Academy of Sciences.
Piobert, General of Brigade of Artillery, Member of the Academy of
Sciences.
Mathieu, Rear Admiral.
Duhamel, Member of the Academy of Sciences, Director of Studies at the
Polytechnic School.
Mary, Divisional Inspector of Roads and Bridges.
Morin, Colonel of Artillery, Member of the Academy of Sciences.
Regnault, Engineer of Mines, Member of the Academy of Sciences.
Olivier, Professor at the _Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers_.
Debacq, Secretary for Military Schools at the Ministry of War,
Secretary.
[Footnote 9: In an Analysis of the Report of this Commission, see
page 97.]
A chronic dispute which has gone on from the very first year of the
school’s existence, between the exclusive study of abstract mathematics
on the one hand, and their early practical application on the other, was
brought to a head (though it has scarcely been set at rest) by this
commission. All the alterations effected have been in the direction of
eliminating a portion of the pure mathematics, and of reducing abstract
study to the limits within which it was believed to be most directly
applicable to practice. The results, however, are still a subject of
vehement dispute, in which most of the old scientific pupils of the
Polytechnic, and many of what may be styled its most practical members,
the officers of the artillery and engineers, are ranged on the side of
“early and deep scientific study _versus_ early practical applications.”
It is, indeed, a question which touches the military pupils nearly,
since it is in their case particularly that the proposed abstract
studies of the Polytechnic might be thought of the most doubtful
advantage. We do not try to solve the problem here, though the facts
elsewhere stated will afford some materials for judgment. We incline to
the opinion of those who think that the ancient _genius loci_, the
traditional teaching of the school, will be too strong for legislative
interference, and that, in spite of recent enactments, abstract science
and analysis will reign in the lecture-rooms and halls of study of the
Polytechnic, now as in the days of Monge.
II. AN OUTLINE OF THE MANAGEMENT AND OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SCHOOL,
ETC.
The Polytechnic, as we have said, is a preparatory and general
scientific school; its studies are not exclusively adapted for any one
of the departments to which at the close of its course the scholars will
find themselves assigned; and on quitting it they have, before entering
on the actual discharge of their duties of whatever kind, to pass
through a further term of teaching in some one of the schools of
application specially devoted to particular professions.
The public services for which it thus gives a general preparation are
the following:
_Military: Under the Minister at War._
Artillery (_Artillerie de terre_.)
Engineers (_Génie_.)
The Staff Corps (_Corps d’Etat Major_.)
The Department of Powder and Saltpetre (_Poudres et Salpétres_.)
_Under the Minister of Marine._
Navy, (_Marine_.)
Marine Artillery (_Artillerie de mer_.)
Naval Architects (_Génie maritime_.)
The Hydrographical Department (_Corps des Ingénieurs Hydrographes_.)
_Civil: Under the Minister of Public Works._
The Department of Roads and Bridges (_Ponts-et-chaussées_.)
The Department of Mines (_Mines_.)
_Under the Minister of the Interior._
The Telegraph Department (_Lignes Télégraphiques_.)
_Under the minister of Finance._
The Tobacco Department (_Administration des Tabacs_.)
To these may be added at any time, by a decree on the part of the
government, any other departments, the duties of which appear to require
an extensive knowledge of mathematics, physics, or chemistry.
Admission to the school is, and has been since its first commencement in
1794, obtained by competition in a general examination, held yearly, and
open to all. Every French youth, between the age of sixteen and twenty,
(or if in the army up to the age of twenty-five,) may offer himself as a
candidate.
A board of examiners passes through France once every year, and examines
all who present themselves, that have complied with the conditions,
which are fully detailed in the decree given in the appendix. It
commences at Paris.
A list of such of the candidates as are found eligible for admittance to
the Polytechnic is drawn up from the proceedings of the board, and
submitted to the minister at war; the number of places likely to be
vacant has already been determined, and the minister fixes the number of
admissions accordingly. The candidates admitted are invariably taken in
the order of merit.
The annual charge for board and instruction is 40_l._ (1,000 fr.,)
payable in advance in four installments. In addition there is the cost
of outfit, varying from 20_l._ to 24_l._ Exhibitions, however, for the
discharge of the whole or of one-half of the expense (_bourses_ and
_demi-bourses_,) are awarded by the state in favor of _all_ the
successful candidates, whose parents can prove themselves to be too poor
to maintain their children in the school. Outfits and half outfits
(_trousseaux_) and _demi-trousseaux_) are also granted in these cases,
on the entrance of the student into the school; and the number of these
_boursiers_ and _demi-boursiers_ amounts at the present time to
one-third of the whole.
The course of study is completed in two years. On its successful
termination which is preceded by a final examination, the students are
distributed into the different services, the choice being offered them
in the order of their merit, and laid down in the classified list drawn
up after the examination. If it so happen that the number of places or
the services which can be offered is not sufficient for the number of
qualified students, those at the bottom of the list are offered service
in the infantry or cavalry, and those who do not enter the public
service, are supplied with certificates of having passed successfully
through the school. Students who have been admitted into the school from
the army, are obliged to re-enter the army.
All others, as has been said, have the right of choosing, according to
their position on the list, the service which they prefer, so far, that
is, as the number of vacancies in that service will allow; or they may
if they please decline to enter the public service at all.
Such is a general outline of the plan and object of the school. We may
add that, besides its military staff, it employs no less than
thirty-nine professors and teachers; that it has four boards of
management, and that ten scientific men unconnected with the school, and
amongst the most distinguished in France, conduct its examinations. The
magnitude of this establishment for teaching may be estimated by the
fact, that the number of pupils rarely exceeds three hundred and fifty,
and is often much less.
A fuller enumeration of these bodies will complete our present sketch.
I. The military establishment consists of:--
The Commandant, a General Officer, usually of the Artillery or the
Engineers, at present a General of Artillery.
A Second in Command, a Colonel or Lieutenant-Colonel, chosen from
former pupils of the school; at present a Colonel of Engineers.
Three Captains of Artillery and Three Captains of Engineers, as
Inspectors of Studies, chosen also from former pupils of the school.
Six Adjutants (_adjoints_,) non-commissioned officers, usually such as
have been recommended for promotion.
II. The civil establishment consists of:--
1. A Director of Studies, who has generally been a civilian, but is at
present a Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers.
2. Fifteen Professors, viz.:--Two of Mathematical Analysis. Two of
Mechanics and Machinery. One of Descriptive Geometry. Two of Physics.
Two of Chemistry. One of Military Art and Fortification. One of Geodesy.
One of Architecture. One of French Composition. One of German. One of
Drawing. Of these one is an officer of the Staff, another of the
Artillery, and a third of the Navy; two are Engineers in Chief of the
Roads and Bridges; nine are civilians, of whom two are Members of the
Academy of Sciences.
3. Three Drawing Masters for Landscape and Figure Drawing; one for
Machine Drawing, and one for Topographical Drawing.
4. Nineteen Assistant and Extra Assistant Teachers, (_répétiteurs_ and
_répétiteurs adjoints_) whose name and functions are both peculiar.
5. Five Examiners for Admission, consisting at present of one Colonel
of Artillery, as President, and four civilians.
6. Five Examiners of Students (civilians,) four of them belonging to
the Academy of Sciences.
7. There is also a separate Department for the ordinary Management of
Administration of the affairs of the school, the charge of the fabric
and of the library and museums; and a Medical Staff.
III. The general control or supervision of the school is vested, under
the war department, in four great boards of councils, viz.:--
1. A board of administration, composed of the commandant, the second in
command, the director of studies, two professors, two captains, and two
members of the administrative staff. This board has the superintendence
of all the financial business and all the minutiae of the internal
administration of the school.
2. A board of discipline, consisting of the second in command, the
director, two professors, three captains (of the school,) and two
captains of the army, chosen from former pupils. The duty of this board
is to decide upon cases of misconduct.
3. A board of instruction, whose members are, the commandant, the second
in command, the director, the examiners of students, and the professors;
and whose chief duty is to make recommendations relating to
ameliorations in the studies, the programmes of admission and of
instruction in the school, to--
4. A board of improvement, charged with the general control of the
studies, formed of--
The Commandant, as President.
The Second in Command.
The Director of Studies.
Two Delegates from the Department of Public Works.
One Delegate from the Naval Department.
One Delegate from the Home Department.
Three Delegates from the War Department.
Two Delegates from the Academy of Sciences.
Two Examiners of Students.
Three Professors of the School.
III. CONDITIONS AND EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION.
The entrance examination is held yearly in August; the most important
conditions for admission to it are always inserted in the _Moniteur_
early in the year, and are--
1st. All candidates must be bachelors of science.
2nd. All candidates (unless they have served in the army) must have been
as much as sixteen and not more than twenty years old on the 1st of
January preceding.
3rd. Privates and non-commissioned officers of the army must be above
twenty and under twenty-five years of age; must have served two years,
and have certificates of good conduct.
4th. Candidates who propose to claim pecuniary assistance (a _bourse_ or
_demi-bourse_) must present formal proofs of their need of it.
The subjects of the entrance examination are the following:--
_Arithmetic_, including Vulgar and Decimal Fractions, Weights and
Measures, Involution and Evolution; Simple Interest.
_Geometry_ of Planes and Solids; application of Geometry to Surveying;
Properties of Spherical Triangles.
_Algebra_, including Quadratic Equations with one unknown quantity,
Series and Progressions in general; Binomial Theorem and its
applications; Logarithms and their use; on Derived Functions; on the
Theory of Equations; on Differences; application of the Theory of
Differences to the Numerical Solution of Equations.
_Plane and Spherical Trigonometry_; Solution of Triangles; application
of Trigonometry to Surveying.
_Analytical Geometry_, including Geometry of two dimensions;
Co-ordinates; Equations of the first and second degree, with two
variables; Tangents and Asymptotes; on the Ellipse, Hyperbola, and
Parabola; Polar Co-ordinates; Curved Lines in general.
_Geometry of three dimensions_, including the Theory of Projections;
Co-ordinates; the Right Line and Plane; Surfaces of the second degree;
Conical and Cylindrical Surfaces.
_Descriptive Geometry_; Problems relative to a Point, Right Line and
Plane; Tangent Planes; Intersection of Surfaces.
_Mechanics_; on the Movement of a Point considered geometrically; on
the Effect of Forces applied to points and bodies at rest and moving; on
the Mechanical Powers.
_Natural Philosophy_, including the Equilibrium of Liquids and Gasses;
Heat; Electricity; Magnetism; Galvanism; Electro-magnetism and Light;
Cosmography.
_Chemistry_, the Elements; _French_; _German_; _Drawing_, and
(optionally) _Latin_.
This examination is partly written and partly oral. It is not public,
but conducted in the following manner:--
Five examiners are appointed by the minister of war to examine the
candidates at Paris, and at the several towns named for the purpose
throughout France.
Two of these examiners conduct what may be called a preliminary
examination (_du premier degré_,) and the other three a second
examination (_du second degré_.) The preliminary examiners precede by a
few days in their journey through France those who conduct the second
examination. The written compositions come before either.
The preliminary examination (_du premier degré_) is made solely for the
purpose of ascertaining whether the candidates possess sufficient
knowledge to warrant their being admitted to the second examination; and
the second examination serves, in conjunction with the written
compositions, for their classification in the order of merit.
Prior to the examination, each candidate is called upon to give in
certain written sheets containing calculations, sketches, plans and
drawings, executed by him at school during the year, certified and dated
by the professor under whom he has studied. Care is taken to ascertain
whether these are the pupils’ own work, and any deception in this
matter, if discovered, excludes at once from the competition of the
school.
This done, the candidates are required to reply in writing to written or
printed questions, and to write out French and German exercises; great
care being taken to prevent copying. This written examination occupies
about twenty-four hours during three and a half separate days, as shown
in the following table. It usually takes place in the presence of
certain official authorities, the examiners not being present.
_First Sitting._
Hours.
Arithmetic, 1
Geometry, 1
Latin, 1
--
3
_Second Sitting._
Algebra, 1
History, geography, and French, 3
--
4
_Third Sitting._
Descriptive geometry, and }
diagram, or sketch, } 4
_Fourth Sitting._
Mechanics, 1
Physics, chemistry, and cosmography, 2
--
3
_Fifth Sitting._
Hours.
Applied analysis, 1½
German exercise, 1½
-----
3
_Sixth Sitting._
Solution of a triangle by logarithms 3
_Seventh Sitting._
Drawing 4
--------------
Total 24 hours
Next, each candidate is examined orally for three-quarters of an hour,
on two successive days, by each of the two examiners separately, and
each examiner makes a note of the admissibility or non-admissibility of
the candidate.
At the close of this oral examination, the notes relating to the various
candidates are compared, and if the examiners differ as to the
admissibility of any candidate, he is recalled, further orally examined,
and his written exercises carefully referred to, both examiners being
present. A final decision is then made.
The preliminary examiners then supply the others with a list of the
candidates who are entitled to be admitted to the second oral
examination. On this occasion each candidate is separately examined for
one hour and a half by each examiner, but care is taken that in all the
principal subjects of study the candidate is examined by at least two
out of the three examiners.
Each examiner records his opinion of the merits of every candidate in
replying, orally and in writing, by awarding him a credit varying
between O and 20, the highest number indicating a very superior result.
This scale of merit is employed to express the value of the oral
replies, written answers, or drawings. It has the following
signification, and appears to be generally in use in the French military
schools:--
20 denotes perfect.
19}
18} “ very good.
17}
16} “ good.
15}
14}
13} “ passable.
12}
11}
10} “ middling.
9}
8}
7} “ bad.
6}
5}
4} “ very bad.
3}
2}
1} “ almost nothing.
0} “ nothing.
Considerable latitude is granted to the examiner engaged in deciding
upon the amount of credit to be allowed to the student, for the manner
in which he replies to the various questions. He is expected to bear in
mind the temperament of the candidate, his confidence or timidity, as
well as the difficulty of the questions, when judging of the quality of
the reply, more value being given for an imperfect answer to a difficult
question than for a more perfect reply to an easy one.
The reports of the examiners, together with the various documents
belonging to each candidate, are sent from each town to the minister at
war, who transmits them to the commandant of the Polytechnic School to
make out a classified list.
Very different value of course is attached to the importance of some of
the subjects, when compared with others; and the measure of the
importance is represented in French examinations by what are termed
_co-efficients of influence_, varying for the several subjects of study
and kind of examination. The particular co-efficients of influence for
each subject in these written and oral examinations, are as follows:--
Co-efficients of Influence.
Oral examination--analytical mathematics, 20}
“ “ geometrical ditto, 14} 52
“ “ physics and mechanics, 16}
“ “ German language, 2}
Written compositions on mathematical subjects, 5}
“ “ descriptive geometry, drawing, and
description, 5}
“ “ logarithmic calculations of a triangle, 2}
“ “ mechanics, 2}
“ “ physics or chemistry, 4} 34
German exercise, 1}
French composition, 5}
Latin translation, 5}
Copy of a drawing, 5}
--
Total, 86
--
In order to make out the above mentioned classified list, the respective
credits awarded by the examiners to each candidate are multiplied by the
co-efficients representing the weight or importance attached to each
subject; and the sum of their products furnishes a numerical result,
representing the degree of merit of each candidate.
A comparison of these numerical results is then made, and a general list
of all the candidates is arranged in order of merit.
This list, and the whole of the documents from which it has been drawn
up, are then submitted to a jury composed of the
Commandant of the School.
The Second in Command.
The Director of Studies.
Two Members of the Board of Improvement.
The Five Examiners.
It is the special business of this jury carefully to scrutinize the
whole of the candidates’ documents, drawings, &c., and they further take
care that a failure in any one branch of study is duly noted, as such
failure is a sufficient reason for the exclusion of the candidate from
the general list.
As soon as this general list has been thoroughly verified, it is
submitted to the minister of war, who is empowered to add one-tenth to
the number actually required for the public services; and thus it may
happen that one-tenth of the pupils may annually be disappointed.
IV. THE SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND THE COURSE AND METHOD OF STUDY.
A brief description of the buildings may be a suitable introduction to
an account of the studies that are pursued, and the life that is led in
them.
The Polytechnic School stands near the Pantheon, and consists of two
main buildings, one for the official rooms and the residence of the
commandant and director of studies, the other, and larger one, for the
pupils. Detached buildings contain the chemical lecture room and
laboratory, the laboratory of natural philosophy, the library, fencing
and billiard rooms.
The basement floor of the larger building contains the kitchen and
refectories. On the first floor, are the two amphitheaters or great
lecture rooms, assigned respectively to the pupils of the two years or
divisions, in which the ordinary lectures are given. The rooms are large
and well arranged; the seats fixed, the students’ names attached to
them. The students are admitted by doors behind the upper tier of seats;
at the foot of all is a platform for the professor, with a blackboard
facing his audience, and with sufficient room for a pupil to stand and
work questions beside him. Room also is provided for one of the
captains, inspectors of studies, whose duty it is to be present, for the
director of studies, whose occasional presence is expected, and for the
assistant teachers or _répétiteurs_, who in the first year of their
appointment are called upon to attend the course upon which they will
have to give their subsequent questions and explanations. On this floor
are also the museums, or repositories of models, instruments, machines,
&c., needed for use in the amphitheaters, or elsewhere. The museum
provided for the lecturer on Physics (or Natural Philosophy) appeared in
particular to be well supplied.
The whole of the second floor is taken up with what are called the
_salles d’interrogation_, a long series of small cabinets or studies,
plainly furnished with six or eight stools and a table, devoted to the
_interrogations particulières_, which will presently be described.
The third floor contains the halls of study, _salles d’étude_, or
studying rooms, in which the greater part of the student’s time during
the day is passed--where he studies, draws, keeps his papers and
instruments, writes his exercises, and prepares his lectures. These are
small chambers, containing eight or, exceptionally, eleven occupants. A
double desk runs down the middle from the window to the door, with a
little shelf and drawers for each student. There is a blackboard for the
common use, and various objects are furnished through the senior
student, the sergeant, a selected pupil, more advanced than the rest,
who is placed in charge of the room, and is responsible for whatever is
handed in for the use of the students. He collects the exercises, and
generally gives a great deal of assistance to the less proficient. “When
I was sergeant,” said an old pupil, “I was always at the board.” The
spirit of _camaraderie_, said to exist so strongly among the Polytechnic
students, displays itself in this particular form very beneficially.
Young men of all classes work heartily and zealously together in the
_salles d’étude_, and no feeling of rivalry prevents them from assisting
one another. The sergeant does not, however, appear to exercise any
authority in the way of keeping discipline.
These chambers for study are arranged on each side of a long corridor
which runs through the whole length of the building, those of the
juniors being separated from those of the seniors by a central chamber
or compartment, the _cabinet de service_, where the officers charged
with the discipline are posted, and from hence pass up and down the
corridor, looking in through the glass doors and seeing that no
interruption to order takes place.
The fourth story is that of the dormitories, airy rooms, with twelve
beds in each. These rooms are arranged as below, along the two sides of
a corridor, and divided in the same manner into the senior and junior
side. A non-commissioned officer is lodged at each end of the corridor
to see that order is kept.
Such is the building into which at the beginning of November the
successful candidates from the _Lycées_ and the _Ecoles préparatoires_
are introduced, in age resembling the pupils whom the highest classes of
English public schools send annually to the universities, and in number
equal perhaps to the new under-graduates at one of the largest colleges
at Cambridge. There is not, however, in other points much that is
common, least of all in the methods and habits of study we are about to
describe. This will be best understood by a summary of a day’s work.
The students are summoned to rise at half-past five, have to answer the
roll-call at six, from six to eight are to occupy themselves in study,
and at eight they go to breakfast. On any morning except Wednesday, at
half-past eight, we should find the whole of the new admission assembled
in an amphitheater, permanent seats in which are assigned to them by
lot, and thus placed they receive a lecture from a professor, rough
notes of which they are expected to take while it goes on. The first
half hour of the hour and a half assigned to each lecture is occupied
with questions put by the professor relating to the previous lecture.
A name is drawn by lot, the student on whom the lot falls is called up
to the blackboard at which the professor stands, and is required to work
a problem and answer questions. The lecture concluded, the pupils are
conducted to the _salles d’étude_, which have just been described, where
they are to study. Here for one hour they devote themselves to
completing and writing out in full the notes of the lecture they have
just heard. The professor and his assistants, the _répétiteurs_, are
expected to follow and make a circuit through the corridors, to give an
opportunity to ask for information on any difficult points in the
lecture. A lithographed summary of the substance of the lecture,
extending perhaps to two octavo pages, is also furnished to each
studying room for the use of its pupils.
The lecture, as we have said, commences at half-past eight o’clock; it
lasts an hour and a half; the hour of writing up the notes brings us to
eleven. The young men are now relieved by a change of occupation, and
employ themselves (still in their places in the rooms of study) at
drawing. A certain number, detached from the rest, are sent to the
physical and chemical laboratories. The rotation is such as to admit
each student once a month to two or three hours’ work at a furnace for
chemistry, and once in two months to make experiments in electricity, or
other similar subjects. In this way, either at their drawing or in the
laboratories, they spend three hours, and at two o’clock go to their
dinner in the refectories below, and after dinner are free to amuse
themselves in the court-yard, the library, the fencing and the billiard
rooms, till five. At five they return to the studying rooms, and for two
hours, on Mondays and Fridays, they may employ themselves on any work
they please (_étude libre_;) on Tuesday there is a lecture in French
literature, and on Thursday in German; at seven o’clock they commence a
lesson, which lasts till nine, in landscape and figure drawing, or they
do exercises in French writing or in German; at nine they go down to
supper; at half-past nine they have to answer to a roll-call in their
bedrooms, and at ten all the lights are put out.
Wednesday is a half-holiday, and the pupils are allowed to leave the
school after two o’clock, and be absent till ten at night. The morning
is occupied either in study, at the pleasure of the students, or in set
exercises till eleven, when there is a lecture of one hour and a half,
followed, as usual, by an hour of special study on the subject of the
lecture. On Sunday they are allowed to be absent almost the whole day
till ten P.M. There is no chapel, and apparently no common religious
observance of any kind in the school.
Such is a general sketch of the ordinary employment of the day; a couple
of hours of preparatory study before breakfast, a lecture on the
differential calculus, on descriptive geometry, on chemistry, or natural
philosophy, followed by an hour’s work at notes; scientific drawing till
dinner; recreation; and general study, or some lighter lecture in the
evening. Were we merely to count the hours, we should find a result of
eleven or eleven and a half hours of work for every day but Wednesday,
and of seven and a half hours for that day. It is to be presumed,
however, that though absolute idleness, sleeping, or reading any book
not authorized for purposes of study, is strictly prohibited, and when
detected, punished, nevertheless the strain on the attention during the
hours of drawing and the lectures of the evening is by no means extreme.
Landscape and figure drawing, the lecture in French literature, and
probably that in German, may fairly be regarded as something like
recreation. Such, at least, was the account given us of the lectures on
literary subjects, and it agrees with the indifference to literature
which marks the school. Of wholesome out-of-door recreation, there
certainly seems to be a considerable want. There is nothing either of
the English love of games, or of the skillful athletic gymnastics of the
German schools.
The method of teaching is peculiar. The plan by which a vast number of
students are collected as auditors of professorial lectures is one
pursued in many academical institutions, at the Scotch universities, and
in Germany. Large classes attend the lectures in Greek, in Latin, and in
mathematics at Glasgow; they listen to the professor’s explanations,
take notes, are occasionally questioned, and do all the harder work in
their private lodgings. Such a system of course deserves in the fullest
sense the epithet of voluntary; a diligent student may make much of it;
but there is nothing to compel an idle one to give any attention.
It seems to have been one especial object pursued in the Polytechnic to
give to this plan of instruction, so lax in itself, the utmost possible
stringency, and to accumulate upon it every attainable subsidiary
appliance, every available safeguard against idleness. Questions are
expressly put _vivâ voce_ by the professor before his lecture; there is
a subsequent hour of study devoted to the subject; there is the
opportunity for explanation to individual students; the exaction of
notes written out in full form; the professor also gives exercises to
the students to write during their hours of general study, which he
examines, and marks; general vivâ voce examinations (_interrogations
générales_,) conducted by the professors and _répétiteurs_, follow the
termination of each course of lectures; and lastly, one of the most
important and peculiar parts of the method, we have what are called the
_interrogations particulières_. After every five or six lectures in each
subject, each student is called up for special questioning by one of the
_répétiteurs_. The rooms in which these continual examinations are held
have been described. They occupy one entire story of the building; each
holds about six or eight pupils, with the _répétiteurs_. Every evening,
except Wednesday, they are filled with these little classes, and busy
with these close and personal questionings. A brief notice, at the
utmost of twenty-four hours, is served upon the students who are thus to
be called up. Generally, after they have had a certain number of
lectures, they may expect that their time is at hand, but the precise
hour of the summons can not be counted upon. The scheme is continually
varied, and it defies, we are told, the efforts of the ablest young
analysts to detect the law which it follows.
It will be seen at once that such a system, where, though nominally
professorial, so little is left to the student’s own voluntary action,
where the ordinary study and _reading_, as it is called in our English
universities (here such an expression is unknown) is subjected to such
unceasing superintendence and surveillance, and to so much careful
assistance, requires an immense staff of teachers. At the Polytechnic,
for a maximum of 350 pupils, a body of fifteen professors and
twenty-four _répétiteurs_, are employed, all solely in actual
instruction, and in no way burdened with any part of the charge of the
discipline or the finance, or even with the great yearly examinations
for the passage from the first to the second division, and for the
entrance to the public services.
With a provision of one instructor to every eight students, it is
probable that in England we should avoid any system of large classes,
from the fear of the inferior pupils being unable to keep pace with the
more advanced. We should have numerous small classes, and should
endeavor, above all things, to obtain the advantage of equality of
attainment in the pupils composing them.
The French, on the other hand, make it their first object to secure one
able principal teacher in each subject, a professor whom they burden
with very few lectures. And to meet the educational difficulty thus
created, to keep the whole large class of listeners up to the prescribed
point, they call in this numerous and busily employed corps of
assistants to _repeat_, to go over the professor’s work afresh, to whip
in, as it were, the stragglers and hurry up the loiterers. Certainly,
one would think, a difficult task with a class of 170 freshmen in such
work as the integral and differential calculus. It is one, however, in
which they are aided by a stimulus which evidently acts most powerfully
on the students of the Polytechnic School. During the two years of their
stay, the prospect of their final admission to the public services can
rarely be absent from the thoughts even of the least energetic and
forethinking of the young men. Upon their place in the last class list
will depend their fortune for life. A high position will secure them not
only reputation, but the certainty of lucrative employment; will put it
in their power to select which service they please, and in whichever
they choose will secure them favorable notice. Let it be remembered that
fifty-three of these one hundred and seventy are free scholars, born of
parents too poor to pay 40_l._ a year for their instruction; to whom
industry must be at all times a necessity, and industry during their two
years at the Polytechnic the best conceivable expenditure, the most
certainly remunerative investment of their pains and labor. The place on
the final class list is obviously the prize for which this race of two
years’ length has to be run. What is it determines that place? Not by
any means a final struggle before the winning-post, but steady effort
and diligence from first to last throughout the course. For the order of
the class list is not solely determined by success in the examination
after which it is drawn up, but by the result of previous trials and
previous work during the whole stay at the school.
For, during the whole time, every written exercise set by the professor,
every drawing, the result of every _interrogation particulière_ by the
_répétiteurs_, and of each general interrogation by the professors and
_répétiteurs_, is carefully marked, and a credit placed according to the
name of the student and reserved for his benefit, in the last general
account. The marks obtained in the examination which closes the first
year of study form a large element in this last calculation. It had been
found that the work of the first year was often neglected: the evil was
quickly remedied by this expedient. The student, it would seem, must
feel that he is gaining or losing in his banking account, so to call it,
by every day’s work; every portion of his studies will tell directly for
or against him in the final competition, upon which so much depends.
Such is the powerful mechanism by which the French nation forces out of
the mass of boys attending their ordinary schools the talent and the
science which they need for their civil and military services. The
efforts made for admission to this great scientific school of the public
services, the struggle for the first places at the exit from it, must be
more than enough, it is thought, to establish the habits of hard work,
to accumulate the information and attainment, and almost to create the
ability which the nation requires for the general good.
We may now follow the student through his course of two years’ study.
The first year’s work may be mainly divided into three portions of
unequal length; two of them of about four months each (with an
additional fortnight of private study and examination,) are mainly given
to hard lecturing, whilst the third portion of two months is devoted to
private study and to the examinations.
In accordance with this arrangement of the year, the four hardest
subjects are thus distributed. Analysis and descriptive geometry, the
staple work of the school--its Latin, as M. de Barante called it--come
in the first four months; there is then a pause for private study and a
general examination in these two subjects (_interrogations générales_ as
distinct from the _interrogations particulières_ of the _répétiteurs_.)
This brings us to the middle of March. Analysis and geometry are then
laid aside for the rest of the year, and for the next portion of four
months the pupils work at mechanics and geodesy, private study and a
general examination completing this course also. Important lectures on
physics and chemistry run on during both these periods, and are
similarly closed by private study and a general examination. The less
telling evening classes of French literature and German end at the
beginning of June, and landscape and figure drawing only last half the
year. It may be observed also, that, as a general rule, there is on each
day one, and only one, really difficult lecture. This is immediately
preceded and followed by private study, but then comes something
lighter, as a relief, such as drawing or work in the laboratories.
The chief feature in the third portion of the year is the complete break
in the lectures for general private study (_étude libre_,) a month or
six weeks before the closing examination at the end of the year. The
immediate prospect of this prevents any undue relaxing of the work; and
it is curious to observe here how private efforts and enforced system
are combined together, for even the private efforts are thus
systematized and directed. The closing examination of the first year
begins on the 1st and ends on the 25th of September.
The total number of lectures in each branch of study, with the dates
when they respectively commence and finish, and the period when the
general examinations (_interrogations générales_) take place, are
exhibited in the following tables, and we should add that the interval
between the close of each course and the commencement of the chief
yearly examination is devoted to free study.
TABLE FOR THE SECOND OR LOWER DIVISION, FOLLOWING THE FIRST YEAR’S
COURSE OF STUDY.
[KEY]
L No. of Lectures
C Commenced.
F Finished.
GE General Examinations _Interrogations Générales._
------------------+---+---------------------+---------------------
| L | Course of Lectures. |General Examinations.
| | | _Interrogations
| | | Gènèrales._
| +----------+----------+----------+----------
Subject of Study. | | C | F | C | F
------------------+---+----------+----------+----------+----------
Analysis | 48| 3rd Nov. |25 Feb. |13th March|18th March
Mechanics | 40|21st March|29th June |24th July |2nd August
& Machines | 40|21st March|29th June |24th July |2nd August
Descriptive | 38| 3rd Nov. |3rd March |13th March|18th March
Geometry | 38| 3rd Nov. |3rd March |13th March|18th March
Physics | 34| 2nd “ |28th June |10th July |19th July
Chemistry | 38| 5th “ |17th “ |10th “ |19th “
Geodesy | 35|20th March|30th “ |24th “ |2nd August
French Literature | 30| 8th Nov. | 6th “ | |
German | 30| 2nd “ |15th “ | |
Figure and | 50| 4th “ |28th April| |
Landscape | | | | |
Drawing |---| | | |
Total |343| | | |
------------------+---+----------+----------+----------+----------
[Annual Examination begins on the 1st Sept., and ends on the 25th
Sept.]
The work of the second year is almost identical in its general plan with
that of the first. A continuation of analysis with mechanics in place of
descriptive geometry is the work of the first four months, then comes
the private study and the _interrogations générales_, and then again,
from the middle of March to the middle of July, work of a more
professional character, stereotomy, the art of war and topography, forms
the natural completion of the pupil’s studies. Chemistry and physics
follow the same course as during the first year, and terminate with the
private study and the general examination at the beginning of August.
The evening lectures in French literature and German end about the
middle of June, and those in figure and landscape drawing at the
beginning of May. The last portion is again given to private study and
the great Final Examination.
TABLE FOR THE FIRST OR UPPER DIVISION, FOLLOWING THE SECOND YEAR’S
COURSE OF STUDY.
[KEY]
L No. of Lectures
C Commenced.
F Finished.
-----------------+-----+-------------------+---------------------
| L |Course of Lectures.|General Examinations.
| | | _Interrogations
| | | Gènèrales._
| +---------+---------+----------+----------
Subject of Study.| | C | F | C | F
-----------------+-----+---------+---------+----------+----------
Analysis |32 |11th Nov.|3rd March|13th March|18th March
Mechanics and | | | | |
Machines |42 |10th “ |2nd “ |13th “ |18th “
Stereotomy |32 |20th Mar.|26th June|10th July.|19th July.
Physics |36 |12 Nov. |29th “ |24th “ |2nd Aug.
Chemistry |38 |14th “ |28th “ |24th “ |2nd “
Architecture and | | | | |
Construction |40 |10th “ |8th “ |..........|..........
Military Art and | | | | |
Fortification |20 |21st Mar.|21st “ |10th “ |19th July.
Topography |10 |3rd Jan. |21st “ | |
French literature|30 |11th Nov.|9th “ | |
German |30 |14th “ |19th “ | |
Figure and | | | | |
Landscape Drawing|48 |12th “ |2nd May. | |
+-----+---------+---------+----------+----------
Total |358 | | | |
-----------------+-----+---------+---------+----------+----------
[Annual Examination Begins on the 10th Sept. and ends on the 10th
Oct.]
V. THE EXAMINATIONS, PARTICULARLY THAT OF THE FIRST YEAR AND THE FINAL
ONE.
We have now brought the pupil nearly to the end of his career, but must
previously say a few words about his examinations, the chief epochs
which mark his progress, and the last of which fixes his position almost
for life. For this purpose it is necessary to recapitulate briefly what
has been said in different places of the whole examinatorial system of
the Polytechnic School.
1. All the professors require the students in their studying rooms, to
answer questions in writing on the courses as they go through them: a
different question is given to each student, and every third question is
of such a nature as to involve a numerical example in the reply.
These questions are given in the proportion of one to about every four
lectures, and the replies after being examined by the professor or
_répétiteur_, are indorsed with a credit, varying from 0 to 20, and the
paper is then given back to the student, to be produced at the close of
the year.
2. Credits are assigned to the students for their ordinary manipulations
in chemistry and physics, during the first year; and at the close of
each year, for their manipulations, in chemistry alone, before the
examiners.
3. The _répétiteurs_ examine, (in the _interrogations particulières_,)
every ten or fourteen days, from six to eight students during a sitting
of two hours, on the subject of study lectured on since the previous
examination of the same kind. All these students must continue present,
and at the close the _répétiteur_ assigns to each a previous examination
of the same kind. All these students must continue present, and at the
close the _répétiteur_ assigns to each a credit entirely dependent on
the manner in which each has replied. The professors and captains
inspectors are occasionally present at these examinations, which are
discontinued at certain periods according to the instructions of the
director of studies.
4. At different intervals of time, from a fortnight to a month, as may
happen, after the close of the course in each branch of study, general
examinations (_interrogations générales_) are made by the professors and
_répétiteurs_. From four to six students are examined together for at
least two hours, and at the conclusion the professor makes known to the
director of studies the credit he has granted to each student for the
manner in which he has passed his examination.
Such may be called the minor or ordinary examinations. But there is an
annual closing examination at the end of each year, which we will now
describe. The first year’s annual examination commences on the 1st and
ends on the 25th September. It is carried on by special examiners,
(a different set from those who conduct the entrance examinations,) and
not by the professors. These give to every student a credit between 0
and 20 in each branch of study, according to the manner in which he
replies.
The following table shows the co-efficients of influence allowed to the
different studies of the first year, subdivided also among the
particular classes of examination to which the student has been
subjected. The component parts of the co-efficients as well as the
co-efficients themselves, slightly vary from year to year, dependent on
the number of examinations:--
TABLE I.--FIRST YEAR’S COURSE OF STUDIES: SECOND DIVISION.
[KEY]
TC Total Co-efficients. (_repeated_)
WA Written Answers to Professors’ Questions.
ER Examinations by _Répétiteurs_. (_Int. Part._)
GE General Examinations. (_Int. Gen._)
Man. Manipulations.
O Ordinary.
Ex At Examination.
SN Sheets of notes on descriptive Geometry.
GD Graphical Representations and Drawing.
1st First Annual Examination.
-----------------+----+------------------------------------+---
| |Co-efficient of Influence awarded to|
| +----+----+----+-------+---+----+----+
Nature | | | | | Man. | | | |
| | | | +---+---+ | | |
of Study. | TC | WA | ER | GE | O | Ex| SN| GD |1st | TC
-----------------+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----
Analysis, | 56 | 9 | 10 | 9 |.. |.. |.. | .. | 28 | 56
Mechanics, | 60 | 7 | 9 | 8 |.. |.. |.. | 14 | 22 | 60
Descriptive | .. | .. | .. | .. |.. |.. |.. | .. | .. | ..
Geometry, | 48 | .. | 7 | 7 |.. |.. | 4 | 12 | 18 | 48
Geodesy, | 39 | 6 | 5 | 7 |.. |.. |.. | 3 | 18 | 39
Physics, | 45 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 2 |.. |.. | .. | 21 | 45
Chemistry, | 45 | 5 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 |.. | .. | 18 | 45
French | .. | .. | .. | .. |.. |.. |.. | .. | .. | ..
Literature, | 12 | 12 | .. | .. |.. |.. |.. | .. | .. | 12
German Language, | 10 | 2 | 3 | .. |.. |.. |.. | .. | 5 | 10
Drawing, | 10 | .. | .. | .. |.. |.. |.. | 10 | .. | 10
Shading & | .. | .. | .. | .. |.. |.. |.. | .. | .. | ..
Tinting Plans, | 3 | .. | .. | .. |.. |.. |.. | 3 | .. | 3
-----------------+----+----+----+----+---+---+---+----+----+----
At the conclusion of this examination the director of studies prepares a
statement for each student, exhibiting the credits he has obtained at
each of the preceding examinations in each subject, multiplied by the
co-efficient of influence, and the sum of the products represents the
numerical account of the student’s credit in each branch of study.
As the process is somewhat intricate, we append the following example,
to show the nature of the calculation performed, in order to ascertain
the amount of credits due to each student:--
REPORT OF THE CREDITS GAINED IN THE FIRST YEAR’S COURSE OF STUDY BY
M. N., STUDENT AT THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL.
[Outer Rows:]
Subject of Examination,
Co-efficient of Influence;
Sum of Products,
Mean Credit in each Subject of the Course
[Inner Rows:]
Nature of Examination or Proof;
Credit obtained by the Student,
Co-efficient of Influence,
Product
Analysis, | 56 || 845.81| 15.00 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 17.16 | 9 | 154.44 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | | | |
(_interrogations particulières_) | 15.47 | 10 | 154.70 |
General Examination | | | |
(_interrogations générales_) | 13.71 | 9 | 123.39 |
Annual Examination | 14.75 | 28 | 413.28 |
|
Mechanics, | 60 || 664.13| 11.07 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 13.45 | 7 | 94.15 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | 12.72 | 9 | 114.48 |
General Examination | 11.37 | 8 | 90.96 |
Graphical representations and drawing | 5.61 | 14 | 78.54 |
Annual Examination | 13.00 | 22 | 286.00 |
|
Descriptive Geometry, | 48 || 633.15| 13.19 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | 17.15 | 7 | 120.05 |
General Examination | 11.72 | 7 | 82.04 |
Sheets of notes | 12.45 | 4 | 49.80 |
Graphical representation and drawing | 11.88 | 12 | 142.76 |
Annual Examination | 13.25 | 18 | 238.50 |
|
Geodesy, | 39 || 229.01| 5.87 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 9.16 | 6 | 54.96 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | 7.85 | 5 | 39.25 |
General Examination | 5.74 | 7 | 40.18 |
Graphical representation and drawing | 4.36 | 3 | 13.08 |
Annual Examination | 4.53 | 1 | 81.54 |
|
Physics, | 45 || 112.21| 2.49 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 2.76 | 6 | 13.56 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | 3.54 | 9 | 31.86 |
General Examination | 5.74 | 7 | 40.18 |
Ordinary manipulation | 1.55 | 2 | 3.10 |
Annual Examination | 1.84 | 21 | 38.84 |
|
Chemistry, | 45 || 131.16| 2.91 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 2.46 | 5 | 12.30 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | 3.25 | 9 | 29.95 |
General Examination | 2.47 | 7 | 17.29 |
Ordinary manipulation | 2.26 | 4 | 9.04 |
Manipulation at Exam | 1.58 | 2 | 3.16 |
Annual Examination | 3.34 | 18 | 60.12 |
|
French Literature, | 12 || 67.68 | 5.64 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 5.46 | 12 | 67.68 |
|
German Language, | 10 || 55.92 | 5.59 |
Written answers to Professors’ questions | 6.57 | 2 | 13.14 |
Examinations by _répétiteurs_ | 4.86 | 3 | 14.58 |
Annual Examination | 5.64 | 5 | 28.20 |
|
Drawing, | 10 || 43.60 | 4.36 |
Graphical representation and drawing | 4.36 | 10 | 43.60 |
|
Shading and Tinting |
Plans, | 3 || 11.58 | 3.86 |
Graphical representation and drawing | 3.86 | 3 | 11.58 |
Sum 10)70.07
--------
General Mean Credit, = (7.00)
It is important to remark that any student whose _mean credit_, given in
the eighth column of the preceding table, in any branch of study does
not exceed _three_, or whose _general mean credit_ for the whole of the
studies being the arithmetical mean of all the values recorded in the
eighth column, and given at the bottom in the example, does not exceed
six, is _considered to possess an insufficient amount of instruction to
warrant his being permitted to pass into the first division for the
second year’s course_. He is accordingly excluded from the school,
unless he has been prevented from pursuing his studies by illness, in
which case, when the facts are thoroughly established, he will be
allowed a second year’s study in the second division, comprising the
first year’s course of study.
We now pass to the second annual or great final examination for
admission to the public services, remarking only that in the
_interrogations générales_ of the second year the principal subjects of
both years are included.
The final examinations for admission into the public service commence
about the 10th September, and last about one month. They are conducted
by the same examiners who examined at the close of the first year. These
are five in number, and appointed by the minister of war. One of these
takes analysis; a second, mechanics; a third, descriptive geometry and
geodesy; the fourth, physics; and the fifth, chemistry.
The examination in military art and topography is conducted by a captain
of engineers specially appointed for the purpose; and in the same manner
the examination in German is carried on by a professor, usually a
civilian, specially but not permanently appointed.
The questions are oral, and extend over the whole course of study
pursued during the two years. Each student is taken separately for one
hour and a quarter on different days by each of the five examiners; each
examiner examines about eight students daily.
A table, very similar to that already given, is prepared under the
superintendence of the Director of studies for every student, to
ascertain the numerical amount of his credits in each branch of study,
the co-efficients of influences for the particular subject of study and
nature of examination being extracted from a table similar to that in
page 80, and when these tables have all been completed, a general list
of all the students is made out, arranged in the order of their merits.
Formerly, conduct was permitted to exercise some slight influence on
their position, but that is no longer the case.
The same regulations exist, as regards the minimum amount of credit that
will entitle the students to enter into the public service, as have
already been stated above in reference to the passage from the first to
the second year’s course of study.
TABLE II. SECOND YEAR’S COURSE OF STUDY: FIRST DIVISION.
[KEY]
RP Result of previous Year’s Examination.
WA Written answers to Professors’ Questions.
ER Examinations by _Répétiteurs_. (_Int. Part._)
GE General Examinations. (_Int. Gen._)
Man. Manipulations.
O Ordinary.
Ex At Examination.
SN Sketches and Notes in Architecture
GD Graphical Representations and Drawing
EA Examination in Architecture
2d 2d Annual or Final Examination.
TC Total Co-efficients.
--------------+-----------------------------------------------+----
| Co-efficient of Influence awarded to |
+----+----+----+----+---+---+----+----+----+----+
| | | | | Man. | | | | |
| | | | +---+---+ | | | |
| RP | WA | ER | GE | O | Ex| SN | GD | EA | 2d | TC
--------------+----+----+----+----+---+---+----+----+----+----+----
Analysis, | 28 | 8 | 10 | 9 | | | | | | 26 | 81
Mechanics, | 25 | 8 | 12 | 9 | | | | 10 | | 28 | 92
Descriptive | | | | | | | | | | |
Geometry, | 36 | | | | | | | | | | 36
Geodesy, | | 6 | 5 | 7 | | | | 1 | | 18 | 37
Physics, | 23 | 5 | 10 | 8 | | | | | | 22 | 68
Chemistry, | 20 | 5 | 10 | 8 | 4 | 2 | | | | 19 | 68
Architecture, | | | | | | | 12 | 14 | 10 | | 36
Military | | | | | | | | | | |
Art and | | | 3 | 5 | | | | 9 | | 8 | 25
Tophography, | | | | | | | | | | |
French | | | | | | | | | | |
Literature, | 6 | 12| | | | | | | | | 18
German, | 5 | 2| 3 | | | | | | | | 15
Drawing, | 5 | | | | | | | 10 | | | 15
Shading and | | | | | | | | | | |
Tinting, | 2 | | | | | | | 3 | | | 5
--------------+----+----+----+----+---+---+----+----+----+----+----
From the preceding tables and explanations, it will be apparent that, as
the whole of the students for each year are compelled to follow
precisely the same course of study, the system of professorial
instruction, combined with the constant tutelage and supervision
exercised by the _répétiteurs_, and the examinations (_interrogations
particulières_) of the _répétiteurs_, at short intervals of time, have
for their principal object the keeping alive in the minds of the
students the information which has been communicated to them. As a
stimulus to continuous and unceasing exertion, it will be seen by an
inspection of the tables of the co-efficients of influence, that the
manner in which the students acquit themselves from day to day, and from
week to week, is made an element, and a very important one, in
determining their final position in the list arranged according to
merit, exceeding as it does in most instances the influence exerted on
their classification by their final examination at the close of each
year. This principle thus recognizes not only their knowledge at the end
of each year, but also the manner in which they have proved it to the
professors and _répétiteurs_ in the course of the year; and with
reference to the second year’s study, the final result of the first
year’s classification exercises an influence amounting to about
one-third of the whole, in the final classification at the end of the
second year.
It follows also, that as the examinations at the end of each year are
made by examiners, otherwise unconnected with the school, and not by the
professors belonging to it, the positions of the students in the
classified list is partly dependent on the judgment of the professors
with whom they are constantly in communication, and partly on the public
examiners, whom they meet only in the examination rooms.[10]
[Footnote 10: The influence exercised in the various branches of
study, and consequently in the position of the students in the
list classified according to merit, by the professors and
_répétiteurs_ on the one hand, and by the examiners on the other,
as in the table above.]
The examiners of the students are not frequently changed, and
practically the same may be said of the examiners for admission.
[KEY]
PR By Professors and _Répétiteurs_.
Ex By Examiners.
Y1 By the results of the first Year’s Examination.
-------------------+---------------------------------------------
Subjects of Study. | Per-centage of influence exercised on the
| position of the Students.
+-----------++-----------------++-------------
|During the || During the ||In the Classified
| 1st Year. || 2nd Year. ||List at the end
| || ||of 2nd year.
+-----------++-----------------++-------------
| PR | Ex || Y1 | PR | Ex || PR | Ex
-------------------+-----+-----++-----+-----+-----++-----+-------
Analysis, | 50.0| 50.0|| 34.5| 32.5| 33.0|| 49.7| 50.25
Mechanics, | 63.2| 36.7|| 27.2| 42.4| 30.4|| 59.6| 40.40
Descriptive | | || | | || |
Geometry, | 62.5| 37.5||100.0| 0.0| 0.0|| 62.5| 37.5
Geodesy, | 53.8| 46.2|| 0.0| 51.4| 48.6||*51.4| 48.6
Physics, | 53.3| 46.7|| 33.8| 33.8| 32.4|| 51.8| 48.2
Chemistry, | 60.0| 40.0|| 29.4| 43.2| 27.4|| 60.8| 39.2
Architecture, | .. | .. || 0.0|100.0| 0.0||100.0|100.0
Military Art and | | || | | || |
Topography, | .. | .. || 0.0| 68.0| 32.0|| 68.0| 32.0
French Literature, |100.0| 0.0|| 33.3| 66.7| 0.0||100.0| 0.0
German Language, |100.0| 0.0|| 33.3| 33.3| 33.4|| 66.7| 33.3
Drawing, |100.0| 0.0|| 33.3| 66.7| 0.0||100.0| 0.0
Shading and | | || | | || |
Tinting Plans, |100.0| 0.0|| 40.0| 60.0| 0.0||100.0| 0.0
| | || | | * || |
-------------------+-----+-----++-----+-----+-----++-----+-------
[* When taught in the 2nd year]
The students at the head of the list have generally since the wars of
the first Empire entered into the civil rather than into the military
services, the former being much better remunerated.
The services are usually selected by preference, nearly in the following
order:--
The Roads and Bridges (_Ponts et chaussées_)} very nearly on an
and Mines (_Mines_,) } equality.
Powder and Saltpetre (_Poudres et Salpêtres._)
Naval Architects (_Génie maritime._)
Engineers (_Génie militaire._)
The Artillery (_Artillerie de terre._) }
and the Staff Corps (_Etat Major_,) } very nearly on an equality.
The Hydographical Corps (_Ingénieurs Hydrographes._)
Tobacco Department (_Administration des Tabacs._)
Telegraph Department (_Lignes Télégraphiques._)
Navy (_Marine._)
Marine Artillery (_Artillerie de mer._)
Such, at least, is the result of a comparison of the selections made by
the students during eight different years.
This preference of the civil to the military services has been the
subject of frequent complaints on the part of the military authorities
to the minister of war.
No steps have, however, been taken by the French government to prevent
the _free_ choice of a profession being granted to the most successful
students.
We have now followed the student at the Polytechnic to the end of his
school career. He is then to pass to his particular School of
Application, in which (as the name implies) he is taught to apply his
science to practice. It is difficult to state precisely the amount of
such science which the highest pupils may be thought to possess on
leaving; the best idea of it will be gained by reference to the
programmes of the most important of the lectures. It is also needless to
dwell again on the main features of the school--the emulation called
forth, the minute method, the great prizes offered for sustained labor.
We must, however, make some remarks on these points before concluding
our account, so far as they bear on the subject of military education.
VI. GENERAL REMARKS.
1. Keeping out of sight for the moment some defects both in the
principles and details of the education of this school, the method of
teaching adopted seems to us excellent, and worthy of careful study. In
this remark we allude principally to the skillful combination of two
methods which have been generally thought incompatible; for it unites
the well-prepared lecture of a German professor, with the close personal
questioning of a first-rate English school or college lecture. But
besides this, its whole system is admirably adapted for the class of
pupils it educates.
These pupils are generally not of the wealthy classes; they are able,
and struggling for a position in life. On all these grounds their own
assistance in the work may be calculated upon. Yet they are not left to
themselves to make the most of their professors’ lectures. The aid of
_répétiteurs_, even more valuable in its constant “prudent
interrogations,” than in the explanations afforded, is joined to the
stimulus given by marking every step of proficiency, and by making all
tell on the last general account. But though the routine and method of
the school are so elaborate, play is given to the individual freedom of
the pupils in their private work, and this is managed so skillfully that
the private work is made immediately to precede the final examination,
on which mainly depends the pupil’s place for life. Thus from first to
last they are carried on by their system without being cramped by it;
every circumstance favorable to study is made the most of; rigorous
habit, mental readiness, the power of working with others, and the power
of working for themselves, the ambition for immediate and permanent
success, all the objects and all the methods which students ever have in
view, support and stimulate those of the Polytechnic in their two years’
career.
2. The mainspring, however, of the school’s energy is the competition
amongst the pupils themselves, and this could hardly exist without the
great prizes offered to the successful. This advantage, added to the
general impulse of the early days of the Empire, has no doubt powerfully
contributed to the great position of the school. It has made it a kind
of university of the _élite_ mathematicians, and as in England young men
look to the prizes of the universities, and the professions to which
they lead, as their best opening in life, so in France, ever since the
first revolution, the corresponding class has inclined to the active and
chiefly military career which is offered by the great competitive school
of the country.
3. A preparatory school of this remarkable character can not but
exercise a very powerful influence over those three-fourths of its
pupils who leave it to enter the army. The obvious question is whether
the attempt is not made to teach more than is either necessary or
desirable for military purposes, and to this suspicion may be added the
fact that the civil prizes being more in request than the military, many
of those who enter the army do so in the first instance reluctantly, and
that the pupils at the bottom of the list appear to be often such marked
failures as to imply either great superficiality or premature
exhaustion.
4. In studying the Polytechnic School we have had these points
constantly brought before us, and feeling the difficulty of discussing
them fully, we beg to invite attention to the evidence sent us in reply
to some questions which we addressed on the subject to some
distinguished scientific officers and civilians connected with the
school. We will give briefly the result of our own inquiries.
5. The complaint of General Paixhans has been quoted. He urges that a
considerable proportion of the army pupils are mere _queues de
promotion_, and quite insufficient to form _le corps et surtout la tête_
of troops _d’élite_.
Other not inconsistent complaints we heard ourselves, of the mental
exhaustion and the excessively abstract tendencies of many of the
military pupils of the school.
6. Such are the complaints. There is certainly reason to think that,
with regard to the twenty or thirty lowest pupils on the list, those of
General Paixhans are well founded. These are the _breaks down_, and we
are at first surprised that, entering as they must do,[11] with high
attainments, they should fall so low as the marks in the tables (with
which we are most liberally supplied) prove to be the case.
[Footnote 11: The students are selected, by a competitive
examination, out of a very large number of candidates, as will be
seen from the following table, extracted from the yearly
calendars:--
-----+------------+------------+-------------
| Candidates | |
| who | | Candidates
Year.| inscribed | Candidates | admitted
| their | examined. | to the
| Names. | | Polytechnic.
-----+------------+------------+-------------
1832 | 567 | 468 | 183
1833 | 367 | 304 | 110
1834 | 627 | 541 | 150
1835 | 729 | 633 | 154
.....|............|............|............
1837 | 629 | 508 | 137
1838 | 533 | 410 | 131
1839 | 530 | 531 | 135
.....|............|............|............
1842 | 709 | 559 | 137
1843 | 802 | 559 | 166
1844 | 746 | 531 | 143
1845 | 780 | 559 | 136
-----+------------+------------+-------------
Giving an average of one student for four candidates _examined_,
so that it is impossible to imagine that there is any lack of
ability in those selected.
A similar result appears to follow from some other more recent
statistics.
-----+---------------+-----------------+----------
Year.| Number of | Number declared | Number
| Candidates | admissible | admitted.
| who inscribed | to the Second |
| their Names. | Examination. |
-----+---------------+-----------------+----------
1852 | 510 | 216 | 202
1853 | 494 | 222 | 217
1854 | 519 | 238 | 170
1855 | 544 | 232 | 170
-----+---------------+-----------------+----------
In judging, however, of these numbers, it should be borne in mind
that, a very large number of the candidates who succeed have tried
more than once; the successful of this year have been among the
unsuccessful of last year, so that the proportion of individuals
who succeed to individuals who fail, is, of course, considerably
larger than one to four. Of the 170 candidates admitted in
November, 1855, 117 had put down their names for the examination
of 1854, and 53 only had not been previously inscribed. Of the 117
who put down their names, 19 had withdrawn without being examined
at all, 71 had been rejected on the preliminary examination, 27
had been unsuccessful at that of the second degree; 98 of the 170
came up for the second time to the examination.]
At the same time, we believe that no teaching ever has provided or
will provide against many failures out of one hundred and seventy
pupils, even among those who promised well at first: and if the standard
of the majority of pupils is high at the Polytechnique, and the point
reached by the first few _very_ high, it is no reproach that the descent
amongst the last few should be very rapid.
With regard to the assertion, that the teaching is excessive and leads
too much to abstract pursuits for soldiers, it may be partially true.
Perhaps the general passion for science has led to an overstrained
teaching for the army, even for its scientific corps; and yet would it
be allowed by officers of the highest scientific ability, either in the
French or the English army, that less science is required for the
greatest emergencies of military than for those of civil engineering, or
for the theory of projectiles than for working the department of
saltpetre?
It may, however, be true that an attempt is made at the Polytechnic to
exact _from all_ attainments which can only be reached by _a few_.
7. With this deduction, we must express our opinion strongly in favor
of the influence of the Polytechnic on the French army. We admit that in
some instances pupils who have failed in their attempt at civil prizes
enter the army unwillingly, but they are generally soon penetrated with
its _esprit de corps_, and they carry into it talent which it would not
otherwise have obtained. Cases of overwork no doubt occur, as in the
early training for every profession, but (following the evidence we have
received) we have no reason to think them so numerous as to balance the
advantage of vigorous, thoughtful study directed early towards a
profession which, however practical, is eminently benefited by it. “It
can not be said,” was the verdict of one well fitted to express an
opinion, “that there is too much science in the French army.”
8. Assuming, however, the value of the scientific results produced in
the French army by the Polytechnic, it by no means follows that a
similar institution would be desirable in another country. Without much
discussion it may be safely said that the whole history and nature of
the institution--the offspring of a national passion for system and of
revolutionary excitement--make it thoroughly peculiar to France.
9. Some obvious defects must be noticed. The curious rule of
forbidding the use of _all_ books whatever is a very exaggerated attempt
to make the pupil to rely entirely on the professors and _répétiteurs_.
The exclusive practice of _oral_ examination also seems to us a defect.
Certainly every examination should give a pupil an opportunity of
showing such valuable qualities as readiness and power of expression;
but an examination solely oral appears to us an uncertain test of depth
or accuracy of knowledge; and however impartial or practiced an examiner
may be, it is impossible that questions put orally can present exactly
the same amount of difficulty, and so be equally fair, to the several
competitors.
At the same time, although in all great competing examinations the
chief part of the work (in our opinion) should be _written_, the
constant oral cross-questioning of the minor examinations at the
Polytechnic, appeared to be one of the most stimulating and effective
parts of their system,
10. A more serious objection than any we have named lies against the
exclusive use of mathematical and scientific training, to the neglect of
all other, as almost the only instrument of education. The spirit of the
school, as shown especially by its entrance examinations, is opposed to
any literary study. This is a peculiar evil in forming characters for a
liberal profession like the army. Such a plan may indeed produce
striking results, if the sole object is to create distinguished
mathematicians, though even then the acuteness in one direction is often
accompanied by an unbalanced and extravagant judgment in another. But a
great school should form the whole and not merely a part of the man; and
as doing this, as strengthening the whole mind, instead of forcing on
one or two of its faculties--as giving, in a word, what is justly called
a _liberal_ education--we are persuaded that the system of cultivating
the taste for historical and other similar studies, as well as for mere
science, is based on a sounder principle than that which has produced
the brilliant results of the Polytechnic.
11. It may be added, in connection with the above remark, that as the
entrance examination at the Polytechnic influences extensively the
teaching of the great French schools, and is itself almost solely
mathematical, it tends to diffuse a narrow and exclusive pursuit of
science, which is very alien from the spirit of English teaching.
12. We may sum up our remarks on the Polytechnic School thus:--
Regarded simply as a great Mathematical and Scientific School, its
results in producing eminent men of science have been extraordinary. It
has been the great (and a truly great) Mathematical University of
France.
Regarded again as a Preparatory School for the public works, it has
given a very high scientific education to civil engineers, whose
scientific education in other countries (and amongst ourselves) is
believed to be much slighter and more accidental.
Regarded as a school for the scientific corps of the army, its
peculiar mode of uniting in one course of competition candidates for
civil and military services, has probably raised scientific thought to a
higher point in the French than in any other army.
Regarded as a system of teaching, the method it pursues in developing
the talents of its pupils appears to us the best we have ever studied.
It is in its studies and some of its main principles that the example
of the Polytechnic School may be of most value. In forming or improving
any military school, we can not shut our eyes to the successful working
at the Polytechnic of the principle, which it was the first of all
schools to initiate, the making great public prizes the reward and
stimulus of the pupil’s exertions. We may observe how the state has here
encouraged talent by bestowing so largely assistance upon all
successful, but poor pupils, during their school career. We may derive
some lessons from its method of teaching, though the attempt to imitate
it might be unwise. Meanwhile, without emulating the long established
scientific prestige of the Polytechnic, we have probably amongst
ourselves abundant materials for a military scientific education, at
least as sound as that given at this great School.
NOTE.
In addition to the Schools of Application for Artillery and Engineers at
Metz, and of Infantry and Cavalry at St. Cyr, of which a pretty full
account will be given, the following Public Services are supplied by the
Polytechnic School.
GUNPOWDER AND SALTPETRE.--(_Poudres et Salpêtres._)
In France the manufacture of gunpowder is solely in the hands of the
Government. The pupils of the Polytechnic who enter the gunpowder and
saltpetre service, are sent in succession to different powder-mills and
saltpetre refineries, so as to gain a thorough acquaintance with all the
details of the manufacture.
On first entering the service they are named _élèves des poudres_.
They afterwards rise successively to the rank of assistant-commissary,
commissary of the third, of the second, and of the first class.
NAVY.--(_Marine._)
A small number of the pupils of the Polytechnic enter the Navy. They
receive the rank of _élève de première classe_, from the date of their
admission.
They are sent to the ports to serve afloat. After two years’ service
they may be promoted to the rank of _enseigne de vaisseau_, on passing
the necessary examinations, on the same terms precisely as the _élèves
de premiere classe_ of the Naval School.
MARINE ARTILLERY.--(_Artillerie de la Marine._)
The French marine artillery differs from the English corps of the same
name, in not serving afloat. Its duties are confined to the ports and to
the colonies. It is governed by the same rules and ordinances as the
artillery of the army.
The foundries of La Villeneuve, Rochefort, Ruelle, Névers, and Saint
Gervais are under its direction.
The officers of the marine artillery are liable to be sent on board
ship to study naval gunnery, so as to be in a position to report upon
alterations or improvements in this science.
NAVAL ARCHITECTS.--(_Génie Maritime._)
The naval architects are charged with the construction and repair of
vessels of war, and with the manufacture of all the machinery required
in the ports and dockyards. The factories of Indret and La Chaussade are
under their direction.
The pupils of the Polytechnic enter the corps of naval architects with
the rank of _élève du Génie Maritime_. They are sent to the School of
Application of Naval Architects at L’Orient. After two years’
instruction they undergo an examination, and, if successful, they are
promoted to the rank of sub-architect of the third class, so far as
vacancies admit. They may be advanced to the second class after a
service of two years.
HYDROGRAPHERS.--(_Ingénieurs Hydrographes._)
The hydrographers are stationed at Paris. They are sent to the coast
to make surveys, and the time so spent reckons as a campaign in
determining their pension. On their return to Paris they are employed in
the construction of maps and charts.
The hydrographers have the same rank and advantage as the naval
architects.
On leaving the Polytechnic, the pupils enter the corps of
hydrographers with the rank of _élève hydrographe_. After two years’
service, and one season employed on the coast, they become
sub-hydrographers without further examination.
ROADS AND BRIDGES.--GOVERNMENT CIVIL ENGINEERS.--(_Fonts et
Chaussées._)
The Polytechnic furnishes exclusively the pupils for the Government
Civil Engineer Corps. On leaving the Polytechnic, the pupils enter the
School of Application in Paris. The course of instruction here extends
over a period of three years. It commences each year on the first of
November, and lasts till the 1st of April. After the final examination,
the pupils are arranged according to the results of the examination and
the amount of work performed.
The pupils enter the college with the rank of _élève de troisième
classe_. They rise successively to the second and to the first class, on
making the requisite progress in their studies.
From the 1st of May to the 1st of November the _élèves_ of the second
and the third class are sent on duty into the provinces. The _élèves_ of
the first class who have completed their three years’ course of
instruction, are employed in the duties of ordinary engineers, or are
detached on special missions. In about three years after quitting the
college, they may be appointed ordinary engineers of the second class.
The engineers of the _Ponts et Chaussées_ prepare the projects and
plans, and direct the execution of the works for the construction,
preservation, and repair of high roads, and of the bridges and other
structures connected with these roads, with navigable rivers, canals,
seaports, lighthouses, &c. They are charged with the superintendence of
railways, of works for draining marshes, and operations affecting
water-courses; they report upon applications to erect factories driven
by water. Under certain circumstances, they share with the Mining
Engineers the duty of inspecting steam-engines.
Permission is not unfrequently granted to the engineers of the _Ponts
et Chaussées_ to accept private employment. They receive leave of
absence for a certain time, retaining their rank and place in their
corps, but without pay.
MINING ENGINEERS.--(_Mines._)
The Mining School of Application is organized almost exactly on the
same plan as that of the _Ponts et Chaussées_: like the latter, it is in
Paris.
The course of instruction, which lasts three years, consists of
lectures, drawing, chemical manipulation and analysis, visits to
manufactories, geological excursions, and the preparation of projects
for mines and machines. Journeys are made by the pupils, during the
second half of the last two years of the course, into the mineral
districts of France or foreign countries for the purpose of studying the
practical details of mining. These journeys last one hundred days at
least. The pupils are required to examine carefully the railroads and
the geological features of the countries they pass through, and to keep
a journal of facts and observations. In the final examination, marks are
given for every part of their work.
The mining engineers, when stationed in the departments, are charged
to see that the laws and ordinances relating to mines, quarries, and
factories are properly observed, and to encourage, either directly or by
their advice, the extension of all branches of industry connected with
the extraction and treatment of minerals.
One of their principal duties is the superintendence of mines and
quarries, in the three-fold regard of safety of the workmen,
preservation of the soil, and economical extraction of the minerals.
They exercise a special control over all machines designed for the
production of steam, and over railways, as far as regards the metal and
fuel.
The instructors in the School of Application in Paris, and in the
School of Mines at St. Etienne, are exclusively taken from the members
of the corps.
Like the engineers of the _Ponts et Chaussées_, the mining engineers
obtain permission to undertake private employment.
TOBACCO DEPARTMENT.--(_Administration des Tabacs._)
The pupils who enter the tobacco service, commence, on quitting the
Polytechnic, with the rank of _élève de 2^{e} classe_. They study, in
the manufactory at Paris, chemistry, physics, and mechanics, as applied
to the preparation of tobacco. They make themselves acquainted at the
same time with the details of the manufacture and with the accounts and
correspondence.
They are generally promoted to the rank of _élevè de 1^{re} classe_ in
two years. They rise afterwards successively to the rank of
sub-inspector, inspector, and director.
After completing their instruction at the manufactory of Paris, the
_élevès_ are sent to tobacco manufactories in other parts of France.
Promotion in the tobacco service does not follow altogether by
seniority. Knowledge of the manufacture and attention to their duties
are much considered, as the interests of the treasury are involved in
the good management of the service.
TELEGRAPHS.--(_Lignes Telégraphiques._)
On entering the telegraphic service the pupils of the Polytechnic
receive the rank of _élevè inspecteur_.
They pass the first year at the central office. During the six winter
months they study, under two professors, the composition of signals, and
the regulations which insure their correctness and dispatch, the working
of telegraphs and the manner of repairing them, the theory of the mode
of tracing lines and of determining the height of the towers,
electro-magnetism and its application to the electric telegraph. During
the summer months they make tours of inspection. They assist in the
execution of works, and practice leveling and the laying down of lines.
At the end of the year the _élevès inspecteurs_ undergo an
examination, and, if there are vacancies, are appointed provisional
inspectors. After a year in this rank they may be appointed inspectors
either in France or Algeria.
Each inspector has charge of a district containing from twelve to
fifteen stations. He is obliged to make a tour of inspection once a
month of at least ten days’ duration.
After a certain number of years’ service the inspector rises to the
rank of director. Besides their other duties, the directors exercise a
general superintendence over the inspectors.
PROGRAMMES OF THE PRINCIPAL COURSES OF INSTRUCTION
OF THE IMPERIAL POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL DURING THE TWO YEARS OF STUDY.
I. ANALYSIS.--_FIRST YEAR._
DIFFERENTIAL CALCULUS.
LESSONS 1-9. _Derivatives and Differentials of Functions of a Single
Variable._
Indication of the original problems which led geometers to the discovery
of the infinitesimal calculus.
Use of infinitesimals; condition, subject to which, two infinitely small
quantities may be substituted for one another. Indication in simple
cases of the advantage of such substitution.
On the different orders of infinitely small quantities. Infinitely small
quantities of a certain order may be neglected in respect of those of an
inferior order. The infinitely small increment of a function is in
general of the same order as the corresponding increment of the
variable, that is to say, their ratio has a finite limit.
Definitions of the derivative and differential of a function of a single
variable. Tangents and normals to plane curves, whose equation in linear
or polar coordinates is given.
A function is increasing or decreasing, according as its derivative is
positive or negative. If the derivative is zero for all values of the
variable, the function is constant. Concavity and convexity of curves;
points of inflection.
Principle of function of functions. Differentiation of inverse
functions.
Differentials of the sums, products, quotients, and powers of functions,
whose differentials are known. General theorem for the differentiation
of functions composed of several functions.
Differentials of exponential and logarithmic functions.
Differentials of direct and inverse circular functions.
Differentiation of implicit functions.
Tangents to curves of double curvature. Normal plane.
Differential of the area and arc of a plane curve, in terms of
rectilinear and polar co-ordinates.
Differential of the arc of a curve of double curvature.
Applications to the cycloid, the spiral of Archimedes, the logarithmic
spiral, the curve whose normal, sub-normal, or tangent, is constant; the
curve whose normal passes through a fixed point; the curve whose arc is
proportional to the angle which it subtends at a given point.
Derivatives and differentials of different orders of functions of one
variable. Notation adopted.
Remarks upon the singular points of plane curves.
LESSONS 10-13. _Derivatives and Differentials of Functions of Several
Variables._
Partial derivatives and differentials of functions of several variables.
The order in which two or any number of differentiations is effected
does not influence the result.
Total differentials. Symbolical formula for representing the total
differential of the _n_^{th} order of a function of several independent
variables.
Total differentials of different orders of a function; several dependent
variables. Case where these variables are linear functions of the
independent variables.
The infinitesimal increment of a function of several variables may in
general be regarded as a linear function of the increments assigned to
the variables. Exceptional cases.
Tangent and normal planes to curved surfaces.
LESSONS 14-18. _Analytical Applications of the Differential Calculus._
Development of F(_x + h_,) according to ascending powers of _h_. Limits
within which the remainder is confined on stopping at any assigned power
of _h_.
Development of F(_x_,) according to powers of _x_ or _x - a_; _a_ being
a quantity arbitrarily assumed. Application to the functions sin(_x_,)
cos _x_, _a^{x}_, (1 + _x^{m}_) and log.(1 + _x_.) Numerical
applications. Representation of cos _x_ and sin _x_ by imaginary
exponential quantities.
Developments of cos^{m} _x_ and sin^{m} _x_ in terms of sines and curves
of multiples of _x_.
Development of F(_x + h, y + k_,) according to powers of _h_ and _k_.
Development of F(_x, y_) according to powers of _x_ and _y_. Expression
for the remainder. Theorem on homogeneous functions.
Maxima and minima of functions of a single variable; of functions of
several variables, whether independent or connected by given equations.
How to discriminate between maxima and minima values in the case of one
and two independent variables.
True values of functions, which upon a particular supposition assume one
or another of the forms
0/0, ∞/∞, ∞ + 0, 0^0, 4^∞
LESSONS 19-23. _Geometrical Applications. Curvature of Plane Curves._
Definition of the curvature of a plane curve at any point. Circle of
curvature. Center of curvature. This center is the point where two
infinitely near normals meet.
Radius of curvature with rectilinear and polar co-ordinates. Change of
the independent variable.
Contacts of different orders of plane curves. Osculating curves of a
given kind. Osculating straight line. Osculating circle. It is identical
with the circle of curvature.
Application of the method of infinitesimals to the determination of the
radius of curvature of certain curves geometrically defined. Ellipse,
cycloid, epicycloid, &c.
Evolutes of plane curves. Value of the arc of the evolute. Equation to
the involute of a curve. Application to the circle. Evolutes considered
as envelops. On envelops in general. Application to caustics.
LESSONS 24-27. _Geometrical Applications continued. Curvature of Lines
of Double Curvature and of Surfaces._
Osculating plane of a curve of double curvature. It may be considered as
passing through three points infinitely near to one another, or as drawn
through a tangent parallel to the tangent infinitely near to the former.
Center and radius of curvature of a curve of double curvature.
Osculating circle. Application to the helix.
Radii of curvature of normal sections of a surface. Maximum and minimum
radii. Relations between these and that of any section, normal or
oblique.
Use of the indicatrix for the demonstration of the preceding results.
Conjugate tangents. Definition of the lines of curvature. Lines of
curvature of certain simple surfaces. Surface of revolution. Developable
surfaces. Differential equation of lines of curvature in general.
LESSON 28. _Cylindrical, Conical, Conoidal surfaces, and Surfaces of
Revolution._
Equations of these surfaces in finite terms. Differential equations of
the same deduced from their characteristic geometrical properties.
INTEGRAL CALCULUS.
LESSONS 29-34. _Integration of Functions of a Single Variable._
Object of the integral calculus. There always exists a function which
has a given function for its derivative.
Indefinite integrals. Definite integrals. Notation. Integration by
separation, by substitution, by parts.
Integration of rational differentials, integer or fractional, in the
several cases which may present themselves. Integration of the
algebraical differentials, which contain a radical of the second degree
of the form √(_c+bx+ax^{2}_). Different transformations which render the
differential rational. Reduction of the radical to one of the forms
√(x^{2}+x^{2}), √(a^{2}-x^{2}), √(x^{2}-a^{2}).
Integration of the algebraical differentials which contain two radicals
of the form
√(a+x), √(b+x),
or any number of monomials affected with fractional indices. Application
to the expressions
x^{m} dx dx x^{m} dx
---------- , ---------------- , --------
√(1-x^{2}) x^{m} √(1-x^{2}) √(ax-x)
Integration of the differentials
dx dx
F(log x)-- , F sin^{-1}x ---------- ,
x √(1-x^{2})
x(log x^{n})dx, x^{m} e^{ax}dx, (sin^{-1}x^{m})dx.
Integration of the differentials e^{ax} sin _bxdx_ and e^{ax} cos
_bxdx_.
Integration of (sin x^{m}.)(cos x^{n}) _dx_.
Integration by series. Application to the expression
dx
-------------------
√(ax-x^{2}) √(1-bx)
Application of integration by series to the development of functions,
the development of whose derivatives is given: tan^{-1}_x_, sin^{-1}_x_,
log(1 + _x_.)
LESSONS 35-38. _Geometrical Applications._
Quadrature of certain curves. Circle, hyperbola, cycloid, logarithmic
spiral, &c.
Rectification of curves by rectilinear or polar co-ordinates. Examples.
Numerical applications.
Cubic content of solids of revolution. Quadrature of their surfaces.
Cubic content of solids in general, with rectilinear or polar
co-ordinates. Numerical applications.
Quadrature of any curved surfaces expressed by rectangular co-ordinates.
Application to the sphere.
LESSONS 39-42. _Mechanical Applications._
General formula for the determination of the center of gravity of
solids, curved or plane surfaces, and arcs of curves. Various
applications.
Guldin’s theorem.
Volume of the truncated cylinder.
General formula which represent the components of the attraction of a
body upon a material point, upon the supposition that the action upon
each element varies inversely as the square of the distance. Attraction
of a spherical shell on an external or internal point.
Definition of moments of inertia. How to calculate the moment of inertia
of a body in relation to a straight line, when the moment in relation to
a parallel straight line is known. How to represent the moments of
inertia of a body relative to the straight lines which pass through a
given point by means of the radii vectores of an ellipsoid. What is
meant by the _principal axes of inertia_.
Determination of the principal moments of inertia of certain homogeneous
bodies, sphere, ellipsoid, prism, &c.
LESSONS 43-45. _Calculus of Differences._
Calculation of differences of different orders of a function of one
variable by means of values of the function corresponding to equidistant
values of the variable.
Expression for any one of the values of the function by means of the
first, and its differences. Numerical applications; construction of
tables representing a function whose differences beyond a certain order
may be neglected. Application to the theory of interpolation. Formulæ
for approximation by quadratures. Numerical exercises relative to the
area of equilateral hyperbola or the calculation of a logarithm.
LESSONS 46-48. _Revision._
General reflections on the subjects contained in the preceding course.
ANALYSIS.--_SECOND YEAR._
CONTINUATION OF THE INTEGRAL CALCULUS.
LESSONS 1-2. _Definite Integrals._
Differentiation of a definite integral with respect to a parameter in
it, which is made to vary. Geometrical demonstration of the formula.
Integration under the sign of integration. Application to the
determination of certain definite integrals.
Determination of the integrals ∫{(sin _ax_)/_x_}_dx_, and ∫{(cos _bx_
sin _ax_)/_x_}_dx_, between the limits _0_ and _x_. Remarkable
discontinuity which these integrals present.
Determination of ∫e^{-_x_^{2}}_dx_ and ∫e^{-_x_^{2}}cos _mx dx_ between
the limits 0 and ∞.
LESSON 3. _Integration of Differentials containing several Variables._
Condition that an expression of the form M _dx_ + N _dy_ in which M and
N are given functions of _x_ and _y_ may be an exact differential of two
independent variables _x_ and _y_. When this condition is satisfied, to
find the function.
Extension of this theory to the case of three variables.
LESSONS 4-6. _Integration of Differential Equations of the First Order._
Differential equations of the first order with two variables. Problem in
geometry to which these equations correspond. What is meant by their
integral. This integral always exists, and its expression contains an
arbitrary constant.
Integration of the equation M _dx_ + N _dy_ = 0 when its first member is
an exact differential. Whatever the functions M and N may be there
always exists a factor _µ_, such that _µ_ (M _dx_ + N _dy_) is an exact
differential.
Integration of homogeneous equations. Their general integral represents
a system of similar curves. The equation (_a_ + _b x_ + _c y_) _dx_ +
(_a’_ + _b’ x_ + _c’ y_) _dy_ = _c_, may be rendered homogeneous.
Particular case where the method fails. How the integration may be
effected in such case.
Integration of the linear equation of the first order _dy_/_dx_ + P _y_
= Q, where P and Q denote functions of _x_. Examples.
Remarks on the integration of equations of the first order which contain
a higher power than the first of _dy_/_dx_. Case in which it may be
resolved in respect of _dy_/_dx_. Case in which it may be resolved in
respect of _x_ or _y_.
Integrations of the equation _y_ = _x_ _dy_/_dx_ + φ(_d y_/_d x_). Its
general integral represents a system of straight lines. A particular
solution represents the envelop of this system.
Solution of various problems in geometry which lead to differential
equations of the first order.
LESSONS 7-8. _Integration of Differential Equations of Orders superior
to the First._
The general integral of an equation of the _m_ order contains _m_
arbitrary constants.
(_The demonstration is made to depend on the consideration of infinitely
small quantities._)
Integration of the equation _d^{m}y_/_dx^{m}_ = φ(_x_.)
Integration of the equation _d^{2}y_/_dx^{2}_ = φ(_y_, _dy_/_dx_).
How this is reduced to an equation of the first order. Solution of
various problems in geometry which conduct to differential equations of
the second order.
LESSONS 9-10. _On Linear Equations._
When a linear equation of the _m_^{th} order contains no term
independent of the unknown function and its derivatives, the sum of any
number whatever of particular integrals multiplied by arbitrary
constants is also an integral. From this the conclusion is drawn that
the general integral of this equation is deducible from the knowledge of
_m_ particular integrals.
Application to linear equations with constant co-efficients. Their
integration is made to depend on the resolution of an algebraical
equation. Case where this equation has imaginary roots. Case where it
has equal roots. The general integral of a linear equation of any order,
which contains a term independent of the function, may be reduced by the
aid of quadratures to the integration of the same equation with this
term omitted.
LESSON 11. _Simultaneous Equations._
General considerations on the integration of simultaneous equations. It
may be made to depend on the integrations of a single differential
equation. Integration of a system of two simultaneous linear equations
of the first order.
LESSON 12. _Integrations of Equations by Series._
Development of the unknown function of the variable _x_ according to the
powers of _x-a_. In certain cases only a particular integral is
obtained. If the equation is linear, the general integral may be deduced
from it by the variation of constants.
LESSONS 13-16. _Partial Differential Equations._
Elimination of the arbitrary functions which enter into an equation by
means of partial derivatives. Integration of an equation of partial
differences with two independent variables, in the case where it is
linear in respect to the derivatives of the unknown function. The
general integral contains an arbitrary function.
Indication of the geometrical problem, of which the partial differential
equation expresses analytically the enunciation. Integration of the
partial differential equations to cylindrical, conical, conoidal
surfaces of revolution. Determination of the arbitrary functions.
Integration of the equation _d^{2}u/dy^{2} = a^{2}d^{2}u/dx^{2}_. The
general integral contains two arbitrary functions. Determination of
these functions.
LESSONS 17-23. _Applications to Mechanics._
Equation to the catenary.
Vertical motion of a heavy particle, taking into account the variation
of gravity according to the distance from the center of the earth.
Vertical motion of a heavy point in a resisting medium, the resistance
being supposed proportional to the square of the velocity.
Motion of a heavy point compelled to remain in a circle or cycloid.
Simple pendulum. Indication of the analytical problem to which we are
led in investigating the motion of a free point.
Motion of projectiles in a vacuum. Calculation of the longitudinal and
transversal vibrations of cords. Longitudinal vibrations of elastic
rods. Vibration of gases in cylindical tubes.
LESSONS 24-26. _Applications to Astronomy._
Calculation of the force which attracts the planets, deduced from
Kepler’s laws. Numerical data of the question.
Calculation of the relative motion of two points attracting one another,
according to the inverse square of the distance.
Determination of the masses of the earth and of the planets accompanied
by satellites. Numerical applications.
LESSONS 27-30.
Elements of the calculus of probabilities and social arithmetic.
General principles of the calculus of chances. Simple probability,
compound probability, partial probability, total probability. Repeated
trials. Enunciation of Bernouilli’s theorem (without proof.)
Mathematical expectation. Applications to various cases, and especially
to lotteries.
Tables of population and mortality. Mean life annuities, life interests,
assurances, &c.
LESSONS 31-32. _Revision._
General reflections on the subjects comprised in the course.
II. DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY AND STEREOTOMY.
_General Arrangements._
The pupils take in the lecture-room notes and sketches upon sheets,
which are presented to the professor and the “répétiteurs” at each
interrogation. The care with which these notes are taken is determined
by “marks,” of which account is taken in arranging the pupils in order
of merit.
The plans are made according to programmes, of which the conditions are
different for different pupils. The drawings are in general accompanied
with decimal scales, expressing a simple ratio to the meter. They carry
inscriptions written conformably to the admitted models, and are, when
necessary, accompanied with verbal descriptions.
In the graphic exercises of the first part of the course, the principal
object is to familiarize the pupils with the different kinds of
geometrical drawing, such as elevations and shaded sections, oblique
projections and various kinds of perspective. The pupils are also
accustomed to different constructions useful in stereotomy.
The subjects for graphic exercises in stereotomy are taken from roofs,
vaults, and staircases. Skew and oblique arches are the subject of
detailed plans.
_FIRST YEAR._
DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.--GEOMETRICAL DRAWING.
LESSONS 1-3. _Revision and Completion of the Subjects of Descriptive
Geometry comprised in the Programme for Admission into the School._
Object of geometrical drawing. Methods of projection. Representation of
points, lines, planes, cones, cylinders, and surfaces of revolution.
Construction of tangent planes to surfaces, of curves, of intersection
of surfaces, of their tangents and their assymplotes.
Osculating plane of a curve of double curvature. A curve in general cuts
its osculating plane.
When the generating line of a cylinder or a cone becomes a tangent to
the directrix, the cylinder or cone in general has an edge of regression
along this generating line. The osculating plane of the directrix at the
point of contact touches the surface along this edge.
Projections of curves of double curvature; infinite branches and their
assymplotes, inflections, nodes, cusps, &c.
Change of planes of projection.
Reduction of scale; transposition.
Advantage and employment of curves of error; their irrelevant solutions.
LESSONS 4-6. _Modes of Representation for the Complete Definition of
Objects._
Representation by plans, sections, and elevation.
Projection by the method of contours. Representation of a point, a line,
and a plane; questions relative to the straight line and plane.
Representation of cones and cylinders; tangent planes to these surfaces.
LESSONS 7-11. _Modes of Representation which are not enough in
themselves to define objects completely._
Isometrical and other kinds of perspective.
Oblique projections.
Conical perspective: vanishing points; scales of perspective; method of
squares; perspective of curved lines; diverse applications. Choice of
the point of sight. Rules for putting an elevation in perspective. Rule
for determining the point of sight of a given picture, and for passing
from the perspective to the plan as far as that is possible. Perspective
of reflected images. Notions on panoramas.
LESSONS 12-13. _Representations with Shadows._
General observations on envelops and characteristics.
A developable surface is the envelop of the position of a movable plane;
it is composed of two sheets which meet. It may be considered as
generated by a straight line, which moves so as to remain always a
tangent to a fixed curve.
Theory of shade and shadow, of the penumbra, of the brilliant point, of
curves of equal intensity, of bright and dark edges.
Atmospheric light: direction of the principal atmospheric ray. Notions
on the degradation of tints; construction of curves of equal tint.
Influence of light reflected by neighboring bodies.
Received convention in geometrical drawing on the direction of the
luminous ray, &c.
Perspective of shadows.
LESSONS 14-15. _Construction of Lines of Shadows and of Perspective of
Surfaces._
Use of circumscribed cones and cylinders, and of the normal parallel to
a given straight line.
General method of construction of lines of shadow and of perspective of
surfaces by plane sections and auxiliary cylindrical or conical
surfaces.
Construction of lines of shadow and perspective of a surface of
revolution.
The curve of contact of a cone circumscribed about a surface of the
second degree is a plane curve. Its plane is parallel to the diametral
plane, conjugate to the diameter passing through the summit of the cone.
The curve of contact of a cylinder circumscribed about a surface of the
second degree is a plane curve, and situated in the diametral plane
conjugate to the diameter parallel to the axis of the cylinder.
The plane parallel sections of a surface of the second degree are
similar curves. The locus of their centers is the diameter conjugate to
that one of the secant planes which passes through the center of the
surface.
General study of surfaces with reference to the geometrical
constructions to which their use gives rise.
LESSON 16. _Complementary Notions on Developable Surfaces._
Development of a developable surface; construction of transformed curves
and their tangents. Developable surface; an envelop of the osculating
planes of a curve. The osculating plane of a curve at a given point may
be constructed by considering it as the edge of regression of a
developable surface; this construction presents some uncertainty in
practice. Notions on the helix and the developable helicoid.
Approximate development of a segment of an undevelopable surface.
LESSONS 17-18. _Hyperbolic Paraboloid._
Double mode of generation of the paraboloid by straight lines;
plane-directers; tangent planes, vertex, axis, principal planes;
representation of this surface. Construction of the tangent plane
parallel to a given plane. Construction of plane sections and of curves
of contact, of cones, and circumscribed cylinders.
Scalene paraboloid. Isosceles paraboloid.
Identity of the paraboloid with one of the five surfaces of the second
degree studied in analytical geometry.
Re-statement without demonstration of the properties of this surface
found by analysis, principally as regards its generation by the conic
sections.
LESSONS 19-20. _General Properties of Warped or Ruled Surfaces._
Principal modes of generation of warped surfaces. When two warped
surfaces touch in three points of a common generatrix, they touch each
other in every point of this straight line. Every plane passing through
a generatrix touches the surface at one point in this line. The tangent
plane at infinity is the plane-directer to all the paraboloids of
“raccordement.”
Construction of the tangent planes and curves of contact of
circumscribed cones and cylinders. When two infinitely near generatrices
of a warped surface are in the same plane, all the curves of contact of
the circumscribed cones and cylinders pass through their point of
concourse.
The normals to a warped surface along a generatrix form an isosceles
paraboloid. The name of central point of a generatrix is given to the
point where it is met by the straight line upon which is measured its
shortest distance from the adjoining generatrix. The locus of these
points forms the line of striction of the surface. The vertex of the
normal paraboloid along a generating line is situated at the central
point. If the point of contact of a plane touching a warped surface
moves along a generatrix, beginning from the central point, the tangent
of the angle which the tangent plane makes with its primitive position
is proportional to the length described by the point of contact. The
tangent plane at the central point is perpendicular to the tangent plane
at infinity upon the same generatrix. Construction of the line of
striction by aid of this property.
LESSONS 21-22. _Ruled Surfaces with plane-divecters Conoids._
The plane-directer of the surface is also so to all the paraboloids of
“raccordement.” Construction of the tangent planes and curves of contact
of the circumscribed cones and cylinders.
The line of striction of the surface is its curve of contact with a
circumscribed cylinder perpendicular to the directer-plane.
Determination of the nature of the plane sections.
The lines of striction of the scalene paraboloid are parabolas; those of
the isosceles paraboloid are straight lines.
Construction of the tangent plane parallel to a given plane.
Conoid: discussion of the curves of contact of the circumscribed cones
and cylinders.
Right conoid. Conoid whose intersection with a torus of the same height,
whose axis is its rectilinear directrix, has for its projection upon the
directer-plane two arcs of Archimedes’ spiral. Construction of the
tangents to this curve of intersection.
LESSONS 23-25. _Ruled Surfaces which have not a Directer-Plane.
Hyperboloid. Surface of the “biais passe.”_
Directer-cone: its advantages for constructing the tangent plane
parallel to a given plane, and for determining the nature of the plane
sections. The tangent planes to the points of the surface, situated at
infinity, are respectively parallel to the tangent plane of the
directer-cone. Developable surface which is the envelope of these
tangent planes at infinity. Construction of a paraboloid of
_raccordement_ to a ruled surface defined by two directrices and a
directrix cone.
Hyperboloid; double mode of generation by straight lines; center;
assymptotic cone.
Scalene hyperboloid; hyperboloid of revolution. Identity of the
hyperboloid with one of the five surfaces of the second degree studied
in analytical geometry.
Re-statement without demonstration of the properties of this surface,
found by analysis, principally as to what regards the axis, the
vertices, the principal planes, and the generation by conic sections.
Hyperboloid of _raccordement_ to a ruled surface along a generatrix; all
their centers are in the same plane. Transformation of a hyperboloid of
_raccordement_.
Surface of the _biais passé_. Construction of a hyperboloid of
_raccordement_; its transformation into a paraboloid.
Construction of the tangent plane at a given point.
LESSONS 26-28. _Curvature of Surfaces. Lines of Curvature._
Re-statement without proof of the formula of Euler given in the course
of analysis.
There exists an infinity of surfaces of the second degree, which at one
of their vertices osculate any surface whatever at a given point.
In the tangent plane, at a point of a surface, there exists a conic
section, whose diameters are proportional to the square roots of the
radii of curvature of the normal sections to which they are tangents.
This curve is called the indicatrix. It is defined in form and position,
but not in magnitude. The normal sections tangential to the axes of the
indicatrix are called the principal sections.
The indicatrix an ellipse; convex surfaces; umbilici; line of spherical
curvatures.
The indicatrix a hyperbola; surfaces with opposite curvatures.
The assymplotes of the indicatrix have a contact of the second order
with the surface, and of the first order with the section of the surface
by its tangent plane.
A ruled surface has contrary curvatures at every point. The second
assymplotes of the indicatrices of all the points of the same generatrix
form a hyperboloid, if the surface has not directer-plane,--a
paraboloid, if it have one.
Curvature of developable surfaces.
There exists upon every surface two systems of orthogonal lines, such
that every straight line subject to move by gliding over either of them,
and remaining normal to the surface, will engender a developable
surface. These lines are called lines of curvature.
The two lines of curvature which cross at a point, are tangents to the
principal sections of the surface at that point.
Remarks upon the lines of curvature of developable surfaces, and
surfaces of revolution.
Determination of the radii of curvature, and assymplotes of the
indicatrix at a point of a surface of revolution.
LESSONS 29-30. _Division of Curves of Apparent Contour, and of
Separation of Light and Shadow into Real and Virtual Parts._
When a cone is circumscribed about a surface, at any point whatever of
the curve of contact, the tangent to this curve and the generatrix of
the cone are parallel to two conjugate diameters of the indicatrix.
Surfaces, as they are considered in shadows, envelop opaque bodies, and
the curve of contact of a circumscribed cone, only forms a separation of
light and shadow, for a luminous point at the summit of the cone, when
the generatrices of this cone are exterior. This line is thus sometimes
real and sometimes virtual.
Upon a convex surface, the curve of separation of light and shade is
either all real or all virtual. Upon a surface with contrary curvatures,
this curve presents generally a succession of real and virtual parts:
the curve of shadow cast from the surface upon itself presents a like
succession. These curves meet tangentially, and the transition from the
real to the virtual parts upon one and the other, take place at their
points of contact in such a way that the real part of the curve of
shadow continues the real part of the curve of separation of light and
shade. The circumscribed cones have edges of regression along the
generatrices, which correspond to the points of transition.
The lines of visible contour present analogous circumstances.
General method of determining the position of the transition points.
Special method for a surface of revolution.
LESSONS 31-34. _Ruled Helicoidal Surfaces._
Surface of the thread of the triangular screw; generation,
representation, sections by planes and conical cylinders.
Construction of the tangent plane at a given point, or parallel to a
given plane. The axis is the line of striction.
Construction of lines of shadow and perspective: their infinite
branches, their assymplotes. Determination of the osculating hyperboloid
along a generatrix.
Representation and shading of the screw with a triangular thread and its
nut.
Surface of the thread of the square screw; generation, sections by
planes and conical cylinders; tangent planes; curve of contact of a
circumscribed cone.
The curve of contact of a circumscribed cylinder is a helix whose _step_
is half that of the surface. Determination of the osculating paraboloid.
At any point whatever of the surface, the absolute lengths of the radii
of curvature are equal.
Representation and shading of the screw with a square thread, and of its
nut.
Observations on the general ruled helicoidal surface, and on the surface
of intrados of the winding staircase.
LESSON 35. _Different Helicoidal Surfaces._
Saint-Giles screw, worm-shaped screw and helicoidal surfaces to any
generatrix. Every tangent to the meridian generatrix describes a screw
surface with triangular thread, which is circumscribed about the
surface, along a helix, and may be used to resolve the problems of
tangent planes, circumscribed cylinders, &c.
Helicoid of the open screw, its generation, tangent planes.
LESSONS 36-37. _Topographical Surfaces._
Approximate representation of a surface by the figured horizontal
projections of a series of equidistant horizontal sections. This method
of representation is especially adapted to topographical surfaces, that
is to say, surfaces which a vertical line can only meet in one point.
Lines of greatest slope. Trace of a line of equal slope between two
given points.
Intersection of a plane and a surface, of two surfaces, of a straight
line and a surface.
Tangent planes, cones, and cylinders circumscribed about topographical
surfaces.
Use of a topographical surface to replace a table of double-entry when
the function of two variables, which it represents, is continuous. It is
often possible, by a suitable anamorphosis, to make an advantageous
transformation in the curves of level.
LESSON 38. _Revision._
Review of the different methods of geometrical drawing. Advantages and
disadvantages of each.
Comparison of the different kinds of surfaces, _résumé_ of their general
properties.
Object, method, and spirit of descriptive geometry.
_SECOND YEAR._
STEREOTOMY.--WOOD-WORK.
LESSONS 1-4. _Generalities._
Notions on the mode of action of forces in carpentry. Resistance of a
piece of wood to a longitudinal effort and to a transversal effort.
Distinction between resistance to flexure and resistance to rupture.
Beams.
Advantages of the triangular system, St. Andrew’s cross.
LESSONS 5-8. _Roofs._
Ordinary composition of roofs.
Distribution of pressures in the different parts of a girded roof.
Design of the different parts of roofs, &c., &c.
LESSONS 9-10. _Staircases._
MASONRY.
LESSONS 11-12. _Generalities._
Notions on the settlement of vaulted roofs. Principal forms of vaults,
_en berceau_, &c., &c.
Distribution of the pressures, &c.
Division of the intrados. Nature of the surfaces at the joints, &c., &c.
LESSONS 13-15. _Berceaux and descentes._
LESSONS 16-22. _Skew Arches._
Study of the general problem of skew arches.
First solution. Straight arches _en échelon_.
Second solution: Orthogonal _appareil_. True and principal properties of
the orthogonal trajectories of the parallel sections of an elliptical or
circular cylinder. Right conoid, having for directrices the axis of the
circular cylinder and an orthogonal trajectory. The intersection of this
conoid by a cylinder about the same axis is an orthogonal trajectory for
a series of parallel sections.
Third solution: helicoidal. Determination of the angular elevation at
which the surfaces of the beds become normal to the head planes;
construction in the orthogonal and helicoidal _appareil_ of the curves
of junction upon the heads, and the angles which they form with the
curves of intrados. Cutting of the stones in these different
constructions. Broken helicoidal _appareil_, for very long skew arches.
Helicoidal _trompes_ at the angles of straight arches; _voussures_ or
widenings, which it is necessary to substitute near the heads at the
intrados of an arch with a considerable skew; case where the skew is not
the same for the two heads. Orthogonal trajectories of the converging
sections of a cylinder.
LESSONS 23-25. _Conical Intrados--Intrados of Revolution._
Skew _trompe_ in the angle. Suggestions on the general problem of
conical skew vaulted roofs.
Spherical domes, &c.
LESSONS 26-27. _Intrados, a Ruled Surface._
Winding staircases, &c., &c.
LESSON 28. _Helicodial Intrados._
Staircase on the Saint-Giles screw.
LESSONS 29-31. _Composite Vaulted Roofs._
Various descriptions of vaults.
Suggestions on vaulted roofs with polygonal edges and with ogival edges.
LESSON 32. _Revision._
Spirit and method of stereotomy.
Degree of exactness necessary. Approximate solutions. Case where it is
proper to employ calculation in aid of graphical constructions.
Review and comparison of different _appareils_.
MECHANICS AND MACHINES.
GENERAL ARRANGEMENTS.
The pupils execute during the two years of study:--
1. Various drawings or plans of models in relief representing the
essential and internal organs of machines, such as articulations of
connecting rods, winch-handles and fly-wheels, grease-boxes, eccentrics
worked by cams or circles giving motion to rods; the play of slides,
&c.; cylinders of steam-engines, condenser, pistons, and various
suckers; Archimedes’ screw, and other parts of machines.
The sketches of the plan drawings are traced by hand and figured. The
drawings in their finished state are washed and colored according to the
table of conventional tints; they all carry a scale suitably divided.
2. A drawing of wheel-work by the method of development, and tracing the
curves of teeth by arcs of circles from which they are developed. This
drawing represents, of the natural size, or on any other scale of size
considered suitable to show the nature of the partial actions only, a
small number of teeth either in development or projection; the entire
wheel-work is represented by the usual method of projection, where in
drawings on a small scale the teeth are replaced by truncated pyramids
with a trapezoidal base.
3. Finally, numerical exercises concerning the loss of work due to the
proejudicial resistances in various machines, the gauging of holes,
orifices, &c.
Models in relief or drawings on a large scale, of the machines or
elements of the machines mentioned in the course, assist in explaining
the lessons. They are brought back, as often as found necessary, under
the eyes of the students. When possible, lithographic sketches of the
machines, or the elements of the machines, which ought to enter into the
course, are distributed among the pupils.
The pupils, divided into sections, pay their first visit to the engine
factories towards the end of their first year of study; they make one or
more additional visits at the end of the second year.
_FIRST YEAR._
PART I. KINEMATICS.--PRELIMINARY ELEMENTARY MOVEMENTS OF INVARIABLE
POINTS AND SYSTEMS.
LESSONS 1-2.
Object of kinematics, under the geometrical and experimental point of
view. Its principal divisions.
Re-statement of the notions relative to the motion of a point, its
geometrical representation, and more especially the determination of its
velocity.
_Simultaneous Velocities of a Point and the Increments of its
Velocities._
Ratio of the elementary displacement and the velocity of a point to the
displacement, and velocity of its projection upon a straight line or
plane. Use of infinitesimals to determine these ratios.
Example:--Oscillatory motion of the projection upon a fixed axis of a
point moving uniformly upon the circumference of a circle.
Analogous considerations for polar co-ordinates. Relations of the
velocity of a point, of its velocity of revolution and its angular
velocity about a fixed pole; of its velocity in the direction of the
radius vector; of the velocity of increase of the area which this radius
describes.
_Simple Motions of Solids, or Rigid Systems._
1. Motion of rectilinear or curvilinear translation; simultaneous
displacements, and velocities of its different points.
2. Motion of rotation about a fixed axis; relation of the velocities of
different points to the angular velocity.
Geometrical notions and theorems relative to the _instantaneous center_
of rotation of a body of invariable figure and movable in one plane, or
to the _instantaneous axis_ of rotation of a rigid system situated in
space, and movable parallel to a fixed plane. Relation of the velocities
of different points to their common angular velocity. Use of the
instantaneous center of rotation for tracing tangents; examples--and
amongst others--that of the plane curve described by a point in a
straight line of given length, whose extremities slide upon two fixed
lines. Rolling of a curve upon another fixed curve in a plane.
Descartes’ theorems upon the intersection of the normals at the
successive points of contact: cycloids, epicycloids, involutes, and
evolutes. Extension of the preceding motions to the instantaneous axis
of rotation of a rigid system movable about a fixed point.
COMPOSITION OF MOTIONS.
LESSONS 3-6. _Composition of the Velocities of a Point._
Polygon of velocities. Example of movements observed relatively to the
earth. Particular cases; composition of velocities taken along three
axes; composition of the velocity of a point round a fixed pole, and its
velocity along the radius vector. Method of Roberval for tracing
tangents.
_Composition of the Simple Motions of a Solid System._
Composition of any number of translatory displacements of a solid.
Composition of two rotations about two intersecting axes. Composition of
any number of rotations about axes cutting one another at the same
point; parallelopiped and polygon of rotations. Composition of two
simultaneous rotations about parallel axes; case where the rotations are
equal and of opposite kinds. Decomposition of a rotation about an axis
into an equal rotation about any axis whatever parallel to the first,
and a translation perpendicular to the direction of this axis. Direct
and geometrical decomposition of the most general motions of a body into
a rotation about, and a translation along, an axis called the
_instantaneous axis_. Composition of any two motions whatever. Every
movement of an invariable system is at each instant of time decomposable
into three movements of rotation, and three movements of translation
with respect to three axes, which are neither parallel nor lying in the
same plane, but otherwise arbitrarily chosen.
_Relative or Apparent Motions._
Relative motion of two points whose absolute motions are given
graphically _à priori_. Trajectory of the relative motions, relative
velocities, and displacements upon curves or upon the direction of the
mutual distance of the two points; use of the parallelogram to determine
its amount. Relative motion of a point in motion in respect of a body
turning about a fixed axis; relative motion of two bodies which turn
about parallel or converging axes, and in general of two rigid bodies or
systems impelled by any motions whatever. How this problem is
immediately reduced to that of the composition of given motions.
The most general continued motion of an invariable figure in a plane is
an _epicycloidal_ motion, in which the instantaneous center describes a
curve fixed in relation to absolute space, and traces relatively to the
proposed figure a movable curve, which is rigidly connected with that
figure and draws it along with it in its motion of rolling upon the
other fixed curve. Case of space or spherical figures.
ON THE ACCELERATED MOTION OF A POINT.
LESSONS 7-9. _Accelerated Rectilinear Motion._
Re-statement of the motions acquired relatively to the acceleration in
the variable rectilinear motion of a point. Brief indication of the
solution of six problems arising out of the investigation of the laws of
the motion in terms of the space, time, velocity, and accelerating
force. For the most part these solutions may be brought to depend on
exact or approximate quadratures. Numerical exercises.
_Accelerated Curvilinear Motions._
Re-statement of the notions acquired relative to the composition of
accelerating forces; the resulting acceleration, the normal and
tangential acceleration animating a point in motion on a curve. The
total acceleration of a point upon an axis or plane is the projection
upon this axis or plane of the acceleration of the moving body in space.
In uniform curvilinear motion the total or resultant acceleration
becomes normal to the curve. Particular case of the circle; value of the
normal acceleration in terms of the velocity of revolution or the
angular velocity of the radius vector. Case of any curve whatever;
geometrical expression of the total or resultant acceleration.
_Accelerated Compound and Relative Motions._
Geometrical investigation of the simple and compound accelerations
arising out of the hypothesis in which the motion of any system of
points whatever is referred to another system of invariable form, but
also in motion. Geometrical and elementary explanations of the results
obtained by means of the transformation of co-ordinates.
_Examples or Exercises chosen from among the following Questions:_--
Projection of circular and uniform motion upon a fixed straight line or
plane; motion of a circle which rolls uniformly on a straight line;
comparison of the motions of the planets relatively to each other,
treating them as circular and uniform: comparison of the accelerating
force on the moon with that of bodies which fall to the earth.
GEOMETRICAL THEORY AND APPLICATION OF MECHANISMS OR CONTRIVANCES FOR THE
TRANSFORMATION OF MOTION.
LESSONS 10-19.
Succinct notions on the classification of elementary motions and organs
for transmission of motion in machines after Monge and Hachette, Lanz
and Bétancourt.
The most essential details upon this subject are set forth in the
following order, and made clear by outline drawings previously
distributed among the pupils.
_Organs fitted to regulate the direction of the circular or rectilinear
motion of certain pieces_.
Axle; trunnions, gudgeons; pivots and bearings; couplings of axes;
adjustment of wheels and of their arms. Joints with hinges, &c.; sheaves
and pulleys; chains, ropes, and straps; means of securing them to the
necks. Grooves and tongue-pieces. Eyelet-holes sliding along rectilinear
or curvilinear rods. Advantages and disadvantages of these different
systems of guides under the point of view of accuracy.
Rapid indication of some of their applications to drawbridges and to the
movable frames or wagons of saw-works and railways.
_Transmission at a Distance of Rectilinear Motion in a determinate
Direction and Ratio._
Inclined plane or wedge guiding a vertical rod. Wedge applied to
presses. Rods, winch-handles, &c. Disposition of drums or pulleys in the
same plane or in different planes; geometrical problem on this subject.
Fixed and movable pulleys. Blocks to pulleys. Simple and differential
wheel and axle moved by cords. Transmission through a liquid. Ratios of
velocities in these different organs.
_Direct Transformation of circular progressive motion into progressive
and intermittent rectilinear motion._
Rod conducted between guides: 1º, by the simple contact of a wheel; 2º,
by cross-straps or chains; 3º, by a projecting cam; 4º, by means of a
helicoidal groove set upon the cylindrical axis of the wheel. To-and-fro
movement, and heart-shaped or continuous cam, waves, and eccentrics.
Simple screw and nut. Left and right handed screws; differential screw
of Prony, called the micrometric screw. Ratio of the velocities in these
different organs.
The example of the cam and pile-driver will be particularly insisted
upon; 1º, in the case where this cam and the extremity of the rod have
any continuous form given by a simple geometrical drawing; 2º, in the
case where this form is defined geometrically by the condition, that the
velocity is to be transmitted in an invariable ratio, as takes place for
cams in the form of epicycloids or involutes of circles.
_Transformation of a circular progressive motion into another similar to
the first._
1º, by contact of cylinders or cones, the two axes being situated in the
same plane; 2º, by straps, cords, or endless chains, the axes being in
the same situation; 3º, by cams, teeth, and grooves, at very slight
intervals; 4º, by the Dutch or universal joint. Case, where the axes are
not situated in the same plane; use of an intermediate axis with beveled
wheels or a train of pulleys; idea of White or Hooke’s joint in its
improved form. Endless screw specially employed in the case of two axes
at right angles to one another. Combinations or groupings of wheels.
Idea of differential wheels. Relations of velocities in the most
important of these systems of transmission.
_Transformation of circular progressive Motion into rectilinear or
alternating circular motion._
Ordinary circular eccentric. Eccentrics with closed waves or cams.
Examples and graphical exercises in the class-rooms relative to the
alternate action of the traveling frames of saw-mills, of the slides or
entrance valves of steam-engines. Cams for working hammers and bellows.
_Transformation of alternating circular motion into alternating
rectilinear motion, or into intermittent and progressive circular
motion._
Pump rods with or without circular sectors, &c. Examples taken from
large exhausting pumps, fire-engines, and common pumps. Suggestions as
to the best arrangement of the parts. Lagarousse’s lever, &c.
Application of the principle relative to the instantaneous center of
rotation to give the relations of the velocities in certain simple
cases.
_Transformation of alternating circular or rectilinear motions into
progressive circular motion._
The knife-grinder’s treadle. System of great machines worked with
connecting rods, fly-wheel, &c. Watt’s parallelogram, and the simplest
modifications of it for steamboats, for instance. The most favorable
proportions for avoiding the deviation of piston-rods. Simplification of
parts in the modern steam-engines of Maudsley, Cavé, &c. Variable ratios
of the velocities.
_Of organs for effecting a sudden change of motion._
Suspendors or moderators, &c. Dead wheels and pulleys, &c. Mechanisms
for stretching cords or straps, and make them change pulleys during the
motion. Brakes to windmills, carriages, &c., &c. Case where the axes are
rendered movable. Means for changing the directions and velocity of the
motions. Coupled and alternate pulleys; alternate cones; castors moving
by friction and rotation upon a plate or turning-cone; eccentric and
orrery wheels. Means of changing the motion suddenly and by intervals;
wheels with a detent pile-drivers; Dobo’s escapement for diminishing the
shock, &c.
_Geometrical Drawing of Wheel-work._
General condition which the teeth of toothed wheels must satisfy.
Consequence resulting from this for the determination of the form of the
teeth of one of two wheels, when the form of the teeth of the other
wheel is given.
_Cylindrical action of toothed wheels_ or toothed wheels with parallel
axes. External engagement of the teeth; internal engagement. Particular
systems of toothed wheels; lantern wheels, flange wheels, involutes of
circles. Reciprocity of action; case where the action can not be
rendered reciprocal. Pothook action. Details as to the form and
dimensions given in practice to the teeth and the spaces which separate
them.
_Conical action of toothed wheels_, or toothed wheels with converging
axes. Practical approximate method of reducing the construction of a
conical to that of a cylindrical engagement of toothed wheels.
_Means of observation and apparatus proper for discovering
experimentally the law of any given movement._
Simple methods practiced by Galileo and Coulomb in their experiments
relative to the inclined plane and the motion of bodies sliding down it.
Various means of observing and discovering the law of the translatory
and rotatory motion of a body according as the motion is slow or rapid.
Determination of the angular velocity, &c. The counter in machines.
Apparatus of Mattei and Grobert for assigning the initial velocity of
projectiles (musket balls.) Colonel Beaufoy’s pendulum apparatus.
Chronometrical apparatus for continuous indications by means of a
pencil. Eytelwein’s apparatus with bands, and its simplest
modifications. Apparatus with cylinders or revolving disks. Use of the
tuning-fork for measuring with precision very small fractions of time.
(The principal sorts of the apparatus above described are made to act
under the eyes of the pupils.)
PART II.--EQUILIBRIUM OF FORCES APPLIED TO MATERIAL SYSTEMS.
LESSON 21.
_Résumé of the notions acquired upon the subject of forces, and their
effects on material points._
Principle of inertia, notion of force, of its direction, of its
intensity. Principle of the equality of action and reaction. What is
meant by the force of inertia? Principle of the independence and
composition of the effects of forces. Forces proportional to the
acceleration which they produce on the same body. Composition of forces.
Relation between the accelerating force, the pressure, and the mass.
Definition of the work done by a force. The work done by the resultant
is equal to the sum of the works done by the components. Moment of a
force in relation to an axis deduced from the consideration of the work
of the force applied to a point turning about a fixed line. The moment
of the resultant of several forces applied to a point is equal to the
sum of the moments of the components. Corresponding propositions of
geometry.
LESSONS 22-25.
_Succinct Notions upon the Constitution of Solid Bodies._
Every body or system of bodies may be regarded as a combination of
material points isolated or at a distance, subject to equal and opposite
mutual actions. Interior and exterior forces. Example of two molecules
subject to their reciprocal actions alternately, attractive and
repulsive, when the forces applied draw them out of their position of
natural equilibrium. Different degrees of natural solidity, stability,
or elasticity; they can only be appreciated by experience.
_Equilibrium of any Systems whatever of Material Points._
General theorem of the virtual work of forces applied to any system
whatever of material points. It is applicable to every finite portion of
the system, provided regard be had to the actions exercised by the
molecules exterior to the part under consideration. Determination of the
sum of the virtual works of the equal and reciprocal actions of two
material points. Demonstration of the six general equations of
equilibrium of any system whatever. They comprise implicitly _every_
equation deduced from a virtual movement compatible with the
pre-supposed solidification of the system.
Theorem on the virtual work in the case of systems where one supposes
ideal connections, such as the invariability of the distance of certain
points of the system from one another, and the condition that certain of
them are to remain upon curves either fixed or moving without friction.
_Equilibrium of Solid Bodies._
The six general equations of equilibrium are sufficient as conditions of
the equilibrium of a solid body. Theory of moments and couples.
APPLICATIONS.
LESSONS 26-29. _Equilibrium of Heavy Systems._
Recapitulation of some indispensable notions for the experimental
determination of the center of gravity of solids when the law of their
densities is unknown. Re-statement of the theorem relative to the work
done by gravity upon a system of bodies connected or otherwise. In
machines supposed without friction submitted, with the exception of
their supports, to the action of gravity alone, the positions of stable
or unstable equilibrium correspond to the highest or lowest points of
the curve which would be described by the center of gravity of the
system when made to move. Influence of defect of centering in its
wheels, upon the equilibrium of a machine. Case where the center of
gravity always remaining at the same height the equilibrium is neutral.
Examples relative to the most simple drawbridges, &c.
_Equilibrium of Jointed Systems._
Equilibrium of the funicular polygon deduced from direct geometrical
considerations: Varignon’s theorem giving the law of the tensions by
another polygon whose sides are parallel and proportional to the forces
acting upon the vertices of the funicular polygon. Case of suspension
bridges; investigation of the curve which defines the boundary of the
suspension chain; tensions at the extremities.
Equilibrium of systems of jointed rigid bodies without friction.
Determination of the pressure upon the supports and the mutual actions
at the joints.
_Equilibrium and stability of solid bodies submitted to the action of
stretching or compressing forces._
Permanent resistance and limiting resistance of prisms to longitudinal
extension and compression. Equilibrium and stability of a heavy solid
placed upon a horizontal plane and submitted to the action of forces
which tend to overset it. Resultant pressure and mean pressure;
hypothetical distribution of the elements of the pressure on the base of
support. Conditions of stability, regard being had to the limit of
resistance of solid materials, co-efficient of stability deduced from
it.
PART III.--ON THE WORK DONE BY FORCES IN MACHINES.
LESSONS 30-39. _General Notions._
Principle of work in the motion of a material point. Extension of this
principle to the case of any material system whatever in motion.
Considerations relative to mechanical work in various operations, such
as the lifting of weights, sawing, planing, &c. It is the true measure
of the productive activity of forces in industrial works. It may always
be calculated either rigorously or approximately when the mathematical
or experimental law which connects the force with the spaces described
is given. Uniform work, periodical work, mean work, for the unit of
time. Horse-power unit. Examples and various exercises, such as the
calculation of the work corresponding to the elasticity of gases on the
hypothesis of Mariotte’s law, the elongation of a metallic prism, &c.
_Dynamometrical Apparatus._
Dynamometer of traction by a band or rotating disc or register.
Dynamometer of rotation with simple spring, with band or register.
Dynamometer of rotation with multiple springs and with register for the
axles of powerful machines. Improved indicator of Watt.
(These pieces of apparatus are made to act under the eyes of the
pupils.)
_Work of Animal Prime Movers upon Machines._
Results of experience as to the values of the daily work which animal
motors can supply under different circumstances without exceeding the
fatigue which sleep and nourishment are capable of repairing.
_Theory of the Transmission of Work in Machines._
Principal resistance. Secondary resistances. Two manners in which bodies
perform the duty of motors. Ratio of work done to work expended always
inferior to unity. Different parts of machines; receiver; organs of
transmission; tools as machines.
_Calculation of the Work due to the passive resistances in machines._
_Résumé_ of the notions previously acquired on friction. Application to
the inclined plane, to the printing-press, to guides or grooves, to the
screw with a square thread; different cases of uniform motion being
impossible under the action of forces of given directions. Friction of
trunnions, pivots, eccentrics, and insertions of winch-handles. Prony’s
dynamometrical brake; conditions of its application. Resistance to
rolling; its laws according to experiment. Use of rollers and
friction-wheels; their practical inconveniences.
Mixed friction of toothed wheels; the Dobo escapement: friction of the
teeth in the endless screw.
Stiffness and friction of cords. Results of experience. Friction of
cords and straps running round drums. Different applications; brakes;
transmission by cords, endless straps, or chains.
Examples and exercises; effects of passive resistances in the capstan,
the crane, pulleys, &c.
LESSON 40. _Revision._
_SECOND YEAR._
PART I.--DYNAMICS.-- DYNAMICS OF A MATERIAL POINT.
LESSONS 1-2. _Completion of the Notions acquired on this Subject._
Differential equations of the motion of a material point submitted to
the continued action of one or more forces. The acceleration of the
projection of a point upon any axis or plane is due to the projection of
the forces on this axis or plane. The acceleration along the trajectory
is due to the tangential force. Relation of the curvature to the
centripetal force. Introduction of the force of inertia into the
preceding enunciations.
The increase of the quantity of motion projected upon an axis or taken
along the trajectory is equal to the impulsion of the projected
resultant, or to that of the tangential force. The total impulsion of a
force is got by methods of calculation and of experiment analogous to
those which relate to _work_. The increase of the moment of the quantity
of motion in relation to any axis is equal to the total moment of the
impulsions of the forces during the same interval of time; direct
geometrical demonstration of this theorem. In decomposing the velocity
of the moving body into a velocity in the plane passing through the axis
of the moments, and a velocity of revolution perpendicular to this
plane, we may replace the moment of the quantity of motion in space by
the quantity of motion of revolution. Particular case known under the
name of the principle of areas.
Extension of the preceding theorems to the case of relative motions.
Apparent forces which must be combined with the real ones that the
relative motion of a point may be assimilated to an absolute motion.
Particular case of relative equilibrium. Influence of the motion of the
earth upon the accelerating force of gravity.
DYNAMICS OF ANY MATERIAL SYSTEMS.
LESSONS 3-8.
_Principle or general rule_ which reduces questions in dynamics to
questions in equilibrium by the addition of the forces of inertia to the
forces which really act on the system. Equation of virtual work which
expresses this equilibrium; it comprises in general the external and
internal forces.
_General Theorems._
These theorems, four in number, are founded upon the principle of the
equality of action and reaction applied to internal forces. They may be
deduced from the preceding rule, but the three last are obtained more
simply by extending to a system of material points analogous theorems
established for isolated material points.
General theorem of the motion of the center of gravity of a system.
Particular case called _principle of the conservation of the motion of
the center of gravity_.
General theorem on the quantities of motion and impulsions of exterior
forces projected on any axis.
General theorems of moments of quantities of motion and impulsions of
exterior forces, projected on any axis whatever.
General theorems of the moments of quantities of motion and impulsions
of exterior forces about any axis. Analogy of these two theorems with
the equations of the equilibrium of a solid, in which the forces are
replaced by impulsions and quantities of motion.
Composition of impulsions, of quantities of motion, or the areas which
represent them. All the equations which can be obtained by the
application of the two theorems relative to quantities of motion and
impulsions, reduce themselves to six distinct equations. Particular case
called _principle of the conservation of areas_. Fixed plane of the
resulting moment of the quantities of motion called _plane of maximum
areas_.
General theorem of work and _vis viva_. Part which appertains to the
interior forces in this theorem. Particular case called principle of the
conservation of _vires vivæ_, where the sum of the elements of work done
by the exterior and interior forces is the differential of a function of
the co-ordinates of different points of the system. Application of the
theorem of work to the stability of the equilibrium of heavy systems.
Extension of the preceding theorems to the case of relative motions.
Particular case of relative equilibrium. Motion of any material system
relative to axes always passing through the center of gravity, and
moving parallel to themselves. Invariable plane of Laplace. Relation
between the absolute _vis viva_ of a material system, and that which
would be due to its motion, referred to the system of movable axes above
indicated.
_Examples and Applications._
The following examples, amongst others, to be taken as applications or
subjects of exercises relative to the general principles which precede.
Walking. Recoil of guns. Eolypile. Flight of rockets.
Pressure of fluid veins, resistance of mediums, &c. Direct collision of
bodies more or less hard, elastic, or penetrable. Exchange of quantities
of motion. Loss of _vis viva_ under different hypotheses. Influence of
vibrations and permanent molecular displacements.
Pile driving; advantage of large rammers. Comparison of effects of the
shocks and of simple pressures due to the weight of the construction.
Oblique collision, and ricochet. Data furnished by experiment.
Oscillations of a vertical elastic prism suspended to a fixed point, and
loaded with a weight, neglecting the inertia, and the weight of the
material parts of this prism. Case of a sudden blow. What is meant by
the “_resistance vive_” of a prism to rupture? Results of experiments.
Work developed by powder upon projectiles, estimated according to the
_vis viva_ which it impresses on them, as well as upon the gun and the
gases upon hypothesis of a mean velocity.
SPECIAL DYNAMICS OF SOLID BODIES.
LESSONS 9-12. _Simple Rotation of an invariable Solid about its Axis._
In applying to this case the first general rule of dynamics, the theorem
of the moments of the quantities of motion, and the theorem of work, we
are led to the notion of the moment of inertia; explanation of the
origin of this name. The angular acceleration is equal to the sum of the
moments of the exterior forces divided by the moment of inertia about
the axis of rotation. Sum of the moments of the quantities of motion
relative to this axis. _Vis viva_ of a solid simply turning about an
axis. What is meant by _radius of gyration_?
_Remind_ of the geometrical properties of moments of inertia, of the
ellipsoid which represents them, of the principal axes at any point, of
those which are referred to the center of gravity.
Pressure which a rotating body exercises on its supports. Reduction of
the centrifugal and tangential forces of inertia to a force which is the
force of inertia of the entire mass accumulated at the center of
gravity, and a couple.
Particular case where the forces of inertia have a single resultant;
different examples. Center of percussion. Compound pendulum; length of
the corresponding simple pendulum. Center of oscillation; reciprocity of
the centers or axes of suspension and oscillation. Pressure upon the
axis. Influence of the medium; experience proves that the resistance,
varying with the velocity, changes the extent of the oscillations, but
does not sensibly affect the time. Experimental determination of the
center of oscillation and the moment of inertia about an axis.
_Motion of an invariable Solid subject to certain Forces._
General notions on this subject. Motion of the center of gravity; motion
of rotation about this point.
LESSONS 13-19. _Various Applications._
Motion of a homogeneous sphere or cylinder rolling upon an inclined
plane, taking friction into account.
Motion of a pulley with its axis horizontal, solicited by two weights
suspended vertically to a thread or fine string passing round the neck
of the pulley, the axle of which rests upon movable wheels. Atwood’s
machine serving to demonstrate the laws of the communication of motion.
Motion of a horizontal wheel and axle acted on by a weight suspended
vertically to a cord rolled round the axle, or upon a drum with the same
axis, and presenting an eccentric mass. To take account of the variable
friction of the bearings, and the stiffness of the cord, with recourse,
if necessary, to approximation by quadratures. Oscillations of the
torsion balance.
Balistic pendulum. Condition that there may be no shock on the axis.
Experimental determination of the direction in which the percussion
should take place.
Theory of Huyghen’s conical pendulum considered as a regulator of
machinery. How to take account of the inertia and friction of the
jointed rods, as well as of the force necessary to move the regulating
lever, &c.; appreciation of the degree of sensibility of the ball
apparatus with a given uniform velocity.
Windlass with fly-wheel. Dynamical properties of the fly-wheel. Reduced
formulæ for a crank with single or double action. Advantages and
disadvantages of eccentric masses. Tendency of the tangential forces of
inertia to break the arms. Numerical examples and computations.
Mutual action of rotating bodies connected by straps or toothed wheels
in varying motion.
The wedge and punching-press. Stamping screw or lever used in coining,
cams, lifting a pile or a hammer. To take account of the friction during
the blow, and afterwards to estimate the loss of _vis viva_ in cases
which admit of it.
PART II.--SPECIAL MECHANICS OF FLUIDS.--HYDROSTATICS.
LESSONS 20-22.
Principle of the equality of pressure in all directions. Propagation of
the pressures from the surface to the interior of a fluid, and upon the
sides of the vessel. Equations of equilibrium for any set of forces.
Pressure exerted in the containing orifices. Measure of the pressure
upon a plain portion of surface inclined or vertical (sluice-gate,
embankments, &c.) Center of push or pressure. Pressure against the
surfaces of a cylindrical tube. Effect, and resistance to oppose to the
pressure. Manometer and piezometer. Equilibrium of a body plunged in a
heavy fluid or floating at its surface. Stability of floating bodies.
Metacenter. Laws of the pressure in the different atmospheric strata.
HYDRAULICS.
LESSONS 23-27. _Flow of Fluids through small Orifices._
Study of the phenomena which accompany this flow in the case of a thin
envelop and a liquid kept at a constant level. Conditions of this
constancy in the level, and the permanence of the motion in general.
Motion of the lines of fluid; form; contraction; reversal and
discontinuity of liquid veins. Fundamental formulæ for liquids and gases
based upon the principle of _vis viva_, and Bernoulli’s hypothesis of
parallel sections or Borda’s of contiguous threads. Torricelli’s theorem
relative to small orifices. What is called the theoretical expenditure,
effective expenditure, and co-efficient of geometrical contraction.
Co-efficient deduced from the effective expenditure. Its variations with
the volume of the fluid contents, and the form of the inner surfaces of
the reservoir. Results of the experiments of Michelotti, Borda, Bossut,
&c. Phenomenon of adjutages. Venturi’s experiments; influence of
atmospheric pressure; loss of _vis viva_; reduction of the velocity and
augmentation of the expenditure. Results of experience relative to the
co-efficient of expenditure, the form and range of the parabolic jets,
showing the initial _vis viva_, and the loss of _vis viva_.
_Large orifices._--Sluice holes and floodgates; reservoirs or open
orifices; expenditure; practical formulæ and results of experiment.
Influence of the proximity of the sides and the walls. Arrangement to
avoid the effects of contraction or the losses of _vis viva_.
_Flow through conducting Pipes and Open Canals._
Practical formulæ relative to the case of uniform sections of great
length. Measure of the pressures at different points of a conduit-pipe.
Expression for the losses of effect due to corners and obstructions.
Flow of gases. Principal methods of measuring the volume consumed
adopted in practice. Floats. Pitot’s tube. Woltman’s mill. Register mill
in air or gas. Waste in such instruments. Modulus and scale for
water-supply.
PART III.--DIFFERENT MACHINES CONSIDERED IN THE STATE OF MOTION.
LESSON 28. _General Considerations. Résumé of the Notions acquired on
this Subject._
Equation of _vis viva_, and transmission of work in machines, account
being taken of the different causes of power and resistance. Physical
constitution of machines; _receiver_, _communicators_, and _operator_.
Influence of the weights, of frictions, of shocks, and any changes in
the _vis viva_. Parts with continuous or uniform motion, with
alternating or oscillating motion. Laws of the motion on starting from
rest, and when the stationary condition is established. The positions to
which the maximum and minimum of the _vis viva_ correspond are those in
which there is equilibrium between all the forces, exclusive of the
forces of inertia. Advantage of uniform or periodic motion. General
methods for regulating the motion; symmetrical distribution of the
masses and strains; flys and various regulators. Brakes and moderators;
their inconveniences. Object and real advantages of machines.
LESSONS 27-35. _Hydraulic Wheels._
Vertical wheels with float-boards, with curved ladles, and with spouts.
Figure of the surface of the fluid in these latter. Horizontal wheels
working by float-boards, buckets, and reaction. Turbines. Description,
play, and useful effects compared according to the results of
experiment. Vertical wheels of windmills and steamboats. Screw
propeller.
_Windmills._
Description. Result of Coulomb’s observations.
_On the principal kinds of Pumps._
Special organs of pumps. Valves and pistons, force pump, sucking pump;
limit to the rise of the water. Sucking and force pump. Dynamical
effects. Indication as to the losses of _vis viva_ and the waste in
different pumps. Explanation of the hydraulic ram. Air vessel. Fire
pumps. Double action pumps.
_Various Hydraulic Machines._
Hydraulic press. Water engine. Exhausting machines; _norias_; under and
overshot wheels; Archimedes’ screw, construction and experimental data.
LESSONS 36-39. _Steam Engines._
Succinct description of the principal kinds of steam-engine with or
without detent. Effects and advantages of the detent. Condenser. Air
Pump. Furnace and feeding-pump.
Variable detent. Formulæ and experimental results.
LESSONS 40-42. _Revision._
Reflections on the totality of the subjects of the course.
IV. PHYSICS.--_FIRST YEAR._
GENERAL PROPERTIES OF BODIES.--HYDROSTATICS.--HYDRODYNAMICS.
LESSONS 1-5. _Preliminary Notions._
Definitions of physics. Phenomena. Physical laws. Experiments are
designed to make them spring out of the phenomena. Method of induction.
Physical theories; different character of the experimental and
mathematical methods.
_General Properties of Bodies._
Extension. Measure of lengths. Vernier. Cathetometer. Micrometer screw.
Spherometer. Dividing engine.
Divisibility. Porosity. Ideas generally received on the molecular
constitution of bodies. These conceptions, which are purely
hypothetical, must not be confounded with physical laws. Elasticity.
Mobility. Inertia. Forces; their equilibrium, their effects, their
numerical estimation.
_Weight or Gravity._
Direction of gravity. Plumb-line. Relation between the direction of
gravity and the surface of still water.
Weight. Center of gravity.
Experimental study of the motion produced by weight. In vacuum, all
bodies fall with the same velocity. Disturbing influence of the air.
Inclined plane of Galileo. Atwood’s machine. To prove by experiment; 1º
the law of the spaces described; 2º the law of velocities. Morin’s
self-registering apparatus with revolving cylinder.
Law of the independence of the effect produced by a force upon a body,
and the motion anteriorily acquired by this body. Law of the
independence of the effects of forces which act simultaneously upon the
same body. Experimental demonstration and generalization of these laws.
Law of the equality of action and reaction.
Mass. Acceleration. For equal masses the forces are as the accelerations
which they produce. Relation between the force, mass, and acceleration.
Collision.
General laws of uniformly accelerated motion. Formulæ.
Pendulum. Law of the isochronism of small oscillations and law of the
lengths deduced from observation.
Method of coincidences or beats. Use of the pendulum as the measure of
time. Simple pendulum; formulæ. Compound pendulum: the laws of the
oscillations of a compound pendulum are the same as the laws of the
oscillations of a simple pendulum whose length may be calculated.
Determination by means of the pendulum of the acceleration produced by
gravity. This acceleration is independent of the nature of the body.
Remark that the formulæ for the motion of oscillation apply to the
comparison of forces of any kind, that may be regarded as constant and
parallel to themselves in all positions of the oscillating body.
Identity of gravity and universal attraction.
Measure of weights. Balance. Conditions to be attended to in making it.
Absolute sensibility; proportional sensibility. Method of double
weighing. Details of the precautions necessary in order to obtain an
exact weight.
_Different States of Bodies. Hydrostatics._
Solids. Cohesion. Transmission of external pressures.
Elasticity. The true laws of elasticity are unknown. Empirical laws in
certain simple cases, and for a very small action. Elasticity of
compression, extension, torsion. Experimental determination of the
co-efficients of elasticity. Limits of elasticity. Limits of tenacity.
Ductility. Temper. Cold hammering. Annealing.
Liquids. Fluidity. Viscosity. Physical laws which form the basis of
hydrostatics:--1º the transmission of external pressures is equal in all
directions; 2º the pressure exercised in the interior of a liquid upon
an element of a surface is normal to that element, and independent
(as to amount) of its direction. These principles are demonstrated by
the experimental verification of the consequences drawn from them.
Application to heavy liquids. Free surface, and surface _de niveau_.
Pressure upon the parts of the containing vessel, and upon the bottom in
particular; hydrostatic paradox; verificatory experiments. Haldat’s
apparatus. Hydrostatic press.
Application to immersed or floating bodies (principle of Archimedes;)
verificatory experiments. (In treating of the equilibrium of floating
bodies, the conditions of stability are not gone into.)
Superposed liquids.
Communicating vessels. Water level. Spirit level; its use in
instruments.
Densities of solids and liquids. Anemometers.
Compressibility of liquids. Piezometer. Correction due to the
compressibility of the solid envelop.
Gas. Expansibility. Other properties common to liquids and gases.
Principle of the equal transmission of pressures in all directions.
Weight of gases. Pressure due to weight (principle of Archimedes.)
Weight of body in air and in vacuum. Aerostation.
Superposed liquids and gases.
Communicating vessels. Barometer.
Detailed construction of barometer. Barometers of Fortin, Gay-Lussac,
Bunten. Indication of the corrections necessary.
Mariotte’s law. Regnault’s experiments.
Manometer with atmospheric air--with compressed air. Bourdon’s
manometer.
Law of the mixture of gases.
Air pump. Condensing pump.
_Primary Notions of Hydrodynamics._
Toricelli’s principle. Mariotte’s vessel and syphon. Uniform flow of
liquids. The same of gases.
_Molecular Phenomena._
Cohesion of liquids. Adhesion of liquids to solids. Capillary phenomena.
Apparent attractions and repulsions of floating bodies.
Adhesion of drops.
Molecular actions intervene as disturbing forces in the phenomena of the
equilibrium and motion of liquids.
HEAT.
EFFECTS OF HEAT ON BODIES.
LESSONS 6-9. _Generalities._
General effects. Arbitrary choice of one of these effects to define the
thermometric condition of a body. Conventional adoption of a
thermometer. Definition of temperature.
_Dilating Effects._
Definition of the co-efficients of linear, superficial, and cubic
dilatation. Approximate relation between the numerical values of these
three co-efficients. The value of the co-efficient of dilatation depends
upon the thermometric substance and the temperature selected as the zero
point. It becomes nearly independent of the zero point when the
co-efficient is very small.
Relation between volume, density, and temperature. Linear dilatation of
solid bodies. Ramsden’s instrument. Cubical dilatation of liquids.
Dulong and Petit’s experiments on mercury. Discussion. Regnault’s
experiments.
Cubical dilatation of solids and of other liquids when that of mercury
is given.
Relations between the volume, density, and elasticity of a gas, and its
temperature.
Cubical dilatation of gases. Experiments of Gay-Lussac, Rudberg, and M.
Regnault. Advantage of varying the methods of experimenting in these
delicate researches.
Methods based upon the changes of volume under a constant pressure, and
upon the changes of pressure for a constant volume.
The disagreement of these two methods is due to deviations from the law
of Mariotte.
The constancy of the co-efficients of dilatation previously defined is
only approximately true.
Necessity of employing two different co-efficients of dilatation
according as consideration is being had to the variations of volume to a
given pressure, or of pressure to a given volume.
Empirical formulæ for the dilatation of liquids.
Graphical constructions.
LESSON 10. _Thermometers._
Construction of thermometers. Mercurial thermometer. Details of
construction. Fixed points. Different scales; their relation. Arbitrary
scales. Change which takes place in the zero point. Different
precautions to be observed in using the mercurial thermometer.
General want of comparability of mercurial thermometers with tubes of
different material.
Air thermometers. They are comparable with one another within the limits
of the errors of experiment, whatever the nature of the tube employed.
This property entitles the air thermometer to a preference for all
accurate measures. Comparison of the air and mercurial thermometers.
THERMOSCOPE, DIFFERENTIAL THERMOMETER, PYROMETERS, BREGUET’S
THERMOMETER.
LESSONS 11-13. _Changes of State produced by Heat._
Exposition of the phenomena which accompany the liquefaction of solids
and the solidification of liquids. Constancy of the temperature whilst
the phenomenon is going on.
Sudden melting and freezing. Persistance of the liquid state beneath the
melting point.
Influence of pressure.
Exposition of the phenomena which accompany the conversion of liquids or
solids into vapor, and the inverse passage from the gaseous to the
liquid or solid state. Constancy of the temperatures whilst the
phenomenon is going on.
Influence of pressure.
Phenomena of ebullition in free space. Augmentation of the temperature
and pressure in a confined space. Papin’s digester.
Properties of vapors in spaces and in gases. Saturated vapors. Their
tension does not depend upon the space which they occupy, but only upon
their temperature.
Effects of a diminution or increase of pressure without change of
temperature; the same without change of pressure. Effects of lowering
the temperature in a limited region of space occupied by vapor.
Tension of a saturated vapor at the boiling point of its liquid.
Measure of the tensions of the vapor of water. Experiments of Dalton,
Gay-Lussac, Dulong, and Arago, and of M. Regnault.
Tables of the tensions of steam. Empirical formulæ. Graphical
constructions.
It is assumed that non-saturated vapors are subject to the same laws as
gases.
APPLICATIONS. CORRECTION OF THE BOILING-POINT IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF
THERMOMETERS. BAROMETRICAL THERMOMETERS.
LESSONS 14-16. _Various Applications of the Laws previously
established._
A phenomenon can not always be separated from the accessory phenomena
which concur with it in producing the final result. Necessity of
corrections to render complex results comparable _inter se_.
Density of solids when regard is had to the temperature and weight of
the gases displaced by them.
Precautions to be attended to in the experiments. Empirical formulæ for
the density of liquids. Maximum density of water. The temperature
corresponding to the maximum must be determined graphically, or by
interpolation.
Corrections for measures of capacity, for barometric measures.
The uncertainty of the corrections can not, in any considerable degree,
affect the densities of solids and liquids.
Density of gases. Biot and Arago’s experiments. Special difficulties of
the question. The uncertainty of the corrections may sensibly affect the
results. Regnault’s method.
The same method may be applied to the determination of the co-efficient
of dilatation for gases.
Density of vapors. Definition founded on the hypothetical application of
the same laws to gases and vapors. Formulæ. Experimental method of
Gay-Lussac and of Dumas. Corrections. Comparison of the two methods.
Necessity of conducting the experiments at a distance from the
saturation point. Latour’s experiments. Relations between the weight and
volume of a gas, and its temperatures; between the weight and volume of
a gas mixed with vapors, and its temperature. Various problems.
Hygrometry. Chemical hygrometry. Hygrometry by the dew-point.
Psychrometry.
PROPAGATION OF HEAT.
LESSONS 17-18. _Propagation at a Distance._
Rapid propagation of heat at a distance, in vacuum, in gases, in certain
liquid or solid mediums. Experiments which establish this.
Rays of heat. Velocity of propagation. Intensity of heat received at a
distance. Intensity of heat received or emitted obliquely. Emitting
power, power of absorption, reflection, diffusion. The emitting and
absorbing power are expressible by the same number in terms of their
proper units respectively.
Analysis of calorific radiations by absorption. Different effects of
deathermanous or thermochroic medium. Different influences of increasing
thicknesses of the combination of different mediums. Radiations
proceeding from different sources, various effects of different mediums
on these radiations.
The calorific radiations emanating from different sources, have all the
characters of differently colored heterogeneous rays of light.
THEORY OF RADIATION AND OF THE DYNAMICAL EQUILIBRIUM OF TEMPERATURES.
APPARENT REFLECTION OF COLD.
LESSON 19. _Law of Cooling._
Definition of the rate of cooling. Many causes may conspire in the
cooling of a body.
Cooling in space. Newton’s law only an approximation. Experimental
investigation of the true law. Method to be followed in this
investigation. The velocity of cooling is not a _datum_ directly
observable. It must be deduced provisionally from an empirical relation
between the temperature and the time. Preliminary experiments. Course of
the definitive experiments. Elementary experimental laws.
Hypothetical form of the function which expresses the velocity of
cooling. To determine by means of the preceding experimental laws the
unknown form of the function which expresses the law of radiation.
Relation between the temperatures and the times. This relation only
contains data immediately observable, and may be verified _à
posteriori_.
The contents which enter into the preceding relation depend upon
thermometric constants and the nature of the radiating surface.
The contact of a gas modifies the law of cooling.
LESSONS 20-21. _Propagation by Contact._
Slow propagation of heat in the interior of bodies, in solids, liquids,
and gases. Confirmatory experiments. Hypothesis of partial radiation.
Theoretical law resulting from this hypothesis upon the decrease of
temperatures in a solid limited by two indefinite parallel planes
maintained at constant temperatures. Determination of the co-efficient
of conductibility by the experimental realization of these conditions.
This experiment determines a numerical value of the co-efficients; it is
not of a nature to serve as a check upon the theoretical principles.
Enunciation of the law resulting from the same theoretical principles
upon the decrease of temperatures in a thin bar heated at one end.
CALORIMETRY.
LESSONS 22-23. _Specific Heats._
Comparison of the quantities of heat. The quantities of heat are not
proportioned to the temperatures. Definitions of the unity of heat.
General method of mixtures to estimate the quantities of heat.
Experimental precautions and corrections.
Application of the general method of mixtures. Specific heats of solids
and liquids. Law of the specific heat of atoms. Heat absorbed by
expansion, restored by the compression of bodies. Experiments on gases.
Specific heats of gases under constant pressure. Measure of specific
heats of gases under constant pressure. Special difficulties of the
question. Succinct indication of one of the methods. Specific heats to a
constant volume.
LESSON 24. _Latent Heat._
Component heat of liquids absorbed into the _latent_ state during
fusion, restored to the _free_ state during solidification.
Influence of the viscous state. Latent heat of ice. Ice calorimeter; its
defects.
Component heat of vapors, absorbed into the latent state during
vaporization, restored to the free state during condensation. Measure of
the latent heat of vapors. Regnault’s experiments.
Empirical laws on the latent heat of vaporization.
_Applications of Calorimetry._
Means of producing heat or cold; 1, by changes in density; 2, by changes
of state. Freezing mixtures. Vaporization of liquids. Condensation of
vapors.
Steam-boilers. Warming by hot air and hot water. Various problems.
Sensations produced by a jet of vapor.
Different physical and chemical sources of heat; percussion, friction,
chemical combinations, animal heat, natural heat of the globe, solar
heat, &c. It will be remarked that mechanical work may become a source
of heat, and heat a source of mechanical work.
STATICAL ELECTRICITY.--MAGNETISM.--STATICAL ELECTRICITY.
LESSONS 25-27.
General phenomena. Distinction of bodies into conductors and
non-conductors. Distinction of electricity into two kinds. Separation of
the two electricities by friction. Hypothesis of electric fluids.
Effects of vacuum of gases and vapors of points. Electrical attractions
and repulsions. Electrization by influence. Case where the influenced
body is already electrized. Sparks; power of points. Electrization by
influence preceding the motion of light bodies.
Electroscopes.
Electrical machines of Van-Marum, Nairne, Armstrong.
Condenser. Accumulation of electricity upon its surface. Leyden jar.
Batteries. Electrical discharges. Effects of electricity.
Condensing electroscope. Electrophorus.
Velocity of statical electricity.
Atmospherical electricity. Phenomena observed with a serene sky.
Electricity of clouds. Storms. Lightning. Thunder. Effects of thunder.
Return-shock. Lightning conductor.
Different sources of statical electricity.
MAGNETISM.
LESSONS 28-30.
Natural magnets. Action upon iron and steel. Artificial magnets. The
attractive action appears as if it were concentrated about the
extremities of magnetic bars. First idea of poles.
Direction of a magnetized bar under the earth’s action. Reciprocal
action of the poles of two magnets. Names given to the poles.
Phenomena of influence. Action of a magnet upon a bar of soft iron; upon
a bar of steel. Coercive force. Effects of the rupture of a magnetized
bar. Theoretical ideas on the constitution of magnets. More precise
definition of the poles.
Action of the earth upon a magnet. The earth may be considered as a
magnet. Its action may be destroyed by means of a magnet suitably
placed. Astatic needles. The magnetic action of the earth is equivalent
to a _couple_. Three constants define the couple of terrestrial action.
Declination. Inclination. Intensity. Measure of the declination; of the
inclination.
Magnetic metals. Influence of hammering, tempering, &c. Methods of
magnetizing. Saturation. Loss of magnetism. Influence of heat. Magnetic
lines. Armatures.
Magnetization by the earth’s influence. Means of determining the
magnetic state of a body.
_Measure of Magnetism and Electricity._
LESSONS 31-32.
Coulomb’s balance. Distribution of magnetism on a magnetized bar;
distribution of electricity at the surface of isolated conductors.
Comparative discussion of the conditions of the two problems and the
methods of experiment.
Laws of the magnetic attractions and repulsions. Law of electric
attractions and repulsions. Comparative discussion of the conditions of
the two problems, and the methods of experiment.
Determination of the law of magnetic attractions and repulsions by the
method of oscillations.
Comparison of the magnetic intensity at different points of the earth’s
surface.
LESSONS 33-34. _Revision._
Considerations on the totality of the subjects of the course.
_SECOND YEAR._
DYNAMICAL ELECTRICITY.--GALVANISM.
LESSONS 1-2.
Chemical sources of electricity. Experimental proofs. Arrangement
devised by Volta to accumulate, at least in part, at the extremities of
a heterogeneous conductor the electricity developed by chemical actions.
Pile. Tension at the two isolated extremities; at one single isolated
extremity; at the two extremities reunited by a conductor. Continuous
current of electricity. Poles. Direction of the current, &c.
Various modifications of the pile of Volta. Woollaston’s pile, Münch’s
pile, &c. Dry piles; their application to the electroscope.
Principal effects of electricity in motion, and means of making the
currents perceptible. Experiment of Oersted. Galvanoscopes.
Currents produced by heat in heterogeneous circuits. Thermo-electric
piles. Thermometric graduation of thermo-electric piles.
Currents produced by the sources of statical electricity.
PROPERTIES OF CURRENTS.
LESSON 3. 1. _Chemical Actions._
Definitions. Phenomena of decomposition and transference. Reaction of
the elements transferred upon electrodes of different kinds.
Principles of electrotyping.
Causes of the variation of the current in ordinary piles; means of
remedying this; Daniell’s pile. Bunsen’s pile.
LESSONS 4-8. 2. _Mechanical Properties._
Reciprocal actions of rectilinear or sinuous currents parallel or
inclined. Reaction of a current on itself.
Reciprocal actions of helices or solenoids. Continuous rotation of
currents by their mutual action; by reaction. Analogy of magnets and
solenoids. Electro-dynamical theory of magnetism. Action of magnets upon
currents and solenoids. Action of currents upon magnets. Experiments of
Biot and Savart. Continual rotation of a current by a magnet; of a
magnet by a magnet.
Action of the earth upon currents; it acts as a rectilinear current
directed from east to west, perpendicularly to the magnetic meridian.
Continual rotation of a current by the action of the earth.
Astatic conductors.
LESSONS 9-10. 3. _Magnetic Properties._
Action of an interposed conductor upon iron filings.
Electro-magnets. Magnetization temporary or permanent. Principles of the
electric telegraph. Electrometers. Reference to diamagnetic phenomena.
4. _Electro-motive Properties._
Phenomena of induction by currents, by magnets. Phenomena of magnetism
in motion. Induction of a current upon itself.
Induction of different orders.
Interrupted currents. Clarke’s machine.
LESSON 11. 5. _Calorific Properties._
Influence of the nature of the interposed conductor; of its section; of
the intensity of the current. Unequal temperatures at the different
junctions of a heterogeneous circuit.
6. _Luminous Properties._
Incandescence of solid conductors. Spectrum of the electric light.
Voltaic arc. Transfer of ponderable matter. Action of the magnet upon
the Voltaic arc.
7. _Physiological Action of Currents._
Some words on this subject. Muscles and nerves. Actions of discontinuous
currents. Reotomic contrivances.
_Reometry._
Compass of sines, of tangents. Experimental graduation of galvanometers.
The dynamical intensity of a current diminishes when the length of a
current increases. Reostat.
Laws of the dynamical intensity of a current in a homogeneous circuit.
Reduced length and resistance of a circuit. Specific co-efficients of
resistance. Laws of the dynamic intensity of a current in a
heterogeneous circuit.
The intensity of currents is in the inverse ratio of the total reduced
length, and proportional to the sum of the electromotive forces.
Formula of the pile. Discussion of the case of hydro-electric piles--
thermo-electric piles. Conditions for the construction of a pile,
with reference to the effects to be produced. Conditions for the
construction of a galvanometer with reference to its intended
application.
Laws of secondary currents in the simplest cases. The chemical intensity
of a current is proportional to its dynamical intensity.
ACOUSTICS.
LESSONS 12-15.
Noise, sound, quality of the sound, pitch, intensity, _timbre_. A state
of vibration in a solid, liquid, or gaseous body is accompanied with the
production of sound.
The pitch depends on the number of vibrations. Unison. Instruments for
counting the vibrations:--1st. Graphic method. 2nd. Toothed wheels. 3rd.
Lever. Feeling of concord. Musical scale. Gamut. Limit of appreciable
sounds.
Study of vibrating motions in solids. Vibrating cords. Vibrations
transversal, longitudinal. Experimental laws. Sonometer.
Spontaneous division of a cord into segments. Fundamental sounds.
Harmonic sounds.
Straight and curved rods. Transversal and longitudinal vibrations.
Experimental laws. Division into segments. Nodes. Ventral segments.
Membranes.
Plane and curved plates. The vibrations divide them into
“_concamerations_.” Nodal lines. Harmonic sounds.
Study of the vibrations in liquids and in gases.
Theoretical ideas upon the propagation of a vibratory motion in
indefinite elastic media, on an indefinite cylindrical tube. Waves of
condensation of dilatation. Progressive nodes and ventral divisions.
Laws of the intensities of sound. Direct measure of the velocity of the
propagation of sound in water. Measure of the velocity of the
propagation of sound in air. Formulæ without demonstration. Comparison
of the formulæ with experiment.
Sonorous waves reflected in an indefinite medium.
Fixed nodes and ventral divisions. Sonorous waves reflected in closed
and open tubes. Fixed nodes and ventral divisions; the vibratory state
and density thereat.
Series of sounds afforded by the same tube. Effect of holes.
Sonorous reflected waves in rods. Series of sounds afforded by the same
rod vibrating longitudinally. Indirect measure of the velocity of sound
in gases, liquids, and solids.
Experiments on the communication of vibrating motion in heterogeneous
mediums, on the general direction of the vibrating motion communicated.
Intensification of sounds. Interferences. Beats. Different stringed and
wind instruments. Means of setting them in vibration.
A few words on the organs of voice and hearing. Incompleteness of our
knowledge on this subject.
OPTICS.
LESSONS 16-17. _Propagation of Light._
Propagation of light in a straight line. Rays of light. Geometrical
theory of shadows. Velocity of light. Rœmer’s observations. Laws of
intensity of light. Photometers of Bouguer, Rumford. Intensity of
oblique rays. Comparison of illuminating powers. Total brightness.
Intrinsic brightness.
_Reflection._
Reflection of light: its laws. Experimental demonstration. Images formed
by one or more plane mirrors. To ascertain if a looking-glass has its
two faces parallel.
Spherical mirrors. Foci, formulæ. Discussion. Images by reflection.
Measure of the radius of a spherical mirror.
Definition of caustics by reflection. Definition of the two spherical
aberrations in mirrors.
Woollaston’s goniometer.
LESSON 18. _Refraction._
Refraction of light in homogeneous mediums. Descartes’ law. Experimental
demonstration for solids and liquids.
Inverse return of the rays. Successive refractions. Indices of
transmission in terms of the principal indices. Consequences of
Descartes’ law. Total reflection. Manner of observing it.
Irregular refractions. Mirage.
Refraction is always accompanied with the accessory phenomenon of
dispersion.
Geometrical consequences of the law of refraction. Focus of a plane
surface. Focus of a medium bounded by two parallel plane surfaces; by
two plane surfaces inclined in the form of a prism.
Foci of a spherical surface; of a medium limited by two spherical
surfaces. Lenses.
Formula for lenses. Discussion. Varieties of lenses. Optic center.
Images. Measure of the focal distance of lenses.
Definition of caustics by refraction. Definition of the two spherical
aberrations of a lens.
LESSONS 19-20. _Dispersion._
Unequal refrangibility of the differently colored rays which compose
white light. Analysis of heterogeneous light by the prisms. Newton’s
method. Solar spectrum. Homogeneity of the different colors. Second
refraction of a homogeneous pencil. Experiment with crossed prisms.
Precautions to be attended to in the experiments. The spectrum, obtained
by Newton’s method, differs from the spectrum produced at the focus of a
lens placed between the prism and the picture, according to the method
of Fraunhofer. Reasons of the comparative purity of this latter
spectrum. Fraunhofer’s lines. Different spectra of different sources of
heterogeneous light. Marginal iridescence of a large pencil of natural
light traversing a prism. Dispersion of light by lenses. Iridescence of
focal images. Recomposition of light, by means of a prism at the focus
of a spherical mirror or a lens, by the rapid rotation of a plane
mirror, by the rotation of a disk with party-colored sectors. Compound
colors.
Chemical and calorific radiations accompany luminous radiations.
Analysis of light by absorption. Characteristic action of transparent
colored mediums upon different sorts of compound light. Different
influences of increasing thickness. Effects of differently colored
mediums upon heterogeneous light. Effects of differently colored mediums
upon homogeneous rays separated by the prism.
LESSON 21. _Measure of the Indices of Refraction._
Determination of the indices of refraction.
1. In solids. Measure of the refracting angles. Minimum of deviation.
Measure of the corresponding deviation. Use of Fraunhofer’s lines.
2. In liquids.
3. In gases. Special difficulties of the question. Experimental method.
Biot’s and Arago’s experiments.
Any power whatever of the index of refraction diminished by unit is
sensibly proportional to the density of the gas. Method of Dulong
founded on this remark.
LESSONS 22-23. _Application of the preceding Laws._
Rainbow. Different orders of bow.
_Achromatism._
Achromatic prisms. Diasperometer achromatism of lenses; how to verify
it. Definition of secondary spectra: their nature gives the means of
recognizing, whether flint or crown glass predominates, in an
imperfectly achromatic lens.
Instruments essentially consisting of an achromatic lens. Magic lantern;
megascope; solar microscope; camera obscura; collimators.
_Vision._
Summary description of the principal optical parts of the eye. They act
like the lens of a camera obscura to form an image upon the retina.
Distinct vision; optometers; short sight; long sight; spectacles.
Binocular vision; perspective peculiar to each eye; estimation of
distances; sensation of solidity; stereoscope; estimation of magnitudes.
PERSISTENCE OF IMPRESSIONS; DIVERS EXPERIMENTS.
LESSONS 24-26. _Optical Instruments._
_Camera lucida._ A lens is necessary to reduce to the same apparent
distance the two objects seen simultaneously. Instruments to assist the
sight; simple microscope; the magnifying power; distinctness; field;
advantage of a diaphragm; it modifies the field and the brightness
variously according to its position.
Woollaston’s double glass; its advantages.
General principle of compound dioptrical instruments.
Compound microscope; experimental measure of its magnifying power, by
means of the diaphragm, by means of the camera lucida.
Astronomical telescope; object glass; simple eye-glass. Necessity for a
diaphragm; its place; the wires, their place; optic axis of a telescope.
Parallax of the threads of the wires; magnifying power of the
object-glass; of the eye-glass; field of view of a telescope.
Optic ring; different methods of measuring the magnifying power.
Distinctness of a telescope; night-glass.
Different distances of drawing out the eye-glass for short-sighted and
long-sighted observers.
Different sorts of eye-pieces; positive eye-pieces; ordinary double
eye-piece of the astronomical telescope. Ramsden’s eye-piece; treble
eye-piece of the terrestrial telescope. Negative eye-pieces; simple
eye-piece of Galileo. Compound _ditto_ of Huyghens; advantages and
disadvantages of these different combinations; general principle of
catadioptrical instruments.
LESSONS 27-29. _Double Refraction._
Crystallized mediums do not all act upon light like homogeneous mediums.
Double refraction of Iceland spar: the extraordinary image turns round
the ordinary image. The ordinary and extraordinary rays cross at the
interior of the crystal.
Huyghens’ construction; measure of the ordinary and extraordinary
indices of refraction; attractive and repulsive crystals; a ray falling
perpendicularly does not always bifurcate in a camera with parallel
faces, nor in a prism. Definition of uniaxial and biaxial crystals.
The dispersion of the ordinary ray differs from that of the
extraordinary ray.
The two rays are unequally absorbed in many colored mediums. Tourmaline.
Doubly-refracting prisms; their construction. Use of doubly-refracting
prisms to measure apparent diameters, &c.
LESSONS 30-31. _Polarization._
Successive refractions in doubly-refracting prisms. Special properties
of the two rays emerging from the first doubly refracting crystal.
Polarization by double refraction.
Reflection from transparent media polarizes the light partially or
wholly according to the incidence. Brewster’s law. Reflection of
polarized light from a transparent medium.
Simple refraction partially polarizes the light. Many successive
refractions polarize it almost totally. Piles of glasses.
Different methods to obtain a ray of polarized light, 1st, by
reflection; 2nd, by simple refraction; 3rd, by double refraction, by
eliminating one of the refracted pencils;--by a screen,--by total
reflection, Nicol’s prism, by absoption, tourmaline.
Distinctive characters of light completely or partially polarized.
LESSONS 32-34. _Theory of Undulations._
Hypothesis of luminous undulations.
Vibratory state of a simple ray of homogeneous light. Vibratory state at
the intersection of two simple rays of homogeneous light intersecting at
a very small angle.
Experimental proofs in support of this hypothesis:
1st. Experiment with interferences, fringes. Their breadth is different
for different colors; they give the various colors of the prism in white
light. The alternately bright and dark sheets are hyperboloids of
revolution. The measure of the fringes give the means of estimating the
lengths of the undulations corresponding to different colors.
2nd. Colored rings of Newton, observed by reflection, by refraction. Law
of the diameters; these vary in absolute length for different colors.
Variously colored rings with white light. Reflected rings with a white
spot at the center.
The theory of the undulations does not apply merely to theses phenomena.
Explication of the laws of reflection and refraction. Definition of
polarization in the system of waves. Elementary application of double
refraction and the polarization which accompanies it in uniaxial
crystals when the face of the crystal is parallel to the axis, and the
plane of incidence normal or parallel to this axis.
_Chemical and Calorific Radiations._
Chemical and calorific radiations are subject, like luminous radiations,
to the laws of reflection, refraction, dispersion, double refraction,
polarization, interferences.
LESSONS 35-36. _Revision._
Considerations on the totality of the subjects of the course.
MANIPULATIONS IN PHYSICS.
The practical exercises which constitute the subject of this programme
will be performed in part by the pupils under the direction of the
professors and _répétiteurs_, in part by the professors and
_répétiteurs_, with the coöperation of the pupils.
_FIRST YEAR._
Use of various instruments, designed for measuring lengths. Experiments
on weight with Atwood’s machine, the inclined plane, Morin’s apparatus,
and the pendulum.
Some experiments on elasticity.
Various verifications of the principles of hydrostatics and
hydrodynamics.
Construction of aerometers.
Construction of a barometer, of a manometer. Various verifications of
the law of Mariotte.
Various experiments with the air-pump.
Determination the density of solids or liquids by different methods.
Construction of a thermometer.
Experiments on the dilatation of liquids and solids by means of the
ordinary thermometer and by means of the statical thermometer.
Experiments upon the dilatation of air by various methods.
Experiments upon the tension of vapors by different methods.
Determination of the density of vapors and gases by various methods.
Leading experiments on calorific radiation.
Experiments on cooling.
Determination of specific heats, heats of fusion, heats at which bodies
pass into vapor.
Cooling mixtures.
Use of the chemical hygrometer, the wet bulb hygrometer.
Rehearsal of the leading experiments on magnetism.
To magnetize a needle, to reverse its poles.
Rehearsal of the principal experiments of statical electricity.
Experiments verificatory of the laws of electricity and magnetism.
Use of compasses.
_SECOND YEAR._
Experiments upon the chemical actions of poles.
Leading experiments in electro-dynamics.
Leading experiments upon the magnetic properties of currents.
Experiments on induction.
Experiments on the calorific and luminous actions of currents.
Quantitative experiments on the laws of currents.
Experiments on the propagation of sound; on the vibrations of rods of
plane or curved plates, membranes, sonorous tubes.
Experiments on mirrors, plane or curved.
Experiments on lenses. Experiments on the decomposition of light by the
prism--by absorption. Measures of the indices of the refraction of
solids. Use of the magnifying glass and microscope; measure of the
magnifying power. Use of different telescopes, with and without
corrections. Measure of the magnifying power. Experiments on double
refraction and polarization. Experiments on interferences and colored
rings.
ORGANIZATION AND CONDITION IN 1869.
The organization of the school, which is fixed by a Decree dated Nov.
30th, 1863, is of a military character. There is a staff of military
officers in addition to, and quite separate from, the staff employed in
the duties of instruction. The pupils wear uniform, which, however, is
more civil than military in appearance. They are formed into four
companies which together constitute a battalion; and, although they are
not actually subject to the penal code of the army, the discipline
maintained and the punishments inflicted are entirety military in
character.
The military establishment remains exactly as it was in 1856, and
consists of:
The Commandant, a General Officer, usually of the Artillery or the
Engineers, at present a General of Artillery.
A Second Commandant, a colonel or lieutenant-colonel, chosen from among
the former pupils of the school; at present a colonel of Engineers.
Three captains of Artillery and three captains of Engineers, as
inspectors of studies, chosen also from former pupils of the school.
Six adjutants (_adjudants_), non-commissioned officers, usually such as
have been recommended for promotion.
Slight changes have been made in the civil establishment; it now
consists of:--
1. A Director of Studies, at present a colonel of Engineers.
2. Seventeen professors,[12] (two additional professors for history)
seventeen _Répétiteurs_ and assistant _Répétiteurs_, and five drawing
masters. Of the 17 professors, two are at present officers of Engineers,
and one an officer of Artillery; the remainder are civilians, of whom
three are members of the Academy of Sciences.
[Footnote 12: In 1856 there were only 15 professors; there are now
two additional professors for history, the study of which has been
recently introduced at the school.]
3. Five examiners for admission, and five for conducting the
examinations at the school. All of these at present are civilians.
4. An administrative staff consisting of a treasurer, librarian, &c.;
and a medical staff.
The general control or supervision of the school is vested, under the
War Department, in four great boards or councils, viz.:--
1. A Board of Administration, composed of the Commandant, the Second
Commandant, the Director of Studies, two professors, two captains of the
military staff, and two members of the administrative staff. This board
has the superintendence of all the financial business, and all the
minutiæ of the internal administration of the school.
2. A Board of Discipline, consisting of the Second Commandant, the
Director of Studies, three captains of the Military Staff, and one major
of the army, selected from former pupils of the school.[13] The duty of
this board is to decide upon cases of misconduct.
[Footnote 13: Formerly two professors of the school were also
members of the Council of Discipline, but the professors have now
no voice in matters of discipline.]
3. A Board of Instruction, whose members are, the Commandant, the Second
Commandant, the Director of Studies, the Examiners of Students, the
Professors, and two captains of the Military Staff; and whose chief duty
is to make recommendations relating to ameliorations in the studies and
the programmes of admission and of instruction in the school to--
4. A Board of Improvement (_Conseil de Perfectionnement_), charged with
the general control of the studies, and formed of:--
The Commandant, president,
The Second Commandant,
The Director of Studies,
Two delegates from the Naval Department,
Two delegates from the Department of Public Works,
One delegate from the Home or Finance Department,
Three delegates from the War Department,
Two members of the Academy of Sciences,
Two examiners of students,
Three professors of the school.
The delegates from the public departments are appointed by the
respective ministers; the members of the Academy, the examiners, and the
professors are selected by the Minister of War. The real management of
the school, so far as the course of instruction is concerned, is in the
hands of the _Conseil de Perfectionnement_; it will be seen that of the
18 members composing it more than half are entirely independent of the
school, and are men of eminence in the various public services for which
the instruction at the Polytechnic is preparatory. One of the chief
duties of the Council is to see that the studies form a good preparation
for those of the more special schools (_Ecoles d’ Application_) for the
civil and military services; and the eminent character of its members
gives great weight to the recommendations they make to the Minister of
War.
The annual expenses of the school, as extracted from the Budget for
1869, are as follows:--
Francs.
Pay of staff, professors, &c., 331,850
Instruction, maintenance, examination of candidates,
clothing, books, &c., 321,073
Francs.
Outfits for 30 new pupils at 600 francs each 18,000
Allowances (_premières mises_) to 25
exhibitioners on admission to the military
services at 750 fr. each 18,750
------ 36,750
Maintenance and repair of buildings, 30,000
-------
Total sum charged in the schools estimate, 719,673
Add regimental pay of 28 officers and non-commissioned
officers employed at the school, 85,515
-------
Total expenditure 805,188
Deduct repayments from pupils, 237,000
-------
Cost to the State, 568,188
Or about 22,720_l._
The chief changes that have been made in regard to the course of
instruction since 1856, may be summarized as follows:
1. The more elementary portions of chemistry and physics which are
required in the entrance examination, but which were formerly repeated
at the school, have been omitted. The course of instruction in these
subjects is now confined to the more advanced portions which do not
enter into the entrance examination.
2. The mathematical courses have in some points been slightly curtailed,
and the number of lectures in French literature and German have been
diminished. By the modifications thus made in the programmes, it has
been found possible to shorten the whole course of study and to increase
the length of the vacations.
3. The subject of “Military Art,” which formerly entered into the final
examination is no longer taken into consideration in determining the
order of merit of the pupils. In this respect the course of instruction
may be said to have even less of a military character than formerly.
Topographical drawing is the single military subject which has any
influence on the final classification of the pupils, and this only to a
very slight extent.
4. History has been introduced as a subject of instruction. This change
was made in 1862. The course comprises general history, both ancient and
modern, but more especially the history of France in modern times. The
introduction of this subject appears to have arisen partly from a
feeling that an acquaintance with history was a necessary element of a
liberal education, and partly from a wish to meet, to some extent, an
objection often made to the Polytechnic course of instruction, that it
was too deficient in studies of a literary character. History, however,
like military art, is evidently still regarded as a subject of only
secondary importance and has no influence on the final classification.
5. A diminution has been made in the number of examinations during the
course, by the suppression of one of the half-yearly examinations by the
professors (_interrogations générales_, as distinct from the
_interrogations particulières_) in each year. Further reference will be
made to this point when speaking of the examinations at the school.
6. The importance of written exercises in determining the respective
merits of the pupils has been decreased, apparently from the difficulty
of establishing a security that such compositions were the unaided work
of the individual.
The following table shows the present course of instruction during the
two years, and the alterations which have been made in the number of
lectures in each subject since 1856:--
_Subject._--_First Year’s Course._ _Lectures in_--1868. 1856.
Analysis {Differential calculus, 25 28
{Integral calculus, 18 20
Descriptive geometry and geometrical drawing, 32 38
Mechanics and machinery, 40 40
Physics, comprising heat and electricity, 30 34
Chemistry:--The metals, 30 38
Astronomy and geodesy, 30 35
French composition and literature, 25 30
History, 25 0*
German, 25 30
Figure and landscape drawing, 48 50
_Second Year’s Course._
Analysis:--Integral calculus, 32 32
Stereotomy:--Geometrical drawing of constructions
in timber and masonry, 28 32
Mechanics:--Dynamics, hydrostatics, and machinery, 40 42
Physics:--Acoustics, optics, and heat, 30 36
Chemistry:--Continuation of the metals and organic
chemistry, 30 38
Architecture and buildings, construction of roads,
canals, and railways, 40 40
French composition and literature, 25 30
History, 25 0*
German, 25 30
Military art, 20 20
Topography, 2 10
Figure and landscape drawing, 48 48
[* Introduced in 1862.]
In connection with several of the courses, such as descriptive geometry,
stereotomy, machinery, and architecture, much drawing is done by the
pupils; hand sketches are taken of the diagrams shown in the
lecture-room, and finished drawings are afterwards executed in the
_salles d’étude_. In addition to this, 30 attendances of two or three
hours each, distributed over the two years, are especially devoted to
drawing more elaborate plans and elevations of architectural
constructions and machinery. The practical applications of the
theoretical instruction are limited to manipulations in the laboratory
in connection with the course of lectures on chemistry and physics.
Towards the close of the second year the pupils are also taken to visit
some of the large manufacturing establishments in Paris, in order to
gain a practical acquaintance with machinery.
All the subjects taught at the school are obligatory, but history and
military art, as already stated, have no influence in determining the
order of merit of the pupils in the final result.
The only instruction in practical military exercises, which is
compulsory upon all, is that in drill. The pupils are exercised under
arms in company drill, and are also occasionally drilled as a battalion;
but very little importance is attached to this point--the only really
military portion of their training. Drill goes on only for about three
months in each year during the spring and summer, and even during this
brief period only takes place about twice a week. By the regulations of
the school the pupils should be exercised in musketry practice, but
although they are armed with the Chassepot rifle this regulation is
never carried out. Instruction is given in fencing and gymnastics, but
attendance at both is voluntary, and scarcely more than half the pupils
take advantage of it. Neither riding nor swimming are taught at the
school.
The school year commences about the 1st of November, and terminates
about the first of August. Some seven months of the year are given up to
lectures and the ordinary routine of study; about two months are
occupied with the annual examinations and private preparation for them;
the remaining three months--August, September, and October--are the
vacation. In addition to this long vacation, from eight to twelve days
are allowed after the periodical examination, which takes place near the
end of February, at the close of the first portion of each year’s study.
One peculiarity in the arrangements of the school is that the subjects
of each year’s course are not all studied simultaneously. The lectures
in the main subjects of instruction--those which, as a rule, present the
most difficulty--are divided into courses which continue only during a
certain portion of each year. Thus in the junior division, analysis and
descriptive geometry are the mathematical subjects studied during the
first three months, or three months and a half. The course in them is
then concluded; an examination by the professors (_interrogation
générale_) is held in these subjects, and they are laid aside for the
remainder of the year, though they enter into the examination at the
close of the year. Their place is then taken by a course of lectures in
mechanics and geodesy. Similarly in the second year, analysis and
mechanics are the subjects of the first course of lectures, at the
termination of which there is an examination; and for the remainder of
the year no further lectures in them are given, stereotomy and military
art taking their place.
The subjects involving as a rule less difficulty--such as history,
French literature, German, and drawing--are spread over the whole year,
forming generally the evenings’ occupation.
THE SPECIAL MILITARY SCHOOLS OF FRANCE.
SCHOOL FOR ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS AT METZ.
HISTORY AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION,
The first French Artillery School was founded in the time of Louis XIV.
(in 1679) at Douai. It had but a short existence: and it was only in
1720 (under the Regency,) when the Royal Regiment of Artillery received
a new organization, that schools of theory were permanently founded in
each of the seven towns where there were garrisons of artillery. But no
academy properly so called was established before that founded by
D’Argenson at La Fère, in 1756, with a staff of two professors of
mathematics, and two of drawing. This was transferred to Bapaume, near
the Flemish frontier, in 1766, re-transferred to La Fère, and
suppressed, among other schools, at the beginning of the Revolution.
Of early Engineer Schools there was only one, the very distinguished
School of Mézières, near the northern frontier. This was founded in
1749, also under the ministry of D’Argenson; Monge was a professor
there; and it had a very high reputation down to its suppression in the
Revolution.
When the wars of the Revolution broke out, Provisional Schools for
giving a brief course of rapid instruction was established at Metz for
the engineers, and at Chalons-sur-Marne for the artillery. These had to
supply, at a great disadvantage, the officers needed for the protection
of the invaded frontier.
It was intended originally that the Polytechnic, established in 1794,
should send engineers direct to the army; but it was quickly found to be
a better plan to allow the pupils destined for this service first to
spend some little time at Metz; which thus, in October, 1795, became a
School of Application for Engineers. The artillery pupils in like manner
went to Châlons. This separate system of two Schools of Application
continued till 1802, when the establishment at Châlons was united with
that of Metz, and Metz became what it has since continued to be, the
seat of the United School of Application for the two services. The
Polytechnic students who select the _Artillerie de terre_, _Artillerie
de mer_, or the _Génie militaire_, enter here to receive the special and
professional instruction deemed requisite to fit them for actual
employment.
The students quitting the Polytechnic in the manner described in the
account of that school, at the average age of twenty-one, enter the
School of Application, with the provisional rank, the uniform, and the
pay of sub-lieutenants (_sous-lieutenants_.) The ordinary term of
residence is two years. Under special circumstances this may be
shortened; and in case of illness or want of application individual
students are occasionally retained for a third year. Each new body of
students, each _admission_ or _promotion_, is classified at the end of
the first year, and the students composing it are arranged in order of
merit in accordance with the reports of the professors, but without an
examination; at the close of the second year they pass a final
examination before the Board of Officers, and are definitively placed in
the corps they have chosen, the artillery or engineers, according to the
order of merit. They are allowed to count, as regards retirement from
the service and towards military decorations, four year’s service on
account of the two years passed at the Polytechnic School, and of the
time passed in preparing for admission to it, reckoning from the day of
their admission to the School of Application.
Metz is a fortified place on the Prussian frontier, the seat of war at
the time of the school’s first foundation; it is on the line of railway
to Mannheim, about thirty miles from the point where this branch
diverges from the main line to Strasburg. The Moselle flows through the
town, and is employed, with its little affluent the Seille, in the
military defenses. The garrison numbers 10,000 men; there is an Arsenal,
a school of Pyrotechny for the manufacture of rockets, two Regimental
Schools, one of Artillery and the other of Engineers. The School of
Application occupies buildings erected on the site, and partly the
original buildings themselves, of a suppressed Benedictine monastery.
Three sides of the cloistered monastic quadrangle are devoted to the
offices, lecture-rooms, galleries and halls of study. A fourth, formerly
the ancient church, is converted into a _salle des manœuvres_. There is
an adjoining residence for the commandant; and a separate modern
building, four stories in height, affords lodging to the young men.
The _salle des manœuvres_ is a large area under a lofty roof, rising to
the whole height of the buildings of the quadrangle; it contains
artillery of various descriptions, mortars, field and siege guns placed
as in a battery, and is amply large enough to allow cannon to be moved
and exercises performed when the state of the weather may make it
desirable.
The amphitheaters or lecture rooms, much on the same system as those at
the Polytechnic, are two in number, one for each of the two divisions.
Officers of the artillery and engineers who are in garrison, are
entitled, if they please, to attend the lectures, and other officers
also may be admitted by permission.
The galleries, partly on the ground floor, partly on the first floor,
contain very good collections of models of artillery, ancient and
modern, of sets of small arms, of tools, of locks, barrels and other
portions of muskets in various stages of the process of their
manufacture, of specimens of carpentry and roofing, of minerals, of
models of fortifications, bridges, coffer-dams, locks, &c.
The library on the first floor has an adjoining reading room; and near
it is the examination room, of which further mention will be made. The
three halls of study (_salles d’étude_) on the first floor are on a
different plan from those of the Polytechnic, each one being large
enough to accommodate a whole division (seventy students.) Three rooms
are also provided for the professors to prepare their lectures in.
The barracks, on the opposite side of the open space used for drill and
exercises, form a lofty and handsome building, entered by separate
staircases, the ground-floor rooms of each being assigned to a servant,
who undertakes to provide attendance for all the young men lodging in
the rooms above. The rooms are comfortable, mostly double-bedded, the
bedroom serving also as a sitting room, and a small adjoining closet
being used for washing, &c. Twenty or twenty-two appear to be thus
accommodated on each staircase; there are lodgings altogether for one
hundred and forty-five. A certain number of the senior sub-lieutenants
would, probably, on the arrival of the new cadets from the Polytechnic,
be removed to lodge in the town.
There is a riding-school adjoining the court; stables, for thirty-three
horses, which are kept for the use of the pupils, and lodgings for the
attendants are provided in the neighborhood.
The mere description of the buildings shows at once that the system is
different in many respects from that of the Polytechnic. Young men of
twenty-one and twenty-two years of age, already holding provisional
commissions in the service, receiving the pay and wearing the uniform of
sub-lieutenants, are naturally allowed much greater freedom of action.
They live, and partly also study, not in the halls of study, but in
their own rooms; they take their meals in the town, where they frequent
the _cafés_ and _restaurants_ of their choice. The _rappel_ summons them
every morning to rise and attend a roll-call at half-past five or six;
military exercises, riding, or interrogations, similar to the
_interrogations particulières_, require the presence of a portion of the
number, but the rest are free to return to their rooms. At ten they have
to attend either the day’s lecture, followed by employment in the halls
of study, till four o’clock P.M., or they proceed at once to the halls
of study, and set to work on the drawings, designs, projects, &c., which
are described hereafter in the account of the studies. From four to
half-past five P.M.; drill, exercises, and riding occupy a portion of
the number, probably those who were not called for in the morning. After
half-past five they are left to themselves.
This ordinary routine of studies is interrupted in the summer months by
the occurrence of expeditions for making surveys, and for measuring and
sketching machines in manufactories. The young men are sent, two
together, to survey (_lever à boussole_;) singly for the reconnaissance
sketch _(lever à vue _;) and generally, a certain number are distributed
about a district not too large for an officer to make his round in it,
and see each day that all are at work. The railways afford considerable
facilities; the expeditions never occupy more than ten days at a time,
but they may be extended as far as Strasburg.
There are no _répétiteurs_ in the school; but the system of
_interrogations particulières_ is carried on; and an examination by the
professor and an assistant professor takes place after, about, every
eight or ten lectures.
THE STAFF AND GOVERNMENT.
The Staff of the Institution consists of--
1 General Officer, at present a General of Brigade of Artillery,
as Commandant.
1 Colonel or Lieutenant-Colonel, Second in Command and Director
of Studies, at present a Lieutenant-Colonel of Engineers.
1 Major of Artillery.
1 Major of Engineers.
5 Captains of Artillery.
8 Captains of Engineers.
1 Surgeon (_Médecin-Major_.)
The Commandant is taken alternately from the Artillery and Engineers,
and the command lasts for five years only.
The Second in Command is always chosen from that arm of the service
which does not supply the Commandant.
The inferior officers of each rank are taken in equal numbers from the
two arms.
The Staff of Instructors is as follows:--
1 Professor of Artillery, at present a Captain of Artillery.
1 Assistant ditto also a Captain of Artillery.
1 Professor of Military Art, charged also with the Course
of Military Legislation and Administration
(a Captain of Engineers.)
1 Professor of Permanent Fortification and of the Attack
and Defense of places (a Captain of Engineers.)
1 Assistant ditto ditto (a Captain of Engineers.)
1 Professor of the Course of Topography and Geodesy
(a Captain of Engineers.)
1 Professor of Sciences applied to the Military Arts.
1 Professor of Mechanics applied to Machines (a Captain of Artillery.)
1 Professor of the Course of Construction (a Captain of Engineers.)
1 Assistant ditto.
1 Professor of the German language (a civilian.)
1 Professor of Veterinary Art and Riding (a Captain of Artillery.)
1 Assistant ditto (a civilian.)
1 Drawing Master, Chief of the Drawing Department (a civilian.)
In all, nine Professors, four Assistant Professors, and one Drawing
Master.
The School employs in addition an administrative staff, consisting of--
A Treasurer, } both of whom must have been Officers in the
A Librarian, } Artillery or Engineers.
A Principal Clerk.
An Assistant Librarian.
Two Storekeepers, intrusted with the _materiel_ belonging to
the two arms.
One skilled Mechanic.
One skilled Lithographer.
One Fencing Master.
Clerks and draughtsmen are provided as required.
The school is under the general superintendence of two hoards or
councils, the Superior Council and the Administrative Council.
The Superior Council consists of the General Commandant, as President,
the Second in Command, the Director of Studies, as Vice-President; the
Major of Artillery, and the Major of Engineers, as permanent members;
two Captains of the Establishment, one of each arm; two Military
Professors, one of each arm; and one Captain of the Establishment; these
five last being all removable at the General Inspections.
The Superior Council has the duty of drawing up the programme of the
studies of the year, of suggesting changes in the regulations relating
both to studies and discipline, all subject to the approval of the
Minister of War; of preparing at the end of the year the classified list
of the students, drawn up according to their conduct and progress in
their studies, and of pointing out to the Jury of Examiners any students
who should go again through the courses of the year, and stay in
consequence an additional year at the school.
When questions relating to the instruction are brought before the
Superior Council, the whole body of military professors attend and take
part in the proceedings, and the Council is thus said to be constituted
as a Board or Council of Instruction. Improvements are here suggested,
and are subsequently submitted to the Jury of Examiners, and to the
Minister of War; the value to be attached, in the system of marks or
credits, to each particular course of study is determined; a statement
is drawn up showing what printed works, models, &c., are wanted. The
budget itself, to be submitted to the Minister of War, is finally drawn
up by the Superior Council in its ordinary sittings.
The Administrative Council, composed of the Second in Command as
President, the two Majors of Artillery and of Engineers, one Captain and
one Military Professor, and the Treasurer as Secretary without the right
of voting, takes cognizance of all the financial and other business
matters of the school.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD OF STUDY.
The studies at Metz consist of topography and geodesy, including
military drawing and surveying under special circumstances; field
fortification, military art and legislation, permanent fortification,
and the attack and defense of fortified places, accompanied by a sham
siege, without, however, executing the details practically on the
ground; architecture, as applicable to military buildings and
fortifications; the theory and practice of construction, and artillery.
The programmes of these studies are inserted at length in the Appendix.
The instruction is given principally (as at the Polytechnic) by means of
a series of lectures, and the knowledge which the students have acquired
is first directly tested by requiring them to execute various kinds of
surveys of ground, either with or without the use of instruments; to
prepare drawings of buildings, workshops, and machines in full detail
(plan, elevation, and sections) from the measurements they have recorded
in their note-books or on their sketches, and to accompany such drawings
with descriptive memoirs of all particulars and calculations that may be
necessary to exhibit their purpose or efficiency; to draw up projects
and lay out works of field and permanent fortification, or of those of
attack or defense of a particular place on certain given data, or
according to the nature of the ground; to design a military building,
bridge, machine, or piece of ordnance, accompanied by estimates and
descriptive memoirs, showing in what manner the instructions and
conditions under which it was drawn up have been complied with; and to
prepare a project for the amelioration of the works of defense of a
specified portion of a fortified place known to be defective in some
respects.
The instruction during the first year’s residence is common to the two
arms; and the time is appropriated in the following manner, namely:--
Days.
Military art and legislation, 33
Topography and geodesy, 47
Field fortification, 39
Permanent fortification, 88
Theory and practice of construction, 77
---
Total, 284
The _sous-lieutenants_ who complete their first year’s work are allowed
nearly a month’s vacation during November.
The instruction given to the Artillery and Engineers during the second
year’s residence is not entirely the same, as will be seen by comparing
the accompanying table of the year’s study:--
Artillery. Engineers.
Days. Days.
Military art and legislation, 2 2
Topography and geodesy, 28 28
Attack and defense of places, 44 44
Permanent fortification, 44 129
Artillery, machines, &c., 81 --
Theory and practice of construction, 46 42
--- ---
245 245
Brought forward from first year, 284 284
--- ---
Total, 529 529
We should not omit to state that there is a short course on the
Veterinary Art.
The lectures, as before said, begin at 10 A.M., and they last usually an
hour and a half, and are followed by work in the halls of study. It
would appear, however, that very frequently the day’s occupation
consists simply of work in the halls of study (or occasionally out of
the school buildings, when the students are sent on some excursion;)
and, accordingly, in giving the account of the studies, a _day_ or day’s
work will sometimes mean a lecture followed by drawing or other
employment, sometimes this drawing or other employment without any
lecture preceding. Taking a general average, the proportion appears to
be about two lectures to five _séances_, _i.e._, sittings without
lectures.
The system will be better understood by referring to the accompanying
tables, which are translated from the Project for the Employment of Time
for the year 1851-2, submitted for the approval of the Minister of War.
The dates in the first column indicate the days of the commencement of
each particular study. The school year, it should be said, begins on the
1st of December.
EMPLOYMENT OF TIME FOR THE YEARS 1851-1852.
[KEY]
Att Attendances.
LbW Lectures before Work.
TL Total of Lectures.
-----------+------------------------------------------+--------------
Month and | Second Division. | Number of
Date. | +----+----+----
| First Year’s Instruction. | Att| LbW| TL
-----------+------------------------------------------+----+----+----
December 1 | Lectures on Military Art in | | |
“ 2 | Topography--Conventional Tints, | 2 |....|....
“ 4 | Study of Hill Drawing | | |
| (in sepia with contour lines,) | 2 |....|....
| { Plate 1 .. 5} | | |
| { Plate 2 .. 5} | | |
“ 6 | Military Art,{ Plate 3 .. 5} | | |
| { Plate 4 .. 5} | | |
| { Plate 5 .. 9} | 29 | 4 | 39
January 12 | Front of Cormontaige | 24 | 3 | 13
| | | |
February 9 | Project of Field Fortification, | | |
| { Plate 1. Plan of the whole, 3} | | |
| { Plate 2. Organization of a work, 8} | | |
| { Plate 3. Details of Construction, 4} | | |
| { Memoir 4} | 19 | 5 | 7
March 3 | Plan of Stability of Revetments, &c., | 9 | 9 | 9
“ 13 | Study of the Drawing showing the effect, | 8 | 1 | 1
“ 23 | Plan of a Building, | | |
| { Out-of-door work, 9} | | |
| { Laying down and drawing, Memoir, 23} | 32 |....|....
April 29 | Topographical Triangulation, | 4 | 4 | 6
May 5 | Defilement and Profiling on the Ground, | 3 |....|....
| Project of a Building, | | |
| { Sketches, 14} | | |
| { Drawing, 24} | | |
| { Memoir, 4} | | |
| { Estimate, 3} | 45 | 12 | 22
June 28 | Survey with a plane-table, | | |
| { Out-of-door work 0} | | |
| { Laying down and drawing, 3} | 13 | 1 |....
| One day free in case of bad weather, | 1 |....|....
July 14 | To find the Variation of the Needle, | 1 | 1 |....
“ 17 | Survey of Ground with the Compass, | | |
| { Out-of-door work, 8} | | |
| { Laying down and drawing, 2} | 10 | 1 |....
| One day free in case of bad weather, | 1 |....|....
August 2 | Reconnaissance Plan--Out-of-door work, | 6 | 1 |....
| One day free in case of bad weather, | 1 |....|....
“ 10 | Study of Shaded Drawing | | |
(_Hachures_ and colored.) | 8 | 1 |....
“ 18 | Laying down and drawing the Survey | | |
made with the Compass, | 2 |....|....
| Project of Fortification on Level Ground,| | |
| { Plate 1 6} | | |
“ 20 | { Plate 2 30} | | |
| { Memoir, 6} | 42 | 3 | 19
September | | | |
October 8 | Project of Fortification on Hilly Ground,| | |
| { Plate 1 19} | | |
| { Memoir, 3} | 22 | 8 | 10
Nov. 3 | Last day of week, | | |
“ 6 | Leave for their Vacation, | | |
There remains therefore in this division:--1st. Three free days in
case of bad weather; one after each survey. 2nd. Two days at the end
of the year, the 4th and 5th November. Total five free day.
-----------+------------------------------------------+----+----+----
Total of the days employed 279 + 5 days free, |284 | |
-----------+------------------------------------------+----+----+----
EMPLOYMENT OF TIME FOR THE YEAR 1851-1852.
-----------+------------------------------------------+--------------
Month and | First Division. | Number of
Date. | +----+----+----
| Second Year’s Instruction. | Att| LbW| TL
-----------+------------------------------------------+----+----+----
| Brought forward, |284 |....|....
December 6 | Laying down the First Survey | | |
| by Reconnaissance, | 8 |....|....
“ 16 | Attack and Defense:--Plate, | | |
| Batteries, with Plan and | | |
| Sections of Detail, | 4 | 5 | 6
| Ditto, { Plate 1, 25 } | | |
“ 20 | { Journal, 2 } | | |
| { Plate 2 13 } | 40 | 6 | 20
January | | | |
February 7 | Designs and Constructions of | | |
| Revetments, Arches, &c., | 9 | 9 | 9
“ 18 | Project and Permanent Fortification | | |
| in Hilly Ground, { Plate 1 19 } | | |
| { Memoir, 3 } | | |
| { Plate 2 8 } | 30 | 8 | 19
| | | |
| SPECIAL WORKS: | | |
| Artillery. | | |
| Engineers. | | |
| | | |
March 25 | Measurement and Drawings | | |
| of a Cannon, 12 | 12 |....|....
| Project of Fortification in | | |
| hilly ground, Plate 2 _cont._, 12 | | |
April 8 | Measurement of a Workshop, | | |
| Out-of-door Work, | 9 | 30 | 30
“ 19 | Laying down the Measurement, 28 | | |
| Laying down the Measurement, 24 | | |
May 18 | Project of Fortification in hilly | | |
| ground, Plate 3, 14 | | |
“ 24 | Project for Machines, 14 | | |
June 4 | Abstracting and calculating | | |
| Measurements, 3 | | |
“ 8 | Plate 4, 11 | | |
“ 9 | Questions in Artillery, 5 | | |
| 1st. Measurement of _Matériel_, | | |
| Gun Carriages, &c., 8 | | |
| Register of the removal of Earth, 3 | | |
| Laying down ditto, 10 | | |
| Estimate, 2 | | |
| Memoir, 2 | | |
| Project for Improvements, | | |
| {Plate 1, 30 | | |
| {Plate 2, 6 | | |
| {Memoir, 2 | | |
July 6 | 2nd. Measurement of _Matériel_, 8 | | |
“ 15 | Project for a Cannon, 24 | 97 | 2 | 2
| | | |
August 12 | Second Reconnaissance Survey, | | |
| Out-of-door Work and Tracing of the | | |
| Lines on the Reconnaissance Plan, | 7 |....|....
| One day free in case of bad weather, | 1 |....|....
“ 21 | Geodetical Calculations, | 4 |....|....
“ 26 | Laying down the Reconnaissance Survey, | 8 |....|....
September | | | |
4 | Memoir on Entrenched Lines, | 1 |....|....
“ 6 | Tracing or laying out Camps, | 1 |....|....
“ 7 | Operations of a Sham Siege, | 13 |....|....
| One day free, | 1 |....|....
“ 19 | Preparing for the Examination, |....|....|....
October | | | |
November 1 | Examination for leaving, |....|....|....
| |----|....|....
Total of the days employed, 522 + 7 days free |529 | |
-----------+------------------------------------------+----+----+----
EXAMINATION AND CLASSIFICATION.
FINAL EXAMINATION.
About six weeks of free or voluntary study is allowed, immediately prior
to the Final Examination, for the sub-lieutenants to prepare for their
last effort.
The examination which takes place prior to their leaving the School of
Application, is entirely conducted by a board of six officers, under the
presidency of a general officer alternately of the artillery or
engineers, the remaining members of the board consisting of a general
officer of each corps and three field officers of these corps; the last
three being specially charged with the duty of examining. It takes place
in a room set apart for the purpose, with a small interior room in
connection with it, into which the members of the board retire to
deliberate at the end of each student’s examination. The jury assembles
each year at the period fixed by the minister of war.
The three examining members conduct the examination of the students in
three different branches of study; the first more particularly relating
to artillery science, the second to engineering science, and the third
to mechanical science in its connection with the art of war. The whole
of the students who are to leave the school are first examined in such
one or other of these branches of study as may be determined on.
The student under examination is specially questioned by the examining
officer in his subject, and occasionally by the president or any other
member of the board that may wish to do so, for three-quarters of an
hour. As soon as the examination of the student has been concluded, the
board retire to the adjoining room and compare their notes of the
credits they have severally awarded to the student under examination,
and they also examine his drawings, sketches, and memoirs relating to
the subjects on which he has been questioned, and prepared during his
two years of residence in the school. They severally note the credits to
which they consider him to be entitled for them, and adopt the general
mean.
As soon as the examination of the whole of the students in this
particular study has been finished, the examination in the next branch
is commenced, so that five or six days elapse between the first and
second examinations of the same student; and the same interval of time
occurs between the second and third examinations.
The credit allotted to each student by the board of examiners
represents, on the scale of 0 to 20, the manner in which he has replied
to the questions, or executed the drawings, sketches, memoirs, &c.,
belonging to each course. The importance attached to each particular
branch of study is estimated very nearly by the amount of time allowed
for its execution divided by 20; and the definitive marks which each
student obtains for that branch of study is obtained from the products
of the numbers respectively representing the credit for answering, and
that for the importance of the subjects on which he has been examined.
The final classification of the order of merit, in each arm of the
service, is arranged after a comparison of the total of the marks
obtained by each student. This total is the sum of the definitive marks
gained by each student in the sciences bearing on artillery,
engineering, and mechanics in connection with the art of war, for the
talent displayed in drawing, sketching, and writing memoirs, and for
skill in practical exercises, as determined by the results of the
examination conducted by the jury of examiners, added to the marks due
to the previous classification in the school, with the weight or
influence equal to one-third of that allowed for the examination by the
jury.
The co-efficients of influence for the present year are--
For those particularly relating to Artillery Science, 39.29
“ “ “ Engineering Science, 53.75
“ “ “ Mechanical Science, 43.00
For talent in drawing, sketching, writing memoirs, &c., 6.80
For practical exercises, 16.75
Previous classification in the school, 45.30
So that the examination conducted by the jury of examiners exercises an
influence on the position of the students very nearly approaching to
two-thirds of the whole amount.
It is this final classification which determines their seniority in the
respective services. We were permitted to be present during the
examination, which was entirely oral, of two of the _sous-lieutenants_,
before the jury of examiners.
The questions were replied to with great fluency and readiness, but it
seemed to us that the examination was somewhat limited for the object in
view, viz., that of awarding a credit representing the progress which
each student had made in the particular science on which he had been
questioned, especially as that credit would have very great weight in
determining the candidate’s future position.[14]
[Footnote 14: The examination chamber is a small room in the
school buildings, near the library, ornamented with portraits of
Vauban, and of D’Argenson, under whose ministry the original
schools at La Fère and Mézières were founded. At a large table
under these portraits, and extending across the room, General
Morin, President, and four officers, members of the jury, were
seated. The sixth member sat at a small table in front, near the
blackboard, at which the student stood. The Commandant, the
Director of Studies, and the other officers of the school were
seated also in this part of the room.
The student who was first examined was questioned partly by the
examiner, partly by the president, and gave his answers, working
problems and drawing illustrations on the board as he went on. He
was asked questions as to the details of the steam-engine, and as
to the method of casting cannon. The German teacher of the School
put him on to construe from a German book, and tried him in
speaking; he succeeded just passably in both. The whole occupied
about three-quarters of an hour.
The second student, after answering similar scientific questions,
had opportunity given him to show his knowledge, which was
considerable, of the geology of the neighborhood; and having lived
in foreign countries, he was able to make a very good display of
his knowledge of German, Spanish, Italian, and English.
After each examination the jury retired into the inner cabinet, by
a door opening to it from behind their seats.]
On quitting the School of Application at Metz, the sub-lieutenants of
artillery and engineers respectively join the regiments, to which they
are then definitely assigned as second lieutenants, and continue to be
employed in doing duty, and in receiving practical instruction with
them, until they are promoted.
SUBSEQUENT INSTRUCTION AND EMPLOYMENT.
The lieutenants of the artillery are employed on all duties that will
tend to make them efficient artillery officers, and fully acquainted
with all details connected with the drill, practice, and manœuvres of
the artillery, and also with the interior economy and discipline of a
regiment of artillery.
After the officers of artillery are promoted to the rank of second
captain, but not before, they are detached from their regiments and
successively sent into the various arsenals, cannon foundries, powder
mills, and small arm manufactories, pyrotechnic establishments, and
workshops, in order that they may become practically acquainted with the
whole of the processes connected with the manufacture and supply of
artillery, rockets, small arms, powder, material of all kinds, tools,
&c., and also with the construction and repair of the buildings and
factories required for these purposes. Sometimes they are employed as
assistants in these establishments. The inspectors of the arms of
regiments are selected from among those who have become acquainted with
the manufacture of small arms.
When promoted to first captains they again rejoin their regiments, so
that they may not lose the qualifications and knowledge required from a
good practical artillery officer.
Field-officers of artillery are employed as superintendents and
directors, and captains as sub-directors, of the important works
intrusted to their arm.
In time of war, the officers of artillery have the construction of their
own batteries, and the direction of the ordnance in battles and sieges,
together with the formation of movable bridges and passages by boats.
It must be noticed, in contradistinction to the practice which prevails
in England, that the artillery and engineer services manufacture their
own tools.
The young engineer officers are employed with the men of their
regiments, and with them pass through courses of practical instruction
in the field, in sapping, mining, field fortification, sham-sieges,
bridges, and castrametation. During this practical instruction one of
the lieutenants belonging to each company is always present, and the
captain of the company visits the work once in the course of the day.
The duties of the officers of engineers in time of peace are the
construction, preservation, and repairs of fortresses and military
buildings, and the command and instruction of the engineer soldiers.
In time of war, the officers of engineers are intrusted with the
construction of works of permanent fortification, of the general works
in the attack and defense of fortresses, and the reconnaissance
connected therewith.
They _may_ also be charged--
With the construction of such works of field fortifications as the
commander-in-chief or the generals of division consider necessary; such
as _épaulments_, trenches, redoubts, forts, blockhouses, bridgeheads,
intrenched camps, as well as the opening of communications, the
establishment of bridges resting on fixed supports, and the formation
and destruction of roads.
After the officers of engineers have been promoted to the rank of second
captain, and not before, they are mostly employed apart from their
regiments, on the _état major_ of the engineers in fortified towns and
places, either in charge of the existing military buildings and
fortifications, or with the duty of carrying on, or assisting to carry
on, such new works as are in course of construction from time to time.
We have already stated that by the law in France one-third of the
officers of the army is obtained from the military schools; one-third
from the non-commissioned officers who have been raised to that grade
from the ranks; while the remaining third is placed at the disposal of
the supreme executive power. As regards the artillery and engineers this
last third is in actual practice obtained, like the first third part,
from the Polytechnic School, so that only one-third of the officers of
those arms are promoted from among the non-commissioned officers, and
these seldom rise above the rank of captain. Much attention is, however,
paid to the improvement of the education of these latter officers, and
we found that _four_ officers of engineers and _one_ officer of
artillery so promoted were, by order of the minister of war, on the
recommendation of the inspectors-general, passing through the School of
Application at Metz, the course of instruction for them being modified
on their account. And it was confidently expected that a large number of
those officers who had been promoted in this way during the war would be
ordered to the School of Application at Metz.
We should not omit to mention that occasional exchanges of service take
place, during the first year of residence at Metz, among the pupils
destined for the artillery, and those destined for the engineers.
The pay of officers of the artillery and of the engineers is the same.
A small additional allowance is granted to officers of artillery when
mounted.
REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.
ARTILLERY REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.
There are ten regimental artillery schools established in places or
towns that are usually garrisoned by the troops of this arm, and one of
these schools exists at Metz.
ENGINEER REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.
The soldiers of the engineers appear to be very well taught in their
regimental schools, of which there are three, one for each regiment,
established at Metz, Arras, and Montpellier, where the regiments are
usually in garrison. The strength of each regiment is 4,500 men.
The instruction given in these schools has for its object to afford, to
its full extent, to the officers, _sous-officiers_, and soldiers of the
engineers, the requisite theoretical and practical knowledge to enable
them satisfactorily to fulfill the duties of their various ranks, and to
qualify them for promotion to higher rank.
It is so regulated that at the end of the first year the men have learnt
the nature of the service and duties of a soldier; and that at the close
of the second year, the practiced sapper is cognizant of mining, and the
practical miner is acquainted with sapping.
In the lowest classes the men begin with learning to read and write;
this if followed by arithmetic, grammar, writing from dictation, and
composition. The next subjects are special mathematics, landscape, plan,
topographical and architectural drawing. We attended a class in which a
corporal of sappers was explaining to the mathematical teacher
(a civilian) the theory of the inclined plane, and we saw a large number
of their drawings, topographical and architectural, many of which were
very well executed.
The theoretical instruction is given between the months of November and
March, the practical instruction in the field, (already noticed)
occupies the rest of the year. The combined courses are completed in two
years.
REGULATIONS AND PROGRAMMES OF INSTRUCTION
OF THE
IMPERIAL SCHOOL OF APPLICATION FOR THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS AT METZ.
(_Abridged._)
I. POLICE REGULATIONS.
The chief Regulations for the Police of the Establishment are as
follows:--
I. BARRACKS.--The Students are lodged in Barracks in the School, under
the command of a Captain of the Staff, with the title of Commandant of
the Quarter. They take their meals, however, out of the Barracks, in the
town. They are allowed free egress and ingress from and to their
Barracks, from the call at 6 in the morning to 10 at night, excepting
during the hours devoted to lectures and the studies in the rooms.
During these hours they must give special notice o£ their times of going
out and coming in.
II. ORGANIZATION INTO BRIGADES AND SECTIONS.--Each Division is arranged
in Brigades of thirty Students at the utmost, and each Brigade in two
sections. The Students of Artillery and those of the Engineers
constitute, as far as possible, separate Brigades. A Captain of the
Staff is attached to each Brigade for its superintendence. The students
in these Brigades and Sections are arranged in the order of merit which
they held on entrance, and the first Student on the list of each Brigade
and of each section of a Brigade is called its Chief. This arrangement
is preserved at their messes, which are held at the Restaurateurs’, each
section of fifteen having its own table, and its chief being the head of
the mess. Private bills or private additions to the mess are forbidden,
the maximum price for the daily fare being fixed by the Commandant of
the School.
III. CONDUCT OF THE STUDENTS.--All games of chance are forbidden; and
any debts discovered are punished. If a Student continues long without
paying such, he is reported to the Minister of War.
IV. INSPECTION OF WORK DONE WITHIN THE HOUSE.--No work or drawing may be
done out of the rooms of study, except in cases of illness.
All works to be executed by the Students are considered as service
ordered to be done, which must be completed at the hours and within the
period fixed in the order of the day. Students who are in arrears of
work at the end of their first year are required to finish them during
the time of vacation.
V. SUPERINTENDENCE OF OUT-OF-DOOR WORK.--After describing facilities
afforded to the Students for working in the country, and stating
minutely the method to be followed, the directions add that “on bringing
back their plans, Students must present their sketches, and all the
notes taken by them, in their rough state, to the Officer of the Staff
intrusted to inspect them. They can not begin to put their work into
shape till this Officer’s visa has been affixed to the sketches, notes,”
&c.
VI. VACATION.--There is one vacation at the end of the first year. Any
class, or any single student, under punishment, may be deprived of this.
Any work to which the Professor gives a mark below 7, must be considered
incomplete, and to be done again. Students are kept up in vacation to
finish their work; but if it is done within fifteen days, and marked by
the Professor’s visa, they are allowed to go away for the rest of the
vacation.
Young Officers, after their final examination, are subject to all the
Regulations of the School, down to the moment of their leaving the town.
II. REGULATIONS FOR ESTIMATING THE VALUE OF THE WORK EXECUTED.
The time devoted to each of the courses in the School, to the works of
every kind which belong to it, to the exercises, drill, theoretical
instructions, &c., is fixed in accordance with programmes approved by
the Minister of War; and the Table similar to that given at pages
180-181, exhibiting the employment, is each year submitted for his
approbation by the Superior Council of the School.
Every kind of work, such as the out-door operations, sketches, drawings,
memoirs, calculations, interrogations, manipulations, manœuvres, drill,
&c., is valued by the Professor or Officer of the Staff charged with its
direction, by the product of two numbers, one representing the merit of
its execution, and the other the importance of the work.
The numbers representing the merit of the execution or instruction are
regulated by the scale of 0 to 20, as at the Polytechnic School.
The co-efficient of importance is found by dividing the number
representing the maximum value allowed for the execution of any work by
20, the maximum credit for merit; and the number representing the
maximum value, allowed for the execution of any work has reference to
all the circumstances bearing upon its execution. It is regulated by the
number of hours appropriated to its execution; and in estimating this
number of hours, regard is had, not only to the time occupied in making
the drawing, but also to that which is necessary for the calculations,
essays, and sketches indispensable to its execution. The lectures are
reckoned at one and a half hours, and the sittings in the Halls of Study
at four and a half hours.
The number of hours inserted in the Table giving the distribution of the
time employed, being insufficient for the composition of the memoirs,
specifications, estimates, &c., the value given for this kind of work,
of which a great part is performed out of the Halls of Study, is fixed
at twice the number of hours inserted in the Table showing the
distribution of the time employed.
The interrogations are the subject of a special credit, the maximum
being equal to the number of hours devoted to the lectures, multiplied
by one and a half hour, the length of each lecture.
The credit given for a work performed outside the school is divided into
two parts: one, equal to one-third of the total credit, is in the hands
of the Officer charged with the superintendence of the work, who
estimates the zeal and aptitude of the student; the other, equal to
two-thirds, is applied by the Professor, and given according to the
merit of the work.
The sum of the credits, given for work of all kinds in a course of
study, forms the maximum credit for the course.
The method of fixing the credit for the execution of works, according to
the time devoted to them, is equally applicable to the exercises,
practice, and drill.
When the time granted for the execution of any work has expired, the
Director of Studies sends this work to the Professor for his
examination, who establishes the number or credit, showing its
importance, and returns it to the Director of Studies.
Every work which has been finished and examined, is marked by the
Professor by a number representing its merit, which number may be
fractional.
This is multiplied by the number representing its importance, and the
nearest whole number resulting from this product expresses the value of
the examined work.
Every unfinished work receives a provisional value, and is then returned
to the person executing it, and as soon as it has been completed a
second evaluation is made, but only two-thirds of the difference between
the first and second evaluations is added to the first; the same
principle is applied to the works which have been valued below seven, or
to those which have been amended or recommenced.
Every work which has not been executed by the student is marked 0; but
the grounds for its non-execution are placed before the Jury of
Examination.
In the event of two papers being so similar that it is evident one must
have been copied from the other, and that it is not possible to decide
which has been copied from the other, both are marked 0.
And on the other hand, if it is proved that there was no complicity
between the authors of the two papers, the copied paper is the only one
canceled.
At the end of each year’s study, the Council of the School makes a
classification of the students of the two divisions.
Each of these classifications is formed of the following elements:--
1st. Notes of conduct given by the General commanding and the Colonel
Second in Command.
2nd. Notes of appreciation given by the General Commanding, and the
Colonel Second in Command, and by the Officers of the Staff of the
School.
3rd. Tables of credits given by two Field Officers of the Artillery and
Engineers on the theoretical and practical instruction with which they
are charged.
4th. Tables of credits given by each Professor for the works of all
kinds, interrogations, &c., of his course.
The classification of the first year comprehends all the works, drill,
and practice, executed during the first year, which have been valued, as
well as the notes of appreciation and of conduct.
The number appropriated to these notes at the end of the first year is
equal to the moiety of the total number allowed for the two years of
study.
The classification of the students of the second year presents the
reunion of the works executed by them since their entrance into the
school.
The maximum number of credits appropriated to all the Officers of the
Staff, as a note of appreciation, is equal to one-sixth of the total of
all the courses taken together.
The same number, divided into two equal parts, is assigned to the notes
of appreciation given by the General commanding and the Second in
Command.
Lastly, the notes of conduct given by the General commanding and the
Second in Command form one-fiftieth of the total value.
For the classification of each division the Director of Studies
abstracts into a Table, for each arm, all the elements which should
enter into this classification. Below the name of each student are
inserted all the credits which belong to him, and the total, reduced in
the ratio of the maximum 20, is the definitive number of the
classification of each student.
The Director of Studies appends to these Tables a report containing
everything which affords a means of estimating the work, the conduct of
each student, the delays, and the causes, &c. In giving the names of the
students whose credits are less than 7, he proposes, conformably with
the Regulations, the measures that should be taken with regard to them.
The Superior Council of the School being assembled, the different Tables
furnished by the Professors and by the Officers of the Staff, as well as
those in which they are summed up, are collated, and the list of
classifications for each division and for each arm is fixed separately,
with the definitive numbers representing the credits.
These classified lists indicate for each arm the new rank of the
Students, their rank at admission to the School of Application and of
passage to the first division, the sum of the values for the works
executed by them, and all the elements which would tend to enable a
proper judgment to be formed of their merits and conduct.
The Superior Council adds to it, if there be any necessity for it,
notes, exposing the grounds which have contributed to the principal
alterations in the relative position of the Student, and points out
those whose credit is less than 7, as well as those who by their bad
conduct deserve to become the object of exceptional measures.
_Examination for Leaving._
Each year the General commanding the School determines by lot, at least
one month in advance, the order in which the examinations for the
promotions in the Artillery and Engineers are to take place. The
Students belonging to the same arm can change among themselves, but
eight days after the lots have been drawn the list of the order of
examination is definitely closed. The General commanding the School
makes known at the same period the order of the examinations and the
division of the subjects between these examinations.
The General commanding the School places before the General of Division,
President of the Jury of Examination, the following:--
1st. The division of the subjects between the three examinations.
2nd. The order of examination of the Arms, and of the students of each
Arm.
3rd. The provisional classification of the students of the first
division made by the Superior Council.
4th. The particular reports relating to each student made by the General
commanding the School.
5th. The list of the propositions made by the Superior Council and the
proceedings of the sitting at which it was agreed to.
6th. The classification of the Students of the second Division.
7th. Tables of questions established for each course.
8th. The abstracts of the sittings of the Superior Council held since
the last examination.
The Student Sub-lieutenants are successively examined in all the
branches composing the theoretical and practical instruction of the
School. The theoretical knowledge is grouped in three series, each of
which is the object of a particular trial.
The drill and practice are executed in the presence of the Jury, who
cause the command to be given to the Sub-lieutenant, in order to satisfy
themselves of the amount of their instruction, and to assign marks of
merit to them individually.
The subjects of the three examinations are divided in the following
manner:
First. Examination, made by the Field Officer of Artillery in the--
Course of Military Art.
Course of Artillery.
Course of Veterinary Art.
Sham Siege (part relating to Artillery.)
Course of Military Law and Administration.
Second. Examination, held by the Field Officer of Engineers.
Course of Permanent Fortification and the Attack and Defense
of Places.
Course of Construction.
Sham Siege (part relating to the Engineering.)
Third. Examination, held by the third Examiner, taken either from the
Artillery or Engineers, in the--
Course of Mechanics.
Course of Applied Sciences.
Course of Topography and Geodesy.
German Language.
Every Student, on presenting himself before the Examiners, submits for
their approbation the drawings and manuscripts relating to the subjects
on which the examination is to bear. Independent of the questions which
are placed before him by the Examiners, the Student Sub-lieutenant must
reply to any objections or questions which the members of the Jury may
think fit to address to him.
The German Master directly questions the Students, if the Jury wish it.
The Professors or their Assistants must be present at the examinations
relating to their course.
As soon as the examination is ended, the members of the Jury retire to
an adjoining room with closed doors, to determine on the amount of marks
to be given to the Student examined.
When the trials of all kinds are finished, the Jury proceed to the
definitive classification of the Students belonging to each arm. In
making this classification, regard is had to the following
considerations:--
1st. Each examination has a co-efficient of importance equal to the sum
of all the different courses which are included in it.
2nd. The co-efficient of importance for drawing is equal to the 1/20 of
the sum of the co-efficients of the three examinations.
3rd. The co-efficient of importance of the practice, drill, &c., is, as
for the courses, the sum of the co-efficients appropriated to the works
taught in the School.
By multiplying the co-efficients of importance by the mean number of
marks of merit obtained by the Students in the different examinations,
the definitive credit which must be assigned to each Student in the
Table of Classification is obtained.
The classification of the School enters into the definitive
classification for a value equal to one-third of the total number of the
three examinations, without comprising the valuation of the drawings;
this value is added to the credits determined above.
The Jury give an account of the proceedings of the examinations in a
“_procès-verbal_” addressed to the Minister by the General acting as
President.
III. PROGRAMME OF THE ARTILLERY COURSE.
FIRST PART.--INTRODUCTION.
_Twenty-six Lectures common to Students of both Arms._
_First Lecture._--(1.) Definition of the word Artillery. Material,
personnel, science. Object and division of the course.
FIRST SECTION.--EFFECTS OF POWDER.
Ideas on the origin of powder and its use in fire-arms; mealed or
pulverized powder; powder in grain. General conditions which powder
ought to satisfy; action of each of its component parts. Proportion of
component parts used in France. _Fulmi-ligneux._
Considerations on the physical properties of powder. Size of the grains
expressed by the number of grains to the gramme. Density of the grains
and specific density of the powder; circumstances causing them to vary.
Effects of damp upon powder.
_Second Lecture._--(2.) Combustion of powder. Different modes of
ignition of powder. Research respecting the laws of its combustion,
process of observation employed, laws discovered. Influence of the
density, the composition, the mode of manufacture, the damp, the tension
and temperature of the surrounding gases.
Combustion of the grains of powder. Calculation applied to the spherical
grain. The formula is applicable to the irregular grains of ordinary
powder.
Calculation of the density of the gases of powder in a fixed space, on
the hypothesis of a simultaneous ignition of the grains. Discussion of
the formula obtained; influence of the density of the grains, of the
duration of their combustion and of the space in which the powder is
inclosed.
Inquiry into the rapidity of ignition of charges of powder. Experiments
made upon trains of powder, and upon gun-barrels filled with powder.
Conclusions drawn from the results obtained.
_Third Lecture._--(3.) Calculation of the density of the gases of the
powder on the hypothesis of successive ignition.
Results of the application of the formula to charges of a spherical and
a truncated form.
Tension of the gases of powder. Impossibility of determining it by
considerations of a purely theoretical nature. Experimental solution of
this question. Experiments by Rumfort; description of his apparatus.
Results obtained. Formula representing them. Observations on these
results.
_Fourth Lecture._--(4.) Effects of powder in a fixed space.
Hollow projectiles. The readiest bursting of a hollow sphere takes place
in the direction of the plane of a great circle. Determination of the
minimum bursting charge; law by which this charge varies with the
thickness of the envelope. Influence of the fuse-hole of hollow
projectiles; weakening of the envelope of the shell, diminution of the
charge; loss of gas, increase of the charge. Effects of the shock of the
exploding gases; means of estimating it. Influence of the vivacity of
the powder in burning. Number and rapidity of the explosions.
Hollow cylinders burst more easily longitudinally than transversely.
Consequences of this principle relatively to the employment of a fibrous
metal for the manufacture of arms. Thickness necessary to resist
bursting.
_Fifth Lecture._--(5.) Effects of powder in cannon.
Analytical theory of the effects of powder in cannon.
Equation of the problem. General expressions of the quantity of force
exercised by the expansion of the gases,--of the density of the
different sections of gas and of their tension. Differential equations
of the motion of the gases, of the projectile, and of the gun. Equation
of condition leading to the establishment of the general formula which
determines the position of a stratum of gas in the terms of the function
of its original position, and of the other data of the question. General
relations between the velocity of the projectile and that of the gun.
Density of the stratum of gas at a given moment. Position of the stratum
which has a maximum density.
_Sixth Lecture._--(6.) Approximative solution applicable to the cases
ordinarily met with in practice. Hypothesis relating to the velocity and
the tension of different strata of gas.
Relations between the velocity of the projectile and that of the gun.
Approximate expression of the amount of force due to the expansion of
the gases; line to be followed in the execution of the arithmetical
calculations. Formula serving to determine the velocity of the
projectile. General considerations on the state of the gases of powder
during the burning of the charge. Influence of the motions of the
projectile and of the bottom of the bore on the distribution of the
gases at each instant. Influence of the successive generation of the
gases combined with the enlargement of the space which incloses them on
their density throughout the whole duration of the phenomenon.
_Seventh Lecture._--(7.) Influence of the vent and of the windage of the
projectile on the effects of powder in cannon.
Determination of the loss of velocity occasioned by the windage of the
projectile. Influence of the weight of the piece upon the velocity of
the projectile. Influence of the weight of the projectile on tension of
the gases and upon the velocities of the two bodies set in motion.
Influence of the weight of the charge of powder. Charge giving the
maximum of velocity. Influence of the size and density of the grains of
the powder as well as other circumstances which cause a variation in the
law of generation of the gases. Advantage of very rapid combustion in
short pieces and of slower combustion in long ones.
_Eighth Lecture._--(8.) Influence of the length of bore; circumstances
which modify it; length corresponding to the maximum of velocity.
Comparison of the quantities of motion of the projectile and of the gun.
Trial of a formula fitted to represent their relation. Determination of
this relation with the help of the balistic pendulum.
Mean pressure exercised on the projectile during its passage through the
bore. Injuries produced in guns by firing; enlargement of metal and
cracks; lodgment and percussion of the projectile.
Different effects of the percussion; means tried to prevent injuries
(in general.) Considerations on the metals employed in the manufacture
of ordnance. Charging with elongated cartridge; use of wooden bottoms
and wads.
_Ninth Lecture._--(9.) Examination of the proper means for measuring the
effects of powder. Eprouvettes of different sorts. Experimental
processes founded on the measure of the velocity of the projectile.
Grobert’s rotatory machine. Process of Colonel Debooz. Process based on
the employment of an electric current. Method by ranges (mentioned here
by way of note.)
Balistic pendulum. Pendulum of Robins, of d’Arcy, of Hutton.
Improvements introduced in France into the construction of these
apparatus. Description of the pendulums in use at the present day;
cannon pendulum; musket pendulum.
_Tenth Lecture._--(10.) Analytical theory of the balistic pendulum.
1. Receiver pendulum; formula which gives the velocity of the
projectile. Determination of the elements which enter into the formula,
and the degree of approximation necessary. Simplification of the
calculation of the velocities in the case of firing several times
consecutively.
2. Cannon pendulum. Amount of recoil in the gun. Percussion of the
knife-edges of the pendulum. Case where there is none. Means of
correcting the position of the center of percussion.
_Eleventh Lecture._--(11.) Examination of the effects of the recoil upon
guns and their carriages. The question may be considered as resolving
itself into two others.
1. Percussions of the carriage upon the points supporting it;
analytical solution. Determination of the percussions and of the force
of the recoil in the case of carriages on wheels, and that of mortar
beds. Graphic solution of the same question by an analysis of the force
which acts upon the bottom of the bore. Modification of the sketch
according to the different cases presented by the direction of fire
relatively to the ground.
_Twelfth Lecture._--(12.) Discussion of points relating to the
percussion of the carriage upon its supports, and to the force of the
recoil. Influence of the elevation of the line of fire; of the
inclination of the ground or of the platform; of the length of the
carriage in proportion to its height and of the friction which results
from the contact of the trail with the ground. Velocity of recoil of the
collective apparatus. Determination of the extent of the recoil on a
given ground. Recoil of the different pieces of ordnance in use. Case in
which the forepart of the carriage has a tendency to be lifted up;
velocity of this motion; determination of the effect resulting from it.
_Thirteenth Lecture._--(13.)
2. Percussions produced by the gun upon its carriage. Determination of
the amount of percussion of the breech upon the elevating screw, and of
that of the trunnions upon the trunnion holes. Discussion of points
relative to the effects produced. Influence of the elevation; of the
dimensions of the gun, and of the proportion of its weight to that of
the entire apparatus.
Effect of the elasticity of the different parts of the apparatus. It
diminishes the wear of the parts struck, and renders it necessary to
take into account the velocity of the parts striking.
_Fourteenth Lecture._--(14.) Effects of powder in mines. Historical
notices. Dimensions of the boxes containing the powder. Considerations
on the effects of the expansion of the gases in an indefinite or limited
compressible medium.
Definitions having reference to craters and chambers of mines. Ordinary
charge of the chamber. The old rule for miners; its entire alteration.
Table relating to different kinds of medium. Overcharged chamber.
Overcharged chamber or “camouflet.” Limit of the effects of compression
which result from the action of the chambers. Use of gun cotton.
Considerations on the effects of the petard. Dimensions of the cavity
reserved for the powder. Means employed or proposed to diminish the
charge of powder proportioned to a given effect.
SECOND SECTION.--MOTION OF PROJECTILES IN SPACE.
_Fifteenth Lecture._--(15.) Science of projectiles. Historical notices.
Utility of an acquaintance with the laws of the motion of projectiles in
a vacuum. Definitions relating to the trajectory. Differential equations
of the motion in vacuo. Equation of the trajectory. Inclination of its
elements. Velocity of the projectile at any one point. Duration of its
passage. Determination of the range and of the angle of greatest range.
Relations between the ranges; the initial velocities; and the angles of
projection. Examination of the cases where the theory of the parabola is
applicable.
Preliminary ideas on the resistance of fluids; difficulties inherent in
this question. Approximative formula of the resistance, established by
the help of the principle of active forces; circumstances not taken into
consideration by it.
_Sixteenth Lecture._--(16.) Experiments relating to the determination of
the resistance of the air.
1. Case of small velocities. Rotatory apparatus; results furnished by
them in the case of thin planes; their essential defect. Apparatus with
rectilinear movement. Mean value of the co-efficient of the theoretical
resistance in the case of thin planes; modification of this value for
the case of spheres, &c.
2. Case of great velocities. Direct determination of the resistance of
the air by the aid of the balistic pendulum. Experiments of Hutton,
their results. Experiments made at Metz in 1839 and 1840. General
expression of the resistance based upon the total of the results
obtained, and containing a function of the velocity in three terms.
Search after a function in two terms fit to replace in each particular
case the general expression.
_Seventeenth Lecture._--(17.) Theory of the motion of projectiles in the
air. Differential equations of the motion. Hypothesis on the relation of
the element of the trajectory to its projection. Calculations based on
this hypothesis, and leading to the final equation of the arc of the
trajectory. Inclination of the element of the trajectory. Velocity of
the projectile at a given point. Duration of the passage.
_Eighteenth Lecture._--(18.) Examination of the functions employed in
the formulas of the science of projectiles. Formation of the balistic
co-efficient, and the series contained in the functions. Relations of
the series and the functions to each other. Arithmetical tables designed
to give their values. Determination of the relation of an arc of the
trajectory to its projection. Error resulting from the introduction of
the constant relation in balistic calculations.
_Nineteenth Lecture._--(19.) Application of balistic theories to the
movement of projectiles thrown at great angles. Analysis of the
trajectory, and determination of all the circumstances of the movement.
Trajectory of shells considered as a single arc. Solution of several
problems involved in this hypothesis. Determination of the range.
Velocity corresponding to a given range and angle of projection. Angle
of projection corresponding to a known initial velocity and range. Angle
of greatest range. Variation of the velocity of the projectile during
the whole of its passage. Limit of velocity of projectiles falling
vertically in the air.
_Twentieth Lecture._--(20.) Application of balistic theories to the
motion of projectiles thrown at low angles. Case where the relation of
the arc to its projection can be supposed sensibly equal to unity.
Problems relative to direct fire; distinction established between the
angle of projection and the angle of fire. In ordinary cases in practice
the angle of fire is very nearly independent of the height of the object
aimed at. Relations between the angle of projection, the angle of
elevation of the object aimed at, and the angle of descent. Problems
relating to plunging fire. (Ricochet fire.) Determination of the initial
velocity and the angle of projection for a projectile which has to pass,
firstly, through two given points; secondly, through one given point,
the trajectory having at this point a known direction. Case of practical
impossibility.
_Twenty-first Lecture._--(21.) Relations between the velocities, the
spaces traversed, and the durations of passage in the rectilinear
movement of projectiles. They are applicable to direct fire, and are
independent of the function of the velocity which enters into the
expression of the resistance of the air. Case where the resistance of
the air can be supposed proportional to the square of the velocity.
Establishment of balistic formulas in this hypothesis. Application of
the formulas to the resolution of one of the problems connected with a
plunging fire. Comparison of the results obtained with those arrived at
by the use of general formulas. Indication of methods applicable to the
resolution of several questions in projectiles.
_Twenty-second Lecture._--(22.) Examination of disturbing causes which
influence the motion of projectiles.
1. Disturbing causes acting on the projectile during its passage
through the bore. Imperfections of form, such as want of straightness in
the bore, faulty position of the line of sight and the trunnions.
Influence of the windage of the projectile and of the percussions
which result from it. Deviation from the original direction; its
consequence in the different kinds of fire. Effect of the recoil and the
vibrations of the barrel in the fire of small-arms.
Influence of the various causes which are capable of modifying the
initial velocity.
2. Disturbing causes acting upon the projectile during its passage
through the air. Influence of the rotatory motion which results from the
last percussion within the bore. Effects of the eccentricity of
projectiles. Case where the rotation occasions no deviation. Influence
of the proximity of the ground. Deviation produced by the wind (air in
motion.) Influence of atmospheric changes.
THIRD SECTION.--MOTION OF CARRIAGES.
_Twenty-third Lecture._--(23.) Importance of the question. Preliminary
ideas. Resistance due to the motion of a carriage and determination of
the effort necessary for drawing it in the case of uniform motion.
Two-wheeled carriage on level ground; the effort of draught in a
direction parallel to the ground; first, resistance referable to the
friction of the wheels on the axle; secondly, resistance referable to
their revolution upon the ground. Influence of the weight of the
carriage. Advantage of large wheels over small ones, demonstrated in the
two cases of a yielding soil and a hard soil scattered over with
obstacles. Expression of the power of draught necessary to overcome the
two resistances united.
_Twenty-fourth Lecture._--(24.) General expressions of the effort of
draught necessary for two-wheeled and four-wheeled carriages; case of a
locked wheel. Influence of the direction of the traces and of the
inclination of the ground upon the draught. Advantage of rolling over
dragging for the transport of burdens. Examination of resistances which
are developed in the passage from repose to motion. Considerations on
the position of the fillet in the box, and determination of the
co-efficient of friction for the case of the revolution of the wheel
about the axle.
Influence of the length of the nave on the frictions when the axle is
thrown out of a horizontal position.
_Twenty-fifth Lecture._--(25.) Turning of carriages considered
successively in the case of two-wheeled and four-wheeled carriages.
Center and angle of the turn in four-wheeled carriages. Calculations of
the angle of the turn and of the space required by the carriage to
execute a half turn. Examination of the dimensions of the carriage which
influence the angle of the turn. Diameter of the fore-wheels and height
of the body of the carriage; distance between the wheels and breadth of
the body of the carriage; position of the point of reunion of its fore
and hind parts. Examination of the circumstances favorable or
unfavorable to the action of the horse. Relation between the forces to
which he is subjected, and the pressure of his feet on the ground.
Sliding of the feet; influence of the weight of the animal; of the
co-efficient of friction; and of the direction of the traces. Lifting of
the fore-hand; influence of the weight of the horse, and of the
increased distance between the points on which he rests; of the position
of his center of gravity; and of the direction of the traces.
_Twenty-sixth Lecture._--(26.) Considerations on the mode of action of
the draught-horse. Effect of his weight, and of the inclination of the
traces. Effort of draught of which the horse is capable, both
momentarily and continuously; results of experiments. Composition of
artillery harness. Harness à limonière (with shafts and cross-bar,) or
on the French system; on the German system, with pole and support. Use
and discontinuance of swing bars. Arrangement of the traces. General
arrangement of harness. Bât-saddle.
SECOND PART.
CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT OF SMALL ARMS AND OF ARTILLERY MATERIAL.
_Twenty Lectures, of which Fourteen are common to the Students of both
Arms and Six confined to Artillery Students._
FIRST SECTION.--SMALL ARMS.
_Twenty-seventh Lecture._--(1.) Classification of small arms. Arms not
fire-arms. Classification of hand-weapons. Considerations on the profile
and outline of cutting weapons. Effect of the curve. Division of the
mass. Form of the hilt.
Considerations on the profile and outline of thrusting weapons.
Position of the center of gravity; form of the point. Description of
arms other than fire-arms now in use. Sabres and swords. General ideas
respecting their component parts; blade, hilt, and scabbard. Regimental
arms. Infantry sword. Sword-bayonet of the artillery and chasseurs,
cavalry sword; peculiar requisites. Sword of cavalry of reserve, of
cavalry of the line, and of light cavalry. Horse artillery sword.
Officers’ and non-commissioned officers’ arms. Cavalry lance. Camping
axe. Side-arms in use in the navy. Sword, pike, boarding-axe, dirk.
Defensive armor. Cuirassiers and carabineers’ cuirasses. Cuirass and
helmet of the sapper.
_Twenty-eighth Lecture._--(2.) Fire-arms. Historical notices. First
attempts in fire-arms. Hand cannons. Arquebuses, culverines, &c.
Poitrinal, matchlock, firelock, pistol, and blunderbuss.
Means employed successively for loading and ignition of the charge.
Twisted match, wheel-lock, flint-lock, percussion-lock, (the two last
mentioned here by way of note.) Classified account of fire-arms now in
use. Muskets. Considerations on the weight and principal dimensions of
muskets. Detailed description of the infantry musket. Action of the
flint and the percussion lock.
_Twenty-ninth Lecture._--(3.) Comparison of the flint and the percussion
musket. Voltigeur’s, dragoon’s, and double-barreled musket. Gendarmerie
and cavalry carbine. Cavalry and gendarmerie pistol. Arms in which
precision of aim is studied. Means employed to prevent the deviations
caused by the windage of the projectiles and their rotatory-movement in
the air. Diminution and suppression of the windage; straight grooves in
the barrel, spiral grooves, rifled arms. Rotation of the ball about its
axis of flight.
Principles of arrangement of rifled arms. Charge of powder and
inclination of the grooves; two modes of solution, powerful charge and
long spiral, weak charge and short spiral. Length of the barrel:
conditions which determine it; number and form of the grooves.
_Thirtieth Lecture._--(4.) Loading of rifled arms; ramming the ball
home; loading at the breech. Different methods tried. Loading with a
flattened ball; effect of the flattening of the ball. Examination of the
successive improvements to which this idea has served as a basis.
Chambered arms; use of the short bottom and the patch. Arms _à tige_.
Elongation of the ball; shortening of the spiral groove; diminution of
the charge: advantages resulting from it. Pointed cylindrical ball;
principles of its outline; effect of the notches of the ball;
superiority of this projectile over the spherical balls. Summary
examination of the different models of rifled arms which have been
successively in use. Versailles rifles.
Wall-piece, pattern 1831. Common rifle, pattern 1842. Wall-piece,
pattern 1840. Bored-up wall-piece, pattern 1842. Pistols for officers of
cavalry and gendarmerie. Rifles _à tige_, pattern 1846, and artillery
carbine _à tige_. Description of these two arms. Superiority of the
rifle _à tige_ over the arms for precise aim previously adopted. Trial
relating to a new improvement in the construction of rifled arms. Disuse
of the “_tige_.” Ball with cup. Comparative notice of the fire-arms of
the different European powers.
SECOND SECTION.--PROJECTILES AND CANNON.
_Thirty-first Lecture._--(5.) Principles of construction of projectiles.
Considerations on the substances which may be chosen for the manufacture
of projectiles. Essential conditions, density, hardness, tenacity,
cheapness. Projectiles of stone, lead, cast-iron, iron, copper,
gun-metal. Forms of projectiles.
Exterior form; conditions which serve to determine it. The spherical
form preferable to any other in the actual state of artillery. Advantage
of elongated projectiles. Conditions relating to their use. First
attempts. Interior form of hollow projectiles; howitzer shells, bombs,
and grenades. Thickness of the metal; fuse-hole; charging-hole of naval
hollow projectiles; lugs or handles of shells. Density of projectiles.
Recapitulation of the balls; howitzer shells; shells and grenades in
use, their nomenclature, dimensions, weight. Cannon-balls. Choice of
metal and weights. Different arrangements for the use of shot,
case-shot, canister or naval grape-shot. Spherical case; conditions
relating to their use. Charge of spherical case. Bar-shot. Rescue
shells.
_Thirty-second Lecture._--(6.) Cannon. Historical ideas on the subject.
Principle of arrangement of ancient arms and machines of war. Motive
force employed; its inferiority compared to that furnished by the
combustion of powder. Earliest cannon.
Historical view of the different systems of ordnance which have been
successively in use in France.
1. Cannon. Calibres in use in the 16th century. Edict of Blois, 1572.
Cannon employed in the reign of Louis XIV. Regulation of 1732. System of
Vallière. Modifications introduced by Gribeauval in 1765. Cannon of the
year XI. Cannon in use at the present day.
2. Ordnance adapted to hollow projectiles. Difficulties inseparable from
the throwing of hollow projectiles; first attempts. Mortars. Double
fire. Ancient calibres. Mortars in use at the present day. Stone mortar.
Howitzers, their first use in the French artillery; howitzers of 1765;
of the year XI. Calibres in use at the present day. Considerations on
the calibres of different kinds of cannon. Siege, garrison, field,
coast, and naval ordnance. Siege, garrison, field, mountain, coast, and
naval howitzers. Mortars and stone mortars. Considerations on the metals
which may be employed in the manufacture of cannon for siege, garrison,
field, coast, and naval purposes. Interior form of ordnance.
1. Part of the bore traversed by the projectile, transverse section;
trial of rifled cannon, longitudinal section.
2. Part of the bore occupied by the charge; influence of its form; the
spherical, cylindrical, truncated form. Chambers of mortars; reason for
their adoption. Cylindrical and truncated chambers; comparison of their
effects. Spherical chamber; pyriform chamber: interior form of the naval
mortar _à semelle_ (cast in one piece with the bed.) Chamber of
howitzers; experiments with reference to their adoption for field
howitzers. Dimension. Howitzers without chamber. Chamber of carronades.
Junction of the chambers with the rest of the bore: form of the bottom
of the bore or of the chamber.
_Thirty-third Lecture._--(7.) Vent; its object, its dimensions. Bushes
inserted before casting, (_masses de lumière_;) after casting, (_grains
de lumière_.) Considerations on the position of the vent relatively to
the charge. Experiments made with the infantry musket, and with 24 and
16 pounder guns.
Arrangement of the vent in guns of 1732; portfire chamber. Vent of
mortars. Priming pans. Windage of projectiles; conditions which
determine it for the different services. Rules received with respect to
ancient guns. Dimensions in use at the present day. Different
characteristics resulting from the windage of projectiles. Length of the
bore. Question of the length of the bore considered with reference to
the projectile effect of the powder. The length of ordnance is
determined by considerations unconnected with this effect.
Length of bore of siege and defensive artillery, of field, coast, and
naval guns. Length of bore of mortars, and of the stone mortar. Length
of bore of howitzers. Thickness of metal and external outline.
Cannon:--Theoretical determination of the external outline necessary for
resistance to the effect of the gases of the powder. Co-efficient of
resistance, its value in the guns in use. Thickness in the chase
necessary for resistance to the percussions of the projectile.
Swell or moulding of the muzzle. Thickness at the position occupied by
the trunnions. Thickness of metal of the different systems of cannon
which have been successively in use in France. Thickness of metal in
howitzers. Form resulting from the diminution of internal diameter, at
the position occupied by the chamber. Exceptional form of the siege
howitzer. Outline of the interior of mortars.
_Thirty-fourth Lecture._--(8.) Line of sight; its object and
arrangement. Considerations on the inclination of the line of sight
relatively to the axis of the gun. Trunnions; object and arrangement of
trunnions and their shoulders. Position of trunnions relatively to the
center of gravity of the gun. Preponderance of the breech over the
chase; manner of estimating it; preponderance allowed in the different
guns in use. General principle serving as the basis for its adoption.
Position of trunnions relatively to the axis of guns. Reasons for their
depression; circumstances which cause it to vary. Trunnions of mortars;
their reinforces. Dolphins of ordnance. Weight of ordnance; necessary
relation between the weight of a gun, and the quantity of movement of
its projectile. Conditions serving to determine the weight of the
different species of cannon, howitzers, and mortars in use. Examination
of the weights adopted for the pieces of ordnance of all sorts, which
have been successively employed. General recapitulation of the different
species of ordnance in use. Nomenclature. Dimensions, weight. Land
artillery. Siege, garrison, and field guns. Siege, garrison, field, and
mountain howitzers, mortars, and stone mortars. Naval artillery. Cannon,
carronades, howitzers, mortars, stone mortar, blunderbuss. Observations
on ordnance. Exceptional ordnance. Villantroy’s howitzers. Belgian
mortar of 60 c., &c. Description of the artillery petard.
THIRD SECTION.--WAR AND SIGNAL ROCKETS.
_Thirty-fifth Lecture._--(9.) Historical ideas on the subject. Cause of
the motion of rockets. Their exterior and interior form. Relation which
should exist between the law of generation of the gases and the orifice
for their escape. Measure of the tension of the gases in rockets.
Results of experiments. Motion of the rocket. Variation of the velocity
during its passage. Means of regulating the motion; effect of the
directing stick. Influence of the wind upon the trajectory of the
rocket.
Description of rockets in use.--1st. War rockets; calibres employed;
body of the rocket; arrangement of the stick. Projectiles fitted to the
head of the rocket; rockets without stick. 2d. Signal rockets; their
calibres and composition.
FOURTH SECTION.--CARRIAGES.
_Thirty-sixth Lecture._--(10.) Historical ideas on the subject.
Arrangements originally in use for the service of ordnance. Successive
improvements. Carriages on wheels. Introduction of limbers. General
conditions which gun-carriages should satisfy.
General principles of their construction:--1st. With reference to the
act of firing. 2dly. With a view to transport.
Mortar carriages. Particular requisites. Description of the carriages in
use. Siege carriages; particular conditions. General arrangement of
ancient siege carriages. Detailed description of the present siege
carriage and its limber; its weight and different characteristics. Field
carriage; particular requisites; general arrangement of the carriages
employed before 1765. Field carriages of the system of Gribeauval; its
defects. General arrangement and detailed description of the present
field carriage and of its limber. Weight and different characteristics.
Mountain carriages; particular requisites; description of the carriage
and of the arrangement of its shafts (_limonière_.)
_Thirty-seventh Lecture._--(11.) Garrison and coast carriages;
particular requisites; object of the platform for the two systems; its
principal dimensions; position of the pintle or working bolt (_cheville
ouvrière_.) General arrangement of ancient garrison and coast
gun-carriages. Description of the present garrison carriage; change of
the carriage into a movable one on four wheels; weight and different
characteristics. Replacement of the platform by a directing transom bed
under certain circumstances of the service. Casemate carriage. Iron
carriages; inconveniences of this kind of construction for siege
purposes and on the field of battle; its advantages for the armament of
coasts. Description of the coast carriage actually in use; weight and
different characteristics. Naval carriages; particular requisites.
General arrangement of naval carriages in use. Carriage on four small
wheels for cannon. Bracket carriage (_à échantignolle_,) and carriage
with double pivot platform for howitzers. Carronade carriage. Mortar
bed, cast in one piece with the mortar, (_à plaque_.) Exceptional
methods of construction. Depressing gun carriages for a very plunging
fire. Villantroy’s howitzer beds, those of the Belgian mortar of 60 c.,
&c.
FIFTH SECTION.--CARRIAGES AND OTHER PARTS OF AN ARTILLERY TRAIN.
ARTILLERY OF FOREIGN POWERS.
_Thirty-eighth Lecture._--(12.) Battery carriages. Ammunition wagon.
Historical ideas on the subject. Requisites for carriages used for the
transport of munitions of war. General arrangement and description of
the present ammunition wagon. Principles of arrangement of the
ammunition chest. Loading of the chest with munitions of various kinds.
Mountain ammunition chest. Loading of the chest with howitzer ammunition
and infantry cartridges.
Battery wagon; object of this carriage; patterns successively adopted.
Description of the wagon, pattern 1833. Field forge; object of this
carriage. Description of the forge in use. Arrangement and play of the
bellows. Mountain forge. Description and loading of it.
_Thirty-ninth Lecture._--(13.) Park carriages and machines.
Park wagon. General arrangement and description of the park wagon and
its limber. Carriages destined to the transport of heavy burdens.
Ancient gun wagon. Truck. Block carriage. General arrangement and
description of the carriage. Siege cart; its object and description.
Devil carriages. Arrangement of the ancient devil carriages with perch
and with screw. Devil carriage with roller. Description of the carriage
and of its mechanism. Gin. General arrangement of the different patterns
successively employed. Description of the gin at present in use.
Handscrew; its use, general arrangement, and description.
_Fortieth Lecture._--(14.) Pontoon equipages. Conditions which military
pontoon equipages should satisfy. Considerations on the nature of the
supports to be employed. Reserve pontoon equipage. Boat of the reserve
equipage; its general form and dimensions. Description of the boat and
skiff; use of the boat for navigation; its weight and different
properties.
Tackle and machines employed for bridge-making. Balks, moorings,
chesses, blocks, and balk collar. Framework, with movable head;
different kinds of piles. Means of anchorage. Common anchor; its
properties. Anchor basket and chest. Buoy. Cordage. Ideas on its
arrangement and on the measure of its resistance. Capstan. Windlass.
Tackling. Handscrew. Pile driver. Hand rammer. Grapnel and hooks.
General arrangement of the boat carriage. Description. Its weight and
properties. Light equipage.
_Forty-first Lecture._--(15.) General ideas on the artillery of the
different European powers, and comparison with the French material.
Ordnance; description, species, and calibres. Gun-carriages, carriages,
and other parts of the train. General arrangement; facility of movement;
modes of harnessing, &c.
SIXTH SECTION.--DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTION OF GUN CARRIAGES AND ARTILLERY
CARRIAGES, AND MEANS OF PRESERVATION OF MATERIAL.
_Forty-second Lecture._--(16.) Knowledge of woods. Preliminary ideas.
Structures and general properties of woods. Diseases and defects of
woods. Description and properties of the principal substances employed
in the construction of the material; uses to which the different kinds
of wood are specially destined. Selection of standing timber; felling;
transport; reception of woods; cubature. Cutting up in large and small
sizes. Observations on the shrinking of wood. Preservation of woods.
Drying in the air. Round, squared, and blocked-out timber. Preservation
in store; preservation in water. Steeping. Influence of the contact of
woods with other woods, and with metals.
_Forty-third Lecture._--(17.) General considerations on the substances
employed in the manufacture of gun and artillery carriages. Different
properties of metals. Choice of kinds of wood; effects of their being
dried. Classified account of axles and wheels. Axles; substance
employed, their forms and dimensions. Wheels; essential requisites.
Importance of the elasticity of wheels. Effects of the dishing of a
wheel, form of the spokes, coupling of the spokes with the nave and the
felloes. Tires. Form and number of the felloes determined by the effects
of the drying. Form of the nave. Wheel-boxes.
_Forty-fourth Lecture._--(18.) Means employed for the connection of the
pieces which enter into the composition of gun-carriages, carriages, and
other furniture of the train. Nails, clinch nails, rivets, bolts,
screws, &c. Examination of the joinings employed in the construction of
gun-carriages, carriages, and other furniture of the train.
General principles. Joinings of gun-carriages. Joint plates (“_rondelles
d’assemblage_.”) Mortar beds, siege, field, and garrison carriages.
_Forty-fifth Lecture._--(19.) Joining of other carriages and furniture.
Hind parts, ammunition wagon, battery wagon, forge, park wagon, block
carriage, cart, devil carriage, and drays. Boat and wherry. Fore parts,
particular requisites. Fore parts of the field and siege carriage, of
the park wagon, devil carriage, and drays. Barrels and cases.
_Forty-sixth Lecture._--(20.) Means employed for the preservation of the
material. Cost price of the principal parts of the material. Ordnance,
projectiles, powder, carriages, and other furniture of the train.
Small-arms. Preservation of ordnance in gun-metal and cast-iron.
Preservation of projectiles. Formation and counting of piles.
Rust-cleaning machine. Preservation of gun-carriages, carriages, and
other furniture of the train. Different methods of stacking in use.
Preservation of powder and made-up ammunition; stacking in powder
magazines. Means proposed for avoiding the danger of explosion.
Preservation of small-arms. Armories. Preservation of iron and cut wood.
THIRD PART.
FIRE OF ORDNANCE AND PORTABLE FIRE-ARMS. EFFECTS OF PROJECTILES.
_Forty-seventh Lecture._--(1.) Fire of ordnance. Kinds of fire in use
with ordnance. Choice of charges of powder. Charges of powder formerly
in use; their progressive reduction. Charges of field, siege, garrison,
coast, and ships’ cannon; of howitzers and mortars.
Arrangement of the charge. Shot cartridge for field guns. Loading of the
other kinds of guns, of howitzers, mortars, and the stone mortar.
Loading for fire with red-hot shot. Armaments for the service of
ordnance. Methods of igniting the charges of powder; tubes formerly in
use, friction tubes. Percussion system; Swedish tube. Ignition of the
charge of hollow projectiles, fuses of hollow projectiles, fuse with
several pipes for the fire of spherical case, hand grenade fuse.
Rapidity of fire. Laying of ordnance. Principal methods of laying guns;
laying them by the help of the line of sight. Determination of the
elevation. Instruments in use to obtain elevations. Negative elevations,
means of using them. Laying guns for fire parallel to the ground; for
breaching fire at a short distance.
_Forty-eighth Lecture._--(2.) Determinations of elevations by
experiment; construction of practice tables. Laying guns when the axis
of the trunnions is not horizontal. Laying guns with the help of the
plumb-line and quadrant; plunging fire, rectification of the aim.
Fire of mortars, means for directing it in use; use of pickets, of the
line, of the quadrant. Laying pieces in the case of a defective
platform. Means of laying them for night-firing. Laying naval ordnance;
use of the front sight. Initial velocities of projectiles with the
different charges in use. Angles of sight, and point-blank ranges of
ordnance. Ranges at different sights. Maximum ranges.
_Forty-ninth Lecture._--(3.) Probabilities in the fire of ordnance;
known laws, facts ascertained by experiment. Distribution of projectiles
over an object aimed at of indefinite extent. Mean point of impact. Fire
of canister; effects of the dispersion.
Fire of spherical case. Effects of the bursting of the projectile;
dispersion of the balls and of the explosions. Fire of the stone mortar;
use of mortars for the same purpose.
Fire of small arms: charges of powder adopted. Ball cartridge. Initial
velocities of balls with the different arms. Angles of sight and
point-blank ranges. Rules for fire according to distances, for muskets,
carbines, and pistols. Fire of rifled arms; use of the tangent scale.
Probability of the fire of small-arms; comparison of arms with
smooth-bored and rifled barrels. Different means employed for the
estimation of distances.
_Fiftieth Lecture._--(4.) Effects of projectiles on the different
substances fired at. Effects of concussion and penetration. Effects on
earth. Theory of the penetration of a projectile into a resisting
medium. Formula to express the penetration, based on the results of
calculation and experiment. Effects of penetration into wood. Effects on
metals, cast-iron, iron, lead. Effects on masonry and on rock.
Application to a breaching fire delivered in a regular direction
relatively to the revetment. Effects of the shock of projectiles upon
living bodies. Effects of hollow projectiles bursting in different
media; earth, wood. Method of bursting employed against troops.
Effects of spherical case. Incendiary effects. Effects of war rockets.
Explosive rockets. Incendiary rockets. Effects of concussion.
FOURTH PART.
TRACE AND CONSTRUCTION OF BATTERIES.
_Six Lectures, common to the Students of both Arms._
_Fifty-first Lecture._--(1.) Definitions. Meaning attached to the word
“battery.” Different denominations given to batteries: first, according
to the circumstances of the war in which they are employed; secondly,
according to their mode of construction; thirdly, according to the kind
of ordnance with which they are armed; fourthly, according to the kind
of fire for which they are intended; fifthly, according to the direction
of their fire.
Principles of construction. General considerations on the elements which
constitute the different kinds of batteries which have reference to
them. Epaulment; its length, height, and thickness in different cases.
Section of the epaulment. Ground-plan of the epaulment of the different
kinds of batteries; returns at its extremities. Case where the battery
is in advance of a parallel. Epaulment with redans; its trace.
_Embrasures_ opened in the epaulment; their construction in different
cases; slope of the bottom; interior opening; exterior opening; form of
the cheeks.
_Genouillère_; fixing of its height for the different kinds of fire.
Limit of the obliquity of the embrasures.
_Fifty-second Lecture._--(2.) _Terre-Plein_; its position relatively to
the ground; its length for the different kinds of batteries. Disposition
of the part unoccupied by the platforms. Terre-plein of garrison, field,
coast, and barbette batteries.
_Ditch_; cases in which it is employed. Its position with reference to
the epaulment. Depth, breadth, section, and plan of the ditch.
_Communications_ between the battery and the works, in its neighborhood;
parallels or trenches; plan and construction. Communication between the
battery and its ditch.
_Powder magazines:_ their object. Discussion respecting their site and
capacity with a view to the different kinds of batteries, viz., siege,
garrison, and field batteries.
_Traverses_ of _crownwork_ and garrison batteries. Width between them
and dimensions.
_Fifty-third Lecture._--(3.) Details of construction. Different
materials employed in the construction of batteries. First, materials
for revetments, fascines, gabions, hurdles, sods, bags of earth,
withy-bands, stakes, &c. Secondly, materials for platforms; hurtoir,
sleepers, planks, beams, pickets. Construction of revetments of
different kinds employed in batteries. First, revetment of the interior
slope of a battery upon the natural ground. Secondly, revetment in use
when the terre-plein is more or less sunken. Ordinary siege battery,
battery in a parallel, battery in a crownwork. Third, revetment of the
checks of embrasures in the different cases met with in practice; direct
batteries with point-blank range; ricochet, breaching, garrison, and
field batteries.
_Fifty-fourth Lecture._--(4.) Construction of platforms. Ordinary siege
platforms, movable platforms (_à la Prussienne_,) garrison and coast
platforms, ordinary mortar platforms, platforms for coast mortars of
great range. Peculiar case where the fire has to be elevated or greatly
depressed. Construction of the communications from the battery to the
parallel and to its fosse. Construction of powder magazines in
batteries. Magazines of siege batteries, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4. Case of
breaching batteries; garrison battery and field battery. Magazines.
Degree of resistance offered by blinded magazines. Modifications adopted
for the strengthening of magazines whose construction is already fixed.
_Fifty-fifth Lecture._--(5.) Number of workmen to be employed on the
construction of the different parts of batteries: revetments, platforms,
communications, powder magazines. Earthworks.
Duration of the total labor necessary for the construction of each kind
of battery. Duration of the duty for the different parts of the
_personnel_ employed upon the construction; officers, gunners,
assistants. Definitive number of workmen necessary for the construction
of the different kinds of batteries. Tools of different kinds.
Simultaneous execution. Preliminary operations. Reconnaissance.
Prolongations. Sketch of the plan of a battery. Formation of the working
party. Transport of materials. Plan of the battery. First, battery
having its terre-plein on the level of the ground. Disposition of the
working party. Work of the first night, of the following day, of the
second night. Second, a battery sunk outside a parallel. Third, battery
in a parallel or trench of some kind already established. Day labor,
night labor.
(4.) Particular case of crownwork batteries.
_Fifty-sixth Lecture._--(6.) Exceptional constructions. Blinded
batteries for cannon or howitzers; for mortars. Batteries of earth-bags.
Batteries on stony ground, on the rock, or marshy soil. Floating
batteries. Construction on sites deficient in space. Case where the fire
of the place is too dangerous. Coast batteries. General arrangement.
Instruction preparatory to working at the plans of batteries. (Course.)
FIFTH PART.
UNIFORM ORGANIZATION AND SERVICE OF THE ARTILLERY.
_Ten Lectures common to Students of both Arms._
FIRST SECTION.--UNIFORM ORGANIZATION OF THE ARTILLERY.
_Fifty-seventh Lecture._--(1.) Historical résumé. Progress of modern
artillery, from its origin down to our time. Artillery of Charles VII.
and of Louis XI. Progress under Francis I. Effects of the wars of
religion. Edict of Blois, 1572. Improvements by Sully. Creation by
Gustavus Adolphus. State of the artillery under Louis XIV. Employment of
artillery on the field of battle at the commencement of the 18th
century. Regulation of 1732. Introduction of howitzers into the French
artillery. Regimental pieces. Progress of the artillery in Prussia and
in Austria in the Seven Years’ War. Reorganization of the French
artillery in 1765. Résumé of the improvements owing to Gribeauval.
System of the year XI. Present system.
Historical ideas on the personnel of the artillery. State of the
personnel at the commencement of the use of fire-arms. Masters and
grand-masters of the artillery, &c. Personnel employed originally on the
service, and the guard of ordnance. Creation by Louis XIV. Account of
the successive modifications in the personnel from this epoch down to
1765. Organization of 1765. Horse artillery. Pontoneers. Artillery
train. Artillery of the Imperial Guard. Organization of 1829. Present
state of the personnel. Regiments of artillery. Composition of the
personnel of the different kinds of batteries. Companies of pontoneers,
workmen, armorers, veteran gunners. Driver-corps (“_train de pare_.”)
Naval artillery.
_Fifty-eighth Lecture._--(2.) Committee and central depôt of artillery.
Organization of artillery commands. Establishments for the instruction
of the personnel; artillery schools. Creation in 1679. Present schools;
personnel attached to them. Central school of military pyrotechnics.
Establishments for the preservation of the material. Importance of the
material of artillery. Its state in France at different epochs.
Artillery directions. Division of the territory of France. Personnel of
the directions.
Establishments for the manufacture of the material. Ideas on the subject
of their management. Arsenals; their object, management, number,
personnel. Forges; their object, management, districts, personnel,
inspection. Foundries for land artillery; their number, management,
personnel, inspection. Naval foundries. Manufactures of arms; their
special management, number, personnel, inspection. Branch of the service
connected with gunpowder and saltpetre. Powder manufactories and
refineries; management, personnel. Direction of the service.
Establishments existing in France. Percussion cap manufactory.
SECOND SECTION.--SERVICE OF THE ARTILLERY IN THE FIELD. ORGANIZATION OF
THE FIELD ARTILLERY TRAIN, ETC.
Selection of ordnance, conditions which determine it; cannon, howitzers,
relation between them. Proportion of the number of pieces of ordnance to
that of the combatants. Mean proportion received in France;
circumstances which may lead to a modification of it. Organization of
ordnance in batteries. Account of the arrangements formerly adopted.
Present system. Distribution of the batteries in the army. Principles
received. Application of these principles to the artillery train of an
army of a given strength. Infantry divisional batteries; cavalry
divisional batteries; reserve batteries. Case of the formation of army
corps. Composition and supply of batteries. Principles and details of
the supply of batteries with ammunition for the guns and for the troops.
Second supply distributed amongst the parks.
_Fifty-ninth Lecture._--(3.) Field parks. Their composition, in
carriages of all kinds. Application of the principles to the artillery
train of an army of a given strength. Approximate relation of the number
of the carriages and of the horses of the train to that of the pieces of
ordnance. Means of renewing the supply of the parks.
Personnel of the field train. Personnel of the batteries; working
companies. Companies forming part of the train. Personnel attached to
the parks. Staff. Particular conditions, having reference to war in a
mountainous country. Selection of pieces of ordnance. Proportion between
their number and that of the combatants. Composition of some artillery
trains employed in our African expeditions. Composition and supply of
the mountain battery. Lading of the mules. Composition of pontoon
trains. Reserve train, boats, wherries, tackle, carriages, and horses.
Personnel of the train. Light train: material, personnel.
_Sixtieth Lecture._--(4.) Marches of the artillery. Reception of a
battery or of a park. Precautions to be taken before the departure.
March at a distance from the enemy. Order of march. Distribution of the
personnel; halts. Case of an accident to a carriage; ascents; descents;
deep-bedded roads; passage through inhabited places; passage of bridges;
of fords. Passage over ice. Night march. Transport of mountain
artillery. March of pontoon trains. Transport of the trains by water;
navigation by convoys; by isolated boats. Transport of ordnance, powder
and projectiles in the boats. Transport of artillery trains by sea.
March in the vicinity of the enemy. Isolated convoys; rule with
reference to their command; order of march; general measures of
security; precautions to be taken during halts; manner of receiving an
attack. Case where resistance becomes impossible; arrangements for the
night.
Artillery in the march with other troops. Order of march. Relation of
the different corps to each other. Exceptional difficulties which may
occur on marches; privations of all kinds; bad weather; bad state of the
roads; instances. March among high mountains; passes strongly occupied
by the enemy; examples.
Encampments and bivouacs. Choice of ground convenient for a camp;
disposition of the artillery camp. Establishment of artillery bivouacs.
Disposition of the park; precautions relating to the superintendence.
Different measures to be taken on arriving on the place of encampment or
of bivouac. Attention to be paid to the horses: special precautions for
the mules of the mountain artillery. Precautionary measures variable
according to circumstances.
_Sixty-first Lecture._--(5.) Artillery on the field of battle. Measures
to be taken on arriving in the neighborhood of the enemy.
Choice of positions adapted for artillery.
1. Different considerations relative to the ground to be occupied;
form of the ground; cultivated lands; nature of the ground;
communications, &c.
2. Position of the artillery relatively to the enemy.
3. Position of the artillery relatively to the troops to be supported.
Execution of the fire. Choice of the different kinds of fire according
to the nature of the object aimed at and the distance. Fire of cannon,
with ball, with shot. Fire of field and mountain howitzers. Fire
parallel to the ground.
Use of war rockets. General principles relating to the effects to be
produced by artillery, and to the warmth of the fire. Proper use of
stores; their replacement. Use of the prolong. Arrangements to be made
after the engagement. Spiking and unspiking of ordnance.
Use of artillery in the principal circumstances of a campaign. General
case of an offensive engagement. Part played by the artillery in
supporting infantry and cavalry marching to the attack. Importance of
the artillery for following up a first advantage which has been
obtained. Examples. Use of the artillery in masses to strike a decisive
blow. Examples. Defensive engagement.
Disposition and use of the artillery for the defense of fortified
positions. Attack of entrenchments. Reconnaissance. Disposition and use
of artillery; attack of lunettes by the gorge. Examples. Attack and
defense of villages; disposition of the artillery under these two
circumstances. Attack of squares. Importance of artillery towards
preparing for it. Examples. Defense of squares; disposition of
artillery. Examples. Case of a charge of cavalry upon artillery. Use of
artillery in the advanced guard, in the rearguard, in a retreat.
Use of artillery in the passage of streams. Examples. Use of artillery
to defend or force the passage of valleys or defiles. Examples.
THIRD SECTION.--SERVICE OF ARTILLERY IN THE ATTACK AND DEFENSE OF
PLACES, AND IN THE DEFENSE OF COASTS.
_Sixty-second Lecture._--(6.) Object to be attained with the use of
artillery in the attack of places. Selection of ordnance, cannon,
howitzers, mortars. Composition of the siege train. Method to be
followed in order to determine it. Examples of trains employed in
different sieges. Carriages of the train. Supply of the siege train with
projectiles, powder, &c.
Personnel of the siege train; troops and staff. Transport of the siege
train. Horses to be employed. Limit in either direction. Employment of
watercourses. Examples. Establishment of the train before the place.
Encampment of the artillery force. Organization of the parks. Workshops,
powder magazines, trench-depots. Rules relating to the direction of
artillery works.
Commanding officers of attack.
_Sixty-third Lecture._--(7.) Considerations on the different kinds of
batteries to be employed in the attack of fortified places. Position of
the batteries relatively to the point to be breached. Direct battery
within point-blank range; enfilading battery, for a plunging fire, for
direct fire within point-blank range, for plunging fire. Mortar
batteries. Composition of the different kinds of batteries. Position of
the directing lines of an enfilading battery, relative positions of the
cannon, the howitzers, or the mortars. Position of the batteries
relatively to the parallels and the rest of the trenches. Examination of
the circumstances which affect the power of a plunging fire, command of
the work over the battery; distance between the height of the traverses.
Slope of the crests of the work.
General principles relating to the order of the works of the artillery,
commencing from the opening of the trenches.
Times for the construction of the first batteries. Batteries of the
first and second parallels. Use of field artillery to defend the flank
of the attacks. Replacement of the fire covered by the advance of the
works; batteries of the third parallel. Use of vertical fire. Mortars of
15c. Throwing of grenades. Breaching and counter batteries.
Considerations relating to their position. Batteries in the covered way.
Case of a breach into an interior work. Composition of the breaching and
counter batteries. Calibres to be used. Number of pieces of ordnance.
Ideas upon the operation of arming batteries. Precautions to be taken.
Passage out of the parallels or trenches. March in the trenches;
examples of some operations of this kind. Supply of the different kinds
of batteries. Rule relating to their daily service. Firing of siege
batteries. Opening of the fire. Direct fire within point-blank range.
Plunging fire. Fire of mortars. Warmth of the fire by day and by night;
mean consumption of material. Fire of breaching batteries. Effects to be
produced. Height of the horizontal cutting, number of the vertical ones.
Execution of the fire; fall of the revetment. Fire upon the counter
forts. Fire to render the breach practicable; balls, shells,
war-rockets, facts ascertained by experiment.
Consumption of powder and projectiles, length of the operation.
Breaching fire in a very oblique direction. Fire upon masked masonry.
Breach into an unreveted work. Fire of counter-batteries. Bombardment.
Case where it can be employed; manner of executing it.
Occupation of the place; arrangements which must be made by the
artillery. Case of raising the siege. Case of its transformation into a
blockade.
_Sixty-fourth Lecture._--(8.) Service of artillery in the defense of
places. Object to be attained with artillery. Selection of ordnance,
guns, howitzers, mortars. Use of war-rockets and arms of precise aim.
Field artillery. Basis of the supply of fortified places. Projectiles,
powder, small-arms, various carriages. _Personnel_ of the artillery.
Troops. Staff.
Measures to be taken before the siege. Reconnaissances. Arrangement of
the material. Organization of the _personnel_, of the duty by local
divisions, of the workshops of all sorts. Precautionary armament. Basis
of its organization. Supply of ordnance. Defensive armament. General
principles relating to the armament of different kinds of works.
Bastions, cavaliers, demilunes, approaches, &c. Organization of the
armament. Traverses, embrasures, gun-carriages to be employed. Powder
magazines. Supplies. Service of pieces.
Employment of the artillery against the first works of the besiegers,
against the construction and armament of batteries; against the
besieging artillery. Partial disarmament in case of inferiority. Part
played by artillery in sorties. Modification of the defensive armament
in proportion to the progress of the attack. Last defensive armament.
Principles relating to its disposition. Armament of the flanking part of
the fortification. Increased use of vertical fire. Use of war-rockets
against works in close proximity. Crowning batteries, cavaliers of the
trenches. Heads of saps, &c. Blinded batteries. Conditions of the
establishment. Defense of breaches.
Service of artillery in the defense of coasts. General considerations on
the degree of extension admissible in the armament of coasts. Principal
points to be defended. Selection of ordnance intended for the armament
of coast. Objects to be effected. Effects of balls (utility of large
calibres;) of howitzer shells and of shells. Fire with red-hot balls.
Material appropriated to the defense of coasts.
Position of coast batteries, conditions which determine it. Composition
of coast batteries; their supply. Ideas upon the organization of the
batteries and their small redoubts (_réduits_.) Use of the fleet and of
field artillery. _Personnel_ allotted to the service of artillery on the
coasts.
FOURTH SECTION.--APPLICATION OF THE PRINCIPLES PREVIOUSLY SET FORTH TO
THE ATTACK AND DEFENSE OF THE FORTRESS OF METZ, (SHAM SIEGE.)
_Sixty-fifth Lecture._--(9.) Composition of the siege train necessary
for the attack of Metz. Carriages of the train.
Supply of the train with projectiles, powder, &c. Personnel of the
train, troops and staff. Transport of the siege train. Establishment of
the train before the place; encampment of the artillery force.
Organization of the parks. Work-shops, powder magazines and depôts.
_Sixty-sixth Lecture._--(10.) Object, disposition, and armament of all
the batteries from the first opening of the trenches to the capture of
the place. Use of field artillery to flank the batteries, &c.
Service of artillery in the defense of the place. Supply of ordnance,
projectiles, powder, small-arms, and different carriages.
Personnel of the artillery. Troops, staff. Organization of the personnel
and of the duties by local divisions. Precautionary armament; supply of
ordnance. Defensive armament. Armament of the different works. Service
of the pieces. Last defensive armament.
_Lectures Preparatory to the Labors of the Course._
1. Drawing and tracing of ordnance, 3 lessons.
2. Design for ordnance, 4 “
3. Application of the theories of the course, 1 “
4. Drawing of artillery material, 1 “
5. Tracing of batteries, 1 “
The sixth lecture of the fourth part of the course (the fifty-sixth) is
partly devoted to the communication of the instructions necessary for
the execution of the work of tracing plans of batteries.
_Studies in connection with the Artillery Course._
The practical studies which are connected with the artillery
course, are,--
1. Drawing of ordnance, 12 days.
2. The designs for ordnance, 24 “
3. The application of the theories of the artillery course, 6 “
4. The drawings of artillery material, 26 “
5. The tracing of batteries, 4 “
--
Total, 72 days.
The tracing of batteries is executed by the students of both arms, the
other tasks by the artillery students alone.
I. DRAWING ORDNANCE (12 DAYS.)
The survey of ordnance consists in constructing accurate sketches of a
gun, howitzer, and mortar, in measuring their dimensions, and in giving
a description of each of the pieces drawn. It is on this occasion that
the students are practiced in the management of instruments to insure
precision, such as the _étoile mobile_, and the sliding compass, &c. One
day is devoted to this work.
The tracing of ordnance consists in the execution of a drawing upon
colombier paper, containing an exact and detailed representation of a
gun, a howitzer, and a mortar, with their projectiles.
This work is performed with the help of the tables for the construction
of ordnance. Eleven days are devoted to it.
_Detailed Programme of the Drawing._
1. For each gun, howitzer, or mortar, a longitudinal section in the
direction of the axis, and at right angles to the axis of the trunnions,
and a plan parallel to the axis of the bore and of the trunnions.
Besides this, for those cannon and howitzers which have dolphins, a
transverse section taken across the middle of the dolphins and the axis
of the trunnions. For mortars, a transverse section made by a plane
passing in front of the dolphins, the whole on a scale of one-fifth.
2. Detail of the button (comprising the cascable and breeching loop for
naval ordnance) on a scale of two-fifths.
3. Detail of the tracing of a dolphin, on the scale of two-fifths.
4. Tracing of the bush of a gun, on a scale of two-fifths, and tracing
of a priming-pan at the real size.
5. For garrison ordnance, in cast-iron, detail of the widening of the
base ring on a scale of two-fifths.
6. Tracing of a cannon-ball, of a howitzer-shell, and of a shell, on a
scale of one-fifth.
Tracing of the lugs of a shell, ring and lug at the real size.
All the parts of the drawing must be colored in uniform tints in
conformity to the table of conventional colors; the annexation of the
figures of measurement is not required.
This work is preceded by three or four lectures intended to make the
students familiar with the tracings which they have to execute, and the
solution of the problems in geometry and descriptive geometry, to which
the representation on paper of pieces of ordnance and their projectiles
give rise.
II. DESIGN FOR ORDNANCE (24 DAYS.)
The design for ordnance has for its object the complete determination of
the nature of a projectile, and of a piece of ordnance in accordance
with certain special conditions, inquiring into the laws of the motion
of the projectile, and into its principal destructive effects, and the
settlement of practice-tables for the gun. The general case for
treatment is that of a howitzer, which comprehends the gun and the
mortar as particular cases.
The data usually adopted are,--
1. For the projectile, its weight and the quantity of powder which it
is capable of containing.
2. For the piece, the initial velocity of its projectile. This
operation comprises calculations, a drawing, and a memoir.
The drawing, on colombier paper, which must be figured in all its parts,
contains,--
1. The tracing of the profile of the piece, as it is determined by
calculation, so as to satisfy the different conditions of resistance, on
a scale of one-fifth.
2. The complete tracing of the piece executed in conformity with the
rules laid down for the tracing of ordnance on a scale of one-fifth.
3. Tracing of the projectile on a scale of one-fifth.
4. Tracing of the wooden bottom and of the fuse of the projectile,
executed in the case of each of these objects in two figures--the one on
a large scale (two-thirds, or even the size of nature,) representing the
inquiry into their forms and dimensions, the other giving on a scale of
one-fifth the results of this inquiry. To this is added, for the
mountain howitzer, or any other howitzer for which it is admissible, a
tracing of the mounted howitzer carriage.
5. The representation in drawing of the laws of the motion of the
projectile, the trajectory, inclinations, remaining velocities,
durations of the passage.
In addition, the scale of the elevations and that of the angles of
fire, for an object of aim placed at different distances.
6. An inscription showing all the essential elements by which the
projectile and the piece are distinguished.
The final tracings of the gun, the projectile, the bottom, and the fuse,
must be colored in uniform tints conformably to the table of
conventional colors.
As to the tracing of the profile founded upon the calculation, it should
receive merely an edging of the color which represents the metal used.
PROGRAMME OF THE MEMORANDUM ON THE DESIGN FOR ORDNANCE.
INTRODUCTION.
_Object of the work. Data of the Question._
A. PROJECTILE.
_First Section.--Substance, Forms, and Dimensions._
1. Choice of the metal employed in the manufacture of this projectile.
2. Forms of the projectile.
3. Internal diameter.
4. External diameter.
5. Dimensions of the vent.
6. Diameters of the high and low gauges.
7. Densities of the projectile empty and filled with powder.
8. Weight of the cast-iron ball of the same calibre as the howitzer
shell.
_Second Section.--Minimum Bursting Charge._
9. Theoretical bursting charge for the hollow sphere.
10. Effect of the shock of the gases, and of their loss through the
vent.
11. Résumé of the results arrived at in this chapter.
B. ORDNANCE.
_First Section.--Metal, Calibre, and Length of Bore._
12. Choice of the metal of which the piece is to be formed.
13. Windage of the projectile and diameter of the bore.
14. Effect of the windage on the velocity of the projectile.
15. Length of the bore and charge of powder which satisfy the data of
the programme.
16. Résumé of the results arrived at in this section.
_Second Section.--Thickness of Metal necessary in order that the Piece
may resist the Expansion of the Gases._
17. Explanation of the method employed to resolve the question of the
thicknesses of metal.
18. First propulsion of the projectile, mean density of the gases after
this propulsion.
19. Second propulsion of the projectile, mean density of the gases after
this propulsion.
20. Third, fourth, &c., propulsions of the projectile, mean density of
the gases after each of them.
21. Density and position of the strata (of gas) at the moment of the
maximum of mean density.
22. Density of the last stratum for the positions which come after that
of the maximum of mean density.
23. Tensions which result from the densities found.
24. Corresponding thicknesses of metal.
25. Résumé of the results obtained.
_Third Section.--Profile of the Piece._
26. Inclosing curve, resulting from the calculations of the second
section.
27. Modification rendered necessary by the form of the posterior part of
the projectile.
28. Utility of the chamber and its dimensions.
29. Tracing of the chamber and of its junction with the bore.
30. Thickness of metal around the chamber.
31. Chase and reinforce.
32. Determination of the angle of sight.
33. Vent and base ring.
34. Minimum weight of the piece for the resistance of the carriage.
35. Approximate calculation of the weight given by the profile
previously obtained. Modification of this profile, if there is any.
_Fourth Section.--Trunnions, Breech, and Handles._
36. Dimensions of the trunnions and of the shoulders.
37. Tracing of the breech.
38. Base rings and other moldings.
39. Object and fixing of the preponderance of the breech.
40. Exact settlement of the position of the trunnions, definitive length
of the reinforce.
41. Center of gravity of the piece; dimensions and position of the
handles.
42. Means of executing the calculations indicated in the two preceding
articles.
43. Table of the dimensions of the piece.
C. FIRE OF THE HOWITZER. EFFECTS OF THE PROJECTILE.
_First Section.--Elements of the Charging of a Howitzer._
44. Tracing of the shot bottom.
45. Tracing of the fuse.
46. Diameter of the cartridge (or of the bag.)
47. Charge of powder for firing with ball.
_Second Section.--Laws of the Motion of the Projectile. Establishment of
Practice Tables._
48. Preliminary calculations.
49. Trajectory.
50. Curve of the inclinations.
51. Curve of the remaining velocities.
52. Curve of the durations of the passage.
53. Determination of the elevations for the fire at different distances.
54. Angle of fire, corresponding to the different distances of the
object aimed at.
55. Angles of descent.
56. Résumé of the laws of the motion and of the practice tables.
_Third Section.--Effects of the Projectile._
57. Depth of penetration in the media indicated by the programme.
58. Effects of explosion in earth.
59. Résumé of the results relating to the effects of the projectile.
NOTE.--The formulas cited in the memoir need not be accompanied by their
demonstration, except in the case of the latter not having been already
developed in the lessons of the artillery course. It will be sufficient
to insert in this notice only the final result of the calculation
relating to each formula, without entering into the details of such
calculations.
The study of the design for ordnance is preceded by four lessons
intended to make the students acquainted with all the details of its
execution, and the substance of which is indicated in the programme of
the memoir.
III. APPLICATION OF THE THEORIES OF THE ARTILLERY COURSE (6 DAYS.)
This study is intended to apply to the students those theories of the
course which have not found their application in the design for
ordnance. It comprises the solution by arithmetical calculations of
certain questions on the effects of powder, the balistic pendulum, the
effects of recoil, the science of projectiles, the draught of carriages,
&c. The number of the questions may vary according to their nature and
the time which their solution requires. The stating of the questions and
the results of the calculations are inscribed on separate papers. This
study is preceded by a lesson in which the students have recalled to
them the formulas which they have to employ.
IV. DRAWING OF ARTILLERY MATERIAL (26 DAYS.)
The drawing of artillery material has for its object the representation
by figured sketches of a gun-carriage, carriage, or other furniture of
artillery material. The sketches, on paper put together in the form of a
book, and headed by a special programme for the object to be drawn,
consist of plans, sections, or elevations of the object, executed on
certain scales, and of detailed projections of the principal iron-work
and joints. The whole fixed by the special programme in question.
All the simultaneous projections of any one part of the object drawn
(fore part or hind part for carriages) must be completely figured; they
are accompanied by explanatory inscriptions, with letters of reference
to show the names of the pieces in wood or metal which they comprise.
Each collection of sketches must contain as well a notice in
confirmation of the drawing, giving the complete description and the
properties of the object to which it refers.
The students make two surveys of the same kind; eight days are allowed
for each of these surveys, including the composition of the confirmatory
notice.
The first survey is followed by the execution of an unfigured drawing,
containing a complete representation of the object surveyed (elevation
and plan,) obtained by the combination of the partial projections
contained in the sketch. The drawing should be colored in the
conventional uniform tints, and accompanied by an explanatory
inscription, with letters of reference. Ten days are devoted to this
work of composition.
V. TRACING OF BATTERIES (4 DAYS.)
This work consists in executing sketches showing, each in accordance
with a separate programme, the complete plan of a battery and the
essential data having reference to its construction and to its armament.
The sketches, made by scale and completely figured, must comprise in the
case of each battery to be represented--
1. The general plan of the battery, on the scale of 1/200.
2. The sections or elevations necessary for the understanding of this
plan, including the detail of the powder magazines, lines of
communication, &c., on the scale of 1/100.
3. An inscription giving the object of the battery, its armament, its
general arrangement (_terre-plein_, embrasures, revetment,
communications, magazines, &c.,) the workmen, materials, and tools
necessary for its construction, and finally the duration of the labor
and its distribution by day and night.
Four days are devoted to this work, which must be executed on a half
sheet of colombier paper. The separate programmes relating to each of
these batteries are shown on the study orders of the rooms.
RECAPITULATIVE TABLE.--ARTILLERY STUDENTS.
[KEY]
NL Number of the Lectures.
CG Credits given for the Lectures.
+A With application at 1h 50m.
-A Without application at 3h.
TC Total Credits.
Q Number of the Questions.
---------------------------------+----+------------+--------+----
LECTURES | | CG | |
| +-------+----+ |
| NL | +A | -A | TC | Q
---------------------------------+----+-------+----+--------+----
Division of the Course-- | | | | |
First Part. Theory, | | | | |
Sections 1, 2, 3, | 26 | 18 | 42 | 60 | 4
Second Part. Description of the | | | | |
Material, Sections | | | | |
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, | 20 | 30 | .. | 30 | 3
Third Part. Fire of Ordnance, | 4 | .. | 12 | 12 | 1
Fourth Part. Construction | | | | |
of Batteries, | 6 | 9 | .. | 9 | 2
Fifth Part. Organization and | | | | |
Service of the Artillery, | | | | |
Sections 1, 2, 3, | 8 | .. | 24 | 24 | 1
Sham Siege, | 2 | 3 | .. | 3 | ..
Lectures in preparation | | | | |
for the Studies, | 9 | 13 50 | .. | 13 50 | ..
+----+-------+----+--------+----
Totals, | 75 | 73 50 | 78 | 151 50 | 10
---------------------------------+----+-------+----+--------+----
[KEY]
S Sketches
D Drawings.
M Memoirs.
Inv Inventories.
ID In-door Attendance. 1½ hours.
OD Out-door Attendance. 1½ hours.
C Credits in round Numbers.
---------------------------+-----------------------------------
STUDIES. | Number of
+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
| S | D | M | Inv| ID | OD | C
---------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
Survey of Ordnance, | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 5
Tracing of Ordnance, | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 11 | .. | 50
Design for Ordnance-- | | | | | | |
Calculations, | .. | .. | .. | 1 | 10 | .. | 45
Drawings, | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 8 | .. | 35
Memoir, | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 6 | .. | 55*
Application of Theories-- | | | | | | |
(Artillery Question) | .. | .. | 1 | .. | 6 | .. | 55†
First Survey of Material-- | | | | | | |
Sketch, | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 8 | 35
Composition of Notice, | .. | 1 | .. | .. | 10 | .. | 45
Second Survey-- | | | | | | |
Sketch, | 1 | .. | .. | .. | .. | 8 | 35
Sketch of Batteries, | 1 | .. | .. | .. | 4 | .. | 20
+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
Totals, | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 17 | ..
---------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
[* The time is doubled for the memoirs.]
[† Ditto.]
RECAPITULATION.
Lectures, 150}
Studies, 380} 530
RECAPITULATIVE TABLE.--ENGINEER STUDENTS.
[KEY]
Cr Credits given for the Lectures.
L Number of the Lectures.
+A With application at 1h 50m.
-A Without application at 3h.
T Total Credits.
Q Number of the Questions.
---------------------------------+----+----------+--------+----
LECTURES | | Cr | |
| +-----+----+ |
| L | A | -A | T | Q
---------------------------------+----+-----+----+--------+----
Division of the Course-- | | | | |
| | | | |
First Part. Theories, | | | | |
Sections 1, 2, 3, | 24 | ... | 72 | 72 | 4
Second Part. Description | | | | |
of the Material, | | | | |
Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, | 14 | ... | 42 | 42 | 2
Third Part. Fire of Ordnance, | 4 | ... | 12 | 12 | 1
Fourth Part. Construction | | | | |
of Batteries, | 6 | 9 | .. | 9 | 1
Fifth Part. Organization | | | | |
and Service of the | | | | |
Artillery, Sections 1, 2, 3, | 8 | ... | 24 | 24 | 1
Mock Siege, | 2 | 3 | .. | 3 | ..
+----+-----+----+--------+----
Totals, | 58 | 12 |150 | 162 | 9
---------------------------------+----+-----+----+--------+----
------------------------+------------------------+--------+
| Number of | |
+-----------+------------+ |
STUDIES | Sketches. | In-door | Credit |
| | Attendance | |
------------------------+-----------+------------+--------+
Sketches of Batteries, | 1 | 4 | 20 |
------------------------+-----------+------------+--------+
RECAPITULATION
Lectures, 162 }
Studies, 20 } 182. Round number, 180.
IV. PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE OF MILITARY ART AND FIELD FORTIFICATION.
The course is divided into six parts, and is made up of lectures and
works of Application in the Halls of Study and on the ground.
I. LECTURES.
The 1st part contains sundry historical notices on the
Organization of Armies, 6 Lectures.
2d part is on Tactics, 3 “
3d “ Castrametation, 2 “
4th “ Field Fortification, 16 “
5th “ Military Communication, 10 “
6th “ Strategy, 6 “
----
Total 43
FIRST PART.--HISTORICAL NOTICES ON THE ORGANIZATION OF ARMIES.
The first lecture commences with explanations relating to the Greek and
Roman armies; their order of battle, mode of marching; comparison of the
Roman Legion with the Greek Phalanx, and of the Roman Legion under
Marius and under the Emperors.
2. Military organization of the Franks under the Kings of the first
race. Consequences of the feudal system, acting on the military
organization. Feudal armies. Chivalry. Crusades, and war against
England. Establishment of the first standing armies. Results dependent
on the introduction of fire-arms. Progress made in the Art of War and in
the organization of armies, from the sixteenth century to the present
time.
3. Necessity for standing armies. Their proper character. Recruiting.
Promotion. Degrees of rank. Station of the officers. Various positions
of military men. On the composition of armies, Infantry, Cavalry,
Artillery, Engineers. _Corps d’Etat-Major._ Composition of the army
during the Revolution and during the Empire. Actual formation of a
French army.
General Staff. Commissariat. (_Intendance._)--Different services
dependent on it.
Relations between the strength of each of the arms that make up an army.
On other corps which are not classed among the principal arms.
4, 5, 6. Summary relating to the military organization of the principal
Powers of Europe.
SECOND PART--ON TACTICS.
1. Definitions. Formations. Manœuvers; character of a good manœuver.
Order of battle: first, of the Infantry; second, of Cavalry; third, of
the Artillery; relating to Sharpshooters (_tirailleurs._)
2. Brief summary of the principal movements in battalion drill to pass
from line to the order in columns and reciprocally. Movements in column.
Movements in battle. Dispositions to be made against Cavalry.
3. Of the principal movements in line. Order of battle. Line of battle.
Formation of Infantry to advance against the enemy. Action of Cavalry.
Principal formations. Charges of Artillery. Use of the Three Arms.
THIRD PART.--CASTRAMETATION.
1. General principles of castrametation. Situation. Construction and
disposition of barracks. Camp of a Regiment of Infantry, of Cavalry, and
of a Battery of Artillery.
2. Manner of tracing a camp on the ground. Huts; details relating to
their construction. Tents. Bivouacs. Screens. Kitchens and camp ovens.
Choice of the site of a camp; precautions to be taken for its security.
Main guards. Advanced posts. Patrols and sentinels.
FOURTH PART.--FIELD FORTIFICATION.
1. Definition of fortification in general. Object and character of field
fortification; its utility demonstrated by historical examples.
Napoleon’s opinion. Essential principle of field fortification.
Discussion on the ordinary profile of earthen entrenchments; on the
dimensions to be given to the ditch in level ground.
2. Definitions relating to the trace; general principles. Redoubts.
3. On the elements of lines. Relation that should exist between the
crest and the internal size of a closed work. Maximum and minimum of the
sides of a square redoubt. Defects inherent to the trace of this kind of
redoubt. Circular redoubts. Redoubts _en crémaillères_. Star forts.
Lines with bastions.
4. Revetments of various kinds; case in which the slope of the ditch
should be reveted; choice to be made of the different kinds of
revetments.
5. Exterior dispositions; accessories to the defense; abattis; _trous de
loups_; palisades; _chevaux de frise_, &c. Precautions to be adopted
with reference to such accessories.
6. Interior dispositions; armament of musketry, artillery, barbettes,
and embrasures; their advantages and disadvantages; construction of.
7. Powder magazines of different kinds. Small earthen entrenchments;
palisades, carpentry, or blockhouses; advantages and disadvantages of
blockhouses. African blockhouse. Closing of field-works.
8. Artificial inundations; under what circumstances they can be
considered as obstacles. Positions and dimensions of dikes. Details of
their execution; what advantage can be drawn from an inundation having
less than five feet depth of water.
9. What is understood by the defilading of a work. The defilading of
fieldworks should, above all things, be made to depend on their trace
and situation. Definitions: dangerous ground; dangerous points.
Defilement of an isolated and closed work; in what case it is
practicable. Use of traverses. A partial defilement may sometimes be
sufficient.
10. Continuous lines. Broken lines. Traces of redan, tenailles,
cromailleres. Bastioned lines. Comparison between continuous and broken
lines. Principal objections to their use. Utility of each demonstrated
under certain circumstances.
11. Lines in broken ground: their form should depend on the nature of
the ground. On the manner of fortifying a table-land. Expedients for
defilading portions of lines. On the manner of making use of the natural
obstacles of the ground; forests, scarps, marshes, water-courses, &c.
Method of fortifying a house, village, an open town. Defense of a bridge
or road.
12. _Têtes de pont_. Utility of small earthen entrenchments in these
cases to facilitate the passage of a retreating army. Traces of a large
_tête de pont_. Principal circumstances relating to the use of lines in
war. Lines of circumvallation and countervallation. Frontier lines.
Retrenchments against a descent. Lines that an army should make in an
enemy’s country, far from its base of operations. Entrenchment on the
field of battle. Lines, mixed, proposed by General Rogniat.
13. Attack and defense of entrenchments, of a continuous line; of a line
at intervals; of an isolated work, &c. Examples of the attack and
defense of lines.
14. Instruction relating to the operations for profiling and defilading
on the ground.
15. Instruction on the project of field fortification. Calculation of
the dimensions of a ditch corresponding to the face of a work of a
variable relief, and to be constructed in level or other ground. Details
relating to traverses, small entrenchments; defensive caponnieres, and
accessories to defense, &c.
16. On the construction of entrenchments. Practical operations and
organization of workshops to obtain durable and solid work. Necessity,
in most cases, for accelerating the construction of entrenchments.
Vauban’s precepts. In what manner the work must proceed to obtain a
useful result; and, in the event of plenty of hands, how to finish it
promptly.
FIFTH PART.--ON MILITARY COMMUNICATIONS.
1. On roads. 1 and 2, Classification of roads. Section and trace of
roads in level and mountain country. Details connected with the study of
a project for a road. Particular conditions relating to military roads.
Execution of paved and macadamized roads. Roads for passing difficult
places by the use of fascines, logs, &c. Maintenance and destruction of
roads.
2. On military bridges.
3. Observations on the currents and change of form in the bed of rivers.
Fords. Transverse sections, &c. Reconnaissances of rivers. Properties
essential to military bridges. Relation between the buoyancy and the
load in the case of floating supports. Anchorage. Construction of the
abutments. Means of rendering bridges stable.
4. Construction of a bridge of boats in different ways. Bridges made of
ordinary boats. Method of withdrawing a bridge of boats.
5. Raft bridge. Relation between the weight and the extrinsic load of a
raft. Number of trunks of trees required for a raft bridge on a river of
given dimensions. Weight of the trunk of a tree. Number and space
between rafts. Construction of a raft and a bridge of rafts. Bridges of
casks and trestles.
6. Rope bridges; their use. Calculations respecting the tension and
diameters of ropes. Construction of a suspension bridge, and
calculations relating to it.
7. Bridges on piles, carriages, gabions, &c.
8. Measures to be taken for the preservation of military bridges.
Destruction of military bridges; also of masonry bridges.
Reëstablishment of bridges.
9. Flying bridges. Ferry-boats, tubs, passage by fords, on the ice, by
swimming.
10. Execution of the passage of rivers. Advancing and in retreating.
Examples.
SIXTH PART.--STRATEGY.
1. Definition. Fundamental principles of all operations in war. In all
cases there are--first, the base of operations; second, the point to be
arrived at; third, the line of operations. Strategetical points and
lines.
2. On marching. Preparatory and manœuvering marches. Advanced and rear
guard. On provisions. System of magazines. Requisitions. Invasions.
Battle. Examples.
3. On positions. War in a mountainous district. Retreats. Pursuit.
Convoys. Partizans.
4. Winter quarters. Cantonments. War against irregular bands. Military
reconnaissances.
5. Precis of the campaigns of the French armies.
6. Analysis of the principal campaigns of great captains.
II. PROGRAMME OF THE WORKS OF APPLICATION EXECUTED IN THE HALLS OF
STUDY.
These works consist of four Plates of Drawings, two Memoirs, and a
Project, of Field Fortification. Of the four Plates of Drawings, two
relate to Field Fortification, and two, accompanied by Memoirs, relate
to Military Communications.
Plate 1--Elements of lines. Tracing, on the scale of 1/1000 of the
interior crest (only) of a redan, lunette, redoubt, star fort, bastioned
fort, according to particular data given to each Sous-Lieutenant.
Construction on the scale of 1/200 of a complete profile for each of
these works, supposed to be established on level ground. Complete
calculation of the deblais and remblais for one of the preceding works,
according to the instructions of the Professor.
Plate 2.--Details of a field-work. Trace on the scale of 1/200 of a
portion of the work of which the deblais and remblais has been
calculated. Graphic construction of a barbette and of a direct or
oblique embrasure. Details of revetments in fascines, hurdles, turf.
Pisé. Drawing of a blockhouse.
Plate 3.--Accompanied by a Memoir. Project of a portion of road on
ground represented by certain lines, according to certain data.
Plate 4.--Accompanied by a Memoir. Military bridges.
1. Drawing of a portion of a bridge of boats, three openings being
shown; the two first relating to the successive construction of the
bridge, and the third, of the construction by portions.
2. Project for establishing a raft bridge; the width of the river; the
kind of troops to pass over the bridge; the length; mean diameter of the
available trunks of trees and the length and scantling of the joints
being given. The drawing to exhibit a plan of two openings of the
bridge, and a transverse section.
3. Tressel bridge. To draw a longitudinal elevation and a transverse
section of a tressel bridge, being given the length of the top and of
the feet of the tressels up and down the stream.
4. Project for the repair of a broken arch; being given the opening of
the head, the elevation of the roadway of the bridge above the level of
the water; the depth of the water, the rapidity of the current, the kind
of troops to pass over the bridge, and the available time and the
resources as regards men and materials which can be had recourse to.
_Programme of the Project of Field Fortification._
This project is made by the Sub-Lieutenants, according to certain data
given to each of them. It has for its object to cause them to
study:--1st. The trace. 2d. The complete organization necessary for its
defense. 3d. The details of construction of a field-work. In
consequence, the work comprises three Plates of Drawings and a Memoir
divided into three parts.
_Programme of the Drawings._
Plate 1.--Plan of the whole. This plate has for its object the research
of a trace and of a combination of suitable works for the fortification
of a certain portion of ground under certain circumstances of war
defined by particular data. Each Sub-Lieutenant receives a lithographed
sheet representing the ground to be fortified, and he has to exhibit on
this sheet the works he proposes, in tracing in plain lines the
horizontal projections of the interior crests and superior limits of the
ditch, and in dotted lines the stockades or palisades; to show in black
figures at the angles of the works the relief of the interior crests;
the sites of barbettes, embrasures, traverses, barriers, &c., being
indicated by reference letters and explanatory notes, the lines in red
showing the directions and objects of the line of fire.
Plate 2.--Organization of a work.
This plate has for its object the study of the details of the interior
and exterior organization of a work of a certain form, in order to
render it susceptible of making a good defense.
Each Sub-Lieutenant will draw a complete plan of such one of the works
shown on Plate 1, as may be pointed out by the Professor. He will
represent the ditches, parapets, embrasures, accessory defenses, small
entrenchments, descents into the ditch, &c., according to the particular
data furnished to him; the figures of the relief of the crests of all
kinds, the deblais and remblais being marked at all the angles. The
figures of the natural ground will be underlined. The same plate will
contain figured profiles which have served for the determination of the
complete projection of the work. Scale 1/250.
Plate 3.--Details of construction.
The object of this plate is to show the composition of workshops and the
manner that should be adopted in the construction of field-works,
according to circumstances, for the execution of the deblais and
remblais.
Each Sub-Lieutenant will indicate the manner in which the work drawn on
Plate 2 should be constructed:--1st. To render it durable and solid. 2d.
To arrive rapidly at a useful result, even with limited resources of
workmen and tools. 3d. To finish the work in the shortest possible time,
by making use of all the necessary means. A plan will show the
composition of the workshops under each of these hypotheses, and the
successive advancement of the work will be represented by certain
profiles supposed to be made at certain periods of the construction
through the center of one of the faces of the work. In these profiles a
firm trace, figured with altitudes, will show the limits of the deblais
and remblais at the period represented by the profiles; and in addition
by dotted lines, the final results proposed to be obtained. All these
projects must be accompanied by a figured plan, showing the principal
altitudes in meters. The remblais will be colored with gamboge, the
undisturbed earth in bistre, and the deblais will be left white.
_Programme of the Memoir._
Each Sub-Lieutenant will write at the head of his Memoir the text of the
particular programme, to which he is obliged to conform in the
preparation of his project, and he should add to the text of the Memoir
all the sketches properly figured, which are necessary for the proper
appreciation of the dispositions which are not sufficiently detailed on
the Drawings.
The Memoir is divided into three parts, corresponding to the three
Plates of Drawings.
FIRST PART.--CONSIDERATIONS RESPECTING THE WHOLE PROJECT.
1st. General principles, according to which it would be proper to trace
the works indicated in the particular programme, such as lines at
intervals, continuous lines, têtes de pont, &c.
2d. Description of the tracing in Plate 1. Reasons deduced from the form
of the ground or the nature of the military operations that led to the
adoption of the trace. Object of the works, and their connection with
each other.
3d. Number, description, and position of the pieces of artillery
composing the armament.
4th. Maximum and minimum of troops that could be employed in the defense
of these works.
5th. Dispositions which should be adopted (relatively to the necessary
preparations in materials and to the separation and movement of troops)
for the attack and for the defense.
SECOND PART.--COMPLETE ORGANIZATION OF A WORK.
1st. Particular object of the work shown in Plate 2. Trace of the
complete projections of the parapets, barbettes, ramps, embrasures,
traverses, &c.
2d. Conditions that should be fulfilled by the ditch. Approximate
calculation of dimensions which should be given to it, taking into
account the increased means of providing for an excess or defect of the
deblais.
3d. Discussion on the site and the part which might be expected from
small entrenchments, accessory defenses, shutters, descents of ditches,
&c.
4th. Site of powder magazines; capacity that should be given to them,
suitable to the state of the munitions necessary for the armament of the
work.
THIRD PART.--DETAILS OF CONSTRUCTIONS.
1st. Means of ascertaining the nature of the earth; considerations
respecting relays for the transport of earth with the shovel.
2d. Description, number and disposition of the workmen in a shed for
deblai and remblai, according to the nature of the ground and number of
relays.
3d. Explanation of Plate 3. Organization of the sheds and conduct of the
work where the duration and solidity of the work are the greatest
essentials; where, on the other hand, rapidity of execution is the
principal thing to be fulfilled.
4th. Which of the modes of construction exhibited in Plate 3 it would be
desirable to employ for the proposed works, according to the
circumstance specified in the particular programme. Calculation for this
mode of construction, of the time and of the numbers of men and tools
necessary for the execution of the deblais and remblais of the work
given in the plate.
5th. Details of construction of the revetments, magazines, shutters,
accessory defenses, artillery platforms, &c.
III. PROGRAMME OF EXTERIOR WORKS.
These works consist of an exercise in tracing out a camp, and an
exercise on the profiling and defilement of field-works.
The exercise on tracing camps has no particular programme, but is
preceded by a lecture given by the Professor.
_Programme of Practical Exercises on the Defilement and Profiling of
Field Works._
This exercise comprehends: 1st, work on the ground; 2d, a Memoir.
The work on the ground has for its object: 1st, the trace of the
projections of the interior crest of a work, whose position and form are
known; 2d, the determination of the relief of the interior crest; 3d,
the profiling of the different parts, so that the relief of the
different parts of the parapet, barbettes, traverses, &c., may all be
fixed.
The Sub-Lieutenants for this kind of work are divided into groups of six
or eight, employed together on the same work, each group being divided
into two squads. The work may be a lunette or a redan of given
dimensions, having a parapet of three meters thick, and a natural slope
of one to one.
1st. The direction of the capital will be marked out in front by two
numbered pickets.
2d. The tracing will be executed by means of poles or pickets placed at
all the angles, and at the extremities of the gorge; the relief will be
determined by the practical methods of defilement adverted to in the
lecture which preceded the work.
3d. The relief obtained by the defilement will be marked on all the
poles or pickets placed at the angles, and at the extremities of the
sides of the work.
4th. On each face two vertical profiles will be executed, perpendicular
to the horizontal projections of its interior crest. In order that these
profiles shall not interfere with those placed at the angles, they must
be established at several meters distant from the extremity of each
face.
5th. The profiles of the angles will be deducted by simple
prolongations, and the same for the profiles of the gorge. If the
homologous crests of two contiguous faces do not meet each other, they
should be reconciled by joining two points taken on each of them at half
a meter from the intersection of their projections.
6th. On the traverse, designed to secure the defenders from a reverse
fire, two profiles are constructed, near to its extremities if its crest
is a right line, but if it is bent, another profile must be set up at
the junction.
7th. The data of all these profiles are, the relief of the interior
crest at the point where it is encountered by the profile, the thickness
of the parapet, the constant parts of every profile, and the natural
slope of the ground; the portion of the slope of the traverses exposed
to the view of the dominant heights should not be reveted, the others
should be.
8th. At the points of intersection of the profiles with the projections
of the ridges of the works, as well as at the points used for adjusting,
poles or pickets are placed, on which the points belonging to the ridges
are marked. These points will be joined together in each profile by
twine, indicating the different planes of the work.
9th. The form and dimensions of the batteries, either of barbettes or
embrasures, will be equally determined by poles or pickets placed at all
their angles, and united together by twine in the manner that will be
subsequently explained.
10th. For the barbette batteries, the first thing to be done is to
establish and to construct the front coupé of the salient of the
interior crest, and substitute an interior horizontal crest throughout
the extent of the barbette for that situated in the plane of defilement.
The necessary adjustments are then made between the slope of the parapet
of the barbette and that of the rest of the face, and indicate by means
of twine the intersections of the terre-plein of the barbette and of its
slope with the different planes of the work.
11th. For the embrasures, after having determined their direction, the
intersections of the cheeks and bottom, with the interior and exterior
slope of the parapet, and with its slope; also the slope which
terminates the interruption of the banquette throughout the extent of
the battery. In the case where the platform is formed more than 0^m 4
elevated above the soil, a ramp is constructed with its slope, and the
intersections with the slope from the platform are shown.
12th. After the batteries, the slope of the ends of the traverses and of
the passages for entry and exit are constructed.
13th. The traverse will be finished by adjusting its different planes
with those of the parapet. In the particular case, where it was
interfered with to make a passage over the banquette, it is finished by
reveting the slope passing by the crest of the banquette of the work.
14th. At the passages of entry and exit from the work, the parapets will
be finished by the slope of the revetment, whose intersections with the
different planes of the parapets must be determined.
15th. For each squad of workmen, the distance of the salient of the work
to the point on which it will be defiladed must be determined.
MEMOIR.
1st. Object of defilement--which is considered to be dangerous ground,
dangerous point, plane of defilement.
2d. Position of the dangerous point relatively to the work which is to
be defiladed. Practical method on the ground. Results to which it leads.
3d. On the field this method is not always applicable to an isolated
work, and never is so to entrenchments of a great development, such as
lines, large têtes-de-pont, &c. By what proceeding is it generally
expedient to attempt to fulfill in war the indisputable condition of
defilement.
RECAPITULATION FOR THE SUB-LIEUTENANTS OF ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS.
[KEY]
NL Number of the Lectures.
+A With application.
-A Without application.
I No. of Interrogations.
---------------------------------+----+----------------------
First Lectures.-- | |Credits for Lectures.
| +----+----+-------+---
Parts of the Course. | NL | +A | -A | Total | I
---------------------------------+----+----+----+-------+---
1st Part. Historical notions | | | | |
on the Organization of Armies | 6 | | 18 | 18 }|
2nd Part. Tactics | 3 | | 9 | 9 }| 1
3rd “ Castrametation | 2 | | 6 | 6 }|
4th “ Field Fortification | 16 | 24 | | 24 | 2
5th “ Military Communications | 10 | 15 | | 15 | 1
6th “ Strategy | 6 | | 18 | 18 | 1
+----+----+----+-------+---
Totals | 43 39 51 90* 5
------------------------------------------------------------
[* The number 90 is applied to the interrogations and to the obligations
of the notes.]
[KEY]
D Drawings
M Memoirs
I In the Halls
O Outside
C Credits
-------------------------------------+--------------------------
| Number of
+--+---+------------+------
EXECUTION OF WORK. |D | M |Attendances | C
| | +-----+------+
| | | I | O |
-------------------------------------+--+---+-----+------+------
Drawings of Military Art,-- | | | | |
Plate 1. Elements of Lines | 1|.. | 4 | .. | 20
Plate 2. Details of a Field-work | 1|.. | 8 | .. | 35
Plate 3. Project of a Road | 1|.. | 8 | .. | 35
Memoir |..| 1 | 2 | .. | 20
Plate 4. Military Bridges | 1|.. | 8 | .. | 35
Memoir |..| 1 | 2 | .. | 20
Project of Field Fortification,-- | | | | |
Plate 1. Plan of the whole | 1|.. | 3 | .. | 15
Plate 2. Organization of a work | 1|.. | 8 | .. | 35
Plate 3. Details of Construction | 1|.. | 5 | .. | 20
Memoir |..| 1 | .. | 3 | 30
Tracing of Camps |..|.. | .. | 1 | 5
Tracing on the Ground |..|.. | .. | 2 | 10
Memoir |..| 1 | 1 | .. | 10
+--+---+-----+------+------
Totals | 7| 4 | 51 | 3 | 280
-------------------------------------+--+---+-----+------+------
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF INFLUENCE.
Lectures, 90
Execution of Work, 280
-----------------------
Totals 370
4th. Methods of defilement employed. Determination of the different
planes of barbettes, of their ramps, of the profiles of the gorge, &c.
Construction of embrasures.
5th. Means made use of in practice for determining the distance of the
salient of the work to the dangerous point on which it is defiladed.
V.--PROGRAMME OF PERMANENT FORTIFICATION, AND THE ATTACK AND DEFENSE OF
PLACES.
The course of instruction in Permanent Fortification and the Attack and
Defense of Places, is divided into three parts, viz:--
[KEY]
Art. Artillery.
Eng. Engineers.
----------------------------------------------------+-------------
| No. of
| lectures to
+------+------
| Art. | Eng.
----------------------------------------------------+------+------
The first part consists of the study of the | |
Construction of existing Fortifications, | |
and it is common to the two services; | |
it comprises, | 10 | 10
The second part contains principles | |
of the Art of Fortification, divided into | |
three sections, of which the | |
{1st section relates to | |
Fortification on level ground | 19 | 19
{2nd section relates to | |
Fortification on hilly ground | 19 | 26
{3rd section relates to general | |
questions of Fortifications | 4 | 5
Third part relates to the Attack | |
and Defense of Places, | 24 | 24
+------+------
Total number of Lectures, | 76 | 84
----------------------------------------------------+------+------
The first part contains a description of the various works of permanent
fortification, their respective uses, and the changes that have been
successively made in them, together with a short history of ancient
fortification prior to the invention of powder, and the changes
introduced by the use of fire-arms.
The systems of Errard, Beville, Pagan, Vauban, Cochorn, and
Cormontaigne.
The first section of the second part describes the principles on which
the various parts of a front of fortification on level ground, and
according to Cormontaigne’s system, are regulated, such as the command,
relief, defilement, form, length, and material of which the various
parts should be constructed; the modifications required by the absence
or presence of water; the changes which are necessary as regards
exterior or advanced works, and ending with a comparison of a front of
fortification according to Cormontaigne, with a modification of the same
system introduced by the French engineers.
The second section commences with the principles of defilement and its
application under various given circumstances, proceeds with the
description of an imaginary work founded on certain given data, and
furnishes the data of its proposed construction. It then supplies the
theory relating to mines, and their use in the attack, defense, and
destruction of places, and points out the particular duties of engineers
in fortified places, and the proper and most efficient manner of
carrying them on.
The third section relates to the preparation of projects for the
improvement of inefficiently fortified places, and to the utility,
particular organization, and proper position of fortified places on a
frontier line. It then explains the necessity for military law in
providing for the security of fortified places and districts along the
frontiers of a state.
The third part describes the various operations connected with the
attack and defense of a bastioned fortification, commencing with the
operations preliminary to the siege and investment of the place, and
continuing to describe the several processes to be employed in the
attack of the place, with the corresponding efforts that should be made
during its defense, and ending with an historical account of certain
sieges.
This course requires the practical completion of the following:
Nature of the Work; Time allowed for its completion.
Subject of the Work.
Scale
1st Part.--On existing fortifications.
Single Plate, 20 days,
Complete projection of the front of Cormontaigne without
counterguard or cavalier,
1/1000
Three profiles of the front,
1/500
2d Part.--Principles of the Art of Fortification.
Plate, No. 1, 8 “
1st Section: Fortifications on level ground.--Principal graphical
constructions of the front on level ground according to particular
data given to each Student
1/1000
Plate, No. 2, 28 “
Complete projection of the whole of the visible and underground
parts of the same front,
1/1000
Three profiles of the front,
1/500
Memoir, 6 “
Description of the principles of the Fortification, with a
detailed discussion of the dispositions adopted in the particular
case treated by the Students.
Plate 3, 20 “
2d Section: Fortification on hilly ground.--Drawing of the ideal
fortress and of its Tête-du-pont, with the interior entrenchments,
inundation, sluices, and all necessary details to enable a proper
comprehension to be had of the action of the water.
Drawing complete of one of the fronts of the place and its
outworks, described by a particular programme. Defilement of all
the works of this front and of the masonry of one of its faces,
1/5000
Memoir, 3 “
On the situation of the fortification; description of the
imaginary fortress, and of the management of the water;
explanation of the operations of defilement drawn on Plate 3.
Plate 4, (Artillerie.) 10 “
Plan and profile of a full revetment of the escarp with its
counterforts,
1/200
Plan, profiles, and elevation of a revetment “en décharge.”
1/200
Detail of a gallery and small chamber of a mine, of its tamping
and mode of firing,
1/50
Plate 4, (Engineers.) 20 “
Detailed project of one of the parts of the front of fortification
defiladed in Plate 3. Plans at different height; disposition of
the galleries and small chambers of mines required for blowing up
the whole of the ground between two listening galleries.
1/250
Plate 5, 10 “
Sections and elevations of the preceding project. Foundations,
coping of vaults, dressing of cut stones, &c.,
1/125
Detail of a small gallery and chamber of a mine, comprised in
the dispositions of Plate 4. Tamping and mode of firing.
Avant, 3 “
Abstractions of measurement of a part of the preceding project,
....
Plate 6, 11 “
Study of the alterations in the earth of the same part of the
projects, representing the four principal periods of the work,
by a plan and section, with an elevation of the 4th period,
1/250
Memoir, 2 “
General theory of the removal of earth. Application to a
particular project,
....
Register, 3 “
Register of the removal of earth as represented in Plate 6.
Estimate, 1 “
Estimate of the part of the project to which the abstraction of
measurements has been applied.
3d Section: Projection of the improvement of an existing
fortified place.
Plate 7, 30 “
Complete projection of the project for improving an existing
fortified place,
1/1000
Plate 8, 6 “
Details of the most interesting parts of the project, in plans,
sections, and elevations,
1/250
Memoir, 2 “
Marginal notes on the defects presented by the existing system,
and on the means employed for correcting them.
Calculation, 5 “
Balance of the “deblais” and “remblais” of the project.
3d Part.--Attack and Defense of Places.
Single Plate, 30 “
Project of attack of a front of fortification on level ground,
1/2000
Details of the attack,
Journal, 4 “
Journal of the siege. Details relating to the composition of
the garrison and of the besieging army; also on the material for
the Artillery and Engineers required for the attack and defense.
Pen sketch of the most elementary works of attack.
1/200
[Transcriber’s Note:
The “Observations” column is divided into four sections:
Through Plate 3: Common to Students of Both Services.
Plate 4: Artillery.
Plate 4 (Engineers), through end of 2nd Part:
Special to Engineer Students.
3d Part: Common.]
RECAPITULATION FOR THE ARTILLERY.
[KEY]
NL Number of Lectures.
Cr Credits for the Lectures.
+A With application (_a._)
-A Without application (_b._)
T Total.
I Number of Interrogations.
-------------------------------+----+-------------------+-----
I. LECTURES. | | Cr |
PARTS OF THE COURSE. | +------+------+-----+
| NL | +A | -A | T | I
-------------------------------+----+------+------+-----+-----
First Part. Study of | | | | |
existing Fortifications, | 10 | 4.5 | 21 | 26 | 1
Second Part. Principles | | | | |
of the Art of Fortification, |....| .... | .... | ....| ...
First Section. Fortification | | | | |
on level ground, | 19 | 24.0 | 9 | 33 | 2
Second Section. Fortification | | | | |
on hilly ground, | 19 | 19.5 | 18 | 38 | 2
Third Section. General | | | | |
questions of Fortification, | 4 | .... | 12 | 12 | ....
Third Part. Attack and | | | | |
Defence of Places, | 24 | 24 | 24 | 48 | 2
+----+------+------+-----+-----
Totals, | 76 | 72 | 84 | 157 | 7
-------------------------------+----+------+------+-----+-----
[(_a._) The lectures with application count for 1 hour 5 minutes.]
[(_b._) Those without application for 3 hours.]
[KEY]
D Drawings.
M Memoirs.
V Various.
S Sitting in the Halls of Study.
Cr Credits.
------------------------------------+------------------+-------
II. EXECUTION OF WORK. | Number of |
+----+---+---+-----+
| D | M | V | S | Cr
------------------------------------+----+---+---+-----+-------
First Part. | | | | |
Front of Cormontaigne | 1 | | | 20 | 90
Second Part. | | | | |
Plate 1. Construction of Project | | | | |
on Level Ground | 1 | | | 8 | 35
Plate 2. Project on Level Ground | 1 | | | 28 | 125
Memoir on ditto | | 1 | | 6 | 55
Plate 3. Project on Hilly Ground | 1 | | | 20 | 90
Memoir on ditto | | 1 | | 3 | 30
Plate 4. Project of Details. Plan | 1 | | | 20 | 90
Plate 5. Project of Section. Plan | 1 | | | 10 | 45
Abstraction of Measurements | | | 1 | 3 | 25
Plate 6. Removal of Earth | 1 | | | 11 | 50
Memoir on ditto | | 1 | | 2 | 20
Register of ditto | | | 1 | 3 | 25
Estimate of the Project | | | 1 | 1 | 10
Plate 7. Project of Improvements | 1 | | | 30 | 135
Plate 8. Details of ditto, | 1 | | | 6 | 25
Memoir on ditto | | 1 | | 2 | 20
Balance of Deblais and Remblais | | | 1 | 5 | 45
Third Part. | | | | |
Project of Attack | 1 | | | 30 | 135
Journal of the Siege | | 1 | | 4 | 35
+----+---+---+-----+-------
Totals | 10 | 5 | 4 | 212 | 1,085
------------------------------------+----+---+---+-----+-------
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF INFLUENCE.
Lectures, 165 }
Execution of Works, 1,085 } 1,250
------------------------------------+--------------+-----
II. STUDIES AND EXECUTION | Number of |
OF WORK. +----+---+-----+
| D | M | V | Cr
------------------------------------+----+---+-----+-----
First Part. | | | |
Front of Cormontaigne, | 1 | | 20 | 90
Second Part. | | | |
Plate 1. Construction of the | | | |
Project on Level Ground, | 1 | | 8 | 35
Plate 2. Project on Level Ground, | 1 | | 28 | 125
Memoir, | | 1 | 6 | 55
Plate 3. Project on Hilly Ground, | 1 | | 20 | 90
Plate 4. Details of the Project, | 1 | | 10 | 45
Memoir, | | 1 | 3 | 30
Third Part. | | | |
Plate. Project of Attack, | 1 | | 30 | 135
Journal of Attack, | | 1 | 4 | 35
+----+---+-----+-----
Totals | 6 | 3 | 129 | 640
------------------------------------+----+---+-----+-----
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF INFLUENCE.
Lectures, 160 }
Studies and Execution of Work, 640 } 800.
RECAPITULATION FOR THE ENGINEERS.
[KEY]
Cr Credits for Lectures.
NL Number of Lectures.
+A With application.
-A Without application.
T Total Credits.
I Number of Interrogations.
------------------------------------+----+-----------------+---
| | Cr |
I. LECTURES. | +-----------------+
| NL | +A | -A | T | I
------------------------------------+----+------+----+-----+---
First Part. | | | | |
Study of Existing Fortification, | 10 | 4.5 | 21 | 26 | 1
| | | | |
Second Part. | | | | |
Principles of the Art | | | | |
of Fortification, | | | | |
First Section. Fortification | | | | |
on Level Ground, | 19 | 24.0 | 9 | 33 | 2
Second Section. Fortification | | | | |
on Hilly Ground, | 26 | 36.0 | 6 | 42 | 2
Third Section. General Questions | | | | |
on Fortification, | 5 | 1.5 | 12 | 13 |
Third Part. | | | | |
Attack and Defense Places, | 24 | 24.0 | 24 | 48 | 2
+----+------+----+-----+---
Totals | 84 | 90.0 | 72 | 162*| 7
------------------------------------+----+------+----+-----+---
[* The number 162 is applicable to the Interrogations.]
VI. PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE OF TOPOGRAPHY.
The course of Topography comprehends two parts.
The first relates to the art of topographical drawing, and the second
to the art of making topographical surveys. Both parts are carried on
_pari passu_; but as the order in which the different branches of the
instruction can be given depends very much on the other works carried on
in the School, it will be more convenient to give the programme for each
separately.
FIRST PART.--INSTRUCTION IN TOPOGRAPHICAL DRAWING.
The instruction in topographical drawing comprehends lectures and
exercises in graphical representation. It is based on a complete
exposition of the conventional principles of this species of drawing,
and it is illustrated by engraved examples of the characteristics
adopted for the representation of the various details.
_First Section.--Lectures._
The lectures have for their object the explanation of the general
principles of the instruction in topographical drawing, and the
geometrical conditions which should regulate the shading of maps and
their reduction. They immediately precede the exercise to which they
relate.
Lecture 1 relates to small maps, copies, and reductions of these; and it
explains the object of topographical maps, the various kinds and the
different scales generally used. The manner in which the form of the
ground is represented by equi-distant contour or level lines is also
explained, and mention is made of the conventional tints used, and the
species of writing and value of the scale employed.
Lectures 2 and 3 relate to the execution of shaded plans by the brush
and the pen, under different circumstances of light and shade.
Lecture 4 explains the different methods for reducing topographical
maps, also the description, mode of using, and verification of
pentagraphs.
_Second Section.--Exercises._
These exercises are intended to teach the students the conventional
signs used in topographical drawing, and to give them facilities with
the pencil and brush for producing shaded maps, and in reducing them
from one scale to another.
SECOND PART.--INSTRUCTION IN TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEYING.
This instruction comprises:
1st. Lectures given in amphitheatre.
2d. Practical lectures or exercises.
3d. The execution of topographical surveys.
_First Section.--Oral Lectures._
These lectures are divided in two classes, which comprehend:--
1st. Those relating to the description of the instruments, and of the
methods used in topography.
2d. Those which have reference to the manner in which the students
should proceed in the execution of the work, and principally of surveys
of limited extent.
Eight lectures are devoted to the description of the various
instruments, the method of adjusting their errors, and the manner of
using them, as well as to the different ways of proceeding in
topography; touching also on the various modes of measuring distances,
with descriptions of the compass, plane table, and instruments used for
leveling, and on the taking observations for and preparation of
sections, and the orientation of maps.
Four preparatory lectures are given, showing the manner in which the
students should proceed when on the ground to make a survey of small
extent.
Two lectures relate to the methods that should be employed in making a
survey of considerable extent, and on the appropriate scales.
Two lectures on military reconnaissance plans; instruments and scales
employed.
Two preparatory lectures relate to the execution of a reconnaissance
plan, in which the operations of a sham siege are intended to be
recorded.
_Second Section.--Practical Lectures or Exercises._
The object of these lectures, which take place on the glacis of the
fortification, is to show the students the practical modes of using the
instruments, and the precautions which must be taken, together with the
most elementary proceedings in topography. They are given to ten or
twelve students at the same time, and the Professor is assisted by an
officer of the staff. Each lecture lasts two and a half hours.
_Third Section.--On the Execution of Topographical Surveys._
The object is to familiarize the students with the use of the principal
instruments and the principal operations, and they comprehend
out-of-door work, of which the results are sketches, registers, and
minutes made in pencil, and in the construction of plans, and inking in
of the minutes in the Halls of Study.
The out-of-door work is performed under the superintendence of officers
of the staff, who assist the students in their work. The construction of
the plans is not commenced until the pencil minutes have been examined
by the Professor.
These exercises comprise:--
1st and 2d. Construction of plans by the aid of the compass.
3d. The plan of a fortification made with the plane table.
4th. The determination of the variation of the compass.
5th. The execution of a second survey by the aid of the compass.
6th. “ “ rapid survey by pacing the distances.
7th. “ “ reconnaissance survey.
8th. “ “ an itinerary and reconnaissance sketch.
9th. The preparation of a plan on which the whole of the operations
of a sham siege may be laid down, as the works of attack and
defense proceed.
RECAPITULATION FOR THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS.
[KEY]
Cr Credits for Lectures.
NL Number of Lectures.
+A With application.
-A Without application.
T Total Credits.
I Number of Interrogations.
------------------------------------+----+------------------+---
| | Cr |
| +------------------+
I. LECTURES. | NL | +A | -A | T | I
------------------------------------+----+------+----+------+---
1st part: | | | | |
Topographical drawing, | 4 | 6 |....| } |
Art of Surveying-- | | | | } 36 |
On the instruments and | | | | |
Topographical processes, | 8 | 12 |....| } |
On Surveys of considerable | | | | |
magnitude, | 2 | .... | 6 | } | 2
On Reconnaissance Plans, | 2 | 1.5 | 3 | } |
Preparatory to out-of-door work, | 5 | 7.5 |....| } |
+----+------+----+------+---
Total, |21 | 27 | 9 | 30* | 2
------------------------------------+----+------+----+------+---
[* The credit is diminished here and carried forward to the exercises,
which serve for the interrogations of many lectures. These lectures have
therefore really three series of interrogations.]
[KEY]
D Drawings.
M Memoirs.
V Various.
+H In the halls.
-H Out of the halls.
O Out of doors.
C Credits.
------------------------------+----+----+----+--------------+-----
| | | | Attendances |
EXECUTION OF WORK. | | | +----+----+----+
| D | M | V | +H | -H | O | C
------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
1st Part:-- | | | | | | |
Topographical Drawing: | | | | | | |
Conventional Tints, | 1 |....|....| 3 |....|....| 10
Study of Maps, | 4 |....|....| 26 |....|....| 120
Reduction, | 1 |....|....| 2 |....|....| 10
Construction of a | | | | | | |
Triangulation with the | | | | | | |
Compass, | 1 |....|....| 3 |....|....| 15
1st Survey with the Compass:| | | | | | |
Out-of-door work, |....|....| 1 |....|....| 6 | 50
Laying down, | 1 |....|....| 4 |....|....| 20
Survey of Fortifications | | | | | | |
with the Plane-Table: | | | | | | |
Out-of-door work, |} 1 |....| 1 |....|....| 10 | 80
Laying Down, |} | 1 |....| 4 |....|....| 25
Determination of the | | | | | | |
Variation of the Compass, | 1 |....|....| 1 | 1h |....| 5
2d Survey with the Compass: | | | | | | |
Out-of-door work, | 1 |....| 1 |....|....| 8 | 65
Laying down, | 1 |....|....| 2 |....| 10 |
Rapid Survey: | | | | | | |
Out-of-door work, |} 1 |....| 1 |....|....| 6 | 50
Laying down, |} | 1 |....| 4 |....|....| 25
Reconnaisance survey: | | | | | | |
Out-of-door work, |} 1 |....| 1 |....|....| 4 | 30
Laying down, |} | 1 |....| 3 |....|....| 20
Itinerary and | | | | | | |
Reconnaissance,* | 1 |....|....|....|....| 1 | 10
Topographical operations | | | | | | |
relative to sham siege† |....|....|....|....|....|....| ....
Topographical exercises, | | | | | | |
4 each of 2½ hours | | | | | | |
duration, |....|....|....|....| 6 |....| 20‡
+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
Total | 15 | 3 | 5 | 52 | 7 | 35| 565
------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+-----
[* The description Itinerary is reckoned with the simulated siege
operations.]
[† For a memoir.]
[‡ This number is formed with 5 taken from it for the credit of the
interrogations because the exercises serve for the interrogations of
several lectures.]
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF INFLUENCE.
Lectures, 30}
Execution of work, 565} 595.
VII. PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE OF GEODESY AND DIALLING.
This course is divided into two parts--the one part special for the
engineers, and the other common to the artillery and engineers.
The first comprises:--
1st. The study of the execution of a triangulation of some extent, and
of its connection with the general triangulation of France, executed
under the superintendence of the Dépôt de la Guerre, and
2d. Leveling with the barometer.
The second contains:--
1st. The study of reflecting instruments.
2d. The principles of dialling.
Each of these parts comprehend:--
1st. Lectures given in the amphitheatre.
2d. Practical lectures or exercises.
3d. An application.
FIRST PART.--SPECIAL FOR ENGINEERS.
1st Section--Lectures.
These Lectures include:--
1st. A description of the principal geodesical instruments.
2d. The establishment of the triangulation.
3d. The survey and the calculations connected with it.
4th. The orientation of the triangulation.
5th. The calculation of the co-ordinates of the points and their
construction from the minutes of the survey.
6th. The geodesical and barometrical leveling.
The first lecture is devoted to the explanation of the different kind of
signals used under various circumstances; on the method of measuring
bases and angles, and the principles on which these operations are
performed; and concluding with the description and mode of using certain
instruments for measuring angles.
The second lecture continues and enlarges on the subject of the
measurement of angles, horizontal and vertical, with different kinds of
instruments.
The third lecture relates to the corrections and reductions which must
be made to observed angles, such as the correction for the eccentricity
of the instruments, to the reduction of the angles to the horizon, and
to the center of the station, and also on the adjustments of the
instruments, or the application of corrections for certain errors.
The fourth lecture discusses the calculation of the triangles and their
errors, and points out the best organization that can be given to the
triangulation, and the exactitude which can be expected from it.
The fifth lecture also relates to the calculation and the development of
the triangulation, and explains the nature of the geodesical operations
for the map of France.
The sixth lecture explains the manner of observing for, and
determination of the azimuthal bearing, for the orientation of the
triangulation.
The seventh lecture has reference to the convergence of meridians,
calculation of rectangular co-ordinates, sundry problems, and geodesical
leveling.
The eighth lecture shows in what manner the barometer is made use of for
the determination of differences of altitude, the nature of the
corrections to be applied to the instrument, and the degree of
exactitude to be found in the results of this process.
The ninth lecture points out the order in which geodesical calculations
should be performed and the verifications which should be exacted.
The Second Section contains five lectures or exercises, and they have
for their object to familiarize the students with the use of the various
kinds of instruments employed in carrying on the operations which have
been shortly described in the first section.
The Third Section relates to the practical application of the preceding
principles, and mostly consists of geodesical applications.
SECOND PART.--COMMON TO THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS.
The First Section consists of lectures given in the amphitheatre, and
relates to reflecting instruments, such as the sextant, reflecting
circle, and the method of using them, and also on the principles of
dialling, and its connection with various problems in astronomy;
describes also the different kinds of dials.
SECOND SECTION.--PRACTICAL EXERCISES.
In which the students are called upon, in the presence of the Professor,
to adjust the sextant, and to use it in connection with an artificial
horizon for the measurement of the angle between any two objects of the
altitude of these objects above the horizon, and also the same altitude.
Third Section contains the practical application of the principles
enunciated in the preceding sections, in the preparation by the students
of two drawings, in which they will exhibit the graphical representation
of the hour in terms of the altitude of the sun previously observed, and
show the various constructions of a sun-dial, according to the specified
conditions based on the observation of the hour angle.
RECAPITULATION FOR THE ENGINEERS.
[KEY]
Cr Credits for Lectures.
L Number of Lectures.
+A With application.
-A Without application.
I Number of Interrogations.
---------------------------------+----+-------------------+---
LECTURES. | | Cr |
| +------+----+-------+---
| L | +A | -A | Total | I
---------------------------------+----+------+----+-------+---
First Part:--Geodesy: | | | | |
Lectures with application, | 4 | 6 |....|} 21 | 1
Lectures without application, | 5 | .... | 15 |} |
Second Part: | | | | |
Reflecting Instruments, | 1 | 1.5 |}...| |
Dialling, | 2 | 3 |} | 4.5 | 1
+----+------+----+-------+---
Total, | 12 | 10.5 | 15 | 25.5 | 2
---------------------------------+----+------+----+-------+---
[KEY]
Att Attendances
D Drawings.
M Memoirs.
V Etats Divers.
+H In the halls.
-H Out of the halls.
C Credits.
------------------------------+----+----+----+---------+----
| | | | Att |
EXECUTION OF WORK. | | | +----+----+
| D | M | V | +H | -H | C
------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----
First Part: | | | | | |
Geodesical calculations, |....|....| 1 | 4 |....| 20
Exercises of 2½ hours, |....|....| 1 |....| 5 | 10
| | | | | |
Second Part: | | | | | |
Drawings of Dialling, | 2 |....|....| 4 |....| 20
Exercises of 2½ hours, |....|....|....|....| 1 | 5
+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total | 2 |....| 2 | 8 | 6 | 55
------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----+----
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF IMPORTANCE.
Lectures, 25 }
Execution of Work, 55 } 80.
RECAPITULATION FOR THE ARTILLERY.
[KEY]
Cr Credits for Lectures.
L Number of Lectures.
+A With application.
-A Without application.
I Number of Interrogations.
---------------------------------+-----+-------------------+---
LECTURES. | | Cr |
| +------+----+-------+
| L | +A | -A | Total | I
---------------------------------+-----+------+----+-------+---
Reflecting Instruments, | 1} | 4.5 |....| 5 | 1
Dialling, | 2} | | | |
+-----+------+----+-------+---
Total, | 3 | 4.5 |....| 5 | 1
---------------------------------+-----+------+----+-------+---
[KEY]
D Drawings.
M Memoirs.
+H In the halls.
-H Out of the halls.
C Credits.
------------------------------+-------------------+----
| Number of |
------------------------------+----+---------+----+
| | Days | |
EXECUTION OF WORK. | +----+----+ |
| D | +H | -H | M | C
------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----
Drawings of Dialling, | 2 | 4 |....|....| 20
Exercises of 2½ hours, |....|....| 1 |....| 5
+----+----+----+----+----
Total, | 2 | 4 | 1 |....| 25
------------------------------+----+----+----+----+----
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF IMPORTANCE.
Lectures, 5 }
Execution of Works, 25 } 30.
VIII.--PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE OF SCIENCES APPLIED TO THE MILITARY ARTS.
Lectures.
1st part--Geology, 12
2d “ On the Metallurgy of Iron, on Working in Iron, 6
3d “ Applications of the Working in Iron, 3
4th “ On the Manufacture of Small-arms, 4
5th “ “ “ of Ordnance, 5
6th “ “ “ of Powder, 5
7th “ On Pyrotechny, 2
--
Total, 37
--
FIRST PART.--GEOLOGY.
_Lecture_ 1.--Preliminary notions. Definition of geology expressed from
its applications. Division in four sections:--1st. Mineralogy. 2d.
Paleontology. 3d. Geognosy. 4th. Geogeny. (Only the three first are here
treated of.)
First Section.--Mineralogy. Generalities. Distinctive characters of
minerals. Fundamental principle of a mineralogical classification.
Minerals are distinguished as having characters either exterior,
crystalline, chemical, or physical; classification of minerals.
_Lecture_ 2.--First class: Simple bodies forming one of the essential
principles of minerals. Genus silica, quartz, sulphur. Second class:
Alkali and alkaline salts, potass, soda, &c. Third class: Alkaline
earths, and earths. Genus lime. Fourth class: Metals. Iron of various
kinds; copper, lead, tin, zinc.
_Lecture_ 3.--Fifth class: Silicates of various kinds. Sixth class:
Combustibles, minerals.
_Lecture_ 4.--Description of various rocks. Classification of rocks.
_Lecture_ 5.--Use of rock and stone in the arts, and particularly in the
art of construction.
_Lecture_ 6.--On the calcination of calcareous stones, lime-kilns.
_Lecture_ 7.--Manufacture of artificial hydraulic lime, manufacture of
bricks, stucco, or cements.
_Lecture_ 8.--Second Section: Paleontology. General division established
in zoology and botany. General notions relating to the different kinds
of animals and vegetables, of which the remains are found in various
geological formations. Third section: Geognosy. Lectures 9, 10, 11, 12,
occupied with the explanation of the various formations.
SECOND PART.--ON WORKING IN IRON.
_Lecture_ 13.--Preliminary notions. Definitions and general
considerations. Characteristics of iron, steel, cast-iron, &c.
_Lecture_ 14.--On iron ore and the various kinds of fluxes.
_Lecture_ 15.--On combustibles. Vegetable combustibles, mineral
combustibles.
_Lecture_ 16.--Manufacture of cast-iron. High furnaces, different modes
of proceeding with vegetable and mineral combustibles.
_Lecture_ 17.--Manufacture of iron and steel and the different kinds of
iron.
THIRD PART.--APPLICATION OF THE WORKINGS OF IRON.
_Lecture_ 19.--Making of projectiles, carriages for guns and mortars,
axle-trees and anchors. Use of cast-iron for artillery. General notions
in moulding. Use of wrought-iron and steel. Materials first made use of
for the making of projectiles, and in the casting of cannon-balls, &c.
_Lecture_ 20.--On the manufacture of hollow projectiles and the
carriages for guns and mortars.
_Lecture_ 31.--On the manufacture of axles and anchors.
FOURTH PART.--ON THE MANUFACTURE OF SMALL-ARMS.
_Lecture 22._--Preliminary considerations. Assay of metals. Fire-arms,
manufacture of gun-barrels, describing the various details.
_Lecture_ 23.--Bayonets, locks, &c.
_Lecture_ 24.--On the making of stocks. Finishing. Rifling small-arms.
_Lecture_ 25.--Manufacture of sabres, swords, lances, hatchets,
cuirasses, and on the preservation, maintenance, and repair of arms.
FIFTH PART.--ON THE MANUFACTURE OF ORDNANCE.
_Lecture_ 26.--Preliminary notions. Metals proper for the manufacture of
ordnance. Composition and properties of gun-metal. Wrought and cast-iron
ordnance. Moulding generally. Moulding of cannons.
_Lecture_ 27.--Moulding of howitzers. Foundries. Fusion of the metals.
_Lectures_ 28, 29.--Boring. Turning. Carving. Turning of the trunnions,
&c. Manufacture and reception of bushes. Insertion and replacement of
bushes.
_Lecture_ 30.--Last operations. Proofs and reception of cannon. Chemical
operations. Assay and analysis of the metals employed in the casting of
gun-metal; proportion of the several ingredients.
SIXTH PART.--ON THE MANUFACTURE OF POWDER.
_Lecture_ 31.--General notions. Various kinds of powder, &c. On
saltpetre and sulphur.
_Lecture_ 32.--Charcoal; wood employed; various kinds of charcoal;
proceeding followed in making powder in various ways by the pestle.
_Lecture_ 33.--Manufacture by mills, &c.
_Lecture_ 34.--Influence of the proportion of the several ingredients,
and of the manner of making it on its various properties. Preservation,
inflammation, and combustion.
_Lecture_ 35.--Proofs and reception of powder. Proof of its projectile
force. Mortar proof, and various kinds of other proofs to which it is
subject. Reception and analysis of powder.
SEVENTH PART.--PYROTECHNY.
_Lecture_ 36.--Preliminary ideas. Objects of the course. Precautions
that should be adopted to prevent accident. Mixture of the materials.
Manufacture of leaden balls of various kinds. Caps. Fireworks for
warlike purposes, used for setting buildings, &c., on fire. Firing
cannon and exploding mines.
_Lecture_ 37.--Fireworks employed under various circumstances in war.
Signal rockets. For illuminating or setting on fire. For explosions.
Petards. On ordinary fireworks.
_Works of Application._--The works of application which are connected
with the course of science applied to the military arts are as
follows:--
1st. Study of samples of mineralogical specimens.
2d. Study of geological maps to be followed by a memoir.
3d. Memoirs on:
1st. Iron and its applications.
2d. Manufacture of cannon.
3d. Manufacture of small-arms and powder.
4th. Out-of-door geological excursions to be followed by memoirs.
5th. Manipulations relative to moulding in earth or sand.
6th. Chemical manipulations.
7th. Pyrotechnic manipulations.
_First.--Study of Samples of Mineralogical Specimens._
This study has for its object the determination of the kind of minerals
described in the course. It is made in sections of ten or twelve
Sub-Lieutenants and by attendances of one hour, each Sub-Lieutenant
being called upon to reply at least three times.
_Second.--Study of Geological Maps, followed by a Memoir._
The study of geological maps will consist in indicating, by conventional
colors, the different geological formations of a lithographical map, and
to make a section in a particular direction. The map will be the same
for all, and it will be conceived so as to correspond with the
geological formation of France, but the sections will differ for each
student.
An explanatory memoir will have for its object to call the attention of
the Sub-Lieutenants to the most salient facts which will be placed in
relief by this study.
One attendance in the halls of study will be devoted to this work.
_Third.--Three Memoirs._
Three memoirs on different parts of the course, other than the
geological, will be made immediately after the interrogations relative
to each section. Particular data will be furnished to each
Sub-Lieutenant. Three attendances in the halls of study will be allowed
for these memoirs.
_Fourth.--Geological Excursions._
Three geological excursions will be made in the environs of Metz by
groups of ten or twelve Sub-Lieutenants under the direction of the
Professor, and at the period of the out-of-door work, so as not to
interfere with the current work in the halls. The first excursion will
have for its object the study of the lias and lower oolite, met with in
the vicinity of Metz. If the time will admit of it, a reconnaissance
will be made to the great oolite at Taumont or at Amanvillers.
The second excursion will be made in the direction of Gorze for the
study of the lower oolitic formation and to trace it up to Bradford
clay, where an important fault occurs in this direction near to Metz.
The study of this fault will be the great object of this excursion.
The third excursion will be made in the direction of Forbach, meeting
with the lias, chalk-colored freestone, &c.
Three entire days will be devoted to these excursions, and each
Sub-Lieutenant will enter his observations in a note-book, and make a
certain number of sections, and report the results of these excursions
in three memoirs in a specified time.
_Fifth.--Manipulations relative to Moulding in Earth or Sand._
These mouldings of projectiles will be made by sections of ten or twelve
Sub-Lieutenants, two attendances of three hours each being devoted to
them, one for ordinary and the other for hollow projectiles.
The manipulations for the moulding of cannon will be executed by the
Professor.
All the Sub-Lieutenants will be successively called by sections a
certain number of times, in order that they may be enabled to render an
account of the different states of advancement of the work.
Programme of practical instruction for the casting of projectiles.
1st attendance. Making shot, &c.
2d attendance. Making hollow projectiles.
Programme of the moulds to be executed by the Professor.
Manufacture of cannon; moulding in earth and the various processes to be
carried on.
_Sixth.--Chemical Manipulations._
The chemical manipulations are made by sections of ten or twelve
Sub-Lieutenants.
Nine attendances of three hours each are employed.
1st. To the determination of the specific gravity and real density
of gunpowder and to its analysis.
2d. To two other analyses of gun-metal, iron-ore, &c.
_Seventh.--Manipulations in Pyrotechny._
The manipulations in pyrotechny will be made by the whole division,
divided into three brigades. Each brigade will be assembled in one of
the halls at the School of Pyrotechny, and will execute the different
manipulations indicated in the following programme, under the direction
of the Professor, and with the assistance of the master artificers of
the School of Pyrotechny. Five attendances of three hours will be
employed at these manipulations.
PROGRAMME OF THE PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS ON MUNITIONS AND FIREWORKS.
1st Attendance. Munitions for small-arms.
{Construction of bullets.
Infantry cartridges, { “ of pouches and caps.
{ “ of cartridges.
Cartridges with oblong bullets.
2d Attendance. Ammunition for field guns.
Construction and filling of pouches, packing in wood, &c.
3d Attendance. Ammunition for siege artillery, &c.
Construction and filling of cartridges, &c.
Charging hollow projectiles.
4th Attendance. Fireworks for war purposes.
Construction of matches, quick matches, tubes, fusees
for shells and grenades.
Construction of signal rockets.
5th Attendance. Carriage of field ammunition.
Loading and unloading field ammunition chests for cannons,
howitzers, and infantry wagons.
Construction of ornamental lances and Roman candles.
RECAPITULATION FOR THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS.
[KEY]
NL No. of Lectures.
+A With Application, 1h. 5m.
-A Without Application, 3h. 0m.
T Total Credits
I No. of Interrogations
------------------------------------+----+---------------+----
Lectures.-- | | Credits for |
| | Lectures. |
| +-----+----+ |
Parts of the Course. | NL | +A | -A | T | I
------------------------------------+----+-----+----+----+----
1st Part, Geology, | 12 | 15 | 6 | 20 | 2
2d “ on Working in Iron, | 6 | | 18 | 20}| 1 *
3d “ Applications of | | | | |
working in Iron, | 3 | 15 | 6 | 10}| †
4th “ Manufacture of Small Arms, | 4 | | 12 | 10 | 1
5th “ Manufacture of Cannon, | 5 | | 15 | 15 | 1
6th “ Manufacture of Powder, | 5 | | 15 | 15}| 1
7th “ Pyrotechny, | 2 | 3 | | 5}|
| -- +-----+----+----+----
| 37 |19.50| 72 | 95 | 6
------------------------------------+----+-----+----+----+----
[* The first series of interrogations relates to mineralogy.]
[† The second to geognosy.]
[Transcriber’s Note:
The printed Observations column (shown here as footnotes) is
ambiguous; the best guess is that both items refer to Geology.]
[KEY]
St Studies.
Sk Sketches.
M Memoirs.
E Exercises.
Mp Manipulations.
H Attendances in halls, 4h. 5m.
OD Attendances out of doors, 6h.
Attendances at the Laboratory:
L1 1h. to 2h.
L3 of 3h.
P Attendance at the School of Pyrotechny 3h.
Cr Credits.
----------------------------------+-----------------------------+----
Works of | Number of |
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+
Application. |St|Sk|M |E |Mp|H |OD|L1|L3|P | Cr
----------------------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+----
Study of Mineralogical Specimens, | 3|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|..|..| 5
Study of Geological Map, |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
followed by a Memoir Map, |..| 1|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 5
Memoir, |..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..| 10
Memoirs on the Metallurgy |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
of Iron, and its-- |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
1. Application, |..|..| 1|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 10
2. Manufacture of cannon, |..|..| 1|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 10
3. Manufacture of small arms |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
or powder, |..|..| 1|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 10
Geological Excursions, |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
followed by Memoirs: |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
Excursions, |..|..|..| 3|..|..| 3|..|..|..| 20
Memoirs, |..|..| 3|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 20
Manipulations in-- |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| ..
Moulding, |..|..|..|..| 2|..|..|..| 2|..| 5
Chemistry, |..|..|..|..| 9|..|..|..| 9|..| 25
Pyrotechny, |..|..|..|..| 5|..|..|..|..| 5| 15
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+----
Total, | 3| 1| 7| 3|16| 4| 3| 3|12| 5|135
----------------------------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+----
RECAPITULATION OF THE CREDITS OF INFLUENCE.
Lectures, 95 }
} 230.
Works of Application, 135 }
IX. PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE OF APPLIED MECHANICS.
FIRST SECTION.--GENERAL PRINCIPLES.
_Lectures_ 1 and 2.--Short account of the general principles which serve
as a base for the application of mechanics to machines, under the
compound ratio of their establishment and of the calculation of their
effects.
_Lecture_ 3.--General composition of a factory; power, recipient,
transmission of movement, tools. General method of calculating the
effect of forces in a complete factory.
_Lectures_ 4, 5, and 6.--Theoretical rules and the results of
experiments concerning the flow of liquids. (Particular reference is
made to the principles which relate to the large orifices of machines
moved by water.)
_Lecture_ 7.--Gauging of the volumes and valuation of the dynamical
power of water-courses which feed machines.
SECOND SECTION.--MOTOR MACHINES.
_Lecture_ 8.--Theory of the effect of water on hydraulic wheels.
Determination of the elements of the calculation.
_Lectures_ 9 to 13.--Application of the general theories to the
principal hydraulic recipients. Conditions of the maximum, relative to
the useful effect of each kind. Results of experiments, &c. (With
reference to turbines, those which are most generally employed in the
artillery workshops must be adverted to.)
_Lecture_ 14.--Comparative abstract of the usual properties of various
hydraulic “recepteurs.” Operations that must be carried on in order to
arrive at their results and to their reception in manufactories.
_Lecture_ 15.--Physical ideas relative to the use of the vapor of water
as a motive power. Theoretical bases of the calculation of the effects
of steam-engines. Force exerted by the compression and expansion of
elastic fluids.
_Lectures_ 16 to 18.--Practical notions and results of experiments
relating to the effects and to the usual properties of the principal
systems of steam-engines in use, as to the employment, reception, and
maintenance in workshops.
THIRD SECTION.--RESISTANCE OF MATERIALS.
_Lecture_ 19.--Resistance to compression: 1st, by gradual pressure; 2d,
by shock. Results of experience. Application to wooden and cast-iron
supports, and to the foundations of machines. Stocks of hammers.
_Lecture_ 20.--Resistance to traction. Application to the shank of a
piston, to bolts, chains, cordage, and leather straps. Resistance to
flexure. Practical formulæ for calculating the transverse dimensions of
the wooden or cast-iron arms of hydraulic wheels, of the catches or
sails.
_Lecture_ 21.--Continuation of the resistance to flexure. Practical
formula for calculating the dimensions of the several parts of such
machines. Cranks, winches, and handles in wood or in metal.
_Lecture_ 22.--Resistance to torsion. Practical formulas. Results of
experiments relative to the resistance of wood and metals to boring and
turning. Resistance of cast-iron plates to clipping.
FOURTH SECTION.--WORKING MACHINES
_Lectures_ 23 and 24.--Of blowing machines. General expression of their
useful effect. Conditions of the maximum effect. Ventilators; their use
in workshops and galleries of mines. Practical bases of their
construction. Blowing machines with a piston. Description. Calculation
of the effects and results of experiment.
_Lectures_ 25 and 26.--Description and properties of alternative and
circular sawing machines. Practical rules for their establishment.
Results of experiments concerning the motive power they require, the
useful effect obtained, and the resistance of various kinds of wood to
the action of the tool. Results of observation relative to the work in
shops by hand-saws.
_Lectures_ 27 and 28.--Machines which act by shocks. Practical formula
for the calculation of the loss of acting force in the shock.
Description and usual properties of various kinds of hammers employed in
workshops. Results of experiments proper for serving as the base for the
establishment of lever hammers and pestles in powder manufactories.
Results of calculation and observation relative to hammers and pestles
moved directly or by the transmission of a movement by steam.
_Lecture_ 29.--Grindstones for powder manufactories. Rapidity suitable
to the different parts of the work. Means of obtaining it. Calculation
of the necessary motive power. Sharpening grindstones for the
manufacture of arms. Ventilation.
_Lecture_ 30.--Lathes and drilling bits. Description. Rapidity of
movement and form of the tools, according to the nature of the matter
and kind of work. Results of experiments concerning the motive force
required, and its relation to the useful effect obtained. Composition of
a workshop of turning-lathes for an arsenal of artillery.
_Lecture_ 31.--Boring. Machines for cutting and boring. The form of the
tool and the rapidity of its action must depend on the nature of the
material and the kind of work. Results of experience concerning the
motive power required, and its relation to the useful effect obtained,
principally for the boring machines of the manufactories of arms and of
foundries. Boring machines, disposal of them in an arsenal.
_Lecture_ 32.--Flatteners. Machines for centering, for making screw
holes. Descriptions. Different rapidity of the work, dependent on its
nature and that of the material. Results of experiments concerning the
amount of the motive power and its relation to the useful effect
obtained.
FIFTH SECTION.--LECTURES PREPARATORY TO THE WORKS OF APPLICATION.
_Lecture_ 33.--Proceeding to be followed in the preparation of the
sketches of a machine. Observations on the effects of machines, their
duration, original cost, and cost of maintenance, mode of making, &c.
Indications of the difficulties which are met with, and means which
should be employed.
_Lecture_ 34.--Project of a factory (specially for the sub-lieutenants
of artillery.) Legal conditions respecting the erection of factories.
General mode of proceeding with the project. Choice of motor machines
dependent on local circumstances and the nature of the work to be
performed.
_Lecture_ 35.--(Special for the sub-lieutenants of artillery.)
Determination of the effects supported by the pieces, whose dimensions
should be calculated in applying the practical formula of the resistance
of materials. Selection of materials.
_Lecture_ 36.--(Special for the sub-lieutenants of artillery.) Principal
assemblages of various pieces of machines. Building, foundations,
supports of trunnions and pivots.
SECTION SECOND.--WORKS OF APPLICATION.
_Survey of Workshops._
This survey of workshops comprehends:--
1st. Figured sketches and observations made on the ground.
2d. Drawing of the whole and of details shaded.
3d. A memoir containing an accurate description of the machines and
workshops, the calculation of the dynamical effect, the exposition of
the mode of fabrication, and, in general, the results and consequences
of the observations made on the spot. It must be executed by each,
conformably with the particular programme, and to the instruction which
will be given to him. He is allowed for this work thirty-four days.
_Project of Machines._
This work, executed immediately following the preceding, by the
sub-lieutenants of artillery only, has exclusively for its object the
establishment of a workshop for the service of the artillery,
comprehending the driving machines and the principal operators; or, if
there be time, the improvement of the workshops of the same arm,
described in the preceding work. This project must be executed
conformably to the particular programme given to each sub-lieutenant. It
comprehends; 1, sheet of drawings: 2, a memoir. Twenty-six days are
allowed for this work,
RECAPITULATION.
NL No. of Lectures.
CL Credits for Lectures.
+A With application.
-A Without application.
C Total Credits.
I No. of Interrogations.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
| Artillery. | Engineers.
Oral Instruction +----+----+----+----+---+----+-----+----+-----+---
--Parts of | | CL | C | D | A | CL | | D
the Course. | +----+----+ | | +-----+----+ |
| NL | +A | -A | TC | I | NL | +A | -A | TC | I
------------------+----+----+----+----+---+----+-----+----+-----+---
1st Section--General Principles, | | | | | | |
| 7 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 1
2d Sec.--Driving Machines, | | | | | | | |
| 11 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 1
3d Sec.--Resistance of materials,| | | | | | |
| 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 |...| 4 | 5 | 3 | 8 |...
4th Sec.--Working Machines, | | | | | | | |
| 10 | 15 |....| 15 | 1 | 10 | 15 | | 15 | 1
5th Sec.--Lectures preparatory to the works of application, |
| 4 | 6 |....| 6 | | 1 | 1.50|....| 1.50|...
+----+----+----+----+---+----+-----+----+-----+---
Total | 36 | 44 | 21 | 65 | 3 | 33 |39.50| 21 |60.50| 3
------------------+----+----+----+----+---+----+-----+----+-----+---
RECAPITULATION.
D Sheets of drawings.
M Memoirs.
Att Attendances.
H In the halls.
O Out-of-doors.
C Credits.
---------------------+----------------------+----------------------
| Number of | Number of
+---+---+--------+-----+---+---+---------+----
Works of application | | | Att | | | | Att |
| | +----+---+ | | +----+----+
| D | M | H | O | C | D | M | H | O | C
---------------------+---+---+----+---+-----+---+---+----+----+----
Survey of workshops: | | | | | | | | | |
Figured sketches | | | | | | | | | |
and observations,| * |...|....| 8 | 65 | 1 |...|....| 8 | 65
Shaded drawings, | 1 |...| 22 |...| 100 | 1 |...| 22 |....| 100
Memoir, |...| 1 | 4 |...| 40 |...| 1 | 4 |....| 40
Project of machines: | | | | | | | | | |
Calculations | | | | | | | | | |
and drawings, | 1 |...| 20 |...| 90 |...|...|....|....|....
Preparation | | | | | | | | | |
of memoir |...| 1 | 6 |...| 60 |...|...|....|....|....
+---+---+----+---+-----+---+---+----+----+-----
Total, | † | 2 | 52 | 8 | 355 | † | 1 | 26 | 8 | 205
---------------------+---+---+----+---+-----+---+---+----+----+-----
[* 1 note book.]
[† 1 note book 2 sheets]
RECAPITULATION.
Artillery. Engineers.
Credits for lectures assigned to the
interrogations, 65 60
Credits for works of application, 355 205
--- ---
420 265
X.--PROGRAMME OF THE COURSE ON CONSTRUCTION.
The course on construction is divided into four parts.
The first part relates to the elements of masonry and the principles
which should regulate the form, dimensions, and the construction of
walls, and the different parts of buildings; it contains eighteen
lectures.
The second part is devoted to the architecture of military
buildings--twelve lectures.
The third part supplies the theory of the stability of construction, and
is divided into--
1st section, relating to the resistance of materials--six lectures.
2d “ to the stability of walls of revetments and arches--nine
lectures.
The fourth part applies to constructions in water--twenty lectures.
The course is very nearly the same for the Artillery as for the
Engineers.
ELEMENTS OF MASONRY, ETC.
_Lectures_ 1, 2, and 3.--Relate to the elements of which masonry is
composed, such as the different kinds of stones, usual dimensions,
manner in which good stone may be known; bricks, lime, cement, sand,
mortar, stucco, mastic plaster, asphalte, &c., and to the general
considerations relating to foundations, and the different kinds of walls
under various circumstances.
_Lecture_ 4.--Treats of sustaining walls and the probable effects of the
pressure of the earth. Of the conditions which must be fulfilled to
insure stability. Various formulæ on the subject. Details of
construction and on the proper material to be used.
_Lecture_ 5.--Refers to the manner of facing masonry. Openings in walls,
windows. Partition-walls.
_Lecture_ 6.--On cylindrical arches, vaults, key-stones. Formulæ for the
calculation of the thickness of piers of an arch or vault. Construction
and use of tables for the calculation of the thickness. Construction of
arches and vaults in different materials.
_Lecture_ 7.--Arches continued, flat arches, plate bands, &c.
_Lecture_ 8.--On the woods used in construction. On the influence of the
soil on its quality. Characteristics of good wood. Preservation of wood.
Proper wood for constructions.
_Lecture_ 9.--Flooring. Beams. Girders. Joists. Ceilings.
_Lecture_ 10.--Staircases, conditions respecting. Construction of
different kinds of staircases, part of masonry, wood, &c.; steps.
Construction of landing-places, &c.
_Lectures_ 11 and 12.--Roofs in carpentry. Conditions which should be
satisfied. Composition of the roof of a building. On the different kinds
of roofs.
_Lecture_ 13.--On the different ways of joining pieces of wood or timber
together.
_Lecture_ 14.--On permanent kinds of roofing. Conditions which should be
fulfilled by good roofing. Composition of roofing. Tiles, lathing, cut
slates, ridge tiles, hollow tiles, Dutch tiles. On slate roofing.
Metallic roofing. Metal mostly used. Precautions to be taken with
reference to all metal roofing.
_Lecture_ 15.--Details relating to inhabited buildings. Cellars.
Privies. Drainage. Chimneys; cause of their smoking. Most favorable
forms of the flues, pipes. Bake-house, hearth.
_Lecture_ 16.--On joinery and locksmiths’ work. Flooring of different
kinds. Doors. Camp-beds. Racks and mangers in stables. Shutters.
_Lecture_ 17.--Apparatus for heating and for cooking food. Hearth,
ash-pan. Grate-flues. Amount of surface to be given to heating
apparatus. Furnace of kitchens in barracks. Summary notions on the
heating and ventilating of buildings. Calorifiéres with hot air, steam,
and hot water.
_Lecture_ 18.--Plan of a building. Projections adopted for the
representation of a building. Plans, sections, and elevations. Order in
which the measurements should be made, and the sketch prepared. Height
at which the horizontal plane of projections should pass, &c.
SECOND PART.--ARCHITECTURE OF MILITARY BUILDINGS.
_Lecture_ 1.--Decoration, without making use of the orders of
architecture. Principal conditions relating to decoration. Symmetry,
regularity, simplicity, unity, and apparent soliditity. Proper
character. Proportions of the façades. Height of the stories. Basements.
Horizontal chains or fillets. Vertical chains and pilasters. Proportions
of the doors and windows. Arcades and arched windows. Cornices,
pediments.
_Lecture_ 2.--Distribution of buildings. Considerations that should have
weight in the distribution. Number composing the edifice. Circumstances
that guide in the disposal of masses. Conditions that should be
satisfied in placing a building. Locality and suitable dimensions.
Relations that should exist between them. Interior and exterior
communications. Stories on the same floor. Position of the large rooms.
Separation of the rooms. Position and arrangement of staircases.
Verification of stability.
_Lecture_ 3.--Conditions to be fulfilled in the distribution of the
principal military establishments. Arsenals. Polygons for drill.
Military establishments to the School of Bridges.
_Lecture_ 4.--Foundries. Manufacture of arms.
_Lecture_ 5.--Refining saltpetre. Powder. Powder magazines. Details
relative to the construction of lightning conductors.
_Lecture_ 6.--Infantry and cavalry barracks.
_Lecture_ 7.--Hospitals. Military prisons and penitentiaries.
_Lecture_ 8.--Storehouse for corn. Store-pits. Storehouse for fodder.
Preserving houses.
_Lecture_ 9.--Cisterns. Filtration.
_Lecture_ 10.--Military tribunals. Guard-house. Gates of cities. Hotels
and dwelling-houses. Officers’ quarters.
_Lecture_ 11.--Preparatory to the execution of a project for a building.
Method of proceeding. Composition of the sketch; approximate surface of
all the locality; separation into symmetrical groups in the case of
several buildings; number of stories; surface of the ground floor;
length and breadth of the building between its walls; distribution of
each story; verification of the relation between the stories. Elevation
of the building. Sketches. Memoir. General details, and details of
execution.
_Lecture_ 12.--Discussion before the abstraction of the measurements and
the preparation of the estimate of the building.
THIRD PART.--FIRST SECTION: ON THE RESISTANCE OF MATERIALS.
1. Resistance of prismatic bodies to extension and compression.
Elasticity of bodies. Modulus of elasticity. Limits of permanent
efforts. Resistance to extension and compression of stone, bricks, and
analogous materials; also of wood and metals. Applications.
2. Transverse resistance. Some cases in which it is brought into play.
Results of experience. Resistance of bodies submitted to the effects of
transversal flexure. Results of experience and conventions. Conditions
of equilibrium of bodies submitted to efforts directly transversal to
their length. Direction and value of molecular efforts. Equation of the
axis of the body. Equation of the squaring. Discussion of these
equations.
3. Geometrical method for determining the inertia. Application to the
research for the inertia of various sections. Applications of general
equations of equilibrium and of squaring to straight pieces.
1st. A horizontal piece set in a frame at one extremity, and subjected
to a weight acting at the other extremity, with a uniform vertical
effect.
2d. Horizontal beam placed upon two supports, and subjected to a
weight acting at its center, and with a uniform vertical effect.
3d. Beam placed horizontally on two supports, and having two equal
weights symmetrically placed with respect to its center.
4th. Beam placed horizontally on two supports, and subjected to a
weight acting at any point whatever throughout its length.
5th. Horizontal beam fixed at both its extremities, and subjected to a
weight acting at its center with an equal vertical effect.
6th. Horizontal beam placed on three points of support, at unequal
distances, and weighted with two weights acting at the middle of the
intervals between the supports.
7th. Vertical beam fixed at the foot, and charged with a weight acting
at a certain distance from the axis of the beam.
5. Solids of equal resistances. Most suitable form for cast girders.
Applications of the formula of equilibrium and squaring to various kinds
of carpentry.
6. On polygonal roofs. Conditions respecting them. Arched roofs,
pressure, &c. On the stability of walls required to resist the pressure
of roofs.
SECOND SECTION: ON THE STABILITY OF REVETMENT WALLS AND ARCHES.
7. On the pressure of earth. Explanation of the theory on Coulomb’s
system. Investigation of the pressure of earth by analysis. Hypothesis
necessary in order to simplify the calculations. General formula of the
value of the pressure, &c. Equations of stability and equilibrium under
the hypothesis of slipping and rolling.
8. Simplification of the general equations of equilibrium in three
particular cases. Determination of the co-efficient of stability in
Vauban’s profile. M. Poncelet’s formula for calculating the thickness of
revetment walls with perpendicular face. Transformation of the profile
of a revetment to another of equal stability. Vauban’s counterforts, &c.
9. Geometrical method for determining the pressure of earth, whatever
may be the profile of the wall and of the earth, taking into account the
friction of the earth on masonry. Geometrical determination of the
amount of the pressure. Proceeding for the determination, by geometry,
of the thickness of a revetment wall at the level of the exterior
ground.
10. On buttresses. Geometrical determination of the buttressing of
earth, and of its momentum. Simplification of the geometrical
constructions of the pressure, of the buttressing, and of their momenta
under certain hypotheses.
11. Points of application of the pressure and of the buttress. 1st. In
the case of a terrace sloping less than the natural slope of the ground.
2d. In the case of the ordinary revetments of fortification.
On the stability of the foundations of revetment walls.
Compressible soil. The resultant of all the forces should pass through
the center of the base. Size of the footing of the wall or depth of the
foundations to arrive at the result. Possibility of the wall slipping
over the base of the foundations. Use of the buttress to prevent this
movement. Graphical method to determine the depth of the foundations.
Depth of the foundations in unstable soil.
12. Pressure of arches. Case of cylindrical arches. Explanation of the
theory of the pressure of arches. Point of application of the pressure
in the five modes of possible rupture. Expression for the pressures and
resistances by rolling or slipping. Proceeding to be followed to find by
calculation the pressures and resistances.
13. Geometrical determination of the pressures and resistances by
rolling. Explanation of the solution of this question. Construction of
lines proportional to the surfaces of the voussoirs. 1st. In the case of
an arch. Extrados without coping or additional weight. 2d. In that of an
arch with extrados in the form of coping, and with or without additional
weight. Construction of the verticals passing through the center of
gravity of the voussoirs. Abstract of the operations to be performed.
Determination by geometrical means of the pressure and resistance
against slipping.
14. Co-efficient of stability of arches from the springing. Manner of
finding the outline of an arch for a certain given co-efficient.
Stability of a cylindrical arch on its piers. Thickness of the piers.
Considerations relative to the value of the co-efficient of stability.
Stability of an arch on the base of its foundations. Filling in and
depth of the foundations of piers.
Extension of the geometrical methods serving for the determinations of
the pressures and thicknesses of piers in case of cross vaulting,
arcades, and spherical vaulting.
15. Investigation by analysis of the pressures and resistances of an
arch.
1st. Hypothesis of a plat-band; stability at the springing charge
necessary on the coussinet; stability of the plat-band on its piers;
thickness of the piers. Squaring of a tie-beam of iron which annihilates
the pressure.
2d. Hypothesis of a semicircular vaulting with arched extrados.
Pressures and resistances. In similar arches the pressure is
proportional to the square of the radius.
FOURTH PART.--HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTION.
1st. Classification of ground on which it may be necessary to place a
foundation. Soundings. Their object. Various kinds of sounding line.
Dams in earth, and in wood and earth combined. Case of an unstable
foundation. Construction on rock. Thickness of dams and of the clay
work. General disposition of a dam. Bottom-springs. Means of choking or
smothering them or of diverting them. Use of sunk dams. Service bridges.
Their height and disposition. Railways in great constructions. Their
disposition.
2d. Summary review of draining or pumping machines. Choice between the
different methods of draining. Table of the useful effect of such
machines.
Pile driving. Pile driving machine with band ropes. Preparation of the
pile and operation of driving. Pile driving machine with catch. Choice
between the two kinds of pile driving machines. Precautions to be taken
in the driving of piles. Distribution of piles, the space to be left
between them, and the squaring of them. Disposition and driving of
planks. Method of drawing up piles and planking. Execution of a
foundation on piles. Driving stakes out of water. Machine for squaring
piles.
3d. Parafouilles. Their object and construction.
Foundations in mortar under water. Preparation and immersion of the
mortar. Examples.
Thickness of sunk dams with the enceint in mortar.
4th. Foundation frames and platforms. Their object and their
construction. Preparation of the foundation frames in masonry.
Foundation by packing.
Foundation by coffer-dams. Details of a coffer-dam.
5th. Foundations on solid gravel. Properties of gravel. Case where it is
advantageous to make use of gravel. Examples.
Foundations on sunk wooden piles, in gravel, and in gravel and mortar.
Foundation on pillars built in masonry.
Foundations on quicksand.
Species of foundation to adopt according to the nature of the ground.
6th. Banks of reservoirs. Conditions which should be fulfilled in their
establishment. Banks in earth; their profile; revetments to protect
them; the wet slope; sort of remblai; precautions which exact a large
remblai. Banks in remblai and sustaining walls combined. Banks entirely
in masonry; movements observed in walls; most suitable profile.
Comparison between banks in earth and masonry. Works which are employed
in connection with banks of reservoirs. Dikes of inundations. Their
profile; defense of their slope against the action of water; their
establishment and works in connection with them.
7th. Batardeaux in the ditches of strong places. Situation; profile;
details of construction. Weirs. Their object; effect of a weir in a
current. Advantages of the wedge or circular form. Height to give to a
weir; and longitudinal form of the swelling occasioned by a horizontal
dam. Construction of weirs with vertical walls, with a long slope down
the stream. Injuries to which weirs are liable. Profile to adopt
according to the nature of the ground.
8th. Sluice-dams, their object; form of the piles; distance apart, and
dimensions. Details of construction. Various kinds of apparatus for
opening and shutting sluice-dams. Play of a revolving gate. Calculation
of the dimensions of the two half sluice gates and of the wicket.
Carpentry of a revolving gate. Movable dams with iron wickets.
Modifications to render them applicable to the retention of water at a
greater height than 2.80 meters.
9th. Navigable locks. Canal lock; its management; form of the chamber;
profile of the cheeks. Trace of the pier on which the gates work. Means
of filling and emptying the chambers. Means of raising the
paddle-valves. Wood-work of the gates sheathed in timber. Planes.
Details of the pivots, collars and rollers. Arrangements for the
management of the sheathed gates.
10th. Gates sheathed in wood; curves. Ties of cast-iron, and lining in
wood or sheet-iron. Cast-iron gates.
_River Navigation._--Advantages and disadvantages of water transit.
Conditions of a navigable river. Works for the improvement of the
navigation on a river.
_Artificial Navigation._--Classification of canals. Conditions which
determine the best position for a summit level. Search after a minimum
of elevation. Expenditure of water at the summit level.
11th. Principal processes employed to economise the water in passing
through a lock. Profile of a navigable canal.
Deep cuttings; their profile. Great landslips and means of remedying
them.
Tunnels; their profile. Piercing of a tunnel.
12th. Bridges in masonry. Position; breadth of the roadway; outlet to be
left for the water; size and form of the arches; trace of the surbased
arches on more than five centers. Expansion of the bridge-heads. Profile
of the arch. Thickness of the piles and abutments. Apparatus for the
arches and bridge-heads. Parts above the arches. Leveling with the
banks. Fixed and movable centerings. Removal of the centerings of
arches.
13th. _Wooden Bridges_ composed of straight pieces. Arrangement of the
stakes and starlings. Different construction of the openings according
to their span. Arrangement of the platform.
_American Bridges._--Arrangement of the earliest form of bridge on
Town’s system. Height of the trusses constructed in the form of
trellis-work. Modifications introduced to increase the resistance of the
bridge. Calculation of the resistance of the trusses.
Arched frame-work of bridges. Composition of the arches. Junction of the
straight beams with the arches.
_Cast-iron Bridges._--Different systems. General principles of their
construction.
_Aqueducts_ in masonry; in cast-iron.
14th. _Suspension Bridges._--Equation of the curve of the chains and
construction of this curve. Tension supported by the suspension cables,
their thickness. Influence of the length of the flèche upon the tension
of the cables. Inconveniences resulting from a long flèche. Vibrations
and means of diminishing them. Limits of length of the flèche. Length of
the curve of suspension. Causes operating to vary this length; means of
obviating the effects produced by them. Length of the suspension rods.
Number of supports to be adopted. Thickness of the piles. Points at
which the fixing cables are to be attached. Advantages and disadvantages
of chains composed of bars and of cables of iron wire. Some details of
construction.
15th. _Drawbridges._--Conditions which they must satisfy. General
principle of their balance.
_Drawbridges with Plyers._--Special theory of this bridge. Reduction of
it to practice. Alteration of equilibrium and means of remedying it.
Disadvantages of the drawbridge with plyers.
16th. Spiral drawbridge of Captain Berché. Trace of the spiral.
Determination of the radius of the chain-roller, and of the greatest
radius of the spiral.
17th. Drawbridges with variable counterbalances, invented by M.
Poncelet. Construction of the chains of the counterbalance.
Establishment of the leverage. Calculation of the counterbalances for
the special case of the pulleys in front corresponding to the axis of
the platform. Influence of the nature of the chains. Method of allowing
for the weight of the small chains. Definitive construction of the
chains of the counterbalance. Provision of loose cords.
18th. Succinct ideas upon the motion of the sea, and its action on the
shore.
Undulating movement. Height of the waves, and depth at which the
agitation is perceptible. Effects of the waves on the coasts. Tides;
spring-tides; neap-tides. Height of tides and hour of flood. General
currents. Action of the sea on its shores. Protection of level and steep
shores.
19th. Sea-ports. Requisites of a good port. Ports in the Mediterranean.
Conditions of a good roadstead. Moles and breakwaters. Ocean ports,
channel tide-dock, floating dock, and sluice of floating dock, laying-up
dock, and sluice for the ditch of fortifications. General arrangement of
a harbor.
20th. Construction of moles. Stones dropped for foundations. Profile of
a loose heap. Volume of the materials which insure their stability.
Settling of masonry resting on a heap. Instances of masonry constructed
at sea. 1. Wall of Cherbourg. 2. Fort Boyard.
_Piers._--Direction, length, form of interval between, and profile of
piers. Their construction. Passages reserved through piers.
RECAPITULATION.
First Part.--Parts of Buildings 18
Second Part.--Architecture of Military Buildings 12
{ First Section. Resistance of Materials, 6}
Third Part.--{ } 15
{ Second Section. Stability of }
{ Constructions, 9}
Fourth Part.--Hydraulic Constructions, 20
--
Total 65
WORKS OF APPLICATION.
Name of work.
No. Days allowed for execution of work to Students of
Artillery. / Engineers.
Subject employed on.
Observations.
Survey of a Building:
31 // 31
Sketch (out-of-door work,)
8 / 8
Drawing,
21 / 21
Memoir,
2 / 2
Representation of an existing building or a part of a building
by means of plans, sections, and elevations.
The memoir contains an accurate and critical description of the
distribution, construction, and decoration of the building.
Each day is equivalent to 4½ hours’ work.
The sketches are executed to scales approximating to
one-fiftieth for the whole drawing, of one-twentieth for the
large details, and of ¼ to ½ for the minute details.
The drawing prepared from the sketches is made on the scale
of 1-100th.
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.
The twenty lectures in _military literature_ refer to military history
and biography, memoirs of military historians, battles and sieges, the
art of war, military correspondence, proclamations, bulletins, orders of
the day, instructions, circulars, reports and military considerations,
special memoirs, reconnaissance and reports, military and periodical
collections, military justice.
The thirty-five lectures in _history_ principally relate to France and
its wars, commencing with the Treaty of Westphalia and ending with the
Treaty of Vienna.
The twenty-seven lectures in _geography_ and _military statistics_ are
subdivided into different parts; the first eight lectures are devoted to
Europe and France, including the physical geography and statistics of
the same; the second six lectures are devoted to the frontiers of
France; and the third part of thirteen lectures to foreign states and
Algeria, including Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Russia.
The studies for the first division during the second year of their
residence consist of--
10 lectures in topography.
27 “ fortification.
15 “ artillery.
10 “ military legislation.
12 “ military administration.
27 “ military art and history.
20 “ German.
---
Total, 121
One lesson weekly is given in drawing, in order to render the students
expert in landscape and military drawing with the pencil, pen, and
brash.
We must not omit to call attention to the fact that mathematics are not
taught in either yearly course at St. Cyr.
The course in _topography_, of ten lectures, has reference to the
construction of maps, copies of drawings, theory, description, and use
of instruments for measuring angles and leveling, the execution for a
regular survey on the different systems of military drawing, drawing
from models of ground, on the construction of topographical drawing and
reconnaissance surveys, with accompanying memoirs.
Twenty-seven lectures are devoted to _fortification_; the first
thirteen relate principally to field fortification, statement of the
general principles, definitions, intrenchments, lines, redoubts,
armament, defilement, execution of works on the ground, means necessary
for the defense, application of field fortification to the defenses of
_têtes de pont_ and inhabited places, attack and defense of
intrenchments, &c., castramentation; six lectures have reference to
permanent fortification, on ancient fortifications, Cormontaigne’s
system, exterior and detached works, considerations respecting the
accessories of defense to fortified places; eight lectures relate to the
attack and defense of places, preparations for attack and defense,
details of the construction of siege works from the opening of the
trenches to the taking of the place, exterior works, as auxiliaries,
sketches, and details of the different works in fortifications, plans,
and profile, &c.
The students also execute certain works, such as the making of
fascines, gabions, saucissons, repair of revetments of batteries,
platform, setting the profiles, defilement, and construction of a
fieldwork, different kinds of sap, plan and establishment of a camp for
a battalion of infantry, &c.
Under the head of _artillery_, fifteen lectures are given, commencing
with the resistance of fluids, movement of projectiles, solution of
problems with the balistic pendulum, deviation of projectiles, pointing
and firing guns; small arms, cannon, materials of artillery, powder,
munition, fireworks for military purposes; range of cannon, artillery
for the attack or defense of places or coasts, field artillery, military
bridges.
The students are practically taught artillery drill with field and
siege guns, practice with artillery, repair of siege batteries, bridges
of boats or rafts.
The ten lectures allowed for the course of _military legislation_ have
for their object the explanation of the principles, practice, and
regulations relating to military law, and the connection with the civil
laws that affect military men.
The twelve lectures on what is called _military administration_ relate
to the interior economy of a company, and to the various matters
appertaining to the soldier’s messing, mode of payment, necessaries,
equipment, lodging, &c.
_Military art and history_ is divided into three parts. The first, of
five lectures, relates to the history of military institutions and
organization. The second, of fifteen lectures, refers to the composition
of armies and to considerations respecting the various arms, infantry,
cavalry, état-major, artillery and engineers, and the minor operations
of war. The third part, of seven lectures, gives the history of some of
the most celebrated campaigns in modern times. In the practical
exercises, the students make an attack or defense of a work or of a
system of fieldworks during their course of fortification, or of a
house, farm, village, in the immediate vicinity of the school, or make
the passage of a river.
The students receive twenty lectures in _German_, and are required to
keep up a knowledge of German writing.
EXAMINATIONS AT THE SCHOOL.
The examinations at the end of the first year take place under the
superintendence of the director and assistant director of studies. They
are conducted by the professor of each branch of study, assisted by a
_répétiteur_, each of whom assigns a credit to the student under
examination, and the mean, expressed as a whole number, represents the
result of the student’s examination in that particular branch of study.
The examination in military instruction for training (in drill and
exercises) is carried on by the officers attached to companies, under
the superintendence of the commandant of the battalion, and that
relating to practical artillery by the officer in charge of that duty.
The pupils’ position is determined, as at the Polytechnic, partly by the
marks gained at the examination, partly by those he has obtained during
his previous studies. In other words, the half of the credit obtained by
a student at this examination in each subject is added to the half of
the mean of all the credits assigned to him, in the same subject, for
the manner in which he has replied to the questions of the professor and
_répétiteur_ during the year; and the sum of these two items represents
his total credit at the end of the year. The scale of credit is from 0
to 20, as at the Polytechnic.
Every year, before the examinations commence, the commandant and second
in command, in concert with the director and assistant director, and in
concurrence with the superior officer commanding the battalion for
military instruction, are formed into a board to determine the amount of
the minimum credit which should be exacted from the students in every
branch of study. This minimum is not usually allowed to fall below eight
for the scientific, and ten for the military instruction.
Any student whose general mean credit is less than _eight_ for the
scientific, or _ten_ for the military instruction, or who has a less
credit than _four_ for any particular study in the general instruction,
or of _six_ for the military instruction, is retained at the school to
work during the vacation, and re-examined about eight days before the
re-commencement of the course, by a commission composed of the director
and assistant director of studies for the general instruction, and of
the second in command and the commandant of the battalion, and of one
captain for the military instruction. A statement of this second
examination is submitted to the minister of war, and those students who
pass it in a satisfactory manner are permitted by him to proceed into
the first division. Those who do not pass it are reported to the
minister of war as deserving of being excluded from the school, unless
there be any special grounds for excusing them, such as sickness, in
which case, when the fact is properly established before the council of
instruction, they are permitted to repeat the year’s studies.
Irregularity of conduct is also made a ground for exclusion from the
school. In order to estimate the credit to be attached to the conduct of
a student, all the punishments to which he can be subjected are
converted into a specific number of days of punishment drill. Thus,
For each day confined in the police chamber, 4 days’ punishment drill.
For each day confined in the prison, 8 days’ punishment drill.
The statement is made out under the presidency of the commandant of the
school, by the second in command, and the officer in command of the
battalion. The credits for conduct are expressed in whole numbers in
terms of the scale of 0 to 20, in which the 20 signifies that the
student has not been subjected to any punishment whatever, and the 0,
that the student’s punishments have amounted to 200 or more days of
punishment drill. The number 20 is diminished by deducting 1 for every
10 days of punishment drill.
The classification in the order of merit depends upon the total amount
of the sum of the numerical marks or credits obtained by each student in
every branch of study or instruction. The numerical credit in each
subject is found by multiplying the credit awarded in each subject by
the co-efficient of influence belonging to it.
The co-efficients, representing the influence allowed to each particular
kind of examination, in the various branches of study are as follows:--
Second Division, or First Year’s Course of Study.
General Instruction.
{ Descriptive Geometry, 6 }
{ { Course, 6 }
{ { Drawing and Sketches, 2 }
{ Physical Science applied to the Military Arts, 6 }
{ { Course, 6 }
{ { Sketch and Memoir, 2 }
{ History, 6 }
{ Geography and Statistical Memoirs, 5 }
{ { Course, 5 }
{ { Sketch and Memoir, 2 }
{ Literature, Memoir on 4 }
{ German, 4 }
{ Drawing, 3 } 40
Special Instruction:--Drill, Practice, Manœuvers
(Infantry and Cavalry,) 7
Conduct, 3
--
50
First Division, or Second Year’s Course of Study
General Instruction.
Infantry. Cavalry.
{ Topography
{ { Course, 3 } 3 }
{ { Maps, Memoirs, and Practical Exercises, 3 } 2 }
{ Fortification,
{ { Course, 4 } 4 }
{ { Drawings, Memoirs, and } }
{ { Practical Exercises, 3 } 2 }
{ Artillery and Balistic Pendulum,
{ { Course, 4 } 4 }
{ { Practical Exercises, School of Musketry 2 } 1 }
{ Military Legislation, 2 } 2 }
{ Military Administration,
{ { Course, 3 } 3 }
{ { Sheets of Accounts, 1 } 1 }
{ Military History and Art,
{ { Course, 4 } 4 }
{ { Memoirs and applications, 1 } 1 }
{ German, 4 } 4 }
{ Drawing, 1 } 35 1 } 32
Special instruction for
{ Infantry
{ { Theory of Drill, Manœuvers--3 Schools, 4 }
{ { Practical Instruction 3 }
{ { Regulations, 2 } 9
{ Cavalry,
{ { Riding, 3 }
{ { Theoretical and Practical Instruction 7 }
{ { Veterinary Art, 2 } 12
Conduct 6 6
-- --
Total, 50 50
To facilitate this classification in order of merit, three distinct
tables are prepared,--
The first relating to the general instruction;
The second relating to the military instruction; and
The third relating to the conduct;
and they respectively contain, one column in which the names of the
students are arranged by companies in the order in which they have been
examined; followed by as many columns as there are subjects of
examination, for the insertion of their individual credit and the
co-efficient of influence, by which each credit is multiplied; and
lastly by a column containing the sum of the various products belonging
to, and placed opposite each student’s name.
These tables are respectively completed by the aid of the existing
documents, the first for the general instruction, by the director of
studies; the second for the military instruction, by the officer
commanding the battalion; the third for conduct, under the direction of
the commandant of the school, assisted by the second in command.
A jury formed within the school, composed of the general commandant,
president, the second in command, the director of studies, and the
officer commanding the battalion, is charged with the classification of
the students in the order of merit.
To effect it, after having verified and established the accuracy of the
above tables, the numbers appertaining to each student in the three
tables are extracted and inserted in another table, containing the name
of each student, and, in three separate columns, the numbers obtained by
each in general instruction, military instruction, and conduct, and the
sum of these credits in another column.
By the aid of this last table, the jury cause another to be compiled, in
which the students are arranged in the order of merit as established by
the numerical amount of their credits, the highest in the list having
the greatest number.
If there should be any two or more having the same number of total
credits, the priority is determined by giving it to the student who has
obtained a superiority of credits in military instruction, conduct,
general instruction, notes for the year; and if these prove
insufficient, they are finally classed in the same order as they were
admitted into the school.
A list for passing from the second to the first division is forwarded to
the minister at war, with a report in which the results for the year are
compared with the results of the preceding year; and the minister at
war, with these reports before him, decides who are ineligible from
incompetency, or by reason of their conduct, to pass to the other
division.
The period when the final examinations before leaving the school are to
commence, is fixed by the president of the jury, specially appointed to
carry on this final examination, in concert with the general commandant
of the school.
The president of the jury directs and superintends the whole of the
arrangements for conducting the examination; and during each kind of
examination, a member of the corps, upon the science of which the
student is being questioned, assists the examiner, and, as regards the
military instruction, each examiner is aided by a captain belonging to
the battalion.
The examination is carried on in precisely the same manner as that
already described for the end of the first year’s course of study. And
the final classification is ascertained by adding to the _numerical_
credits obtained by each student during his second year’s course of
study, in the manner already fully explained, _one-tenth_ of the
numerical credits obtained at the examinations at the end of the first
year.
The same regulations as to the minimum credit which a student must
obtain in order to pass from one division to the other, at the end of
the first year, which are stated in page 160, are equally applicable to
his passing from the school to become a second lieutenant in the army.
A list of the names of those students who are found qualified for the
rank of second lieutenant is sent to the minister at war, and a second
list is also sent, containing the names of those students that have,
when subjected to a second or revised examination, been pronounced by
the jury before whom they were re-examined as qualified.
Those whose names appear in the first list are permitted to choose
according to their position in the order of merit, the staff corps or
infantry, according to the number required for the first named service,
and to name the regiments of infantry in which they desire to serve.
Those intended for the cavalry are placed at the disposal of the officer
commanding the regiment which they wish to enter.
Those whose names appear in the second list are not permitted to choose
their corps, but are placed by the minister at war in such corps as may
have vacancies in it, or where he may think proper.
The students who are selected to enter the staff corps, after competing
successfully with the second lieutenants of the army, proceed as second
lieutenants to the staff school at Paris. Those who fail pass into the
army as privates, according to the terms of the engagement made on
entering the school.
THE CAVALRY SCHOOL AT SAUMUR.
This school was established in 1826, and is considered[19] the most
perfect and extensive institution of the kind in Europe,--perhaps the
only one really deserving the title, the others being more properly mere
schools of equitation.
[Footnote 19: “Report of Observations in Europe during the Crimean
War,” by Major Gen. McClellan.]
It is under the control of the Minister of War, and was established for
the purpose of perfecting the officers of the cavalry corps in all the
branches of knowledge necessary to their efficiency, and especially in
the principles of equitation,--and to diffuse through the corps a
uniform system of instruction, by training up a body of instructors and
classes of recruits intended for the cavalry service.
The instruction is entirely military, and is based upon the laws and
regulations in force with regard to the mounted troops. It includes;
1st. The regulations for interior service; 2nd. The cavalry tactics;
3rd. The regulations for garrison service; 4th. The regulations for
field service applied, as far as possible, on the ground, especially
with regard to reconnaissances; 5th. A military and didactic course of
equitation, comprising all the theoretical and practical knowledge
required for the proper and useful employment of the horse, his
breaking, application to the purposes of war, and various civil
exercises; 6th. A course of hippology, having for its object practical
instruction, by means of the model breeding-stud attached to the school,
in the principles which should serve as rules in crossing breeds and in
raising colts, to explain the phases of dentition, to point out the
conformation of the colt which indicates that he will become a good and
solid horse, the method to be pursued to bring the colt under subjection
without resistance, and, finally, to familiarize the officers and pupils
with all the knowledge indispensable to an officer charged with the
purchase and care of remount horses. This course includes also a
knowledge of horse-equipment, illustrated in the saddle factory
connected with the school; 7th. Vaulting, fencing, and swimming. The
non-commissioned officers are also instructed in the theory of
administration and accountability. The course of instruction continues
one year, commencing in the month of October. The pupils at the school
are:--
1st. A division of lieutenants, (_lieutenants instructeurs_.)
2nd. “ of sub-lieutenants,
(_sous-lieutenants d’instruction_.)
3rd. “ of sub-officers,
(_sous-officiers élèves instructeurs_.)
4th. “ of non-commissioned officers, (_brigadiers élèves_.)
5th. “ of cavalry recruits, (_cavaliers élèves_.)
The lieutenants are chosen out of the regiments of cavalry and
artillery, as well as from the squadrons of the park-trains and military
equipages, from the lieutenants who voluntarily present themselves for
the appointment to the General Board of Inspectors. Their age must not
exceed thirty-six years.
The sub-lieutenants are appointed from the cavalry regiments, must be
graduates of the Special Military School, not above thirty-four years of
age, and have served at least one year with the regiment.
The sub-officers are selected from the cavalry corps--one from every two
regiments of cavalry and artillery, and every two squadrons of the
park-trains and military equipages.
The non-commissioned officers are chosen annually by the
inspectors-general--one from each regiment of cavalry:--from among those
that show a peculiar aptness for equitation and are distinguished by
good conduct, information, zeal, and intelligence; those who are
recommended for promotion in their corps are selected in preference.
Their age must not exceed twenty-five years, and they must have served
at least one year in the ranks.
These pupils, numbering about four hundred, are sent to the school by
order of the Minister of War. They continue connected with their corps,
from which they are regarded as detached while they remain at the
school. They receive additional pay. Those who after due trial are found
deficient in the necessary qualifications, are sent back to their
regiments.
Upon the recommendation of the inspector-general of the school, the
officers who are serving as pupils, compete for promotion by choice with
the officers of the corps from which they are detached.
The cavalry lieutenant, who graduates first in his class, is presented
for the first vacancy as captain-instructor that occurs in the cavalry,
provided he has the seniority of rank required by law. The lieutenant
who graduates second obtains, under the same condition, the second
vacancy of captain-instructor, provided his division consisted of more
than thirty members. The sub-lieutenant graduating first, provided he is
not lower than the tenth in the general classification of the officers
of both grades, is presented for promotion to the first vacant
lieutenancy that occurs in his regiment.
The non-commissioned officers who pass a satisfactory final examination,
are immediately promoted to vacancies that have been preserved for them
in their regiments--those who have graduated among the first ten of the
class, being presented for promotion as sub-lieutenants, as soon as they
have completed their required term of service as non-commissioned
officers. Those who attend the school as non-commissioned officers,
frequently return as officers for instruction, and again in a higher
grade on the staff of the school.
Officers transferred from the infantry to the cavalry are generally sent
to this school for a short time at least. The captains-instructor of the
cavalry regiments, and the instructors of equitation in the artillery
regiments, are mostly selected from the graduates.
The school also receives by voluntary enlistment, such young men, not
above the age of twenty-one years, as desire to enter the cavalry
service. They are not admitted until they have been subjected to an
examination before a committee, by whom they are classified according to
their fitness. These volunteer enlistments for the cavalry school are
made at Saumur, at least a month before the commencement of the course,
on presentation of the certificate of classification and of approval by
the commandant of the school. The number is limited to fifty each year.
Such of these cavalry pupils as are distinguished for diligence and good
conduct and pass a satisfactory final examination are transferred to the
regiments of cavalry, for promotion to the rank of noncommissioned
officers by their respective colonels. Those who have not been found fit
for admission are sent back simply as privates.
A council of instruction is charged with the direction of the studies.
They propose useful changes, and direct the progress of the studies.
They are also charged with the examinations.
The recitations are by sections of about thirty each. In reciting upon
the general principles of tactics, equitation, hippology, &c., the
manner is as in our Military Academy; when reciting upon the movements
in tactics, all the commands and explanations of the instructor to the
troops are repeated “verbatim et literatim,” and in the tone and pitch
of voice used in the field. Perfect uniformity of tone and manner is
required. The object of thus reciting is to teach the pupils the proper
tone and pitch of voice, to accustom them to hear their own voices, and
to enable them to repeat the text literally at this pitch of voice,
without hesitation or mistake.
The course of hippology includes the structure of the horse, the
circulation of the blood, organs of respiration, &c., food, working
powers, actions, breeds, manner of taking care of him, ordinary ailments
and remedies, shoeing, lameness, saddling, sore backs, sanitary police,
&c., but does not comprise a complete veterinary course.
The practical exercises consist of:--the ordinary riding-hall drill,
including vaulting, the “kickers,” &c.; the carrière, or out-door riding
at speed, over hurdles, ditches, &c.; cutting at head; target-practice;
fencing; swimming; the usual military drills; skeleton squadron and
regimental drills; rides in the country; finally, in the summer,
frequent “carousels” or tilts are held.
The veterinary surgeons of the lowest grade are sent here upon their
first appointment to receive instruction in equitation, to profit by the
study of the model stud, and to learn the routine of their duties with
the regiments. They form a distinct class.
In the _Model Stud_, the number of animals varies. There are usually two
stallions and about twenty mares, (Arabs, English, Norman, &c.,) in
addition to those selected from time to time from among the
riding-animals. Attached to it is a botanical garden, more especially
for useful and noxious grasses and plants.
_School for Breaking Young Horses._--The best horses purchased at the
remount dépôts are selected for the officers, and sent to this place to
be trained. The number is fixed at 100 as a minimum. These, as soon as
their education is complete, are sold or given, according to the orders
of the Minister of War, to those officers who need a remount--in
preference, to officers of the general staff and staff corps, those of
the artillery, and mounted officers of infantry. These officers may also
select from among the other horses of the school, with the approval of
the commandant.
_School of Farriers._--This is attached to the cavalry school, and is
under the direction of the commandant. It is composed of private
soldiers who have served at least six months with their regiments, and
are blacksmiths or horse-shoers by trade. There are usually two men from
each mounted regiment. The course lasts two years; it comprises reading,
writing, arithmetic, equitation, the anatomy of the horse, thorough
instruction as to all diseases, injuries, and deformities of the foot,
something of the veterinary art in general, the selection of metals,
making shoes, nails, tools, &c., shoeing horses. The establishment has a
large shoeing shop and yard, a recitation-room, museum, and store-rooms.
In the recitation-room there are skeletons of horses, men, &c., as well
as some admirable specimens of natural preparations in comparative
anatomy, a complete collection of shoeing-tools, specimens of many kinds
of shoes, &c.--_Annuaire de l’Instruction_ 1861, _and_ “_Observations_.”
THE SCHOOL OF APPLICATION FOR THE STAFF.
AT PARIS.
DUTIES OF THE FRENCH STAFF.
The staff is the center from which issue and to which are addressed all
orders and military correspondence.
The officers of the staff are divided into chiefs of the staff,
sub-chiefs, staff-officers, and aides-de-camp.
The colonels and lieutenant-colonels are employed as chiefs of the staff
in the different military districts of France, and in the divisions of
the army on active service. The ordinary posts of the majors and
captains is that of aides-de-camp to general officers.
When several armies are united together under a commander-in-chief, the
chief of the general staff takes temporarily the title of
_Major-Général_, the general officers employed under him that of
_Aide-Major-Général_.
The duties of the chief of the staff are to transmit the orders of the
general; to execute those which he receives from him personally, for
field-works, pitching camps, reconnaissances, visits of posts, &c.; to
correspond with the commanding officers of the artillery and the
engineers, and with the commissariat, in order to keep the general
exactly informed of the state of the different branches of the service;
to be constantly in communication with the different corps, so as to be
perfectly master of everything relating to them; to prepare for the
commander-in-chief and for the minister of war, returns of the strength
and position of the different corps and detachments, reports on marches
and operations, and, in short, every necessary information.
The distribution of the other officers of different ranks, when it has
not been made by the minister of war, is regulated by the chief of the
general staff.
In every division of the army an officer of the staff is specially
charged with the office work; the others assist him when necessary, but
they are more usually employed in general staff duties, in
reconnaissances, drawing plans of ground, missions, the arrangement of
camps and cantonments, superintending the distribution of the rations,
&c.
The officers of the staff may further be charged with the direction of
field-works thrown up to cover camps and cantonments.
Staff officers of all ranks may be employed on posts and detachments. On
special missions they command all other officers of the same rank
employed with them. When a staff officer is charged with the direction
of an expedition or a reconnaissance, without having the command of the
troops, the officer in command concerts with him in all the dispositions
it may be necessary to make to ensure the success of the operation.
The staff of generals of artillery and of engineers is composed of
officers of their respective arms.
The war depot (_Dépôt de la Guerre_) was founded for the purpose of
collecting and preserving military historical papers, reconnaissances,
memoirs, and plans of battles; to preserve plans and MSS. maps useful
for military purposes, and to have them copied and published.
It is divided into two sections--one charged with trigonometrical
surveying, topography, plan drawing, and engraving; the other with
historical composition, military statistics, the care of the library,
the archives, plans, and maps. Each of these sections is under the
direction of a colonel of the staff corps, who has under his orders
several officers of his corps.
The war depot has taken a large share in the preparation of the map of
France. The first idea of undertaking this important work dates from
1808. After various delays and difficulties, the trigonometrical survey,
which had been for a time suspended, was recommenced in 1818. The work
was placed under the war depot, intrusted to the corps of geographical
engineers. Since this period the geographical engineers have been
incorporated in the staff corps, by the officers of which the work has
been continued. The primary triangulation was finished in 1845; the
secondary is now finished; the filling in the details will occupy
several years to come. The number of officers of the staff corps
employed on the survey has varied from twenty-six to ninety.
THE STAFF CORPS.
The officers of the French staff constitute a distinct and separate
corps, numbering thirty-five colonels, thirty-five lieutenant-colonels,
one hundred and ten majors, three hundred and thirty captains, and one
hundred lieutenants. None but officers of this corps can be employed on
the staff. When, by accident, there is not a sufficient number present,
regimental officers may be temporarily employed, but they return to
their regiments as soon as officers of the staff corps arrive to replace
them. The division of the staff into adjutant-general’s and
quartermaster-general’s department does not exist in the French service.
The only means of entering the staff corps is through the Staff School
of Application. Of the fifty student-officers which the School of
Application usually contains, twenty-five leave annually to enter the
staff corps, and are replaced by an equal number. Three of these come
from the Polytechnic, the remaining twenty-two are selected from thirty
pupils of the Military School of St. Cyr, who compete with thirty second
lieutenants of the army, if so many present themselves; but, in general,
the number of the latter does not exceed four or five.
The course of study in the Staff School of Application lasts two years.
The students have the rank of second lieutenant. On passing the final
examination they are promoted to the rank of lieutenant; they are then
sent to the infantry to do duty for _two years_, at the expiration of
which time they are attached for an equal period to the cavalry. They
may finally be sent for a year to the artillery or engineers.
This routine can not be interrupted except in time of war, and even then
the lieutenant can not be employed on staff duty until he has completed
his _two years_ with the infantry. However, officers who have a special
aptitude for the science of geodesy or topography, may even earlier be
employed on the map of France or other similar duty; and, further, two
of the lieutenants, immediately on quitting the Staff School of
Application, are sent to the war depot (_Dépôt de la Guerre_) to gain a
familiarity with trigonometrical operations.
The General Officers at their Inspections are required to report
specially to the Minister of War on the captains and lieutenants of the
staff corps doing duty with the regiments in their districts, both as to
their knowledge of drill and manœuvres, and their acquaintance with the
duties of the staff. They are to require these officers to execute a
military reconnaissance, never allowing more than forty-eight hours for
the field sketch and its accompanying report.
Officers of all arms of the rank of captain or under, are permitted to
exchange with officers of equal rank in the staff corps; but they must
previously satisfy the conditions of the final examinations of the Staff
College.
THE BUILDINGS AND ESTABLISHMENT.
The Staff School of Application is situated in Paris, in the Rue de
Grenelle, close to the Invalides. Of the ninety officers attending it,
sixty lodge in the building and thirty out of it, but all take their
meals in the town. Each has, in general, a room to himself. Servants are
provided in the proportion of one to about eight rooms. The officers are
forbidden to have private servants.
The staff of the school is composed as follows:--
The Commandant, a General of Brigade.
The Second in Command, Director of the Studies, a Colonel or
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Staff Corps.
A Major of the Staff Corps, charged with the superintendence of the
interior economy and the drills and exercises.
Three Captains of the same Corps, charged with the details of the
interior economy of the School, and to assist the Major in the
instruction of the Officers in their military duties. The Captains are
required to take the direction of a portion of the topographical works
on the ground.
A Medical Officer.
Thirteen Military Professors, or Assistant Professors, viz.:--
A Major or Captain, Professor of Applied Descriptive Geometry.
A Major or Captain, Professor of Astronomy, Physical Geography, and
Statistics.
A Major or Captain, Professor of Geodesy and Topography.
A Major or Captain of Engineers, Professor of Fortification.
A Major or Captain of Artillery, Professor of the instruction relative
to this arm.
A Military Sub-Intendant, Professor of Military Legislation and
Administration.
A Major or Captain, Professor of Military Art.
A Captain, Assistant Professor of Descriptive Geography; charged also
to assist the Professor of Fortification.
A Captain, Assistant Professor of Topography; charged also to assist
the Professor of Geography.
A Major or Captain of Cavalry, Professor of Equitation; he acts under
the immediate orders of the Major of the College.
Two Lieutenants or Second Lieutenants of Cavalry, Assistant Professors
of Equitation.
An Officer of Cavalry of the same rank, acting as Paymaster to the
Riding Detachment.
The Non-Military Professors are:--
Two Professors of Drawing.
Two Professors of German.
A Professor of Fencing.
One hundred and forty-five horses are kept for the use of the
student-officers, and eighty-two men belonging to the cavalry to look
after them.
Both the studies and examinations at the Staff School hold an
intermediate place between those of the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, being
less abstract than the former, and higher and more difficult than the
latter.
CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION.--ENTRANCE EXAMINATIONS.
The entrance to the Staff School of Application in France is, as is the
case in all the French military schools, by means of a competitive
examination, or, rather, by the results of three distinct examinations,
and by the selection of different sets of successful candidates. _Three_
are taken from the students leaving the Polytechnic, who have an
absolute right to the three first places in the Staff School, and
_twenty-two_ are selected from the thirty best students leaving St. Cyr,
and an equal number of sub-lieutenants of the line under twenty-five
years of age, if so many present themselves. The sub-lieutenants must
have one year of service in that rank, and they must make known their
request to be allowed to compete for admission to the Staff School to
the Inspector General, and, through him, to the Minister of War. It
should be added, that their number is generally extremely small.
The usual number of young officers admitted yearly to the school in time
of peace is twenty-five, but this number is sometimes considerably
exceeded, and we found no less than ninety present. The _three_
Polytechnic students select the Staff School after their final
examination, and the St. Cyr students make known their desire when the
whole are examined by a Board of Examiners, and the thirty best are then
selected as competitors for admission into the Staff School of
Application.
The sub-lieutenants also repair to St. Cyr, where they are examined
separately by the same examiners who have just conducted the examination
of the St. Cyr students, and in the same subjects.
Their marks or credits are then compared with those of the St. Cyr
pupils; and the relative position of the two sets of candidates is
ascertained, and the list of those to be admitted to the School of
Application determined accordingly.
These examinations take place before a Commission of Officers, composed
of,--
A Lieutenant-General President, appointed by the Minister of War.
The Director or Chief of the Dépôt de la Guerre.
The Commandant of the School of Application.
Four Colonels or Lieutenant-Colonels of the Staff, appointed by the
Minister of War.
A Field Officer chosen from among the Officers employed at the Dépôt
de la Guerre, as permanent Secretary.
This Commission is also charged with drawing up and proposing
regulations for the approval of the Minister of War concerning the
interior organization and the course of study to be followed in the
school, and to make changes in the programmes for admission and for
leaving the school.
A very detailed account of the subjects of the entrance examination is
drawn out, and inserted in the _Journal Militaire_, and the _Moniteur_
every year. The following are the subjects:--
(1.) Trigonometry and Topography.
(2.) Regular Topography--the measuring of plane surfaces and leveling.
(3.) Irregular Topography, Plane Trigonometry.
(4.) Military Art and History, including--
(_a._) History of Military Institutions at the chief periods.
(_b._) Present composition of the French army.
(_c._) Organization of an army in the field.
(_d._) History of some of the most memorable campaigns, as those of
1796-97 in Italy, and of 1805 and 1809, in Germany.
(5.) Artillery and Science of Projectiles.
(6.) Field Fortification and Castremetation.
(7.) Permanent Fortification.
(8.) Military Legislation.
(9.) Military Administration.
(10.) Manœuvres.
(11.) German Language.
(12.) Drawing.
The marks assigned and the influence allowed to each of these subjects
are the same as those given in the final examination at St. Cyr. The
entrance examination places the students in order of merit.
THE STUDIES.
All the details of the teaching are in the hands of a Council of
Instruction, similar to that of the Polytechnic, and consisting of the
General Commandant (President,) the Director of Studies, and three
Military Professors, appointed yearly by rotation. Other professors and
assistant professors, or officers of the staff of the school, may be
called in to assist the Council, but (except in deciding the list at an
examination) they have no votes.
This council does not interfere directly with the administration, the
common work of the school. It draws up, indeed, the list of lectures,
making any alterations in them, or in the books to be used which may
seem from time to time desirable. But the officer accountable for the
daily working of the school is the Director of Studies. His functions
appeared to us to bring him into more constant connection with the
pupils than was the case with the director of the Polytechnique. In all
the schools the General Commandant and the Director of Studies live in
the establishment; but at the _Ecole d’Application_ and at St. Cyr the
director “examines the methods of teaching, and proposes to the Council
of Instruction any modifications or improvements which may raise or
quicken the instruction. He inspects the work of the student-officers,
both in and out of the school. He keeps a register of the marks given by
the professors, and at the end of every three months brings the sum of
them before the General Commandant in a detailed report.” In fact, his
school functions are not modified, as at the Polytechnic, by a body of
able professors.
As already stated, there are fifteen professors, without reckoning those
of equitation, and thirteen of them are officers; but the system of
_Répétiteurs_, which we have seen so influential at the Polytechnic,
does not exist here.
The hours of work are, in summer, _i.e._ from May to November, from six
to five, and in winter from eight to five, with the exception of one
hour for breakfast and one hour for _étude libre_, which appears to mean
very little indeed. From seven to nine hours daily may be taken as the
amount, but (as is the case with most French schools) there is a
constant change, not only in the subjects taught but in part of the work
being _out_ and part _in_ doors, some really head work, much purely
manual. There does not appear to be the same intense application as at
the Polytechnic; indeed, the work for three months in the year is almost
entirely in the open air, consisting in making plans and military
sketches, either in the neighborhood of Paris or in the more distant
parts of the country; eight months are devoted to the in-door studies,
one month to the examinations.
The in-door studies are entirely conducted in the halls of study
(_Salles d’étude_), in each of which we found parties of twelve or
fifteen students seated. They are inspected constantly by the director
or some of the professors. None of the regular work may be done in
private. It seems everywhere a fixed belief in the French Military
Schools that very much would be done idly and ill if done in private.
This presents a striking contrast to the feeling on the subject in
England.
The severer and preparatory studies of mathematics are supposed to have
been completed prior to entrance into the Polytechnic or St. Cyr. Some,
however, of the studies of applied science occupy considerable time at
the School of Application.
The following analysis will show the time assigned to each branch:--
1. _Astronomy_ occupies 1½ hours weekly for the pupils of the first
year; afterwards it ceases entirely.
2. To _Applied Descriptive Geometry_ a good deal of time is given, but
still only by the pupils of the first year. 12 hours a week are spent
upon it in the first half year, 10 in the second.
3. _Military Topography_ occupies about 10½ hours in the first year, 6
in the second.
4. A good deal of time is devoted to _Field Fortifications_. The
junior division, it is true, only begin it in their second half year of
study, and then only work at it for 1½ hours weekly. But the senior
division are occupied 4½ hours weekly in their first half year, and 7½
hours in their second.
5. _The Study of Military Administration and Legislation_ is begun
immediately upon entrance. It occupies during both years 1½ hours
weekly.
6. _Lectures on Military Art and Tactics_ are also given for 1½ hours
weekly during both years, and after hearing these lectures the students
are occasionally required to write a military memoir on a campaign,
descriptions of reconnaissances, or of fields of battle, and to make
sketches of ground with accompanying reports. This course was noted by
General Foltz, the director of the school, as defective, on the ground
that it was too difficult to find a teacher for, or indeed to teach
military art; and he thought that lectures on military history, or such
works as Napoleon’s Memoirs, would be more useful to the pupils.
7. _Drawing_ occupies throughout 4½ hours weekly, and great attention
is bestowed upon it. “We were shown a large number of works done by the
young officers of the school. To enumerate some of the most
important--there were specimens of objects, with shadows; perspective of
the exterior and interior of buildings, with shadows; perspective views
of country; machinery drawings, plan, section, and elevation; in
fortification, a plan of comparison of a portion of ground with proposed
field-works for defense; military bridges; reconnaissance, and memoir of
a route, with accompanying notes and sketches, done both on foot and on
horseback; plan of a portion of country made with a compass by parties
of ten, under the direction of a Captain (for this the trigonometrical
points and distances were furnished, and it was filled up by a minor
triangulation;) plan of a field of battle, made without points; and a
description of the battle.”
These drawings were mostly executed with great care, and we were told
that the course was fully as much as the student could accomplish in two
years. Some parts of it are done entirely in the _Salle d’étude_;
sketches are made on horseback in the neighborhood of Paris, always
under the direction of the professors, others again at great distances,
such as one at Biarritz last year, and the one on which the pupils are
to be engaged this year, is the line of operations of Wellington from
the Spanish frontier to Toulouse. The two last kinds of work are roughly
sketched, and finished at Paris. These summer occupations seem to stand
in place of vacations, of which there are none.
(1.) To _Fencing_, three hours a week are given throughout.
(2.) To the _Cavalry Drill_ two hours weekly in the first division. It
is replaced by _Infantry Drill_ in the second.
The studies which none but the senior division pursue are,--
(1.) _Artillery_ studies, which occupy 4½ hours weekly.
(2.) _Geography_, meaning chiefly the military geography of a country,
with a few lectures on statistics and political economy; these take 1½
hours weekly.
(3.) _Geodesy_, or trigonometrical surveying, also for 1½ hours.
The only strictly literary occupation is the study of German for about
three hours per week during the whole time. We were told that a large
proportion of the pupils unite among themselves to learn English
privately, but no public course is given.
THE EXAMINATIONS.
The students have two examinations to go through in each year; the first
commencing about the first of June, the last in November, and each of
the first year’s examinations is held before a jury consisting of--
(1.) The General Commandant, or the Director of Studies; President.
(2.) The Professor of the Course examined in.
(3.) Two Officers appointed by the Council of Instruction.
The last examination in each year is, of course, the most important,
inasmuch as the passage from the Second or Junior to the First or Senior
Division, and in part from the Senior into the Staff Corps, is regulated
by the results of these examinations; and the value allowed to the last
examination in each year is just double of that assigned for the
examinations in June.
The examinations of the first year are confined to the subjects of study
followed during that year, viz.:--
Descriptive Geometry, Astronomy, Topography, Artillery, Fortification,
Military Art and Administration, German, Drawing, Register of Notes and
Memoranda.
The professors and members of the jury are directed rigorously to
conform themselves to the following scale as regards the marks or
credits they award for the oral answers, graphical representations, &c.
0 to 4 bad.
5 to 10 passable.
10 to 13 fair.
14 to 18 good.
19 to 20 very good.
The Co-efficients of influence of the various studies of the first year
are as follows:--
Descriptive Geometry,
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Geographical Representation, 3 }
{ Drawing of Machines, 1 }
{ { Memoir, 1 }
{ { Drawing, 1 } 9
Astronomy
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Graphical Representation, 1 } 5
Topography
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Graphical Representation, *6 } 10
Artillery, 4
Fortification
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Graphical Representation, 2 } 8
{ Memoirs, 2 }
Military Art
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Memoirs, }
{ { On various questions, 1 }
{ { On surveys, 2 } 7
Military Administration,
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Memoirs, 1 } 5
Manœuvres, 2
German, 4
Drawing, 2
Keeping of Memorandum Books, 1
Conduct and Discipline, 1
Riding and Knowledge of the Horse, 2
{ Riding,
{ Hippology,
--
Total, 60
* Subdivision of the Co-efficients of the Graphical Representations.
Survey with compass, 1 }
Rapid sketch, 1½ }
Itinery of the first survey, } 1½ }
Itinery of the second survey, } }
First Topographical Drawing, ½ }
{ Second, with relief, ¾ }
{ Third, on the scale of 1/20000 ¾ } 6
As soon as the examinations are concluded, the Council of Instruction,
prepares a provisory classified list of the students, made out in order
of merit from the credits or marks awarded by the Examining Jury in
connection with the above-mentioned co-efficients of influence, in a
similar manner to that already explained in the account of the
Polytechnic School, the student with the largest numerical credit being
placed at the head of the list.
This provisory list is submitted to the Consulting Committee of the
Staff Corps for transmission to the Minister of War.
In order to pass from the Second or Junior into the First or Senior
Division, every Student Officer must have obtained the following marks
or credits from the Jury, viz.:--
In Astronomy and Geometry, six out of twenty in each.
In all other branches of theoretical instruction, four out of twenty.
In the classification of the graphical representations in topography, a
mean of eight out of twenty, and in each of the other courses a mean of
six out of twenty; and as the general result of his various works and of
his examinations (the mean of the year being combined with the number
obtained before the jury in the proportion adopted by the Council of
Instruction,) he must have obtained a number of credits equal to
one-half of the maximum (1,200.)[20]
[Footnote 20: There must be some error in the printed regulations
on the subject.]
Every Student Officer who in his oral examination before the Jury has
failed in obtaining the minimum stated above is subjected to a fresh
proof before the Consulting Committee of the Staff Corps, and if this is
not favorable to him he ceases to belong to the school, and must return
to his regiment, unless such failure can be attributed to an illness of
forty-five days, in which case he may be permitted to double his first
year’s course of study.
If the second proof be favorable he is retained at the school, but
placed at the bottom of the classified lists prepared by the Council of
Instruction.
The co-efficients of influence for the second year are--
Subdivision of the Co-efficients
of the Graphical Representations, &c.
Geography and Statistics,
{ Theory, 4 } 5
{ Memoir, 1 }
Geodesy and Topography,
{ Theory 4 }
{ Geographical Representation, 6 } 10
{ Survey with the Compass, 1 }
{ Reconnaissance, 1½ }
{ Itinerary of the first survey, } }
{ Itinerary of the reconnaissance } 1½ }
{ Drawing of a Fortress and its Environs, 1½ }
{ Reduction of the Drawings, ½ } 6
Artillery,
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Graphical Representation, 3 }
{ Memoirs, 1 } 8
{ First Drawing of a Military Bridge, 1 }
{ Second ditto, ½ }
{ Breaching Battery ½ }
{ Drawing of Artillery Carriage, 1 } 3
Fortification,
{ Theory, 4 }
{ Graphical Representation, 3 }
{ Memoir on a Fortified place, 2½ }
{ Memoir on a Project of Field
{ Fortification, 1½ } 11
{ Defilement, 1 }
{ Project of Fortification, 2 } 3
Military Administration,
{ Theory 4 } 4
Military Art
{ Theory 4 }
{ Memoir on various questions comprised
{ in drawing up a memoir, 2 }
{ Memoir on the survey with a Compass,
{ or sketch reconnaissance 2 } 8
Manœuvres, 3
German, 4
Drawing, 2
Keeping of Note Books, 1
Conduct and Discipline, 1
Riding and Knowledge of the Horse, 3
{ Riding, 2 }
{ Veterinary Art, 1 } 3
--
Total 60
The examinations of the students of the Senior or First Division is made
in a similar manner to that already described for the Junior Division,
but after they are concluded, and prior to these students being admitted
into the Staff Corps, they are subjected to another examination before
the Consulting Committee of the Staff Corps, consisting of--
3 Generals of Division on the Staff.
3 Generals of Brigade.
3 Colonels of the Staff.
5 Lieutenant-Colonels, including the Secretary.
The professors belonging to the school may be called in to assist at
this examination, and when it is concluded the Consulting Committee
proceeds to the definitive classification of the Student Officers of the
First Division by causing the following documents to be placed before
them, viz.:--
The register of the notes of each Student Officer.
Tables of the value of their work; the classified list of passage to the
First Division, and the provisionary list for leaving, recently prepared
by the Council of Instruction. The numerical credits obtained in these
two classifications are added (each sum being halved) to the definitive
classification prepared by the committee. The total is divided by two,
in order not to exceed the regulated limit of 1,200 credits for the
maximum.
Every Student Officer who, in this examination for leaving, has not
obtained the half of the maximum number of numerical credits is
considered to be inadmissible to the Staff Corps.
This classified list, prepared by the Consulting Committee of the Staff
Corps, fixes the position of the Student Officers in order of merit, and
according to this order of merit they enter the Staff Corps. The
committee reports to the Minister of War the names of the Student
Officers that are not eligible for the Staff Corps.
The first two or three places, we were told, are always remembered as
marks of distinction, but the honor does not descend lower, as in the
intense competition of the Polytechnic.
Students belonging to the First Division may also be permitted to double
the second year’s course of study on account of illness; but in no case
can an officer be permitted to remain more than three years at the
school.
MILITARY ORPHAN SCHOOL
AT LA FLECHE.
The _Collége_ or _Prytanée Militaire_ appears, in point of studies, to
differ from the schools that have just been described, chiefly in its
having only one department for the elder pupils, the scientific, with
merely occasional subsidiary lessons in grammar and literature.
The institution is a school for boys between the ages of ten and
eighteen; no one under ten or above twelve years old can be admitted:
and no one can commence a new course at the school after completing his
eighteenth year.
The prescribed instruction comprises the following courses:--
Humanities (Latin, &c.)
History and Geography.
German.
Mathematics.
Physical Sciences.
Natural History.
Figure Drawing.
Linear Drawing.
And the general object of the courses is to qualify the pupils to pass
the examination for the degree of Bachelor of Science.
The pupils also go through military and gymnastic exercises, and learn
to swim.
The school is under military discipline, is governed by a general
officer of the staff corps or a colonel in active service, as commandant
and director of studies, and by a lieutenant-colonel or major, with the
title and functions of second in command and sub-director. In addition
there are four officers, twenty-three professors and teachers, and
eighteen _répétiteurs_.
The yearly charge for paying pupils is 850 francs, and the cost of
outfit about 500 francs; but there are 400 free and 100 half-free places
(400 _bourses_ and 100 _demi-bourses_) granted by the state in favor of
the sons of officers, the order of preference being regulated as
follows, those who are orphans on both sides having the first claim, and
those who have lost their father, the next:--
1. Those whose fathers have been killed, or have died of wounds
received in action.
2. Those whose fathers have died in the service, or after retiring on
a pension.
3. Sons of fathers who have been disabled in consequence of wounds
received in action.
Sons of non-commissioned officers or of private soldiers who have been
killed or have been disabled in action, who have been placed on the
retired list, or have been discharged after twenty years’ service, may
also be admitted, as a special mark of favor.
The candidates undergo an examination, not, however, for the purpose of
competition, but merely to show that they are qualified to enter the
classes.
The school is inspected annually by a general officer sent by the war
department, as also by an officer of the commissariat. There is no sort
of engagement or expectation that the pupils should enter the military
service. The nature of the studies holds out some inducement to them to
compete for admission at St. Cyr or the Polytechnic; and in the
examination for entrance at St. Cyr, it is stated that the sons of
military men have the privilege of being raised fifteen places in the
list of the order of merit. An officer’s or soldier’s son from La Flèche
would, in case of 300 candidates being admitted to St. Cyr, be able to
claim admission, if he came 315th on the list, to the exclusion of the
candidate who stood 300th.
SCHOOL OF MUSKETRY
The School of Musketry, formed by the Ministerial Order of 29th March,
1842, was only intended at first to supply instructors to the ten
battalions of Chasseurs who were armed with rifles. The results of its
establishment were, however, found so valuable, that the benefits of the
instruction it afforded were by degrees extended to the whole army.
In 1845, the Duc d’Aumale, who had taken a special interest in the
improvement of fire-arms and the better instruction of the soldier in
their use, was nominated Inspector-General of Schools of Musketry.
Besides the chief school at Vincennes, others were formed in the
principal garrisons; and eventually a regimental School of Musketry was
established in every regiment of infantry.
Some changes have been made in the system established under the Duke.
The School of Musketry at Vincennes has only been regularly organized on
its present footing since 1852. A portion of the fortress affords the
accommodation required for the theoretical instruction, while the
Polygon offers admirable facilities for practical instruction and target
practice.
The Staff of the School consists of,--
A Commandant, a Lieut.-Colonel of Infantry.
An Instructor in Musketry, a Major of Infantry.
A Professor, a Captain of Artillery.
An Assistant Professor, a Captain of Artillery.
A Sub-Instructor in Musketry, a Captain of Infantry.
Each regiment sends an Officer (a Sub-Lieutenant or a Lieutenant) to
Vincennes, to go through the course of instruction. The course commences
on the 1st of March, and lasts four months. Two hours a day three times
a week are devoted to lectures on the construction and use of fire-arms,
and the theory of projectiles. Each officer is required to complete a
certain number of drawings of the separate parts of arms. At the
termination of the course, certificates are given, and, if favorable, go
towards the officer’s claim to be promoted “_au choix_.”
We were conducted over the rooms of the fortress set apart for the
school by the officer charged with the Theoretical Instruction (Captain
Févre, of the Artillery.) They consist of a large paved room, where the
officers perform their small-arm exercise in bad weather; of the
study-room, in which the drawings are executed; of a lecture-room or
amphitheater; of the library, chiefly supplied with technical works on
arms; and of a model-room, containing a very good collection of French
and foreign arms, and of portions of arms, to illustrate the lectures.
There are, besides, private rooms for the instructors, and a room for
the orderlies. On the ground floor a small forge has been fitted up for
the purpose of giving practical instruction in some of the details of
the manufacture of arms.
To produce accurate marksmen is not the only object of the School of
Musketry. Its staff may be considered a description of standing
committee, to whom inventions in arms and ammunition are submitted, to
have their qualities practically tested. On the day of our visits
experiments on the relative merits of three forms of balls were being
carried on, which we witnessed.
Quitting the fortress by a bridge over the ditch, in an angle of which
the Duc d’Enghien was shot, we entered on the Polygon or practice
ground. In a few minutes two detachments of troops, one from the
Chasseurs de Vincennes, the other from the 20th regiment of the line,
arrived and took up their ground in front of the practice butts. Of the
balls between which comparisons were to be made, one was proposed by M.
Minié, who was himself present, another by M. Nessler, the third was
named the ball “_de la garde_.” There were six targets in line in front
of the butt; the Chasseurs fired at three of them, and the 20th regiment
at the other three. A trench runs along parallel to the butts, and at a
few yards in front of them. The line of targets is in the space between
the trench and the butts. The trench gives cover to the range party, one
of whom is stationed opposite to each target, in a rude recess cut into
the side of the trench, to afford shelter in wet weather. Each time a
target is struck, the man opposite to it raises his banderol, which is
then seen by the firing party, and acknowledged.
The trench is continued to some distance beyond the butts, and is there
met by another trench at right angles to it; so that one may go up from
the firing party to the range party without any risk.
On the cessation of the firing, the officer in command of the range
party numbered the hits in each target. He marked separately the hits
where the balls had arrived sideways (shown by the form of the
perforation,) a very important consideration in comparative experiments
with oblong balls.
Prizes and honorable mentions are bestowed annually on the best shots.
The number of the regiment and the names of the men thus distinguished
are inserted in the official military journal.
MILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY
I. IMPERIAL MILITARY SCHOOL OF APPLICATION OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY AT
PARIS.
This school, which is located at Paris, at the military hospital of
Val-de-Grâce, is under the control of the Minister of War. Its design is
to introduce the pupils in the medical service of the army to an actual
exercise of their skill, to complete their practical education, and make
them acquainted with the regulations, which govern the army in its
relation to the sanitary service.
Admission to the School of Application as resident physicians and
pharmaceutists, is gained by passing successfully a competitive
examination. These examinations are held at Paris, Strasburg, and
Montpelier, at uncertain periods, as the wants of the service may
require.
For admission to the examination, the candidate for employment as
resident physician must have his name enrolled in a bureau of military
superintendence, and satisfy the following conditions:--1st. Be a native
of France; 2nd. Be not above thirty years of age at the time of the
examination; 3rd. Have received the degree of doctor of medicine from
one of the medical faculties of the Empire; 4th. Be free from any
infirmity that disables from military service; and 6th. Subscribe a
pledge of honor that he will devote at least five years to the military
sanitary service. The candidates are subjected to an examination in
pathology, medical therapeutics, anatomy, and practical surgery.
Candidates for the office of resident pharmaceutist must also be natives
of France, be not above thirty years of age, have a diploma of pharmacy
of the first class, be free from every disabling infirmity, pledge
themselves to at least five years service, and pass an examination upon
the materia medica, chemistry, and pharmacy.
During their continuance at the School, they receive a fixed annual
salary of 2,160 francs, and an allowance of 500 francs for the first
expense of uniform. After spending one year at the school and passing a
satisfactory final examination, they receive the brevet rank of medical
or pharmaceutical aid-major of the second class.
There is at Strasburg, in connection with the Medical School, a
Preparatory School, designed to prepare for the degree of doctor of
medicine the pupils belonging to the sanitary service of the army. It is
annually supplied with pupils, who, without having passed the usual
course of matriculation, are enabled to satisfy the conditions requisite
for admission to the first grade of a doctorate. Every pupil of the
preparatory school, has the right of admission to the Imperial Military
School of Application.--_Decrees of 13th of Nov., 1852, and 28th of
July, 1860; Acts of 18th of June, and 15th of October, 1859, and 4th of
August, 1860._
II. IMPERIAL NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY.
These schools, located at Brest, Toulon, and Rochefort, are under the
control of the Minister of the Marine; their design is to prepare
sanitary officers for service in the vessels of the imperial marine.
The posts of surgeon, or pharmaceutist, of the third, second and first
classes are assigned on examination, according to order of priority
determined by a medical jury. For admission as student in these schools,
after attaining to the first grade of the third class, it is necessary
to be at least sixteen years of age, and not above twenty three, to
produce a diploma as bachelor of sciences, to prove French nationality,
and to be exempt from every infirmity that can cause unfitness for the
marine service. Examinations for filling the vacancies in each school
commence on the 1st of April, and 1st of October, annually.
The instruction is continuous. The libraries, cabinets of natural
history, the botanical gardens, anatomical theaters, chemical
laboratories, cabinets of natural philosophy, are at the disposition of
the students. The candidates admitted, receive cards of membership. They
are required to pay the treasurer of the library a sum of 50 francs,
which is devoted to its maintenance.--_Ordinance of 17th July, 1835, and
15th May. 1842._
THE IMPERIAL NAVAL SCHOOL AT BREST.
This school, located at the Road of Brest, on board the ship “_La
Borda_,” and under the control of the Minister of the Marine, is
designed for the instruction of youth destined for the corps of state
naval officers. Candidates are admitted to this school after a public
examination, which occurs annually. For admission to the examination,
they must prove; 1st. By the production of the records, that they are
French by birth or naturalization, and that on the 1st of January of the
year of the examination, they were at least fourteen years of age, and
had not passed the maximum of seventeen years; 2d. By the certificate of
a physician, that they have been vaccinated, or have had the small-pox,
and that they have no infirmity that disables them from the performance
of marine duty.
The matriculation of the candidate is effected between the 1st and 24th
of April, at the prefecture of the department in which the domicil of
the family is located. The examination is made at the principal office
for examination nearest to that domicil, or to the college where he has
been educated; the choice as regards the place of examination must be
made known at the time of matriculation.
There is required for admission into the school, a knowledge of
arithmetic, algebra, geometry, plane trigonometry, applied mathematics,
natural philosophy, chemistry, geography, the English language, and
drawing, in conformity with the course of study pursued at the lyceums.
The candidates must prepare a French composition, a translation from the
Latin, an exercise in English, a numerical calculation in plane
trigonometry, a geometrical drawing, and the off-hand sketch of a head.
These compositions are done at Paris, and the principal towns of the
departments simultaneously, on the 2nd and 3rd of July. The oral
examinations are commenced at Paris on the 2nd of July, and repeated at
the other towns in succession as previously announced. The oral
examinations are of two grades; the lowest serving to determine whether
the candidates are sufficiently well prepared for admission, the
higher--to which only those are subjected, who have successfully passed
the first--being the decisive one, and together with the compositions,
determining the final classification in accordance with the order of
merit.
The course of study continues two years, which are passed at the Board
of Brest on the ship “_La Borda_.” The expense of board is 700 francs,
and of the outfit, about 500 francs. A grant of the whole or half of the
amount of the expense, may be made to young men without fortune. The
insufficiency of the resources of a family for the maintenance of a
pupil in the school, must be authenticated by a resolution of the
municipal council, approved by the prefect. There may also be allowed to
each beneficiary, at his entrance into the school, the whole or the half
of his outfit. Application for this assistance must be made to the
Minister of the Marine at the matriculation of the candidate.
The pupils that have passed the examinations of the second year in a
satisfactory manner, are known as naval candidates of the second
class.--_Law of 5th June, 1850_--_Decree of 19th January, 1856_--_Acts
of Sept., 1852, and 1st January, 1861._
SCHOOL OF MILITARY GYMNASTICS NEAR VINCENNES.
The practice of gymnastics is an essential part of the training both of
officers and men in the French army, and constitutes a portion of the
regular exercise in every military school. There are also several
schools specially devoted to this department of physical education, and
one styled the Imperial School of Military Gymnastics at the Redoute de
la Faisanderie, part of the fortifications near Vincennes, may be
regarded as the Normal School for training both officers and privates in
order to act as monitors or instructors in their respective regiments
and battalions. The following account of the instruction given, is
abridged from an article in the _New York Tribune_, under the heading,
“How the French and the English make their Soldiers.” The writer says
that Military Gymnastics, in the form and to the extent taught in this
school, is exclusively French, and is thought to have an important
bearing on the more frequent and deadly use of the bayonet in future
warfare.
About three hundred privates and officers compose the School of
Military Gymnastics near Vincennes, where three professors of the
science and art of gymnastics give a course of practical instruction for
about six months each year. The school is under the same regulations as
the School of Musketry--each colonel being responsible for the
instruction of his regiment, and the lieutenant-colonel directs the
application of the rules and regulations.
I. ELEMENTARY GYMNASTICS.
The gymnastic exercises are divided into “elementary gymnastics,” and
“gymnastics applied,” that is, applied to special military purposes.
A general progression regulates all the exercises.
The men are divided into three classes. The third class comprises all
the recruits. These are exclusively practiced in the first lessons of
elementary gymnastics during the first fortnight of their enlistment,
and before they proceed to regimental drill. The first class consists of
those who are proficient in the first four lessons of the general
progression; and the second class, of those who are preparing for the
first. The first class practices twice a week; the second, three times a
week; the third class twice a day, until the men have commenced their
regimental drill, and then once a week. Each practice lasts one hour and
a half. “Returns” are drawn up recording the zeal and progress of the
men, as in musketry instruction; and the captain instructor of
gymnastics has to send in, every month, to the lieutenant-colonel,
similar returns as to the general progress of the instruction, so that
the number of effectives of each company may be accurately known.
None but the prescribed exercises are permitted by the instructor. He
must never allow the men to attempt any extraordinary or exaggerated
feats, that might cause accidents. His aim must be to develop the
strength, agility and dexterity of the soldier by a wisely regulated
exertion, and inspire him with that self-reliance which the various
occasions of his military life may demand. He must strive to rouse his
pluck and emulation by rendering the exercises as agreeable and as easy
as possible, taking all necessary precautions to prevent him from
injuring himself or becoming discouraged. He must never forget that the
perfect safety of the soldier under training, the pleasure of the
various exercises, and, above all, the soldier’s own desire to excel,
are the first and secret elements of success in gymnastics. Harsh
treatment must be carefully avoided, much more anything like turning his
efforts into ridicule when he fails, or punishing him for involuntary
awkwardness. In conclusion, he must not expect more than regularity,
precision, and relative perfection in these exercises, to which a
military form has been given merely to facilitate their study and their
application to the whole army.
The men practice in their fatigue dress, in squads of ten or fifteen,
and are provided with belts.
The first exercises are intended to make the body supple from head to
foot, turning the head from right to left, forward and backward, or
merely toward right and left, bending the body, raising the arms
vertically, with and without bending them; flinging out the right or
left arm, fists clenched, and describing a circle of which the arm is
the radius.
No soldier marches so easily as the French. It is the result of his
method of learning to march. In the moderate and quick cadence the foot
comes flat to the ground, the point of the foot touching it first; in
the running cadence the movement is an alternate hopping on the points
of the feet. It is obvious that this mode of teaching to march must
enable the soldier to avoid the great cause of universal bad marching
and walking, namely, bringing the heel to the ground, thus shaking the
whole body, especially the spine, and consequently distressing the brain
and lungs. By the great elevation of the legs the soldier must habituate
himself to bringing the toes first to the ground, instinctively, to
avoid the shock, especially in the running cadence. During the practice
the soldier repeats the words “_one_--_two_,” as each foot comes to the
ground, in order to practice the lungs at the same time, and also to
give a rhythm to the performance.
In order still more to direct locomotion to the fore-part of the foot,
so essential to good and easy marching, there is the following
practice:--1. Attention. 2. Flexion of the lower limbs. 3. Commence.
4. Cease. At the second command the soldier brings both feet together,
throwing the weight of the body forward. At the word _commence_, he
slowly lowers his body by bending his hams, so that the thighs touch the
calves of the leg, the arms falling beside the body, the weight of the
body being entirely thrown on the points of the feet. He then gradually
rises to the erect position.
There is also what is called the “gymnastic chain.” Circles are traced
on the ground contiguously; the men are posted in these circles, in a
single rank, three paces apart. The instructor commands:--1. Squad will
advance. 2. Double. 3. March. 4. Halt. At the first word the soldier
throws the whole weight of his body on the right leg. At the word
_march_, he throws the left foot smartly forward, the leg slightly bent,
bringing the point of the foot to the ground, thirty-nine inches from
the right, and so in like manner with the right, always keeping the
weight of the body on the leg which feels the ground, allowing the arms
to take their natural motion for equilibrium. The first man (a monitor,
one of the best trained) runs successively through all the windings of
the chain of contiguous circles without stopping; the others follow,
preserving the distance. When the men meet each other at the
intersections of the circles, they shorten or lengthen the pace, so as
not to jostle each other, and so that two men shall not pass by the same
interval.
To deliver a thrust or a blow with the bayonet, sword, or fist to the
best advantage, requires training of the subsidiary muscles, and such
scientific practice as places the body in the best position to aid and
intensify the effect. This is done by the “Pyrrhic Exercise.” The
command is:--1. Pyrrhic Exercise (right or left limb forward.) 2. Ready.
3. March. 4. Halt. At the word _ready_, the soldier faces to the left,
carries the right foot forward, the heel sixteen inches from the hollow
of the left foot, the right knee bent, the left leg stretched, the right
arm extended forward, the fist clenched, on a line with the shoulder,
the nails slightly upward, the left arm in a line with the left side and
but little bent, fist clenched, and about six inches from the thigh, the
nails toward the thigh, the upper part of the body inclined forward, the
head erect, the eyes looking to the front, the left shoulder lowered. At
the word march, the soldier straitens his body, bringing the right heel
near the hollow of the left foot without touching the ground, turns at
the same time his right forearm, so that describing a circle from below
upward, the fist lightly touches the right breast, then flinging the
fist smartly forward, the nails a little upward, and advancing the right
leg to about twenty-five inches, the foot striking the ground with
force, or an “attack,” as we call it in sword exercise, the upper part
of the body inclining forward, the left leg stretched, the foot flat,
the left arm turned outward and along the thigh as before. These
movements are continued until the words “company--halt” are given, when
the soldier faces to the right and comes to attention. The left arms are
practiced in like manner, and a rhythm is given to the performance by
the repetition of the numbers 1, 2, 3, by the soldier.
A soldier must not be easily knocked off his legs; so there are six
positions for the practice devised to teach the soldier how to maintain
his equilibrium. He stands alternately on the right or left leg, bending
the other against the body with his locked fingers, or he stands on one
leg, the other bent behind, or he comes slowly to the kneeling position
and springs up smartly, flinging his arms suddenly above his head, the
nails turned inward, and then comes to attention, or he bends forward on
one foot, or backward in like manner, and to the right or left, all on
one foot.
The elementary development of the muscles forms a most important part
of the training. By word of command the soldiers strike their breasts
with the right or left fist--strike out with the right and left as in
boxing--support cannon balls in the hand, one or both arms extended, and
hurl the balls to a distance. They fling an iron bar, held by the
middle; they support a heavy club in every possible position, at the
shoulder, behind the back, one with the left hand, another with the
right, at right-angles, or two together, one in each hand. They swing
the club horizontally and overhead, or vertically and behind, or round
and round the body.
Preparatory to leaping, the proper muscles must be taught their
necessary contractions, and this is done to the words of
command--“Simultaneous flexion of the legs,” “Simultaneous flexion of
the thighs and legs,” whereat they hop on the right or the left leg
singly, and then on both together. They are practiced in advancing on
the position of kneeling on one leg alternately, obviously a very useful
mode of progression for a skirmisher in stealthily changing position
behind a low wall or a hedge.
They are taught to walk systematically on the heels alone and on
tiptoe, and to fling a cannon ball with the foot by means of a strap
attached to it. As practice alone can habituate us to the proper
inclination of the body in ascending and descending, both these modes of
marching are carefully taught, attention being fixed to throwing the
weight of the body on the point of the feet in the former, and on the
heels in the latter.
Their wrestling takes every shape and mode of contest. With extended
arms, the fingers interlocked, the left leg advanced, they push against
each other; or, holding each other by the hands or by the wrists, they
pull against each other; or, each man holding his left wrist with his
right hand, the thumb underneath, seizes with his left hand the wrist of
his antagonist, and then at the word “wrestle,” he pulls or pushes
uniformly or by jerks, to the right, to the left, forward, to the rear,
upward and downward, striving to displace his antagonist.
Furnished with appropriate handles, with a short cord attached, they
pull against each other, each striving to drag his antagonist with one
hand, then with both hands; and then three wrestle together in like
manner, the central man pulling or resisting the outer two, or both of
these pulling against him in opposite directions.
Then two wrestle in a sitting posture. They sit, closing the legs,
feet to feet, and sole to sole, with the aforesaid handle and cord
between their feet, and at the word of command pull away, striving to
raise each other. As soon as one is raised the contest ends, and the
victor holds the handle in his left hand. The instructor then makes all
those wrestle together successively who have won the handle, until only
two remain, and then ascertains the strength of these two by a
dynamometer, and makes a note of it.
The last of the elementary exercises are those of traction, or drawing
against each other, holding on by a rope, either in pairs, or several
together pulling against a fixed point, which may be a dynamometer,
indicating the force of the combined pull resulting, or the men are
divided into two squads and pull against each other.
As most of these exercises admit of a rhythm or cadenced sound emitted
by the men themselves, this vocal accompaniment is strongly recommended.
It certainly gives additional animation to the scene. Indeed the
cultivation of the voice is considered eminently essential in the course
of gymnastics. Singing exerts a salutary influence on the chest, and,
moreover, it is incontestable that it will be the means of powerfully
acting on the _morale_ of the French soldier, by teaching him songs of
patriotic and martial import. The singing-lesson at which I was present
was particularly interesting. The system is one recently invented,
wherein the ordinary notes are represented by arithmetical numbers--thus
occupying about one-third of the usual space. Pointing by means of two
canes to each representative number is all that is required by the
instructor. The pupils, about 300 men and officers, intoned the notes
with admirable precision. When the instructor opened out the canes they
made a crescendo--swelling to the loudest--and when he closed them
gradually it was a beautiful diminuendo, “in linked sweetness long drawn
out.” There was then sung a concerted piece in two parts, extemporized
by the highly-gifted Commandant, who figured it on the blackboard. It
was at once most accurately sung--first and second so admirably
concerted that the whole seemed as it were an organ of human
stops--alto, tenor, and bass most harmoniously blending.
Such are the elementary gymnastics of the course.
II. APPLIED GYMNASTICS.
The exercises of applied gymnastics must be directed with extreme
prudence. Care must be taken by the instructor that the emulation of the
pupils should not degenerate into a spirit of rivalry, instigating them
to dangerous efforts.
During cold weather they must abstain from executing leaps that
require violent efforts; at all times those who are not perfectly
disposed should not be required to leap at all. Carelessness and
inattention to the rules can alone cause those accidents apprehended in
these exercises.
The dimensions of the obstacles to be leaped over must be gradually
increased; but no downward leap must ever exceed sixteen feet--five
meters. Such is the regulation; but really to leap down sixteen feet
seems no small matter, considering that the height of an ordinary
room--some ten or twelve feet--would make the nerves tingle if we had to
leap down that height; however, the French soldiers perform such leaps
with ease, and therefore we must conclude that all Anglo-Saxons here or
elsewhere can “go and do likewise.”
The words of command are: 1. Attention. 2. Forward--leap--one, two,
three. At the second word, the man closes the points of the feet; at the
word one, he stoops on his lower extremities, slightly raising the heels
and stretching his arms to the rear, the fists clenched; he then rises
again, the arms hanging naturally down. At the word two, he repeats the
movement; at three, he recommences the same movement, stretches the hams
vigorously, throwing his arms forward, leaps the distance, or over the
obstacle, falls on the point of his feet, stooping down, and then comes
to attention.
The same principle is observed in all leaping, whether to a height,
downward, or forward and downward--the only difference being in the
position of the arms. In leaping upward, the arms are flung overhead to
aid the ascent--the same in a downward leap; but if the leap be forward
and downward, the soldier begins with his arms in advance, and then
places them perpendicularly for the fall. The reverse takes place when
in leaping forward and upward.
Thus they practice leaping in every possible direction--upward and
downward combined--upward, forward, and downward--to the right or to the
left--to the right and to the left and downward combined--the arms being
directed accordingly. They leap backward precisely in the same
directions, and according to the same rules. In leaping backward from
the top of a wall, the man first takes a glance at the descent, turns,
closes his feet--the heels projecting over the wall, stoops--the upper
part of the body being forward, places his hands outside his feet and
seizes the edge of the wall, the four fingers above, the thumb
underneath, and thus flings himself backward, his arms overhead. When
there is width as well as depth in the backward leap, the body and the
legs are flung off almost horizontally.
The running leap is performed in a similar manner--the run being
quickened more and more up to the moment of springing forward. Some of
the leaps I saw performed were from fifteen to twenty feet. As a
complement to these leaping exercises, the ground may be prepared with
various objects to leap over, such as benches, tables, heaps of stones,
&c.
The men are also progressively practiced in all these leaps, carrying
their arms and baggage. In such cases the downward leap must be
restricted to thirteen feet. The soldier holds his rifle balanced at the
trail with the right hand, the muzzle slightly raised, so as to prevent
it from touching the ground; he holds his sword (as the French soldier
has a sword) with his left hand. When the soldiers have become familiar
with leaping, the difficulty is increased by rendering movable first the
point of departure, and then the point of the fall, and, finally, both
these points are made movable. To leap from a body in oscillation, the
soldier leaps at the moment when the body is sinking. There is great
danger in leaping from an object in rapid motion. In case of necessity,
the soldier must face in the direction of the motion, and at the moment
of quitting it he must lay hold of it, shortening his arms, and so push
himself backward, lengthening his arms.
It is a general principle that in leaping from a height of any extent,
the soldier should avail himself of anything at hand to diminish the
shock of the fall.
The circumstances in which leaping must be resorted to are often
unforeseen, and require prompt decision; it is therefore important that
the men should be taught the following principles--useful to
everybody--to apply them spontaneously on all occasions:--
_First._ To form a rapid judgment of the obstacle, and also of the
ground on either side. We scan the ground in advance of the obstacle, in
order to make a good choice of a footing for the leap; if the ground is
too smooth the foot may slip; on soft ground there can not be a good
footing for the leap. By scanning the ground beyond the obstacle, we
select our landing-place, and we foresee what difficulties we shall meet
with. A difference of level between the point of departure and the fall
modifies considerably the extent of the leap.
_Second._ During the leap the breathing must be restrained, and the
air with which the lungs have been previously filled must be expired the
moment the man reaches the ground.
_Third._ In leaps in width and height, fling out the clenched fists in
the direction the body is to take, so as to augment the impulse given by
the legs.
To prove the utility of this principle, the men, in leaping, sometimes
hold in each hand a grenade of two-pounds weight, or a four-pound shot;
with this auxiliary the width of the leap is augmented.
_Fourth._ In downward leaps, raise the arms vertically as soon as the
body begins to descend, in order that the body, reaching the ground on
the point of the feet, may sink vertically without losing its
equilibrium. If a man leaps into water, he places his arms at his side,
his hands on his hips, the feet close together, the points of the feet
lowered, the body stiff and rigid.
_Fifth._ During the whole time of the leap keep the arms in the
parallel position they have at its commencement, in order to preserve
the equilibrium of the body.
_Sixth._ In forward or wide leaps incline the body forward, in order
that the oblique action of the legs on the body may be more efficient.
The recommendation to precipitate the last movements of the run
preceding the leap, has the important advantage of enabling the soldier
to incline his body as much as possible.
_Seventh._ Fall on the point of the feet, the legs being close
together, bending all the articulations of the body from above downward,
in order that the shock be not transmitted to the head without being
lessened and attenuated by numerous decompositions of the force. The
articulations of the feet concur efficaciously with this result, and it
would be dangerous not to avail ourselves of them by falling on the
soles of the feet, especially the heels, as previously explained.
_Eighth._ Avoid too rough a fall by giving to all the articulations a
general and supple “setting up,” so as to make a light bound on landing.
_Ninth._ On landing avoid all useless motion, allow the muscles to
relax; their continued contraction and rigidity would interfere with the
body’s equilibrium.
They also practice leaping with poles. These are of different
dimensions, beginning with the smallest--not longer than the rifle--and
finished with long ones from nine to twelve feet in length. He then
seizes the pole higher or lower, according to the distance of the leap.
Of course perfect success in this exercise depends greatly upon the
energy of the effort, and the long and rapid run by which it is
preceded. They also leap with two poles together from a height, the
poles being planted parallel and about two feet apart.
Suspension-bars are made subservient to the training of the French
soldier. This exercise enables him to use his body as he pleases, in any
possible position, provided he can get hold of anything. Its beautiful
and splendid result is extraordinary strength of arms, legs, hands, and
fingers. Indeed, these suspensions of the body by the hands, the elbow,
the legs, by one hand, one leg, one finger, in every possible position,
show how the men are prepared for the thousand casualties of the
assault.
They climb ropes after the manner of sailors, and horizontal beams are
raised at various heights from the ground, in which they learn to
preserve a perfect equilibrium--sitting, moving along them by the hands,
supporting the body, which is free to fall, and, finally, walking erect
upon them like a rope-dancer without his balance-pole! In these ticklish
positions they meet and pass each other--simulate a fall and recover;
the beams may be inclined or even set in motion, it matters not--they
hold on and do their work equally well--and drop to the ground without
injury.
They are taught to pick their way over scattered stones or stakes
driven into the ground; and it has even been thought expedient to teach
them how to walk systematically on stilts.
They are taught swimming--all its necessary movements before they go
into the water; and many, I was told, strike out at once, at the first
trial, thus proving the physiological or anatomical efficacy of the
well-considered mode of tuition. In the water they are practiced in
performing the feats required in actual warfare, carrying their arms and
accoutrements in a variety of ways, according to the supposed
circumstances of the campaign.
Of course, if the men are taught to swim they must be sent regularly
into the water. This regulation, therefore, insures personal
cleanliness--the first rule of health, which is much needed in all
armies. The morality of most armies is generally above the average; it
should naturally be less--as nothing conduces more to long life than
exercise, regular hours, and a rational discipline. But cleanliness,
personal cleanliness is wanting, and we have to deplore the
consequences.
With a view to escalading, the French soldier is assiduously trained
in all the shifts of ladder-mounting--with ladders of wood and ladders
of rope--and he becomes as good as a sailor in pulling himself up a
rope, either looped, knotted, or smooth, from the ground to any
reasonable or unreasonable height. If a scaling-ladder be not at hand, a
tent-pole or any pole will do to enable him to get to the top of a wall
or the crest of a parapet. He is actually taught nine different modes of
performing this achievement so flattering to the ambition of the French
soldier.
The scaling of a represented turret was something beautiful to see.
“In the twinkling of an eye” or “done in no time,” can alone describe
the rapidity of the exploit.
Every appliance may, however, be wanting on certain occasions in
war--it matters not--the French soldiers are taught how to mount a wall
without any instrument whatever--with their feet and the hands and the
fingers alone. Bullets and cannon balls leave holes and indentations in
the hardest walls--these are represented on the walls of the
Gymnasium--and thus they practice this last resort of the resolute and
determined besiegers. If there be no holes--no _points d’appui_ for the
ascent--what then? Why, then they build a _pyramid of men_--four men
stand as a base, two or four more perch themselves on the shoulders of
these, and then one mounts to the top on the shoulders of the latter by
way of apex!
They have adopted all the fetes of the _trapèze_, as performed by
acrobats. These tend to strengthen the arms and promote that
self-reliance and confidence which are the prime elements of a good
soldier. Some of their swinging leaps with the _trapèze_ were
prodigious, from one end of the long gymnasium to the other, where they
alighted, and caught on the top of the wall, and descended to the
ground, with hands and fingers, by mimic bullet holes, as before
described.
Flying leaps on and over a wooden horse are practiced in every
possible direction, and the French cavalry are required to be able to
leap on their horses from the rear while galloping, and to leap over a
hedge or barrier together with the horses, but on foot, holding the
reins! It is impossible to believe that very many can do this; but that
is the aim, and the higher the aim the greater the effort, and something
worth having is sure to be done, even if we fail of the highest
attainment.
The most laborious of the practices is probably that of carrying, at
the top of their speed, all the implements of war, fascines, sand-bags,
gabions, projectiles, &c., whose weight is progressively increased from
twenty to fifty pounds. They must also practice carrying ladders, beams,
caissons, dragging gun-carriages, &c., and they are equally habituated
to carry rapidly and skillfully the wounded from the field of battle, by
placing men on litters, or any substitute at hand, in the gymnasium.
Sword exercise, bayonet exercise, boxing and fencing are also taught,
but only the rudiments. In the regiments and battalions they have more
opportunities of perfecting themselves in these accomplishments.
Such is a succinct account of the military gymnastics of the French.
The 300 various fetes and practices have only one object in view,
preparation for the possible and probable casualties of war, but they
have, meanwhile, the positive and immediate effect of giving the men the
utmost freedom of motion, _aplomb_, self-reliance, and that very useful
self-estimate in the soldier, namely, that he is superior to every other
in the world. It will take a vast deal to knock that conceit out of him.
REMARKS ON FRENCH MILITARY EDUCATION.
The English Commissioners in their Report on “The best Mode of
Reorganizing the [English] System of Training Officers for the
Scientific Corps, together with an Account of Foreign and other Military
Education,” close with the following general remarks on French Military
Education:--
The following summary may close our account of French Military
Education.
1. The French army combines a considerable proportion of officers
professionally educated, with others, who form the majority, whose
claims to promotion consist in their service, proved ability, and
conduct. One-third of the officers in the line, two-thirds of those in
the scientific corps, and the whole of the staff, receive a careful
professional education; the remainder are taken upon the recommendation
of their superior officers, from the ranks. But it was stated to us
expressly that such officers do not often rise above the rank of
captain.
2. There are no junior military schools in France, and no military
education commences earlier than sixteen. This is the very earliest age
at which pupils can be received at the Polytechnic or at St. Cyr, and
the _usual_ age is later; whilst in the case of the Special Corps,
strictly professional education does not begin till twenty or
twenty-one. The best preparation for the military schools is found to be
that _general_ (in France chiefly _mathematical_) education which is
supplied by the ordinary schools of the country, directed as these are
and stimulated by the open examinations for admission to St. Cyr and the
Polytechnic.
3. The professional education for commissions in the line is that
given at the school of St. Cyr. A fair amount of mathematics is required
at entrance, but the chief instruction given at the school is of a
professional character. Active competition, however, which is the
principle of all French military education, is kept up amongst young men
educating for the line by the competitive entrance to the school, by the
system of examinations pursued in it, and in particular, by the
twenty-five or thirty places in the Staff School which are practically
reserved for the best pupils on leaving.
4. In the Staff School itself the competitive system is acted upon;
there are strict examinations, and the pupils are ranged in the order of
merit on leaving the College.
5. The officers of artillery and engineers may be said to be in quite
a peculiar position in France, owing to the high education given at the
Polytechnic School. The consequence is, that the preparatory education
of French artillery and engineer officers is of the highest scientific
character. We have already spoken largely on this point, and need do no
more than allude to it.
6. We may remark, that preparatory military education in France is
mainly mathematical--at the Polytechnic almost wholly so. The literary
and classical elements, which enter so largely into all education in
England and Prussia, are in French military education very much thrown
aside. Lectures in military history and literature are said, however, to
succeed at St. Cyr.
7. The system of State foundations (_Bourses_) existing in the
Polytechnic and St. Cyr, and affording a curious parallel to the
military foundations in the Austrian schools, requires some notice.
Every pupil, in both the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, who can prove poverty,
is entitled to State support, either entire or partial. At the present
time, not less than one-third of the students in each of these schools
receive such maintenance. The system of civil _Bourses_ is of old
standing in France; most of these were destroyed at the Revolution. They
were renewed and greatly devoted to military purposes by Napoleon. The
extent to which they are given may seem excessive, but it must prove a
powerful incentive and assistance to talent.
8. It has been remarked that there is comparatively little practical
teaching in the School of Application for Artillery and Engineers at
Metz. But a very extensive practical training is in fact supplied to
these officers after they enter the service, remaining as they must do
with the troops until promoted to the rank of second captain, and
subsequently being employed in the arsenals, workshops, fortified
places, &c.
9. The French have no “senior departments” for military education. In
this respect their practice differs from that of England and Germany.
FRENCH MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1869.
The following remarks on French Military Education are from the Report
of the English Military Education Commission submitted to Parliament,
and printed in 1870:
1. The proportion of professionally educated officers in the line is
greater now than in 1856, when it was stated by the Commissioners in
their report to be one-third.
2. The professional education for commissions in the line is given by
a two years’ course at St. Cyr, admission to the school being dependent
on competitive examination. Admission to the Artillery and Engineers is
obtained through the Polytechnic, where young men intended for
commissions in those arms receive a preparatory education of a highly
scientific character, in common with candidates for many other branches
of the public service. Admission to the school is obtained by
competition, and the choice of services is dependent on the results of
another competitive examination at the end of the two years’ course.
Commissions are then obtained in the respective corps, and the young
officers go for a further period of two years to the School of
Application at Metz, there to receive their strictly professional
instruction. The course of teaching at Metz is still mainly of a
theoretical character, and the main portion of the practical training of
the officers is deferred until they join their regiments. The Staff
Corps is recruited entirely from the Staff School; a very small number
of pupils from the Polytechnic have a claim to admission to the school,
but the great majority of the students are admitted by competitive
examination, open nominally to the sub-lieutenants of the army and to
the best students of St. Cyr, but in practice almost entirely confined
to the latter. The students join the school with commissions as
officers; at the end of the two years’ course they are definitely
appointed to the Staff Corps in the order in which they stand in a
competitive examination, but before being employed upon the staff they
are sent to do duty for five years with the various arms.
3. The military schools in France are not, as in England and in
Prussia, placed under the control of a special department. They are all
under the immediate management of the Minister of War. There is,
however, for each branch of the service in the French army a consulting
committee (_comité consultatif_), or board of general officers, attached
to the War Department, for the purpose of giving advice to the Minister,
and in matters affecting the individual schools the Minister generally
consults the _comité consultatif_ of that branch of the service for
which the school is specially preparatory.
4. Each school has its own _conseil d’instruction_, composed of
officers and professors of the establishment, which exercises a general
supervision over the course of instruction, and has the power of
suggesting alterations or improvements in it. The financial business of
the school is managed by another board (_conseil d’administration_); and
there is generally also a similar board (_conseil de discipline_), which
exercises more or less authority in questions of discipline. The effect
of this arrangement is to give the various officers and professors of
each school to some extent a voice in the general management of the
institution.
5. The staff of officers and instructors employed appears, in most
cases, very large in proportion to the number of the students; 48 for
270 in the Polytechnic; 33 for 170 in the school at Metz; 62 for 600 in
St. Cyr, &c.
Though there is in all the schools a military staff separate from the
staff of professors and instructors, and more especially charged with
the maintenance of discipline, the line of separation between the two
bodies is not, except at the Polytechnic, so distinctly drawn as in the
English military schools. The military professors exercise disciplinary
powers; while, on the other hand, the members of the strictly military
staff in almost all cases take some part in instruction. The latter
appear to be more utilized for this purpose than is the case either at
Sandhurst or Woolwich.
6. Considerable care is exercised in the appointment of professors; at
the Polytechnic the candidates are selected by the _Conseil de
Perfectionnement_; at La Flèche they are recommended to the Minister of
War by the Minister of Public Instruction; at the Staff School and St.
Cyr the appointments are thrown open to competition.
7. The discipline maintained at all the schools is of a very strict
nature; except for the youngest pupils at La Flèche it is entirely
military; the punishments are similar to those inflicted in the army,
and even include imprisonment. The maintenance of discipline is
considerably facilitated by the fact that the pupils at most of the
schools are actually subject to military law; and those of St. Cyr, if
dismissed from the school, are sent into the ranks as private soldiers.
There appears, however, in all the schools to be an absence of the moral
control over the young men which is exercised in the Prussian schools.
The Commandant of each school has very extensive powers in regard to
discipline, but in no case has he authority to dismiss a student from
the school without the sanction of the Minister of War.
8. The principle carried out in France is that special military
education should not be begun until a comparatively late age, and should
be founded upon a groundwork of good general education in civil schools.
The only approach to a junior military school in France is that of La
Flèche, and this is mainly a charitable institution; the pupils, it is
true, learn drill, but beyond this no special military instruction is
given them. The course of study is the same as that at the _Lycées_ or
ordinary civil schools, and the pupils are under no obligation to enter
the military service. Nor can the Polytechnic be called an exclusively
military school; even those who enter the Artillery and Engineers from
it have their education in common with civilians at the very least until
the age of 18, and in the great majority of cases their strictly
professional instruction at Metz does not begin till 20 or 21. The very
earliest age at which a special military education commences in France
is 17, which is the age of admission to St. Cyr, and comparatively few
enter the school before 18 or 19. The knowledge required for admission
to St. Cyr is entirely such as is acquired at civil schools, and so much
importance is attached to a good general education that the degree of
either _bachelier ès sciences_ or _bachelier ès lettres_ is made a
necessary qualification for admission to the examination, while the
possession of both degrees gives considerable advantage to a candidate.
The principle of deferring the commencement of special instruction has
even received extension since 1856; the age of admission to St. Cyr,
which was then 16, has been now increased to 17, and the junior school
of La Flèche has been made even less military in its character than it
was at that time.
9. When a professional education has once commenced, the principle
appears to be that it should be almost entirely confined to subjects
which have a practical bearing on military duties. Mathematics, as a
subject by themselves, do not form part of the ordinary course of
instruction at any of the special schools. The previous course at the
Polytechnic secures of course very high mathematical attainments in the
candidates for the Artillery and Engineers who enter Metz; but at Metz
itself the study of mathematics is no longer continued. In the same way
at the Staff School a knowledge of mathematics as far as trigonometry is
required for admission, and their practical applications to operations
of surveying enter into the school course; but no part of the time spent
at the school is devoted to mere theoretical instruction in pure
mathematics; yet the officers of the Staff Corps are intrusted with the
execution of those scientific surveys which in our service are in the
hands of the Engineers.
St. Cyr offers to some extent an exception to the rule that the course
of study at the special schools should be of an exclusively professional
character, as the instruction given there during the first year is
partly of a general nature, embracing history and literature. This,
however, arises from the fact that the students from the _Lycées_
generally show a deficiency in the more literary subjects of a liberal
education, and a portion of the time at the school is therefore spent in
completing and improving their general acquirements. A knowledge of
arithmetic, algebra, and plane trigonometry is required as a
qualification for admission, but beyond a very brief revision of these
subjects, and a voluntary course for candidates for the Staff Corps,
mathematics are not taught at the school. It would seem indeed that,
except in the case of candidates for admission to the Artillery and
Engineers, mathematics do not hold so prominent a position in French
military education as is generally supposed in England to be the case.
For staff and regimental officers the main requisite demanded seems to
be a practical knowledge of trigonometry as required for surveying.
10. Much time is devoted in all the French schools to drawing in its
various branches; some hours daily are invariably given up to the
subject; indeed the time spent upon purely geometrical drawing appears
almost to be excessive. The great importance attached to the drawing of
_machinery_ is a peculiar feature in all the schools. Landscape drawing
is one of the regular subjects taught to candidates both for the line
and the Staff Corps.
The theoretical instruction given at every school is supplemented by
visits to numerous military establishments, manufacturing departments,
and fortresses. This is also a feature in the system of military
education in Prussia; in both countries it seems to be thought desirable
to afford young officers a practical insight into the working of the
various establishments connected with the army. In the case of officers
of the Artillery and Engineers it appears in France to be made a special
object to cultivate a mechanical genius, and to secure a thorough
acquaintance with manufacturing departments with which their
professional duties bring them into contact.
Military law and administration (comprising financial and other
regulations connected with the army), and drill, riding, and fencing in
the way of practical exercises, form part of the education of officers
of all branches of the service; in drill, lectures explanatory of the
drill-book are invariably given in addition to the practical
instruction.
11. The system of instruction in all the French military schools is
more or less that of the Polytechnic. Lectures attended by large
numbers, enforced study of fixed subjects, the execution of all work
under close supervision of the instructors, and frequent periodical
examinations, are everywhere found. Active competition is the leading
feature of the system; the students are perpetually being “kept up to
the mark.” A fixed period of two years is in all cases assigned to the
course of study; the course can not be completed in a shorter time, and
the regulated period can not (unless under quite exceptional
circumstances) be exceeded.
It seems also to be thought that, as a necessary consequence of the
strictly competitive system, the subjects upon which the competition
depends should be exactly the same for every student. No choice of
studies is allowed; those which enter into the examination are equally
obligatory for all. The only exception to this rule is at St. Cyr, where
in languages a choice between German and English is given.
No pecuniary rewards are offered to the students at any of the
schools. The bestowal of the numerous _bourses_ which are granted to
those admitted to the Polytechnic and St. Cyr is regulated entirely by
the poverty of the candidates, without any regard to their ability.
12. The education of officers in France is entirely concluded before
any regimental duty has been done. The French system is in this respect
the exact opposite of that pursued in Prussia, where no professional
instruction, as a rule, is given until a certain amount of service with
the troops has been performed. There are in France no establishments for
the instruction of officers of some years’ service, like the Staff
College in England, or the Artillery and Engineer School and the War
Academy in Prussia.
13. The chief changes which have taken place in the military schools
of France since the publication of the Report of the Commissioners of
1856 may be summarized as follows:--
(_a._) The modifications in the course of instruction at the
Polytechnic; the abridgement of the studies previously pursued; and the
slightly increased importance now attached to literary subjects.
(_b._) At Metz, the introduction of an examination at the end of the
first years’ course of study.
(_c._) At St. Cyr, the alteration of the age for admission to the
school from 16 to 17; the extension of the subjects of the entrance
examination; the modifications in the course of instruction, and the
postponement of the commencement of strictly military studies almost
entirely until the second year; the introduction of a stricter system of
discipline, combined with additional encouragements to good conduct and
industry; and the increased advantages offered with the view of
attracting to the school a higher class of professors and officers.
(_d._) At La Flèche, the complete reorganization of the institution
with the object of more closely assimilating its general arrangements to
those of a purely civil school.
(_e._) At the Staff School some modifications in the course of study
and in the mode of admission to the school have been made; but the most
important alterations are those adopted in July 1869, by which the
number of students admitted annually to the school is increased
considerably beyond the number of vacancies likely to occur in the Staff
Corps, and the novel principle is introduced that admission to the
school does not carry with it the certainty of permanent employment on
the staff.
It may be added that there seems a tendency to diminish the importance
of mathematics as an element of preparatory military education, and to
attach slightly more weight to studies of a literary character. This is
more particularly seen at St. Cyr and at La Flèche, and to a less extent
at the Polytechnic. There is also a growing disposition to increase, in
the case of the cavalry and infantry, the proportion of officers who
have received a professional education.
EXPENSE OF MILITARY SCHOOLS IN 1869.
SC Sums charged to the Schools Estimate.
MP Military pay charged to other Estimates.
T Total.
CS Cost to the State.‡
EP Each pupil.
Name of School. SC MP T CS EP
_Frs._ _Frs._ _Frs._ _Frs._ £.
Polytechnic 719,673 85,515 805,188 568,188 78
Artil’y and Eng’er
school at Metz 99,500 416,350* 515,850 515,850 50
St. Cyr 1,348,792 15,000 1,363,792 741,292 49
Staff school 99,000 214,870* 313,870 313,870 168
La Flèche 539,868 15,000 554,868 457,868 45
Medical school 659,300 † 659,300 -- --
Cavalry school
at Saumur 227,000 18,500 245,500 -- --
Gymnastics,
musketry schools 36,270 “ 36,270 -- --
Regimental schools 173,600 “ 173,600 -- --
---------- -------- --------- --------- ---
Total 3,903,003 765,235 4,668,238 2,597,068 390
[* These sums include the pay of the officer students at these
establishments, amounting to 288,000 frs. at Metz, and 103,000 frs. at
the Staff School.]
[† The estimate for the Medical School appears to be exclusive of the
pay of all military medical officers employed at the school, but the
amount of this additional sum is not stated.]
[‡ For 1,520 pupils, who repaid 956,500 francs.]
[Errata for Part I (France):
_In the section on Mathematics, the form “assymplotes” is used
several times alongside “asymptote(s)”. The spelling “assymptotic”
occurs once at line break. Accents on French words are printed as
shown; missing accents have not been supplied._
I. GENERAL MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF FRANCE.
ORGANIZATON
[Footnote 4]
_Footnote tag missing; position conjectural_
the chief scientific creation of the first French Revolution
scientic
patriotism and courage can not always supply
“always
returned to Paris in the reign of terror, “to see from his lodgings
_quotation mark in original_
are obliged to re-enter the army.
abliged
chosen from former pupils of the school
_“the” missing_
and the life that is led in them.
lead
work heartily and zealously together
togethen
[TABLE FOR THE SECOND OR LOWER DIVISION]
Geodesy
Goedesy
Schools of Application for Artillery and Engineers
_hyphen in “En-/gineers” invisible at line break_
LESSONS--10-13. _Derivatives and Differentials ..._
LESSONS--10-13.
LESSONS 24-27. _Geometrical Applications continued ..._
LESSONS 14-17.
Geometrical demonstration of the formula.
demostration
LESSON 3. _Integration of Differentials ..._
LESSONS 3.
[DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.--GEOMETRICAL DRAWING.]
LESSONS 1-3. _Revision and Completion..._
_. missing_
not enough in themselves to define objects completely._
_final . missing or invisible_
LESSONS 3-6. _Composition of the Velocities of a Point._
_period . after “3-6” invisible_
three movements of translation with respect to three axes
tranlation
of invariable form, but also in motion.
motion,
Suspendors
_spelling unchanged_
LESSONS 1-2. / Chemical sources of electricity.
_period . after “1-2” missing or invisible_
LESSON 3. 1. _Chemical Actions._
LESSON 3.--1.
Straight and curved rods.
Staight
the general direction of the vibrating motion communicated.
commuicated.
[Footnote 12]
recently introduced at the school.
introdued
Clerks and draughtsmen are provided as required.
clerks
EXAMINATION AND CLASSIFICATION.
_header supplied from Table of Contents_
REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.
_header supplied from Table of Contents_
_Fifty-eighth Lecture._--(2.) ... artillery commands.
_missing . after “commands”_
which is indicated in the programme of the memoir.
_final . missing_
[RECAPITULATIVE TABLE.--ARTILLERY STUDENTS.]
| 75 | 73 50 | 78 | 151 50 | 10
_totals printed as shown: error for 11?_
1st. The direction ... / 2d. The tracing ...
_paragraph breaks added by transcriber for consistency_
_Lecture_ 7.--Gauging of the volumes and valuation
Guaging
_Lecture_ 22.--Resistance to torsion.
21.
1st. Composition of the personnel and matériel of the Artillery
matéreil
At 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds;
theis
made without points; and a description of the battle.”
_final ” missing_
{ Geographical Representation, 6 } 10
_text unchanged: error for “Graphical”?_
The prescribed instruction comprises the following courses:--
comprise
MILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY
_word AND supplied from Table of Contents_
They leap backward precisely in the same directions
in the some
_First._ To form a rapid judgment of the obstacle,
obstable
regular hours, and a rational discipline.
discipline,
but beyond a very brief revision of these subjects, and a voluntary
course for candidates for the Staff Corps
very beief ... condidates
the execution of all work under close supervision of the instructors,
instrutors]
* * * * *
PART II.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN PRUSSIA.
* * * * *
AUTHORITIES.
REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONERS APPOINTED TO CONSIDER THE BEST MODE OF
RE-ORGANIZING THE SYSTEM FOR TRAINING OFFICERS FOR THE SCIENTIFIC CORPS;
together with An Account of Foreign and other Military Education and An
Appendix. London: 1857. pp. 442 and 245, folio.
REPORT FROM THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON SANDHURST ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE;
together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence,
Appendix and Index. Printed by Order of the House of Commons. London:
1855. pp. 230, folio.
HELLDORF’S _Dienst-Vorschriften der Königlich-Preussischen Armee_.
Berlin, 1856.
FRIEDLANDER’S _Kriegs-Schule_.
VON HOLLEBEN, _Paper on Military Education in Prussia_.
_Official Programme of the Principal Subjects of Instruction Taught in
the Artillery and Engineer School at Berlin_.
_Account of the War, or Staff School at Berlin_.
_Directions for the Supreme Board of Military Studies_. 1856.
_Directions for the Supreme Military Examinations Commission_. 1856.
BARNARD’S _National Education in Europe_. 1852.
BACHE’S _Report on Education in Europe_. 1838.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA.[1]
[Footnote 1: Compiled from the “Report, and Accompanying Documents
of the Royal Commission on Foreign Military Education,” 1857.]
I. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM.
According to the law of the 3rd of September, 1814, which is the basis
of the present military organization of Prussia, every Prussian above
twenty years of age, is bound to service in arms for the defense of his
country.
The military force of the country is made up of three distinct bodies,
and the whole of the adult male population is distributed among them. It
consists of,--
I. The Standing Army.
II. The National Militia or _Landwehr_, divided into two portions, viz.,
the first _Landwehr_ and the second _Landwehr_.
III. The Last Reserve or _Landsturm_.
I. The standing army is composed of all young men between twenty and
twenty-five years of age. The period of service in time of war is for
five years, but in time of peace the young soldiers can obtain leave of
absence after three years’ service;--they belong for the remaining two
years to what is termed the “reserve,” receiving neither pay nor
clothing, and they are subject to be recalled if war should break out.
Encouragement, indeed, is given and advantages held out to induce men to
stay, and to take a new engagement for an additional term of six years;
but it is said that only a small number are thus obtained. The bulk of
the troops are men serving for this short time; and there are many, it
should be added, whose term of service is even yet shorter. For all
educated young men, all, that is, who pass a certain examination, are
allowed, on condition that they pay for their own equipment and receive
no pay, to shorten their service from three years to one. This privilege
appears to be very largely used. It should also be stated, that young
men of any class may volunteer to perform their service at any age after
seventeen.
The Prussian standing army amounts at the present time to about 126,000
men. It is divided into nine army-corps or corps d’Armée, one of which
is named the guard, and the others are numbered from I. to VIII. In each
there is a regiment of artillery and a division of engineers. A regiment
of artillery consists, in time of peace, of three divisions; each
division of one troop of horse artillery and four companies, of which,
one is Fortress artillery with two-horsed pieces. Each regiment has thus
three companies for the service of the fortress and twelve for field
service. The whole of the artillery is under the command of a general
inspector, and it is divided into four inspections. An engineer division
is composed of two companies. There are nine engineer divisions, one in
each army corps. The whole are commanded by a general inspector, and
they are divided into three inspections.
The promotion in the Prussian infantry and cavalry is regimental, and by
seniority, up to the rank of major; after that it is by selection; and
an officer who has been passed over two or three times may consider that
he has received an intimation to retire from the service. In the
artillery the promotion is by regiments; in the engineers it is general.
II. The first Landwehr, or Landwehr of the _first_ summons (_des ersten
aufgebots_,) consists principally of young men between twenty-five and
thirty-two years of age, who enter when they have completed their period
of service in the standing army. They are called out once every year for
service with the divisions of the standing army to which they are
attached, for a period varying from a fortnight to a month; and they may
be sent in time of war on foreign service.
Those who have passed through the first Landwehr, enter at the age of
thirty-two in the second Landwehr, or Landwehr of the _second_ summons
(_des zweiten aufgebots_.) They are called out only for a very brief
service once a year, and they can not at any time be ordered out of the
country, but continue to form a part of the _second_ Landwehr until they
are thirty nine years of age.
III. After the age of thirty-nine a Prussian subject belongs to the last
reserve or Landsturm, and can only be summoned to service in arms upon a
general raising, so to say, of the whole population, when the country is
actually invaded by the enemy.
With the standing army, the center of the system, all the other forces
are kept in close connection. For every regiment of the standing army
there is a corresponding regiment of Landwehr, and the two together form
one brigade. In the local distribution, every village and hamlet of the
Prussian dominions belongs to a certain regiment of Landwehr, serving
with a certain regiment of the army, and belonging accordingly to one of
the nine army corps.
Such is the military organization, which, from the important part played
in it by the _Landwehr_, is sometimes termed the Prussian _Landwehr_
system. The history of its formation is remarkable, and the
circumstances which led to its creation helped also to create the very
peculiar education of the army.
The Prussian _Landwehr_ or militia is not of modern origin; in its form
at least it is but a revival of the old feudal military organization, so
far as that consisted of raising the country _en masse_, instead of
keeping up a permanent, trained, and limited military force. _Landwehr_
or _Landsturm_[2] was the old German name for this feudal array, before
the system of standing armies was begun in Europe by Charles VII. of
France, with his Scotch regiments. It was possibly the failure of the
trained Prussian armies--long reputed the models of military
discipline--in the attack upon France in 1792, and still more signally
at Auerstadt and Jena, which partly led to the revival of the _Landwehr_
as the peculiar national force of Prussia. The means by which Stein, and
after his expulsion, Scharnhorst, called it into activity, was a master
stroke of policy under the existing difficulties of the country. The
following outline may be sufficient to explain its effects upon
education.
[Footnote 2: Thus _Landsturm_ is the word used for the rising _en
masse_ of the Tyrol in 1809.]
The condition which Napoleon had exacted at Tilsit--a reduction of the
standing army from 200,000 to 40,000 men--would have lowered Prussia at
once to the rank of a second-rate power. It was adroitly evaded by the
plan of keeping only 40,000 men in arms at one and the same time,
disbanding these as soon as they were disciplined, and replacing them
constantly by fresh bodies. Thus the whole population of the country was
ready to rise in 1813, after the crisis of Napoleon’s retreat from
Russia. The plan was chiefly due to the genius of Scharnhorst, whose
early death deprived Prussia of her greatest scientific soldier. The
_Landwehr_ then proved itself a most efficient force, though its success
was promoted by the national enthusiasm, which must prevent our taking
such a period as a criterion of its permanent military working. Since
that time it has continued to be the national army of the country.
We were assured that this peculiarity of the Prussian army system, by
which almost every man in the country serves in his turn in the ranks,
has had a tendency to improve the education of the officers. It seems to
have been felt that the officers would not retain the respect of
intelligent privates unless they kept ahead of them in education. And
this impression appears to have been the cause of the royal edicts
passed in 1816, by which it was required that every Prussian officer
should pass two examinations before receiving his commission, one to
test his general education, and the other his professional knowledge.
II. HISTORICAL VIEW OF PRUSSIAN MILITARY EDUCATION.[3]
[Footnote 3: The chief authority for this paper is a very detailed
account of the Staff School, (_Kriegs-Schule_,) by Friedländer,
pp. 1-360.]
The Prussian system of military education stands in close connection
with the general education of the country, just as the Prussian military
organization is the peculiar creation of that country’s history. And the
greatest improvements in the army and in its scientific teaching have
been made at those remarkable periods when we should most naturally have
looked for them--the time of Frederick the Great and the Liberation war
of 1813-1814.
The leading principles of Prussian military education consist, _first_,
in requiring from every officer in the army proof of a fair _general_
education before his entrance, and of a fair _military_ education
afterwards. _Secondly_, they encourage a higher military education in a
senior school, which has almost exclusively the privilege of supplying
the staff.
In this requirement of a fair education, both general and military,
_universally_ from its officers, Prussia stands alone among the great
military nations of Europe, and this honorable distinction is in a great
measure the result of the diffused system of education throughout the
country, and of the plan adopted by Stein and Scharnhorst, to make the
officers the leaders of the army both in education and in military
science.
The military schools of Germany may be said to have begun with the
Reformation wars. Some such were founded by Maurice of Saxony, the great
political and military genius of Germany in that century; the example
was soon imitated in Baden, Silesia, and Brunswick, and a curious sketch
of military education, by the hand of Duke Albert of Brandenburg, has
been lately published from the Berlin archives, in which theology and
mathematics hold the two most important places.
The first school of any real importance was founded in Colberg, by the
great elector, Frederick William, in 1653. This had considerable
success, and both his successors, King Frederick and Frederick William
I., improved it greatly, and finally transferred it to Berlin. It was
the time (about 1705, 1706,) of the great advance in military
engineering under Vauban and Coehorn, and a school for engineering was
founded, in which some of their pupils had a great share. The first
Prussian trigonometrical survey also dates as early as 1702; that of
England was not begun till 1784. It may indeed be said that the
scientific arms began to take a more favorable place in the Prussian
army about this time. They have held, and even still hold in some
respects, a less distinguished position in Germany than in France,
England, or Sardinia; and the first instance of an artilleryman being
made a general, was in the reign of Frederick William I.
On Frederick the Great’s accession he found several military schools in
existence. These had been chiefly founded by his eccentric father, who
had a passion for Cadet Houses and cadets, and their object is said to
have been to supply an education to the nobility, who at that time were
very ill-taught in Germany. After Frederick’s first wars, his own
attention was much occupied by the need of a better military education,
and he continued to work at the subject very zealously till his death.
His example on this point, as that of a great military authority, is
most instructive, since his object was at first only to educate cadets
_before_ their entrance to the army, but was afterwards extended to
completing the education of officers already on active service. His
views on the last point were carried out by Scharnhorst. They were the
germ of the present Prussian military education.
It is curious to observe that the Austrian Succession War and the Seven
Years’ War, the first great wars since Louis XIV., and which broke the
Thirty Years’ Peace of the eighteenth century, are periods at which
scientific military education made a great step in Europe. A Treatise of
Marshal Count Beausobre’s on the subject first showed the existing want;
it is entitled “_Utilité d’une Ecole et d’une Académie Militaire, avec
des Notes, ou l’on traite des Ecoles Militaires de l’Antiquité_”. It
attracted great attention on its appearance. Most of the military
academies properly so called, date from about this time. The earliest
warrant for Woolwich, dates in 1741. The Theresianum of Maria Theresa
was begun at Vienna about 1748. The first French school was the
celebrated engineer school of Mezières founded in 1749. This was soon
followed by the old military school of Paris in 1751, and by the school
for artillery at La Fère in 1756. Frederick’s own _Ritter Academie_
dates from 1764.
Frederick began this institution with his usual energy, immediately on
the close of the Seven Years’ War. “My fire is quenched,” he writes,
“and I am now only busied in improving the practice of my men. * * * *
The position of the common soldier may be left as it was before the war
began, but the position of the officers is a point to which I am
devoting my utmost care. In order in future to quicken their attention
whilst on service, and to form their judgment, I have ordered them to
receive instruction in the art of war, and they will be obliged to give
reasons for all they do. Such a plan, as you will see, my dear friend,
will not answer with every one; still out of the whole body we shall
certainly form some men and officers, who will not merely have their
patent as generals to show, (_die nicht blos patentirte Generale
vorstellen_,) but some capacity for the office as well.” He had, in
fact, seen with great admiration the improved military school recently
founded by Maria Theresa; and as it is best on such points to let this
great authority be heard for himself, we shall quote his own words:--
“In order to neglect nothing bearing on the state of the army, the
Empress founded near Vienna, (at Wiener Neustadt,) a college where young
nobles were instructed in the whole art of war. She drew to it
distinguished professors of geometry, fortification, geography, and
history, who formed there able pupils, and made it a complete nursery
for the army. By means of her care, the military service attained in
that country a degree of perfection which it had never reached under the
Emperors of the House of Austria; and a woman thus carried out designs
worthy of a great man.”
His letters show that he contemplated an improved school, and he says to
D’Alembert: “I send you the rules of my academy. As the plan is new,
I beg you to give me your honest opinion of it.” Accordingly, the
academy was founded. We will describe it in his own words:--
“An academy was founded at the same time, in which were placed those of
the cadets who showed most genius. The king himself drew up the rules
for its form, and gave it a plan of instruction, which stated the
objects of the studies of the pupils, and of the education they were to
receive. Professors were chosen from the ablest men who could be found
in Europe, and fifteen young gentlemen were educated under the eyes of
five instructors. Their whole education tended to form their judgment.
The academy was successful, and supplied able pupils, who received
appointments in the army.”[4]
[Footnote 4: “Histoire de mon Temps.”--_Œuvres_, vi., p. 99.]
This school, which was opened in 1765, was Frederick’s only foundation
of the kind; he was occupied with it incessantly. The plan of its
studies was drawn up by his own hand, and we have many of his letters of
encouragement to its pupils or professors. Whether he is writing to
Voltaire, Condorcet, or “My Lord Marischal” Keith, he constantly shows
both his well-known attention to the economy of his new school, and a
paternal interest in his young cadets and their teachers.[5]
[Footnote 5: He gives himself, in his forcible style, the reasons
for his attention to early military schools. He had found his
young nobility excessively averse to such education. “They shrink
from the army,” he said, “because in this country it is a real
training for the character. Nothing is passed over in a young
officer; he is obliged to maintain a prudent, regular, and
sensible conduct. . . . . . This is precisely what they dislike,
and one still hears the absurd and insolent expression, ‘If my boy
will not work, he will do none the worse for a soldier.’ Yes, he
may do for a mere man-at-arms (_fantassin_,) but not for an
officer fit to be advanced to the highest commands, the only end
of a good soldier’s life, and which requires a really extensive
knowledge.”--_Œuvres_, ix., 117, 120.]
Accordingly, both in professors and pupils, the new institution soon
gained an European character. Out of its twenty first directors, no less
than ten were distinguished foreigners; one of the best teachers at
Berlin was D’Antoni, a distinguished soldier from the Turin institution
and the artillery school at Alessandria--schools which were still the
representatives of the military science of the great Italian generals,
of the Duke of Parma, of Spinola, and Montecuculi.
This institution was still, as it would appear, upon the old principle
of juvenile army schools, nor does Frederick seem to have set on foot
any school for officers after entering the service. But he evidently
felt strongly the need of improving his staff officers, and of raising
the science of his artillery and engineers. Thus we find him referring
to the French engineer school at Meziéres; and he endeavored to raise
the intelligence and education of his officers. It may, however, be
suspected that the spirit of the “Potsdamer Côterie,” as it was called,
became gradually, and particularly after Frederick’s death, too literary
and speculative to suit the rough work of war; and it may, perhaps, be
thought that some defect of this kind is still traceable in the
excessive amount of teaching and the abstract nature of some of the
subjects taught in the staff school at Berlin.
Such seems to have been the opinion of Scharnhorst, the virtual author
of the present system of army education, and whom the Prussians still
regard as their first authority on that subject. “Instruction is given,”
he says, “at the military school in all literature, in philosophy, and
in many various sciences. Frederick seems to have wished to lay in it
the foundation of the education at once of an officer and of a learned
man. Few men, however, are able to excel at once in various branches of
human knowledge, and the surest means to do so in _one_ is not to
attempt it in _many_.”
We have referred to Frederick and his school rather to show the interest
he felt in military education, than because his institution was very
important. Military education was still very imperfect, and it
completely languished in Prussia till Scharnhorst established it on its
present footing.
Scharnhorst was himself an Hanoverian, but entered the Prussian service,
and had seen by experience the defects of their system in the campaigns
of 1792, 1793, and 1805. He had long devoted especial attention to
military education and to all the scientific part of his profession.
Along with Blucher and Gneisenau, he was considered one of the first
generals of the army, and, on the exhaustion of Prussia after Jena, he
was selected to remodel its whole system. He did not live to complete
his work, having been killed early in 1812; but his statue near the
bridge at Berlin, remarkable for its noble and thoughtful expression,
records the gratitude of Prussia to its greatest scientific soldier.
“The perfection of the French military organization,” says Mr. Alison,
“appeared to him in painful contrast beside the numerous defects of that
over which he presided. * * * * Boldly applying to the military
department the admirable principles by which Stein had secured the
affections of the burgher classes, he threw open to the whole of the
citizens the higher grades of the army, from which they had been
hitherto excluded. * * * * And every department of the public service
underwent his searching eye.”
The work began with the commission of 1807, of which both Stein and
Scharnhorst were members. And the regulation of 1808 laid down the
principle broadly, that the only claim to an officer’s commission must
be, “in time of peace, knowledge and education; in war, courage and
conduct.”
On these principles, during the next three years, Scharnhorst laid the
foundations of the present education. He abolished most of the existing
juvenile schools, with the exception only of the Cadet Houses, intended
almost solely for the sons of officers. He changed the previous war
school into a sort of school _d’Elite_, consisting of a senior and
junior department, in which the younger soldiers of all arms were to be
imbued with such knowledge as might give them a scientific interest in
their profession, and in which senior officers (also of all arms) were
to have a higher course of a similar nature, success in which was to
form a recommendation for employment on the staff. He began the plan of
the division schools, where all candidates for commissions, but not yet
officers, might conduct their military studies along with the practice
of their profession. Its idea was to make some military study
_necessary_, and successful study _honorable_, in the army. Finally, he
began the present system of careful examination on entering the army.
The following historical notice of the origin and successive changes of
the division schools is taken from a communication by Col. Von Holleben,
and a member of the General Inspection of Military Instruction to the
English Commission.
The cabinet order of the 6th of August, 1808, laid the foundation of the
present system of military education. It regulates the appointment of
Swordknot ensigns and the selection of officers, and declares that the
only title to an officer’s commission in time of peace shall be
professional knowledge and education, and in time of war distinguished
valor and ability.
The cabinet order of the 6th of August, 1808, could only come gradually
into operation; the system of military examinations had to be created,
and the educational institutions had to receive a new organization,
under the superintendence of a general officer. Four provincial boards
of examination were successively established, and on the 1st December,
1809, a body of instructions, still very vague and general, was issued
for their guidance.
A cabinet order of the 3rd of May, 1810, remodeled the military schools,
directing, in addition to the cadet schools at Berlin and Stolpe, the
formation of three military schools for Swordknot ensigns,
(_Portepée-Fähnriche_,) one at Berlin for the marches (_Die Marken_,)
and Pomerania, a second at Königsberg, for east and west Prussia, and a
third at Breslau, for Silesia; and the formation of a military school at
Berlin for officers. All these institutions were placed under the
general superintendence of Lieutenant-General Von Diericke, who had also
the special superintendence of the boards of examination. A board of
military studies was created and intrusted, under his control, with the
task of carrying the regulations into effect.
Before, however, the new institutions attained to any stability the war
years of 1813-14-15 intervened, and the operations of the board of
examinations ceased.
Soon after the conclusion of peace directions were given that the
examinations should recommence, with an equitable consideration of the
claims of the Landwehr officers, ensigns, and other young persons who
had grown up during the war.
At first there was only one board of examination at Berlin, with large
discretionary powers as to their mode of procedure. In April, 1816, a
cabinet order was issued to form boards of examination for the Swordknot
at every brigade, as the present divisions were then called, besides the
existing board at Berlin, for the examination for an officer’s
commission.
Contemporaneously with the nine boards of examination, the board of
military studies, by an order of January, 1816, directed the
establishment of schools for every brigade, and attempted to gradually
regulate the instruction they gave. The schools contained two classes,
the lower to prepare candidates for the Swordknot, the higher to prepare
candidates for the rank of officer. As, however, no standard of
attainment was required for admission into the schools, their
instruction had to commence with the first elements, and was charged
with more work than it could perform. The weaker scholars stayed two,
three, or more years in the lower class, and the education of the better
scholars was impeded.
During this and the following period the authority over the examination
boards (the _Præsidium_,) was distinct from that over the schools, (the
general inspection,) and it was not till later that both authorities
were vested in a single person. This division of powers, intended to
secure the independence and impartiality of the examinations, led to the
result that the two authorities were occasionally led, from a difference
of principles, to labor in different directions. Still, in the infancy
of military education, the rivalry it occasioned, was favorable to a
rapidity of development.
An order of the 16th of March, 1827, added French to the studies for the
ensigns’ examination, and fixed a higher standard of attainments in
military sciences for the officers’ examination.
Nearly at the same time, a cabinet order of the 27th of March, 1827,
directed that there should be only one class for Swordknot ensigns in
the division schools, and that after October, 1829, the candidate should
obtain a testimonial of fitness for the rank of Swordknot ensign
previous to admission as a student.
Accordingly young men had to be prepared for examination for the
Swordknot at their entrance into their corps, or might prepare
themselves by private studies and instruction during their service.
The task of the schools, still very comprehensive embracing all the
liberal sciences as well as the military, was accomplished during this
period in two courses of nine months, in a higher and a lower class.
A cabinet order of the 31st of January, 1837, introduced the entrance
examination, instead of the examination for the Swordknot, being
declared that every candidate for the commission of an officer, after
his reception into a corps, should prove in an examination his
possession of the knowledge requisite for a Swordknot ensigncy before
his actual appointment. At the same time a regulation of the ministry of
war, of the 17th of December 1836, remodeled and more precisely defined
both the entrance (Swordknot ensign) examination, and that for the
commission of an officer. This regulation, while it essentially modified
the instruction given at the division schools, furnished them at the
same time with a more certain clue for their guidance. The preparation
of youths for the Swordknot examination during their service in the
corps was discontinued. But the standard of the entrance examination was
still too low, requiring only a small portion of the branches of a
general liberal education, and that not in the shape in which they are
taught in our gymnasia. Hence the evil result, that young men, previous
to their entrance into a corps, had usually to prepare for the military
profession at private institutions instead of at the gymnasia, and
nevertheless brought with them a very defective amount of preparatory
training; on the other hand, the demands of the officers’ examination
were very multifarious. It still required the general scholastic
sciences by way of formal education, and the military sciences as a
special education for the military profession. Thus the task of the
division schools continued overwhelming, and an aim was set before them
which they could not attain.
A regulation of the 4th of February, 1844, reformed simultaneously the
whole system of military examination and education.
The views which guided these reforms, the improvements and advantages
which were hoped to be thereby obtained, were, in general, the
following:--
1. The military profession, like every other, requires a general school
education intended generally to cultivate the mind, distinct from the
subsequent special and professional education for which the former is
the necessary groundwork.
The former is tested in the examination for the Swordknot, the latter in
the officers’ examination.
2. The preparatory education required from the candidate for a Swordknot
is the function of the ordinary schools of the country. Nothing but what
they can impart is required, and from consideration of the youthful age
of the candidates (seventeen years,) the amount of preparatory training
required is not the attainment of the highest class of the gymnasium,
but only that required for admission into the Prima.
3. The required previous training not only gives the candidate a more
certain basis for his subsequent military education, but, as being the
groundwork of all professions, leaves him afterwards at liberty to
cultivate the special knowledge requisite for any profession that he may
prefer.
4. The division schools are freed from a multifarious course of
instruction in the scholastic sciences, a task beyond their power: the
result of which was that the majority of scholars were very little
advanced in formal and general education, and but superficially grounded
in the elements of the professional sciences, while they spent years in
being drilled for an examination, instead of being educated for life.
5. If the division schools have an able staff of military teachers, they
can give a good professional education. The younger officers, even if
they never received the full training of the gymnasium, may still, by
their professional training, raise themselves above their subordinates,
(a class in Prussia often highly educated,) and are started with an
excellent preparation for their professional career.
6. By the amount of liberal education required in the examination for
the Swordknot, the friends of those destined for the military profession
are admonished to provide them an education equal to that received by
the members of other professions.
7. By the method pursued in the examinations the power is retained of
raising or lowering the standard according to circumstances. When the
supply of officers is deficient, the standard can be lowered; at other
times, as at present, it may be raised. Since the above-mentioned
regulations, the following essential alterations have been introduced:--
1. The examination for the Swordknot is again placed after admission
into the corps, but no one can be admitted to attend the division
schools without a testimonial of fitness for the rank of Swordknot
ensign.
2. A testimonial of fitness for the university, _i.e._, to have passed
the abiturient examination, dispenses with the examination for the
Swordknot. In consequence of this rule fifty abiturients on an average
annually enter the army. These, as well as the selectaner of the cadet
corps, must be considered, in point of scientific education, an
excellent supply of officers. From the powerful impulse that military
instruction has received in the last fifty years, it may be expected
that the time is not distant when the candidate for an officer’s
commission, instead of passing the Swordknot examination, will have to
bring the finished training of the gymnasium; in other words, to have
passed the abiturient examination.
3. Instead of the seventeen division schools there are now by the
regulation of 1844, only nine, and a further reduction of their number
to four or three is contemplated, with an improvement of the staff of
teachers and a stricter supervision of the scholars.
III. SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION AND PROMOTION.
The standing army composed in the manner and under the circumstances
already described, is supplied with officers who must have a good
general education, and have served in the ranks, or have obtained a
certain amount of professional instruction. The usual course is as
follows:--
Young men obtain a nomination from the colonel of a regiment. This
nomination admits them merely to service in the regiment as privates,
with a recognition of their being candidates, _aspiranten_ or aspirants,
for the rank of officer. Before they obtain that rank, the following
conditions must be fulfilled. They must pass an examination in the
common subjects of a good general education, such as the sons of
well-born or wealthy civilians may be supposed to receive. They must
serve six or nine months with the troops; they must attend nine months
at a division school, or twelve months in the artillery and engineer
school, where they receive a course of special military instruction; and
they must pass an examination in professional subjects before a board
sitting at Berlin. They are then eligible for a vacancy. In order to
obtain a commission they require further the recommendation of the
officers of the regiment.
It is obvious to remark, that in obtaining a commission in the Prussian
service the candidate’s chance depends greatly on the recommendation of
the colonel and the after assent of the officers. The effect of this is
to maintain an exclusive character in the army. Above two-thirds of the
commissions are obtained by the course described above; the remainder
are granted to those who pass through the cadet schools.
Of these there are five altogether, four junior establishments, situated
in certain provincial towns, and one senior or upper school at Berlin,
to which the others are merely preparatory. They are all supported by
the state; mainly for the purpose of educating the children of
meritorious officers in want of assistance; but they are also open to
others. With the exception of the highest class of the upper school, the
_Selecta_ above mentioned, the instruction given is of a perfectly
general character, and there is no obligation even for those who have
received the most ample pecuniary assistance to enter the military
profession. The discipline, however, is military, the teachers are
mostly officers, the pupils are regularly drilled, and most of them
actually go into the army. This they do in ordinary cases without going
through the highest or select class in which professional instruction is
given; they merely pass the same preliminary examination as the
candidates nominated by the colonels of regiments; they enter the army
without their commissions, and have to obtain them in the same manner as
the other candidates, by serving six or nine months with the troops, and
by following their professional studies in the division or artillery and
engineer schools, and by passing the officers’ or second examination
before the examining board at Berlin. Those who do remain to go through
the highest or select class receive their professional instruction in it
instead of in the division or artillery and engineer schools, and they
are examined for their commissions by the board while still at the cadet
school.
Thus, in the course usually followed, three requisites are exacted in
Prussia before a commission is given; first, a good general education;
secondly, some actual military service; and, thirdly, professional
knowledge gained by something like a year of military study. But the
military service is not required from the upper thirty students of the
_Selecta_ of the Cadet House.
It will be well to mention, at the commencement, the names of the two
examinations. The first, the preliminary examination, merely testing the
general education, admits to a particular grade among non-commissioned
officers; those holding it rank between sergeants and corporals, and in
consideration of their being candidates (_aspiranten_) for a commission
wear a different sword-knot, and hence have the name of Swordknot ensign
or _Portepée-fähnrich_. The first or preliminary examination is
accordingly called the _Portepée-fähnrich_ examination. The second, the
professional one, is the officers’ examination, for the commission of
second lieutenant.
These two examinations, for the grade of _Portepée-fähnrich_ and for the
officer’s commission, are either conducted or controlled by the Supreme
Military examinations Board, (_Ober-Militair-Examinations-Commission_)
in Berlin, a body partly composed of military officers, partly of
eminent civilians.
The various examining boards, the central and the local ones, which
conduct these two examinations, are quite independent of the military
schools, and were formerly presided over by a different head; but in
order that the system should be uniformly carried out, and as Colonel
von Holleben expresses it, that “_the examinations should exercise a
salutary influence on education, and that their standard should be
adjusted to the capacities of the schools_,” they have now been placed
under the same control as the military schools.
The whole department of military education is therefore now under the
control of a single high functionary, bearing the title of the general
inspector of the military schools, military education, and military
studies (_das Militair Erziehungs-und-Bildungswesen_,) who reports
direct to the king on all subjects relating to examination and
instruction. He submits his proposals on matters of administration to
the minister of war, who issues the necessary orders to the boards
charged with the financial control of the various schools.
The general inspector is assisted by a supreme council or board of
military studies, composed of field officers of the general staff and of
the special arms, the directors of the war school, of the supreme board
of military examinations, of the artillery and engineers school, the
commander of the cadet corps, some of the consultative assessors
(_Vortragenden Räthen_,) of the minister of worship, and of individuals
selected from the general body of learned men (professors.)
The principal military schools of Prussia may be divided into five
classes:--
I. Those which give a good general education to the sons of meritorious
officers, but which are open to others, such as--
1. The Cadet Houses or Cadet Schools (_Cadetten-Häuser_,) which supply a
certain amount of instruction in military professional subjects.
II. Such as supply professional instruction to young men who are
candidates for the rank of officer in the Prussian army. These are--
2. The Division Schools (_Divisions-Schule_,) nine in number, one for
each army corps.
3. The artillery and engineers schools in Berlin.
III. Those which afford professional instruction to officers already in
the service, to qualify them for special duty, limited to--
4. The War School or Staff School (_Kriegs-Schule_,) in Berlin.
IV. Those intended to give special instruction for the training of
non-commissioned officers and men. Such as--
5. The School Division or Non-commissioned Officers School
(_Schulabtheilung_,) at Potsdam.
6. The Regimental Schools (_Regiments und Bataillons Schulen_.)
7. The Music and the Swimming Schools, and the Central Gymnastic School
in Berlin (_Central Turn-Anstalt_.)
8. The Veterinary School (_Thierarzeneischule_.)
V. Those intended to give gratuitous education to the children, boys and
girls, of non-commissioned officers and soldiers, whose parents are too
poor to provide for them. Such are,--
9. The Military Orphan Houses (_Militair-Waisenhäuser_,) at Annaburg,
Potsdam, and Pretzsch.
10. The schools for soldiers’ children.
In addition to these might be mentioned the Medical Institution,
particularly the Frederick-William’s Institution at Berlin, and the
Knight Academy (_Ritter-Academie_,) or Noble School, in Liegnitz.
The annual cost to the state of the military schools in 1856, appears to
be as follows:--
[KEY]
S Salaries. Dollars.
O Other Expenses. Dollars.
T Total Dollars.
N Number of Students.
---------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----
NAME. | S* | O* | T* | N
---------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----
Department of General Inspector, | 5,872 | 250 | 5,922 | ...
Supreme Military Examinations | 5,400 | 300 | 5,700 | ...
Board, | | |
Board of Military Studies, | 848 | ... | 848 | ...
Board of examiners for | | |
Artillery Lieutenants, | ... | 60 | 60 | ...
Cadet House at Berlin, | 12,944 | ... | 12,944 | 420
“ “ Potsdam, | 15,805 | 24,285 | 40,090 | 200
“ “ Culm, | 15,738 | 18,436 | 34,174 | 160
“ “ Wahlstatt, | 16,253 | 22,706 | 38,959 | 200
“ “ Bensberg, | 15,935 | 24,853 | 40,788 | 200
General War or Staff School, | 18,552 | 3,013 | 21,565 | 120
United Artillery and | | |
Engineers School, | 15,025 | 1,910 | 16,935 | 240
Veterinary School, | 8,514 | 4,165 | 12,679 | ...
Gymnastic School, | 4,046 | 720 | 4,766 | ...
Division Schools, | 10,800 | 6,195 | 16,995 | †
“ Libraries, | 400 | 1,200 | 1,600 | ...
Miscellaneous, | ... | 680 | 680 | ...
+---------+---------+---------+-----
Totals, | 146,132 | 108,777 | 254,909 |
---------------------------------+---------+---------+---------+-----
[* A Prussian dollar is equal to three shillings of English money,
and 70 cents of United States currency.]
[† Variable.]
Or about £38,236 annually, exclusive of the charge for buildings and
repairs, and the original outlay for their first establishment. The pay
of the student officers, and the pay and allowances of the military
professors and teachers, are, however, drawn from their corps, so that
the above-mentioned seems only to include the extra pay granted to the
professors, &c.
The expenses of the Non-commissioned Officers School, of the military
orphan houses, and of the schools for soldiers’ children, are not given
in the printed paper from which these details have been extracted.
IV. EXAMINATIONS--GENERAL AND PROFESSIONAL--FOR A COMMISSION.
Two examinations, one in general and the other in professional knowledge
are required of all candidates for a commission upon or soon after their
entrance into the army, unless they can bring a certificate of having
successfully completed the regular course of a gymnasium, in which case
they are excused from the first.
These two examinations, through which alone admission is obtained to the
rank of officer, are so important, and hold so prominent a position in
the Prussian military system, that we propose to preface our account of
the nature and extent of each of these examinations by a short tabular
statement of the circumstances under which the candidates for each arm
of the service respectively pass them.
The following Candidates offer themselves,
for the Preliminary, Ensign’s, or _Portepée-fähnrich_
Examination,
for the Second or Officer’s Examination (in all cases before
the Supreme Board at Berlin.)
Those presented by the Colonels of Regiments,
Before, after, or during (usually before) six months’ service
with the Troops, before the local Division Board;
After nine months’ military instruction in the Division
School.
Those coming at the usual time from the Cadet House (from the class
called _Prima_,)
On quitting the Cadet House, before the Supreme Board at Berlin;
After six months’ service with the troops, and nine months’
military instruction in the Division School.
Those who stay an extra year in the Special or Select class
(_Selecta_) of the Cadet House,
Before admission to the Special or Select class (_Selecta_,)
before the Supreme Board at Berlin;
On quitting the Cadet House, after one year’s instruction in
the Select class _Selecta_.
Those for the Artillery or Engineers, except when they came from
the Special or Select class, (_Selecta_,) of the Cadet House,
After nine months’ service with the Troops, and three months’
stay at the Artillery and Engineers School, before the Supreme
Board at Berlin;
After one year’s stay at the Artillery and Engineers School.
1. _The Preliminary or Ensign’s (Portepée-fähnrich) Examination._
According to a special law, any young man above seventeen and a half and
under twenty-three years of age, whether he be a private or a corporal,
if he has served six months in the army, and can obtain from the
officers of his company a certificate of good conduct, attention, and
knowledge of his profession, may claim to be examined for the grade of
ensign or (_Portepée-fähnrich_.) If he succeed in this examination, he
is recognized as a candidate, an _aspirant_ for a commission; but his
prospect of obtaining a commission is subject to a variety of subsequent
conditions.
In practice, a young man who aspires to a commission applies to the
colonel of the regiment and usually obtains a nomination before he
actually joins; and, as the examination is entirely of a civil
character, he is usually glad to try and pass it at once. Having
recently come from school, he feels probably better prepared than he is
likely to be at any subsequent time: for on joining the corps, he will
have for some time to conform to the life of a private soldier, to sleep
and mess with the men, and to mount guard in his turn; and with the
drill and exercises, and the marching and manoeuvring with the troops,
he will have enough to occupy him to prevent his preparing for the
examination. The two qualifications for the ensign’s grade are, the test
of the examination and the six months’ service; but it appears to be
indifferent in what order they are taken, whether service comes first
and examination after, or _vice versâ_.
The examinations take place quarterly, at the beginning of every
January, April, July, and October. They are held in the great garrison
towns by local military boards, consisting of a president and five
examiners. Applications for permission to be examined must be made at
least a fortnight before, and must be accompanied by certificates
stating the candidate’s birth, parentage, &c.; certificates of diligence
and good conduct from the schoolmasters or other teachers who have
instructed him; and of bodily fitness from an army surgeon.
The local board of examiners is appointed by the general officer in
command of the army corps, the centers of examination corresponding in
present practice with the localities assigned to the division or
army-corps schools, nine in number, presently to be described.
The first part of the examination is on paper; a _vivâ voce_ examination
follows.
On paper the young men have to write three themes or compositions in
German, to translate two passages, one from Livy or Sallust, another
from Cæsar’s Commentaries, Cicero’s Epistles, or Quintus Curtius; to
translate sixteen or twenty lines from French into German, and two
passages, a longer and a shorter, from German into French. They have one
question in common arithmetic, one in equations, progressions, or
logarithms; one in geometry, one in trigonometry; they have one in
mathematical or physical geography, one in the general geography of
Europe and its colonies, and one in that of Germany and Prussia. There
is one question in Greek or Roman history; one in the earlier German
history; one in modern; and one in Prussian history. They have also to
show that they are acquainted with the common conventional signs used in
representing the surface of the earth in maps; and they have to copy a
small map of a group of hills.
The time allowed for each question is about three quarters of an hour or
an hour; for each German theme, it is as much as an hour and a half or
two hours.
The questions are of a comprehensive character; _e.g._ Give a history of
the campaign of 1813, or of the life of Alexander the Great; enumerate
the rivers flowing into the Mediterranean Sea, with the principal towns
situated upon each of them. The German themes are, first, a _curriculum
vitæ_, an account of the candidate’s life, which is, however, not
supposed to count in the result, and is merely for the examiner’s
information; second and third, two themes on some sentence or proverb,
for the first of which the examiner assists the candidate by _vivâ voce_
questions and corrections in drawing up the preliminary outline of
arrangement; for the second he is left entirely to himself.
There is a subsequent _vivâ voce_ examination in all the subjects,
drawing excepted. The candidates are taken in small classes, not
exceeding seven in number, and are examined together, but not in public.
The results of the examination are considered according to the system of
_predicates_ or epithets, sometimes also called _censures_. The
candidates’ answers are characterized as excellent (_vorzüglich_,) good
(_gut_,) satisfactory (_befriedigend_,) insufficient (_nicht
hinreichend_,) or unsatisfactory (_ungenügend_.) Numerical values are
attached to each of these epithets; “excellent” is marked with 9;
“unsatisfactory” counts as 1; and according to the amount of importance
attached to the different subjects the marks thus given are multiplied
by a higher or lower number, by 5 in one case, by 3 or by 1 in others.
German, Latin, and mathematics have all the highest estimate of 5, and
are each five times more important than drawing, which is marked by 1;
geography, history, and French, are each valued at 3. A young man who
gets the _predicate_ “excellent,” in German, will receive 45 marks, his
9 being multiplied by 5; whereas the same predicate for history would
obtain him only 15, and in drawing only 5 marks.
German, 5 }
Latin, 5 }
Mathematics, 5 }
History, 3 } Total, 25.
Geography, 3 }
French, 3 }
Drawing, 1 }
A report is then drawn up, and according to the marks or predicates, the
candidates are pronounced as admissible with distinction, admissible
with honor, or simply admissible; or their re-examination after six
months, their re-examination after a year, or their absolute rejection,
is recommended.
This report, with the candidates’ certificates, is forwarded to the
supreme military examinations board at Berlin, and, if approved by them,
is submitted in their quarterly report to the king; and the result, when
sanctioned by him, is communicated to the respective corps.
The candidates are all informed not only of the practical result, but
also of the particulars of their examinations; they are told in what
subjects they have failed, and in what they have succeeded. The
candidates can not, under any circumstances, try more than three times.
The young men who pass, are thus, so far as their qualification in point
of knowledge is concerned, pronounced admissible to the ensign’s grade.
They have of course to complete their six months’ service with the
troops. Yet even when this is completed, a vacancy in the list of
ensigns must be waited for, and months may pass before the aspirant
receives the distinctive badge, the special Sword-knot, which marks his
superiority to the corporals, and shows that he has gained the first
step that leads to a commission.
The examination that has now been described is obviously one for which
preparation may be made in the common public schools, and under the
usual civilian teachers. A young man of seventeen need not have been
positively destined to the military profession, nor have gone through
special preparation for any length of time beforehand. The boards of
local military examiners are content to take them as they are offered,
inquiry only being made as to their birth and connections, and their
previous behavior at school or under tuition.
In fact, those who have passed successfully through the full course of a
school which prepares for the universities (a gymnasium,) are excused
the ensign’s examination. The certificate they have received on going
away from school, upon the _abiturient’s_ or leaving examination, as it
is called, is considered quite sufficient; except in the case of
candidates for the artillery or engineers, who are expected to show
greater proficiency in mathematics; and certainly a boy in the head
class of a gymnasium ought to be able to pass the preliminary
examination with perfect ease and with credit. The amount of knowledge
required and the particular subjects selected are not those of the
first, and are scarcely those of the second class of a gymnasium; and
the assertion was even made that a boy from the upper third class might
very well hope to pass for an ensigncy. Possibly a little extra tuition
from the preparatory establishments, which are said to have sprung up
with the special function of “fabricating Fähnrichs” might in this
instance be required.
The official programme is here given, and may be compared with the
studies prescribed in the upper classes of the Cadet House at Berlin,
(_see_ the account of that school.)
1. In their own language, good legible handwriting, a correct style,
free from orthographical or grammatical mistakes, facility of expression
in writing and speaking; some evidence of a knowledge of German
literature.
2. In Latin, facility in understanding the Latin prose writers
ordinarily read in the second class of a Prussian gymnasium. A written
exercise in translation from Latin into German; grammatical analysis of
some passages.
3. In French, facility in reading and in translating from German into
French, and French into German, grammatical analysis of French
sentences, and a knowledge of syntax.
4. Mathematics:--
(_a._) Arithmetic and Algebra;--familiarity with the ordinary rules
for the extraction of the square root of whole numbers and of fractions;
Proportion and its applications including questions in Partnership and
Compound Proportion; the theory of powers and roots, with integral and
fractional, positive and negative exponents. Equations of the two first
degrees, with one or more unknown quantities; Logarithms, Logarithmic
Equations, Arithmetical and Geometrical Progression, and practice in the
application of the various theories.
(_b._) The complete elements of Plane Geometry, measuration of
rectilineal figures and of the circle, transformation and division of
figures; the first elements of the application of Algebra to Geometry.
(_c._) Plane Trigonometry, Trigonometrical functions and their
Logarithms. Use of trigonometrical tables. Calculation of particular
cases of triangles, regular polygons, and segments of circles.
In consideration of the especial importance of this discipline for
officers of the artillery and engineers, a higher predicate (_i.e._ a
greater number of marks) will be required in the exercises of candidates
for these two services; the knowledge expected in their case will be,
though not more extensive, more thorough and deep.
5. Geography:--The general principles of Mathematical and Physical
Geography, knowledge of our planetary system, of the motions of the
Earth, and of the phenomena immediately dependent upon them. Readiness
in drawing from memory the outlines of the more important countries,
with their principal mountains, rivers, and cities. General outlines of
Political Geography, in the case of the mere states out of Europe; a
detailed account of the elements of European statistics, more
particularly in the case of Germany and Prussia.
6. History:--A knowledge of the more remarkable events in the history
of great nations, of the general connection, causes, and consequences of
these events; a knowledge of the remarkable men of all such nations down
to the present time. Special knowledge of the history of Greece, Rome,
Germany, Prussia, with particular reference in this last case to its
external growth, inner development, and to the principal events of the
most important wars since the middle of the eighteenth century.
7. Readiness in general drawing, and in constructing mathematical
figures; some skill in drawing plans of positions and mountains, in the
way of preparation for military plan drawing.
8. The candidate may, in addition, be examined in other subjects, in
which his certificates show that he has been instructed; for example, in
Natural Philosophy, so far as included in his previous course of
instruction.
It must be remembered that either before or after this examination some
months must be spent in actual service with the troops by all but the
pupils belonging to the _Selecta_ of the cadet school; and that nine
months of study at the division and artillery and engineer schools
intervenes before the officers examination takes place.
2. _The Second or Officer’s Examination._
The second or final examination for a commission, which generally ensues
when the work of the division school is over, is held in Berlin only,
and is conducted immediately by the central commission, to which
reference has so often been made--the supreme Military Examinations
Board, the _Ober-Militair-Examinations Commission_. This board or
commission, a list of the existing members of which is given in page
179, consists, for the purpose now in consideration, of a president and
five examiners, selected from the larger number to examine candidates
for commissions.
The examinations are held continually; two opportunities are afforded
every year to the candidates sent from each of the various army corps.
The requisite papers must be forwarded to the commission eight days at
least beforehand, and the candidates must appear in Berlin, and take up
their quarters in the buildings placed at the disposal of the board on
the Friday preceding the day fixed for the examination. The examination
usually begins on the following Monday, and lasts through the week. The
expenses of the journey are allowed, except, perhaps, when the candidate
comes up a second time.
The certificates to be presented are the following:--
1. The certificate of birth, age, parentage, &c. (This is called the
_Nationale_.)
2. The _Curriculum Vitæ_, (an account of the circumstances of the
candidates’s past life, his education, employment, &c., &c.)
3. The certificate that he has already passed through a previous
examination (the _Tentamen_,) held by the authorities of the division
school.
4. A certificate of conduct during his stay at the division school.
5. A military drawing (_Croquis_,) with an attestation given by his
instructor that it is the candidate’s own doing.
This examination, like the preliminary one, is partly on paper and
partly oral. General directions are given that the examiners in both
cases shall look mainly to the question whether the candidate has
sufficient positive knowledge of his subjects, and capacity to explain
and express himself, that mere lapses of memory shall not be regarded,
and that natural endowments shall be principally looked to.
In the written examination, the candidate has four questions given him
in what is called the knowledge or theory of arms (_Waffenlehre_,)
including under that term all kinds of ammunition; three in tactics; one
question in the rules and regulations which touch the duty of a
subaltern officer; two questions in permanent and two in field
fortification; one exercise in surveying, to test his acquaintance with
the common instruments, and one to try his knowledge of the principles
of plan drawing (_Terrain-Darstellung_;) while his general skill in
military drawing is proved by his either copying a plan placed before
him, or drawing one from a relief model of a mountainous district (_nach
Bergmodellen_.)
There is a _vivâ voce_ examination in all the subjects.
The commission meets once every month to consider the examinations held
since their last meeting. The result is announced under the form of the
_predicates_ or epithets already more than once referred to. Honorable
mention is accorded to an _excellent_ examination, and mention to a
_good_ one. If there has been an unsatisfactory result in one of the
subjects, the candidate may compensate for it by superiority in other
subjects, but can only in this case be qualified as _satisfactory
(befriedigend,)_ and an adequate knowledge of “arms” and tactics is
regarded as indispensable in candidates for the infantry or cavalry, and
in “arms” and fortification in those for the artillery and engineers. No
superior work in other subjects is allowed to make up for a deficiency
in these.
If a candidate’s work is marked as _insufficient (nicht hinreichend,)_
he is sent back for another half-year, and if he has done
_unsatisfactorily_, for a complete year of additional study, with leave
to appear for re-examination after that interval. In a case of
re-examination, the two last _predicates_ (_nicht hinreichend_ and
_ungenügend_) entail final rejection.
The report of the board is submitted to the king; the results are
communicated to the various corps. The announcements sent to the
candidates state the predicates assigned to the various portions of
their work. Those who have passed, receive certificates of being
qualified for the second lieutenant’s commission:--
This rank, however, is not immediately granted. A vacancy may be long in
occurring, and must be waited for. Promotion is given according to their
seniority on the list of ensigns in the regiment. Another condition must
also be satisfied. When a vacancy occurs, the senior ensign’s name can
not be submitted to the king for his appointment without a document
stating on the part of the officers of the regiment that he has the
requisite knowledge of the duties of the service, and that they consider
him worthy of admission amongst them (_würdig in seine Mitte zu
treten_.) If the majority is opposed to his admission, the name of the
next ensign in order of seniority is, without further discussion,
brought forward; if a minority or merely some individual officers take
exception, they state the grounds of their opinion, which are then
submitted for consideration.[6]
[Footnote 6: This certificate, according to a statement received
in conversation, is in the first instance from the officers of the
company, to the effect that the ensign in question is well
conducted and likely to be a desirable addition to their number;
then from the major of the battalion, and from the colonel of the
regiment.]
Special merit in the examination may be, at the king’s pleasure, held a
sufficient reason for promotion before all candidates examined at the
same time.
The following is the programme of the studies, proficiency in which is
expected of candidates at the second or officer’s examination:--
I. KNOWLEDGE OF ARMS AND MUNITIONS.
A. _Of Gunpowder_.
1. General views on gunpowder and its application.
2. Ingredients of gunpowder; its qualities and use.
3. Fabrication of the same; principles on which the manufacturing
process is based.
4. Statement of the various kinds of gunpowder in use, and their
distinctive qualities.
5. Of the ignition, combustion, and power of gunpowder.
6. Qualities of good powder; examination of the same:
_a._ According to their external characteristics.
_b._ According to force developed.
_a._ By the mortar eprouvette.
_b._ By the smaller eprouvette.
_y._ Or, in default of such instruments, by practical experiment.
7. Manner of preserving gunpowder; characteristics and treatment of
damaged gunpowder.
8. Precautions to be taken in working with gunpowder, and transporting
the same.
9. The most ignitible materials for percussion caps, and the like.
B. _Of Artillery_.
1. Classification of guns, according to species, calibre, and the kind
of warfare for which they are intended. (Field, siege, and standing
artillery.)
2. General qualities to be required of a properly constructed piece of
ordnance.
3. Construction of the piece; description of the same according to the
various kinds of guns, specifying the use of the different parts.
(An exact statement in figures is only called for in reference to the
length, weight, and diameter of the piece.)
_a._ Materials; qualities required of them; enumeration of the
materials generally employed.
_b._ Interior construction of the piece; length of bore, chamber,
windage, and touchhole; their influence on the range.
_c._ External construction of the piece; appliances for pointing and
managing it, and connecting it with the gun-carriage.
4. Construction of the gun-carriages; enumeration of the different
kinds of the same, according to the description of gun, its destination,
and materials.
_a._ Specification of the principal component parts of the
carriages.
_b._ Distinctive characteristics of the construction of the various
denominations of carriages.
_c._ General principles for determining the proper construction of
the same.
_d._ General notions relative to the proportion of the weight of the
carriage to the piece.
5. Construction of the limbers.
_a._ Enumeration of the different kinds of limbers.
_b._ Principal component parts and distinctive characteristics of
the construction of the various kinds of limbers.
_c._ General notions relative to the weight of the limber in
proportion to the piece and the gun-carriage.
6. Statement of the various descriptions of wagons used by the field
artillery, and their destination.
7. Ammunition; enumeration and description of the objects belonging to
it. (Exact statements in figures are only required for the diameter and
weight of the principal kinds of projectiles.)
_a._ Projectiles; statement of the species of projectiles used for
the different kinds of guns, and their construction.
α. Bound shot, cannon ball, grape.
β. Shells; their various species.
γ. Light balls.
δ. Stones.
_b._ Charges; general description of them,
α. In field-pieces.
β. In heavy artillery.
_c._ Primings; enumeration and description of the various kinds of
primings.
_d._ Other military fireworks; statement of the principal species,
and their general construction.
_e._ Transport of ammunition by limbers and carts; packing of the
same.
8. Moving and working the guns:
_a._ General notions on the working of field-pieces.
_b._ Different kinds of operations with field-pieces; unlimbering
and limbering up.
_c._ Position of field-pieces in firing, with regard to effect,
cover, and celerity of movement.
_d._ Principal manipulations in working the same.
α. Loading.
β. Pointing.
γ. Discharging; the process according to the different kinds of
projectiles.
_e._ Ascertaining the efficiency of a gun previous to using it.
_f._ Momentary unserviceability of guns.
_g._ Expedients for repairing a disabled carriage.
9. Artillery practice.
_a._ Exposition of the theory of firing (as far as it can be
elucidated by a knowledge of the elements of mathematics;) general
notions concerning the curve of round and hollow shot, and the influence
of the force of powder, of gravity, and of the air’s resistance upon
their velocity; the curve after the first graze; trajectory of grape
shot.
_b._ Classification and denomination of the various methods of
firing or throwing projectiles.
_c._ Range; conditions on which it depends; its practical limits.
_d._ Effect of projectiles.
α. Probable accuracy of practice; circumstances on which it
depends.
β. Force of the blow; circumstances on which it depends.
_e._ Recoil, jumping, or bouncing; explanation of such occurrences.
_f._ Application of the various descriptions of guns, projectiles,
and methods of firing, according to the nature of the mark, the
distance, the position of the adversary, and the ground.
C. _Of Small Arms._
1. Classification and denomination of small arms.
2. General principles applied to the construction of the musket, the
infantry and wall-piece rifle, the carbine, the cavalry rifle, the
pistol, and the engineer musket (if the candidate is in the engineers.)
3. Description of their construction and arrangement in particular;
enumeration of the separate parts (an exact statement of dimensions only
required for the principal ones;) object and effect of the same.
4. Estimate of the practical utility of the various kinds of fire-arms
as employed by one infantry and cavalry (no technical or theoretical
investigation, but only practical remarks.)
5. Ammunition, as the ball, cartridge, and patch:
_a._ Its preparation.
α. In the usual manner.
β. In cases of need, in default of the usual implements.
_b._ Preserving, packing, and transporting it, both in carriages and
by the soldier himself.
6. Management of small-arms:
_a._ Theory of firing (in its general scientific bearings, _vide_
artillery) as applied to small-arms: repeated elucidation of the curve,
line of metal, axis produced, and the relative position of these three
lines in the different ranges.
_b._ Practical rules for loading, presenting, taking aim, and
discharging, at different elevations of the adversary, and at different
ranges.
7. Cleaning and preserving the arms.
D. _Of Side-Arms._
1. Classification and denomination of the same:
_a._ Cavalry side-arms.
_b._ Lances.
2. Statement of the general principles on which their construction is
based.
3. Examination of the state of side-arms on receiving them (within the
limits mentioned above in C. 4.)
4. Effect and management of the same.
II. TACTICAL BRANCHES.
A. _Army Organization._
1. General sketch of the organization of the Prussian army.
2. Characteristics of the different kinds of troops (arms;) their
peculiarities (their weapons are included under the former head,) their
equipment and destination.
B. _Elementary Tactics._
1. Account of the regulations concerning the distribution and
formation of a battalion of infantry, a regiment of cavalry, and a
battery, in line or column.
2. Formation of the different columns from the line, forming square,
deploying and forming line, movement in advance, to the rear and to the
flank, changing front and direction in line and column.
3. Formation of _tirailleurs_ and skirmishers; posting, covering,
moving, reinforcing, reducing, and relieving the same.
4. General rules on the conduct of the separate arms in action.
_a._ Engagement of infantry under fire and hand to order, in attack
and defense.
_b._ Charge of cavalry, attack _à la débandade_, wheeling off of the
fourth subdivisions (platoons,) skirmishing.
_c._ Employment and conduct of artillery in action.
5. General principles relative to the combined action of the different
arms.
6. Tactical advantages of ground; level, hilly, open, close,
uninclosed, and broken ground.
7. Attack and defense of localities, such as heights, woods,
farm-buildings, villages, and defiles; false attacks, demonstrations.
C. _Field Service._
1. Of Marches. General rules, method, and object; precautions, van and
rear guards, covering parties.
2. Escort of transports of powder, provisions, and prisoners of war,
in one’s own and in an enemy’s country.
3. Surprises, ambuscades, and reconnaissances.
4. Service in cantonments, camp, and bivouac, outposts, picquets,
advanced picquets, reserve picquets (movable and stationary,) patrols.
5. Taking up quarters in ordinary marches and cantonments.
III. FORTIFICATIONS.
A. _Field Works._
1. Object of breast-work and ditch profiles in plains. Plan of
field-works; open works, salient angle, its dimensions.
2. Dead angle and dead ground. Removal of dead ground; flanking; line
of defense; dimensions of re-entering angle.
3. Inclosed works; dimensions and space inclosed; works with salient
angles only, and with both salient and re-entering angles.
4. Erection of works to be defended by artillery; firing _en
barbette_, and through embrasures; platforms; magazines.
5. Communication with interior of inclosed works.
6. Artificial obstacles for strengthening field-works; requisites for
their selection and application; method of construction; advanced
ditches (demi and entire;) trous-de-loup; abattis; palisades and
fraises; barriers; chevaux-de-frise; pickets; caltrops; harrows; sluices
and inundations; fougasses; blockhouses; caponiers; double, single, and
demi-caponiers _à revers_.
7. Strength of garrison of field-works.
8. Defilading, horizontal and vertical, of open and inclosed works;
traverses and bonnettes.
9. Construction of small open and inclosed field-works; marking out;
tracing; profiling; number and employment of workmen; excavating the
ditch; formation and revetment of the slopes with sods, fascines,
wicker-work, gabions, sand-bags, wood, or stones; selection,
preparation, and application of the reveting materials. (Of the
execution of the revetment only so much as may show whether the examinee
will be capable of undertaking the direction of such works in an
efficient manner.)
10. Fortification of heights and defiles.
11. Object, general arrangement, and advantageous situation of a
tête-de-pont.
12. Arrangements for the defense of woods, hedges, houses, churches,
and churchyards.
13. Attack and defense of a redoubt; surprise; attack by open force.
14. Repairing and destroying roads, fords, and bridges, wooden and
stone; construction of foot bridges, carriage bridges, bridges across
swamps.
B. _Permanent Fortifications._
1. Construction of a bastioned front in a plain, with ravelin,
tenaille, and covered way, in plan and profile, after the first system
of Vauban, with the improvements of Cormontaigne; name and destination
of every single part, angle, and line.
2. Brief description of a regular attack upon a bastioned fortress;
sketch of the preparations for attack; lines of circumvallation and
contravallation.
Description of parallels, approaches, demi-parallels, and the duties
of the infantry in them; saps, trench cavaliers; carrying the covered
way, crowning the glacis, passage of the ditch, escalade of the rampart.
These operations to be detailed according to their object, position, and
arrangement, but without special reference to their technical execution.
General notions relative to the batteries of a besieging army, their
position, object, calibre of guns, and practice.
3. Outlines of the system of defense of a fortress relative to the
employment of infantry and cavalry in garrison, and of the standing
artillery in arming the fortress and placing it in a state of defense
against a regular attack or an attack by open force in all its stages.
Especial knowledge of the duties of infantry and cavalry in garrison,
in guarding, occupying, and defending the works, and in sallies,
required.
4. Historical sketch of an actual siege (on which the examinee has
attended a lecture,) and the principles of the attack and defense of
fortresses in general.
5. Account of the situation, form, arrangement, and object of some of
the means employed for increasing the permanent strength of fortresses,
exclusive of the more technical points.
_a._ The rampart of the body of the place. Angle of the bastions and
its effect; length of flanks and faces; auxiliary flanks; empty and
solid bastions attached and detached fausse-brayes.
The escarp, earthen wall, revetment, demi-revetment, simple
crenneled wall, arched crenneled wall, revetment _en décharge_;
perpendicular and parallel casemates.
_b._ The main ditch, dry, wet, and dry or inundated at pleasure;
sluices, coffer-dams, reservoirs.
_c._ Outworks. Ravelin, tenaille, counterguards, cover-faces,
envelopes, tenaillons, lunettes.
_d._ Advanced works. Simple and double tenaille; horn-work before a
bastion or redoubt; crown-work; double crown-work; advanced ditch, with
advanced covered way.
_e._ Detached works, open or inclosed at the gorge.
_f._ Interior works. Cuts inside the bastions; réduits; citadels.
6. Historical notions of the characteristics of some of the principal
systems of fortification, _e.g._ the old and modern Italian, the old
Dutch, Vauban’s second and third manner, the ideas of Coehorn, Rimpler,
the French school, and that of Montalembert, compared with Vauban’s
first system, but without statement of proportions; in addition to this,
the characteristics of the latest Prussian fortifications, always with
the omission of details more especially technical.
7. Modified methods of attack; surprise, assault, bombardment,
blockade; explanation and statement of circumstances in which attacks of
this kind are practicable.
IV. SURVEYING AND DRAWING PLANS.
1. Knowledge of the instruments generally employed in military
surveying, and their use.
_a._ Instruments for measuring and marking out straight lines;
viz.--
Signals, bandrols, or _jalons_, common staves, picket posts,
rods, measuring chains, measuring cord, the step.
_b._ Instruments used for protracting the lines measured, viz.--
The step measure, calliper compasses, beam compasses, dividing
and reducing compasses.
_c._ Instruments for measuring and marking out horizontal angles:
The square, the plane table, caloptric compasses, the reflector,
the sea-compass, the prismatic compass, the astrolabe:
_d._ Instruments for measuring vertical angles:
Lehmann’s dioptric rule, Schmalkalder’s holometer, the quadrant.
_e._ Leveling instruments:
The ordinary mason’s level, the spirit level, the water level,
the spirit level _à lunette_, the plumb rule, Lehmann’s dioptric rule
in connection with the plane table, placed horizontally, the surveyor’s
rule, Schmalkalder’s holometer.
2. Operations in surveying with the plane table, astrolabe, reflector,
and compass.
3. Topographical survey of a locality (theoretically and practically,)
reconnoitring, geometrical triangulation, detailed survey.
4. Hasty or rough sketch of certain objects, and entire (but limited)
sections of country.
5. Drawing plans.
_a._ Notion of the elements of topography; rising and sloping
ground, running and standing waters, division of ground in a military
point of view, and characteristics of the same; open, inclosed,
elevated, hilly, mountainous, broken ground.
_b._ Theory of plan drawing.
α. The first elements of the science of projection, and the
construction of instruments for measuring slopes.
β. Fundamental rules for plan drawing in general, and for drawing
mountains in particular. Statement of the various angles of depression
of inclined planes through mountainous regions.
γ. Of the horizontals, and the laws dependent upon them, relative
to mountainous districts.
δ. On the laws of defiles.
ε. On ascertaining the difference of elevation, and drawing
profiles.
ζ. View of the accessories of plan drawing; the choice of colors
and of type, and the order in which the operations necessary for
preparing a plan are performed.
_c._ Practical plan drawing from copies and models.
V. MILITARY COMPOSITION AND KNOWLEDGE OF THE SERVICE.
A. _Exercises in Military Composition._
1. Drawing up reports on incidents connected with the service, and
with the duties of a subaltern officer, directed to the military
authorities and superior officers of every rank.
2. Instructions to subordinates.
3. Applications and memorials.
B. _Acquaintance with the General Regulations of the Service._
1. The laws on disciplinary and military punishments.
2. The proceedings in courts-martial, drum-head courts-martial, and
courts of honor.
The preparation for this second, severer, and professional test that has
just been described, is usually obtained in the division schools, of
which an account will shortly follow, and to which any young man once
accepted as a candidate, who has served his six months with the troops,
and has passed his preliminary or ensign examination, may be admitted,
even though a vacancy has not yet occurred, and he has not yet received
his definitive promotion to the ensign’s grade.
V. MILITARY SCHOOLS FOR PREPARING OFFICERS.
_The Cadet Schools or Cadet Houses._
The actual military education of Prussia commences with the cadet
houses, the schools intended for pupils before entering the army. They
are divided into two classes, the junior and the senior. They can not
indeed be called exclusively military schools, since the education which
most of their pupils receive is one which fits them for civil
professions, and is not specially military; and there is no obligation
even on those who have received the largest amount of pecuniary
assistance to enter the military profession when they leave the cadet
house. The highest class, however, of the Upper Cadet School of Berlin,
called the _Selecta_, receives strictly military teaching for a year,
and the schools may fairly come under this denomination, as being mainly
intended to educate the sons of officers who are in want of assistance,
and as possessing a military discipline, uniform, and spirit.
These are five in number, four preparatory schools, and one a finishing
institution; the four first in the provinces, at Culm, Potsdam,
Wahlstatt, and Bensberg, the last in the capital itself. At the four
junior schools, boys may be admitted at 10 or 11, and may remain till
15; at the upper school the ordinary stay is from 15 or 16 to 18 or 19.
The whole constitute together a single body, called the cadet corps.
Boys may enter the school at Berlin on passing an examination, without
previously attending one of the lower schools; but those who are sent up
by the authorities from Culm, Potsdam, Wahlstatt, and Bensberg, are
received without examination, being already members of the corps.
A single officer exercises the command of the whole; and a single
commission, of which the general inspector is chairman, regulates all
matters relating to the admission of candidates into the body.
The whole number at present is between 1,100 and 1,200, of whom 420 are
in the Upper School at Berlin, 205 in the Preparatory School at Potsdam,
and 200 at each of the other houses.
The cadets are of two kinds, the King’s cadets and the Pensioners or
paying pupils; the former are 720 in number, the latter about 420. The
pensioners pay 200 dollars (30_l._) a year for board and instruction
together; the King’s cadets are aided in various degrees accordingly to
the following scale:--
240 pay 30 dollars (4_l._ 10_s._) each.
240 pay 60 dollars (9_l._) each.
240 pay 100 dollars (15_l._) each.
Foreigners are admissible at a yearly payment of 300 dollars (45_l._,)
and a few extra day scholars (_Hospitanten_,) when the classes are not
too full, are received for 20 dollars a year (3_l._)
The King’s cadetships are granted, according to the pecuniary
circumstances of the applicants, to the children of officers of the
standing army, or of the Landwehr, who have distinguished themselves or
have been invalided in actual service in the field; to the children of
non-commissioned officers who have in like manner distinguished
themselves and received severe wounds in the service; and to those of
any citizens who have performed any special service to the state. The
sons of meritorious officers who have died in indigence or have retired
upon pensions, the sons of indigent officers in general in the standing
army, and the sons of meritorious non-commissioned officers of
twenty-five years’ standing, are also in like manner eligible.
In very special cases of poverty, the supplementary payment is dispensed
with altogether.
Pensioners are admitted from all classes and professions according to
priority of application, and to their qualifications as shown by their
examination. A great number of these are said to be the sons of
officers, of those, namely, who are not in need of pecuniary assistance.
And the number of the pensioners generally appears to be steadily on the
increase. In the regulations printed in 1850, the places open for this
class of cadets are stated to be only 216; at present, as has been seen,
provision is made for something like double that number.
The four junior schools at Culm, Potsdam, Wahlstatt, and Bensberg, are
all divided for purposes of instruction upon the same uniform plan into
four classes, numbered up from six to three--_Sexta_ at the bottom;
_Quinta_; _Quarta_; and _Tertia_ at the top. The upper school at Berlin
succeeds with three classes, the second, the first, and the special or
select--_Secunda_, _Prima_, and _Selecta_. Each of these classes,
however, may contain any number of co-ordinate subdivisions, all taught
the same subjects, and presumed to contain pupils of the same capacity.
No teacher, it is considered, can satisfactorily undertake to give a
lesson to more than thirty at a time; and the Secunda at Berlin was thus
parted out in the year ending March, 1856, into eight little sets of
rather less than thirty, the Prima into six, and the Selecta into two.
_Junior Cadet House._
The junior cadet house at Potsdam occupies four or five buildings a
little way out of the town. The class-rooms are on the usual Prussian
plan, not arranged for lectures to large, but for lessons with small
numbers. One distinguishing feature is the character of the arrangements
of the rooms up-stairs, in which the boys pass their time out of school
hours. They are very comfortable chambers, perhaps rather small for the
numbers at present placed in them; they are ranged along a corridor; ten
pupils are placed in each, and between every two rooms is the apartment
of one of the resident tutors (_Erzieher_ or _Gouverneur_,) who sees
that all goes on right in these two rooms under his charge. Here the
boys sit and work, and during the hours when they are expected to be
preparing their lessons, are carefully looked after by their tutors.
These little apartments occupy one whole floor of the building. The
floor above is that of the dormitories, containing each, perhaps, as
many as sixty. The number at present in the school was stated to be two
hundred and five, and the accommodation properly intended for only one
hundred and sixty.
Colonel von Rosenberg, the commandant of the school, stated that eleven
was the usual age at which the pupils came. This he appeared to think
was rather too early, and he was inclined to attribute to this cause
certain points in the character of young men who have been educated in
the cadet corps. Eighty of his two hundred and five pupils were
pensioners, or paying pupils; many of these also were the sons of
officers. The teachers and tutors are partly civilians and partly
military men, about an equal number of each. The four classes, Tertia,
Quarta, Quinta, and Sexta, are subdivided into nine, so that the average
number at a lesson would not be more than twenty-three.
_Senior Cadet House._
The upper or central cadet school is in the older part of Berlin, in the
_Neue Friedrichs Strasse_, where on the pediment surmounting the gateway
the inscription, MARTIS ET MINERVÆ ALUMNIS M.DCC. LXXVI, records the
erection by Frederick the Great, ten years before his death, of the
large and stately quadrangle which formed the original house. Here the
pupils are quartered, and in the great court within, they go through
their exercises. There are several houses on both sides of the street
attached to the service of the institution, and buildings are in course
of erection to accommodate additional numbers.
A large separate building contains the present class-rooms. In the first
of these which we visited, thirty cadets were engaged in military
drawing; in another, twenty-four of the second class, the Secunda, were
busy at their Latin lesson.
The room was fitted up on what appears to be the usual plan, with a
series of parallel desks on the same level, ranged along the outer wall,
and a sufficient space between them and the inner wall for the teacher
to pass freely up and down. His desk was at one end in front of the
boys. The lesson was in Quintus Curtius. The teacher (a civilian) made
them construe each a sentence, and asked questions in parsing, &c., &c.,
much in the English manner. There was no taking places. This in German
schools appears to be confined to quite the lower classes. There is a
separate lecture-room here again for lessons on Natural Philosophy and
Chemistry, with a small gallery of models, instruments, &c., attached to
it.
A large hall is used on state occasions, and serves the purpose also of
an examination-room; it is called the hall of the Field Marshals, and is
adorned with portraits of the sovereigns of Prussia from the Great
Elector downwards, and of the field marshals both of the time of
Frederick the Great and of more recent date, among whom is the Duke of
Wellington. Here also is kept Napoleon’s sword taken at “La Belle
Alliance,” and presented by Marshal Blucher.
Passing to the first floor of the great quadrangular building, we found
ourselves in one of the sitting-rooms of the cadets. Seven boys had a
couple of rooms, consisting of a common sitting-room, and a common
bed-room. Five is the number for which this amount of accommodation was
intended, and to five the number will be reduced when the new buildings
are completed. In a second and larger pair of rooms we found twelve
boys.
Here also is the library, containing 10,000 volumes, and comfortable
apartments occupied by the various superintending officers.
The boys, their morning lessons completed, had been going through their
military exercises under the superintendence of their officers; but they
were now collected in their studying-rooms, and were seen forming at the
doors, each small party under the command of its senior, ready to march
into the large and handsome dinner-hall.
Into this the whole body of young men presently moved by companies,
proceeding to station themselves in front of the tables. The tables are
ranged in parallel lines on each side of the central passage, and
accommodate each of them ten, four sitting at each side, and a senior at
each end. The order was given by the officer on duty for “prayer” (_Nun
beten wir_,) and a short silent grace was followed by the immediate
occupation of the seats, and the commencement of the meal. The
arrangements in general appeared to be excellent.
The number in the school during the past year had been 420. The four
companies into which the whole body of the pupils is divided, each
contain a certain proportion from each of the three classes; the senior
in each company being invested with the charge of the juniors; those who
are in the Selecta taking rank as under officers. In every room (_Stube_
or _Wohnzimmer_) there is one _Selectaner_, who is responsible. The
ordinary ages are 15, 16 in the Secunda; 16, 17 in the Prima, and as far
as 19 in the Selecta. No one is, as a rule, allowed to pass more than
one year in a class; if in that time he can not qualify himself for
advancement, he is dismissed. The rule does not, however, appear to be
strictly enforced. The general preservation of discipline appears to be
a good deal intrusted, as in English public schools, to these senior
pupils of the age of eighteen or nineteen. There are Resident Tutors
(_Erziehers_ or _Gouverneurs_) as at Potsdam, who see a good deal of the
pupils, especially in the evenings, when they go into the sitting-rooms,
sit with them, help them in their work, play at chess with them, &c.,
&c. But they do not sleep close at hand between the sets of rooms, as at
Potsdam, but at some little distance off.
The official arrangements for the control of the discipline consist
principally in the system of what are called _Censur_ Classes. This is a
peculiar system which requires some explanation. There are five _Censur_
Classes quite independent of the ordinary classes of the school. A boy
on entering the Cadet School is always placed in the third of these
classes; if he behaves ill, he falls to Class IV. and is under
restrictions. Class V. is reserved for serious cases of misconduct, and
any one who incurs the penalty of descending to it, is subject to
continual superintendence, and is confined to the walls. Class II. gives
considerable, and Class I. still more ample privileges. The members of
this class (usually only quite the elder boys) are allowed great freedom
in the way of going out into the town.
In each of the studying-rooms (the _Wohnzimmer_) the list of the
occupants’ names hangs up on the door inside. One for example was
noticed containing twelve names. To each was attached his rank in the
_Censur_ Classes, as well as his position in the ordinary classes. At
the head stood one _Selectaner_, who in this instance was in charge of
the room; then followed the _Primaners_; and the list was completed by
nine of the _Secunda_. As at the time of our visit (just after the
Easter holidays and the yearly examination) the whole Selecta of the
year had just quitted, the room was in the charge of the senior
_Primaner_. The authority exercised by these senior boys appears to be
very considerable.
The competition for admission to the Selecta, and for the after
selection for immediate promotion, was spoken of as very considerable.
The number who came to the Berlin Cadet House without previously going
to one of the junior establishments was said to be only a small
per-centage.
The boys both here and at Potsdam were of course all found dressed in a
military uniform.
The studies pursued in the Cadet Corps agree nearly with those of the
common public schools, but of these there are three different kinds:--
1. The ordinary first-class school, the _gymnasium_ of the Prussian
States, is, strictly speaking, a school which prepares for the
universities.
2. The second-class schools have the name of _Real_ or _Practical
Schools_; they deal with the actual application to business and work,
not with the theory of mathematics or of language, and they may be said
to resemble in some degree the schools occasionally attached in English
towns to Mechanics’ Institutes, or in the United States, to the Public
English High School or the Higher Department of a Union School. Young
men who have passed successfully through a gymnasium may be admitted to
the army without passing the preliminary or _Portepée-fähnrich_
examination. Those who complete their time at a _Real_ School have not
hitherto been allowed the same privilege.
3. There is a third and intermediate class called a _Real_ or _Practical
Gymnasium_, and to this, according to the statements of the official
books, the courses of the Cadet Schools have hitherto corresponded. It
appears, however, that there is only one specimen of the _Real
Gymnasium_ now in existence, the Coëln School in the old town of Berlin.
The system here is said to be more practical than the _Gymnasium_, and
less professional or mechanical than the _Real School_.
It is intended during the present year to assimilate the course of
instruction at the Cadet Schools more nearly to that followed at the
_Gymnasium_ or University School; the studies of the senior Cadet School
at Berlin will be raised to a higher standard, but Greek and Hebrew,
which are taught in all gymnasiums, will not be introduced.
The two systems have corresponded as follows :--
Class in the Cadet Corps. Age. Corresponding Class in the
_Real_ Gymnasium.
6th, or _Sexta_, 12 5th, or _Quinta_.
5th, or _Quinta_, 13 4th, _Quarta_.
4th, _Quarta_, 14 Under 3d, _Unter-Tertia_.
3d, _Tertia_, 15 Upper 3d, _Ober-Tertia_.
2d, _Secunda_ (at Berlin,) 16 Lower Second, _Unter-Secunda_.
1st, _Prima_, 17 Upper Second, _Ober-Secunda_.
The Selecta, the Military Class, corresponds with the classes of the
Division Schools, and with the first year’s course of the Artillery and
Engineers’ School.
The plan pursued, both as regards, first, the subjects taught, and
second, the amount of time, is as follows:--
The instruction consists throughout, from _Sexta_ up to _Prima_, of
lessons in Latin, German, French, Arithmetic, History, Geography.
Natural History begins in the _Quinta_, at 12 or 13 years old, with
Botany and Zoölogy; Mineralogy follows, at 14 or 15; Natural Philosophy
at 15 or 16. The first elements of drawing, with the use of rulers,
compasses, &c., begins also in _Quinta_, at 12 or 13. Practice in
regular plan-drawing is gradually and increasingly given in every year.
The first elements of geometry are taught in the _Quarta_, and Euclid I.
47. _Pythagoras_, has to be mastered at 14 years old. Theoretical
Arithmetic, in combination with Algebra, is commenced apparently in the
_Tertia_.
The subjects taught in the _Secunda_, _Prima_, and _Selecta_, that is,
the course of the Upper School at Berlin, has hitherto been as
follows:--
_In the Secunda:_
Quintus Curtius, Cicero’s Orations, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses; in
Mathematics, the completion of Plane and commencement of Solid Geometry;
Quadratic Equations; the Physical, Statistical, and Ethnographical
Geography of Europe; Ancient History, and History of the Middle Ages,
down to the Thirty Years’ War; a first course of Natural Philosophy;
French and German Composition continued; Theory and Practice of Military
drawing.
_In the Prima:_
Livy and Virgil; in Algebra, Progressions, Logarithms, Exponential
Equations; Trigonometry, Mathematical and pure Physical Geography in
general; Modern History; second course of Natural Philosophy, Heat,
Electricity, Magnetism, Sound, Light; French, Exercise in Speaking, &c.;
History of German Literature; Composition, extempore Exercises; Military
Drawing continued.
_In the Selecta:_
Arms and Munitions, and Artillery; Fortification, Tactics, Military
Literature Practical Exercises, Military Drawing and Surveying;
exercises in French and German; Mental Philosophy; Chemistry; and the
Differential and Integral Calculus for those who propose to enter the
Artillery or the Engineers.
The Secunda have weekly--
6 hours of Latin.
3 “ of German.
4 “ of French.
5 “ of Mathematics.
2 “ of History.
2 “ of Geography.
2 “ of Natural Philosophy.
2 “ of Lessons in Drawing.
2 “ of Religious Instruction.
2 “ of French Conversation.
--
Total, 30 hours weekly.
The Prima--
The same amount in Latin, German, French, Mathematics, Natural
Philosophy, French, Conversation, and Drawing; in History 3, and in
General Geography 2, and Mathematical Geography 1; of Religious
Instruction 1. 33 hours weekly.
The _Selecta_ have--
4 hours of Tactics.
2 “ of Military Literature.
1 “ of Military Law and Regulations.
5 “ of Artillery.
5 “ of Fortification.
2 “ of Plan Drawing.
2 “ of Mental Philosophy, or English.
2 “ of Chemistry.
2 “ of Mathematics.
2 “ of French.
2 “ of German.
--
Total, 29 hours weekly.
The lessons appear to be going on from 8 to 11 or 12 in the morning, and
from 2 to 4 or 5 in the evening. The pupils have two hours’ drill twice
a week. They get up at half-past 5, have breakfast, and an hour’s
preparation before lessons begin. There are similar hours of study in
the evening from 6 to 8; and some of the pupils also take private
lessons from the teachers.[7] During these special hours of study
(_Arbeitstunde_,) the chambers are visited by the officers and tutors,
assistance is given and diligence enforced. From 8 to half-past 9 they
study as they please; the tutors are a good deal with them in the rooms;
at 10 all are in bed. Wednesday and Saturday are half holidays; on
Sunday they attend morning service in the garrison church, and after
that is over, are allowed to be more or less absent in the town, to be
with their parents, relations, and friends.
[Footnote 7: Not from the Tutors, but from the non-resident
Professors and Teachers.]
For the 420 cadets of the Institution at Berlin, there appear to be
about twenty professors and teachers not residing in the school, the
majority of whom are civilians; and in addition to these, twenty tutors
and superintendents resident in the buildings. Of these, sixteen are
military officers, half of whom are permanently attached to the corps,
and half on duty from various regiments, and four are civilians. The
cadets being divided into four companies, each containing so many of the
Selecta, so many of the Prima, and so many of the Secunda, to each of
these companies are attached one captain, one first-lieutenant, and two
second-lieutenants, all of whom, however, take some part in the
instruction; and one civilian (_Civil-Erzieher_) is added with the
especial duty of looking after and assisting the studies of the cadets
of the company.
The holidays are one month in summer (in July and August,) ten days or a
fortnight at Christmas, eight days at Easter, and four at Whitsuntide.
The rules for the entrance of cadets into the army are as
follows:--Those who complete their year in the Prima are considered
to be sufficiently prepared for ordinary admission. They are sent
in to an examination before the Supreme Examinations Board (the
_Ober-Militair-Examinations-Commission_) before examiners entirely
independent of and unconnected with the instruction of the cadets; and
the majority, if they pass, are admitted simply as _Portepée-fähnriche_,
on the same conditions as the young men already spoken of who enter upon
the recommendation merely of the commanding officer of a regiment and
the approval of the commanding officer of an army corps. Like these,
they serve in the regiment, they attend the Division Schools, and in due
time offer themselves for examination for a commission.
Out of this number, however, the sixty who do best are retained, and
reserved to receive in the special military class of the Cadet School
the instruction which the others are to seek in the Division Schools.
These remain another year in the Cadet House, and undergo at its close,
before leaving the Cadet House, their officers’ examination before the
Supreme Board. The thirty best are once more selected, and receive
immediate promotion. Their patents are signed and they join their
regiments at once as second-lieutenants. The other thirty, if they have
satisfied the examiners, receive a certificate of qualification, and
enter with the rank of _Portepée-fähnrich_, and with, the prospect of
receiving commissions without further examination, as soon as vacancies
occur. Any one who fails to pass his examination must enter, if at all,
simply with the rank of _Portepée-fähnrich_, and has to qualify himself
in the Division Schools for attempting a second time the examination for
the officer’s patent.
Such is the system as recently modified. Till quite lately only thirty
were promoted from the Prima to the Selecta, and these thirty, unless
they failed wholly, obtained immediate commissions at the end of the
year. It has been found desirable to introduce the stimulus of
competition, to offer a definite reward in the way of superior
advantages to the best students, and to make it obviously worth a young
man’s while to exert himself, and to be thoroughly diligent during this
final year in the Selecta at the Cadet School.
Young men who, after passing the examination in the Prima, desire to
enter the artillery and engineers, follow the usual course leading to
the Artillery and Engineers’ School. They enter an artillery regiment,
or a division of the engineers; they serve for nine months, they enter
the special school, they are eligible after the first quarter to the
grade of _Portepée-fähnrich_, and at the close of their first year are
examined for their lieutenant’s commission. Those who remain in the
Selecta have the great advantage of passing from the Cadet School
immediately into the Artillery and Engineers’ School as lieutenants, and
commence their course there accordingly at the beginning of the second
of the three years. As, however, the school-year closes at the end of
April, in the Cadet Houses, and begins in the Artillery and Engineers’
School on the 1st of October, these select cadets also pass five months
with their regiment in actual service before recommencing their studies.
The average number who pass in this manner into the Artillery and
Engineers’ School is stated by the authorities of the Cadet House to be
three annually from the Selecta, and six or eight from the Prima.
It can hardly have escaped observation, that the studies pursued as a
qualification for entering the army are, with the exception of the
Selecta, almost entirely non-professional, even here in this part of the
general system, which is in other respects most military in its
character; and the tendency seems to be to carry out to a still greater
extent the theory of continuing to as late an age as possible a good
general education. There is evidently a general desire in Prussia, to
take the officers of the standing army exclusively from the
well-educated or the higher classes.
In the arrangements for the lessons, the very temperate or even timid
use of the stimulus of competition deserves to be noticed. It appears,
however, to have been lately employed with advantage in the highest
class. At the same time, the provision made for giving really good
instruction, and for placing all the boys in close relation with their
teachers, can not but excite admiration. The small numbers of which the
classes consist, and the care which seems to be taken in providing good
teachers, both deserve attention.
The domestic arrangements, without being remarkable for the scrupulous
cleanliness or the magnitude of the new institutions in Austria,
certainly in some respects are more in accordance with English feelings.
The greater privacy afforded by the use of rooms where few live
together, is certainly more analogous to what has been found most
desirable for English boys in large English schools, though most likely
the contrary system is not less well-adapted to the national character
in France and in Austria.
_2. The Division Schools._
There are nine Division Schools for the whole army, one for each army
corps, and they are placed at the following towns:--
Potsdam, Königsberg, Stettin, Frankfort on the Oder, Erfurt, Glogan,
Neisse, Münster, and Trèves.
Here the young aspirant finds himself with nine or ten companions and a
body of teachers amounting to about half that number, appointed by the
commanding officer of the army corps, and differing considerably in
different districts in their talents and ideas of education. They are
often, though not always, selected from officers who have been at the
Staff School, and afterwards at the Topographical Bureau. Their
additional pay for teaching is uncertain; it depends upon the surplus
remaining after the expenses of the household, and the money paid in
purchasing books, instruments, &c., is deducted from the yearly
allowance made to the school by the government. At best it is not high.
It is calculated by the number of lectures, and at the most amounts to
something more than 4_l._ 10_s._ (30 thalers) for the lectures on a
single subject, given, it must be remembered, during the course of
little more than six months in the year. The highest pay given in the
Potsdam School to any one professor amounted to something more than 15
_l._ (100 thalers) yearly for lectures on three subjects, averaging ten
or twelve lectures weekly for about six months. This must be estimated
by a Prussian, not an English standard, being nearly equivalent to
five-twelfths of the annual pay of a second lieutenant in that service.
Still the sum is very low; and this, with some other obvious
deficiencies, injures the working of the schools.
The young candidate for a commission begins a course of Tactics,
Fortification, theory of Drawing and Surveying, Military Literature,
Artillery, &c., Military Essays, and Drawing of Plans, which must be
finished at the school in nine months, although it may be continued
longer in private if the candidate is not prepared to pass his
examination. As long as it lasts, twenty-three hours a week are devoted
to study, besides the time occupied by questions, which the teachers are
required to set from time to time, in order to keep up the pupil’s
previous knowledge of French and Mathematics. The course is divided into
the purely theoretical and practical divisions, the first of six and a
half months, the latter of two and a half. We have already given a very
full account of the studies in p. 188.
The arrangement of studies is systematic, and the number of hours
devoted each week to lectures on the various subjects of study and to
gymnastic riding and fencing, is as follows:
WEEKLY:
Hours.
Fortification, 4
Artillery, &c., 3
Tactics, 4
Military Surveying (theoretically,) 4
Military Literature, 2
Instruction on Military Duties, 1
Plan Drawing, 5
Gymnastics, 2
Riding, 2
Fencing, 2
--
Total, 29
The subjoined plan gives the exact employment of time for each day
during the week :--
PLAN OF LECTURES AT THE DIVISION SCHOOL IN POTSDAM, 1855-6.
-------+--------------------+----------------+-------------------+---
Hours. | Monday. | Tuesday. | Wednesday. |
-------+--------------------+----------------+-------------------+---
8- 9} | | Military | | *
9-10} | Fortification. | Literature. | Tactics. |
| | | |
10-11 | Instruction on |} | Plan drawing. |
| Military duties. |} | |
| |}Artillery, &c. | |
11-12 |}Plan drawing. |} | |
12- 1 |} | | |
12½-2½ | | Gymnastics. | |
-------+--------------------+----------------+-------------------+
| Thursday | Friday. | Saturday. |
-------+--------------------+----------------+-------------------+-
8- 9 }| | | |
9-10} | Fortification. | Artillery | Tactics. |
| | | |
10-11} | Military | Plan Drawing. | Military |
11-12} | Surveying | | Surveying |
| (theoretically.) | | (theoretically.)|
| | | |
12½-2½ | Riding. | Fencing. | |
-------+--------------------+----------------+-------------------+---
[* Dinner time, 3 o’clock. Time for studying, from 6 till 8 o’clock,
or from 7 till 9 o’clock every evening.]
The lecturer has to draw up what is called the thread of the lecture
(_leitfaden_,) a sort of programme containing its leading heads,
intended to assist the memory of the pupils in giving a full account of
it afterwards; and the contents of the different lectures on Tactics,
Arms and Munitions, Fortifications, &c., are written out very minutely
by the students. Ten pages of close print are devoted to these
programmes in Helldorf; and the translation already given (pp. 188-194)
will show that the list of military subjects adverted to is
considerable.
At the end of the nine months spent at the Division School, the
“_Officier Aspiranten_” go to Berlin for the examination for their
commission. If they can not pass this, they return to study by
themselves for their second trial. Unless by special permission from the
King, they can not try more than twice.
The examination is conducted by the Supreme Commission for Examinations
at Berlin, and has been already described.
The Division Schools were founded at the end of the great War. Their
germ appears in Scharnhorst’s general order in 1810, which, among other
things, instituted three War Schools for the candidate for commissions
(_Portepée-fähnriche_.) These three War Schools seem to have been
changed into the Division Schools in 1813 and 1816. At first, indeed,
they were much more numerous than at present, as their name implies,
there being two Divisions to each Army-Corps. There are now, as we have
mentioned, nine; and Corps School or Army-Corps School would be the more
correct designation.
Their importance as the institutions for special military instruction to
all “_Officier-Aspiranten_” of the army led us to inquire carefully with
regard to their efficiency, and in particular from two distinguished
officers, on whose judgment and scientific experience great reliance
might be placed. One of these, it may be added, possessed constant means
of knowing all the details respecting them.
I. Formerly, it appears, it was not possible to limit these schools to
their true object, purely military instruction. This was the special
object of their creation; but owing to the defective _general_ education
which candidates often brought with them into the army, the Division
Schools were too much used as a means of meeting this deficiency.
II. The opinions we obtained were certainly not favorable with regard to
the present efficiency of these schools. It seemed to be agreed, that
from various reasons, the military education given was susceptible of
much improvement; that some of the Division Schools were really
defective in teaching, whilst none could be pointed to as strikingly
good. But it was also admitted that these blemishes arose from
remediable defects in the working of the schools; that their principle
was in itself sound, and capable of being carried out more perfectly,
and excellently adapted to the object of giving some military
instruction to all desirous of becoming officers of the infantry and
cavalry.
III. The causes assigned for the present defects in the efficiency of
the Division Schools were chiefly the following:--
(_a._) That they were far too numerous.
Educated and scientific as Prussia may be called, it is not found
practicable to supply _nine_ army schools with exactly the sort of men
fitted for the work of education. The pay, it must be added, is
insufficient to attract many, and thus (as we were informed,) although
many officers of intelligence are sometimes not unwilling to leave the
life of drill for the life of education for a year or two, few do so
with the serious purpose of doing it _well_. Neither the position nor
the emoluments tempt them to make it a profession. Officers in command
of the district have made the appointments, and often have
“good-naturedly,” as it was said, appointed unfit persons, known as
studious men.
(_b._) The small number of pupils in each school was also spoken of as a
very great disadvantage, as doing away with all emulation amongst
themselves.
(_c._) The independence which each school has enjoyed, and the want of
any central body to watch its working and regulate its system, is also
said to have had bad results. The teaching has been far from
uniform,--in one school energetic, in another lax; in one school the
most important subjects taught, in another, a little of everything; in a
third, some special crotchet of a teacher. This has acted badly on the
examinations, since it was thought hard to reject an “_aspirant_” who
had done parts of his work well, and had been evidently ill taught or
superficially instructed in others.
The remedies suggested were,--
(1.) Considerably to diminish the number of these schools. This, we were
told, was about to be done by reducing them from _nine_ to _three_. Such
a course would obviously tend to remedy two of the evils complained of.
It would give a larger choice of teachers, and afford more liberal means
of remunerating them, and a larger attendance and competition of pupils.
(2.) To place the schools under the more direct regulation and
management of the Central Educational Department at Berlin. This step
would improve their teaching by subjecting it to constant inspection and
reports. It would insure uniformity in the system of instruction and
subjects of study; and, when combined with the presence of able
teachers, it would enable the Board of Examiners at Berlin to pursue a
more strict and unvarying course in rejecting ill-qualified candidates.
By these means the teaching in the school would probably become more
definite and higher.
One other point was mentioned to us as doubtful. It was thought that the
time for attending the Division School came too soon after a young man’s
entrance into the army, when he had but recently obtained his liberty,
and was likely to be much more unwilling to be sent to school again than
might have been the case a year or two later. General von Willisen, who
urged this objection to us, was consequently for deferring the
attendance at the Division Schools several years in an officer’s life.
We should add, however, that as in Prussia a young _Officier-aspirant_
is still partly a private soldier, we were told that many were glad to
exchange the severity of regimental discipline for the Division School.
_3. The United Artillery and Engineers’ School at Berlin._
Young men desirous of obtaining commissions in the Artillery or
Engineers follow the course which has already been described. They join
either with a nomination from a colonel of artillery or engineers, or as
scholars from the Cadet House. They submit themselves for examination
for the grade of Ensign (_Portepée-fähnrich_); they serve their time
with the troops, they go through a course of professional study, and are
examined in it for their officer’s commission by the Board at Berlin. If
they come from the highest class, the _Selecta_ of the Cadet House, they
have the privilege of joining the corps with the rank of officer.
In these respects the system is the same for them as for the
_Aspiranten_ in the other arms of the service.
The distinctions are, that first, in the preliminary or Ensign’s
Examination, a somewhat greater acquaintance with mathematics is
required from them; secondly, that they prepare for the Officer’s
Examination, and follow their professional studies, not in the Division
Schools, but in a separate Special Arm School at Berlin. Moreover, nine
months’ service with the troops, instead of six, is required before they
can enter the Special Arm School. They enter it also with the rank only
of corporal, and are not eligible to the grade of Swordknot Ensign until
they have passed three months at least in the school.
Their Officer’s Examination before the Supreme Board at Berlin takes
place after nine months more, at the end of the first year at the
school, and after passing they are eligible to the rank of officer.
When a vacancy occurs their claim to an actual commission is considered,
and the usual formalities are fulfilled. Their names are submitted for
approval to the officers of the corps, and with that approbation laid
before the King; and they thus in due time obtain their rank as
Sub-Lieutenants respectively of Artillery or of Engineers.
This rank, however, is provisional, and their position is that of
supernumeraries. Their education as officers may be complete, but their
education as officers of Artillery or of Engineers has scarcely in fact
commenced. They have before them a third examination, that of the
Special Arm, their _Vocation-trial_ or _Berufs-prüfung_. Or, more
correctly speaking, they have not one but two to pass, for the third
examination is divided into two stages, one to be passed at the end of
each of the two years which yet remain of the course. It is only when
these are completed, after a three years’ stay, that the young man is
finally allowed to join his corps as a second-lieutenant.
Failure in the officers’ examination at the close of the first year is
attended with the penalty of returning to the corps and resuming service
in the ranks with the troops. Whether or not the rejected student may be
permitted to return after an interval to join again the classes of the
first year, or after passing, upon a second trial, the officers’
examination, to enter the classes of the second year, will depend upon
the extent of his failure.
Failure in the examination at the close of the second year is similarly
visited with the punishment of return to the corps. As they have already
passed the officers’ examination, they may endeavor to effect a transfer
to a regiment of the line; or, under certain circumstances, they may be
permitted to study privately in preparation for the third year’s course,
and may offer themselves for a second trial.
If a student fails in his last examination at the close of the third
year, he may be allowed, in like manner, under favorable circumstances,
to re-enter the third year’s classes, and try to qualify himself by an
additional year of study, losing, of course, his seniority. Otherwise,
he joins the corps as a supernumerary, with the pay of an infantry
officer, and waits till he can obtain a commission in the line.
Candidates for commissions in the engineers enter the corps, it should
be observed, originally as volunteers, finding their own clothing, and
receiving no pay; but as soon as they enter the school they are
regularly paid by the state, and receive their pay in the usual course
of the service from the division to which they belong.
The studies of the three years are arranged in accordance with the
system that has just been described. Those of the first year are common
to the two arms, and correspond, in a general way, with what is taught
in the Division Schools or in the highest class of the Cadet House.
Those of the second year are devoted to the special arm subjects. In
Mathematics, Artillery, and Fortification, the lectures are common to
the artillery and engineers; in drawing they are divided.
In the third year a considerable separation takes place. Mathematics are
still taught, and there is a special class of the most advanced students
in the Differential and Integral Calculus, the Higher Geometry, and in
Analytical Mechanics and Hydraulics; this, however, is purposely
restricted to about one-third of the class, by raising the requirements,
if necessary.
The course is divided in each year into the theoretical and the
practical part. The year commences in October with the former, and the
studies for the nine months succeeding are for the most part theoretical
only. In June the examinations take place. July, August, and a part of
September are given up to practical exercises. Something like the last
three weeks of September are allowed for a vacation.
The general control of the school is in the hands of the General
Inspectors of the two services, the artillery and the engineers. These
two are the _Curators_ of the school and form the _Curatorium_. They
make their reports to the General Inspector of Military Education, of
whom mention has already been made. The immediate management is
intrusted to a director, who is a field officer of artillery or
engineers, of the rank of commandant of a regiment, and he has a
captain, appointed by the _Curatorium_ as his assistant.
There is a Board of Studies, of which the Director is chairman,
consisting of the Senior Professor of Mathematics, of the Instructors of
Artillery and Engineering in the third Cœtus, and of an equal number of
officers of the two services named by the Curators.
Four officers, three from the artillery and one from the engineers,
acting under the captain, are charged with the care of discipline and
order; these are the _Direction_ Officers.
There are twelve military and eleven civilian professors and teachers.
Among the military professors and teachers may be included any of the
direction officers.
The examinations of the first year are conducted by the usual Board, the
Supreme Military Examinations Board; but for those of the second and of
the third year, there is a separate board, chosen from the two services
by the Curators, and otherwise unconnected with the School.
The numbers in the school vary from 216 to 240. In time of peace about
five are yearly admitted for each regiment of artillery, and two or
three for each division of engineers. The great majority have entered
the army from the usual places of civil education, a few from the Prima
of the Cadet House, on the same terms as the others, and a small number,
who are usually among the best pupils in the school, from the Selecta,
who come as officers, and after a short service with the troops, enter
the second year’s classes, provided there is room, preference being
always allowed to the students already belonging to the school, who have
succeeded in passing the examination of the first year.
The Artillery and Engineers’ School buildings stand in Berlin itself, in
the principal street, _Unter den Linden_, No. 74, near the Brandenburg
Gate. They bear the following inscription: _Artillerie und Ingenieur
Schule. Stiftung Friedrich Wilhelms_ III. M.DCCC.XXII.
On the occasion of our visit to the school, we were allowed by the
kindness of the authorities to be present at some of the lectures. The
students of the second year were attending the course on the History of
the Art of War, and the immediate subject was an account of and
criticism on the battle of Blenheim. The young men, about forty-five in
number, were ranged in desks facing the Professor, but not in the manner
of an amphitheater. The lecture was interesting, animated, and generally
instructive; it was perfectly professorial in character, and the young
men took notes. A class of the students of the first year, thirty-five
in number, were engaged in topographical drawing. The artillery division
of the third year students were in another room, listening to and busily
taking notes upon a lecture (also professorial) on the construction of
gun-carriages: the number was about forty-five.
Only the students of the first year are lodged in the building; and
owing to the unusually large number lately admitted, an adjoining house
has been taken to afford additional room. The accommodation in general
is rather limited. Two stories in the upper part of the building are
occupied by the somewhat scantily furnished chambers; there appeared in
some cases to be two young men in one room, in other cases four, or as
many as six or seven to a bedroom and sitting-room. The students who
lodge in the building dine together in a mess-room; and there is a
billiard-room, with coffee-rooms adjoining it, for the general use,
looking out from the ground floor front into the Unter den Linden. There
is a library, a small laboratory attached to the lecture-room employed
for the subjects of Chemistry and Natural Philosophy, and a small
collection of apparatus required for illustration on the latter subject.
On quitting the school, the engineer students, as soon as they obtain
their commissions, are employed for three years with a Division of
Engineers; then for three years in a fortress to superintend buildings;
and then again with a Division of Engineers. They are then eligible to
promotion as first-lieutenants.
The artillery students, in like manner, join and serve with their
regiments.
Promotion in the artillery is by regiments, in the engineers it is
general throughout the whole corps.
We should not omit to call attention to the fact, that the only instance
which has come to our knowledge of the promotion of _officers in their
own arm of the service_, being made contingent on their passing an
examination, is to be found in the Prussian Artillery and Engineers.
First-Lieutenants belonging to those corps must pass an examination
before they can be promoted to the rank of captain. This regulation does
not exist for any other part of the Prussian service, and it is
considered a great grievance by the officers of those corps, as it may
be exacted at the age of forty, from the most highly educated officers
of the Prussian army.
The pay of subaltern of engineers is somewhat higher than that of the
artillery, infantry, and cavalry. Above the rank of subaltern, the pay
of the artillery, cavalry, and engineers, is on an equality, but
superior to that of the infantry. The engineers have, moreover, a
prospect of employment of a civil nature when they return from active
service; to lucrative positions of this kind they are not unfrequently
appointed.
It should be mentioned before quitting the subject, that all the
officers of the artillery and engineers are bound, in consideration of
three years’ maintenance in the school, to serve a period of six years,
before they can exercise the usual privilege allowed to Prussian
officers of withdrawing from the service.
[_A particular account of the Course of Instruction in this School will
be given in a separate article under the title of the Institution._]
VI. SCHOOL FOR STAFF OFFICERS AT BERLIN.
The War School (_Kriegs-Schule_) in Berlin has undergone many changes
since its foundation in the time of Frederick the Great. It is now the
Staff School of Prussia, _i.e._, the only, or almost the only, means of
obtaining a staff appointment is by passing through it, and the
education given is particularly intended to form staff officers. Its
plan and methods of teaching differ, indeed, from the very commencement
from the French Staff School, and bear much more resemblance to the
senior department at Sandhurst, with the exception that the senior
department is not at present a necessary means towards a staff
appointment.
Thus the _Kriegs-Schule_ does not take young men of twenty-one or
twenty-two and educate them (like the French Staff School) for the staff
and the staff alone. Its pupils are men of twenty-five or twenty-six,
officers of three years’ standing, or five years’ service since their
first entering the army. At this comparatively ripe age they become
candidates for entrance to the Staff School, and, if admitted, they
spend there three years of laborious study, with no very brilliant
prospects to crown it, as only a very small number obtain what may be
called the lowest prize, admission to the Topographical Department; and
out of these only two or three yearly of the most distinguished pupils
gain the Staff. The rest return to their regiments, and are employed as
adjutants or as teachers in the Division Schools.
The process of entrance is as follows:--An officer of three years’
standing desires to go to the Staff School. Any one may send in his name
as a candidate for the entrance examination to the minister of war,
having obtained a certificate from his superior officer that he
understands his regular duty, has no debts, and is capable, both as
regards his abilities and bodily strength, of making a good staff
officer. Little difficulty is made about admission to become a
candidate, nor is there any regulation to limit the number from any one
corps or regiment, so that there may be often found in the Staff School
more in proportion from the infantry than the cavalry, and _vice versâ_.
Some regiments, we heard, hardly ever send officers to the school.
Practically, indeed, the regulation requiring three years of active
service bears hard upon the artillery and engineers in comparison with
the other services; for, as the officers of these two corps only enter
their own school after they have been near a year in the service, and
spend three years there, they must have been in the army nearly seven
years before they can enter the Staff School.
The candidate for the Staff School is examined in the capital of the
province in which his corps is stationed. The examination is early in
April, and it is held at the provincial town instead of Berlin, in order
to diminish expense. But the questions are sent from the board of
examiners in Berlin, and the same are given in the different provincial
towns at one and the same time. The examination is much on the same
subjects, and requires about the same actual knowledge as that which was
passed at least three years before for a lieutenancy, but owing to the
difference of age, the questions are put and are expected to be answered
in a much more scientific form than on the first occasion. Thus, we were
told, such an essay as “Give an account of the wars of Francis I. and
Charles V.,” would at the _Kriegs-Schule_ Examination rather be stated
thus: “What was the influence of these wars on the policy and religion
of Europe?”
The examination is entirely upon paper; it occupies from ten to twelve
days of about five hours daily, the superintending staff officer in the
province presiding over it. But his business is limited to reading out
the questions sent to him, and taking care that no books are brought in,
or any improper means used. The answers to the questions have to go
through a double ordeal, the military ones being first examined by some
of the staff of the general commanding in the province, and afterwards
by the commission of examiners at Berlin. The final decision rests with
the chief of the Prussian staff, who recommends the successful officers
to the minister of war.
There is an average of sixty or seventy candidates yearly. Only forty of
these can be taken. If some additional case seems meritorious, the
officer may obtain a promise of appointment, but his entrance is
deferred. It is not uncommon to try more than once.
The entrance examination passed, the school opens on the 1st of October,
to continue its lectures, with a fortnight’s break at Christmas and at
Easter, till the first of June. It has its 120 pupils, divided into
their three classes, one for each year, working (with only little of
practical work) under professors, military for the lectures of a
military, and civil for those of a non-military character. No
difficulty, we understood, is found here, as we had heard to be the case
at St. Cyr, in enforcing the fullest attention to the lectures of the
civilian professors; each is respected according to his knowledge of the
subject, and it would be thought as absurd for a military professor to
undertake a non-professional subject, as _vice versâ_.
The method of working is that so commonly followed in the Prussian
universities of listening to numerous lectures, and taking copious notes
upon them. Nearly five hours daily, from eight in the morning till one,
are often continuously occupied in this manner; for although only twenty
hours of attendance are absolutely exacted weekly (an amount which to
our own students would seem more than ample) ten more are said to be
necessary to enable an officer to do any justice to the various subjects
of which he is expected to show some knowledge at his examinations.
These lectures are usually read aloud; there is no questioning and
answering. The student, after five morning hours, must spend at least
five or six more in copying them out, or in writing an essay on the
subject of some of the lectures. Of these one is given about every three
weeks, but only on military subjects. They are carefully corrected and
sent back to the student with the notes of his teacher, and their merit
influences the final estimate of his whole work.
Besides this daily work, the examinations are at once a stimulus and a
means of testing proficiency. These occur every three months, but the
yearly ones are the most important. They are entirely upon paper. In the
quarterly ones the papers are only given for two hours at a time daily,
and take the place of two common lectures; in the other examinations
they are daily for four or five hours. They are entirely essays upon the
numerous subjects lectured on in the school, History of War, Philosophy,
Tactics, &c.
Perhaps there is no better way of giving an idea of the mode of studying
than by a statement of some of the subjects of these essays. They have
been supplied to us by the kindness of Lieutenant Berger, of the 28th
Infantry, from whom we have received much valuable information on the
subject.
_General Essays._
On Tactics:--I. A Prussian Division, added to which is,--
1 Regiment of Infantry,
1 twelve pounder Battery,
1 Cavalry Regiment,
is in retreat from Goldberg to Jauer (in Silesia.) The enemy is
following. A position is to be taken up to stop his advance, whatever
his numbers may be.
A map of the position being given:--
(_a._) Describe the position.
(_b._) Draw up the troops.
(_c._) Write an explanatory criticism.
(To be worked at home in two days.)
Three Corps d’Armée march against Berlin from different points. The
army in Berlin is ordered to meet them. (To be done in five hours.)
Permanent Fortification. For what purpose are the fortifications in
the main ditch intended, and how are they to be constructed? (Five
hours.)
Military Geography. The Saxon land between the Elbe and Saale, and its
influence upon the operations of war in North and South Germany. (Five
hours.)
Criticism on the organization of the French Battalion. (At home in one
day.)
_Examination Essays, Staff School.--Military History, Tactics and
Administration._
1. In what respects did the earlier form of military art,
strategetically and tactically, favor defensive wars _generally_, and in
particular assist Frederick II. in the Seven Years’ War? (Two hours.)
2. The duties of the Staff in time of peace. (Two hours.)
3. Position of Landwehr Officers on and off duty. (Two hours.)
4. What is the value of the Cavalry formation _en échelon_, with
particular reference to the Austrian mode? (Two hours.)
5. Is only one sort of Infantry necessary, or is Light Infantry
essential? (Two hours.)
6. How may the mobilizing of an Army be best expedited? (Five hours.)
7. Describe the different sorts of field works particularly used in
war. (Two hours.)
8. How is the Artillery of a Corps d’Armée to be used in the different
emergencies of battle? (Five hours.)
_Literary and Scientific._
1. The Geological characteristics of the country between the
Carpathian Mountains and the Vistula on one side, and the Yaldai
Mountains and the Dnieper on the other. (Two hours.)
2. By what political conjunctures was the power and influence of
England peculiarly advanced in the 18th century? (Five hours.)
3. On the magnetic effects of the electric stream. (Two hours.)
4. Characteristics of Greek literature, and its chief authors in the
time of the Peloponnesian War. (Two hours.)
The knowledge required is seen in the account of the Staff School,
(p. 395) and in the list of the Lectures given above. Besides military
subjects, it includes a very full course of Ancient and Modern History,
an addition to the History of War (which last alone occupies seven hours
weekly for the last year,) a good deal of Logic and Philosophy of Art
and Literature, and of Political Economy. Some of these lectures have
probably been introduced from the school, having a double object, that
of giving a diplomatic as well as a military education. This was the
original idea of Frederick the Great, who, in all his plans of military
teaching, laid a great stress on the general literature which he himself
valued so highly. This diffusive study is a strong contrast to the
principle of “little, but well,” and to the constant practical exercises
in the laboratories insisted on by the early teachers of the Polytechnic
School in France.
The following is the plan of the lectures for the three years. Twenty
lectures a week are the minimum:--
_Course of First Year._
Obligatory.
Tactics, 4 hours.
Artillery, 3 “
Field Fortification, 2 “
Military and Political
Administration and Economy, 2 “
Mathematics, Pure and Mixed, 6 “
--
17 hours.
For Choice.
Universal History, 4 hours.
Universal Geography, 3 “
Physical Geography, 4 “
--
10 hours.
Total, 27 hours.
[_Numbers printed as shown._]
_Course of Second Year_
Obligatory.
Tactics, 4 hours.
Permanent Fortification, 2 “
Special Geography and Geology, 4 “
--
10 hours.
For Choice.
Universal History, 4 hours.
Mathematics, 6 “
Logic, 4 “
Physics, 4 “
Lectures on Horses, 2 “
--
20 hours.
Total, 30 hours.
_Course of Third Year._
Obligatory.
History of War, 7 hours.
Staff Duty, 3 “
Art of Sieges, 2 “
Military Jurisprudence, 1 “
--
13 hours.
For Choice.
General History of Literature, 4 hours.
Mathematics, 6 “
Higher Geodesy, 3 “
Chemistry, 4 “
--
17 hours.
Total, 30 hours.[8]
[Footnote 8: Lectures each week in the War School, Prussia.
[KEY]
1Y First Year.
2Y Second Year.
3Y Third Year.
-------------------------------+----+----+----
WAR SCHOOL. | 1Y | 2Y | 3Y
-------------------------------+----+----+----
Mathematics, Pure, | 3 | 3 | 3
“ Mixed, | 3 | 3 | 3
H. Geodesy, | .. | .. | 3
Physical Geography, | 2 | .. | ..
General “ | 4 | .. | ..
Special “ | .. | 4 | ..
Universal History, | 4 | 4 | ..
General History of Literature, | .. | .. | 4
Logic, | .. | 4 | ..
Physics, | .. | 4 | ..
Chemistry, | .. | .. | 4
Veterinary Art, | .. | 2 | ..
Tactics, | 4 | 4 | ..
Artillery, | 3 | .. | ..
Fortification, Field, | 2 | .. | ..
“ Permanent, | .. | 2 | ..
“ Sieges, | .. | .. | 2
Military Administration, | 2 | .. | ..
History of War, | .. | .. | 7
Staff Duty, | .. | .. | 3
Military Law, | .. | .. | 1
French, | 6 | 6 | 6
Russian, | 4 | 4 | 4
+----+----+----
Total, | 37 | 40 | 40
-------------------------------+----+----+----
It would be impossible to enter on a detailed criticism either of
these lectures or of the essays mentioned in the note above which
evidently imply great study. We invite a comparison with the
French plan, which we have given elsewhere, but the difference of
age must be taken into account. The mathematical course at this
school is,--
1st year. Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, Quadratic Equations,
involving several unknown quantities, the Binomial Theorem, and
the Elements of Analytical and Solid Geometry.
2d year. Analytical Geometry and the Differential and Integral
Calculus.
3d year. Mechanics, Statics, Dynamics, Projectiles, and slight
Applications.
Only the first year is obligatory.]
It will be seen that the above course is entirely theoretical; no
practical work (as in France) relieves the sedentary labor of ten hours
daily for more than eight months of the year. But as soon as the first
year’s course is ended, all the officers who are supposed to know
drawing before coming to the school, are sent into the country for three
weeks to practice military drawing and surveying; and those of the third
year go through (also for the same period) a similar course of staff
duty. These last are sent under the direction of the officer who is
Professor of Staff Duty at the School; each student officer gets his
separate orders, and they meet and are told off every morning for their
day’s work, reconnoitering fortresses, surveying the frontiers between
Austria and Prussia, &c., &c. During the remaining three summer months
the students are sent in successive classes to those arms of the service
which are not their own, and after the usual military exercises are
completed they must bring back with them a certificate of proficiency
from the commanding officer. This amount of time was spoken of as being
too little.
If we are surprised at not finding a greater amount of practical work
included amongst the labors of the school, we must remember that it is
chiefly postponed to a later period of the officer’s career, when the
probability of his being required to use it on the staff is greater.
This is when he has gained his place in the Topographical Department,
and is working there upon trial to test his fitness for the actual
staff. He is then employed during winter in working on the Theory of
War, and during summer in military surveying and drawing.
Such is the method and extent of the officer’s work at the Staff School;
a few more words are needed on the character of his examinations, which
here as everywhere else must greatly influence the character of the
work.
There are no less than nine examinations during the three years, one for
every three months, but the final one at the end of each year is the
more important, as a sort of summing up of the year’s work. In marking
for this the merit of the essays done at home is taken into account. The
result in each branch of work and on every examination is entered by the
several professors in a book kept at the directory, and the pupils have
a right to inspect the report of their own work. The net result of his
own three years’ work is also sent to the officer after leaving the
school through the authorities of his regiment. The certificate of this
contains the criticism on each branch of his work in detail.
The subjects given for essays will show the nature of the chief
examinations (_i.e._ those at the end of each year;) four or five hours
is the time generally allowed to a difficult subject, the examination
stretching over a number of days, in proportion to the subjects taken
up. The pupil may bring in his notes of lectures, on which extraordinary
care is bestowed, and which must contain everything that can be said on
the subject. Much value is said to be attached to the rapidity with
which an essay is worked, as showing a quality valuable in an officer.
There is, as we have observed, no _vivâ voce_ of any kind in this
School. Some competition exists in the Staff School, (and it is almost
the only Prussian school where we find it,) for the knowledge that only
eight or ten out of the forty pupils can obtain the Topographical
Department, and only two out of these eight or ten, the staff, acts as a
competitive stimulus. We must add, however, that although a minute
account of the _positive_ merits of the pupils is drawn up and sent to
them at the end of their career, they have no means of ascertaining
their _relative_ positions; and this may always leave room for doubt,
whether the places in the Typographical Department and on the Staff are
strictly given by merit, or whether patronage does not here step in.
Another ambiguity may be remarked in the fact that the relative
importance of the subjects of study is not known. It may of course be
surmised, that a knowledge of the Peloponnesian War is not marked so
highly as that of the Seven Years’ War; but any indefiniteness as to
what is or what is not important, will generally lead to an attempt to
know something _of all_ the subjects mentioned, and it would undoubtedly
be better to affix its definite value to every subject. It would prevent
what seem to us valid objections to the present system of the Staff
School, the attempt to crowd in too many subjects, instead of mastering
thoroughly a few.
The final examination having been completed in June, the student goes
through the three weeks of staff duty we have described, and finishes
his last three summer months in that branch of the army in which he has
not yet served. He then returns to his regiment, where he receives the
certificate of his three years’ work. But no list is published of the
order of merit in which the officers stand. If the certificate is
satisfactory, he forwards it to the Chief of the Prussian Staff, with a
request to be employed in the Topographical Department of the Staff. If
this is granted, he receives an order to join it in about two years,
_i.e._ about nine or ten years after first entering the service.
About eight officers are yearly sent to the Topographical Department,
and serve there for two or three years, surveying and drawing in summer,
working at military science in the winter. The correction of the
Topographical Map of Prussia is in their hands. Finally, two out of
these are selected for the Staff; the remainder return to their
regiments, to become adjutants or to teach in the Division Schools.
The most immediate advantage of being in the staff corps is promotion to
a captaincy at any age, which, considering the extreme slowness of
promotion in Prussia, may be termed an early one. This is generally
gained within two or three years after joining the corps, _i.e._ at
thirty-three or thirty-four. In other corps hardly any one has a chance
of becoming captain till after forty.
We may add, that the number of officers in the Topographical Department
is about forty, on the staff itself sixty-four. No one belonging to the
staff is below the rank of captain, or above that of colonel. Every
general of division has one officer of the staff attached to him, and
two adjutants, the first nominated by the chief of the staff, the two
last by the king, and these two belong rather to the officer than to the
general. They are not removable with him. The adjutants are not officers
of the staff, though they are often chosen from amongst those who have
been at the Staff School. They are nominated by the king upon reports
sent into him by the generals of division, and the appointment is not
considered a great prize, as it implies neither extra pay, promotion,
nor permanency; the adjutants are promoted in the usual course, and
then, upon promotion, return to their regiments. The adjutants of
battalions and regiments are appointed, like our own, by the officers
commanding. The name of aide-de-camp does not exist in the Prussian
service, but that of adjutant is used in its place.
VII. ELEMENTARY MILITARY SCHOOLS FOR NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
1. MILITARY ORPHAN-HOUSES.
There are three Military Orphan-Houses in Prussia for the children of
soldiers, two for boys, one at Potsdam, and the other at Annaburg, and
one for girls at Pretzch. Although intended for orphans, they receive
children whose parents are too poor to provide for them. They receive a
good elementary education and are brought up for trades, and can make
their selection between a civil and a military career. The English
Commissioners report that they found 800 pupils in the Orphan-House at
Potsdam, of whom 200 were under the charge of female teachers; 520 were
in the senior department, including thirty-six in the music class, who
will go into the Regimental Bands, and about twenty who formed a
separate military class, who would probably enter the Artillery School.
The School at Annaburg, and the subsidiary Girls’ School at Pretzsch,
are both Protestant in character; no religious teaching is supplied for
Roman Catholics. Roman Catholic boys are all sent to Potsdam, and Roman
Catholic girls are provided for in ordinary schools, and in private
families, and payment made on their behalf out of the funds of the
institution.
Dr. Bache in his “_Report on Education in Europe_,” gives the following
account of these institutions.
_Military Orphan-House at Potsdam._
This institution was founded in 1724, by Frederick William the First
of Prussia. The reputation of Franke’s Foundations induced this monarch
to rival the benevolence of the clergyman, and to establish on a scale
proportioned to his greater means, a house for the education of the
orphans of his soldiers. While, however, the recipients of Franke’s
bounty are free to choose their career in after life, and only so far
bound to the institution, as a sense of gratitude may prompt, the youth
who passes through the Military Orphan-house of Potsdam, must enter the
military service for twelve years. Three of these, indeed, are the term
of service of every citizen, and I believe the three years in the
non-commissioned officers’ school are now counted as part of the twelve,
and thus the actual number of extra years of service is reduced to six.
The institution began with one hundred and seventy-nine children, both
girls and boys being received; this arrangement continued until a few
years since, when the girls’ school was removed from Potsdam, and the
establishment at present is for male pupils only. There are between
three and four hundred in the elementary or boys’ department. In the
early history of the orphan-house two attempts are recorded to introduce
manual labor, as a profitable speculation; neither of which appears,
however, to have succeeded. The first of these, the manufacture of
Brabant lace, was introduced in 1743, and after various modifications of
the mode of applying the labor of the children, it was finally abandoned
in 1795. In 1744, the culture of silk was introduced extensively
throughout the kingdom, and especially enjoined at the orphan-houses;
but this attempt was not more successful in the end than the other, and
the culture is not kept up in this institution.
The present spacious buildings were chiefly constructed under the
reign of the founder and of Frederick the Great. Additions have,
however, been made from time to time since, and the whole plan is hardly
yet completed. The institution may be considered as divided into three
departments or schools; an elementary school, (called the Boys’ House,
_das Knabenhaus_,) a trade school, and a music school. The buildings for
the elementary school are erected about a spacious court, which serves
as an exercising and play-ground. On the ground floor are the refectory,
in which all the youth from the different schools composing the
institution, meet three times a day, and the study and play-rooms,
lavatory, &c. The study-rooms form a long range, and when the doors of
communication are opened, one teacher can superintend the whole of the
classes. The school-rooms are on the first and second floors, and are
calculated for divisions of forty boys each. There are six dormitories,
furnished with wooden or iron bedsteads, the latter having been more
recently introduced and found to answer well. The bedding consists of a
straw bed beneath, and a mattress of hair above. Each dormitory is
superintended by a teacher, who sleeps at one end of it. There are also
dwelling-rooms for the teachers, officers, &c., and in the court a very
large wash-house, with a drying-room above it.
The buildings occupied by the trade and music schools are separated by
a street from the others, and with the dwellings of the officers, a room
for gymnastic exercises, and musical practice, and the workshops, form a
second immense series of structures. The infirmary is near to them, and
is under a separate direction; subordinate, however, to the general
executive body. It is divided into rooms assigned to patients suffering
from different complaints. A schoolmaster gives instruction to the
convalescent. The arrangements in the dormitories of the trades’ school,
are similar to those used in the army, and the Superintendence and
discipline are strictly military.
The part of the building occupied by the music school, contains
separate rooms for practicing by individuals, class-rooms, and
dormitories. There are rooms in the main pile for the meetings of
teachers, for a small library, &c.
The executive board of this school depends partly on the ministry of
war, and partly on that of public instruction; the former, however, is
the controlling authority. Under this board is the military
superintendent, or director, to whom the chaplain, the secretaries, the
economist, the military superintendent of the day, the teachers,
commandants of companies, the inspectors of the trades’ and music
school, and other officers, are directly responsible. The clergyman is
the superintendent of the elementary school, and has a general charge of
all the intellectual and religious instruction.
The orphan children of soldiers are received for maintenance, at any
age, by the authorities of the establishment, but if under six years,
are boarded with their friends or others until six, and then admitted
into the house at Potsdam; they remain there until fourteen or fifteen
years of age, and, if of sound constitution, are transferred to the
trade, or to the music school, where they remain four years, and whence
they pass, if their conduct has been good, to the school for
non-commissioned officers. I have never seen a body of young men all so
well physically developed as the pupils of the trade school, a result
produced by constant attention to their education on this point.
Children who are not healthy, or who have failed in the elementary
school, are apprenticed at fourteen, and the institution ceases to have
the charge of them.
In the _Elementary School_, the usual branches taught in the common
schools of Prussia are pursued, including reading, writing, arithmetic,
the German language, geography, drawing, religious instruction, and a
little natural history. The boys are divided into four classes,
according to their proficiency, and all the classes below the first are
subdivided into two sections, each being under the charge of a teacher,
and having a separate recitation room. These sections contain about
forty pupils each. A monitor of order from among the pupils, has charge
of a section on entering and leaving the school-room, and render such
service as the master requires during the lesson; he is assisted by one
of the class in the distribution of the books, slates, and other
implements of instruction. The teachers keep each a roll, upon which the
character of the recitation and conduct of the pupils is entered, and
which is examined weekly by the chaplain, and submitted to the board of
teachers at their meetings. No youth, who is below a certain grade upon
this roll, is permitted to enter the trades’ school. There are about
five hours of instruction on four days of the week, and about
twenty-three in the whole week. The holidays are, a week at Easter, four
days at Michaelmas, a fortnight in the latter half of July, and from the
twenty-third of December, to the second of January. For those who have
no friends to go to, the Christmas festivities are kept up in the
school, as in the private families of the country.
The board of teachers meet once every fortnight, and the director, or
his substitute, or the chaplain, presides. At their meetings, all
matters relating to instruction and discipline are discussed.
The form of the discipline of the school is military, but a spirit of
mildness tempers it, suiting it to the age of the pupils. The boys, in
general, are divided into four companies, each of which has a
commandant, (a non-commissioned officer of the highest grade,) who has
charge of the instruction in military exercises, and ranks with the
teachers of the school. These companies form a battalion, and are
drilled without arms, and inspected by the director, or an officer
appointed by him. In turn the commandants of companies, acting as
officers of the day, have general charge of the military and police
duties. Two of the teachers, also, in turn, act as inspectors of the
day, and have the general superintendence of the pupils in study and
recreation hours, in the duties of personal police, at meals, and in the
dormitories, relieving each other at different parts of the day. They
are co-ordinate in authority with the officer of the day, and he is
expected to relieve and aid them in the maintenance of order. These
officers report immediately to the director.
The four companies are subdivided into sections of eleven, over each
of which one of the boys is placed, with the title of overseer, or
corporal, and he is responsible for the good order of his section, and
may be assisted in his duties by one chosen from it. From among these
corporals one is selected for the general control and superintendence of
the others, and marches the company to the lavatory, to meals, to the
dormitory, &c., being responsible for them whenever they are collected
as a company. The boys composing a section are placed at meals upon the
same side of the table with the corporal who has charge of them. The
younger pupils do not join these companies at once, but are kept
together in a division which is under female superintendence, has a
separate overseer, and is under different regulations as to rising,
going to bed, and other particulars of discipline and police from the
elder pupils.
All the duties of domestic and personal police, and some of those of
domestic economy, are performed by the boys enrolled in the four
companies. They clean their own shoes, brush their own clothes, attend
to the police of the different parts of the building, serve the meals,
and make their beds. That the various duties may be attended to in an
orderly way, there are, besides those already spoken of, special
overseers appointed among the pupils, who have general charge of them
while engaged in certain duties, and of particular localities. Thus
there is an overseer of the room where the clothes and shoes are kept,
who has charge of the exchange of the Sunday for week day dress, and
vice versa; an overseer of the room where the shoes are brushed and
blacked; an overseer of the lavatory; four superintendents of
cleanliness, who direct the pupils while washing and combing their hair;
one of hair cutting; two of serving the table, who have charge of a
detail of thirty pupils, who serve and clear the tables and clean the
knives and forks; one, of the manual labor classes; one, of the sick in
the hospital; one, of those who are unwell, and must report to the
physician; one, of the lights; one, to prevent the passing of bounds;
one the pupils who sing the liturgy in the church; one to conduct the
pupils, whose shoes require repairs, to the shoemaker; besides, those
for the classes and the younger boys, already mentioned, and a few
others. I make this enumeration in order to show the minuteness of the
arrangements for police and discipline, and the extent to which they are
conducted by the pupils themselves. The selections for appointments are
made by the teachers and officers, and submitted to the chaplain and
director for their approbation. A part of the pupils employed as
superintendents receive small pecuniary allowances, and all enjoy many
privileges.
Some of the pupils, who are found to have a taste for music, receive
special lessons, and are employed, when sufficiently proficient, to give
the signals for the different duties of the day. Eight pupils are thus
selected to be taught the bugle and fife, and twelve the drum.
In regard to conduct, the pupils are divided into four grades,
according to the reports of the teachers and officers, a revision of the
classification taking place every quarter, and the director having, in
the meantime, the power to displace a pupil in a case of emergency. The
first class grade is composed of pupils distinguished for unvarying good
conduct, and on holidays its members are allowed to leave the
orphan-house alone to make small purchases at discretion, and are
neither subject to corporal punishment nor to the stoppage of their
meals. The second class is composed also of meritorious pupils, but of a
lower grade of conduct than the first; they are permitted to leave the
school sometimes, but not so often as the others, and are generally
under supervision. From these two grades only, the superintendents or
overseers are taken. Pupils of the third grade stand between those who
are decidedly good or bad, and are treated accordingly. They are the
last who are permitted to pass from the elementary to the trades’
school, on completing their course in the former. Those of the fourth,
or lowest grade, are kept constantly under supervision, have no
allowances, no leaves of absence, are separated, when possible, from the
rest of the pupils, and are even punished by an inferior diet.
The health of the pupils is promoted by frequent bodily exercise, and,
when the weather permits, in the open air. Thus they have regular
gymnastic exercises four times a week, are drilled by companies four
times, and by battalion twice a week, take frequent walks, and in
summer, bathe every day. The regular manual labor in this department of
the school is confined to knitting and tailoring. The gymnastic
exercises are conducted by two teachers, each taking charge of one of
the companies, of which two attend the lesson at the same time, and
assisted by pupils selected from among the most proficient in the
exercises. There are two swimming lessons given to each company, in
summer, every week. In the ordinary division of the day, in summer,
between two and three hours are allowed for manual labor, the same for
recreation, two hours for exercise, and nearly eight for sleep.
Their clothing is a neat uniform jacket of blue cloth, of a military
fashion, gray or white pantaloons for the winter, and a brown linen
jacket and white linen pantaloons for the summer, and their officers are
distinguished by badges similar to those worn in service. The diet is
generous, and, besides the three meals, bread is served as a luncheon in
the morning and afternoon intervals.
An opportunity is given to those who are to pass into the trades’
school, to ascertain the trade which they may wish to follow, by a trial
during the last year of the elementary course.
The order of the day, with merely slight variations during four days
of the week, in summer, is as follows:--The pupils rise at a quarter
before five o’clock, and proceed by companies to the lavatory, two
companies occupying it at once and alternating, the other two being,
meanwhile, engaged in cleaning their shoes. Wash and comb their hair. At
half past five the boys detailed to serve the meals proceed to the
refectory under their two superintendents. At a quarter before six the
bugle sounds, and the companies assemble, by sections, in the
court-yard. Morning prayers and breakfast. Those who are slightly sick
report to the physician. At a quarter before seven, the boys assemble
according to classes, and at seven are marched to the school-rooms. At a
quarter before nine a luncheon of bread is served out to them. School
closes at eleven, and the pupils are free for three-quarters of an hour.
Dinner at about a quarter before twelve. The pupils brush their clothes,
and are inspected by the officer of the day. From a quarter past one to
half-past two, review the morning lessons in school. From a quarter to
three until five, are occupied with manual labor in the work-rooms. Part
of the pupils receive instruction in music, and the first and second
classes in drawing; a stated number take a swimming lesson; the
drummers, fifers, and buglers also have a lesson. A luncheon of bread is
distributed. One of the companies is at drill, one at gymnastics, and
the other pupils bathing or walking until seven. Evening prayers in the
refectory, and supper. Wash, and have recreation until nine, when they
retire. The younger pupils retire at half-past eight.
In winter, the different occupations of the day are each one hour
later than in summer, until half-past two, when the hour of review of
the lessons is omitted, and the exercises, as far as appropriate to the
season, follow in the same order as in summer, until half-past five, at
which hour the pupils go to the school-room, and remain until a quarter
before seven.
On Wednesday and Saturday, an hour is devoted to religious
instruction, the other lessons being omitted, except the physical
exercises on Wednesday. Stated days and periods of the day are assigned
for the exchange of the weekday clothes for those of Sunday, for taking
clothes or shoes requiring repairs to the tailor or shoemaker of the
establishment, for hair-cutting and combing, for washing the neck and
shoulders, the feet, and for other minute matters.
The object of the _Trade School_, is, in part, to economize the funds
of the institution, by making within its walls articles of clothing
required for the pupils, but more to secure the acquisition, not only of
general mechanical dexterity, but of a trade, which may serve to
increase their emoluments when they enter the military service. There
are, at present, one hundred and four pupils.
In order to pass into the trades’ school from the elementary division,
the pupil must have reached at least the second class, have been above
the fourth grade in conduct, be between fourteen and fifteen years of
age, and of a bodily constitution fitting him for the military service.
The course lasts three years. The school has a special inspector, or
superintendent, who is responsible to the director of the whole
institution, or, in fact, to his substitute.
The different trades now taught here are those of blacksmiths,
saddlers, tailors, shoemakers, and lithographers. The last named has but
seven pupils admissible to its school, and the next to the last
forty-four. These numbers depend upon the demand for the occupation
subsequent to leaving the establishment, the space required for the
operations of the trade, the difficulty of teaching, &c. As each pupil
is in general permitted, on advising with the inspector, to choose his
employment, it sometimes happens that boys are sent into the town to
learn a trade not taught in the school. Changes of occupation are very
rare, but are sometimes permitted. The blacksmiths are principally
engaged in the repairs of arms, the saddlers make the caps and
accoutrements, &c., used in the house, the tailors all the uniforms, the
shoemakers supply not only this orphan-house, but that of the girls with
shoes, and the lithographers are occupied in copying forms for the
school or war department, manuals, &c. They work about seven hours a
day, under a master-workman from the town.
An hour of each day is spent in gymnastic or military exercises in the
open air in summer, and in winter in the large room before spoken of.
The military exercises, besides the ordinary ones, comprise some which
are peculiar to the Prussian service. The usual exercises of gymnastics
are introduced, omitting any which seem to have a tendency towards the
tricks of the mountebank. For instruction in these exercises, the whole
school is divided into two parts, and each again into squads, so that
the teacher need have but twelve to fourteen under his charge.
Non-commissioned officers are the under teachers, and in turn are
superintended by higher teachers, and by an inspector.
There can be no doubt that to these well regulated and perseveringly
continued exercises it is, in great part, due that the physical
development of these youths is, on the average, so perfect. Judicious
recreation, a proper diet and clothing, great cleanliness, a proper
number of hours of work, of instruction and sleep, no doubt, are
necessary, each and all in their degree, but great influence must be
besides allowed to the gymnastic exercises.
The pupils have two hours of instruction during the day, intended to
keep up their knowledge of the branches taught in the elementary school,
rather than to teach new ones. Military drawing is, however, added.
When not in the shops, nor in school, nor at exercise, they are
superintended by non-commissioned officers. The discipline in this
school is military in spirit, as well as in details.
Those pupils who have manifested a decided musical talent in the lower
school, are here instructed thoroughly in the theory and practice of
music. The object is to supply musicians to the regimental bands. These
pupils have a separate superintendence from those of the other schools,
and different hours of exercise and duty. They keep up the knowledge
acquired in the elementary school, as is done in the trades’ school.
_Military Orphan-House at Annaburg._
The following plan of instruction was prepared by Dr. Harnisch, one of
the most distinguished teachers of Prussia, formerly Principal of the
Teachers Seminary at Weissenfels.
In order to rise to the place of a non-commissioned officer, the pupil
must have gone through the lowest classes of the Upper School, where
there are the following studies:--
Religious instruction, arithmetic, singing, the German language,
calligraphy, geography and history, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and
drawing.
The courses in the different branches are arranged as follows:--
FIRST. _Religious Instruction._
LOWER SCHOOL.
Class VII. Bible stories, psalms and hymns, appropriate to the season.
Four hours per week.
Class VI. Histories from the Old and New Testament, portions of the
history of the Christian church, catechism. Four hours per week.
Class V. Reading and explanation of the Bible, and of its arrangement.
The gospel and historical works are selected, and the history is
connected with the geography of the Holy Land. Catechism. Five hours.
Class IV. Doctrines of the Lutheran church, taught by Luther’s
catechism. Five hours.
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. Moral instruction, duties to God and man. Three hours.
Class II. Reading the Bible with comments, the pupils making
abstracts. Three hours.
Class I. (Two years.) The first year a repetition of Luther’s
catechism. The second, a history of the Christian dispensation. Three
hours.
Every class commits verses from the Bible to memory.
SECOND. _Arithmetic._ Mental and written arithmetic are taught
together, that the readiness afforded by the one, and the accuracy of
the other, may both be cultivated.
LOWER SCHOOL.
Class VII. The four ground rules, with three places of figures
mentally. Application to questions in weights and measures. Three hours.
Class VI. The same rules extended. Three hours.
Class V. Fractions, with applications to weights and measures. Three
hours.
Class IV. Proportions. Three hours.
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. The applications of proportions to questions of weight,
strength, value, time, and general quantity. Two hours.
Class II. Exercises in practical algebra. Two hours.
Class I. Review of the course. First year, practical operations.
Second, theory of arithmetrical processes. Two hours.
THIRD. _Vocal Music._
LOWER SCHOOL.
Classes VII & VI. Practice of songs, adapted to youth of a cheerful,
serious, military, or religious cast, with one part. Two hours.
Classes V & IV. Choral and other songs, with the different parts.
Elements of music. Two hours.
UPPER SCHOOL.
Classes III, II, & I. More difficult choral pieces. Theoretical
instruction continued. One hour. There is, besides, instruction given to
a select choir, intended to conduct the vocal exercises of the church.
FOURTH. _Reading._ In the lower classes, a readiness in reading, and
in the higher, the style of reading, is attended to especially. Pieces
learned previously, by heart, are recited.
LOWER SCHOOL.
Class VII. A good pronunciation, and some facility in reading. Six
hours.
Class VI. Readiness in reading, and repeating the substance of what
has been read. Familiar illustrations. Five hours.
Class V. Reading some work in reference to knowledge useful in common
life. Four hours.
Class IV. Reading, with attention to emphasis. Four hours.
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. Reading the Bible and sacred melodies, with the view to
correct reading in this kind of composition. Two hours.
Class II. Reading various selected works, in and out of the class.
Class I. Reading continued, and recitations from works previously
read.
FIFTH. _Orthography and Writing._ These may be taught together in the
same way as mental and written arithmetic; the teacher is, however, at
liberty to follow his own method.
LOWER SCHOOL.
Class VII. Copying on slates from the blackboard. Four hours.
Class VI. Copying on paper, from the board, and from books. Four
hours.
Class V. Writing from copy-slips, from books, or from dictation.
(Practice in spelling and writing.) Four hours.
Class IV. Similar exercises continued. Four hours.
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. Copying useful papers, such as registers, accounts,
contracts, &c. Two hours.
Class II. Calligraphy, with Roman as well as German letters; practice
in orthography; reading of letters and documents in various
handwritings. Two hours.
Class I. Copying papers relating to the management of the institution,
as a practical introduction to business. One hour.
SIXTH. _Useful knowledge taught by induction._
LOWER SCHOOL.
Class VII. The pupils give their ideas, verbally, of surrounding
objects of the most simple kind, of the commonest productions of nature
and art. Conversations relating to them. Drawing the most simple
mathematical figures on the slate. Three hours.
Class VI. Descriptions of animals and plants, the former in the
winter, the latter in the summer term. Written remarks on these, serving
to afford exercise in the formation of phrases and in orthography. Four
hours.
Class V. The most essential parts of physics and natural history, the
pupils taking notes of the lessons. Four hours.
Class IV. Compositions on various subjects. Letters relating to civil
and military affairs. Four hours.
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. History of Prussia, and drawing of maps. Four hours.
Class II General geography, particularly that of Europe. Passing from
physical to political geography. Civil geography in connection with the
former. Five hours.
Class I. Universal history. One year is devoted to ancient and one to
modern history. Selections are made of the more important parts of
history. Five hours.
The remaining studies only belong to the higher school.
SEVENTH. _German grammar and style._
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. Logical and grammatical instruction of the German language
taught.
Class II. Idiom of the language. Compositions on military subjects,
with especial reference to correctness of grammar.
Class I. Acquaintance with the best writers. Exercises of composition
on subjects taken from history.
EIGHTH. _Geometry._
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. Teaching the names and properties of mathematical figures
by induction, in connection with drawing.
Class II. Equations, with application to problems of common life.
Class I. Elements of trigonometry.
NINTH. _Drawing._
UPPER SCHOOL.
Class III. Drawings from common objects, varying the positions, &c.
Class II. Copying flowers, or drawings of implements.
Class I. Architectural drawing with instruments, drawings of
furniture, &c.
Dr. Bache makes the following remarks on the above plan:
I have allowed myself to present this extended programme, because it
conveys, in as brief a compass as possible, excellent ideas of the
succession of courses in an elementary school, and in a technical or
trade school, for such the higher school must be considered. It should
be remembered that the main purpose is the preparation of youth for the
military service, and hence that the wants of the service are especially
consulted. Another fact must be remembered, namely, that this is a
Lutheran school, and therefore the religious instruction is adapted to
the particular views of that church. The course of morals of the third
class, I must say, however, seems to me out of its place, for although
our duties to God and our neighbor are of course best learned from his
Word, yet their inculcation by precept and example can not commence too
early.
In the arithmetical course, the union of mental and written arithmetic
is absolutely essential. The gradation appears to me good, and the
application to questions of common life gives a zest to such studies,
attainable in no other way. The theory of arithmetical processes,
however, should accompany or follow more nearly their practical
acquisition. Indeed, if they are taught as they ought to be, by
induction, the theory goes with the practice.
If the youth at Annaburg take the same pleasure in the exercises of
song, from the elements to the completion of the musical course, as
those of the school[9] actually superintended by the author of this
project, the success will be complete.
[Footnote 9: Seminary for Teachers at Weissenfels.]
The connection of orthography and writing, especially if combined with
early reading, is natural.
The exercises of induction, which in the lower classes are well drawn
out, deviate from the appropriate track in the fourth class, and in the
geographical and historical courses do not return to it. The system in
both these branches is rather synthetical than inductive. There is a
great temptation to break away from this method, into that of giving
positive instruction, from the apparently greater rapidity of progress
of the pupil; some teachers have abandoned it altogether, as too slow,
though ultimately to their cost, as appeared to me in cases where I had
an opportunity of comparing the results.
The writing is preceded by an introductory course of drawing, which
might with excellent effect be so extended as to branch out into
complete courses of drawing and writing.
As this plan results from an extended experience, the number of hours
of instruction, per week, necessary to secure the results, is an
important datum, and as such I have retained it, whenever it was
inserted in the original programme.
II. THE SCHOOL DIVISION OR NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS’ SCHOOL.
A military school of a somewhat peculiar character for training up young
men for the duties of non-commissioned or _under_ officers exist at
Potsdam, and is known as the School Division.
The rules of the Prussian Military system, which require only three
years absolute service in the standing army in time of peace, evidently
entail a great practical difficulty in this respect. The soldiers, as a
rule, prefer to quit the service at the end of their three years’ time,
and require great inducements to persuade them to remain. As one
inducement, the state has declared that twelve years’ service gives a
non-commissioned officer a formal claim to civil employment; as, for
example, on the railways or in the custom-houses. Their pay also as
non-commissioned officers goes on increasing according to the length of
their service; and it was stated to be the usual practice not to advance
soldiers to be non-commissioned officers until they had signed an
undertaking to serve for a longer period than could be exacted of them
otherwise.
A further means of supplying the want has been sought, and appears to
have been found in the School Division. The circumstances of its origin
have placed this establishment in immediate connection with the Corps of
Guards, to which, in a military sense, they belong, at whose
head-quarters, the town of Potsdam, their buildings are situated, and
whose garrison duty in the town they occasionally undertake.
At its first commencement the pupils chiefly came in drafts from the
Military Orphan-Houses. But the applications from the country in general
have been so numerous that this practice has been, it is said,
abandoned, and a higher class of admissions has been attempted. The
Commander of the Battalion of _Landwehr_ for the Circle (_Kreis_)
receives all applications in that Circle; he sees that the candidate is
examined on the spot, in reading, writing, and cyphering; and forwards
the name, height, age, and other particulars (the _Nationale_) to the
authorities. The decision is said to be mostly made by the candidate’s
height, and his medical certificate, and to be rather a difficult
matter. Only one-third of the applications are successful. A new boy had
just presented himself with his father at the time of our visit; both
son and father were well dressed, and apparently belonged to the middle
rather than the lower classes. There seems every reason to be satisfied
with the amount of acceptance with the country which the school had
begun to receive.
The age of admission is from seventeen to twenty, and the youth on
entering the school takes a military engagement to give two years of
service in the standing army for each year of his maintenance at the
school, in addition of course to those three years of military service
to which every Prussian is bound, but with the privilege of counting as
military service the period spent at the school.
The usual school course is one of three years, and his engagement is
thus for a term of nine years; that is, deducting three spent at the
school, six years’ time with the troops.
The School Division is 496 strong; there are four companies of 124 men.
The whole body is commanded by a captain, or major, who has an adjutant.
To each company are attached four officers and fourteen non-commissioned
officers; the latter teach in the two first years, the former in the
third. The school course begins on the 1st of October; the afternoons of
three days in each week are employed in ordinary school instruction, but
the remainder of their time in winter and their whole time in summer is
devoted to military training. The school instruction is not carried
beyond reading, writing, and arithmetic up to the rule of three;
geography, drawing skeleton maps, and copying, and learning the
significance of military representations of ground. Some very
respectable specimens of their skill in copying maps were produced; it
appeared to be a favorite exercise.
About 150 are admitted yearly, an extra number being taken to supply
possible vacancies; about 130 yearly are drafted into the army, six
usually as _under_ officers at once, forty at least with certificates of
being qualified to receive the grade in a short time; and the whole
number who go out have generally obtained their appointment before
twelve months are completed. The highest number that may go out at once
as under (or non-commissioned) officers is twelve; three for each
company. Many, however, have latterly, it is said, become so within six
weeks after their leaving.
Where the young men are strong and full-grown, they are allowed to join
the army at the end of two years; their whole service (two years for
each at the school) being therefore reduced to six years.
Young men, on the other hand, who show no disposition or likelihood to
turn out good _under_ officers, are sent off to complete the usual time
as privates.
The proportion of non-commissioned officers in the standing army who are
taken from the School Division was not easy to ascertain. It differs
extremely in different regiments. In one, it was stated that out of the
ordinary complement of 180, fifty came from hence. On the other hand, it
was asserted that the general proportion was not more than one in forty.
A certain number have obtained commissions; but no prospect of such
promotion appears to be held out, and any tendency to carry forward the
studies with a view to it is discouraged and checked.
The buildings, in the outskirts of Potsdam, are large, new, and
handsome, forming three sides of a spacious court or imperfect
quadrangle. The dining-rooms are used also as exercise-rooms, and it was
made a point to let us see a portion of the pupils go through their
gymnastics and exercises; and more particularly their sword and bayonet
exercise. Twenty or thirty young men, very healthy and strong-looking,
went through the latter exercise in two lines; after which came a single
combat with the bayonet, all under the direction of an officer.
The sleeping-rooms are fairly large, and well ventilated, on the same
floor. Twelve slept in each. During the day the wooden bedsteads are
placed one above another. It was said that iron bedsteads are being
generally introduced. Each young soldier is provided with a small
cupboard above his bed. The non-commissioned officers had horsehair, the
young men themselves straw paillasses. There was a stove in the room,
but it was said not to be used.
The school-rooms are on the upper floor. The skeleton maps already
referred to were here produced; one, of the two hemispheres, others
illustrating Prussian history, showing the original size of the Prussian
territory, its extent and condition under Frederick the Great, the whole
course of its gradual extention, &c., very fairly drawn, and creditable
to the young men.
The time devoted to the training which is given in the School Division
appears long. What is now done in three years might as well be done in
half that time. The object, however, is secured of retaining the service
of the men during a lengthened period in the standing army.
III. REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.
The Regimental Schools are chiefly intended to train up non-commissioned
officers. This is more particularly the case in the artillery, which
does not obtain its _under_ officers from the School Division at
Potsdam.
IV. THE NOBLE-SCHOOL AT LIEGNITZ.
The Noble-School at Liegnitz is merely an endowed school, founded by the
Emperor Joseph I. while Silesia was yet an Austrian dependency, and
specially intended for young men of good birth in that country. There
are some military foundations in the school for the sons of officers of
good birth; and the two military men who take part in the instruction
are paid by the state, on the same footing as officers employed in the
State Military Schools.
* * *
[Of one of the Institutions above described (The Artillery and
Engineers’ School at Berlin) we shall give a fuller account, and in the
meantime we close this comprehensive survey of military instruction in
Prussia with the following reflections of the English Commissioners.]
VIII. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA.
1. Attention has often been drawn to the peculiar feature of Prussian
Military Education, the double examination for the rank of officer. The
principle adopted seems to be the exaction of a proof from _all_
officers that they have received a good, general, and professional
education, rather than the selection of a smaller number for higher
training in a military school. The decree of 1808 first laid down the
rule for the whole army, “that the only title to an officer’s commission
shall be, in a time of peace, education and professional knowledge,--in
time of war, distinguished valor and ability.”
2. The spirit of emulation is not so much called out in Prussia as it is
in France. Early distinctions are acknowledged and appealed to, but
somewhat sparingly. The following words express the view taken on this
point:--
“A testimonial of fitness for the University,” says Colonel von
Holleben, (_i.e._, to have passed the Abiturient examination) “dispenses
with the examination for the ensigncy. In consequence of this rule fifty
_Abiturients_ on an average annually enter the army. These, as well as
the _Selectaner_ of the Cadet Corps, must be considered in point of
scientific education, an excellent supply of officers.”
3. It will be seen that in the above words there is no reference to
those rewards and advantages which are the stimulus of competition.
There appears some want in this respect both in the earlier and later
training of officers. Thus, in the instance of the Cadet House, there
are numerous _free places_, but these are assigned to young men, not
from any proof of merit or exertion, but entirely because they are the
sons of officers or state servants. The most distinguished pupils, the
_Selectaner_ gain nothing more than to be permitted to pass these two
examinations before, instead of after, entering the army. Honorable
mention, is, however, made of the candidates for commission who
distinguish themselves in the Division Schools. But in the Staff
School--the natural resource of energetic young officers--the
competition (which the school asserts as its principle by its entrance
examination) loses some of its force, by the order of the pupils on
leaving the school not being distinctly marked. It should be mentioned
as an explanation of these facts, that in the general civil education of
Prussia, competition is little encouraged, less than in our own, and far
less than in the French, or even in the Austrian education.
4. The military system of Prussia, and in some degree its military
education also, appear to have various objects in view. Thus the Cadet
Houses, where the free places are chiefly given to the sons of military
men, seem intended to keep up a military _esprit de corps_, and it is
impossible not to be struck by the strong class spirit prevailing in the
Prussian army. At the same time means are taken, as above stated, to
obtain a good supply of highly educated officers.
5. Prussian military education seems to have been constantly correcting
and extending itself. Of this the Division Schools are a striking
example; and they deserve attention, both because their plan is peculiar
to Prussia, and for the improvements they have received. The Prussians
at first established numerous Division Schools, but they afterwards
greatly diminished their number; and the general inspector of military
education now contemplates, both for the sake of the instructors and
their pupils, a further reduction to three or four. A large military
school in three or four towns in Prussia, intended to teach professional
knowledge to young officers after some short practical experience in the
army, is thought a better mode of giving such knowledge than to place
isolated, or few teachers, in regiments or army divisions.
6. One chief means of improvement has been the bringing the whole
education under a single head. At first there were distinct boards for
the examinations in Prussia, and for the schools, with a view to
maintain the independence of each. It was found, however, that this led
to a want of harmony between the schools and the examinations; and
accordingly, whilst the board of examiners and the school professors are
kept perfectly distinct, they are both subjected to the general
inspector, who controls all the departments of military education. The
effect of this has been to give more unity to all the teaching; an
essential point where that teaching is entirely on the same subjects. By
constant inspection of the schools, and the receipt of periodical
reports from them, the general inspector of military education is able
to compare the results of each, and to keep the whole system going at an
even rate of progress.
7. Attention should be drawn to the somewhat complicated system for
working the Military Schools in Prussia. There are two distinct boards,
as we have noticed above, the supreme board of studies and the
examinations board, one of which reports to the inspector-general on all
examinations, whilst the other acts as his assessors and advisers with
regard to the schools and on all other subjects of military education.
Besides these bodies, each school has its own board of studies, which is
generally formed by some one person belonging to the school, combined
with distinguished officers or professors. Suggestions with regard to
each school appear to originate chiefly from these latter bodies.
8. The department of military examinations and education is under the
control of the general inspector, who “lays his proposals on matters of
administration before the minister of war, but reports directly to the
king in all matters relating to instruction and examinations.”
THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS’ SCHOOL AT BERLIN.[10]
[Footnote 10: Translated from Helldorf’s “_Dienst-Vorschriften der
Könighlich-Preussischen Armée_.”]
OBJECT AND COURSE OF STUDY.
The object of the ARTILLERY AND ENGINEER SCHOOL is to give to such young
men of the Artillery and Engineers as have been found fitted for
promotion, the education necessary for the proper performance of the
duties of a Subaltern Officer, and to enable them to draw profit
afterwards from their private studies and the practice of the service.
The complete course of study lasts two years and three quarters. The
instruction is divided into three courses, bearing the name of _cœtus_;
on joining the institution, the young men enter the first cœtus. Before
the commencement of the studies, that is, about the 1st of October, the
General Inspectors of the two corps direct the young men who are to
enter the school to come up from their regiments and divisions. They
receive their pay and clothing from their regiments until they are
promoted to the rank of Officer.
The first nine months of each year of study are principally devoted to
theoretical instruction, the three last exclusively to practice. In the
third cœtus, the course finishes with the theoretical instruction on the
1st of July.
The instruction of the first cœtus is directed to prepare the students
for the ordinary Officers’ Examination, and at the same time to enable
them to follow with advantage the further studies of the school. The
instruction, during the first year, is common to all the students. Those
who pass the Officers’ Examination enter at the commencement of the
second year into the second cœtus.
In the second cœtus the greater portion of the instruction, but not the
whole, is common to the two arms. In the third cœtus an almost entire
separation of studies takes place.
In all the studies which are common to the two arms, if the number of
students is too great for a single class, parallel classes are
established.
THE STAFF AND AUTHORITIES.
_A.--The Superior Authorities._
The _Curatorium_ of the School is composed of the General Inspectors of
the two corps. To it belongs the authority of issuing orders and
regulations; no important change in these can be made without its
sanction.
The General Inspector of Military Instruction receives yearly at fixed
periods, reports upon the state and progress of the school.
The accounts are under the control of the War Department, with which the
Director of the School is in immediate communication. Questions of
principle and unforeseen cases of importance are decided by the
_Curatorium_.
The Inspector of the School, who is an Engineer Officer when the
Director is an Artillery Officer, and _vice versâ_, has the immediate
oversight of it. It is his duty to see that the orders and regulations
are strictly followed.
_B.--The Executive Authorities._
The Director is appointed by the King. He is a Field Officer of either
Artillery or Engineers, and has the rank of Commandant of a regiment. He
has as assistant, a Captain appointed by the _Curatorium_. The Director
is immediately responsible for the discipline and the finance of the
establishment, and conducts its ordinary details, assisted by the
Captain. He is also President of the Board of Studies; as such he
exercises a general control over the instruction, and regulates the
ordinary examinations.
Under the Director and the Board of Studies are four officers, three
taken from the Artillery and one from the Engineers. They have the
immediate charge of the students, and are themselves under the direct
orders of the Captain.
The duties of Paymaster, Librarian, &c., are divided among them. They
must also give at least two hours of instruction weekly to the pupils.
The Board of Studies consists of the Director of the Institution as
President, and usually of the Senior Master of Mathematics, and the
Instructors of Artillery and Engineering in the third cœtus. In equal
numbers are likewise added Superior Officers of the Artillery and
Engineers appointed by the _Curatorium_. The duty of the Board is to
control the whole of the instruction, and to give an opinion when
required, upon the performance and capacities of the teachers and
students.
_C.--The Teachers._
The teachers are to be selected as much as possible from among the
Officers of Artillery and Engineers. Where this can not be effected,
civilians of proved ability and experience are to be appointed.
The number of teachers is to be arranged with reference to the amount
and extent of the studies, in such a manner that in the event of illness
among them, no interruption in the instruction may arise. In addition to
the teachers, there is a certain number of assistant-teachers, partly
civilians, partly taken from among the fireworkers of the Artillery. The
latter are employed under the Librarian, and in the practical
instruction; they may also, in case of necessity, assist as clerks.
THE STUDENTS.
The maximum number of students who enter each year is 80; 60 from the
Artillery, and 20 from the Engineers. In addition, a few young men may
be received from the smaller German States. In the event of the number
from one corps being short, an increased number may be admitted from the
other.
The number in the second cœtus is variable. It consists, first, of the
students previously in the first cœtus who have passed the Officers’
Examination; and, secondly, of such young officers as are appointed to
the Institution by the General Inspectors.
The students of the first cœtus lodge, as far as room will admit, in the
school buildings; the remainder, as well as the ensigns of the second
cœtus, not yet promoted to officers, are quartered in a neighboring
building. At least two of the direction officers lodge in the school
buildings; a third lodges in the other.
The Director may grant permission to a student, as a matter of favor, to
lodge with his parents.
The students quartered in the school and the neighboring building dine
together in the mess-room of the school.
The officers (students) of the second and third cœtus live in lodgings
in the town, and mess where they choose.
ENTRY INTO THE SCHOOL, AND PASSAGE THROUGH IT.
The entry into the first cœtus of the institution is conditional on the
applicant having passed, in the manner officially prescribed, the
examination for ensign. The necessary certificates are forwarded to the
Director of the School.
The instruction in the first cœtus embraces in general the subjects
required for the ordinary Officers’ Examination, that is to say, the
elements of Military Science, so far as every Subaltern Officer is
obliged to know them. To this is to be added instruction in mathematics,
in French, and in free sketching.
At the commencement of the instruction the teachers inspect the whole of
the Ensign-Examination papers of the newly-arrived students, which are
laid before them by the Director, in order the better to judge of their
acquirements. During the first quarter they take pains to ascertain the
ability as well as the amount of acquirements of each student, so as to
be able to give a confident opinion upon him at the end of the quarter.
After the close of the first quarter a conference of the teachers, under
the presidence of the Director, takes place, to form a report upon the
students, and to furnish data for recommendations to the rank of ensign
of such students as have given satisfaction by their conduct and
progress. The students about whom the teachers have not yet been able to
speak confidently, who, in certain studies, as in mathematics and the
special branches of their arm, are behind-hand, as well as those whose
conduct has not been without blame, are proposed to the higher
authorities for permission to continue to remain at the school. On the
other hand, the Board of Studies proposes for dismissal from the
institution, students whose conduct has been unsatisfactory, and
principally who give too little hope of a favorable career. The Board is
to express an opinion whether any prospect may be held out of a future
recall to the institution, according as its unfavorable report has been
founded on the want of ability or on the want of industry of the
student.
The students favorably reported on are immediately, by the General
Inspectors, appointed ensigns, subject to vacancies. The _Curatorium_
decides regarding the further stay at the institution, or the dismissal
of the others.
After the end of the second quarter, those pupils who can not yet be
recommended for promotion to ensign are only in special cases allowed to
remain till the end of the theoretical instruction of this year; if they
can not then be recommended, they are sent back to their regiments.
Fourteen days before the close of the theoretical instruction for the
year, that is to say, about the middle of June, the teachers give an
opinion regarding each student of the first cœtus, as to whether or not
they consider him capable of undergoing the Officers’ Examination, and
to pass into the second cœtus. These reports, joined to that of the
Director, as regards the conduct of the students, enable the Board of
Studies to propose to the higher authorities either that permission may
be granted to undergo the Officers’ Examination, (and, if successful, to
enter the second cœtus,) or that the student be sent back to his corps.
Students who have been refused permission on grounds not altogether
unpardonable, from presenting themselves for the Officers’ Examination,
or who in the course of instruction have been sent for any reason to
their corps, with the prospect of being afterwards called back to the
school, may, on the proposition of the Board of Studies, through the
_Curatorium_, be granted a second and final entrance into the first
cœtus.
The _Curatorium_ decides in every case whether a student who has not
qualified himself for entry into the second cœtus, may return to the
first cœtus after having left the institution, or in case he shall have
in the meantime passed the Officers’ Examination, whether he may, as an
exceptional case, enter the second cœtus. In a case of the latter kind,
the applicant can not present himself for the Officers’ Examination
without having previously passed a preliminary examination at the
school, to do which, the permission of the General Inspector of his
corps is necessary.
The theoretical course closes at the end of June. During the month of
July the students of the first cœtus are employed in surveying
operations. It is during this month that the examination for the rank of
officer before the General Examining Board takes place. The students who
pass this examination enter afterwards into the second cœtus; those who
fail are, at the expiration of the practical course of their year, sent
back to their corps.
The students who pass the Officers’ Examination, and are found qualified
to enter the second cœtus, are then proposed for election to the
officers of their corps. If the decision be favorable, their names are
submitted by the General Inspectors to the King, to be appointed, on
vacancies occurring, to the rank of Supernumerary (_Ausseretatsmässigen_)
Second Lieutenant.
To assist the Officers of the Corps in making their election, an extract
of the reports above alluded to is sent to them, so far as it concerns
the students who have successfully passed their Officers’ Examination.
It is an indispensable condition for entering the second cœtus, that, if
a student of the first cœtus, he should have passed the Officers’
Examination, or if he should now enter the school for the first time,
that he should have the rank of Officer. The sum of acquirements
necessary for the Officers’ Examination forms the basis of the
instruction given in the second cœtus. In it the instruction ceases to
be entirely common to the two arms.
At the end of the theoretical course of the second cœtus, a report of
progress and conduct is drawn up, as in the first cœtus, by the Board of
Studies, on the data furnished by the teachers as regards the studies,
and by the Director as concerns the conduct of the students. In
forwarding this report to the _Curatorium_, it is stated for each
student whether or not he is considered qualified to pass the _former
part_ of the Special Corps Examination. Those who are unfavorably spoken
of in this respect return to their corps, if there are no mitigating
circumstances which permit a further stay in the second cœtus, following
the decision of the _Curatorium_. They may either endeavor to obtain a
transfer into another branch of the army, or by study and good conduct
prepare themselves for admission into the third cœtus at a future
period. But in this case they must not only be recommended by their
corps, but they must also pass the _former part_ of the Special Corps
Examination.
The students recommended to present themselves for the _former part_ of
the Special Corps Examination undergo it before a Board appointed by the
chiefs of the two corps in the beginning of July. It extends over the
subjects of professional science which have been taught in the second
cœtus. A particular regulation defines the mode of this examination,
which is entirely written; it decides whether the student shall enter or
not into the third cœtus.
The successful students pass, by direction of the _Curatorium_, into the
third cœtus, while the unsuccessful ones, as well as those who have been
reported unfit to undergo the examination, return to their corps. By
good conduct and study they may obtain permission to come up again at
the next examination for the _former part_ of the Special Examination.
Their definite return to the school depends upon their passing this
examination, and upon the express order of the _Curatorium_.
The instruction in the third cœtus is chiefly directed to supply the
special scientific knowledge required by each of the two arms. The
students of the two corps, therefore, receive separate instruction. A
further object of the instruction is to enable the students to make use
of the knowledge which they have acquired, on which account instruction
and practical application go hand in hand. Practice and theory go thus
together in this the highest portion of the instruction, so that they
both terminate at the same time, namely, at the end of the month of
June.
Previous to leaving the School, the _latter part_ of the Special Corps
Examination is undergone before the same Board as for the _former part_.
This examination tests their qualifications in their special arm, and
proves their fitness for Artillery or Engineer Officers. The results of
this part of the examination and of the former part of it passed at the
close of the second cœtus, are combined by the Board, and forwarded to
the _Curatorium_. Along with these reports is submitted a proposition
for those who have passed the examinations to be admitted into their
corps. In the preparation of patents (for commissions) they are
antedated to the time of passing the Officers’ Examinations, proper
regard being had to the results of the Special Corps Examination for
arranging the officers among each other.
Any officer who does not pass the Special Corps Examination, remains
with the pay of an infantry officer in his corps until he either enters
into another arm, or having obtained permission to re-enter the third
cœtus, he qualifies himself for the final examination. A successful
passing of the Special Corps Examination at this second trial can give,
under the most favorable circumstances, no higher seniority than that of
immediately after the officers who have passed their examination the
previous year.
A.--_The Instruction in General._
The general instruction may be divided into--
1. The theoretical part, designed with the view to the practical
professional requirements of the students, and their further
self-improvement.
The instruction ranges over--
(_a._) Artillery.
(_b._) Military Engineering.
(_c._) Hydraulic Construction.
(_d._) Elements of Tactics.
(_e._) History of the Art of War.
(_f._) Mathematics.
(_g._) Theory of Surveying.
(_h._) Physics.
(_i._) Chemistry.
(_k._) French Language.
(_l._) Rules and Regulations of the Service.
(_m._) The Horse.
(_n._) Plan Drawing.
(_o._) Free Sketching.
(_p._) Descriptive Geometry.
(_q._) Artillery Drawing.
(_r._) Artillery Constructions Drawing.
(_s._) Fortification Drawing.
(_t._) Architectural Drawing.
2. The practical part of the instruction, designed by a series of
practical exercises to exhibit the application of the theory taught and
to extend the knowledge previously acquired.
The practical part includes--
(_a._) Visits to the Military Establishments and Institutions in
Berlin and Spandau, examination of the objects, collections, models,
&c., which they contain.
(_b._) Chemical manipulation.
(_c._) Examination of raw materials, of cannon, limbers, and
ammunition wagons, of shot and shells, and of small-arms.
(_d._) Management of machines.
(_e._) Practical exemplification of the rules for placing guns with
reference to the ground, and to tactical considerations.
(_f._) Marking out and tracing batteries and field-works.
(_g._) Drawings from Artillery objects, and from buildings, &c.
(_h._) Being present at the practical operations of the Engineer
Division of the Guards.
(_i._) Solution of problems in the attack and defense of fortresses.
(_k._) Practice in elementary tactics.
(_l._) Practical surveying.
(_m._) Artillery practice.
3. A course of Military and Gymnastic Exercises, requisite to prepare
Officers for active military service.
They are divided into--
(_a._) Exercises on foot.
(_b._) Exercises with the different kinds of guns in position.
(_c._) Fencing and gymnastics.
B.--_Instruction in Detail--The theoretical Part._
The theoretical studies commence each year on the 1st of October, and
end on the 30th of June. They may be reckoned, after deducting the
vacation and holidays, to include a period of thirty-five weeks.
As a general rule, the studies take place only in the forenoon, namely,
during the five hours between eight and one o’clock. Occasionally only
are there hours of study for a small part of the students in the
afternoon. A portion of the afternoons, during the theoretical course,
are employed for drills and practice, but in no case more than twice a
week, in order that the students may have the necessary time for
recreation. The students are required (those who are officers excepted)
to remain in their quarters in the evening, to prepare the work which
has been allotted to them by the teachers.
The parallel classes of each cœtus, with the exception of the drawing
classes, are, as a general rule, to be under the same teacher.
The theoretical instruction is distributed as follows:
AMOUNT OF STUDIES, WEEKLY.
Art. Artillery.
Eng. Engineers.
---------------------------+-------------+------------+------------
| 1st Cœtus. | 2d Cœtus. | 3d Cœtus.
NATURE OF STUDY. | Art. & Eng. | |
| | Art. Eng. | Art. Eng.
---------------------------+-------------+------------+------------
Artillery, | 4 | 3 | 8 0
Military Engineering, | 4 | 3 | 0 10
Hydraulic Construction, | 0 | 0 0 | 0 2
Elements of Tactics, | 4 | 0 0 | 0 0
History of the Art of War, | 0 | 3 | 0 0
Mathematics, | 6 | 6 | 4*
Theory of Surveying, | 2 | 0 0 | 0 0
Physics, | 0 | 4 | 0 0
Chemistry, | | |
{ Lectures, | 0 | 0 0 | 4
{ Manipulations, | 0 | 0 0 | 4
French Language, | 2 | 2 | 2
Rules and Regulations of | | |
the Service, | 2 | 0 0 | 0 0
The Horse, | 0 | 0 0 | 2 0
Plan Drawing, | 4 | 2 4 | 2 3
Free Sketching, | 2 | 0 2 | 0 0
Descriptive Geometry, | 0 | 1 | 0 0
Artillery Drawing, | 0 | 2 0 | 3 0
Artillery Construction | | |
Drawing, | 0 | 2 0 | 2 0
Fortification Drawing, | 0 | 4 | 0 4
Architectural Drawing, | 0 | 0 2 | 0 3
---------------------------+-------------+------------+------------
| 30 | 32 34 | 31 36
---------------------------+-------------+------------+------------
[* In two divisions.]
REMARKS.
In the first cœtus.--All the instruction in this class is common to the
two arms, and is equally divided among the six forenoons of the week.
In the first and second cœtus.--With reference to the mathematical
instruction, it is particularly ordained, that each of the two
mathematical teachers shall give instruction to the same students in the
first and second cœtus, so that the one who teaches in the first cœtus
one year, teaches in the second cœtus the year following.
In the second cœtus:--
1. The larger portion of the instruction, as the table shows, is
common; in Plan Drawing the only difference is that the Engineers
receive two hours’ additional instruction.
2. The instruction in French, for a select number of the most advanced
students only, takes place on two afternoons.
3. The instruction in Free Sketching for the Engineers takes place
also on two afternoons.
In the third cœtus:--
1. About one-half only of the instruction in this class is common; in
Plan Drawing the Engineers have one hour more instruction a week.
2. The Chemical Manipulations (in which a very small number only of
the students share) take place on two afternoons.
3. The instruction in French, in which only those already selected in
the second cœtus take part, also is given on two afternoons.
4. For mathematical instruction the class is formed into two
divisions. The first consists of those pupils who, in the opinion of the
teachers, are able to follow profitably the instruction in the higher
mathematics. The remainder form the second division, and go over a
second time what they have already learned, to which is added a variety
of questions in applied mathematics, important to the Artillery and the
Engineers.
TENOR OF THE STUDIES IN GENERAL.
_First Cœtus._
_Artillery._--Elementary Description of all the _matériel_ of the
Prussian Artillery, and of the basis of its arrangement. Effect of the
different natures of guns, and the simplest rules for their employment.
_General Military Engineering._--The elements of field and permanent
fortification. The principles of the attack and defense of fortresses.
General notions on the construction of military bridges.
_Tactics._--General organization of an army. Formation of the
different kinds of troops. Fundamental rules for the placing, moving,
and fighting of the separate arms, as well as their combination.
Occupation of ground. Attack and defense of positions. Field-service.
_Mathematics._--Algebra and Arithmetic. Simple and higher equations.
Progression series. The binomial theory for integral exponents. Series
of powers and logarithms. Analytical trigonometry. Plane and analytical
geometry. Plane trigonometry.
_French Language._--Translation from French into German, with parsing.
_Rules and Regulations._--Official correspondence, with examples.
Discipline. Military code. Courts-martial. Courts of honor. Service in
and out of garrison.
_Plan Drawing._--Theory of representing ground. Principles of
topography. Surveying. Drawing from copies and simple models. Knowledge
and description of the different conventional marks.
_Free Sketching._--Drawing of straight lines, broken lines, and
angles. First principles of figure drawing. Hatching with black chalk.
More difficult studies in figure drawing.
* * *
_Second Cœtus._
_Artillery._--Description of the organization of the Prussian
Artillery. Rules for the employment of artillery in the field and in
sieges.
_Special Military Engineering._--Extension of the course of field and
permanent fortification, given in the first cœtus. Extension of the
instruction on sieges. Formation of camps. Specialities of military
engineering, in so far as it is of interest to artillerists.
_History of the Art of War._--History in early times, in a very
general manner; that in the middle ages, as they approach modern times,
in greater detail; in modern times, very fully. Organization of the
armies and mode of conducting war at each remarkable period, illustrated
by the description of some campaigns and great battles.
_Mathematics._--Solid geometry. Spherical trigonometry. The theory of
projections. Theory of co-ordinates and conic sections. Statics,
geostatics, and hydrostatics.
_Physics._--General properties of bodies. Laws of the equilibrium of
solid, fluid, and aëriform bodies. Heat. Application of steam and gases.
Measurement of heights. Hygrometry. Acoustics. Optics. Magnetism,
Electricity. Electro-magnetism. Magneto-electricity.
_French Language._--Exercises in translating German into French, for a
select number of pupils, about one-third of the whole.
_Artillery Drawing._--Use of drawing instruments and scales. Drawing
of the _matériel_ of the artillery, and principally of the separate
parts of an object in different views and sections, to a certain scale,
without the original.
_Artillery Constructions Drawing._--Construction of the different
limbers, gun-carriages, &c., and the principles of their arrangement,
forms, proportions, and admeasurements; in greater part, however,
intended only as illustrations of the rules of perspective.
_Fortification Drawing._--Instruction in the composition of drawings;
the practice includes representations of projects of fortresses and
their details in plan and section, and in cavalier’s perspective
(bird’s-eye view); both etched and shaded with Indian ink, and colored.
The chief object is to qualify the pupils to understand, and to prepare
correctly, drawings and plans of objects in field and permanent
fortification.
_Plan Drawing._--Further practice in drawing of ground, with objects,
buildings, &c., marked in black and colors. Further progress in geodesy.
Sketches and reconnaissances.
_Architectural Drawing._--Perspective. Drawings of architectural
decoration in outline, with the lines of shadow, but without further
detail.
_Free Sketching._--Further figure-drawing. Landscapes and the drawing
of ornaments, for the more skillful students.
_Descriptive Geometry._--The theory of descriptive geometry.
Projections of various bodies in space, upon planes. Drawing according
to proportional scales. Theory of light and shade of drawings.
_Third Cœtus._
_Artillery._--History and Literature of artillery. Review of the
general relations of the artillery system in the principal states of
Europe. Scientific basis of artillery objects, and their technical
description. Theory of the parabola and of projectiles. Organization and
employment of artillery, considered in its highest point of view.
_Exclusive Military Engineering._--Special application of the rules
for sieges under given circumstances more or less connected. Complete
instruction in building, and its application shown by projects for given
sites.
_Hydraulic Constructions._--General principles of the science.
Knowledge of the construction of such works, of which the principles
should be known to engineer officers. In this is chiefly to be
considered fascine work for the protection of the banks of rivers and
canals, the construction of bridges and sluices, and the laying the
foundation of heavy masonry in water.
_Mathematics._--(For the first division, about a quarter of the
class.)--Differential and integral calculus. The higher geometry.
Analytical mechanics and hydraulics.
(For the second division, about three-quarters of the
class.)--Repetition of the most important part of the studies already
gone through in the first and second cœtus, with practical useful
problems. Mechanics and hydraulics, as well as some instruction
necessary for artillerists, but so as not to require the higher
analysis, and more of a practical than of a theoretical nature.
_Chemistry_ (Instruction.)--The necessary preliminary knowledge of
theoretical principles. Treatise of separate substances (of the
metalloids and their indifferent combinations, of the acids, of the
metals,) all illustrated by experiments. To conclude with a survey of
the composition and alteration of the surface of the globe from a
chemical point of view.
(Manipulation.)--Instruction in the principles of qualitative chemical
analysis, illustrated by experiments. Manipulation by the students under
the superintendence of the instructor. Instruction in the principles of
quantitative analysis. Analysis by the students, of substances employed
by the artillery. (Only four or five of the best qualified take part in
these experiments.)
_French Language._--Select conversation (only for the already selected
students in the second cœtus.)
_The Horse._--Natural history and anatomy of the horse. Good and bad
points. Food. Internal and external sickness, with the mode of discovery
and cure of the same, as far as practicable, by the means to be had on
actual service. Shoeing.
_Artillery Drawing._--Continuation of the instruction. _Matériel_ of
the artillery, represented as combined artillery objects, partly on a
given scale, partly drawn from a real object, by the more skillful
students.
_Artillery Construction Drawing._--Construction of each description of
cannon. Principles of their forms, proportions, and sizes. Problems on
the construction of existing and not existing guns, carriages, &c.
Construction of the artillery _matériel_ of foreign powers.
_Fortification Drawing._--Projects of field fortification, to be
constructed of earth, or of earth and gabions, with application to the
nature of the ground. Drawings with the use of Von Prittwitz’ copies of
the fortification of places, as a continuation of the fortification
drawings begun in the second cœtus. For all these exercises in projects
and drawings, the concert of the teacher of exclusive engineering is
required.
_Plan Drawing._--Practice in copying and reducing large plans. Drawing
of plans of battles with the position of the troops, and of plans of
sieges, with the trenches and batteries.
_Architectural Drawing._--Architecture in its application to military
buildings, done in India ink. Finally, practical exercises in copying
buildings.
PRACTICAL EXERCISES.
These are carried on, as has been already remarked, in part during the
nine months of theoretical instruction, on some of the afternoons, but
they principally take place during the three summer months of July,
August, and September, in the forenoon. They commence early in the
morning, and often last till the afternoon, on which account there are
no evening hours of study during this period. As the students of the
third cœtus return to their corps at the beginning of July, those of the
first and second cœtus only take part in this practice. The visits to
the Fortress and Military Establishments of Spandau, and the preparation
of projects of military constructions, and of reconnaissances, must be
made during the period of theoretical instruction. It is therefore
suspended for one day for the students of the first cœtus, and for three
days for the Artillery, and five days for the Engineer students of the
third cœtus.
The distribution of time for each cœtus is as follows:
DURING THE NINE MONTHS OF THEORETICAL INSTRUCTION.
[KEY]
1C 1st Cœtus. Artillery and Engineers.
Art. Artillery
Eng. Engineers
----------------------------------------+----------------------------
| Number of Days employed.
+------+----------+----------
| 1C |2d Cœtus. |3d Cœtus.
| |Art. Eng.|Art. Eng.
----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------
Visits to the Artillery Workshops, | 2 | 0 0 | 4 0
To the Collection of Arms | | |
in the Arsenal | 1 | 0 0 | 0 0
To the Models of Fortresses in do. | 1 | 0 0 | 0 0
To the Ordnance, Gun-carriages, | | |
Ammunition-wagons, &c., in do. | 4 | 0 0 | 0 0
To the Foundry and Boring Machinery | 2 | 0 0 | 2 0
To the Iron-foundry, and to | | |
one of the large Manufactories | | |
of Machinery in Berlin, | 0 | 0 0 | 2 0
To the Fortress of Spandau, the | | |
Powder-mill, and Small-arm Factory, | 1 | 0 0 | 0 0
Working in the Laboratory | 12 | 12 12 | 0 0
Examination of Ordnance, | 0 | 0 0 | 6 0
“ of Gun-carriages, and | | |
Ammunition-wagons, | 0 | 0 0 | 6 0
“ of Shot and shell | 0 | 0 0 | 2 0
“ of Small-arms, | 2 | 0 0 | 0 0
Practical representation of the | | |
Rules for placing Guns: | | |
With reference to the ground, | 0 | 2 2 | 0 0
On given tactical conditions, | 0 | 0 0 | 4 0
Solution of problems in the art of | | |
Sieges, with reference to an actual | | |
fortress and the country surrounding | | |
it (Spandau,) | 0 | 0 0 | 3 5
Practice in Elementary Tactics, | 4 | 0 0 | 0 0
Drawings of Ordnance, Carriages, &c. | 0 | 12 0 | 0 0
“ of Buildings, &c. | 0 | 0 0 | 0 14
Practice in Geodesy, | 12 | 0 0 | 0 0
----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------
DURING THE REMAINING THREE MONTHS.
----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------
Practice in Geodesy, | 16 | 28 32 | Nil.
Practice in Fortification of the | | |
1st cœtus, with the Engineers | | |
of the Guard | 12 | 0 0 | “
Practice in Fortification of the | | |
2d cœtus, | 0 | 10 10 | “
Visits to the Models of Fortresses | | |
in the Model-house, | 0 | 2 2 | “
Gun Practice, proof of gunpowder, | | |
the management of machines, &c. | 14 | 14 14 | “
----------------------------------------+------+----------+----------
_Remarks._--The employment of time in the last three months above given,
requires the whole of the months of July and August, and about the first
third of the month of September, after deducting fourteen days for the
Officers’ Examination for the first cœtus, and occasional days lost
through bad weather. The remaining two-thirds of September are given for
vacation, as well to afford recreation to the teachers and students as
to allow of the repairing and cleansing of the school-buildings.
MILITARY AND GYMNASTIC EXERCISES.
The month of October is appointed by the Director to the fitting and
making uniform the regimental clothing brought with the students from
their corps. Military exercises then take place once a week for two
hours in the afternoon, till the 1st of April, or for about five months.
The military exercises are carried on under officers of the garrison,
namely, a Captain and two Lieutenants of the Artillery of the Guard.
They put themselves in communication with the Director to arrange the
time, nature, and extent of the exercises.
The exercises consist of--
1. _Exercises on Foot._--The whole of the first cœtus here take part,
but only so many of the second Cœtus as are required as non-commissioned
officers. Considering the composition of the squad, (Artillery and
Engineers,) and the object of the exercise, the perfection of the
students in company-drill is less to be attempted than the endeavor to
give to each a good position and carriage in the front as well as in the
ranks, and more particularly to accustom them to military order and
precision.
2. _Exercises with different descriptions of Guns in Position._--In
preference, the light field-pieces of the year 1842 are to be used for
drill, and correct, united and prompt execution required. With the
siege-guns, every student is instructed and practiced with at least one
calibre of each nature.
In addition to their military exercises, there are also--
3. _Fencing and Gymnastics._--In these exercises the students of the
first cœtus only take part, and for two hours of the afternoon each
week, during the first six months. There is neither time nor appliances
to admit of the students arriving at a high state of excellence. The
practice in fencing is only intended to give confidence in the use of
arms, that in gymnastics to produce activity, and to afford bodily
exercise to young men much occupied in study.
EXAMINATIONS AND CENSURES.
In addition to the several examinations already enumerated, by which the
fitness of the students for a certain rank or for promotion into a
higher cœtus is shown, some other examinations take place.
1. For the purpose of enabling the Director and the Board of Studies to
learn the progress of each separate student, and to confirm by their own
knowledge the opinion given by the teachers, there is twice in each
quarter an oral repetition of some portion of such instruction in the
first and second cœtus. The period of the examination is previously
named by the Director.
2. To give a general view of the progress of the entire year, and to
incite the students to study, a public oral examination of those in the
first cœtus takes place at the close of the theoretical instruction, in
presence of the higher authorities of the school, superior officers of
the two arms, and other persons interested.
As a further incitement to the students, and as a warning to those whose
diligence or conduct has not been satisfactory, the quarterly “censures”
are read out to the assembled cœtus. In general the names of the
students are not mentioned, a number known to the individual only being
used instead. The best pupils are, however, openly commended by name.
In the first cœtus, on the other hand, those pupils who have obtained
very bad “censure” are mentioned by name.
FINANCIAL RELATIONS.
The annual expense of the School is fixed at 16,049 dollars. The sum is
distributed as follows:--
_Personal._
Salaries and allowances of Teachers 10,731
Pay and allowances of the Staff, 3,478
------ 14,209
Practical exercises, 520
School necessaries, 720
Keeping up materials for instruction, 110
Cleansing the rooms 130
Lighting, 100
Bureau expenses, 210
Covering unforeseen expenses, 50
------ 1,800
In the event of war, and if the instruction is suspended for an
indeterminate period, the salaries of the civil teachers cease.
Application is not to be made to the King for the grant of a provisional
indemnity, except under very peculiar circumstances.
The payment of the salaries and allowances is made monthly and in
advance.
The administration of the funds is directly under the supervision of the
Director. The Treasurer carries out the details. The superior orders for
the administration of royal grants are most strictly to be followed.
The annual accounts are forwarded by the Director to the War Department.
The property of the School consists of--
The Library, the Collection of Instruments and Models for Artillery and
Engineers, the Collection of Physical Instruments, the Collection of
Chemical Apparatus, and the School Utensils.
The principal object of the Library is to serve as materials of
instruction for the teachers and students, and the Officers of Artillery
and Engineers present at the Institution. After that, as a center, for
the collection of all the best works, old and new, on Artillery and
Military Engineering.
The Director and Board of Studies take care that the instruments and
apparatus for the studies are always kept complete and in good order. As
the means of the school do not thoroughly admit of the collections
keeping pace with the progress of science, special care is taken that at
least the most necessary articles are not absent.
The utensils of the school are kept always complete, under the
supervision of the Director.
The property of the school is examined yearly by the Director and Board
of Studies, and a report to that effect sent in with the annual
accounts.
PROGRAMMES OF THE PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS TAUGHT IN THE ARTILLERY AND
ENGINEER SCHOOL AT BERLIN.
I. ARTILLERY.
The instruction must commence with the first elements of the science,
since the new arriving students have little preparatory knowledge. It
must be carried on to such an extent that the pupil may be able, after
going through the first cœtus, to pass his _officer’s examination_, and
after the completion of the entire course, not only to show at his
_special_ examination that he possesses the positive knowledge required
for the ordinary duties of the service, but also to prove that he is
qualified for continuing his studies by himself.
The Engineer pupils who close their instruction in artillery at the end
of the second cœtus, are to be instructed in the composition of
artillery, in the effect and the use of cannon, but more especially in
its employment in sieges.
From this general notice of the limits of the course it is evident that
neither a perfect exposition of the theory nor complete practical
exercises are expected. Still to train the students properly in the
different directions which an artillery education requires, the
instruction must not consist only in a theoretical lecture, but be aided
by judicious directions for drawing, and be perfected by practical
exercises. For the attainment of the two latter objects special
prescriptions are given, to which we refer.
Instruction in artillery is closely connected with the lectures on
mathematics, physics, chemistry, tactics, fortification, and veterinary
science.
_a._ As special points may be mentioned, _in mathematics_, calculation
of contents, and fixing the centers of gravity, of cannon and its parts;
calculation of piles of shot; strength, direction, and distribution of
recoil on the separate portions of a piece of ordnance; theory of
machines, of carriages, of parabolic and projectile curves, and
calculation of the flight of rockets. In all these cases the
mathematical lecturer develops the necessary formulas for the artillery
student, but their application belongs to the course of artillery.
_b._ _In physics._--Explanation, notice, and determination of the
specific gravities of the materials used in artillery. The law of
gravity. The absolute and relative strength of woods and metals.
Friction. Resistance of the air. Expansive power of gases, especially of
those generated by gunpowder.
_c._ _In chemistry._--The general laws of chemical action of bodies on
one another. The simple elements of the materials used in artillery. The
chemical properties of their combinations. The acids exhibited in the
combustion of gunpowder and their action on metals; the processes used
in the reduction and manufacture of metals up to the point where they
are fit for use in artillery; chemical analysis of gunpowder and of the
most common metal-alloys. The action of the atmosphere on substances
exposed to it, which are used in artillery.
_d._ _In tactics._--The organization and tactics of artillery, so far as
they stand in direct relation to other arms. A complete account of the
conduct of artillery when coöperating with other troops.
_e._ _In fortification._--Everything referring to the tracing, the
relief, and the construction of fortifications; attack and defense of
field-works by infantry and cavalry; complete exposition of the art of
besieging, with a discussion of all the duties of an engineer, a sapper
or miner, both in the attack and the defense of a fortress, also the use
of infantry and cavalry in sieges, with the omission of the points
specially belonging to artillery.
_f._ _In the veterinary art._--The anatomy and physiology of the horse;
general rules for feeding, treatment of diseases, and disinfection of
the stables and utensils.
The instruction in the first cœtus must, as already mentioned, be so
calculated, that the students at the end of the course of lessons may be
able to satisfy perfectly the requirements of the _Officer’s
examination_.
As a further prosecution of the same subjects of instruction in the
second, and again in the third cœtus, would lead to a great loss of time
and to tiresome repetitions, the lectures are to be so planned that the
separate subjects to be treated in the first and second cœtus, taken
together, are of sufficient extent for the Engineer pupils in general;
the further developments necessary for the Artillery pupils are reserved
in preference for the third cœtus.
A. IN THE FIRST CŒTUS.
The separate subjects of the lecture are--
1. Definition and distribution of arms.
2. Theory of gunpowder: component parts--manufacture--ignition--force.
Proving. Storing. Transporting. Necessary precautions in manufacturing.
Marks of damaged powder, and the possibility of restoration. Mention of
the substances which may be used in place of gunpowder for various
military purposes.
3. Cannon. Materials. Dispositions. Manufacture. Proving. Storing, and
duration.
4. Gun-carriages. Limbers and other artillery carriages. General
explanations on the construction of carriages, with particular reference
to those used for artillery. Materials. Distribution and composition of
gun-carriages. Limbers and wagons. Their examination and storing.
5. Military combustibles. Elementary notions. General account of
laboratory work and regulations; also with reference to later
proceedings in a laboratory, and, omitting all figures not absolutely
necessary, a description of the preparation of fire-works, matches,
ammunition both for artillery and for small-arms, signal lights, and
particular kinds of combustibles. Their packing and storing.
6. The service, working, and moving of cannon, and of artillery
carriages, with account and description of the machines in use by the
Prussian artillery; but without special explanation of the official
regulations.
7. Firing. Theory of the movement of projectiles, of the effect caused
by their movement, and the mode of turning this action to the best
account for military purposes. Elements of the theory of firing.
Practice. Various descriptions of fire; their effect, and their
employment for various sorts of guns.
8. Small and side-arms. Purpose and description of the composition and
arrangement of small-arms. Their manufacture, storing, and the practical
rules for their use. Purpose and description of side-arms. Fabrication,
proving, effect, and use of them.
B. IN THE SECOND CŒTUS.
The instruction in the second cœtus is a continuation of the lectures of
the first cœtus, and embraces the use of artillery in the field and in
sieges. Its object is to bring the Artillery students to that point,
that they are able, at its close, to discharge satisfactorily the
ordinary practical duties of the service, and be prepared to follow the
course of the third cœtus, and to give to the Engineer students, who, in
the third cœtus no longer receive instruction in artillery, all the
knowledge of the subject required for their future profession. The
instruction must therefore be complete enough for the Engineers, and
give the Artilterist a solid and thorough preparation for the third
cœtus.
Instruction in the second cœtus should comprise, in particular--
1. The organization of the artillery: purpose and considerations in the
putting together of all parts of artillery material, both in tactical
and administrative respects, with historical mention of the diversities
of practice of other Powers.
2. The use of artillery in the field. Marching and tactical movements.
Taking up position. The engagement itself, and conduct in some
particular cases; for example, in defile fighting, in entrenchments,
passage of rivers, &c.
3. Use of artillery in sieges:--
a. _For Attack._
Planning and throwing up the batteries. Preparation and use of the
different kinds of materials of construction. Different sorts of
batteries. Methods of construction. Repairing of damaged batteries, and
the calculation generally of all the materials necessary for
constructing them.
Purpose and equipment of besieging batteries, with the preparations,
special and general, for a regular attack.
Proceedings in the regular attack, and their modifications in irregular
sorts of attack, occasioned by the situation of the fortress with
reference to the surrounding ground, or by the special nature of the
defenses.
Proceedings after capture, and when the siege is raised.
b. _For Defense._
The equipment of the fortress. Determination of its artillery.
Preparations in the fortress when it is declared in a state of siege.
Conduct of the artillery in the regular attack, and against irregular
modes of attack, as well as in particular cases, such as when in
detached isolated works, when the place is relieved, or when the
garrison fight its way out.
C. IN THE THIRD CŒTUS.
In the artillery course of the first and second cœtus, the students have
gained a general knowledge of the materials of artillery, as well as its
organization and use as an Arm; but the lectures were for the most part
limited to what was of the greatest immediate consequence, viz., the
description of the actual condition and relations of the Prussian
artillery.
The object of the instruction given in the third cœtus is, on the one
hand, to expose the scientific laws of artillery and its various parts,
and, on the other, to track the historical development of the Arm, so as
by this means, and by consideration of the constitution of foreign
artilleries, to extend the views of the students beyond our own
practice, thus, to form their judgment, and induce them to think and
contrive for themselves.
In the comparison of our own and foreign existing systems with the
results of scientific considerations, the teacher should proceed with
caution, and not raise in the young men the inclination to or the habit
of crude and officious criticism. Investigation of things as they exist
must, therefore, not confine itself to the mere search after defects; it
can be only profitable when employed to test our own powers at
improvements, and to discern thereby the difficulties and impediments
that accompany them. The value which speculative reasoning has for the
purposes of the artillery ought to be properly esteemed by the students,
but, in face of the results of experience, not be estimated too highly;
and in the comparison of different artilleries one with another, the
influence must not be overlooked which the peculiarities and the history
of a country ever exert on its institutions.
The final aim of the artillery instruction in the third cœtus must be a
higher degree of preparation for the future practical ability of the
students. As regards the material portion of the artillery, the students
are to acquire a general knowledge of the construction, fabrication, and
proving of the _matériel_, and for the tactical part, it is above all
things to be made an object that they be made capable, by the
instruction given them, of greater dexterity and confidence in dealing
with special cases in the field or in siege operations.
The instruction commences with:--
1. Organization of the artillery service. The general relations of the
artillery service are to be explained according to its different
purposes, as an arm both in technical and administrative respects, then
the principles for the organization of the service and of its separate
portions in peace and war are to be developed, and comparison made with
those carried out in the principal foreign artilleries.
At the same time, on the one hand, more details are to be gone into on
the different branches of the artillery service (field, siege, fortress,
and coast artillery, the technical and the administrative branches,)
than was done in the second cœtus; and on the other, those
considerations must be kept sight of in which the artillery appears as a
portion of a greater whole, as in its relation to the Army and to the
State.
2. Artillery, regarded as an arm. Since the elementary rules for the use
of artillery in war have been given already in the second cœtus it will
be the object in the third cœtus, first, to develop the principles of
artillery tactics in the field, and in sieges, from an extended point of
view, and then to apply the rules for the movements, placing in position
and fighting of the artillery to the bodies now actually used in war,
and to examine the great questions that may hence arise. For the field
artillery, the tactics of single batteries and of masses of artillery
and the collective relations of the artillery of a _corps d’armée_ and
of an army, must be shown. For sieges there will be less occasion to
treat of the separate means of defense by artillery than of the various
combinations under different circumstances, of its diversified
applications.
To give this instruction its most practical tendency, historical
examples of battles are to be taken, and not merely their results
adduced, but the circumstances gone through in detail. These are to be
compared with the rules previously given, and the causes and effects of
any discrepancies, as far as practicable, and with caution, explained.
Themes are then given out of campaigns and sieges, in working which the
students are to show applications of tactical rules under given
circumstances.
As regards the preparation for the field and the conduct in marches,
quarters, camps, or bivouacs, what was necessary has already been taught
in the second cœtus, as far as concerns a corps of artillery as large as
a battery. In the third cœtus, therefore, only more extensive and
important relations have to be explained.
Finally, as the students at the close of the third cœtus are to enter
immediately into active service in the regiments, it will be useful to
give them a general view of artillery duties in time of peace, of which
no mention was made in the first and second cœtus, and to show the
principles on which they rest. Further, the education of the men, the
selection, management, and care of the artillery horses, instruction in
riding and driving, the various exercises in serving and moving the
guns, artillery practice, the different fatigue duties, conduct in
manœuvres, detachments, &c., are to be particularly explained.
3. Artillery in a technical and administrative point of view. In the
instruction given in the first and second cœtus, a descriptive notice
only was given, as regards artillery material, of the arrangement and
effect of what actually exists; and the reasons for this arrangement
were added only so far as was necessary for this principal object.
In the third cœtus the pupils are to learn by the inductive process how,
according to existing principles of natural science and of tactics, with
the known mathematical and technical aids, artillery material must be
contracted, manufactured, and proved, so as to obtain the desired end in
the highest degree; and then our existing material and that of other
countries are to be compared in the manner above stated with the results
thus obtained.
To this end, in the lectures, first, the necessary explanations of
artillery requirements are to be brought forward from the doctrine of
mechanics; after that the fabrication, proving, and action of gunpowder
are to be introduced; and finally, the construction, fabrication, and
examination of cannon, carriages, and ammunition of the artillery and of
small-arms.
Of course the details of powder-mills, of cannon foundries, of artillery
workshops, of laboratories and small-arms manufactories, are here to be
explained.
The action of projectiles and the mode of applying it, are to be
scientifically explained, by the aid of the parabolic and projectile
theory, as well as the principles upon which artillery experiments are
to be conducted.
Finally, the principles of the management of the artillery material in
the artillery dépôts are to be explained.
4. The course of instruction will be closed by an historical description
of the progress of artillery, and by an historical review of its
literature.
D. GENERAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE TIME.
The total number of hours is, according to the constitution of the
school--
For the first cœtus, 35 weeks of 4 hours = 140 hours.
“ second “ 35 “ 3 “ = 105 “
“ third “ 35 “ 8 “ = 280 “
The exact number of hours dedicated to each division must be stated by
the teacher in the first instance in his special plan for lessons, as
they in part depend upon his general experience. But, at all events, all
the above-stated subjects for the first cœtus must be taught in the
prescribed periods.
The lecture in the first cœtus must by no means be a mere mechanical
preparation for the _Officer’s examination_; even here the understanding
of the pupil is not to remain unoccupied, though the memory is to be had
recourse to in a very high degree, and the historical form, that is,
description of objects as they are, predominates.
The principles of the arrangements can only be taken up in their chief
features, (partly because) time will not allow a farther advance, and
partly because the progress of the students in the other studies is not
yet sufficiently forward.
In the second cœtus the advantage has been obtained that the students
have gained a knowledge of the entire material of artillery in its
various relations, and the lecture gives, therefore, an introduction to
the use of artillery in the field and in sieges; and with special regard
to a fundamental knowledge of the details, and with the view to what is
necessary to complete the Engineer pupil and make an efficient
preparation of the Artillerist for the third cœtus, aims at a somewhat
more scientific treatment, without going into the full comprehensive
details reserved for the latter student. For the same reason, this
portion of the lectures is confined nearly throughout to the explanation
of existing conditions of our artillery, and only where the necessities
of the Engineer student may demand it, can mention be made of the
earlier material, or of the most important matters of foreign
artilleries.
The instruction, therefore, of the first and second cœtus is directed
more to the general and historical, that of the third cœtus, more to the
special and scientific culture of the student; the materials were there
collected which are here to be worked up.
From this general point of view proceed also the methods which are to be
observed by the teachers in each cœtus.
The principal point to be kept hold of in all three cœtus is, that
everything that can be shown the students, or which they can learn by
their own manipulation, should be brought visibly before them, and as
far as time and circumstances permit, should be actually put in
practice. The material objects, in their actual state for use, must as
often as possible be shown and explained, for which the Practical
Exercises offer the best opportunity to which reference is here
therefore made.
After these, a collection of models, diagrams, tables, and literary
notices are necessary, which may be partly used for immediate
instruction in the class, and partly furnished the pupils as a necessary
and time-saving aid to the memory.
Deficiencies in these aids to the lectures are to be laid before the
Direction and Board of Studies by the teacher, and supplied as far as
the existing means allow.
Those cases in which the proceedings are fixed by certain regulations
require special mention; for instance, the transport of powder,
examination of cannon, drills, harnessing of horses, stable and camp
service, &c.
All these regulations are grounded on certain principles, from which no
deviation can take place without evil. The method of drawing them up is,
however, variable, on which times and circumstances, and even the views
of the superior authorities, have influence.
It is, therefore, highly necessary that in this respect the essential be
carefully in the instruction separated from the accidental, and by
omitting the latter, not only gain time, but hinder that the students
accustom themselves in a slovenly manner to look only to forms, and to
seek in them the true being and life of artillery.
A true exposition of the principles on which these regulations rest
ought not to be omitted from the lectures. They will suffice to prepare
the students to act correctly in every case that occurs, for which
actual service gives them, moreover, the separate instruction. The more
completely the teacher keeps this point in view the less need he fear to
form his pupils to immature critics, since the well-informed officer
will more easily enter into the spirit of each such regulation, and more
exactly carry it into execution for the benefit of the service, than he
who has been accustomed to keep without reflection only to the dead
letter; this, in the varied phases of practical life, will often enough
leave him without guidance, unless he knows how to find it within
himself.
As amongst the many existing class and hand-books for the artillery,
none is entirely adapted to form a basis for the lectures, the formation
of a special plan of lectures for each cœtus is indispensable, that the
lecturer may have a defined path, and the students an assistance in
their repetitions.
II. GENERAL AND SPECIAL ENGINEERING IN THE FIRST AND SECOND CŒTUS
The lecture commences with the first principles of fortification,
supposes no previous knowledge, and comprises--
(_a._) Field fortification, attack and defense of a redoubt,
communication in the field, and,
(_b._) Permanent fortification, the art of besieging, with the example
of a siege that has actually taken place.
In the first cœtus it must be so far carried out that the pupil is
capable of passing his _Officer’s examination_ according to the
regulation of the 26th March, 1846. In the second cœtus the general
knowledge of field and permanent fortification acquired in the first is
carried on in such a degree as both Artillery and Engineer officers
require to form a good foundation for the particular professional study
of both arms in the third cœtus.
In the formation of the special plan of the lecture the
instruction-regulations for artillery and exclusive engineering in the
third cœtus are to be kept in view, so as to prepare for these subjects
by the nature and the method of the instruction.
The principal contents of the lecture are--
A. IN THE FIRST CŒTUS.
a. _In Field Fortification._
A correct description of the profile, the ground plan, the technical
obstacles and modes of strengthening, the construction, and elementarily
also, the use of field-works; attack and defense of a redoubt, and the
military communications in the field, as roads, fords, and bridges.
b. _In Permanent Fortification._
Exposition of the essential principles for plan and profile;
acquaintance with the parts of a bastioned fortress with the outworks;
special acquaintance with a work on Vauban’s first system, and its
improvements by Cormontaigne. Knowledge of the characteristics of the
Italian, Dutch, and French fortification, of the ideas of Rimpler and
Montalembert, as well as of the latest fortifications in Prussia;
lastly, a knowledge of sieges as regards a regular attack and defense.
The art of construction is taught to the Engineers in the third cœtus.
B. IN THE SECOND CŒTUS.
Applied art of fortification, and, namely, attack and defense of the
various sorts of field-works, castrametation, permanent fortification,
provisional fortification, and sieges. At their proper places, are to be
introduced the precepts of military constructions which are suitable
alike to the Artillerist and the Engineer, as well as the conduct of
infantry and cavalry, and the duty of the Engineers in sieges.
_Distribution of Time._
The first cœtus receives four, the second three hours weekly; therefore,
in thirty-five weeks, the first 140, the second 105 hours. The number of
hours which are to be dedicated to each portion will be indicated by the
teacher in his special plan of the lectures, as it in part depends upon
his experiences. All the above-named subjects must, however, be gone
through within the prescribed period.
Before every principal division of the lectures, a general statement of
its purport and essential principles is given; then follows a short
historical exposition which is to explain the connection, the
employment, and the thence arising conditions of the subject under
consideration in reference to the other parts of the art of war.
The precepts hence deducible on the form of the parts of a
fortification, and on the subsisting relations of fighting, are to form
the latest and principal portion of each lecture.
The lecture is to be given in detail in such a manner, that its precepts
may be deduced from one another in a way suited to the powers of
perception of the pupils, and their mental powers accustomed to the
carrying out of principles, rather than to a blind adherence to absolute
regulations. To avoid repetition, the details of those doctrines which
belong to different places are to be given only once, namely, where they
are first required; and afterwards reference only made to them.
The military element, as indispensable both for the Artillerist and
Engineer alike, is to be kept continually in view.
As regards the principal divisions, oral repetitions may be made from
time to time for greater clearness; and, since individual and continued
attention and self-reflection alone render a well-grounded progress in
the student possible, written themes, besides those prescribed, are
particularly recommended. It will not be necessary to submit each
individual essay to a separate correction, but the teacher may content
himself each time with giving a general view of important defects in the
treatment of the subject, and then reading aloud one or more of the
essays that have best succeeded, and showing by their analysis how the
subject could be best treated.
In both cœtus, the existing models and full sized drawings in the
school, as also the models in the arsenal, and for the second cœtus more
especially the models of fortresses in the model-house, are to be used.
The means employed to complete the instruction in both cœtus, are
fortification drawing, practical exercise in field-works, and an
inspection of the fortress of Spandau.
The lectures are given without any fixed hand-book, from manuscript
drafts or notes.
III. EXCLUSIVE ENGINEERING IN THE THIRD CŒTUS.
The instruction in General Engineering in the first cœtus was intended
to teach the Artillerist and Engineer so much of the art of
fortification, of sieges, and of field-works as is requisite for
officers of every arm, and is necessary for the students to pass their
_Officer’s examination_.
In the second cœtus this instruction was enlarged, and connected with
its application to field and permanent fortification, to such extent as
the kindred arms of the artillery and engineer corps required equally to
know, that they may execute effectually their separate duties in
fortification and sieges.
The instruction in Exclusive Engineering in the third cœtus is, however,
intended solely for Engineers, as it teaches only professional matters
which the engineer shares with no other arm of the service; while, on
the other hand, the Artillerist receives a special instruction in those
branches which are only necessary for the artillery officer.
Since the lectures would receive a too great and heterogeneous
extension, if to them were to be added that portion of hydraulics which
the engineer officer ought to know, without being immediately connected
with his military constructions, and if further, civil architecture
applied to military buildings was touched on, these subjects will be
taught contemporaneously in the third cœtus by special instructors, and
are therefore in the lectures on Exclusive Engineering not to pass the
limits of that instruction. Their respective teachers must receive
reciprocally special information of each other’s plan of lectures, and
give mutual help by communications and inquiries where the studies might
come into collision.
The teacher of the Exclusive Engineer class must learn the extent of
those subjects of instruction which have been already treated in the
lectures on Special Engineering in the second cœtus, and not only by
inspection of the programme, but by personal consultation with their
respective teachers.
In more remote relation, the instruction connects itself with the
earlier lectures on artillery, tactics, history of the art of war,
mathematics, physics, chemistry, and the exercises in plan-drawing and
surveying. The special programmes of instruction of these branches of
study are also to be taken notice of by the teacher, that nothing may be
twice taught, and that where the use of doctrines from those studies is
necessary, he may merely refer to them historically.
This instruction comprises, after an introduction, the following
principal divisions.
1. The application of the rules for sieges already given to particular
cases, with a general regard to the ground, more especially of irregular
fortresses, shown by various remarkable sieges.
2. A theory of construction as auxiliary science in the execution of
engineering works for field or permanent fortification, and in the
execution of military constructions: building materials, modes of
building, and the application of both for given purposes.
To this part belong--
_a._ A knowledge of the different building materials from the animal,
vegetable, and mineral kingdoms; their production and preparation for
various building purposes, and the data, so important in practice,
regarding their durability and mode of employment.
_b._ The theory of the use and combination of these building materials
for constructive purposes, and of the building of separate portions of
an edifice.
_c._ The foundations of buildings and the means of improving the
foundation bottoms.
_d._ Construction of ordinary buildings, as inclosures, inclined or
unloaded revetments, loopholed walls, barracks and hospitals, dwelling
and guard-houses, military prisons, stables, magazines, such as
arsenals, wagon sheds, provision stores, bakeries, powder magazines,
laboratories, communications, mines, weirs and stop-sluices,
ice-breakers, &c.
_e._ Principles of machinery, with explanations of the forces necessary
to move machines, with notice of the most common for raising and moving
weights, for pumping, draining, dredging, &c.
3. The art, to apply the knowledge gained by the foregoing lectures by
means of projects for certain special purposes, and under given
circumstances of ground, such as his service may require of an
Engineer Officer. The application of field fortification to given
portions of ground is alone excepted, since the teacher of applied
Fortification-drawing has this especially assigned to him, who still is
only to give out his projects in unison with the teacher of Exclusive
Engineering.
There belongs to this part--
_a._ The method of preparing plans and estimates of buildings, in the
manner treated of under 2, at (_c_) and (_d_,) illustrated by frequent
practice in making out such plans.
_b._ Practice in plans for special objects and given ground, which
latter is to be chosen in the neighborhood of the fortress of Spandau.
_c._ Instructions generally conceived on the duties in a fortress of an
Officer of Engineers, and on the practice of building in Prussian
fortresses.
_d._ As appendix, notices on the formation and preservation of hedges,
and plantations of shrubs and trees.
The time fixed for this instruction amounts in thirty-five weeks, at ten
hours each, to 350 hours, which, according to the importance of the
different sections, may, as a general rule, be appropriated as
follows:--
Introduction and details of the first
principal section, about 20 hours.
Theory of building, namely; the lectures on materials
and their use, 140 “
Lectures on constructions, 80 “
Lectures on machinery, 30 “
Details of the third principal section, 80 “
---
Total, 350 “
The more particular distribution of this general division of time is
matter of the special lesson plan, and it only remains to be observed,
that with the approval of the Director, some afternoons are to be taken
for viewing the most remarkable buildings in Berlin and neighborhood;
and in conjunction with the teacher of applied Fortification-drawing,
three days are to be set apart for a recognizance of the works of the
fortress of Spandau, relative to the projects of fortifications
mentioned under 3 at (_b._)
The two first sections of this instruction, namely, the continuation of
the instruction on sieges, and the theory of construction, keep their
place in the regular lectures of the school, though naturally they have
an immediate applicability to practical service, and the lectures
therefore ought to be made his own by the pupil by frequent exercises
and detailed plans.
The projects for a given ground, on the contrary, must be worked out by
the pupils in conformity with the instruction given, as much as possible
independently, and as on service a young officer would do under the
guidance of his superior. The drawings need not be entirely shaded, but
may be partially executed by lines only, but they must be distinct and
clean. Here, as in Fortification-drawing, the prescriptions of the
Engineer regulation of the 25th of April, 1820, are to be observed, a
copy of which is therefore always present in the drawing-room, that they
may be seen by each student. Attention is to be given also to the
correctness of the scale, to correct coloring, entry on the drawing of
the date when done, and of the name as well as the rank of the student,
as directed by the above regulation.
In the exercises all propositions for improvements which vary from the
mode of practice now in use are excluded.
The teaching auxiliaries are the books and models of the school.
IV. HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTIONS IN THE THIRD CŒTUS.
The instruction in hydraulics is to comprehend:--
1. Those general principles of hydraulic architecture which in the
lectures on Exclusive Engineering in the third cœtus of the school could
not be specially explained without extending them too far, and therefore
were there taken for granted.
2. Such hydraulic works, as do not immediately come within the scope of
military buildings, and therefore could not be included in a lecture on
Exclusive Engineering, but which on account of their connection with the
profession of an Engineer Officer in general, independently of military
construction proper, ought to be known by him in their most important
principles.
Since in the instruction in engineering in the third cœtus,
opportunities offer for projects of fortification, with application of
the theoretical principles given above (at 1,) the exercise problems for
the instruction in hydraulic architecture need only extend to those
hydraulic works (at 2,) not referring to fortification.
The instruction is in immediate connection with the lectures on
mathematics, physics, and exclusive engineering, the last of which will
be lectured on at the same time as hydraulics; the lectures on physics
and that portion of mathematics which is here necessary, with the
exception of hydraulics, have been already treated in the first cœtus.
In arranging the plan of the lectures, and in carrying it out, the plans
for those sciences must be considered, and conferences held with the
teachers it may concern, to prevent the frequent repetition of the same
subject.
The entire number of hours is seventy, two of which are given weekly,
which, that they may fall in at the same time with the lectures on
exclusive engineering, are thus distributed:--
Hours.
1. Introduction and laws of the motion of water in open channels
and pipes, wells, suction and forcing pumps, about 5
2. Motion of water in streams, hydrometrical measurements, 3
3. Regulation of streams by dams, cuttings, &c., explanation
of ice-floats, and of the means to prevent their destructive
power, 5
4. Execution and construction of these works and of securing the
banks by dikes, packing, and weirs, 14
5. Historical description of the works for internal navigation,
canals, sluices, towing-paths, &c., 4
6. Draining and irrigation works, inundations, 4
7. Harbors, moles, sands, lighthouses, roadsteads, &c., 6
8. The principles of foundations under water, with accompanying
notice of the usual pile and scoop machines, 12
9. The general principles of bridge building; historical relation
of the most remarkable works executed of this kind, 17
--
Total, 70
To make the lecture plainer, and to exercise the student in
comprehending existing hydraulic buildings, eight afternoons, at the
choice of the teacher, after a previous consultation with the director,
are to be appropriated to the inspection and drawing of hydraulic
constructions, at Berlin, namely, the sluices and mills.
Although this instruction embraces a large field in a very short period,
it must not be extended over too many objects, but rather to be confined
to what is indispensable to the practical use of the engineer; the
matter of these, however, to be treated fundamentally and thoroughly,
and all superficiality be avoided.
The lectures are to be given from private notes, without any prescribed
hand-book.
V. TACTICS.
_In the First Cœtus._
The Students of the first cœtus are to receive a thorough instruction in
elementary tactics, and the employment of the different arms, both
separately and united. The object is not merely that they may pass the
_Officer’s examination_, but that they may gain true general ideas on
these subjects, which ought not to be strange to a well-informed officer
of any arm. A frequent illustration of the lectures delivered, by
examples and problems for actual ground, is particularly recommended.
Lectures on tactics are closely connected with those on artillery,
fortification, rules of the service; and in certain respects the
lectures on plan-drawing and veterinary art, as well as practical
exercises in surveying.
More especially--
_a._ In artillery: Construction of cannon, of small-arms and side-arms,
choice and training of horses for artillery service; organization of the
artillery; regulation for the artillery on march and in camp; use of
artillery in the field, as regards the specialties of its position,
movement, and mode of fighting. The use of artillery in general, in
attack and defense, with the use of the reserve artillery in more
important battles, in village skirmishes, passage of rivers and defiles,
and field fortifications, belongs to the lectures on artillery, but only
in the second cœtus; these subjects are therefore to be treated
historically with tactics, as far as knowledge of them is required for
the _Officer’s examination_. As a general principle, however, all the
relations of detail in the constitution or the specialties of artillery
are to be treated in the lectures on that science; in the tactics, on
the contrary, only the more general relations which concern all the arms
of the service, and where the artillery acts in union with infantry and
cavalry.
_b._ In Fortification; the designing and construction of field-works and
all means of obstruction. The manner in which ground in general, and the
given position in particular, is to be used for the throwing up
field-works. Attack and defense of field-works. Complete exposition of
the art of sieges.
_c._ Veterinary art. Natural history, physiology, and general
nourishment of the horse.
_d._ Plan-drawing and surveying. Everything that is to be said on the
general physical laws of the form of the earth’s surface, and specially
on a knowledge of topography and its representation.
_e._ Rules of the service. A knowledge of military style. Discipline in
all its various branches. The internal service on detachments, convoys,
and separate commands, and some historical remarks on the provisioning
of an army.
The lectures embrace the following principal sections:--
1. Introduction. General ideas of war. War materials. Aim of war.
Conduct of war. Tactics and strategy. Army organization.
2. Organization of the Prussian army. Raising and equipping the troops.
Formation and strength. Replacing of men and materials. Supplies.
3. Special ideas of tactics. Forming, changing position, and combat.
Close and open fighting; distant and near fighting. Offensive and
defensive. The enemy. The ground. Characteristics of the different sorts
of troops. A short sketch of the development of tactics up to their
present state.
4. The proscribed tactics of the infantry, cavalry, and artillery
according to the Prussian regulations.
5. Ideas on the combination of the three Arms and order of battle.
6. Influence of ground on the use of troops. Classification of ground
and cognizance of the individual objects on it.
7. Occupation, attack, and defense of objects on the ground, as heights,
valleys, woods, river lines, farm-buildings, inhabited places, defiles,
bridges, dykes.
8. Security of troops on a march. Service of advanced posts.
Reconnaissances. Special duties for detachments, as escorting convoys in
our own or enemy’s country; foraging, surprises, ambuscades, covering of
works in the field. In conclusion, some remarks on partizan warfare.
The total number of hours comprises, according to the regulation, in
thirty-five weeks at four hours each, 140 hours, of which are to be
employed:--
For the first and second principal sections about 15 hours.
“ third “ “ 20 “
“ fourth “ “ 40 “
“ fifth and sixth “ “ 15 “
“ seventh “ “ 25 “
“ eighth “ “ 25 “
---
Total, 140 “
The lectures on tactics furnish the student with the positive knowledge
that is necessary as a general basis; but further care is particularly
taken that by the application of the problems put before the students
their knowledge is not made up of mere dead knowledge, but that
throughout their understandings are exercised. It is, therefore, a
special duty of the teacher to frame his lectures accordingly, and as
well by a development of the basis upon which the organization, the
elementary tactics, and the art of war is founded, as also by very
frequent exercises given to the pupils on the lectures to press towards
this end.
For the solution of the tactical problems, a number of plans of ground
is necessary. They are obtained on the requisition of the teacher
through the Director.
It is further necessary to illustrate the use of the different troops
upon the ground itself, as well for attack as defense, and to have the
examples and problems given by the teachers sketched by the scholars.
For such exercises four days of two or three hours each will suffice.
Of the existing hand-books, none appears perfectly qualified to serve as
a basis for instruction. The filling in, therefore, of a sketch of the
lectures, and of a special plan of instruction, is indispensable to give
the teacher a fixed basis, and the scholars an assistance in their
repetitions.
VI. MATHEMATICS.
The mathematical lecture, besides its general tendency to sharpen the
intellect, is to make the scholars acquainted with all those theories
and laws which are indispensable to the Artillery and Engineer officer
to enable him to solve with certainty and ease those problems which so
often meet him in the service.
Since these problems in part require the application of rules of the
higher branches of mathematics, lectures on these ought not to be
wanting, and consequently the mathematical instruction for at least a
portion of the pupils must embrace (with few exceptions) the entire
field of this science.
In order, however, that this demand be accommodated to the time at
disposal and the capabilities of the students, the following rules are
to be observed:--
1. The students of the first cœtus having already passed their
examination for _Portépée ensign_, and the Predicate _ziemlich gut_, in
their mathematical examination, being requisite for entry into the
School, it is to be presumed that they enter with a good or at least
sufficient preparatory knowledge. Still, as it is not to be expected
that the necessary requirement in arithmetic and algebra will be
possessed throughout, the first part of the instruction must be
considered as the most important, and be given thoroughly and
fundamentally.
2. Such portions of mathematics as are less necessary for Artillerists
and Engineers (for instance, astronomy and the higher geodesy,) are to
be entirely omitted from the lectures.
3. As even in such portions as fall within the scope of the lectures,
there is much that can not be exhausted, therefore all that belongs
solely to speculative views, or possibly only serves to the rounding or
perfecting a system, must be passed over. The instruction in mathematics
stands in near and frequent connection with the lectures on artillery,
architecture, mechanics, physics, theory of surveying, and with drawing
lessons, as well as with practical mensuration.
These belong specially--
_a._ To Artillery: architecture, mechanics; the application of all those
formulas which the mathematical lectures have to deduce and to prove.
_b._ To Physics: the theories of dioptrics, and catoptrics, which the
students require to a perfect understanding of the construction of
telescopes and reflecting instruments; what is necessary from aerometry
and aerostatics.
_c._ To Drawing lessons: practical working out of the theory of
perspection, and the construction of shadows.
_d._ To the theory of Surveying: a knowledge of all the instruments
requisite for mensuration and leveling, and the principal theorems, with
their application to cases occurring in mensuration.
The lectures on mathematics form of themselves a continuous, closely
connected whole; consequently, the same teacher who gave instruction in
the first cœtus is to retain his pupils in the second, so that each of
the two teachers commence with the first cœtus in alternate years.
For the third cœtus there will be a selection made of those students who
have made themselves noticed in the second cœtus by distinguished
ability, special application, and peculiar talent for the study of
mathematics, and have thus raised hopes that they may be conducted with
success into the higher branches of the science.
They form a separate division, whose number should always be small if
the selection be guided strictly by the contemplated purpose. All the
other students of the third cœtus form a second division, in which the
entire field of what they have already been taught in mathematics is
again gone over, with a view to its application; and at the end of this
course some other subjects necessary to the Artillerist and Engineer are
to be treated, without, however, mere scientific speculations.
For each of these divisions a separate teacher is appointed.
A. THE LECTURES IN THE FIRST CŒTUS EMBRACE,--
I. _Arithmetic and Algebra._
1. Algebra, with sums, differences, products, quotients, whole numbers,
roots, powers with real exponents and logarithms. The qualities of fixed
numbers, fractions, decimal and continued fractions. Extraction of
square and cubic roots in figures and letters, practical use of
logarithms.
2. Algebra, equations of the first and second degree, with one or more
unknown quantities, proportions, and the higher numerical equations.
3. Arithmetical and geometrical progression, calculation of interest,
theory of combination, binomial theory for real exponents, series for
powers and logarithms and analytic trigonometry.
4. Cubic and biquadratic equations, pure equation of the _n_th degree,
reciprocal equations. (4½ months.)
II. _Plane Geometry._
Similarity of figures formed by straight lines, their contents. Theory
of the circle; measurement of the circle and of its parts. Geometrical
analysis and application of algebra to geometry. (2½ months.)
III. _Plane Trigonometry._
Trigonometrical functions and their logarithms. Calculation of triangles
and polygons, certain parts being given. Application to the circle.
(2 months.)
B. THE LECTURES IN THE SECOND CŒTUS COMPRISE,--
I. _Geometry._
1. Geometry of solids. Place of lines and superfices in space. Solid
angles, solids, determination of their superfices and contents.
Applications, with consideration of the weights of material bodies.
2. Solid trigonometry, with its application to the superfices of the
earth.
3. The theories of projection and co-ordinates.
4. Conic sections. (4½ months.)
II. _Statics._-- _Geostatics and Hydrostatics._
With application to practical cases, namely, determination of center of
gravity for ordnance and their parts, pressure upon supports, rafters,
against walls, dikes and arches; stability, carrying power, strength as
well as regulation and calculation of power of machines which are moved
by animals. (4½ months.)
C. THE LECTURES IN THE FIRST SECTION OF THE THIRD CŒTUS COMPRISE,
1. Differential and integral calculation. (3 months.)
2. Higher geometry. (2½ months.)
3. Dynamics (mechanical,) and hydraulics, with application of the
determination of the strength, direction, and distribution of the recoil
upon the separate proportions of a piece of ordnance, of the science of
projectiles, of the theory of carriages, of the rise of rockets. (3½
months.)
D. THE LECTURES IN THE SECOND DIVISION OF THE THIRD CŒTUS COMPRISE,
1. Repetition of the most important results of the instruction in the
first cœtus in a series of exercises.
2. Repetition of the theory of statics and solution of numerous problems
from real life. (3 months.)
3. Dynamics and hydraulics without higher analysis, with applications.
(3 months.)
E. GENERAL APPROPRIATION OF TIME.
The number of lessons (hours) amounts, according to the prescribed plan
for the first and second cœtus, to six hours, for each division of the
third cœtus four hours, weekly; if the course be taken, after deducting
the holidays and other interruptions, at thirty-five weeks, then there
will be for the first and second cœtus, 210, and for each division of
the third, 140 hours.
The number of hours to be devoted to each portion must, in the first
instance, be determined by the teacher in his special lecture plan, as
it in part depends upon his previous experience; at all events, all the
above-named themes for the first cœtus must be treated in the stated
time. Only in special cases, in the second and third cœtus, can the
omission or transposition of one or the other, on reference to the
higher authorities, be permitted.
It has been already remarked that the course of mathematics should
impart to the students not only that amount of positive knowledge which
he requires for his immediate sphere of action and needs as incitement
and guide to further study, but also should fill the important purpose
of forming the mind of the students generally. This purpose will be the
more certainly gained the more the teacher is enabled to render the
scholar self-trusting, and in each separate study to lead to the
development of a few select principles simple and easily understood, but
comprising in natural and logical connection the whole theory, so that
the scholar fancies they are his own discovery, and therefore prizes
them as his own. The teacher must, therefore, gradually propose a series
of connected inquiries, and those naturally first on which the usual
systems are based, as questions to which the students have to submit
answers deduced from the above-named principles, with constant
application of simple common sense. By these means the students are not
only continually gaining single results, made ready to their hand by
use, but what is principally desired, they acquire thereby great mental
activity.
As regards instruction in the separate cœtus, the following rules are to
be observed:--
At the commencement in the first cœtus, the teacher should endeavor, by
frequent questions to form a full and correct judgment of the previous
knowledge of each student, that he may determine how he should proceed
with his lecture, slower or quicker, and to what subjects generally for
the entire class special notice and exercise should be devoted.
The most complete exercise of the elementary rules, forming, as it does,
the indispensable basis for all future progress is in this cœtus the
principal aim of the teacher.
In the second cœtus, in the application of the theory of co-ordinates to
the commonest curves, no investigation of the specialties of the theory
of curves is necessary, because this is reserved for later lectures, and
it would here abridge the time required for subjects of nearer interest.
The development of these theories must, therefore, be confined to the
simplest elementary use. The study, too, of the analysis of finite
numbers is to be continued only so far as the student requires for
immediate application, without any intention of going deeper into the
science. On the other hand, a suitably increased time is to be given to
statics and hydrostatics, because the student ought to be acquainted
with them in the most complete manner.
As the first division of the third cœtus consists of but few and only
the best scholars, it may be required of them to work out independently
at home separate questions given by the teacher, and submit them to him
for examination. The progress of the student is more surely gained and
advanced, the oftener he has opportunity of personally discovering
mathematical truths, or by applying them to examples to come to a
clearer comprehension and use of them.
In the second division the teacher will not always be able to avoid
giving a repetition of the reasons of propositions. This is necessary
when he perceives from the work or expressions of the students, that the
majority have not perfectly comprehended the proposition. Still the
teacher will here content himself with bringing forward the most
important points in the chain of deduction. The explanatory problems are
solved by the teacher himself, who then sets similar ones for working
out by the students at home.
For practical static problems, the teacher can use with great benefit
objects often occurring in common life, and yet regarded so little; the
numerous applications of the lever, of the inclined plane, &c., by
artillerists and engineers, for their works, carriages, draught, &c.,
furnish sufficient material for such problems; as for instance,
determination of the depth of a boat of given length and breadth when
after putting into it a piece of ordnance a given height out of water is
required; determination of the power requisite to overcome the
resistance of a log lying in the track of a vessel; determination of the
pressure of a laden beam on two or more supports with reference to the
flexibility of the beam; determination of the center of gravity in an
excentric hollow shot, both theoretically with given radius and known
centers, as well as more practically when the centers and the radius of
its interior are unknown, as by dipping the hollow shot into
quicksilver; determination of the counterpoise of a drawbridge and
examination of the best position for the axle ; investigation of the
strength of metal and wood pipes which are to serve as water-pipes at
given heights of pressure, &c.
At the same time the teacher ought not to leave unnoticed the advantages
which theory can offer to practice when rightly applied, by which is in
no way meant that the practical man should enter every time into a
prolix and anxious calculation, but from the improvement his mind and
capacities have received, he may apply readily what he has learnt to the
purposes of common life.
Dynamics and hydraulics will be rather treated in a physical and
historical point of view; here, too, the application of known
professional results is the principal object.
As the limited time will not allow separate mathematical repetitions,
the teacher should therefore be the more careful to make his lectures as
much as possible applicatory. To insure progress the students must,
besides the usual writing out the lecture, have frequent themes given to
them for work at home, and of which their own execution should be
secured by proper means.
It is perfectly necessary that a hand-book should form the basis of the
instruction, from which the teacher should lecture, and the students
make repetitions.
The hand-books are to be proposed by the teacher to the Board of
Studies, and must not be changed without permission.
These books, as well as the logarithm tables, every student must have a
copy of, as he can not do without them in the school, and may frequently
require them in future life.
Models of solids, to illustrate the projection theory, are in the
collection of the models of the school.
VII. PRACTICAL ARTILLERY EXERCISES.
The practical artillery exercises are intended, in the first place, to
furnish the students with a sight of that portion of the material of the
artillery which they have had no previous opportunity of knowing, and of
which the knowledge is indispensable for a complete understanding of the
theoretical lecture. The exercises should follow the lecture as
immediately as possible, and occur therefore during the continuance of
the theoretical course.
The students are besides to become acquainted with the methods of
execution of the most important artillery duties, in an extent
compatible with their position, and the time at their disposition. For
this portion of the exercises, the months of July, August and September
are to be preferred.
In the major part of these exercises, the engineer students take part so
as to gain a knowledge of such parts of the artillery service as seem to
be of the greatest importance to them.
The artillery exercises separate into numerous subdivisions, of which
the following may be particularly remarked:--
I. EXERCISES OF THE FIRST COETUS.
A. _Visits._
The visits happen, as already noted, at the period of the theoretical
instruction. The students are to be divided into as many sections as is
necessary, that each may gain the desired information. There belong to
this part--
_a._ Visiting the foundry and the boring machine. All the students of
the first coetus are to be taken by the artillery teacher of this
coetus, on two afternoons, to the foundry, and to the new boring
machine.
They will see the general construction of the foundry and the boring
machine, and, in case such work is going on, the molding, boring, and
turning, and receive the explanations necessary.
_b._ Examination of ordnance, gun-carriages, and ammunition wagons.
Those in the arsenal, as well as the exercising pieces of the regiment
of artillery of the guard, are to be used for this purpose, to exhibit
the construction of ordnance both in the Prussian and foreign
artilleries, and also those of an earlier date, from the specimens kept
there. In the same way as has been remarked for the ordnance, the
gun-carriages and equipages of the guard artillery regiment in store
will offer opportunity for a more exact scrutiny of these carriages,
limbers, and wagons. For these visits four afternoons are to be taken.
_c._ Visit to the workshops of the artillery:--
The students will, in two afternoons, gain there a knowledge of the
following objects:
1. The mode of work in general.
2. Processes in the manufacture of the most important objects of
artillery material, as axles, wheels, carriages, mountings, sponges,
harness, ropes, &c.
3. The raw material (wood, iron, leather.)
4. Objects furnished to field, siege, and fortress artillery.
_d._ Visit to the small-arms factory and powder-mills in Spandau:--
The scholars of the first coetus will be conducted into both
manufactories, to obtain a general insight into the various works.
In order that the work of the manufactories may receive no interruption,
the teacher of the first coetus is to communicate beforehand with their
respective superintendents, and take the students in suitable small
parties, and before entering the powder manufactory to insist, most
carefully, on all the proper precautions being observed.
These visits are to take place during the theoretical course on the same
day as is fixed for the first coetus to visit the fortress of Spandau to
study its fortifications; and, therefore, an agreement should be made
between the teacher of artillery and the teacher of general engineering.
_e._ Visit to the armory at the arsenal:--
The students are to be conducted on an afternoon to the armory of the
arsenal, where the superintendent will explain to them the peculiarities
of match and wheel locks, with the most remarkable projects for loading
at the breech, and with the form of small arms amongst other nations.
B. _Exercises._
_a._ Examination of small arms:--
The students are to be taken by their teacher to the musket manufactory,
where they will be shown the mode of proof of small arms in general, and
with reference to the theoretical lecture then in progress.
Each student then receives a faulty musket, with direction to examine
and note its defects. The teacher revises and corrects these notes.
_b._ The management of machines:
In the presence of the students the management of various machines, &c.,
as well as the repair of damaged carriages, will be undertaken.
According to the means at disposal, such exercises will be selected as
are most instructive, in exhibiting arrangement, strength, and care in
their application.
The students will be permitted to lend a hand only in such cases as it
is foreseen that their strength will be sufficient. For all other
purposes where strength is necessary, workmen must be employed.
II. EXERCISES IN THE SECOND CŒTUS.
When the teacher judges proper, some of the previous visits are repeated
on the afternoons disposable during the theoretical course.
A. _Marking out and Tracing Batteries._
The students undertake these exercises under inspection of their teacher
of artillery on two days in the last three months of the course.
The teacher instructs them then how to ascertain the prolongation of the
enemy’s lines, and the mode of determining the line of fire of the first
embrasure of the different batteries, as well as the other points to be
marked out, both with the use of the usual instruments, and with simple
measurement by pacing, and laying down right angles by the eye.
A complete construction of a battery is not possible on account of the
shortness of time, paucity of means, and strength of the students. The
exercise, therefore, is confined to an explanation of the formation of
the material and tool depots; to marking out and tracing horizontal and
sunk batteries on even, irregular, and sloping ground, and to the
construction of the powder magazine.
B. _Practical Exemplification of the Rules for Placing Ordnance
according to the Ground._
These exercises are to be carried out on two afternoons by all the
students, under the inspection of their artillery teacher.
They have only reference to the ground, and leave out of consideration
all tactical considerations. This object may be fully attained even
without guns, and the necessary instruction may be given without them,
as it would not be easy to form all the batteries in the desired number.
The teacher chooses the ground, explains it by means of a plan to the
students, and goes with them to the place. He divides them into various
sections, and lets each select positions for from two to eight pieces,
both for attack and defence with different kinds of ordnance, giving
only generally the direction and distance at which the enemy is
operating.
Each position is inspected by the teacher, and the views and reasons for
it received and discussed as regards effect, mode of firing, and
covering and free movement, and where it is necessary, improved; and at
the same time the requisite precautions taken for the limbers and
wagons.
C. _Drawings of Ordnance Carriages and Wagons._
These exercises are to be undertaken by the artillerists of the second
cœtus, under inspection of the teacher of artillery-drawing, on twelve
afternoons in June.
The drawing of a piece of ordnance is to be clearly distinguished from
the examination of it. For the first, taking the necessary measures is
alone necessary, but not their comparison with given models.
The teacher will order these exercises, so that the students learn
principally--
1. What scale they ought to take for a given object, so as to execute a
drawing with the precision necessary for being afterwards worked from.
2. With what instruments and method of procedure they may most easily
obtain their end.
3. How notices of improvements are to be taken and arranged.
4. How the rough draft is to be jotted down.
It must be here particularly remarked that our guns, carriages, &c.,
have no mathematically exact forms, and that therefore the number of
measures to be taken must be often multiplied to have a true figure of
the body.
A fair drawing from these measures in the above period is so much the
less possible, as the number of objects is as much as possible
multiplied. It is fully sufficient, however, for the purpose of this
exercise, that the students learn to take complete and useful rough
drafts.
On their entrance into the third cœtus, the complete drawings from these
rough drafts take place.
In his selection of objects to be drawn, the teacher must, in having
regard to variety, take care that the drawings by too great difficulty
do not exceed the time and power of the students, nor by too great
simplicity cease to be instructive.
Ordnance carriages, limbers, wagons, and the machines required in
artillery, are the most suitable for choice, and are easiest obtainable
in the arsenal.
The students must be divided into sub-sections, of at most three or four
persons, and to each a separate task given.
The teacher is to be present at the drawings to see to their proper
execution, and has delivered to him the notices and rough sketches to
amend any errors that may be in them.
The relative section of the second edition of Burg’s “_Drawing of
Artillery Material_” is to be taken as the basis for these exercises. In
addition to them, the students receive guidance and suitable instruction
in drawing artillery objects off-hand by the eye, without the use of
instruments. The first two days are to be chosen for this, and the
students by this use of off-hand drawing receive at the same time a
useful preparation for the drawings subsequently required to be taken by
the aid of instruments.
D. _Exercises necessary in regard to Sieges_--
Are to be conducted by the teacher of artillery and special engineering
jointly, and are given more in detail under _exercises in
fortification_.
III. EXERCISES IN COMMON OF THE FIRST AND SECOND CŒTUS.
A. _Proof of Powder._
This exercise is to be conducted by all the students of the first and
second cœtus at the time of the gun-practice, and comprises--
1. Firing different sorts of powder from the proof mortar.
2. Firing different sorts of powder purposely brought into an abnormal
state.
3. Instruction in weighing and measuring the powder.
B. _Artillery Practice._
All the students of the second and third cœtus take part in the practice
under the inspection of the two teachers of artillery, for which
fourteen days in August and September are fixed. If possible, it is to
be undertaken in the morning, and only when the practice-ground is
otherwise occupied is it to be deferred till the afternoons.
The practice comprises--
1. The necessary preparation for firing; namely, laying down the
platform, marking the range, fixing the targets, preparing the lists to
note the shots.
2. Firing from different kinds of ordnance and with different
projectiles.
3. Instruction of the students in the service of the guns; selection of
the charge and direction under given circumstances, and their
correction; effects of distance; noting and jotting down the shots and
the time of flight; calculation of the length of fuse, of ranges and
averages from the different data, and remarks on the effects sought.
4. Burning a portion of prepared laboratory materials for observation of
its action and effect.
The following are to be objects of practice:--
_a._ Rounds of six, twelve, and twenty-four lbs. shot and shell out of
the short 24-pounders, to note--
_aa._ The grazes, distances, and deviations at different elevations, and
as regards ricochet fire.
_bb._ Probability of hitting upright targets at various distances.
_cc._ As regards dismounting.
_dd._ As regards firing against heads of saps.
_b._ Seven, ten and twenty-five lb. shells, carcases, and light balls,
to note--
_aa._ The grazes, distances, and deviations at different elevations and
charges, also as regards ricochet firing.
_bb._ The probability of hitting upright targets at various distances.
_c._ Shells, carcases, and light balls from mortars, to note--
_aa._ The probability of hitting upright targets at different distances.
_bb._ The calculation of the charge or elevation when one of these
elements and the distance are given, or _vice versâ_.
_cc._ Calculation of lengths of fuse for given distances.
_d._ Throwing hand grenades, stones, 1-pound case shot, and 3-pound
balls at various distances for comparison of the effects.
_e._ Firing from the hand and stock-mortars at differing distances.
_f._ Case shot from 6 or 12-pounders, also from short or long
24-pounders and 7 and 50-pound howitzers at different distances against
planks, and both with case shot, and grape shot, for observing the
effect:
_aa._ Of different charges.
_bb._ Of different weights of the entire case.
_cc._ Of the weight and size of balls used.
_dd._ There is also to be observed the scattering, the number of hits
and wide balls, and determination of the best line.
_g._ Shrapnel shells from field-pieces against planking.
5. The number of the before-named rounds is not to be too great, partly
not to increase expense, partly in regard to time, since the practice is
intended for instruction, and therefore not to be hurried. Still for
shot, shell, and grape shot, ten rounds is the _minimum_, if a result is
to be drawn; for the small mortar five rounds are sufficient.
Notwithstanding this limit, it will not be possible to take the practice
all in one year. It seems, therefore, expedient to divide the whole into
two portions, so that the most important practice happens indeed in each
year, generally however, in one year the practice is to take place with
field-pieces, in the following year with siege-pieces, so that the
student who is present once in the first year and once in the second can
complete the necessary course.
The teachers have, therefore, to determine, in the proposed plans for
these exercises, the sort and number of rounds they judge necessary for
the following year.
C. _Practice in the Laboratory._
As the students of the artillery, by the present regulations of their
education in the regiments, have not sufficient opportunity to learn the
service of the laboratory perfectly, particular attention must be paid
to this work in the school.
The students of the engineer corps also take part in it, in the second
cœtus, not to become perfect proficients in the different operations,
but so as to gain a general knowledge of ammunition, matches, and
compositions, and the duties of the laboratory.
All the students of the first, and the artillery students of the second
cœtus are therefore to be occupied by their teachers for twelve
afternoons in the laboratory.
For the superintendence, so necessary in these works, and for variety of
practice, the fireworkers employed as assistant teachers in the school,
and others from the proof department of the artillery, and also five or
six artillery officers of the third cœtus, are to be present at this
practice, so that each of these students is present twice or thrice on
the average.
The work embraces, first, the preparation of ammunition for the
artillery practice, &c.
But as this would not suffice for the complete instruction of such a
large number of students, it must receive an extension calculated for
this purpose, and embrace not only the separate preparations, but also a
large quantity of ammunition, which, as not required for the school, is
therefore sent to the depót.
The following work is to be preferred:--
Pounding of saltpetre, grinding meal powder, pounding sulphur and
charcoal, boiling paste, making mastic, composition, quick-match, fuses,
tubes, port-fires, carcass composition, touchpaper, case and grape shot,
loading shells for bursting, discharging empty shells in which a fuse
only has been driven; carcasses, fire-balls, and light balls; infantry,
cavalry, buck-shot, and percussion cartridges; ball, canister, howitzer,
and paper cartridges. Fanal, signal rockets, pitch compounds, powder
bags, and stink-pots. The teacher is to make a careful distribution of
the students, (allowing for such as have missed any days by illness,) to
be satisfied that each artillerist has made every article in the
laboratory, if possible, or at least has carefully witnessed its
preparation.
IV. EXERCISES IN THE THIRD CŒTUS.
All the exercises of this cœtus take place during the period of the
theoretical course.
A. _Visit to the Workshops._
The student will have to learn the mode of proceeding, the construction,
and the use of the machines employed. Examination and storing of the
most important raw materials.
B. _Visit to the Iron Foundry._
All the students of the third cœtus are to be divided into two sections,
and each section to be conducted on an afternoon under the care of the
teacher of artillery concerned to the Royal Iron Foundry.
They will see there the molding, casting, and cleaning of case shot,
cannon balls, and shells.
They will also have explained to them the construction of reverberatory
and cupola furnaces, of steam engines, and of turning lathes, and
planing benches.
C. _Visit to the Foundry and Boring Machine._
The students of the third cœtus are to be present at the actual
manufacture of cannon, their molding, casting, and boring. But as the
circumscribed room and other considerations will not allow all the
students to be present at one time, different divisions are to be
formed, to visit the foundry and boring house on different days. The
teacher concerned, will, therefore, make the necessary inquiries as to
the time when the above works are going on, and arrange the visits by
communication with the director.
The casting and preparation of iron ordnance require particular
attention. On this, too, the teacher has to obtain information, and
proceed as above.
D. _Examination of Iron Ammunition._
The artillery officers of the third cœtus take these exercises in hand
on two afternoons, under care of the artillery teacher in the same
cœtus.
The purport of it is not so much a thorough instruction in this
manufacture, as a completion of the theoretical lectures on the mode of
conducting the processes by means of personal inspection and handling of
the instruments. The teacher will pay particular attention to the errors
that may occur in the measurements, &c.
E. _Examination of Cannon._
This exercise is to be undertaken by the artillery officers of the third
cœtus, under the inspection of their artillery teacher, in six
afternoons. The object of it is exactly the same as of the foregoing.
The exercise must commence with directions for proving the instruments,
when the teacher will show the mode of their manipulation.
As the use of such instruments only can be reckoned on as the school,
the depôt, and the artillery proof department possess, only three
sections of the students can work each day simultaneously; the section
consisting, at the utmost, of six persons, if individual handling of
them is presumed necessary.
The teacher must, therefore, divide the students into sub-sections, and
make such arrangement that each student, if possible, personally work
every part of the exercise, or at least have a perfect sight of it.
That portion of the students which can not be immediately occupied on
each exercise day, put their tables of dimensions in the order and forms
required by the regulations.
F. _Examination of the Gun-Carriages and Wagons._
The exercise is to be conducted by the artillery officers of the third
cœtus, exactly as the foregoing, in five afternoons.
G. _Practical Exposition of the Rules for the placing of Guns according
to given Tactical Relations._
These exercises are to be performed by the artillery students of the
third cœtus, under the direction of their teacher of artillery, on four
afternoons.
The teacher makes known the ground by means of a plan; he then directs
reconnaissances to be made, and receives the reports.
He selects a tactical problem, the nature of which offers opportunity to
remark both on the placing of guns of different calibres, and also the
reserve artillery at the decisive moment of a battle, as well as the
more minute details of placing single divisions and guns, and the
limbers, riding horses, and wagons.
Before he solves himself the problem completely, he gathers the opinions
of the students in respect to single portions, and if necessary sets
them right.
The principles to be followed refer so specially to the ground, that the
object of illustrating the instructions can be attained without guns.
The teacher may therefore content himself with marking by flags the
situation of single guns and batteries, by which the advantage is
obtained of an easier use of the ground.
H. _Exercises at Spandau in reference to a Siege._
These exercises are to be conducted by the teacher of artillery, in
unison with analogous regulations of the teacher of engineering, and are
more particularly mentioned in the practical exercises of fortification.
The limits of time and means render it impossible to gain for the
above-named exercises that extent by which the full acquirement of the
necessary mechanical readiness could be insured. It is sufficient if the
student has made a perfect personal examination and performed as much
manipulation as circumstances permit.
The separate practical exercises can only be made after the termination
of the theoretical treatment of the subject. This rule is necessary,
partly because this practice is only a continuance and completion of the
lecture, partly because the shortness of time restricts the exercises
considerably, and therefore the days devoted to them can not be applied
to theoretical explanations, which will be more profitably given in the
lectures.
Where the nature of the exercises permits, the officers and elder
_portépée ensigns_ will take the superintendence, that having formerly
learnt the execution, they may now make themselves acquainted with the
duties of ordering and inspection.
The number of students engaged at one time in an exercise ought not to
be so large that a portion of it remain unoccupied or not under the
complete inspection of the teacher. The disturbances that occur too
easily in such cases, being most injurious, must be most carefully
avoided. The teacher will make the division above stated, and take all
necessary measures for obtaining the requisite control.
If at any of the exercises, danger can arise to the students, the
teacher is previously to instruct them specially in what is to be
observed for the safety of the workmen; after that, the superintendence
of the students must be conducted with increased care, and any departure
from the given orders visited with redoubled severity.
The determination of the days for these exercises rests with the
director, after consulting the teachers. Should unexpected hindrances
prevent the carrying out an exercise, the teacher may determine
concerning it, but must consult with the Direction as to the fetching it
up on another disposable day.
The necessary workmen will be demanded by the Direction from the
respective services, of which the teacher will give to the Direction due
previous notice.
The guns necessary for practice are to be lent by the Artillery Regiment
of the Guard and the Artillery Depot; all the other instruments,
equipments, &c., are borrowed from the Depot. All materials are received
by order of the war department or by purchase. It is therefore the
business of the senior of the two Artillery teachers, in his yearly
demand for the practice, to state the full requirement of tools and
materials, that the Direction may take timely measures for their supply.
VIII. PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN FORTIFICATION.
Practical exercises in fortification stand in immediate relation to the
lectures on fortification, sieges, and field engineering. They complete,
as far as possible under given circumstances, the theoretical lectures
by personal view; they also offer the students opportunity for solving
fitly chosen problems, to apply what has been learnt, and to prepare by
reflection for practical service.
The exercises are to be conducted in each cœtus by the teachers who
lecture on Engineering. The presence of the Artillery teacher is
elsewhere separately noted.
A. THE EXERCISES COMPRISE--
a. _For the First Cœtus._
1. In unison with the teacher of Artillery and of General Engineering,
the examination of the fortress of Spandau, to make clear to the
students the combination of the details of a complete fortress from an
actual example.
2. Examination of the models of fortresses and their details in the
Arsenal, to make clear the principles of a siege.
3. Visiting the exercising-ground of the Engineer division of the guard
in all its details.
4. Marking out, tracing, profiling, calculation of the cubic
measurements, of the time for building, of the number of workmen, and of
the garrison for given fortifications on ground near Berlin.
5. Being present at the exercises of the Engineer division of the guard
in sapping, mining, building redoubts, laying bridges, and their
instructions.
b. _For the Second Cœtus._
1. Examining the models in the model-house, partly to illustrate the
systems taught, partly to show the influence of ground on the situation,
form, and contrivance of the works; and again to explain by the aid of
the necessary notices of the sieges of these fortresses the choice of
the fronts of attack, and other matters relating to sieges.
2. Problems on the ground for sieges, such as may happen, to a subaltern
officer, as simple as possible, but to be solved clearly and exactly.
These exercises refer principally to the marking out of parallels,
zig-zags, and saps, as well as marking out and tracing siege batteries.
They are to be undertaken under the united direction of the teachers of
Special Engineering and of Artillery on the exercise ground of the Guard
Engineer division.
3. Problems on field fortification, not too comprehensively drawn out,
but of which the solution should be the more complete. Here belong,
_e.g._, the fortifying of a house, a farmstead, a bridge, or other
defile, covering of an advanced post, &c., &c.
c. _For the Third Cœtus._
1. For the Artillerists:--Exercises in reconnaissances of fortresses.
Fixing the points for laying down batteries of attack. Statements of the
arming of detached works against _coups de main_ and formal attacks.
Sketches of instructions for subordinates in particular cases.
Construction of ammunition and other depôts in and before a fortress.
Under the guidance of the Artillery teacher of the third cœtus, with
regard to the analogous regulations of the teacher of Exclusive
Engineering.
2. For Engineers:--_a._ Reconnaissance of Spandau in reference to
projects in permanent and field fortification, as well as military
architecture and hydraulic works, under the guidance of the teacher of
Exclusive Engineering, with the assistance of the teacher of
Fortification-drawing.
_b._ In conjunction with the Artillerists, reconnaissance of Spandau for
fixing a front of attack, securing its investment by field fortification
adapted to the ground. Placing the depôts of material. Marking out the
first parallel, with its communications, as well as the subsequent works
of attack. Measures of the defenders, special discussion on arming the
works on the spot. Under the guidance of the teacher of Exclusive
Engineering, having regard to the analogous regulations of the Artillery
teacher in the third cœtus.
B. FIXING AND APPORTIONING THE TIME.
a. _For the First Cœtus:_--
1. The visits prescribed in 1 and 2 for this cœtus are to be
made in spring, whilst the theoretical course is going on,
and for them are fixed, 2 days.
2. The further exercises under 3, 4, and 5, are to be taken
in the summer months; to them are allotted, for the visit
at 3, 1 “
To the exercises at 4, 5 “
To “ at 5, 6 “
--
Total, 14 “
b. _For the Second Cœtus:_--
The exercises under 1, 2, 3 for this cœtus, are to be held in the
Summer, and are thus regulated:--
For the visit at 1, 2 days.
To the exercises at 2, 2 “
To at 3, 8 “
--
Total, 12 “
c. _For the Third Cœtus:_--
The exercises ordered for this class are to take place only in Spring,
whilst the theoretical instruction is going on, and for it are fixed:--
1. For exercises by the Engineers alone, 2 days.
2. For those jointly by Engineers and Artillerists, 3 “
--
Total, 5 “
The days of the calendar for these exercises are to be proposed by the
teachers when delivering in their annual sketch of exercises, and their
propositions will be laid by the Direction before the authorities for
their approval.
To engage the pupils to work they are to be divided for the visits and
exercises into suitable sections. Each section receives its problem from
the teacher, who also nominates the president of the section. This
president distributes the sub-sections among the other students, and
sees that the work to be written and drawn is finished in the required
time, signed by the author, and is delivered by him to the teacher.
Great care is to be taken that single students do not remain unoccupied;
the disturbances thence only too likely to arise are always injurious to
the instruction and the discipline. In giving out problems, their
principal conditions only are to be designated by the teacher, and the
development left entirely to the student, or with little aid from the
teacher, in order that the student may gain early that confidence and
independence necessary to the soldier in carrying out matters committed
to his charge.
In the exercises the workmen demanded for marking out, are to be limited
as much as possible, as the students must perform the greatest part of
the work themselves. The number indispensably necessary will be demanded
in time by the teacher from the Guard Engineer Division through the
Direction.
The necessary material, if the Guard Engineer Division can not furnish
it as a loan, may be purchased at the charge of the school.
THE WAR OR STAFF SCHOOL AT BERLIN.
BY GENERAL VON HOPENER.
I. OBJECT, PLAN AND STAFF OF THE INSTITUTION.
The War School (_Kriegs-Schule_) is intended to receive officers of all
arms, who during three years of active service have given proof of
ability and of particular capacity. They find there the means for
acquiring the knowledge requisite for the higher ranks of the service,
for the duties of officers of the staff, and for all other appointments
which demand military and scientific studies of a higher and more
general character than the common ones.
The course of study is for three years, and is divided amongst three
classes. The courses begin on the 1st of October, and continue to the
1st of July. The number of officers who can be received is 120, neither
room nor means of instruction sufficing for more. The three months of
vacation in the summer are employed by the pupils in learning the
service of those arms of the profession to which they do not belong.
The Special Direction of the War School consists,--
(_a_) Of the Military Direction.
(_b_) Of the Direction of Studies.
The Military Direction consists of a director, a field officer connected
with the direction as inspector, and an adjutant, who directs the
accounts of the Institution.
The military director is supreme, both over the military officers who
are members of direction, and of the military officers who are studying
in the school. The police, the discipline, and all the administration of
the Institution are under his control. All the subordinate officers in
the house are under his orders. The field officer attached to him is
charged to look carefully to the discipline and to the due attendance at
the lectures. The adjutant directs the correspondence and accounts of
the establishment. The whole of the staff and the military directors are
lodged in the school.
The Direction of Studies is in the hands of three field officers of
literary and scientific attainments, and of two other persons, civilians
of Berlin, of high literary reputation. Its president is the senior
officer, who is generally also the military director. It has also a
secretary attached to it.
The Direction or Board of Studies is exclusively intrusted with the care
of everything affecting the teaching of the Institution, and its members
are bound to be frequently present at the lectures. It has also under
its inspection all the means and objects required for teaching, such as
the library, the collection of maps and models, the collections for
physical science, and the laboratory.
The Director of Studies selects the professors of the Institution,
recommends them to the superior authorities, and in case of their
appointment gives them their instructions.
At the beginning of each course the direction fixes the plan of the
lectures, and if any alterations in them are required, proposes them to
the superior authorities for their sanction.
The Direction of Studies regulates the examinations which the officers
who are candidates for admission into the school are to undergo. With
this view it draws up a certain number of subjects and questions suited
for the purpose, which it sends, in the spring of each year, to the
chiefs of the staff of the different Corps d’Armée, in whose presence
the candidates do their work. Those of the candidates whose work is
satisfactory are entered at once in the school.
In order to take account of the progress of the students the board of
studies makes them pass an examination in writing at the end of every
three months; makes a revision of the judgment of the professors upon
the papers, and conjointly with the military board of direction, gives
certificates at the end of the triennial course to the officers who have
gone through it completely. In these studies it is the part of the board
of studies to give a judgment on the scientific merit, and that of the
military board to judge the moral conduct of the officers.
The two boards make a report yearly on the progress and the conduct of
the officers of the school. This report is submitted to the king by the
minister of war. Particular mention is made of those officers who by
extraordinary success have deserved his majesty’s favor.
II. SUBJECTS AND AIDS OF INSTRUCTION.
Attendance on the different courses is partly obligatory, partly
compulsory, with this restriction, however, that every student must
attend twenty lectures a week, given before 12 o’clock, including the
obligatory courses. These last are those of the purely military
sciences, and for the first class those of mathematics. As it is
impossible for most of the pupils to give sufficient attention to all
the courses to be examined in them at the end of each three months, they
are allowed to select those of the courses which they may choose to
follow. But this choice once made must be adhered to.
The instruction is divided into theoretical courses and practical
exercises.
The theoretical courses comprehend all the subjects which come within
the object of the Institution. They are the following:--
1. Mathematics, a course of three years, six lectures a week, half
employed in statement of the theory, half in the practical application.
2. The Higher Geodesy, in the third class, three lectures a week.
3. Physical Geography, in the first class, two lectures a week.
4. General Geography, in the first class, four lectures a week.
5. Special Geography, particularly that of the probable theaters of
War for Prussia, in the second class, four lectures a week.
6. Universal History, in the first and second class, four lectures a
week in each.
7. General History of Literature, in the third class, four lectures a
week.
8. Logic, in the second class, four lectures a week.
9. Physical Science, in the second class, four lectures a week.
10. Chemistry, in the third class, four lectures a week.
11. Physiology of the Horse, in the second class, two lectures a week.
12. Tactics, in the first and second classes, four lectures a week in
each.
13. Artillery, in the first class, three lectures a week.
14. Fortification, a course of three years in the three classes. In
the first class, Field Fortification; in the second, Permanent
Fortification; in the third, the Conduct of Sieges; two lectures a week
in each class.
15. Military Administration, in the first class, two lectures a week.
16. Military History, in the third class, seven lectures a week.
17. Duties of the Staff, in the third class, three lectures a week.
18. Military Law, in the third class, one lecture a week.
All these lectures are given in the morning, between eight and one
o’clock.
19. The French Language, a course of three years in different classes;
into each of which the pupils enter according to the knowledge they
possess of the language; six lectures a week for each class.
20. The Russian Language, four lectures a week.
The above two courses are in the afternoon.
The practical work is done after the end of the courses of the second
and third classes. They consist in making the officers draw plans for
military objects, make sketches of ground.
These exercises are completed by a journey of fifteen days under the
conduct of an officer of the staff, in order to teach the service of an
officer of the staff in the country.
The instruments of teaching consist of--
1. A library for the use of professors and students, and a collection of
maps and plans, all under the charge of a librarian living within the
school.
2. A collection of models for the courses of artillery and
fortification, under the care of a commissary of the school.
3. A cabinet of physical science, under the direction of a professor
lodged in the house.
4. A laboratory and chemical apparatus, under the direction of a
professor of chemistry.
There are no manuals specially used for the instruction.
For the courses of geography and of the history of war, the direction
furnishes the pupils with the plans and maps required, as far as the
means of the Institution allow it, or it procures them at moderate
prices, to be repaid by instalments.
PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS.
The officers acting as professors in the school are officers of mature
age, and high education, chosen from the garrison of Berlin. The teacher
of the duties of the staff, must always belong to this corps. They are
appointed to their work in the school for an indefinite time, without
prejudice to their other duties.
The civil professors are generally chosen from those of the Royal
University at Berlin.
With regard to discipline, all the professors are subject to the board
of military direction; with regard to teaching, to the board of
direction of studies.
Every professor is bound upon entering on his functions to lay before
the board of direction of studies a programme stating the bearing, the
successive subjects, and the arrangement of his course. This programme
must be approved by the direction.
The payment of professors is fixed according to the number of their
weekly lectures. It is less for the professors of Language, as they
require less time to prepare their lectures.
The students of the school are under the immediate authority of the
military direction; but they are ordered to look upon the professors,
whilst engaged in their duties, as their superiors, so that offences
against them are subject to military law.
Permission to follow the courses of the school involves for every
officer the obligation to serve two years in the army for every year
passed in the school.
Although the complete course is for three years, officers do not always
continue it for more than one year. At the end of the year those only
are allowed to return who have shown themselves deserving of this favor.
Students lose the right of continuing their studies who neglect their
lectures, or show indifference and a want of interest in their work, who
come often too late, avoid the duties imposed upon them, or endeavor to
escape their examinations.
PRUSSIAN STAFF IN 1869.[11]
[Footnote 11: By Col. Beauchamp Walker, C. B. 1869.]
The Prussian Staff (_Generalstab_) which has been completely reorganized
since the war of 1866, subserves the double purpose of providing staff
officers for the duties of the active army, and of collecting and
arranging the statistical, geographical, and historical information
necessary for the operations of war; further, it is the school in which
young officers temporarily detached from their regiments, after a course
of instruction at the Military Academy, have their qualifications tested
before admittance to this branch of the army, and the principal office
of the trigonometrical survey of the Eastern Provinces.
The head-quarters of this organization are at Berlin, where a large
building is appropriated to the various offices and departments, in
which the chief of the staff, General von Moltke, resides. It has two
establishments:--
1. The peace-establishment, divided into--
_A._ Chief _état_, subdivided into
(_a._) The staff of the commands.
(_b._) The general staff, or _grosser Generalstab_.
_B._ The accessory _état, neben Etat_.
2. The war establishment.
The staff of the commands is so complete during peace as to require a
very unimportant augmentation, and that chiefly in the lower grades, on
the outbreak of war; the framework not only exists, but the officers
comprising it are already acquainted with the generals under whom they
serve, and with the officers and troops with whom they have to
communicate.
At the head-quarters of each corps there are: a chief of the
staff--sometimes a Major-General, more frequently a Colonel,
exceptionally a Lieutenant-Colonel--a field officer, and a captain; at
that of each division a field officer; there is also a chief of the
staff with the General Inspection of the artillery. The subordinate
duties are performed by the aides-de-camp, of whom there are two at the
head-quarters of each corps, and one with each division and brigade; but
these officers are not included in the establishments of the general
staff, and wear the uniform of their respective regiments; are in no
sense of the word aides-de-camp as existing in the English army; they
bear the designation of _Adjutant_, and may more properly be compared to
our Deputy Assistants and Brigade Majors: indeed the solitary Adjutant
is the only assistant to the Major-General in the performance of the
brigade duties. In the time of war the staff is further supplemented by
_Ordonanz Offiziere_ attached as aids to the general officers in
command.
The _Grosser Generalstab_ includes the officers of the staff who are not
employed with the commands, and is stationed in Berlin under the
personal direction of the chief of the staff. The _Neben_ or _accessory
Etat_ includes the officers employed in the strictly scientific work
allotted to this department.
The combined staff at head-quarters is subdivided as follows:
_a._ The three Sections;
_b._ The section for military history;
_c._ Trigonometrical section;
_d._ Topographical section;
_e._ Geographical-statistical section;
_f._ The map-room.
The three sections have the object of collecting and arranging
information respecting the home and foreign armies. The home subjects to
be treated are the means and warlike institutions of the State, its
fortresses, magazines, ports, inland communications, the organization,
recruiting, mobilization, armament, equipment, and drill of the army.
The warlike systems of foreign nations, the strength and organization of
their armies, regulations, and drill, the distribution of the troops,
state of preparation for active service, and their systems of
reinforcement and reserves, are the further subjects of inquiry. For
these purposes the work is divided as follows, according to the division
into--
_1st Section._--Austria, Russia, Sweden and Norway, Denmark, Turkish
Empire, Greece, Asia.
_2d Section._--Prussia and North Germany, South Germany, Italy,
Switzerland.
_3d Section._--France, Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain,
Portugal, America.
The number of officers actually belonging to the two categories of
principal and accessory establishments of the staff is 115, of whom 94
belong to the first, and 21 to the second named branch. In the first
there are 17 chiefs of the staff--viz., 13 with the army corps, one with
the General Inspection of the artillery, and three at the head of the
three sections--47 field officers, and 29 captains. In the accessory
establishment there are four chiefs, five field officers, and 12
captains.
The office establishment, inclusive of the Engineer geographers--who are
non-commissioned officers of the Artillery or Engineers serving
permanently in the trigonometrical section in place of the officers who
were till recently employed temporarily in this office, and of whom
there are at present 10--consists of 18 permanent officials, not
including a head messenger, two chancery servants, two house servants,
and a porter.
The supernumeraries comprise 40 officers attached for a year, 20 for
duty with the staff generally, the remainder for surveying; 34 surveyors
who are only employed during about five months in each year, and 41
draughtsmen.
The pay of the permanent staff amounts to 206,150 thalers, or 30,922_l._
10_s._, the material expenses being 62,250 thalers, or 9,339_l._ 10_s._
Of this latter sum about two-thirds is required for office and surveying
expenses; 17,000 thalers, or 2,550_l._, are allowed for the annual
journeys of instruction undertaken by the staff, and 3,000 thalers, or
450_l._, for allowances to officers traveling for scientific or
professional purposes.
The actual sum disbursed for office and surveying purposes is 47,450
thalers, or 7,417_l._ 10_s._, of which 7,000 thalers, or 1,050_l._, are
recovered by the sale of maps and works published by the staff, 2,000
thalers, or 300_l._, being derived from the profits of the bi-weekly
military paper, “_Militair Wochen Blatt_.”
Besides the duties already mentioned, the staff at head-quarters
undertakes:
1. The training of officers for staff purposes. To this end young
officers who have passed the prescribed three years at the Military
Academy, “_Kriegs Akademie_,” are attached for a year to the different
sections, where they are required to draw up reports on strategical and
tactical questions, critical reports on the military events of past
eras, descriptions of the ground embraced in military operations, and of
the military organization of foreign countries. These essays, when of
special value, are laid before the chief of the staff.
2. The preparation of printed reports on foreign armies, which are
distributed to the staff officers employed elsewhere.
3. The contribution of papers on professional subjects to the
“_Militair Wochen Blatt_,” or military paper.
This publication, which appears twice a week, was formerly edited in the
office of the staff, but has lately been in the hands of a responsible
editor, a colonel on half-pay, who stands, however, in intimate
connection with the office. The contribution required from the staff is
twenty sheets of printed matter annually from the various departments, a
much larger amount being furnished, from which the chief selects what he
considers suitable for publication.
4. Military tours of instruction, for which a sum of 2,550_l._ is
annually granted.
All the officers who can be spared from the duties of the office take
part in these tours, as also a few staff officers called in from the
commands, and a selection from the commanders of regiments.
They are also made on a smaller scale by the staff of the Corps,
augmented by regimental officers attached for instruction, under the
superintendence of the respective chiefs of the staff.
For the tour superintended by General Von Moltke, the theatre of
operations and certain conditions likely to influence them are
indicated, a supposed strength is given to two opposing armies, their
depots and means of reinforcement are clearly laid down, and the
influence likely to be exerted by the movements of other armies or
bodies of troops on their flanks are taken into calculation. According
to these data the senior officers present make their plans of manœuvre,
employing their juniors in the preparation of all the subordinate
arrangements, the movements of the troops, the selection of positions
for attack or defense, the arrangements for supply, and for retaining a
communication with the base. All these measures are carried out on the
spot, and daily reports are made to the superintending officer, which,
when necessary, are accompanied by such rough sketches as are usual
during the progress of a campaign.
From these materials he is enabled to form an idea in what degree the
spirit of the operations has been grasped by the directing officers, and
in how far their juniors are instructed in the details of duties which
they may hereafter be called on to perform.
5. A large share in the military education of the army generally, by
taking part in the lectures given in the various educational
establishments, and by acting as members of the commissions of
examination and of studies.
6. Officers of the head-quarter staff are also detached to attend the
annual corps manœuvres, those taking place in foreign countries, or the
active campaigns of friendly allied nations.
Of the three sections into which the head-quarter staff is divided, the
railway department forms part of the second of these sections, the chief
of which selects an officer to preside over and superintend the working
of it, and gather materials on inland and foreign railway communication.
Certain officers are attached permanently, similarly, in fact, to those
belonging to the sections of the accessory establishment, who have not
only to make themselves theoretically masters of their subject, but by
traveling on the various lines acquire practical acquaintance with the
working of railway transport in all its phases. With a view to diffusing
this knowledge as largely as possible, all officers of the staff have
since 1867 been required to attend a six weeks’ course of study with
this branch.
The section of military history has charge of the war archives of the
Prussian army and of the library of the general staff, for additions to
which latter a sum of 1,100 thalers, or 165_l._, annually, is voted.
The staff of the section is occupied not only with subjects of recent
and immediate interest, but with the study and arrangement of materials
belonging and relating to the wars of earlier date, of which there is a
valuable collection, consisting of reports, day-books, plans, and other
documents, many of them legacies of the prominent actors in the scenes
to which they relate. The library is well supplied with the most
important works in all languages on military history, tactics,
geography, and military science.
The trigonometrical and topographical sections stand in intimate
connection with each other. Since 1865 the former is charged with the
survey of the Eastern Provinces, a work which it is hoped will be
concluded in ten years, under the direction of the chief of the staff.
Under the present organization there are always forty young officers
attached to the head-quarter staff, but only for one year, their absence
from regimental duty having proved detrimental, while the current work
is naturally better executed when carried out by permanent _employés_,
thus avoiding the interruption caused by constant reliefs.
The geographical-statistical is a new section, the necessity for which
arose from the overcrowding of other branches, particularly of the
map-room. So much material had accumulated in the other branches that it
was found necessary to establish a section in which the scattered
information could be condensed in the form of statistics. To this end
the former geographical subsection was altered into its present form
with an enlarged sphere of work, and the charge of the collection of
maps was transferred to it from the map-room, which had become so much
overcrowded with old materials as to have neither room nor time for the
ordinary business of taking charge of the current surveys and of the
maps and charts intended for distribution to the army.
With a view to facilitating the collection of the best geographical and
statistical materials all the sections are placed _en rapport_ with the
new section, to which they are required to forward all special material
coming under notice, and all books or pamphlets which contain
geographical or statistical information. This section stands also in
constant communication with the civil statistical bureau.
The duties of the “_Plankammer_” (map-room) are now restricted to the
care of the topographical instruments of the original surveys of the
topographical section, of new maps prepared for distribution, and of the
financial business of the general staff. All the scientific duties of
the map-room have passed over to the geographical statistical section.
There is no regulation on the admission of officers to the staff, nor is
there any direct preliminary examination. They are selected from:--
1. Those who have completed the prescribed course at the Military
Academy.
2. Those who notify their desire to enter the staff.
3. Those who are recommended by their superiors as officers likely to
become useful staff officers.
The year of probation at head-quarters, already mentioned, affords the
opportunity of forming an opinion as to the capabilities of these
officers, who at its conclusion return to their regiments, where they
are usually employed as adjutants, or, on the occurrence of vacancies,
with the brigades, divisions, or corps.
PRUSSIAN MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1869-70.
CHANGES SINCE 1856.
The following remarks are gathered from the “Report of the Military
Education Commission presented to both Houses of Parliament,” in 1870,
in continuation of the Report submitted in 1856, on the Systems of
Military Education in France, and Prussia.
1. The chief alterations that have taken place in the system of
military education in Prussia since 1856, are as follows:--
(_a._) All the educational establishments have been very much
enlarged, owing to the increase in the army which has taken place since
1866.
(_b._) The educational requirements for a commission remain in
principle the same as they were--the double examination for the rank of
officer, and the exaction from every candidate for a commission of proof
of both general and professional knowledge being still the peculiar
feature of Prussian military education. There has been, however, a
constant tendency to raise the standard of the preliminary examination
in subjects of general knowledge, and to insist more strongly upon a
sound liberal education as a condition of obtaining a commission. The
number of _Abiturienten_, or men who have passed through the complete
course at a public school, entering the army annually is now four times
as great as it was in 1856, and there is the strongest wish still
further to increase their number.
(_c._) The Cadet Schools in their general character are unaltered;
the introduction of the peculiar class of the Ober-prima in the Upper
Cadet School at Berlin is the most important modification made in their
organization. The proportion of officers supplied by the Cadet Schools
continues much the same as it was in 1856. The feeling in the army,
however, against preparatory military schools appears to be increasing;
a strong opinion is entertained as to the narrowing effects upon the
mind of exclusive class education; and a preference is very generally
exhibited for officers who have had the ordinary education of civil
schools. At the War Schools (_Diossi, on Schools in 1856_), the
Artillery and Engineer School, and the War Academy (_Staff School in
1856_), a decided opinion was expressed as to the intellectual
superiority of the _Abiturienten_ over those who have been educated in
the Cadet Corps.
(_d._) The arrangements for the professional instruction of officers
of corps have been very much altered. These officers now have their
education up to the time of obtaining their commissions in common with
candidates for the line; their _special_ instruction does not commence
at the Artillery and Engineer School until they have been in the service
three or four years. For the Artillery, the course at this school has
been reduced to one year, and made strictly practical in character.
(_e._) The course of instruction at the War Academy, or Senior
Department, has been considerably modified; though still comprising many
subjects of an entirely unprofessional character, their number has been
reduced; the attention of the students is more concentrated upon
military studies than formerly, and a larger amount of time is devoted
to practical work. In short, the object has been to render the
instruction less purely theoretical than it formerly was.
(_f._) The most important change, however, which has been made is in
regard to the War Schools--the Schools at which officers of all arms
receive their _professional_ instruction. Since 1856 they have been
entirely re-organized, and placed under the direct control of the
Central Educational Department; a much higher class of teachers are
employed; the character of the instruction has been greatly improved;
and attendance at one of these schools is, with rare exceptions, made
compulsory upon every one before obtaining a commission. These schools
hold a most important position in the Prussian system of military
education, and the greatest pains are bestowed on making them answer the
purpose for which they are intended--that of giving a thoroughly
practical instruction in military subjects to candidates for
commissions. The improvements made in the War Schools show the greatly
increased importance attached of late years in Prussia to the
professional instruction of officers.
2. However different the French and Prussian systems may be in some
respects, they both agree in this--that no attempt is made to give a
special military education at an early age, that a general education is
made the ground-work of the professional training, and that at least up
to the age of 17 or 18 the future officer receives the same kind of
education as the civilian, and in the great majority of cases receives
it at the ordinary schools of the country. In Austria, also, the same
principle seems now to have been adopted. The cadet schools in Prussia
are no exception to the rule, for the instruction at them, except in the
two upper classes at Berlin, is the same as at civil schools. The
principle of deferring military education to a comparatively late age
is, indeed, in Prussia carried even to a greater extent than in France,
for all professional instruction is postponed until after the service
has been entered, and regimental duty been performed for nearly a year.
The few who enter the army from the Ober-prima and Selecta of the Cadet
Corps (not amounting to 70 each year) are the only individuals who
receive any military instruction before joining the service, and in
their case this special instruction does not commence until the age of
17. So strongly is this principle insisted upon, that even for the
artillery and engineers there is no preparatory military education, and
the special instruction of the officers of these arms is not given until
after they have been some years in the service. The idea in Prussia is
that a young man can derive no advantage from studying the _theory_ of
the military profession until he has learnt the _practice_ of it. “What
use can it be,” it was said, “to talk to a lad of the principles of
tactics, when he does not even know the movements of a battalion, and
perhaps has never seen one on parade?”
3. After, however, entering the service _all_ the officers of the
Prussian army receive a careful professional instruction--that given at
the War Schools. The course is of an essentially practical character,
comprising only strictly military subjects, and excluding such studies
as mathematics and even languages.
4. The officers of the staff do not necessarily receive any special
training previous to their appointment; but in Prussia this is of less
importance, as from the professional education which every officer has
had, those appointed to the staff, even if they have not passed through
the Senior Department, must at least be acquainted with field sketching
and military regulations, and know something of fortifications and
artillery. Moreover, after appointment, means are taken in the “staff
expeditions” which occur annually, to instruct them in their practical
duties, and (as is the case also in France with the officers of the
Staff Corps) to insure their keeping up the knowledge of field sketching
and reconnaissance which they had previously acquired.
5. The connection which exists in Prussia between the military system
and the general education of the country is remarkable.
_Portefée-fahnrich_, examinations are not only based on the course of
instruction at civil schools, but have been also used as a means of
raising the character of the education given at these schools. On the
one hand, the advantages offered to _Abiturienten_ and to those who have
been at a university, indicate a wish to encourage men of liberal
education to enter the army as officers; on the other hand, by making
exemption from the ordinary period of compulsory service in the ranks
dependent (among other conditions) on educational attainments, the
military system has been employed as an engine for stimulating education
among the middle classes.
6. The general management of military education is vested in a single
officer, the Inspector-General. He is assisted by two Boards or
Councils, the Board of Studies in matters connected with the general
system of instruction, and the Supreme Examination Board in regard to
the examinations and qualifications for commissions. The system of
education has been still further centralized since 1856, especially in
the case of the War Schools; and much of the progress that has been made
is ascribed to the unity now given to the whole system of instruction.
At the same time each of the educational institutions has its own Board
of Studies, similar to the _conseils d’instruction_, at the French
schools, who are charged with the general control of the course of study
and with the duty of making suggestions for its improvement. Several of
the professors, both civil and military, are always members of this
Board; so that the benefit of their practical experience is secured, and
the control of the instruction is never left entirely in the hands of
one man, nor even exclusively of military men. The introduction of the
civilian element into these Boards is deserving of notice; not merely
the professors of the schools, but eminent men connected with the
University of Berlin are employed upon them, and have a voice in
determining the system of military education.
7. In discipline the heads of the various schools are almost entirely
supreme. At the War Schools the young men are subject to military law,
being already in the army; at the Cadet Schools this is not the case,
but the discipline is strictly military in character. At both
establishments the regulations are extremely stringent, and the
slightest irregularity entails punishment. But the importance attached
to the exercise of moral influence over the pupils, the personal
interest taken in them, and the kindly relations existing between them
and the officers, make the system of discipline much less rigidly
military than it is at the French schools. Both at the War Schools and
the Cadet House, specific punishments are attached to idleness.
8. In the appointment of the heads of the various schools and of the
subordinate officers employed at them, great attention seems to be paid
to selecting individuals fitted for the posts both by educational
experience and by personal qualities. There appears to be rather a
general opinion that the instructors at most of the schools are
underpaid, and that this, combined with the preference frequently given
to active military life, prevents the posts being much sought after by
the ablest officers. On the other hand, however, selection for such
appointments is always regarded as a distinction; and in the Prussian
army mere honorary distinctions, altogether irrespective of material
advantages, are held in much higher estimation than is probably the case
in any other service.
9. The most marked point of contrast between the French and Prussian
systems of military education consists in the thoroughly competitive
character of the former. In Prussia the principle of competition, though
to a certain extent recognized, is little applied in practice, and never
perhaps fully and strictly carried out. For promotion to the highest
class (the Selecta) of the Berlin Cadet house there is considerable
competition among the pupils, and admission to the War Academy is
obtained by competitive examination open to all the officers of the
army; but even in these two cases personal and other considerations come
more or less into play, and the rewards can not be said to be thrown
open to pure competition. All the other military examinations are simply
qualifying, and there is no attempt to afford the stimulus of publishing
a list of the candidates arranged in order of merit. In fact the term
“competitive examination” scarcely seems to be understood in Prussia.
The pecuniary assistance afforded by the State for the education of boys
in the Cadet Schools is dependent solely on the circumstances and
services of the father, not on the abilities of the candidate himself.
10. The objections expressed to the further introduction of a
competitive system appear to be universally entertained in the Prussian
army. The object in Prussia seems to be, not to attempt to establish an
accurate _comparison_ of the educational attainments of a number of
individuals, but to form a _general estimate_ of the abilities,
character, and military capacity of each. The army generally are not
considered to be losers by the rejection of the competitive principle;
the system of inspections and of reports from inspecting officers is so
elaborate, and so many checks are provided, that the character and
abilities of individual officers are well known; and appointments,
certainly as a general rule, are said to be made on the ground of real
merit.
11. There appears to be less strictness in enforcing the regulations
connected with military education in Prussia than in France. The
regulations themselves are very stringent, but exceptions are constantly
sanctioned--for instance, in the length of time which a pupil is
permitted to remain in the same class of the Cadet Schools, in the
number of failures allowed in the various examinations, &c.
12. The very great care bestowed upon the method of instruction at all
the Prussian military schools, is extremely remarkable. Individual
instructors are not left to follow out their own ideas of teaching, but
careful regulations are issued for their guidance by the
Inspector-General of Education, to which all are required strictly to
conform. The system of small classes in striking contrast to the French
plan of lectures to large numbers, is a remarkable instance of the
anxiety to devote attention to individual students, and to adapt the
instruction to varieties of ability. But the most remarkable feature of
the system of teaching is the care bestowed upon the higher objects of
education, upon forming and disciplining the mind and encouraging habits
of reflection. The regulations for the instructors at the various
schools over and over again assert that the great object to be kept in
view is, not merely to impart a certain amount of positive knowledge,
but to develope the intellectual faculties and to cultivate powers of
thought and reasoning. The teachers are warned to avoid minute details
and barren facts, which merely burden the memory and are soon forgotten,
and to direct attention to broad principles, which will lay the
foundation for further individual study in after life. With the same
object in view, the examination questions are calculated, not merely to
serve as an exercise of the memory, but to test an intelligent
acquaintance with a subject, and the power of turning knowledge to a
useful purpose.
[Errata for Part II (Prussia):
_The spelling “militair” (for expected “militär”) occurs frequently
in this section._
Out of its twenty first directors
twenty-first
“appeared to him in painful contrast
_“ missing_
instead of the examination for the Swordknot, being declared
Swordknot.
for the commission of second lieutenant.
lieutentant
[The annual cost to the state of the military schools in 1856]
| 5,872 | 250 | 5,922 | [first row]
| 146,132 | 108,777 | 254,909 | [totals]
_the sums will come out right if the first-row total is corrected
to 6122, _and_ 4 is added to some item in the middle column (and
hence the third-column total)_
or unsatisfactory (_ungenügend_.)
the principles of plan drawing (_Terrain-Darstellung_;)
_both closing ) missing_
3. Topographical survey of a locality (theoretically and practically,)
theorectically
the average number at a lesson would not be more than twenty-three.
more that
appointed by the _Curatorium_ as his assistant.
_Cutatorium_
twelve military and eleven civilian professors and teachers.
_partial word “teach-/” missing at page break_
Besides military subjects, it includes a very full
_partial word “sub-/” missing at line break_
At their meetings, all matters relating to instruction
_text has “in-/instruction” at line break_
pupils employed as superintendents receive small pecuniary allowances
recieve
The following plan of instruction was prepared by Dr. Harnisch
. invisible
with the mode of discovery and cure of the same
_text has “of / of” at line break_
PROGRAMMES OF THE PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS
PRINCIPLE
3. Problems on field fortification
8.]
* * * * *
PART III.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN AUSTRIA.
* * * * *
XV. MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN AUSTRIA.
I. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM.
The Austrian Army is recruited by conscription, the period of service
being for eight years, with two years in addition for the reserve; but
such soldiers as wish it may generally obtain leave after six years’
service. Those who serve eight years are understood to have a claim for
employment on railways and in the custom-houses. Substitutes are
allowed, but they are provided solely by the State, and the means used
for supplying them is made an element towards securing good
Non-Commissioned Officers for the Austrian Army, in the following
manner.
The sum paid over by private individuals for avoiding service in the
Army is £150 (1,500 florins,) and the Government, in providing a
substitute, pays him the _interest_ of this sum during his period of
service, and the _capital_ when it is completed. A good substitute is
permitted to serve twice, and he may thus receive £300 (3,000 florins)
when he quits the army. Generally speaking, the substitutes provided by
the Government are good Non-Commissioned Officers, who by these means
are induced to continue a length of time in the service.
The Officers are obtained during a state of peace, either from the
Military Academies, or by direct entry as Cadets, after passing a slight
examination, into the regiments of infantry and cavalry, in which
capacity they perform the ordinary duties of soldiers, and no particular
period of service is required in this grade. The entry as Cadets is by
nomination, part by the Colonels, proprietors of Regiments; part
consisting of those having claims on the Regiments; and part of those
recommended from the ranks.
Those who join the Army from the Military Academies consist principally
of the sons of military men, whose education is mainly provided for by
the State, and of others who are placed there by means of funds provided
by provinces, districts, municipalities, or private individuals.
Any Austrian subject has a _claim_ for admittance, on payment of the
annual sum prescribed by the regulations.
There is no fixed proportion existing between the Infantry and Cavalry
officers supplied from the Military Academies, and those entering
regiments directly as cadets, but it is understood that the former do
not amount to more than one-twentieth or one-thirtieth of the latter.
The Artillery and Engineers are now entirely supplied with officers from
the Military Academies.
There is no difference in the pay of officers of the same rank in the
various arms in Austria.
Officers when not required are placed on half-pay, which is rather less
than the half of their actual pay whilst serving. When an officer dies,
his widow is not entitled to a pension, but the state provides for the
education of the children; and to prevent distress, an officer is not
permitted to marry unless he has a certain income, independent of his
pay, for the maintenance of his wife.
The promotion in the Infantry and Cavalry is regimental, and usually by
seniority; but there is no doubt that promotion by selection also takes
place, though not in the regiment itself, the officer selected being
promoted into another regiment. The promotion in the Artillery and
Engineers is also by seniority, and by corps, and, until the Hungarian
war, was exceedingly slow.
Although not actually sanctioned by the authorities, cases have occurred
in the Austrian service where officers have purchased steps from others
serving in _different_ regiments to themselves in the following
manner:--if any officer is about to retire from the service, the
promotion in the regiment being by seniority, the officer whose turn it
would be to obtain the promotion would frequently sell his right to a
junior officer serving in another regiment, who would thus be promoted
into the vacancy. We were informed that this system had formerly led to
frequent duels between the officer obtaining the promotion, and those
officers in the regiment whose prospects were directly injured, by the
senior having sold his promotion, and thus stopped their advancement.
II. OUTLINE OF SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION.
Military education in Austria has been entirely remodeled since the
Hungarian war, and is now conducted in a very regular and systematic
manner under the sole control and supervision of the Fourth Section of
the Supreme War Department, entitled “Military Schools.”
The establishment consists besides of--
2 Majors of Infantry.
1 Captain of Artillery.
2 Captains of Infantry.
2 Lieutenants of Infantry.
2 Employés belonging to the Administration.
6 Clerks.
6 Messengers.
To show the great importance of the Fourth Section, it will only be
necessary to state that the disbursements of the government for Military
Education in Austria for the current year are estimated at £281,440,
(2,814,400 florins,) without taking into consideration the sums
contributed for foundations by provinces, districts, and private
individuals, or of those received for the education of paying students.
This sum of 2,814,400 florins is apportioned in the following manner--
--------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------
| | Number of
| Florins.* | Students.
--------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------
Vienna Staff School, | 43,000 | 30
| | Officers.
ACADEMIES-- | |
Wiener Neustadt, for Infantry and Cavalry,| 256,000 | 400
| | Students.
Znaim, Engineers, | 157,000 | 200
Olmutz, Artillery, | 122,000 | 200
Trieste, Marine, | 73,000 | 100
4 Cadet Houses, at 87,000f., | 348,000 | 800
| |
SCHOOL COMPANIES-- | |
6 Infantry, at 33,000f., | 198,000 | 720
1 Cavalry, “ 39,000f., | 39,000 | 60
2 Frontier, “ 35,000f., | 70,000 | 240
| |
SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL COMPANIES-- | |
5 Artillery, at 35,000f., | 175,000 | 600
1 Engineer, “ 36,000f., | 36,000 | 120
1 Pioneer, “ 36,000f., | 36,000 | 120
1 Flotilla, “ 22,000f., | 22,000 | 60
1 Marine, “ 40,000f., | 40,000 | 150
| |
1 NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS’ or | |
TEACHERS’ SCHOOL, WIENER | |
NEUSTADT. | 17,000 | 60
12 UPPER HOUSES OF EDUCATION, | |
at 49,500f., | 594,000 | 2,400
12 UNDER HOUSES OF EDUCATION, | |
at 25,700f., | 308,000 | 1,200
+-----------+-----------
| 2,534,400 | 7,430
Bureau of the Fourth Section, | 280,000 |
+-----------+-----------
Total, | 2,814,400 |£281,440
| |
--------------------------------------------+-----------+-----------
[* A florin is equal to two shillings of English money.]
So that the annual cost to the state for the education of an officer
student, cadet, non-commissioned officer, and boy in these various
schools is as follows:--
£ _s._ _d._
Student Officer at the Staff School, 143 6 0
Student at the Engineer Academy, 78 10 0
“ “ Artillery Academy, 61 0 0
“ “ Infantry and Cavalry Academy, 64 0 0
“ “ Marine Academy, 48 6 0
Cadets at the four Cadet Houses, 43 10 0
SCHOOL COMPANIES--
An Infantry School Company Student, 27 10 0
A Cavalry “ “ “ 65 0 0
A Frontier “ “ “ 29 4 0
An Artillery “ “ “ 29 4 0
An Engineer “ “ “ 30 0 0
A Pioneer “ “ “ 30 0 0
A Flotilla “ “ “ 36 12 0
A Marine “ “ “ 26 12 0
A Non-Commissioned Officer at the
Teachers’ School, 28 6 0
A Boy at the Upper Houses of Education, 29 14 0
“ Lower “ “ 25 14 0
And thus, as the course of instruction is continued for four years in
the Cadet Houses, four years in the Academies, and two years in the
Staff School, the cost of training the Officers in the Austrian Army
is--
£
For an Officer of Artillery, about 420
“ “ Engineers, 490
“ “ Infantry or Cavalry, 430
“ “ Marine, 370
“ “ the Staff, 710
From the Bureau of this Section at Vienna all orders for the management,
maintenance, discipline, studies, and regulation of the various Schools
and Academies are issued; and all details relating to the progress of
the several students and the results of their examinations are
periodically sent and regularly examined.
THE IMPERIAL INSTITUTIONS FOR MILITARY EDUCATION.[1]
[Footnote 1: The following account is translated from “_Die
Kaiserlich-Königlichen Militär-Bildungs-Anstalten, mit besonderer
Rücksicht auf die Vorschriften für den Eintritt in dieselben,
Zusammengestellt aus den allerhöchst sanctionirten Reglements der
Militär-Bildungs-Anstalten. Wien, 1854_.” (_The Imperial Military
Institutions for Education_, with special reference to the
conditions required for admission, compiled from the regulations
sanctioned by His Majesty. Vienna, 1854)]
The Imperial institutions for Military Education, are divided into Three
Classes. They are--
A. Such Institutions as are immediately intended for the education of
pupils as Non-commissioned Officers; namely,
(1.) The Lower Military Houses of Education.
(2.) The Upper Military Houses of Education.
(3.) The School Companies.
B. Institutions in which it is intended to educate pupils as Officers;
namely,
(1.) The Cadet Institutions.
(2.) The Military Academies.
C. Such Institutions as partly give a special kind of instruction, and
partly complete and carry out the previous education of Officers. These
are--
(1.) The Institution for Military Teachers.
(2.) The Higher Course for the Artillery and Engineers.
(3.) The War School.
In the institutions of the first and second class, education as well as
instruction is given, but those of the third class are limited to
instruction; accordingly, all that is said in the following pages with
regard to the admission of pupils, and with regard to beneficial
foundations, has no reference to institutions of the third class.
Although each of the first-named classes forms a complete whole in
itself, yet they stand in close mutual relation to each other, inasmuch
as the most distinguished pupils of the Lower Houses of Education pass
into the Cadet Institutions; and in the same way the most distinguished
scholars of the Scientific[2] School Companies, viz., those of the
Artillery, Engineers, Pioneers, Flotilla, and Marine Schools, may be
transferred as attendant pupils[3] to the Academies; by this means they
may obtain a right to a position in the Army as Officers.
[Footnote 2: _Techniche_ (technical) is the original word. Compare
its use in another matter; there are in the Artillery two
services, the ordinary Campaigning Artillery and the _Technical_
Artillery.]
[Footnote 3: _Frequentanten_, who frequent, attend, or visit the
school.]
So, on the other hand, insufficient progress may be a reason for
scholars being removed from the Cadet Institutions and the Academies
into the Upper Houses of Education and the School Companies.
By these regulations a road is opened for the advancement of any talent
that may gradually develop itself; and at the same time the pupils of
the Institutions for Higher Military Education are submitted to that
process of elimination which is requisite for the success of these
Institutions.
The pupils in the Institutions for Military Education are either
foundation pupils,[4] or paying pupils; the first are divided into the
military or treasury foundation pupils, and the provincial and private
foundation pupils.
[Footnote 4: _Stiftlinge_, foundationers, and _Zahlende_, paying
pupils, the first, divided into, (1.) _Militär-Ararial_
foundationers, who are, as a rule, sons of Soldiers and Officers,
and are maintained at the expense of the Military Treasury, the
_Arar_, or _Ærarium_; (2.) Provincial foundationers, who are
maintained by the interest of lands or money granted in favor of
young men belonging to some particular province, Bohemia,
Gallicia, the Tyrol, Upper or Lower Austria, either by the Central
Government (the State,) or by the Estates or Parliament (_Stände_)
of the province; (3.) Private foundationers, under which name are
included not only those maintained by moneys left by private
individuals, but those also whose payments come from grants made
by municipal and local corporations.]
The military or treasury places belong to the army; the claim for these
depends upon the nature of the institution and the position of the
parents. As a general rule, it may be laid down that children of
officers are expected to remain up to eleven years of age under the care
of their parents, whereas those of common soldiers may in the eighth
year of their age be taken under the protection of the State.
The provincial foundations are bestowed upon the sons of the nobility,
or of distinguished _employés_ of the state belonging to the crown lands
of the province. Private foundations are those established by private
individuals or corporations, and the appointment to these depends upon
the conditions laid down by the founder. The capital or property of
these foundations is generally administered by the Supreme War
Department.[5]
[Footnote 5: The _Ober-Militär Commando_, or
_Commandership-in-chief_, the Fourth Section of which has the
charge of Military Education. _Commando_ is the German word
corresponding to Commander, as _Ministry_ does to _Minister_, and
may signify one or more persons, a single Officer, or a Board of
Commissioners.]
Every Austrian subject may claim admission as a paying pupil, if the
other conditions of admission are fulfilled in his case.
In the Lower Houses of Education there are only military or treasury
places.
In the Upper Houses of Education there are 1,800 military places; the
remaining 600 are filled up by pupils upon provincial or private
foundations, and by paying pupils.
In the School Companies the number of the foundation places and paying
places is not fixed.
In the Cadet Institutions and the Academies there are 900 full and 200
half military places, and 520 places for pupils on provincial and
private foundations, and for paying pupils.[6]
[Footnote 6: Making a total of 1,620, to which may be added about
80, reserved for _Frequentanten_ from the School Companies.]
A sum to cover the expenses is fixed in the case of the pupils on the
provincial and private foundations, as also for the paying pupils,
amounting in the Houses of Education and in the School Companies to 150
florins (15_l._) per annum; in the Cadet Houses to 400 florins (40_l._)
per annum; in the Academies 600 florins (60_l._) for each of the three
first years, and 800 florins (80_l._) for the last year. These payments
will be subject to modifications, at considerable intervals of time,
according to the price of articles of consumption, and will be drawn in
the case of the pupils on the provincial foundations from the funds of
the respective provinces, and in the case of the pupils of the private
foundations, from the moneys belonging to the private foundations.
The capital for the provincial and private foundations must be duly
secured and sufficient in amount to cover the fixed payments for the
number of places determined upon. Supposing the sum contributed to be
insufficient, the requisite sums must be obtained by deferring any
further nominations.[7] The proper sums in discharge of these
contributions must be paid in advance, half-yearly, on the 1st of
October and the 1st of April. Those which belong to the provincial
foundations, and such private ones as are administered by trustees, must
be paid into the nearest Military Chest.[8] In the case of those pupils
who pay for themselves, the money must be sent precisely on the
above-mentioned days to the Commandant, or Director of the School,
without reference to the day on which the pupil may have entered the
school. On the other hand, in cases where a pupil either is removed from
or otherwise quits the institution before the natural time, restitution
will be made of the corresponding proportion of the sum paid in advance.
[Footnote 7: The interest, that is, will be allowed to accumulate,
until a sufficient sum is provided to pay for the maintenance of a
pupil.]
[Footnote 8: Such as exist in most large towns.]
For admission into a Military Educational Institution, the boy must
first of all be of the age specified for the institution in question,
and must further possess the proper bodily growth and strength
corresponding to that age, and the prescribed amount of knowledge. Every
boy who is to be offered as a candidate for a military place must first
be registered, and this in the course of the same year for which his
admission is desired. This registration must be made by the parents or
guardians through the Commanding Officers of the Army,[9] or Army-Corps,
or Military Government[10] within whose district they are domiciled, or
in case of their living in foreign parts, through the Austrian Legation
of the country.
[Footnote 9: There are four _Armies_; the First in the west, with
its head-quarters at Vienna; the Second in Italy, with its
head-quarters at Verona; and two others in the eastern provinces.
Each of these is divided into a certain number of Army Corps. The
particulars may be seen in Schematismus or Military Calendar, and
briefly in the Almanach de Gotha.]
[Footnote 10: In those parts of the Empire, namely, in the
so-called Military Frontiers, the old Turkish border, where the
government is simply military.]
Applications thus made must state what is the institution, admission
into which is desired, and must be accompanied by the following
certificates:--1. Baptismal certificate. 2. Certificate of vaccination.
3. Certificate of bodily health, by a Military Surgeon. 4. The school
certificate for the last half-yearly examination: And 5. On the reverse
the following declaration:--
“I hereby pledge myself to surrender up my son (_or_ ward) to the
Imperial Military Service, in case of his being admitted into a Military
Educational Institution; and I declare that I will under no pretext
require his return.”
The object of this declaration is, on the one hand, to secure permanent
elements for the Military Educational Institutions, and to create in the
minds of the relations of the candidates the seriousness of purpose so
essential in the choice of a profession. The declaration will also serve
to retain the pupils to a course, which they have usefully commenced,
and to protect them from the consequences of hasty decisions on the part
of their friends. On the other hand, if it appears manifest that a pupil
has not the requisite inclination or qualification for the military
service, his removal from the institution ensues with or without the
request of his friends, as will be more fully explained further on.
The applications will be examined by the Commanding Officers of the
Army, or the Army Corps, or Military Government, and after their
revision the candidates will be registered and the petitioners duly
informed.
Any changes which occur in the case of the registered candidate, or in
his family circumstances, between the time of registration and of actual
admission, are to be made known to the authorities before whom the
application was brought.
The registers are to be submitted to the Supreme War Department in the
middle of June, so that applications can be received by the Commanding
Officers of the Army, or Army Corps, or Military Government, at the
utmost only up to the end of May.
Appointments to the military places in the Houses of Education and the
School Companies are made by the Supreme War Department; His Majesty the
Emperor reserves for himself those in the Cadet Institutions and the
Academies.
Vacancies in the provincial foundation places are advertised, and
applications called for, by the Governors or by the Standing Committees
of the Estates of the respective provinces.[11]
[Footnote 11: The Governor or Lord Lieutenant (the _Statthalter_)
is the ordinary representative of the Emperor in the various
provinces composing the Empire. In his hands resides the usual
administration of the government. The provinces have also their
ancient Estates or Parliaments, Standing Committees of which
might, under certain circumstances, sit at times when the Estates
were not assembled.]
All proposals made in this manner are forwarded to the Minister of the
Interior, and submitted by him for the sanction of His Majesty.
Appointments to the private foundations are made by the person specified
by the founder; decisions of this kind are submitted on or before the
15th of June, to the Supreme War Department for their approval of the
candidates and distribution of them into the various institutions.
If a candidate in whose case the prescribed conditions of admission are
not fulfilled is nominated to a private foundation, and his nomination
consequently not approved, a new nomination must be made.
Pupils who pay are appointed by the Supreme War Department.
The sanction of the appointments and the distribution of the candidates
appointed in the various institutions, in the case of the military and
the paying pupils, will be made known to them by the Commanding Officers
of the Army, or Army Corps, or Military Government; in the case of the
provincial foundations by the Minister of the Interior; and in the case
of the private foundations by the trustees.
Candidates living in a foreign country will be informed by the Legation
in that country.
Upon the appointment made to an entirely gratuitous place in a military
educational institution, all payments of allowances for the education of
children cease.[12]
[Footnote 12: Small allowances, _e.g._ of 8_l._ for three years,
are very generally made to the widows of officers, and
occasionally to officers themselves, to assist them in securing a
decent education for their children.]
The conveyance of military foundation pupils to the school to which they
are appointed will, if not provided for by the friends of the pupils, be
made at the expense of the Military Treasury by the ordinary means of
locomotion.
Trustworthy Non-commissioned Officers from the nearest detachment of
troops should be selected by the military authorities for the conveyance
and charge of the pupils; four or five being, according to the
circumstances, committed to the care of a single superintendent.
The conveyance of all other pupils must be provided for by their
friends.
Admission into the Military Educational Institutions takes place only at
the commencement of the school year. Candidates admitted must present
themselves in their respective institutions between the 15th and the
30th of September.
The Commanding Officers of the Army, or Army Corps, or Military
Government have to take care that every candidate admitted to a military
place shall, before leaving to join the institution, be a second time
examined by an Army Surgeon, and shall only be allowed to proceed to the
institution in case of his bodily qualifications being found perfectly
sufficient.
Finally, the candidate upon presenting himself must be re-examined by
the chief Medical Officer of the institution, and if he is hereby found
to be unqualified for military education, will not be received.[13]
[Footnote 13: Thus, it will be seen, all candidates appointed to
the Military places in the schools are examined three times over
by a medical officer. Where the State does not pay, in the case of
provincial or private foundations, or of paying pupils, the same
amount of precaution is not thought necessary.]
Any Military Surgeon or Medical Officer who incurs the guilt of neglect
of his duty in this particular will be held responsible.
Every candidate upon presenting himself will moreover undergo the
prescribed examination in his previous studies, and if his previous
education appears insufficient, his appointment will be cancelled.[14]
[Footnote 14: The difficulties of traveling appear to be
considered in Austria too great to allow of any examination
(competitive or otherwise) before the candidates provisionally
admitted actually arrive at the school to which they are
appointed; if ill qualified, they are dismissed with the Chance of
a second trial.]
Pupils admitted after a private education into a Military Institution
are provided by this institution with new linen, and clothes. All
clothes they bring with them are without exception to be returned to
their friends, and an acknowledgment of the return given.
No pupil in any of the Military Institutions is allowed to possess any
linen or clothes except what is provided; and the friends and relations
are not to be called upon for any sort whatever of additional
contribution. An amount of pocket-money, varying with the character of
the institution, may be transmitted to the pupils through the hands of
the authorities of the school; but this is entirely at the pleasure of
the friends and relations; all necessaries being provided by the
institution.
The pocket-money can only be paid to the pupil through the Commanding
Officer of the Institution or of the Company.
The amount allowed must depend on the conduct of the pupil, but must
not, even in the Academies, exceed three florins (six shillings) a
month.
The course of instruction given in the Military Educational Institutions
is fixed by special tables drawn up for each institution. Special
text-books, to be followed in the courses, are also appointed.
The tables drawn up to regulate the course of instruction are subject to
such modifications as may be called for by the requirements of science
and by improvements in the methods of teaching.
The scholars will also receive in the course of the year, more
particularly in summer, and after the close of the examination,
practical instruction suitable to the arm of the service for which they
are destined.
Every September the pupils pass into the next succeeding yearly course.
In the same month the scholars quit the institutions, and are either
placed in the army or transferred to other institutions. The conditions
under which this is done are given in detail in the account of each
institution.
The expenses of the conveyance of the pupils from one institution to
another are borne by the Treasury.
Pupils who make no progress in scientific studies will be required to
enlist in the army[15] if old enough, and if not, will be removed to an
inferior Military Educational Institution; or if they are already in one
of the Houses of Education or School Companies, will be employed in
learning some trade which will be of use in the army,[16] and when they
have reached the proper age, will be enlisted.
[Footnote 15: Will be _assentirt_, will take the oath. They are
considered old enough for this at sixteen.]
[Footnote 16: Even clothes and shoes being made by soldiers; a
considerable number of soldiers were found thus employed, for
example, at the Artillery Academy at Olmütz, under the
superintendence of a master workman, bearing a non-commissioned
grade, that of a _prima-planist_, for whom, see a Note further
on.]
Pupils whose want of bodily qualification unfits them for the army will
be sent back to their parents or guardians. Those holding military
places in the Academies, if their parents are entirely unable to provide
for them, will receive a yearly pension of 150 florins (15_l._) until
they can be placed in some employment under the State at a salary at
least equivalent to this sum.
Pupils out of the Military Houses of Education or School Companies, who
are removed for want of bodily qualification, and whose parents are
entirely unable to provide for them, will, according to their
capacities, be placed either in the Accounts Department[17] or some
similar Military Department, in the Geographical Institution, or as
drummers or clerks in one of the higher Military Schools, or will be
taught some trade for employment in the Outfit Department,[18] or will
be made teachers. If, however, the pupil’s bodily disqualification be of
a nature to incapacitate him for any of the above-mentioned employments,
he will be removed at the expense of the Treasury into some Civil or
Military Hospital.[19]
[Footnote 17: _Militär Rechnungs Branche._]
[Footnote 18: _Monturs Commission_, charged with the duty of
providing arms, clothing, &c., for the army. There are several
establishments in various parts of the Empire. One of the largest
is at Stockerau, near Vienna.]
[Footnote 19: Into a _Siechen-haus_, a hospital for incurable
cases; or an _Invaliden-haus_, for _Invalídes_.]
If in moral respects a pupil is found to be a mischievous member of the
institution, he may at any time in the course of any year be removed.
Pupils who pay, in case of their removal being found, for whatever
reason, necessary, will be sent home to their friends, the consent of
the friends being required before they can be either engaged as soldiers
or removed to one of the lower institutions. The expenses already
incurred will be deducted from the payment made in advance, and the
balance repaid to the parents or guardians.
A pupil who for whatever reason has once been removed from a Military
School can never be afterwards admitted into any one of them, and in
case of his either then or afterwards enlisting in the army, he can not,
under any pretext whatever, obtain the rank of Officer before the pupils
of the year to which he belonged. This rule, in the case of pupils who
have been transferred from a higher to a lower institution, even when
they pass out of this latter in the regular course, must be observed in
reference to the pupils of the year to which they belonged in the
institution from which they were removed.[20]
[Footnote 20: A pupil who was removed from the Academy at Wiener
Neustadt might, for example, enter the army as a simple Cadet,
under the patronage of the Colonel of a regiment, and might, but
for this rule, receive rapid promotion, and become the senior in
rank of his comrades of the same year at the School. In like
manner, a pupil removed from a Cadet Institution and transferred
into a School Company, might, upon leaving that, under certain
circumstances, outstrip his late comrades at the Cadet
Institution.]
A. SCHOOLS FOR NON-COMMISIONED OFFICERS
1. _The Lower Military Houses of Education._
The twelve Lower Military Houses of Education contain, as has been said,
only military places.[21] These appertain, in the first instance, to the
legitimate sons of all soldiers bearing arms,[22] whether born in
marriage of the first, or in marriage of the second degree.[23]
Subordinately to these, a lawful claim exists in the following cases:--
1. Sons of soldiers serving in the Trabant Body Guard, the Court
Watch, the Outfit Commission, and other military bodies.[24]
2. Sons of fathers belonging to the Reserve,[25] without prejudice,
however, to sons of soldiers in actual service.
3. Sons of invalided soldiers,[26] not only in cases where the father
has already married at the date of his reception as invalided, but also
in those where marriage has been subsequently permitted.
4. Sons of those who have either as substitutes or otherwise served
double time, and are now in the employment in connection with the Court
or Government, even in cases where marriage has been contracted after
quitting the service.
5. Sons of men belonging to the military service, not included in the
above-mentioned cases, namely, the sons of Prima-planists,[27] Employés,
and Officers.
[Footnote 21: That is, all the pupils are of military or
quasi-military birth, and the expense is borne by the State. Both
these and the Upper Military Houses are to be reduced, it is said,
to ten.]
[Footnote 22: The whole body (_Mannschaft_) of soldiers bearing
arms (_Feuergewehrstand_.)]
[Footnote 23: Marriage of the first degree is that entered into
with full permission. In this the wives live in the barracks,
receive a certain amount of rations, their children are
recognized, and in case of the father’s death are admitted into
the Orphan Schools. Soldiers are, however, occasionally allowed
to marry, on condition of surrendering every claim to the
above-mentioned privileges. This constitutes marriage of the
second degree.]
[Footnote 24: The _Trabanten-Leibgarde_ and the _Hofburgwache_ are
Court troops. For the _Monturs Commission_, see a previous Note.]
[Footnote 25: Soldiers enlist for eight years, and after this to
the end of the tenth year are on the Reserve.]
[Footnote 26: That is, belonging to the Hospitals or Hotels des
Invalides, the _Invaliden-häuser_, of which there are several.]
[Footnote 27: Prima-planists, a name derived from _prima plana_,
the first leaf of the list, is given to soldiers employed in
various special duties, especially perhaps those not of a strictly
military kind. The master tailors, master shoemakers, master
farriers, are all _prima-planisten_. The surgeon’s assistant ranks
as such. The grade is superior to that of sergeant, but those who
hold it are excluded from promotion to a commission.]
In any large number of candidates special regard should be had to the
sons of fathers who have been killed or invalided on the field; after
these, to those who are orphans on both sides; then to the sons of
substitutes and other soldiers in actual services; and last follow in
order the sons of fathers either belonging to the Reserve or received as
Invalides, or otherwise connected with the Military Service.
As the sons of Officers serving with the sword[28] have a large number
of places reserved for their benefit in the Cadet Institutions and the
Academies, their admission into Military Houses of Education, more
especially into the Lower House of Education, is only allowable when no
prejudice is caused to the above-mentioned claimants, and as a general
rule can only take place when they are orphans, or under special
circumstances.
[Footnote 28: This is a frequent phrase (_mit dem Degen dienende_)
for active service.]
The age of admission is the completion of the seventh year. Children
under this age who are orphans on both sides, or whose fathers being
widowers, have to serve in the field, will be received into the Orphan
House at Vienna, and be transferred on completing their seventh year to
the Lower Houses of Education. Children who have passed the prescribed
age for admission into the first class of the Lower Houses of Education
can only be admitted, in case of their possessing the requisite amount
of knowledge, into the classes corresponding to their age, and in case
of there being places vacant in these classes; any addition to the
prescribed numbers in the respective years is not allowable.
The number of pupils in each of the Lower Houses of Education is fixed
at 100. These 100 pupils are divided into four years, each year being as
nearly as possible of the same numerical strength.
The command is held by a Subaltern Officer, to whom are attached for the
religious education, the medical care, the discipline, and the
instruction--
1 House Chaplain,
1 Army Surgeon,
4 Sergeants and Instructors,
4 Honorary Sergeants[29] as Assistant Instructors,
1 Sergeant, as House Adjutant; and
6 Corporals, for the discipline.
[Footnote 29: _Feldwebel_, Sergeant; _qua Feldwebel_, Honorary
Sergeant, with the title and distinction in the uniform, but
without the pay.]
Additional assistance may be procured for managing the house and
attending on the pupils.
To conduct the instruction (which will be almost entirely addressed
immediately to the senses of the children) class-teachers will be
provided for each yearly course; and these, with the house chaplain and
the medical officer, aided by assistant teachers, will give the pupils
instruction in the following subjects:--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. German. 3. Natural History. 4. Geography.
5. Arithmetic, both ordinary and mental. 6. Writing. 7. Common Drawing.
8. First Notions of the Rules of Drill. 9. Gymnastic Exercises and
Swimming.
2. _Upper Military Houses of Education._
These, twelve in number, form a continuation to the Lower Houses of
Education, the pupils from which are admitted here at the close of their
eleventh year.
At this age foundation pupils of every kind, as also paying pupils, may
be admitted immediately from their parents’ homes, only, however, into
the first year’s course, and after passing an examination in the
subjects taught in the Lower Houses of Education, to the same extent up
to which they are taught in the second class of the ordinary elementary
school.
The claim to a military place in an Upper House of Education, is similar
to that for a military place in a Lower House of Education.
The number of pupils is fixed at 200 in each Upper House of Education,
divided in like manner into four yearly courses.
The command is intrusted to a Captain, who is aided, for purposes of
instruction and superintendence, by--
2 Subaltern Officers.
1 House Chaplain.
1 Army Surgeon.
1 Surgeon’s Assistant.
4 Sergeants as Teachers.
2 Honorary Sergeants as Assistant Teachers.
1 Sergeant as House Adjutant.
8 Corporals, for discipline.
Additional assistance may be procured for managing the house and for
attendance, upon the same scale as in the Lower Houses.
The instruction, as in all the Military Schools to be noticed
henceforward, will be given by teachers specially assigned to each
subject, and will include here the following subjects:--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. German, with written compositions. 3. One
of the other Languages of the Empire. 4. Natural History. 5. Geography.
6. History. 7. Arithmetic. 8. Military Rules and Regulations. 9. Rules
of Drill, and first notions of the Rules of Military Exercise.
10. Writing. 11. Common Drawing. 12. Gymnastic Exercises,
Single-stick,[30] Swimming.
[Footnote 30: _Stock-fechten_, or staff-fencing; a sort of
military single-stick, the staff used resembling a musket and
bayonet in one piece, all of wood.]
After completing their fourth year course, the pupils are transferred,
according to their qualifications and their own wishes, into the School
Company.
Entrance into the Marine School Company takes place at the end of the
second year’s course.
3. _The School Companies._
The School Companies have the object of furnishing the different arms of
the service with Non-commissioned Officers well educated, both
practically and theoretically, and likely in the course of time to prove
useful Commissioned Officers[31] in charge of the troops.
[Footnote 31: _Truppen-Officiere_.]
They are in all twenty in number:--
6 for the Infantry.
3 “ Cavalry.
2 for the Frontier Troops.
5 “ Artillery.
1 “ Engineers.
1 “ Pioneers.
1 “ Flotilla.[32]
1 “ the Marine Service.[33]
[Footnote 32: For service on the Lower Danube, the Po, and the
Italian Lakes and Lagoons.]
[Footnote 33: Both for service in the Fleet and in the Coast
Defenses.]
Under the general term of School Companies the School Squadrons (for the
Cavalry) are included. The term Scientific[34] School Companies applies
only to those of the Artillery, Engineers, Pioneers, Flotilla, and
Marine.
[Footnote 34: _Technische_, Technical or Artificer Companies.]
The scholars in the School Companies are either pupils or attendants[35]
The pupils are taken, as already described, from the Upper Houses of
Education, after the close of their fourth year’s course, (or, in the
case of the Marine School Company, after that of the second,) or they
come direct from places of private education.
[Footnote 35: _Zöglinge_ and _Frequentanten_.]
The conditions for gratuitous admission from private educational
institutions into the School Companies are similar to those for
admission into the Houses of Education, with the difference, that in the
School Companies the sons of officials in the civil service, who have
served long and meritoriously, and are ill-provided for, may also claim
military places.
The candidates must be not under fifteen and not above eighteen years of
age; in the Marine School Company not under thirteen and not above
fourteen.
The Attendant pupils (_frequentanten_) come from the soldiers of the
Standing Army.[36] They exist only in the School Companies of the
Artillery, Engineers, Pioneers, and Flotilla; to be admissible, they
must, as a rule, have passed with credit through the Non-commissioned
Officer Schools of the Artillery or Engineer regiments, or of the
Pioneer Corps or Flotilla Corps; they must have been not more than two
years in the service; and not at the utmost be above the rank of an
Upper Cannoneer, an Exempt, or an Upper Pioneer.[37]
[Footnote 36: The _Mannschaft-stand_ is a term used to mean the
whole body of Private Soldiers and Non-commissioned Officers.]
[Footnote 37: The Non-commissioned Officers in the Austrian
service rank as follows:--
In the Infantry, Corporal, and Sergeant (_Feldwebel_:)
In the Cavalry, Corporal, and _Wachtmeister_:
In the Artillery, Corporal, and _Feuerwerker_:
But there are distinctions in addition. A private soldier who is
exempted from certain duties, e.g. from standing sentry, bears the
name of _Gefreite_, or Exempt, in the Infantry and in the
Engineers; the corresponding rank to which in the Artillery is an
Upper Cannoneer (_Ober-Canonier_,) and in the Pioneers, an Upper
Pioneer (_Ober-Pionier_.) These are in no case Non-commissioned
Officers, though in the way to become so. There are also
Vice-Corporals (Lance Corporals,) with the badge but without the
pay of Sergeants, and _qua Feldwebels_ or Honorary Sergeants, with
the badge but without the pay of Sergeants.]
The admission of Attendants (_frequentanten_) can only be allowed
without prejudice to the claims of candidates from the Upper Military
Houses of Education and from places of private education.
Pupils who come direct from private education must, if they propose to
enter one of the Scientific School Companies, be at least 4 feet 10
inches;[38] if one of the other School Companies, at least 4 feet 8
inches high. And these and the Attendant pupils alike must at their
entrance into the School Companies pass an examination in the subjects
of instruction taught in the Upper Houses of Education.
[Footnote 38: The Austrian foot or shoe (_schuh_) of 12 inches
(_zoll_) is a little longer than the English: 80 Austrian make 83
English.]
A perfect knowledge of German is accordingly an indispensable condition
for reception into the School Companies, and can only in the single case
of the Marine School Company be under certain circumstances overlooked.
At his entrance into the School Company every pupil takes the military
oath, and is from this day bound to eight years’ service in the Standing
Army, and two years’ service in the Reserve.
Each School Company is commanded by a Captain; each School Squadron by a
Captain of Cavalry.
They have attached to them for purposes of instruction and discipline,--
In each Infantry School Company, 3 Subaltern Officers
“ School Squadron, 3 “
“ Frontier School Company, 6 “
“ Artillery “ 6 “
In the Engineer “ 6 “
“ Pioneer “ 6 “
“ Flotilla “ 4 “
“ Naval “ 4 “
Each institution is provided also with four Sergeants as teachers,
together with a requisite number of additional persons required for
management, discipline, and service.
Religious superintendence and instruction is intrusted to a local
Ecclesiastic, and the medical duties to an Army Surgeon.
Scholars in the School Companies are to receive a practical as well as a
theoretical training. This is to be regulated according to the branch of
the service for which they are detained.
Each of the Infantry School Companies consists of 120 pupils, divided
into two years, the subjects of instruction being--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. One of the National Languages. 3. Geography
and History of the Austrian State. 4. Arithmetic. 5. Elements of
Geometry. 6. Military Correspondence and Management of the Internal
Affairs of a Company.[39] 7. Pioneer Service.[40] 8. Knowledge of the
Arms of the Infantry. 9. Rules and Regulations. 10. Rules of Drill,
Exercise, and Manœuvring. 11. Calligraphy. 12. Military Drawing.
13. Gymnastics, Fencing, and Swimming.
[Footnote 39: _Manipulation._ See the account of the visits to the
School Companies.]
[Footnote 40: This includes pontooning.]
After the close of the course the pupils who have done remarkably well
enter the Infantry as Corporals, the pupils who have done well as
Exempts, with the corporal’s badge; those who have done moderately, as
Exempts; and those who have done either remarkably well, or well, will
be, without further examination, named as Cadets[41] as soon as they pay
down the sum required for outfit, or prove their legitimate claim to
exemption from this outlay, they themselves being consenting parties.
[Footnote 41: Cadets in a regiment, _i.e._ candidates for a
commission, like those appointed on the nomination of the
colonels.]
The arrangements of the School Squadrons, with a number of 60 pupils in
each, are analogous to those of the School Companies, special attention
only being given to instruction in riding and practical exercise in the
Cavalry service; for which purpose each Squadron is provided with 71
horses.
The first of the School Squadrons forms a Regiment of Dragoons, the
second one of Lancers, and the third one of Hussars.
The subjects taught are as follows:--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. One of the National Languages.
3. Arithmetic. 4. Elements of Geometry. 5. Geography and History of
Austria. 6. Military Correspondence, and Management of the Internal
Affairs of a Squadron. 7. Knowledge of Cavalry Arms. 8. Rules and
Regulations. 9. Rules of Cavalry Drill, Exercise, and Manœuvring.
10. Knowledge of Horses and Grooming, of Bridling, Saddling, and
Shoeing. 11. Calligraphy. 12. Military Drawing. 13. Riding.
14. Gymnastics, Fencing, and Swimming.
On leaving, the pupils enter the Cavalry in the grades corresponding to
those mentioned above for the Infantry.
The Frontier School Companies, each of 120 pupils, give three yearly
courses.
In all essential points, these institutions are organized on the same
plan with the Infantry School Companies. As, however, Officers and
Non-commissioned Officers on the Military Frontiers are also intrusted
with the general administration, and accordingly require of necessity a
knowledge of political administration, of jurisprudence, and
agriculture, the range of the plan of study in the Frontier School
Companies is more extensive.
The following subjects are taught:--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. The Wallachian or Illyrian Language.
3. Austrian Geography and History. 4. Arithmetic and Algebra.
5. Geometry, Plane Trigonometry, and Practical Mensuration. 6. Military
Correspondence and Management of the Internal Affairs of a Company.
7. Arms and Munitions. 8. Pioneer Service, Road and Bridge Making.
9. Elements of Civil Architecture. 10. Agriculture. 11. Frontier Law and
Administration. 12. Rules and Regulations. 13. Rules of Drill, Exercise,
and Manœuvring. 14. Calligraphy. 15. Military Drawing. 16. Gymnastics,
Fencing, Swimming.
The pupils of the Frontier School Companies, at the close of their third
year, enter the Frontier Troops, under the conditions already stated in
the case of the Infantry School Companies.
The Artillery School Companies have a course of three years, and consist
each of 120 scholars (pupils and attendant pupils.)
The subjects of study are--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. The Bohemian Language.[42] 3. Austrian
Geography and History. 4. Arithmetic and Algebra. 5. Geometry, Plane
Trigonometry, and Practical Mensuration. 6. Popular Mechanics, First
Elements of Natural Philosophy and Chemistry. 7. Military Correspondence
and Management of the Internal Affairs of a Battery or Company;
Computation of Estimates. 8. Artillery. 9. Field Fortification.
10. Elements of Permanent Fortification; Attack and Defense of
Fortresses. 11. Rules and Regulations. 12. Rules of Drill and Exercise.
13. Calligraphy. 14. Military Drawing. 15. Elements of Descriptive
Geometry. 16. Grooming, Stable Duty, Harnessing. 17. Gymnastics,
Fencing, Swimming.
[Footnote 42: Because of the large number of Bohemians in the
Artillery.]
After the close of the complete course, pupils who have done remarkably
well enter the Artillery as Corporals, those who do well as Bombardiers,
the others as Upper Cannoneers.
The most distinguished scholars, however, pass at the close of their
second year into the Artillery Academy free of cost, as Attendant Pupils
(_frequentanten_,) with the rank of Lance-Corporals, to receive there
the education which will fit them for the rank of officers.
The Engineer School Company contains 120 scholars, distributed in three
yearly courses. The subjects taught are--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. Austrian History and Geography.
3. Arithmetic and Algebra. 4. Geometry, Plane Trigonometry, Practical
Mensuration. 5. Military Correspondence and Management of the Internal
Affairs of a Company. 6. Pioneer Service. 7. Sapping and Mining.
8. Elements of Permanent Fortification. 9. Civil Architecture. 10. Arms
and Munitions. 11. Rules and Regulations. 12. Rules of Drill, Exercise,
and Manœuvring. 13. Calligraphy. 14. Military Drawing. 15. Architectural
Drawing. 16. Gymnastics, Fencing, Swimming.
The scholars enter the Corps of Engineers in the same way as has been
described in the case of the other School Companies; the most
distinguished passing as Attendant Pupils with the rank of
Lance-Corporals, free of cost, into the Academy of Engineers.
The Pioneer School Company also contains 120 scholars, similarly divided
into three yearly courses.
The instruction given is similar to that of the Engineer School Company,
special attention being paid to pioneering duties.
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. The Bohemian Language. 3. Austrian History
and Geography. 4. Arithmetic and Algebra. 5. Geometry, Plane
Trigonometry, and Practical Mensuration. 6. Popular Mechanics.
7. Military Correspondence and Management of the Internal Affairs of a
Company. 8. Land Pioneering. 9. Water Pioneering.[43] 10. Arms and
Munitions. 11. Rules and Regulations. 12. Rules of Drill, Exercise, and
Manœvring. 13. Calligraphy. 14. Elements of Descriptive Geometry.
15. Gymnastics, Fencing, Swimming.
[Footnote 43: Pontooning being included in the duties of the
Pioneers.]
After the close of the third year, the scholars enter the Corps of
Pioneers, under the various conditions already described. Scholars who
specially distinguish themselves will at the close of the second year be
received, free of cost, as Attendant Pupils (_frequentanten_) in the
Academy of Engineers; and after completing the four years’ course there,
be distributed as Officers in the Corps of Pioneers.
The number of scholars in the Flotilla School Company is 60; and the
course of instruction three years in length. The subjects are--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. Italian. 3. Austrian History and Geography.
4. Arithmetic and Algebra. 5. Geometry, Plane Trigonometry, Practical
Mensuration. 6. Popular Mechanics. 7. Military Correspondence, and
Management of the Internal Affairs of a Company. 8, 9, 10. Flotilla
Navigation, Artillery, and Pioneering. 11. Rules and Regulations.
12. Rules of Drill, Exercise, and Manœuvring. 13. Calligraphy.
14. Military Drawing. 15. Elements of Descriptive Geometry.
16. Gymnastics, Fencing, Swimming, and Boating.
The most distinguished scholars are sent, free of charge, at the end of
the second year, to the Artillery Academy, and after completing the four
years there, enter the Flotilla Corps as Officers. The others leave at
the end of three years under conditions similar to those already
described.
The Marine School Company contains 150 pupils, and its course of
instruction lasts four years.
The subjects are--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. German. 3. Italian. 4. Illyrian. 5. Natural
History. 6. Geography and History. 7. Arithmetic. 8. Algebra.
9. Geometry and Plane Trigonometry. 10. Popular Mechanics. 11. Military
Correspondence and Management of the Affairs of a Company.
12. Artillery, Arms, and Munitions. 13. Rules and Regulations, by Land
and Sea. 14. Rules of Drill, Exercise, and Manœuvring. 15. Calligraphy.
16. Common Drawing and Machine Drawing. 17. Military Drawing.
18. Gymnastics, Fencing, Swimming.
The pupils will also be thoroughly exercised in boat manœuvring, in the
use of sails, and of cannons, and after the end of each year’s
examination, will pass some weeks on board a sailing vessel for
practice.
Pupils who either through want of capacity or of diligence fall behind
in the theoretical instruction, will at the end of the second year be
sent on board ship as ship’s boys (_Schiffs-junge_.)
The other scholars go through the courses of the third and fourth year,
and then pass, on the same plan as in the Infantry School Companies,
into the Marine Infantry, or as Marine Artillerymen or as Engineering
pupils[44] of the first class, into the Navy, or into the Arsenal Works
Company, to devote themselves to Naval Architecture.
[Footnote 44: The Marine Infantry do not serve like our Marines on
board ship, but only on the coast. The Marine Artillery and the
Engineering pupils (_Maschinen-lehrlinge_) serve on board.]
The best scholars enter after four years instruction as Attendant Pupils
in the Artillery Academy, and after completing their time there are
admitted as Second Lieutenants of the second class into the Marine
Artillery.
B. SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS.
1. _The Cadet Institutions._
The object of these is to prepare pupils for the instruction in military
science given in the Academies.
They are four in number, with 200 pupils in each.
They contain military or treasury places, either wholly or half
gratuitous; places on provincial and private foundations; and finally
places for paying pupils.
The exact number of places open to pupils on provincial and private
foundations, and to paying pupils, can not be determined, as in this
respect the Cadet Schools form a single whole with the Academies, and
the amount can only be fixed as a total for these institutions taken
together. There are altogether 1,100 of these military places, which may
be distributed in varying proportions amongst the Cadet Schools and the
Academies; the number in any one of them can not be stated as a rule.
The military foundations are reserved for the sons of Officers serving
or having served with the sword; the entirely gratuitous places for the
sons of Officers in want, and the half gratuitous places for those of
Officers provided with means of their own, or serving in higher
positions.
Officers employed in the Outfit Department, Remounting[45] Department,
the Department of Military Law and Jurisdiction[46] are thus excluded,
unless they have previously served with the sword. But for the sons of
these Officers, of the Military Judges, the Military Surgeons, and other
Officials, having attained the eleventh or any higher allowance
class,[47] there will be reserved eight entirely and eight half
gratuitous places in the Cadet Schools and the Academies.
[Footnote 45: For the Outfit Department (_Monturs Commission_,)
see a previous Note. The business of the Remounting Department or
Remounting Establishments (_Remontirungs Anstalten_) is to supply
the cavalry with horses. There are several of these great
establishments for buying and breeding horses; the largest of all
is in Gallicia.]
[Footnote 46: _Auditoriat._--There is an _Auditor_ or Military
Judge in each regiment. He has passed through his course as a law
student, and declared for this branch. In every province there is
a central department. These law officials rise through all the
grades from Lieutenant up to General.]
[Footnote 47: One of the marks of superior rank is the amount
granted for _allowances_, for which there is a carefully graduated
scale.]
Appointments to the military and provincial foundations are granted by
His Majesty, the former on the recommendation of the Supreme War
Department, the latter on that of the Minister of the Interior. Among
the former are included, as already stated, the most distinguished
pupils of the Lower Houses of Education, for whose transfer to the Cadet
Schools the rules are laid down, the recommendation being annually
submitted for His Majesty’s approval.
Special regard will be given to candidates whose fathers have been
killed or invalided in the field; after these, to those who are orphans
on both sides; to the sons of Officers of special merit, of Officers
with large families, and the like.
Appointments upon provincial and private foundations, or as paying
pupils, will be made in the manner already stated in the general account
of the Educational Institutions.
The age of admission is the eleventh year completed, and twelfth year
not exceeded, and the candidate will be expected to know the subject of
instruction prescribed for the third class of the common (_normal_)
schools.
A knowledge of German, however, will not be considered indispensable.
Pupils who are not Germans will receive in the first half year of the
first course special instruction in German.
The instruction continues during four yearly courses. The command is
held by a Field Officer, assisted by--
1 Subaltern Officer as Adjutant.
2 Captains.
10 Subaltern Officers.
2 Ecclesiastical Professors.
1 Accountant.
1 Army Surgeon.
1 Surgeon’s Assistant.
12 Sergeants for Inspection.
4 Orderlies, together with the requisite number of mechanics
and servants.
The subjects of instruction are--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. German Language and Art of Speaking.
3. French. 4. Natural History. 5. Geography. 6. History. 7. Arithmetic.
8. Algebra. 9. Geometry and Plane Trigonometry. 10. Rules of Drill and
Exercise. 11. Calligraphy. 12. Common Drawing. 13. Gymnastics,
Single-stick, Swimming.
Those pupils who satisfactorily complete their four years’ course are
transferred, according to their capacities, and as far as possible, to
their own wishes, into one of the Military Academies. Entrance into the
Marine Academy takes place at the close of the second year.
Pupils who do ill, will, at the close of any one of the three first
years, be removed into the course of the following year at one of the
Upper Houses of Education; or, at the close of the fourth year, into one
of the Infantry School Companies.
This removal, in the case of paying pupils, will be dependent on the
consent of the parents; failing which, they will be sent back home.
2. _The Military Academies._
The object in these is to educate Officers in the higher military
subjects for the different arms of the service.
There are four Academies; the Neustadt Academy, the Artillery Academy,
the Engineers’ Academy, and the Marine Academy.
The scholars in each are divided into four yearly courses of nearly
equal numbers. In the Neustadt Academy each year is sub-divided into two
parallel classes, the instruction being the same in both.
The pupils in the Military Academies are of the different kinds
described in the account of the Cadet Houses, and the appointments
similarly made; the Academies and the Cadet Houses in these respects
forming a single body.
Candidates for admission into the Neustadt Academy, the Artillery
Academy, or the Engineers’ Academy, must be nearly, if not quite,
fifteen, and not above sixteen years old. For admission into the Marine
Academy, they must be nearly, if not quite, thirteen, not above fourteen
years old.
The Academies receive their pupils in the first instance from the Cadet
Schools, after the satisfactory completion of the fourth (or, in the
case of the Marine Academy, the second) year, and then, as already
stated under the head of the School Companies, from the Artillery School
Companies, and from the Engineer, Pioneer, Flotilla, and Marine School
Companies, after the highly satisfactory completion of the second
(or, in the Marine School, of the fourth) year.
Pupils from these School Companies, before entering the Academies, will
take the Military Oath, receive the rank of Lance-Corporals, and be
admitted free of charge as Attendant Pupils into the Academies, to
receive their education for the rank of Officer. Scholars from the
general body of soldiers, who are attending the School Companies, are to
be treated, in respect of their transfer to the Academies, in the same
way as the other pupils.[48]
[Footnote 48: In the School Companies there are two different sets
of Scholars, those who have come from the Houses of Education or
from private schools, and those who _attend_ after two years’
service in the Army. These are _frequentanten_ in the School
Companies, but all alike, who come from the School Companies, are
_frequentanten_ in the Academies.]
Entrance into the Academies is confined to the commencement of the first
year.[49] Pupils admitted from places of private instruction are
examined in the subjects taught in the Cadet Schools; those who wish to
enter the Neustadt, the Artillery or Engineers’ Academy, in the
following subjects, to the extent here described:--
1. German:--The Art of Speaking; Prosody; the Rules of Speaking;
the various Rhetorical Styles.
2. Natural History:--General knowledge of the Three Kingdoms.
3. French:--General grammatical rules; Translation from German
into French.
4. Geography.
5. History:--Ancient and of the Middle Ages.
6. Geometry and Rectilinear Trigonometry, with the Application
of Algebra, and the Solution of Geometrical Problems.
7. Common Drawing.
[Footnote 49: It appears, however, that a transfer of pupils, for
example, from the Engineers’ Academy to Wiener Neustadt, in
consequence of incapacity for Mathematics, is allowed at a later
standing. After passing a year at Znaim, a young man may enter the
second year’s course at Neustadt.]
Candidates for the Marine Academy will be required to know,--
1. The German Grammar, including Syntax.
2. Zoölogy.
3. French:--The Auxiliary Verbs; the Four Conjugations; Reading.
4. General Geography.
5. Ancient History.
6. Arithmetic and Algebra as far (inclusively) as Equations of
the First Degree, with two unknown Quantities.
7. Common Drawing.
Candidates from both institutions must also possess the degree of
religious knowledge corresponding to their age, and must write a good
current hand.
Pupils who are found negligent in the course of their academical
studies, will at the close of the first, second, or third year be
transferred to the classes corresponding to their age in the School
Companies, or will be enlisted in the Army as Cadets if they possess the
requisite bodily qualifications, in the manner already described.[50]
[Footnote 50: The wishes of the parents are, of course, consulted
in the case of paying pupils, but it is said that their consent is
very generally given.]
_The Neustadt Academy._
Wiener Neustadt having been the seat of this Academy for more than a
century, the ancient name thence derived will be retained in its usual
acceptation, though the Academies for the Artillery and the Engineers
will also be placed in the same locality. The institution counts 400
pupils, designed primarily for the Infantry of the Line and of the
Frontier, and secondly, for the Chasseurs and the Cavalry.
The Director of the Academy is a Colonel or General, attached to whom,
for purposes of instruction, discipline, and general management, there
are three field and thirty-four other Officers; for religious care and
instruction, four Ecclesiastics; for medical attention, one Regimental
Surgeon, one Army Surgeon, and one Surgeon’s Assistant; for the
accounts, one Accountant, and four Accountant’s Assistants. The large
number of pupils maintained in the institution requires, moreover, a
proportionately large staff for superintendence, a numerous body of
attendants, servants, and the like; so that the whole number to be added
to that of the pupils does not fall short of 309 persons; 64 horses are
allowed for the riding lessons.
The plan of study is based on that of the Cadet Schools, and embraces
the following subjects:--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. French. 3. Italian. 4. Bohemian.
5. Hungarian. 6. Logic and Psychology. 7. Geography. 8. History.
9. Analytical Geometry and Higher Analytical Mathematics. 10. Mechanics,
Spherical Trigonometry, Mathematical Geography, Triangulation.
11. Natural Philosophy, Elements of Chemistry. 12. Practical
Mensuration, taking Maps at Sight. 13. Descriptive Geometry.
14. Military Composition. 15. Positive International Law,[51] Austrian
Civil Law (_Privat Recht._) 16. Military Penal Law and Procedure.
17. Pioneer Service, with Field Fortification. 18. Permanent
Fortification. 19. Civil Architecture. 20. Arms and Munitions. 21. Study
of Ground and Positions, and Military Drawing. 22. Rules and
Regulations, and Military Administration. 23. Rules of Infantry Drill
and Exercise. 24. Rules of Cavalry Drill and Exercise. 25. Manœuvring.
26. Riding. 27. Gymnastics. 28. Fencing. 29. Dancing. 30. Swimming.
[Footnote 51: The Law of Nations as it exists _de facto_ without
consideration of its principles.]
Pupils who show a talent for general drawing will be practiced in it.
After the completion of the fourth year’s course, the pupils will be
recommended by the Supreme War Department to His Majesty for nomination
as Second Lieutenants of the second class.
In their distribution into the various regiments, &c., of the army, the
choice of the pupils will, as far as possible, be considered.
The pupils upon leaving will be, without exception, fully equipped at
the expense of the State. Only in the case of the pupils who wish to
enter the Cavalry, the parents (or guardians) will be called upon to
give security for the payment of 1,000 florins (100_l._) towards the
expenses of the first equipment, and for a monthly allowance of 25
florins (2_l._ 10_s._)
3. _The Artillery and Engineers’ Academy._
The arrangements of these two Academies are in many respects similar, as
required by the character of the two kindred sciences for which they are
founded.
The number of scholars is fixed at 160 pupils, and 40 attendant pupils
(_Frequentanten_) in each.
The command in each is intrusted to a General or a Colonel.
For the smaller number of scholars, fewer instructors, superintendents,
and attendants are needed; the complete amount in each Academy is fixed
at 200 men, in addition to the scholars. Each has thirty-two horses
allowed to it.
The plan of instruction is in many respects identical in each.
The subjects taught in both are--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. French. 3. Italian.[52] 4. Logic and
Psychology. 5. Geography. 6. History. 7. Analytical Geometry and Higher
Analytical Mathematics. 8. Descriptive Geometry. 9. Mechanics and the
Elements of the Study of Machinery. 10. Mathematical Geography.
11. Natural Philosophy and Chemistry. 12. Practical Mensuration, taking
Plans at Sight. 13. Military Composition. 14. International Law;
Austrian Civil Law. 15. Military Penal Law and Penal Procedure.
16. Military Drawing; Study of Ground and Positions. 17. Rules and
Regulations, and Military Administration. 18. Riding. 19. Gymnastics.
20. Fencing. 21. Dancing. 22. Swimming.
[Footnote 52: This is at present, in point of fact, omitted for
want of time.]
Common drawing will be treated, as it is at the Neustadt Academy, as an
optional subject.
In the Artillery Academy the following additional subjects will be
taught;--
1. Bohemian.[53] 2. Field Fortification and Permanent Fortification.
3. Tactics of the Three Arms. 4. Artillery. 5. Sieges, Construction of
Batteries; Artillery. 6. Rockets. 7. Rules of Drill and Exercise in the
Artillery and Infantry. 8. Instruction in shoeing horses, in judging of
their Age, in judging of them at Sight, in Bridling, Saddling, and
Grooming.
[Footnote 53: The Artillery is recruited very largely from Bohemia
and Moravia. A knowledge of the Bohemian language (which is pretty
nearly the same as Moravian) is therefore essential for an Officer
in the command of Artillerymen.]
In the Academy of the Engineers the additional subjects are--
1. Arms and Munitions and Artillery. 2. Art of Fortification.
3, 4. Civil Architecture, Plain and Ornamental. 5. Pioneer Service.
6. Rules of Drill, Exercise, and Manœuvring.
The pupils of the two Academies enter in the same way as those at
Neustadt, after the satisfactory completion of four years’ instruction,
with the rank of Second Lieutenant of the Second Class, the respective
services of the Artillery, and of the Engineers or Pioneers. Pupils for
whom no vacancies can be found enter the Infantry.
4. _The Marine Academy._
This, like the other Academies, is in the charge of a Field Officer, or
a General.
The pupils are 100 in number; the Teachers, other Officers, and
attendants, 88.
One essential distinction here (explained by the necessity of
habituating the pupils to the sea) is the admission at an age earlier by
two years, and the proportionally earlier termination of the course.
The plan of instruction combines a continuation of the studies
prescribed in the Cadet Schools, with the commencement of those
specially required for the marine service, viz.:--
1. Religious Knowledge. 2. German. 3. Italian. 4. French. 5. English.
6. Geography. 7. History. 8. Algebra. 9. Geometry and Plane
Trigonometry. 10. Analytical Geometry and Higher Analytical Mathematics.
11. Spherical Trigonometry and Nautical Astronomy. 12. Mechanics and
Natural Philosophy. 13. Descriptive Geometry. 14. Navigation.
15. Military Composition. 16. International Law, Austrian Civil Law, Sea
Law. 17. Military Penal Law, and Penal Procedure. 18. Artillery.
19. Fortification, Attack and Defense of Coast Fortifications. 20. Naval
Tactics and Naval History. 21. Knowledge of Rigging, &c.
(_Takelungslehre._) 22. Naval Manœuvres. 23. Naval Architecture.
24. Signals. 25. Rules and Regulations. 26. Rules of Drill and Exercise.
27. Calligraphy. 28. Military Drawing. 29. Common Drawing. 30. Swimming.
31. Gymnastics. 32. Fencing. 33. Dancing.
In addition to the practical instruction given in the course of the
school year, the pupils of the three first years will in the months of
August and September be sent in sailing vessels on a voyage for
practice.
The pupils at the end of four years enter as Cadets into the Navy, the
Flotilla Corps, or the Corps of Naval Architecture.
After completing a practical course of two years, they will receive
their promotion as Second Lieutenants of the second class.[54]
[Footnote 54: Literally, “as _Frigate-Ensign_, or Second
Lieutenant of the second class,” the former being in rank the same
as the latter. The order of rank is,--
Captain of a Man-of-War equal to a Colonel in the Army.
“ of a Frigate “ Lieutenant Colonel ditto.
“ of a Corvette “ Major ditto.
Lieutenant of a Man-of-War “ First Captain ditto.
“ of a Frigate “ Second Captain ditto.
Ensign in a Man-of-War “ First Lieutenant ditto.
“ in a Frigate “ Second Lieutenant ditto.
In the Corps of Naval Architecture the ordinary military titles
are used.]
C. SPECIAL SCHOOLS.
1. _The Military Teachers’ School._
The object here is a double one; first, to bring up good and serviceable
teachers in the subjects of study prescribed for the Military Houses of
Education; secondly to provide at the same time instructors in
gymnastics and fencing for all the military schools and for the troops.
The institution accordingly consists of two departments, each of thirty
Attendant Pupils, receiving instruction in these two different branches.
Non-commissioned Officers are admitted after a service of at least two
years. Candidates for admission into the Teachers’ department must, in
addition, possess the required amount of knowledge in the subjects
taught in the Military Houses of Education; and, as a rule, must know,
besides German, one other of the Austrian national languages.
Proficiency in every one of the subjects will not be considered
essential. Candidates for admission to the Gymnastic and Fencing
Department will be required to show a certain amount of readiness in the
use of arms and in gymnastic exercises, and an evident capacity for
acquiring greater skill.
Registration for admission is to be obtained in the usual course of the
service from the Supreme War Department.
The Attendant Pupils receive, in addition to their ordinary pay, bread
and the extra allowance; and for their better subsistence also an
allowance corresponding to that granted for provision during a march.
The command is held by a Field Officer or Captain; six Subaltern
Officers and four Sergeants act as teachers, the latter as assistants in
the instruction in fencing and gymnastics, and as swimming master. The
instructor in the art and methods of teaching may be a civilian.
The subjects of instruction in the Teachers’ Department are--
1. The Art and Methods of Teaching. 2. German. 3. Another Austrian
Language. 4. Arithmetic and Geometry. 5. Geography. 6. Military
Composition, and the Management of the Internal Affairs of a Company.
7. Calligraphy. 8. Common and Military Drawing. 9. Gymnastics, Fencing,
and Swimming.
In the Gymnastic Department,--
1. Staff, Rapier, Sword, and Bayonet Fencing. 2. Gymnastics and
Swimming. 3. Knowledge of Fire-arms.
In both Departments a certain number of hours weekly will be devoted to
Military Exercise.
Instruction in all the subjects will be given with special reference to
the methods to be pursued in teaching them in the various Military
Schools.
The course in each Department lasts one year. Under certain
circumstances particular pupils in the Teachers’ Department may remain
for the further completion of their studies a second year in the
institution.
In the Teachers’ Department, pupils who show no aptitude or liking for
some particular subject, may be exempted from attending the lessons
given in it, so as to allow them to give more thorough attention to
other branches.
After passing the examination, the pupils are either sent immediately to
undertake duty in the Military Schools, or return to their service in
the troops, and pass, as occasion requires, into the Military Schools.
Corporals who distinguish themselves by remarkably good progress will be
promoted to the rank of Sergeant.
2. _The United Higher Course for the Artillery and Engineers_,
Has for its object the more advanced instruction of young Officers in a
scientific and technical point of view, for service in the Artillery and
Engineers.
Twenty Officers, of more than usual capacity, between twenty-one and
twenty-six years of age, will be admitted from each of the two arms.
They must be unmarried, and must have served with distinction during a
period of not less than two years.
Officers in whose cases these conditions are satisfied, and who desire
to be admitted to the course, apply for registration for admission to
the examination, in the ordinary form, to the War Department.
Officers who, in the month of October, are summoned to attend, may
charge their traveling expenses to the Treasury, and undergo an
examination before the Professors attached to the Course, in the
following subjects:--
1. Analytical Geometry and Higher Analytical Mathematics. 2. Mechanics
and the Elements of the Study of Machinery. 3. Natural Philosophy and
Chemistry. 4 Military Composition. 5. French. 6. Military Drawing,
tested by the production of a Drawing of their own doing.
Candidates for the Artillery will be, moreover, examined in the Tactics
of the three Arms, and in Artillery; and those from the Engineers, in
the Art of Fortification and in Civil Architecture, both Plain and
Ornamental.
The text-books used in the Academies of the Artillery and Engineers will
serve as a measure for the range of attainment required. Pupils who
passed with distinction through these Academies will thus be specially
fitted for admission into the Higher Course after they have proved,
during their time of service, their diligence in bringing the knowledge
they have acquired into actual application.
On the close of this preliminary examination, the results will be
submitted to the Supreme War Department, and the recommendations for
admission laid before His Majesty.
A superior Field Officer, either of the Artillery or the Engineers, will
be intrusted with the charge of the united course. The lectures will be
given by the Professors of the Academy of the Artillery and Engineers.
From the nature of the duties, partly common and partly distinct, which
devolve upon the two corps, it follows that the course of the studies
(which will be carried on during two years) will in like manner be
partly common and partly separate.
The subjects of common instruction will be--
1. Mechanics in application to Machinery, combined with Machine
Drawing. 2. Natural Philosophy and Chemistry, combined with practice in
manipulation, in making experiments, and in analyzing. 3. Theory of
Artillery, in reference to the constructions that occur in Artillery.
4. Higher Tactics. 5. Principles of Strategy, illustrated by the
representation of campaigns, with special attention to the use of
Artillery, as well in Attack and Defense of fortified places, as in the
field.
Separate instruction will be given to Artillery Officers in--
1. Service in Workshops, Depôts, and Arsenals. 2. Knowledge of Foreign
Artillery, of the requisites (_ausrüstungen_) for Field service and
Sieges, and for furnishing fortified places.
To Engineer Officers, in--
1. Ornamental Architecture, combined with Architectural Drawing.
2. The Art of Fortification, special attention being given to working
out projects.
The pupils receive in addition practical guidance and supervision in all
subjects of a scientific nature connected with the Art of War.
The pupils of the second year undergo an examination in October. Upon
the results of the examination the War Department decides on their
promotion for the rank of Second to that of First Lieutenants.
3. _The War or Staff School._
The object of the War School is to give Officers of all arms an
education for higher duties, especially for those of the Staff and of
the Upper Adjutant Department.[55]
[Footnote 55: The Higher _Adjutantur_ or the Aide-de-Camp
Department.]
Any Subaltern Officer of the active army, without distinction of arms,
may claim admission into the War School, provided he is above twenty-one
and under twenty-six years old, is unmarried, and has served as Officer
uninterruptedly and with distinction two years at least with the troops,
and, provided, finally, he has passed the prescribed preliminary
examination.
For admission to the examination, registration, to be obtained in the
usual form from the War Department, is requisite.
The examination is conducted between October 10th and 20th, in the War
School buildings; the registered candidates will be summoned to Vienna
at the beginning of October; traveling expenses will be paid by the
Treasury. The subjects are--
1. Algebra and Geometry, including Plane and Spherical Trigonometry.
2. Geography. 3. History. 4. Arms and Munitions. 5. Field and Permanent
Fortification. 6. Pioneer Service. 7. Rules of Drill and Exercise
(in detail, for the arm in which the candidate has served, and generally
for the other arms.) 8. Manœuvring. 9. Military drawing, tested by the
production of a drawing of the candidate’s own doing. 10. Military
Composition, tested by working out an exercise in the presence of the
Commission. 11. French. And finally, 12, the candidate must be able to
speak one of the national languages of the Austrian Empire, Slavonic,
Hungarian, or Italian, and must write a good current and legible hand.
The amount of knowledge required in these subjects will be regulated by
the range of the text-books prescribed for use in the Academy at
Neustadt. Regard, however, will not so much be given to the minutiæ of
knowledge possessed by the candidate, but rather to the evidence of his
having a correct judgment and quick apprehension, and the power of
expressing himself both orally and in writing.
Upon the results of the examination, formally drawn up by the
authorities of the school, recommendations for admission will be
submitted to the sanction of His Majesty.
The number of attendants in the War School is fixed at thirty, and the
length of course is two years.
The attending pupils receive, in addition to their ordinary pay, a
monthly allowance of twenty florins, rations, and allowance for two
horses; when employed in taking surveys and reconnoitring, they have an
extra allowance of thirty florins monthly.
The War School is commanded by a General or Superior Field Officer.
Five Field Officers or Captains, taken as a rule from the Staff, give
lectures on the prescribed scientific subjects. One Field Officer or
Captain of Cavalry takes the duty of riding-master; and one civil
Professor that of instruction in the French language and literature.
Necessary officers, attendants, and servants take the duty of adjutants,
of the internal management, of the service, and of attending to the
thirty horses.
The first year’s subjects of instruction are--
1. Military Drawing and the study of Ground and Positions. 2. Higher
Tactics. 3. Staff and Superior Adjutant Duty. 4. French Language and
Literature. 5. Riding.
Those of the second year,--
1. Military Drawing, Ground and Positions. 2. Military Geography.
3. Principles of Strategy, illustrated by representations of some of the
most instructive campaigns. 4. French Language and Literature.
5. Riding.
The course begins on the 1st of November, and lasts to the end of
September.
The Attendants at the War School must be practiced in those arms in
which they have not served. They are for this purpose distributed into
the various bodies of troops forming the garrison of Vienna, go through
the exercises and manœuvres of these troops--in the first year with one,
and in the second with the other arm. At the termination of these
periods of practice, they will be called upon to undertake the command
of a Battery, of a Squadron of Cavalry, and of a Division of Infantry.
In the month of May, the attendant pupils of the first year will go out
upon a course of practical surveying; those of the second year will be
similarly employed in reconnoitring, choosing sites for encampment,
discovering, judging of, and describing proper points for taking up
positions, forming _têtes-de-pont_, entrenched camps, and the like, and
in performing other duties falling within the service of the Staff.
At the beginning of October, the pupils of the second year will undergo
an examination, which will be conducted, both orally and by papers.
Upon the results of this the Supreme War Department will determine upon
their promotion to the rank of First Lieutenants (if they are not
already of that rank,) and this without any reference to their previous
position, their position henceforth being simply determined by their
merit.
The same grounds determine the cases of those who are admitted to the
Staff, or who return to their respective arms.
Those who, after a satisfactory completion of the course, return to
service with the troops, will, after three years’ meritorious service,
be specially recommended for extraordinary promotion.
_Control of the Institutions._
The Upper and Lower Houses of Education, the Infantry School Companies,
the Cavalry School Squadrons, and the Frontier School Companies, are
under the orders of the Commanders of the Army, the Army Corps, or the
military government in whose district they are situated. The Artillery
and Engineer School Companies are under the orders of the General
Artillery and Engineer Departments; the Pioneer and Flotilla School
Companies, under those of the Quartermaster-General’s Department; the
Marine School Company, under those of the Admiralty. Which
functionaries, however, receive from the Supreme War Department all
directions relating to organization and instruction.
The Cadet Schools, the Academies, the Military Teachers’ School, the
Upper Artillery and Engineer Course, and the War School, are immediately
under the orders of the Supreme War Department.
The general organization of all the military schools and places of
instruction is once for all established by the regulations sanctioned by
His Majesty. These regulations contain all that concerns the physical,
moral, and intellectual training of the pupils, and all have the one
object of rearing them up as worthy members of the Austrian army, and
faithful supporters of the throne and of the honor of their country.
III. REMARKS ON THE AUSTRIAN MILITARY EDUCATION.
The English Commissioners in their General “_Report on the Education and
Training of Officers for the Scientific Corps_” hold the following
language:--
The magnitude of the Military Education of Austria entitles it to rank
among the chief Institutions of the Empire. It has been remodeled since
the wars of 1848, 1849. It is now centralized, and wholly directed by
one of the four Co-ordinate Sections of the War Office, which is
independent of the others, and reports directly to the Emperor. This
Educational or “Fourth” Section has the control of between 300,000_l._
and 400,000_l._ yearly. It provides for the free or nearly free
education of more than 5,000 pupils. The extent and completeness of the
system will be best understood by a reference to the clear and valuable
official account of the schools.[56]
[Footnote 56: See _Ante_, p 412-441.]
The military schools are divided by this document into (1) those which
educate pupils for _Non-commissioned Officers_, (2) those which educate
for _Officers_, (3) and those _Senior Schools_ which complete the
education and extend the instruction of both classes. The method of
training Non-commissioned Officers is a peculiar and remarkable part of
the system.
1. No less than 5,730 pupils are in process of being educated for
Non-commissioned Officers. They are received into a Military School at
seven years old, and at that early age are devoted to the army, with a
kind of solemnity, by their fathers, somewhat similar to the practice at
Woolwich Academy :--“I hereby pledge myself to surrender up my son to
the Imperial Military Service, in case of his being admitted into a
Military Educational Institution, and I will under no pretext require
his return.” This promise, as the official document states, may no doubt
be recalled if the youth finds that he has mistaken his vocation; but it
must exercise great influence (and such is its avowed object) in
retaining him in it.
After passing successively through two Junior Institutions,--the Lower
Houses of Education, where he continues till eleven years old, and the
Upper Houses, where he remains till fifteen,--the boy receives his
finishing course in one of what are termed the School Companies, the
highest class of schools for training boys to become Non-commissioned
Officers in all arms of the service. These are twenty in number, and
scattered over the whole Empire, containing generally 120 pupils each,
though in one case only sixty; and with a course of either two or three
years, according to the nature of the service. The extent and the
requirements of the Empire give a striking variety to their character.
Thus, in the frontier School Companies, “the range of the studies is
more extensive, because the Non-commissioned Officers on the Military
Frontiers are intrusted with the general administration, and require of
necessity a knowledge of Political Administration, of Jurisprudence, and
Agriculture;” and thus also the Non-commissioned Officers for the
responsible Flotilla Service of the mouths of the great rivers, the
lagoons of the Po, the head of the Adriatic, and the lakes, are
carefully educated and frequently promoted. Following the course of a
pupil through these Upper Houses and School Companies, we were much
struck by the sensible and vigorous character of the education, and the
motives supplied for exertion. In the Upper Houses the boys compete for
entrance to the School Companies which they prefer, and the more
scientific companies are a special object of ambition, because it is
more usual in these for young men to be raised by their talents to the
Academies, and thus made Officers, “free of all cost:” according to the
regulations, however, this is possible in all. It may be stated that
from six to ten pupils from each of the more scientific School
Companies,--the Artillery, Engineer, Pioneer, Flotilla, and Marine
Companies,--are yearly transferred to the Academies, to complete their
education there for the Officer’s Commission.
A system of this kind, supplying at once a good education and large
opportunities of advancement, must necessarily operate as a great
encouragement to young men educating for Non-commissioned Officers; and
allowing for the social differences of the two countries, it resembles
in spirit the French system, which throws open the gates of the
Polytechnic and St. Cyr, and with them a proportion of the Commissions
in the Army, to all.
This, however, is not all. The sums devoted to the education of
Non-commissioned Officers, as well as Officers, are immense, and may be
regarded as a spontaneous contribution of the National Feeling, no less
than a State provision. A system both of public and private foundations
(_Stiftungen_) prevails--part derived from the Emperor, part from the
provinces, part from private gifts and legacies--by which 3,190 pupils
are supported in the Houses of Education and the School Companies, and
1,320 in the Cadet Schools and Academies. The very large majority of
these exhibitions supply a _complete_, about 200 a _partial_,
maintenance. And it is curious to observe the aid to education which is
so common in our own Universities, devoted in Austria to what may be
termed the great National Institution--the Army,--and retaining all the
limitations to the descendants of Founders or Natives of provinces which
marked our own foundations. Some of these exhibitions have been founded
by foreign soldiers for their own countrymen. Thus there are two bearing
the name of the O’Gara and the O’Brady, to be held by any Irishmen of
good family, one of which is in the gift of the Roman Catholic
Archbishop of Dublin. We should add that this system is still a living
and popular one. Within three years the city of Brünn has founded such
an exhibition “for sons of Austrian subjects in Moravia, and by
preference in Brünn, in commemoration of His Majesty’s escape from
assassination in 1853.” We ourselves heard a distinguished Officer
express an intention of founding one of these Exhibitions. The
comparison with the open _Bourses_ of the Polytechnic is remarkable; but
the Austrian appointments to free places seem to be given, like the
Prussian, solely as rewards for the service of the parent.
2. The education of young men for Officers is conducted upon the same
principles which regulate that for Non-commissioned Officers. The age of
admission to a Cadet School is about eleven. The pupils are pledged to
the service with the same formalities which we have noticed in the Lower
Houses of Education. Between fifteen and sixteen they enter one of the
Academies for the Line, the Artillery, the Engineers, or the Marine, and
after four years they pass to their respective services.
Thus, unlike the French system, that which is followed in Austria
commits the pupil to the Army, and to a Military Education, from an
early age, resembling herein the plan of the _Accademia Militare_ of
Turin. But an attempt seems to be made to combine general with special
teaching. Thus, although even in the two first years (from fifteen to
seventeen,) at Wiener Neustadt, there is some introduction of successful
practical military teaching, the chief weight is thrown upon
mathematics, history, geography, drawing, and French; special military
teaching has a greater, though far from an exclusive place, in the two
last years. The studies are high, and (as far as we could judge) pursued
carefully, and with excellent discipline.
The description we have given of the system pursued in the Schools for
Non-commissioned Officers will have shown that there is a constant
appeal to emulation. The same is found at Wiener Neustadt. There is a
careful system of assigning credits during the whole school period,
which itself argues competition. The chief immediate reward, indeed, is
the choice of a regiment on leaving the school; but the prospect of
entering the Staff School stands in no distant perspective, and this is
filled with so many pupils from Wiener Neustadt, that it must be looked
upon as the sure reward of a successful Neustadter. There are other
inducements of a different character. The discipline being strict,
pupils are constantly removed from Wiener Neustadt and the other
Academies to the schools for Non-commissioned Officers, and though
sometimes allowed to enter the army as Officers, it must always be as
juniors to their contemporaries at Wiener Neustadt. We heard instances
of great strictness in this matter.
The new course for the Special Arms in Austria is not yet completely in
operation. It is at present carried on separately in the Academy of
Olmütz for the Artillery, and that of Znaim, in Moravia, for the
Engineers. There are 200 pupils in each Academy, and the courses of
instruction, which are more special or technical than at Wiener
Neustadt, last four years, from the age of fifteen to nineteen. The
yearly examinations, the manner in which the marks of the monthly
examinations tell on the final one, and the careful classification of
the pupils in the order of merit, reminded us of the system of the
Polytechnic more than any other school we have seen. And an inspection
of the very high credits obtained by the first thirty pupils will prove
the diligence with which the studies are pursued. We should add that
several pupils of marked talents come from the scientific School
Companies, A further fact bears witness to the vigor of the discipline.
We have alluded to the dismissal of unpromising subjects from the
Austrian Military Schools. In the course of three years, since the
changes of 1850, it appears that nearly 100 pupils were removed from
Znaim, as not coming up to the standard required for the Engineers by
the new regulations.
3. The courses of instruction in the three Academies for Infantry and
Cavalry, Artillery, and for Engineers, last for the same time, and run
(as it were) parallel to each other. Each is, or is to be, completed by
a senior department. The United Course for the Artillery and Engineers
is not indeed yet combined in the magnificent buildings begun at Wiener
Neustadt; but it is already organized in a provisional state at Znaim
for the Engineers, and the plan of instruction drawn up is a solid one.
The arrangements for the general Staff School require more remark.
In our report upon Austrian schools we have specially noticed this
School as remarkable for its thorough and open competitive character
from first to last, and its very sensible plan of study. Admission to it
is by competition, open to Officers of all arms: the pupils are not
unduly overburdened with work; perhaps, there is even room for one or
two more subjects of importance; but what is done seems to be done
thoroughly; the Officers are carefully ranked, on leaving the School,
according as the abilities they have displayed, may be considered a
criterion of their fitness for employment on the General Staff; and _in
this order_ they enter the Staff Corps. The consequence is that every
Officer knows distinctly, from the time that he first competes for
admission until his final examination on leaving, that the order in
which he will enter the Staff depends entirely on his own exertions and
success at the school. It seemed to us that this open competition
produced a spirit of confidence and energy in the students, as great, if
not greater, than any we met with elsewhere.
The whole of the above system of education is directed by the Fourth
Section of the War Department. In all the schools we found traces of its
activity; and the energy and system which prevail in the Military
Teaching of Austria appear in great measure to result from its being
directed by this single head.
IV. THE STAFF OR WAR SCHOOL AT VIENNA.
[From Report of English Commissioners in 1856.]
The Staff School (Kriegs-Schule,) in Vienna, was established in 1851,
and grew out of the experience of the Hungarian war, although a
Staff-Corps had existed for more than a century in the Austrian army,
and for many years past all the appointments in it have been made upon
an examination, which was, in fact, one of competition. The process was
formerly as follows:--
An officer desirous of becoming a candidate for a staff appointment,
sent in his name to the colonel of his regiment, whose recommendation he
was obliged to obtain as a preliminary step. If supplied with this, he
began his course of staff study, and was sent for this purpose to some
large garrison town as an _attaché_ to the staff. Whilst here he went
through, for two years, the course of drawing, writing military memoirs,
mapping the country, &c., and for two years more served on active staff
duty with different bodies of troops. At the end of these four years a
number of the officers thus employed in a particular country were
brought together, and examined by the chief of the staff in the country,
assisted by a board of officers appointed for the purpose. No actual
list was drawn out of the order in which the candidates acquitted
themselves, but it was understood that the best were chosen and put upon
the general staff. The work upon this was exceedingly laborious; few
except officers of real ability were candidates for it, and patronage in
it was looked upon with great dislike. On the other hand, studies and
reading were not made the first requisite; a ready intelligence and
quick eye to make an officer a _Colonnen-führer_,--leader of a column on
a march,--were always most valued.
Before describing this school, it may be as well to mention shortly the
staff-corps and the corps connected with it.
1. The General Staff of the Austrian Army consists of:--
Twelve Colonels.
Twelve Lieutenant-Colonels.
Twenty-four Majors.
Eighty Captains.
The _attachés_, to the number of eighty,--_i.e._, those who are
expecting appointments, may be subalterns, but they obtain the rank of
captain on joining.
The chief of the staff-corps is Field-Marshal Hess.
2. There has been created very lately a separate corps of adjutants or
aids-de-camp, who are charged with the administrative duties, such as
inspecting the bearing, equipment, carrying on the discipline, &c., of
the troops. This consists of--
Eleven Generals.
Eighteen Lieutenant-Colonels.
Eighteen Majors.
Fifty-eight First Captains.
Ten Second Captains.
Ten First Lieutenants.
There is no examination for entrance into this corps. Appointments are
made by the generals, and we were told that there was some scope for
“protection.”
3. There is also a smaller corps for the purpose of surveying, called
the Corps of Geographical Engineers, connected with the staff, inasmuch
as some of the staff officers draw the maps on a large scale, which it
is the business of this corps to reduce. It is usually occupied on the
Great Surveys of the Empire; at present it is employed on the Survey of
the Principalities.
It consists of--
One Colonel, called the Director.
Two Lieutenant-Colonels.
Two Majors.
Sixteen Captains.
Sixteen Lieutenants.
Four Sous-Lieutenants.
The staff school consists of thirty pupils taken from all arms of the
service, fifteen being received each year, and the course of study
lasting two years. It is under the direction of a general and a
lieutenant-colonel; and, with few exceptions, such as might occur in the
time of war, no appointments on the general staff are to be given to any
officers who have not passed through the staff school.
In order to enter the school for the staff corps, an officer must have
served at least two years with his regiment, and be unmarried, and above
twenty-one and under twenty-six years of age. He may then forward to the
chief of the staff, through his colonel, his claim to be admitted as a
candidate at the entrance examination. Further inquiry is made, and a
good many of the names sent in are struck off the list. Such, we were
told, was the case last year when the names sent in were very numerous,
but out of these only forty-five were allowed to compete, and out of
these again only fifteen (the regular yearly number) were selected. The
competition for entrance into the school is indeed said to have been
very active ever since it was opened. Most of the students are
_Neustadters_; the seven professors were all, with the exception of the
professor of the French language, military men, and chiefly officers of
artillery, formed in the long studies of the old Bombardier School.
The subjects in which the candidates for admission are examined are--
1. Algebra and Geometry, Plane and Spherical Trigonometry.
2. Geography.
3. History.
4. Arms and Munitions.
5. Field and Permanent Fortification.
6. Pioneering.
7. Rules of Drill and Exercises.
8. Manoeuvring.
9. Military Drawing.
10. Military Composition.
11. French.
12. To be able to speak one of the Austrian national languages,
and to write a good current and legible hand.
The most striking features in the system of this school, both at the
entrance and throughout the course, are that it is distinctly
competitive, that it admits very young officers, and that while the work
is considerable, the subjects for study are not numerous. In these three
points it differs considerably from the Prussian Staff School, in which
the students are generally older, and the principle of competition is
not so fully carried out. In the Austrian school, the students are
placed on entering in the order which their entrance examination has
just fixed. They are examined once a month during their stay. On leaving
the school, their respective places are again determined, and they have
a claim for appointments in the staff corps in the exact order in which
they were placed on leaving the school.
Their relative places on leaving the school are assigned to them, as we
were assured, very carefully, and, after much consultation in every case
among the professors; but this is not done by marks, nor by any minute
system of testing intellectual qualifications, but an estimate is formed
upon the whole work of the two years, both on the studies in the school
and the practice in the field,--of the student’s comparative fitness,
_as an officer, for the work of the staff_. “We try to estimate the
whole man,” was the expression used to us, “whether he will make a good
_Colonnen-führer_” (a good man to direct a regiment on a march,) as was
said elsewhere. This general estimate was preferred to that of marks, on
the ground that the latter might give too much weight to the more
appreciable, _i.e._, simply intellectual qualities.
The students do not at present live within the establishment, but are to
do so when the new ones, building, are ready. They begin their lectures
at half-past seven and end at one or three o’clock on alternate days,
going to the riding-school in the afternoon on the days when their
morning’s work ends at one. Thirty horses are kept for their use.
The subjects of instruction during the first year consist of--
1. Military Drawing and the Study of Ground and Positions.
2. Higher Tactics.
3. Staff Duties.
4. French Language and Literature.
5. Riding.
And those of the second year are as follows:--
1. Military Drawing, and the Study of Ground and Positions.
2. Military Geography.
3. Principles of Strategy, illustrated by representations of
some of the most instructive campaigns.
4. French Language and Literature.
5. Riding.
The students are occupied at the school about eight hours daily and
their chief work is military drawing and topography. We went into the
room where the students of both years were working together at drawings
and plans under an artillery officer, said to be one of the best
draughtsmen in the army. Some of the plans were modeled in soap, the
_hachures_ being marked very elaborately, so that the models and
drawings might closely correspond. We also attended a lecture of the
second class in military geography. A student traced out on the
blackboard the line of the Western Alps, and was examined very closely
on the smaller passes, the rivers, and the bases of operations for
armies on both sides. The answers were very minute, and given with the
greatest readiness; and we understood the question to be taken at
random, and not to be a prepared one.[57]
[Footnote 57: It may be desirable to give some specimens, taken
from the official account of the school, of the questions put at
the examinations for admission,
I. _Viva voce._
1. Mathematics:--
Give an explanation of geometrical series, and a proof of
the general formula.
How is the circumference and area of a circle determined? How
are the trigonometrical functions of the different quadrants
of the circle indicated?
2. Geography:--
What is meant by the _backbone_ of Europe? What states does
it pass through?
The source of the Elbe; its principal feeders?
3. History:--
Describe generally the wars of Charles V.
The political consequences of the Battle of Leipzig.
4. Arms and Munitions:--
What is the material of sword blades? how are they made and
proved?
How are gun carriages made for field and siege guns?
What kinds of hollow shot are used in the Austrian artillery,
and on what do their effects depend?
5. Field and Permanent Fortification:--
How is a trench made?
How is a parapet built?
What does a front of fortification consist of? what is the
disposition of the several lines? what parts protect the
principal rampart? what is the form of the flanks? and how
is the main ditch made?
What is meant by detached works? where are they placed?
What are the best arrangements for the successful defense of
a fortress?
6. Pioneer Service:--
How are two beams of the same dimensions fastened together
in the same direction?
How are suspension bridges put up?
7. Rules for Drill and Exercise:--
(_a._) Infantry.
Wheeling during a march.
Forming of close battalion column.
(_b._) Cavalry.
Marching in files and fours.
Forming line from the flank to the front and rear.
(_c._) Artillery.
Intervals and distances in a battery.
II. Paper Work.
In Mathematics:--
1. Prove that in every triangle the square of the one side
is equal to the sum of the squares of the two other sides,
less twice the product of these two, multiplied by the
cosine of the angle they inclose.
2. If the hypothenuse is 33, and one angle 25° 48’ 12”, find
the other angle and the perpendicular, &c.]
The student officers attending the school are called upon to serve in
those arms to which they do not belong. For this purpose they join the
troops of the garrison of Vienna during June, July, August, and
September, and if they belong to the infantry they go through all the
exercises of the cavalry in one year, and of the artillery in another.
If they belong to the cavalry, they go in the same manner through the
exercises of infantry and artillery. After going through this practice,
they have to take command of a battery, of a squadron of cavalry, and of
a division of infantry.
The month of May is devoted in the first year to an expedition for
practice in surveying the country, and in the second, for making
reconnaissances, &c.
October is a vacation in the first year. In the second it is taken up
with the final examination before leaving.
The officers acting as professors receive 600 florins, about 60_l._
annually, besides their pay.
Immediately after the final examination, if there are any vacancies in
the staff corps, the pupils receive appointments in order of merit, and
are at the same time made captains. In proof of their receiving
appointments on the earliest opportunity, we were told by Colonel
Scudier that the last ten vacancies in the staff corps were filled up
out of the twelve students who had just left the school. One of these
was only a second lieutenant, and in order to make him a captain, (the
rank required for the staff corps,) the Emperor promoted him to be a
first lieutenant immediately, and to be a captain within three days
afterwards. This double promotion was on the ground of great merit.
If an officer finds no vacancy in the staff corps ready for him, he must
return to his regiment and wait as an attaché. But if a second
lieutenant, he is entitled immediately to a step of rank, and if a
lieutenant, after three years’ service he is made a captain, although he
may not even then be attached to the staff corps.
There are to be eighty of these attachés to the staff. Their number at
present amounts to only thirteen.
With regard to special aids-de-camp, generals are allowed to choose
their own, without examination, but with this limitation, the officer
chosen must not be a relation.[58]
[Footnote 58: The following shows the nature of the Report
presented by the examiners upon an Officer examined for admission.
It is called the _Prüfungs-Act_, and is sent into the Supreme War
Department, that is, to the Fourth Section.
Form No. I. gives the name, age, rank, and length of service of
the Candidate (Lieut. R. H.)
Form No. II.:--
_a._ Oral Examination.
1. Mathematics, Very good.
2. Geography, Very good.
3. History, Very good, knowledge
thorough, statements logical.
4. Arms and Munitions, Excellent; acquainted with the
very details.
5. Field and Permanent
Fortification, Both satisfactory.
6. Pioneer Service, Very good.
7. Drill and Exercise Rules--
Infantry, Very good.
Cavalry, Not thorough.
Artillery, Good.
8. Manœuvring, Excellent.
9. French, Translates without difficulty
from French into German, and
German into French. Not much
practice in speaking.
10. National languages, Speaks good Bohemian.
_b._ Paper Work--
1. Mathematics, &c. &c.
_c._ Accomplishments--
Writing.
Military Drawing.
REMARKS.--Lieutenant R. H. is a pupil of the Neustadt Academy, of
much natural talent, and quick apprehension. His way of expressing
himself is quick and logical, and shows a clear head. He has a
fair military bearing, and prepossessing appearance. He gives
every hope of proving a useful Officer of the Staff, and deserves
admission into the War School.
Form No. III. gives the questions actually put, as in the note on
the preceding page.
(Signed) . . . . . .]
MILITARY EDUCATION AND SCHOOLS IN 1869.
PRINCIPLES OF MILITARY EDUCATION.
The disastrous results to the integrity of the empire and the
reputation of the army, of the military operations of Austria in 1858,
against the combined forces of France and Sardinia, and of the still
more humiliating defeat in the brief but momentous campaign of 1866
against Prussia, forced the military authorities of the Austro-Hungarian
Empire to a thorough investigation of her military system and the
education of the officers of her armies. It was not difficult to account
for ultimate defeat in the larger armies and better prepared in all the
resources by which large armies are equipped, fed, and moved. But
military critics were not slow in discovering that better preparation
should have been made, the field should have been taken earlier, and the
forces combined and moved with great certainty and skill.
In a Report by the Minister of War on the necessity of reorganizing
the educational system of the Imperial army, and in the plan for such
reorganization the author, Baron Kahn, starts with a principle which the
great Empress Maria Theresa announced when she laid in 1748 the
foundation of the earliest war school in Austria (Wiener Neustadt), and
which Frederick the Great avowedly imitated in his War Academy in Berlin
in 1764,--“In this school shall be formed _men_ only, and of them,
_soldiers_.” The choice of the profession of arms must be postponed till
a good general education, reaching the moral as well as the intellectual
and physical qualities of the future officer, has been imparted. The
separation of the military pupils from their families at an early age
must be avoided, and hence the number of cadet boarding schools for
young aspirants are diminished. The intellectual preparation required,
the sharpening and hardening the mental faculties, must not be gained by
an exclusive mathematical course, in special schools, but in the general
training of the public schools, the Real Schools or Gymnasia, of the
country. A more practical knowledge of the common studies,--of geography
and national history and the whole science of public economy and the
martial resources of the empire, must be gained before the special
military instruction begins. Admission to the higher military schools
must be given only to aspirants of mature age, of high moral qualities,
and of thorough intellectual activity--ascertained by careful
examination and tested by at least one year’s service in connection with
a regiment.
PLAN OF REORGANIZATION.
The military schools are divided into two classes, viz.:--
(1.) Those which give a boy a general education, but prepare him at
the same time for the military profession.
(2.) Those which educate boys only in military matters.
In the first class may be included (_a_) all those lower class
institutions in which military orphans and sons of poor non-commissioned
officers and commissioned officers are educated; (_b_) the middle
(cadet) schools which prepare students for the military academies; (_c_)
the military academies, viz, _Wiener Neustadt_, and the engineer and
artillery academies. As pure military schools, may be mentioned the
schools for non-commissioned officers in the infantry, engineer,
artillery, and pioneer corps; the cadet and division schools in the
infantry; the higher artillery and engineer courses.
(_a._) The lower schools for the education of military orphans of a
tender age have the same system as the common schools of the like class
(_Normal_ or _Volks Schulen_), where the moral qualities are to be
chiefly inculcated on Christian principles; it is therefore necessary
that children should not be taken from family influences earlier than
can be helped. It will therefore only be necessary to take into these
schools such children as are orphans, or sons of penniless parents, or
at all events those whose families can not be induced to educate them at
home even by pecuniary assistance. One school would be enough for such
boys, in which the moral education would be the first object, as the
necessary education required to prepare the scholars for the higher
schools and regimental cadet schools may be obtained by their attending
the public schools.
(_b._) As regards the middle cadet schools, they should be abolished,
as they do not agree at all with the above-mentioned principles. Boys
are torn from home at much too tender an age, and are not brought up in
the path of morality. Should a reform only of these schools be intended,
this would be so expensive that the improvement gained would be dearly
paid for.
As the army is not only to be composed of drilled soldiers, but also
of generally well educated men, in order to improve their intellectual
position and the spirit of the army, and to prevent the undue growth of
drill and mere formalities, it is of great necessity that the military
schools should be brought into harmonious concert with the civil
schools. The deficiencies of the latter are less than those of the
former, and it may be expected that they will soon be removed. In
accordance with these considerations (and there are yet many more), it
is much to be recommended that these two institutions should be
abolished, not only as being right in principle, but also in agreement
with the laws of national economy.
By the laying down of the system of education to be taught at the
common middle schools, as a condition of being allowed to enter a
military academy, in connection with the influences of the moral
development of the family circle, up to the fifteenth year of a boy’s
life, it is to be hoped that the general above-named principles will be
attained; and when the poor officers are allowed the means to educate
their boys aspiring for the military academies by granting them
pecuniary allowances, it may be hoped that they will not only be
contented, and will care for the moral education of their children, but
that the State also will find in the system the best means of attaining
its object.
As regards the higher schools, especially military ones, the following
may be observed:--
There are two establishments at present:
(_a._) The Military Academy and Wiener Neustadt for general education.
(_b._) The Engineer Academy, as a special school for the engineers,
and for the instruction of officers in general.
The latter of the two is not efficient enough, for not more than eight
or ten persons at most are instructed as engineers in it, the rest being
detailed for the infantry, cavalry, &c. As by the establishment and
organization of division schools a sufficient supply of officers
aspirant is provided, and as the officers detailed from the above-named
academies to the line are not more efficient than the scholars of the
division schools (especially when the extra cost of the academy
education is considered), the Engineer Academy must be looked upon as
much too expensive. I agree, therefore, with those who recommend its
abolition. On the other hand, the Neustadt Academy, which offers to its
students a more general, and therefore a better founded education, and
where highly instructed officers can be educated in larger numbers, may
be allowed to remain, both in consideration of its efficiency and in
honor of its serene foundress, the great Empress Maria Theresa, but on
condition of its being reorganized in accordance with the principles
laid down by that noble lady in the following words:--“That in this
school shall be formed _men_ only, and of them _soldiers_.”
The said academy must, however, seek to attain to a higher degree of
perfection than of late. The classics must be more cultivated, as also
national economy and a general civilized education. It should be
organized for a course of six years, and it should receive students,
sons of officers or military officials, who have successfully passed two
or three Latin or technical schools.
The following subjects should be taught, besides the military and
mathematical sciences:--
(1.) The Latin language, sufficient to understand the Roman
classics.
(2.) All human sciences; particular attention should be paid to
style, as it has been observed that since Latin has not been taught in
the Wiener Neustadt Academy, there has been a great falling off in this
respect. Rhetoric is to be taught in a practical manner, as the
knowledge of how to speak is of importance in our constitutional era.
(3.) Philosophy, two years; in the first year, psychology; in the
second year, logic to its full extent, moral philosophy, metaphysics,
and the history of philosophy.
(4.) Statecraft, state and international law, and the fundamental
law of the Austrian monarchy.
(5.) The rudiments of economy and national economy.
As special schools for the army the following should be retained:--
(_a._) A special engineer and artillery school.
(_b._) A special school for the pioneer corps, where the special
knowledge necessary for that arm, as well as other military matters, are
taught. The scholars should be between the ages of 16 and 19 years.
The students of the institutions intended for the education of the
engineers and artillery will be enrolled in their respective corps
quartered in Vienna. They will there have to pass a proper course of
high mathematics, natural philosophy, and architecture at the
Polytechnic; after they have succeeded in this, they will be either
detailed for two years’ active duty with their corps, or they may be at
once ordered to pass through a higher combined course for artillery and
engineers. If this will suffice for the due supply of technically
instructed officers, the artillery and engineer academies may be
abolished.
As regards the present school for the General Staff, it may be
recommended that a general college for the whole army should be formed
from it, wherein not only the higher military sciences should be taught,
but also statecraft and national economy. It would be right to examine a
candidate before he entered the college in the rudiments of natural
philosophy and chemistry.
The student may obtain the time necessary for the cultivation of these
two sciences by reducing the time till now assigned to sketching and
surveying; the more so, as the student will have already attained a
great perfection in this branch of his education by former study of it
in the public and preparatory schools.
SYSTEM AS REORGANIZED IN 1869.
(A.)--ESTABLISHMENTS FOR THE EDUCATION OF YOUTH.
1. _Military Orphan Asylum._
Military orphans and other deserving candidates for the army are
supported in this establishment. They are educated at the public
schools.
The number of pupils is 150. They pass thence into the other
institutions, according to their talents and final destination.
2. _Military Technical Schools._
At present four in number. It is proposed to reduce them to two. The
course is of three years. Number of pupils, 150 in each school. They are
educated for the Technical Academy, and to provide good non-commissioned
officers for the Artillery and Engineers. They enter at 14 and leave at
16 years of age, at the end of their third year’s course of study. Those
enter the Technical Academy who have most distinguished themselves; the
others are sent either for a two years’ course to the Division Schools,
or else to the Artillery Officers’ Aspirant Schools.
3. _The Military College._
The course is for two years. This is chiefly intended as a preparatory
school for the Military Academy at Wiener Neustadt.
4. _The Military Academies._
These institutions are intended to provide the army with officers
properly qualified for the various branches of the army.
(1.) _The Wiener Neustadt Academy._--The course is of four years.
Number of scholars 100 per annum, or a total of 400. The academy is
intended for the education of candidates for the Infantry Regiments of
the Line and Military Frontier, the Jagers, and the Cavalry.
(2.) _The Technical Academy_ (established in Vienna) for the education
of the best pupils of the technical schools for the artillery, engineer,
and pioneer services. The course is of four years; 65 scholars in each
year, or 260 total. Each year’s course of study is divided into two
sections, one for artillery pupils, one for engineer pupils.
It is proposed that these officers should be attached to their
respective corps in Vienna during their course of study, and should
attend lectures at the Polytechnic at Vienna. When this course is over,
they are to be attached for two years’ service with their corps, or sent
direct to go through the higher artillery or engineer course.
(B.)--SCHOOLS ATTACHED TO REGIMENTS OR DIVISIONS.
1. _Regimental, Troop, and Cadet Schools._
Besides the troop schools in each regiment or independent battalion,
there is one of the cadet schools for the education of all those, from
the rank of sergeant downwards, who aspire to the rank of cadet, or who
desire to acquire the preparatory knowledge necessary to be admitted
into the schools for officers aspirant.
The number of pupils depends on the number of individuals qualified.
The course is of two years.
2. _Regimental Schools for Officers aspirant._
(_a._) For the _Artillery_--The course is of two years; 50 scholars
annually.
(_b._) For the _Engineers_--A two years’ course for each.
_Pioneers_--Number of pupils according to demand.
3. _Divisional Schools for Officers aspirant._
There is a school of this sort in each of the 23 infantry and cavalry
divisions, and for the country gendarmerie.
The course is of two years. Number of pupils not fixed (at present
nearly 1,200), in addition to which is the special instruction for their
respective arms; when they have successfully passed an examination at
the end of the course, they become officers aspirant.
(C.)--ESTABLISHMENTS FOR MORE ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION.
1. _The Higher Courses for the Artillery, and_ (2) _Engineers_.
These are intended for the formation of highly scientific officers for
the more important duties and higher command of these arms, and for the
army in general. The course is of two years. The number of officer
students is not fixed, but must depend on the number of highly qualified
candidates of the above arms. They must have served for two years with
their corps with distinction.
3. _War School_ (Staff College).
This institution is intended for the formation of officers for the
general staff. The course is of two years. The number of students is 80.
An officer must have served at least three years with his corps with
distinction before he can be admitted, and officers who have served
longer will, as a rule, be preferred.
(4.) _Course for Military Frontier Instruction._
This is an academy for those who are already serving in the army. The
course is of two years, and the number of pupils is regulated by the
demand. The studies are as follows:--
State organization and frontier administration.
Civil and military law and legal procedure.
Agriculture, law of commerce, and exchange.
Revenue law and institutions.
Croatian language.
5. _Central Cavalry School at Vienna._
The object of this establishment is to prepare distinguished
regimental officers for the higher commands in cavalry, and to instruct
them in the theory and practice of that arm, and the _haute école_ of
riding.
There are 41 students of the rank of captain (1st and 2d class), or
one from each cavalry regiment. The course is of one year. The studies
are as follows:--
Theoretical and practical riding, training of unbroken horses,
service and drill regulations of cavalry, veterinary art, leaping,
fencing, pistol-shooting, rudiments of strategy and history of war,
tactics, field service, occupation of ground, surveying, army
organization, knowledge of arms, pioneer and engineer service, practical
drill, and field service and reconnaissances.
6. _Josephinum Academy for Medicine and Surgery_,
For the formation of students for the higher grades of the medical and
surgical departments, from the rank of first lieutenant-surgeon.
This establishment ranks with the upper school of surgery at Vienna.
The number of students from the army is fixed at 242. When there is
accommodation there are, besides this, paying students.
7. _Military Veterinary Institution_,
Consisting of two sections:--(1.) Veterinary. (2.) Farriery.
Students who have passed the necessary examinations are entitled to
their diploma and rights in the same way as students of the civil
veterinary school in Hungary.
The students of the veterinary section are field surgeons and
farriers.
The students of the farriery section are non-commissioned officers and
soldiers and civilians. The number of soldier students depends upon the
requirements of the army.
8. _Course for the Intendance._
This establishment, _when organized_, is intended to qualify captains
or first-lieutenants on the active establishment of infantry or cavalry,
captain auditors, and properly qualified clerks, for the administration
of the Intendance of the army now in progress of formation.
COURSES OF STUDY IN THE MILITARY SCHOOLS.
(I.) COURSE OF SCIENCES TO BE TAUGHT AND LECTURED ON AT THE
REGIMENTAL CADET SCHOOLS.
_Subjects._ _Course of Lectures during--1st Year._
_2d Year._
German Language and Style, 1 1
The Regimental Dialect, 1 1
Caligraphy, 1 1
Military Style, 1 1
Arithmetic, 1 0
Algebra, 0 1
Practical Surveying, 1 1
Mapping and Tracing, 1 1
Geography, 1 1
History, 1 1
Drill and Manœuvre Regulations, 1 1
Service Regulations, 1 1
Field Service, 1 1
Pioneer Service, 1 1
Construction of Arms, 1 1
Hand Drawing, 1 1
Fencing, 1 1
Gymnastics, &c., 1 1
Target Practice, 1 1
(II.) COURSE OF INSTRUCTION AT THE SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS ASPIRANT.
A.--_Ordinary Course._ _1st Year._
_2d Year._
Military Style, 1 1
Military Essays, 1 0
Geometry and Trigonometry, 1 1
Higher Trigonometry and Conic Sections, 0 1
Mechanics, Natural History, and Chemistry, 0 1
Geometrical Drawing, 1 1
Practical Surveying, 1 0
Military Mapping, 0 1
Sketching and Tracing, 1 1
Geography, 1 1
Mathematical Geography, 0 1
History, 1 1
Military Administration, 1 1
Drill and Manœuvre Regulations, 1 1
Service Regulations, 1 0
Army Organization, 1 1
Tactics, 1 1
Field Fortifications 1 0
Permanent do., 0 1
Construction of Arms, 1 0
Hand Drawing, 1 0
Fencing, 1 1
Athletic Games, 1 1
Target Practice, 1 1
Riding, if possible, 0 1
B.--_Course for the Pioneer Regiment._
High Mathematics.
Higher Trigonometry.
Practical do.
Analytical Geometry.
Mathematical Geography.
Natural History and Chemistry.
Military Economy and Finance.
Geography.
History.
Construction of Arms.
Fortification.
Architecture.
Mechanics.
Drill, }
Service, }Regulations.
Manœuvre, }
Pioneer Service.
Surveying.
Tracing.
Athletic Games.
Fencing.
Swimming.
Tactics.
(III.) COURSE OF INSTRUCTION AT THE PREPARATORY SCHOOL FOR THE
WIENER NEUSTADT ACADEMY.
[KEY]
[_Hours per Week_--]
1st _1st Year._
2d _2d Year._
_Subjects._ _1st_ _2d_
Religious Instruction 1½ 1½
Latin, 7 7
Greek, 3 3
French, 4 4
German and Literature, 3 3
History and Geography, 5 5
Mathematics, 5 5
Natural History, 0 3
* Short-hand Writing, 3 0
* Caligraphy, 2 2
* Drawing, 2 2
* Athletic Games, 2 2
Dancing, 2 2
Swimming, 0 0
--- ---
Total hours per week, 39½ 39½
[* Subjects marked thus * are voluntary for scholars of classical
schools, but are compulsory at the military schools.]
(IV.) COURSE AT THE PREPARATORY SCHOOLS FOR THE TECHNICAL ACADEMY.
_Subjects._ _1st_ _2d_ _3d_
Religious Instruction, 2 1 1
German, 4 3 3
French, 4 3 3
History and Geography, 4 4 4
Mathematics, 7 5 5
Analytical Geometry and Drawing, 3 4 3
Natural History, 2 2 2
Natural Philosophy, 0 3 5
Practical Chemistry, 3 3 0
Hand and Mathematical Drawing, 2 4 4
Caligraphy, 1 0 0
Military Style and Finance, 2 2 2
Artillery and Pioneer practice, 4 4 3
Service Regulations, 1 1 1
Drill and Manœuvre Regulations, 2 2 3
Management of Horses, 0 0 2
Athletic Games and Fencing, 3 3 3
-- -- --
Total hours per week, 44 44 44
(V.) COURSE OF INSTRUCTION AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY AT WIENER
NEUSTADT.
*_Subjects_ _1st_ _2d_ _3d_ _4th_
Religious Instruction, 1½ 1½ 0 0
Latin, 4 4 0 0
Greek, 3 2 0 0
French, 4 4 3 3
German and Literature, 3 3 3 0
History and Geography, 4 0 0 0
Physical Geography, 4 0 0 0
Preparatory Philosophy, 1½ 0 0 0
Philosophy, 0 4 0 0
Higher Mathematics, 5 6 0 0
Astronomy, 0 0 4 0
Analytical Geometry, 0 0 4 0
Practical ditto and Surveying, 0 3 0 0
Nat. Philos. and Fundamental Laws
of Chemistry, 4 0 0 0
Theoretical Mechanics, 0 0 4 0
Review of Law and Statesmanship, 0 0 2 0
Cons’l Law of Austria, and its
Adm’ive Org’tion, 0 0 3 0
European State and International Law, 0 0 0 3
Austrian Military Law (Criminal), 0 0 0 2
Military Finance, 0 0 2 3
Construction of Arms, 0 0 2 3
Pioneer Service, 0 0 3 0
Fortification, 0 0 0 4
History of War, 0 0 0 2
Drill Regulations, 2 0 0 0
Service do, 0 1½ 1½ 0
Manœuvre do, 0 0 1½ 1½
Cavalry do, 0 0 0 1½
Tactics, 0 0 0 6
Surveying, Tracing, and Mapping, 4 4 4 0
Riding, 0 0 0 6
Fencing, 2 2 2 2
Athletic Games and Dancing, 4 4 0 0
each 2 hours,
-- -- -- --
Total hours per week, 42 41 41 41
[* To these should be added the Bohemian and Hungarian language for
the 3d and 4th years.]
(VI.) COURSE OF INSTRUCTION AT THE TECHNICAL MILITARY ACADEMY
AT VIENNA.
[KEY]
Prep. Preparatory.
Eng. Engineer.
Art. Artillery.
_Subjects._--(_Courses_--United Preparatory, Engineer, Artillery.)
Prep. Eng. Art.
Number of hours per week--Years-- 1. 2. 3. 4. 3. 4.
Zoölogy and Botany, 3 0 0 0 0 0
Mineralogy, 1 0 0 0 0 0
Geology, 0 0 2 0 0 0
French, 3 3 3 2 3 2
Higher Math. 1, 2, 3,
Higher Geodesy 4th yr. 8 5 2 4 2 4
Analytical Geometry 4 0 0 0 0 0
Sketching, 4 0 0 0 0 0
Practical Geometry, 0 4 0 0 0 0
Chemistry of Minerals, 3 0 0 0 0 0
Chemical Manufacture, 0 0 0 0 0 4
General and Technical Natural
Philosophy, 2 3 0 0 0 0
Mechanical Technics, 0 0 2 0 2 0
Technical and Analytical Mechanics, 0 5 2 0 2 0
Construction of Machinery and
Drawing, 0 0 4 0 0 0
Description of Machinery, 0 0 0 0 2 2
Mountain Roads, 0 4 0 0 0 0
Planning and Sketching, 0 0 5 6 0 0
Road and Water Communication, &c., 0 0 5 0 0 0
General Architecture, 0 0 0 0 3 0
Machine Making, 0 0 0 0 3 5
Building, 0 0 0 0 4 4
Ornamental Drawing, 0 0 0 4 0 0
Review of the Law, 0 0 0 2 0 2
Military Criminal Law, 0 0 0 1 0 1
Construction of Arms (Engineer), 0 2 0 0 0 0
Do. of Batteries (Artillery), 3 6 0 0 0 0
Pioneer service, 0 1 0 0 0 0
Fortification, 0 0 4 6 3 3
Sappers’ and Miners’ Duties, 0 0 0 2 0 0
Military Finance, 0 0 2 2 3 3
Drill Regulations, 2 0 0 0 0 0
Service ditto, 1½ 1½ 0 0 0 0
Manœuvre ditto, 0 0 0 2 3 0
Cavalry ditto, 0 0 0 0 0 2
Tactics, 0 0 2 2 2 2
Surveying and Tracing, 0 6 3 0 3 0
Riding, 0 0 3 3 6 6
Fencing, 2 2 2 2 2 2
Dancing, 2 2 0 0 0 0
--- -- -- -- -- --
Total hours per week, 40½ 41 43 43 51 50
(VII.) UPPER COURSE OF STUDY FOR ARTILLERY.
_Subjects._ _Course--1st Year._
_2d Year._
French, 1 1
Practical Mechanics, 1 0
Construction of Machinery, 1 0
Fortification and Field Armaments, 0 1
Science of Higher Artillery, 1 0
Military Geography and Statistics, 1 0
Higher Tactics and Strategy, 0 0
National Economy and Finance, 1 0
Organization of the Constitution, and
Administration, 0 1
State and International Law, 0 1
German Literature, 1 0
Active Duties of the General Staff, 0 1
(VIII.) UPPER COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE ENGINEERS.
_Subjects._ _Course--1st Year._
_2d Year._
English, 1 1
Chemistry and Practical Technics, 1 1
The Mechanism of Building, 1 0
Fortification, 1 1
Architecture, 1 1
Ornamental Architecture, 1 1
Military History, 0 1
Science of Artillery, 0 1
Strategy, 1 0
National Economy and Finance, 1 0
Organization of the Constitution, and
Administration, 0 1
State and International Law, 0 1
German Literature, 1 0
(IX.) UPPER COURSE OF STUDY FOR THE WAR SCHOOL.
_Subjects._ _Course--1st Year._
_2d Year._
German Literature, 1 1
French, 1 1
Administrative Duties of the Staff, 1 1
Active Duties of the General Staff, 0 1
Tracing and Surveying, 1 1
Military Geography, 1 0
Higher Tactics, 1 0
Strategy, 0 1
Engineer Service, 0 1
Artillery Service, 0 1
Rudiments of State and International Law, 0 1
Rudiments of Nati’l Economy and
Administrative Law, 0 1
Riding, 1 1
AUSTRIAN STAFF.
By recent ordinance the Special Staff Corps has been abolished. All
the officers are borne on the army rosters according to their ranks, in
particular branches of the service. No one will be allowed to enter the
Staff School until he has served three or four years with the troops,
and then captains and first lieutenants will be preferred to men of less
service or rank. Having passed through the school course they will again
join their regiments; and will then be appointed to the staff, as may be
required. The period during which they are to remain on the staff will
depend on their merits, their promotion, and the exigencies of the
service; but as a principle they would generally rejoin their troop on
promotion. There can be no doubt in the minds of those who have
practically studied the question, that the system is sound. A special
Staff Corps is never large enough to supply the demands of an army in
the field for long, especially if the war is long and very active. The
duties of a staff officer with an army actively engaged in the field,
are so numerous and arduous that an _enormous number_ are used up in the
course of a campaign; and when you have only the Staff Corps to draw
from, the supply of practical officers is not equal to the demand. The
French experienced this in the Crimean War. By educating a number of
young officers endowed by nature with the qualifications indispensable
to form an _efficient_ staff officer _on active service_, and by
throwing them back into their regiments, they leaven the mass, and form
a fund of selected and instructed officers from which can be drawn as
occasion may require.--_Col. Crealock to Military Ed. Com._
CAVALRY BRIGADE SCHOOLS FOR OFFICERS.
The following memorandum gives an account of an order lately issued,
regulating Officers’ Brigade Schools in the Austrian cavalry.
The object of the Cavalry Brigade schools will be to secure a supply
of efficient riding masters throughout the service capable of giving
general instruction.
The Central Cavalry School will continue to be a higher military and
scientific establishment, with (in addition to the theoretical education
of the pupils) a course of instruction which insures a uniform system of
equitation and of breaking horses. A certain number of its best pupils
may be transferred, after a year’s attendance, to the _Kriegs-Schule_,
with a view to their preparation for the staff.
Cavalry Officers’ Brigade Schools educate officers of that arm,
theoretically as well as practically, in all their duties. After the
termination of the autumn manœuvres one will be formed in each brigade.
The annual course lasts six months, and should begin on the 1st of
October.
It is the duty of the Brigadier to superintend the school, but it is
also that of commanding officers of regiments to inform themselves of
the progress of their officers, and consequently to visit it often.
Before the 15th of August the Brigadier proposes to the Minister of
War the station at which the school should be established, also the
names of the instructors and pupils. It rests with him to make all
arrangements for setting it in operation; and as his supervision must be
continual, he should (whenever practicable) place it at the
head-quarters of his brigade. Above all, a covered riding school must be
fitted up; then a drill ground, a manège with artificial fences, and a
school, and fencing-room. Whenever possible the men and horses must be
in barracks.
The best qualified officer in the brigade, of the rank of
lieutenant-colonel or major, is to be selected for Commandant, and each
school is to have two captains as instructors. One of them must have
gone through the Central Cavalry School, and must have been reported as
specially qualified to give instruction; the second must be considered
one of the best horsemen in the brigade.
At the disposal of these officers there is the following staff:--one
veterinary surgeon for instruction in the anatomy, diseases, and shoeing
of horses; one sergeant in charge of the men and horses; one sergeant
for quartermaster’s duties and accounts; one farrier; three corporals;
one trumpeter; twelve men per regiment of the brigade; and the riders of
the horses attached to the school.
If there is an auditor (_Judge Advocate_) available, he attends
regularly to explain the Articles of War and give lectures on military
law. Should there be none, this duty devolves upon one of the captain
instructors.
Six officers from the rank of first lieutenant downwards are sent
yearly from each regiment. Each of them brings with him, besides his own
horses, the one allowed him by Government. Every regiment sends six
remount horses that have passed the first stage of breaking, and six
that have just joined.
The principal subjects of theoretical instruction are--1st,
Regulations of the army; 2d, Tactics, particularly as referring to the
handling of cavalry; 3d, Field movements, and especially outpost duty,
which are to be illustrated by examples from the history of war; the
pupils will also draw and describe a tract of country, and give written
reports upon field operations; 4th, description of the anatomy and
diseases of horses, with their management and feeding both in the stable
and the field; shoeing theoretical and practical, in all its details;
5th, thorough practice in the use of cavalry weapons, a general
acquaintance with the arms of the artillery and infantry of the
principal military nations, and an accurate knowledge of those employed
in the Imperial army; 6th, a general knowledge of field fortification
and of the works to be executed by the Pioneer Corps in combination with
cavalry; 7th, the study of tracts of country, extending to the
observation of roads, streams, coverts, and undulations; the correct
reading and understanding of maps.
The practical branch of education at these schools has for its main
object the maintenance throughout the army of the best fundamental
system of equitation, and the adoption of any improvements in the
cavalry service in general which may appear advisable. To this is added
practice in getting over long distances through every description of
country, and in judging when and where halts should be made with most
advantage to single horsemen, or to detachments of troops. These marches
are to be combined with patrolling, reconnaissances, and posting
piquets, and are to be practiced once a week.
After every such march the pupils will send in a brief report and
rough sketch, either next morning or within forty-eight hours, as may be
ordered. They are to practice making this sketch on horseback as well as
on foot. They must perfect themselves in gymnastics, and in fencing and
singlestick, both on foot and horseback.
The regulations issued to the Minister of War as to distribution of
hours and reports will be strictly followed, and no deviation will be
permitted except under particular circumstances. Sundays and holidays
are observed. No leave of absence, except in cases of urgent necessity,
can be granted to either instructors or pupils during the course.
At the end of the season of instruction (_i.e._ at the end of March)
the Cavalry Officers’ Brigade School will be broken up; and all persons
attached to it, and their horses, will return to their regiments.
EXPENDITURES ON MILITARY EDUCATION.
The appropriation for Military Education in Austria for 1870, was as
follows:--
For non-commissioned officers and men, 504,000 florins (40,320_l_).
For officers, 978,000 florins (78,284_l_).
[Errata for Part III (Austria):
[Footnote 23]
Soldiers are, however, occasionally allowed to marry,
Soldiers, are,
6. Geometry and Rectilinear Trigonometry,
5.
[Footnote 58]
_a._ Oral Examination.
_missing . after “a”_
(4.) _Course for Military Frontier Instruction._
_anomalous parentheses in original_
[(VI.) COURSE OF INSTRUCTION AT THE TECHNICAL MILITARY ACADEMY]
Higher Geodesy 4th yr.
Geodosy ]
* * * * *
PART IV.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN BAVARIA AND OTHER STATES.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS OF BAVARIA.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
Bavaria, with a population in 1867 of 4,824,421, on an area of 29,347
English square miles, maintained in 1869-70, an armed force of 56,760
men on a peace footing, and of 92,500 when placed on a war footing.
The armed force consists of the permanent army, the army of reserve, and
the landwehr, or militia. The strength of the permanent army at the end
of 1869 was as follows:--
16 Regiments of the line, each of 3 battalions, 28,304 men.
10 Battalions of Yager infantry, 5,870 “
20 Regiments of cavalry, each of 5 squadrons, 7,290 “
52 Batteries of artillery, with train, 6,361 “
10 Companies of engineers, with train, 1,212 “
4 Companies of sanitary troops, 624 “
6 Detachments of victualing troops, 288 “
------
Total strength of permanent army, 49,449
The army of reserve numbered over 30,000 men, and is to be made more
efficient. The landwehr is only organized in the large towns. The army
is recruited by conscription. All men, from the age of 21 are liable to
serve, but the sons of the nobility (_hohe adel_) are exempt, and they
with the sons of superior employés in the service of the state have the
privilege of entering the military school of cadets. Those who are drawn
for the army are held liable to active service for eleven years, but are
kept under arms, when on the peace footing, only three years, passing
three years more in the Reserve when called out for actual training, and
held for service for the remaining five years in the landwehr. No
substitutes are allowed.
By the treaties of 1870, in time of war, the supreme command of the army
of Bavaria passes to the Emperor of Germany, and in the further
development of the Imperial policy, the military system of Bavaria as
well as of the other German States, will be merged in that of Prussia.
The following account of the system of Military Education, as it was in
1869, is taken from the Report of the Military Education Commission for
1870.
II. MILITARY EDUCATION.
There are four establishments for Military Education in Bavaria--1. The
Cadet Corps. 2. The War School 3. The Artillery and Engineer School.
4. The War Academy.
I. THE CADET CORPS.
The Cadet Corps was by a royal decree of May 14th, 1864, placed on the
same footing with regard to instruction and final examination as the
Real Gymnasium, and by a further decree of April 2d, 1868, the
signification and value which are attached to an _Absolutorium_, or
certificate of final examination, of a Real Gymnasium, were equally made
to apply to an _Absolutorium_ of the Cadet Corps.
There are three classes.
For admission into the first class, candidates must be acquainted with
the following subjects:
_Religious Instruction._--(_a._) For Catholics: First chapter on
Belief (_von den Glauben_) with preceding introduction, from page 33 to
page 96.
The larger Catholic Catechism for all Bavarian bishoprics.
(_b._) For Protestants: The heads of the Christian doctrine, with the
ecclesiastical explanation of the same, as well as the most important
passages of the Bible contained in the catechism.
_German._--Grammar: formation of sentences; change in the form of
sentences; copying from dictation small stories, narratives, and
letters; facility in orthography and correct punctuation.
_Latin._--Elementary rules: easy translations from Latin into German,
and from German into Latin.
_French._--Tolerably correct reading.
_Mathematics._--Vulgar fractions; decimals; rule of three; interest;
exercises in mental calculations.
_Geography._--Europe generally, and Germany in particular, with
especial regard to mountain chains and river districts.
_Caligraphy._--German and English characters.
_Second Class._
For admission into the second class candidates must be acquainted with
the following subjects:
_Religious Instruction._--(_a._) For Catholics: A knowledge of the
second chapter on the Commandments (_von den Geboten_), pages 100 to 159
inclusive.
The larger catechism for all Bavarian bishoprics.
(_b._) For Protestants: All the knowledge obtained from the so-called
preparatory instruction for confirmation (_Praeparanden-Unterricht_).
_German._--Same as in first class.
_Latin._--Syntax: verbal and written translations from German to
Latin, and from Latin to German, out of Cornelius Nepos.
_French._--Grammar: translation; reading; orthography.
_Greek._--Syntax up to verbs in μι; written and verbal translations
from German to Greek, and _vice versâ_. Greek characters.
_Mathematics._--System of weights and measures; fractions; decimals;
mental arithmetic.
_History._--Greek and Roman history, including the period up to
Clovis, king of the Franks.
_Geography._--The world in general. Europe excepted.
_Caligraphy._--German and English characters.
_Third Class._
Candidates for immediate admission into the third class must not have
exceeded their fifteenth year, and must produce certificates of all the
classes of the Latin school.
At their examination for admission they must show that they are
acquainted with all the subjects required in the examinations for the
first and second class; and also with the following subjects:
_Religious Instruction._--(_a._) For Catholics: A knowledge of the
third chapter on Means of Grace _(von den Gnadenmitteln)_, page 160 to
page 228.
(_b._) For Protestants: Candidates must not only be thoroughly
acquainted with the so-called preparatory instruction for confirmation,
but must have been confirmed.
_German._--Composition: translation from Cornelius Nepos. Reading
aloud.
_Latin._--Complete Syntax. Written and verbal translations from German
to Latin; Cæsar’s Commentaries; select passages from Roman historians;
prosody; versification.
_French._--Translations: German into French, and _vice versâ_;
orthography and reading.
_Greek._--Rudiments of grammar.
_Mathematics._--Algebra; geometry.
_History._--German history (from Clovis, king of the Franks),
especially that of Bavaria.
_Geography._--Europe; including political and statistical relations.
_Caligraphy._--German and English characters.
_Admission to the Army from the Cadet Corps._
On leaving the Cadet Corps--
(_a._) Students who have obtained from the Examination Commission a
certificate of “especially qualified” are named candidates, first class,
for the rank of officer.
(_b._) Students who have obtained a certificate of “qualified” are sent
to a division of the army as candidates, second class, for the rank of
officer.
Further, those who have displayed a “marked proficiency,” not only as
regards scientific acquirements but also as regards conduct and military
capacity, maybe appointed by the Education Commission to the rank of
sub-lieutenant.
These last, however, in common with the candidates mentioned under heads
(_a._) and (_b._) are required, after six months’ service in a division
of the army, to pass through the military scientific course in the War
School, and at the end of the course to undergo an examination. The same
conditions are alike in force for the young nobility entering the army
from the _Pagerie_ with the _Absolutorium_ of a gymnasium.
II. THE WAR SCHOOL.
There are two courses, viz.:--(_a._) The preparatory course. (_b._) The
military scientific course.
All persons desirous to obtain commissions as officers, whether
compelled to enter the army, or volunteers, must undergo the preparatory
course at the War School, unless they are in possession of an
_Absolutorium_ of a Latin or Real Gymnasium.
Candidates for the preparatory course (_a._) must pass an examination
for admission, and as a qualification for admission must have served an
entire year satisfactorily in a division of the army.
After the completion of the preparatory course these students are named
candidates, second class, for the commission of officers, and as such
enter the military scientific course.
The following enter the second course:
(_a._) Students with the _Absolutorium_ of a Real Gymnasium, or coming
from the _Pagerie_.
(_b._) Students who passed the preparatory course successfully.
(_c._) Those to whom military service is compulsory, and volunteers,
both possessing the _Absolutorium_ of a Bavarian gymnasium, and being
desirous to become officers. These candidates must, however, perform six
months’ service satisfactorily, and on termination of this service they
are named candidates, second class, for the commission of officers.
At the expiration of the military scientific course there is a general
examination of all candidates before the “Commission of High Studies and
Examinations,” and decision is given--
(_a._) Respecting efficiency for the position of officer.
(_b._) Respecting the army rank of those who have passed their
examination without reference to former rank (_Chargen-verhältnisse_).
Very distinguished conduct before the enemy can alone exempt candidates
from this examination.
Candidates examined are classed by the above Commission under the
following heads; “_especially qualified_,” “_qualified_,” and “_not
qualified_;” and no candidate for the commission of officer can be named
officer without the certificate of “_qualified_.”
Candidates, who have shown the necessary efficiency to entitle them to
be appointed officers, are named candidates, first class, for the
commission of officer, or, in consequence of the diminished number of
officers in the active army, are promoted to be sublieutenants.
Only those candidates for the commission of officer, who have received
the certificate “especially qualified” in the above final examination of
the military scientific course, can present themselves for admission
into the War Academy.
III. THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEER SCHOOL.
In this school, consisting of two courses, each lasting a year, an
opportunity is afforded to all candidates, first class, for commissions
as officers to devote themselves to technical military science, and to
pursue the special studies having reference to the military operations
in question; and, in this school, only those candidates for the
commission of officer are received, who have successfully passed the
military scientific course, and who, at the examination passed before
the “Commission of High Studies and Examinations,” have been pronounced
“_qualified_” not only to remain in the Artillery and Engineer regiment,
but especially qualified to enter the Artillery and Engineer School.
Immediately after passing the second course of the War School, and
before admission into the Artillery and Engineer School, these
candidates must serve six months in an Artillery or Engineer regiment.
Candidates pass over from the first to the second course without a
general examination, and should a doubt exist respecting the efficiency
of any of the candidates, such candidates will be required to undergo a
special examination before the “Commission of High Studies and
Examinations,” who will decide, in the case of such candidates, whether
they are to go through the course a second time, or retire from it.
The same regulations apply for the second course, and the appointments
as sub-lieutenants of Artillery or Engineer students are determined
according to the number of officers required in those corps.
Candidates for the Engineers are required, after passing through their
school, to undergo a six weeks’ course of design, during which period
each candidate must without assistance make a complete Drawing of an
edifice.
IV. THE WAR ACADEMY.
The War Academy has for its object the higher scientific and practical
education of officers, in every branch of the military profession, on
the staff, as also of the higher adjutants. It aims also at the
development of all military scientific subjects.
The War Academy has three courses, each lasting nine months, and the
intervals are employed in practical exercises.
The number of students in one course must, as a rule, not exceed twelve,
and every upper or sub-lieutenant who has served not less than four
years with the troops, can attend the academy.
Officers are only admitted into this school who possess the requisite
knowledge of their respective branches of the military service.
Further, their conduct must have been highly satisfactory; they must be
sound in health, and their pecuniary affairs must be in good order, and
they must combine prominent mental qualifications with a tendency to
higher scientific attainments.
The “Commission of High Studies and Examinations” decides by examination
as to the necessary qualifications for admission; then follows a
summons, issued by the Ministry of War, to attend the War Academy, and
each time only for one year.
Officers who, on the decision of the Examination Commission, do not
display sufficient capacity or zeal, or whose military behavior or moral
conduct has not been satisfactory, will not be summoned to attend the
next course.
The scientific education of those admitted into the War Academy consists
also in--
(_a._) Attending lectures at the University and the Central Polytechnic
School.
(_b._) Higher lectures upon military scientific subjects.
(_c._) Exercises in living languages.
The practical education embraces the duties of staff officers and of
higher adjutants, acquaintance with the different branches of military
service, also corporal activity, and especially exercises on horseback.
Officers who, on the decision of the Examination Commission, have during
the three courses of the War Academy displayed zeal, talent, and
application, will, on leaving the academy, have their names sent in to
the King for especial notice.
Each of the military schools has its own commandant. The Cadet Corps is
commanded by a First Lieutenant of Infantry, the War School by a Major
of the Quartermaster-General’s Staff, the Artillery and Engineer School
by a Major of the Engineer Staff, and the War Academy by a Colonel of
the General Staff, to whom an Adjutant is attached.
With regard to the systematic process of education pursued in the
military schools, and to the application of the different means employed
to impart instruction, these establishments are placed under the
superior direction of the “Inspection of Military Schools;” in all other
respects, they are under the control of the Ministry of War, and the
professors employed in them are selected according to their special
qualifications.
ROYAL MILITARY SCHOOL AT DRESDEN[1]
[Footnote 1: Document.
_Bericht über_ (report on) _die Kgl. Turnlehrer Bildungsanstalt,
von Dr. Kloss_, 1864, pp. 34, (with a representation of the
grounds and buildings.)]
1.--_Organization and Admission._
The Royal Military School at Dresden was reorganized in 1867, after the
war, and organized like the schools of the same rank in Prussia.
Formerly it consisted of two separate schools, the artillery school and
the _Cadettencorps_, both completing the education of their pupils; but
now a higher academy in Prussia must be attended for finishing the
professional education, either in Berlin, Erfurt, &c.
By the new “regulative,” the _Cadettencorps_ in Saxony consists of six
classes, and has (1,) 20 free scholars; (2,) 84 half-free scholars; (3,)
20 not free scholars--in all, 124. Besides these, “volunteers” may be
admitted; but, if foreigners, without any claim to being admitted
afterwards to the royal army.
For admission to any of the 124 places, the sons of officers of the
army, killed or invalid, or of such subalterns as have served 25 years,
and of civil officers of high merits, are preferred to others.
The aspirant must have completed his 11th year of age, and not be over
18 years of age.
In general the boys must have, if 11 years old, the requisite knowledge
of Quinta; if 12, of Quarta; if 13, of Quarta; if 14, of Tertia; if
15-17, of Secunda, of a gymnasium, (college.)
On admission, every pupil has to pay 100 thalers for a full equipment,
for books, &c.; and to bring with him 12 shirts, 18 pairs of stockings,
18 handkerchiefs, 6 drawers, 1 pair of house shoes, 2 white cotton
night-jackets.
During his stay every pupil has to pay, (besides 25 thalers for books
when transferred to III,) annually, (_a_,) 50 thalers, if a free
scholar; (_b_,) 110 if half free; (_c_,) 210 if not free; (_d_,) 260 if
a Saxon “volunteer;” and, (_e_,) 300 if a foreign “volunteer.”
2.--_Course of Instruction._
The course of instruction in the Military School embraces six years,
with six classes, of which, as was said before, VI, (the last,) V, IV,
and III correspond to V, IV, and III in a gymnasium, II and I to lower
and upper Secunda, with the only difference, that instead of Greek,
instruction is given in English and in the elements of a military
education. It will be, therefore, sufficient to mention the course of
instruction in the highest class as given in the new regulation.
1. Religion. (The number of lesson hours is not stated.)
2. Latin: Written exercises; Livy, Ovid, Virgil.
3. German: History of literature; explanation of dramatic pieces; free
discourses, with a verbal résumé, and debates.
4. French: Translations; extemporalia; compositions; exercises in
speaking.
5. Mathematics: Progressions; logarithms, and their application;
applying of algebra to geometry; trigonometry; elements of stereometry.
6. English: Oral and written exercises; free discourses on historical
and geographical subjects; review of the same in English; reading of
poetry.
7. History: Modern history; review of universal history; history of
Northern Germany.
8. Geography: Mathematical and physical geography; review of political
geography, with particular regard to Northern Germany.
9. Natural philosophy: Electricity, magnetism, sound and light.
10. Drawing of plans; finishing the designs of the survey.
11. Surveying: Topographical surveying on a large scale; drawing of
grounds; _croquiren_.
12. Free-hand drawing. (Not obligatory.)
Those cadets to whom, in consequence of the examination at the end of
the course, the testimonial of maturity for ensigncy can be given, are
presented to his Majesty as “characterized” ensigns, whilst all others
who do not answer the demands have to perform, in some other way, their
legal service in the army.
* * * * *
V. MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN HOLLAND.
* * * * *
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The regular army of Holland is divided into two portions--one of which
takes all the ordinary duties of the Dutch possessions beyond the seas,
while the other serves entirely in Europe. In the event of war, the Home
army is liable to be sent to the support of the Colonial army; but
except in such emergency, the officers and men of each portion are as
distinct, almost, as though they composed parts of the military forces
of two independent countries. The entire military force consists of the
regular army of about 52,000 men, which can be swelled to twice that
number in an emergency, by militia conscripts and reserve levies.
The Dutch Colonial Army consists of regiments of cavalry and artillery,
as well as of infantry, of which the depots for recruiting as well as of
arms, ammunition, and ordnance, are at home. But the service companies,
when they have once embarked for their colonial stations, return no more
as armed bodies--and even as individuals, neither officers nor men
return until they have taken part in the avocations of colonial life.
The army of Holland, both in its European and colonial branches is
recruited by voluntary enlistment. The term of service is six years,
beyond which, however, the soldier not disqualified by loss of health,
may remain. The service is not particularly attractive; neither the pay
being large, nor promotion from the ranks rapid, or certain, the
recruits are not drawn from the most intelligent, and enterprising
classes. Still, as discipline is strictly enforced, and the natural
courage of the Batavian race is good, there is seldom any outbreak or
disorder.
II. MILITARY EDUCATION.
The officers, as a body, are well educated, and belong to the higher
class of society, and before admission to the service, they must prove
their qualifications by a rigid examination, which is practically
competitive, as promotion is determined by the order of merit, as shown
in the results. Preparation for the examination could be made, till
recently, (1.) either by joining the Cadet Corps as a volunteer, and
after a specified term of service in the field, undergoing an
examination in the studies, and practical knowledge required; or (2.) by
going successfully through a regular course in the Military Academy at
Breda. The army is now officered exclusively from the graduates of the
Military Academy.
III. MILITARY ACADEMY AT BREDA.
The Military Academy at Breda, prepares officers for every branch of the
service, and is well equipped in respect to buildings, and appliances of
illustration and practice, as well as with numerous professors for doing
its work as thoroughly as any school can which receives its pupils so
young.
Within an extensive redoubt, separated from the town by a rampart and
wet ditch, stands an old palace which the late King set apart as a
college for officers. Here are good stables and an ample stud, a
swimming school, and an extensive plateau, with cannon of every calibre,
which supplies the means of drill applicable to each branch of service.
The accommodation within doors is excellent. Youths, sleeping in long
dormitories, are yet separated one from another by curtains, within
which stand each inmate’s iron bedstead, his little dressing-table, his
basin, jug, clothes-press, and all other matters necessary to
cleanliness and comfort. There is a spacious hall or day-room, besides a
convenient dining-room, a good library, a well-stocked model-room, a
small but judiciously selected museum of arms, with a good collection of
minerals and fossils, of chemical and mechanical apparatus, &c. Finally,
the class-books used in the place are compiled and arranged by the
professors, and, in every branch of science and learning touched by
them, appear well adapted to the purposes for which they are intended.
The establishment of the Breda Military Academy, when full,
includes--besides the Governor, a major-general, and the Commandant, a
colonel--an adjutant, a quarter-master, three captains of infantry,
three of artillery, one of engineers, one of cavalry; five first
lieutenants of infantry, two of cavalry, three of artillery, one of
engineers; two second lieutenants of infantry, one of cavalry, one of
artillery, and two of engineers--two medical officers and an apothecary.
There are besides, of civilian professors and teachers, seven; and the
place is capable of accommodating one hundred and ninety-two cadets.
These, whether intended for the European or colonial branch of the
service, live and pursue their studies together. The course comprises
four years, during the first two of which, all the cadets are educated
together without reference to the specific corps or services for which
they may be intended: but with the commencement of the third year, such
as may be selected for the artillery or engineers pass into distinct
classes, while the remainder go on, by a less abstrusely scientific
course, to commissions in the cavalry or infantry.
The qualifications for admittance into the Academy are not extravagantly
high. Youths seem to be eligible who can read, write, and spell their
own language correctly--who are able to construe an easy Latin author,
and exhibit some acquaintance with the French; who are advanced in
arithmetic to vulgar fractions, can demonstrate an easy proposition in
geometry, and are masters of the fundamental processes of algebra.
During the two first years all are well instructed in history,
geography, mathematics, fortification, the theory of projectiles,
plan-drawing, the French and German languages. After this they break up,
and pursue their peculiar studies in different rooms under different
teachers. Their progress is tested by severe periodical examinations;
according to the results of which, they are either advanced or held
back. But as no second trial is granted in the examination for
admittance, so two failures at any of the examinations which follow,
insure dismissal from the Academy. Finally, prayers are read daily to
the cadets in a large hall, where also, if the weather be unfavorable,
one of the ministers from the town attends on Sunday to celebrate public
worship. When the weather is fine the young men march to
church--Protestants under their own officers to a Protestant place of
worship--Roman Catholics under like surveillance to a Roman Catholic
chapel.
Although the army is to some extent officered from the ranks for
meritorious service, or from those who have performed duty in the field
under a peculiar system of cadetship, as well as from the graduates of
the Military Academy, it is proper to add, that no promotion can be
made, or commission issued, until a satisfactory examination has been
passed. The prospect of this examination keeps up the habit of
professional study and reading, as well as a feeling of honorable
rivalry among officers of the same grade.
NAVIGATION SCHOOLS FOR THE MERCANTILE MARINE.
There are ten special Navigation Schools (besides a nautical division in
the Academy at Groningen) located in the principal commercial ports, and
among the sea-going population. They are generally under the management
of local mercantile societies, but subject to government inspection, and
final examination, on which the rank of the graduates as first, second,
and third mate, depends.
The pupils are admitted on examination in the elementary studies,
physical ability, and aptitude for sea-service.
The course in the best schools embraces, besides a review of the
elementary branches, a knowledge of geography, especially of the climate
and products of different countries; mathematics, including
trigonometry, nautical astronomy, practical use of instruments at sea,
and the calculation of latitude and longitude, a knowledge of the code
of signals, the laws of storms and tides, mercantile laws and usages,
and practice in letter-writing, keeping the ship’s books, and
chart-drawing.
Opportunities of practice are secured on vessels in port, in coasters,
and even long voyages to the West and East Indies.
Ability to hold the rank of mates depends on the results of the final
examination, and promotion from one position to a higher depends on
successive examinations, after leaving the schools.
The statistics of attendance at these schools in 1867 were as follow:
Rotterdam, 133 pupils; Leyden, 87; Amsterdam, 87; Amsterdam, 18;
Harlingen, 59; Nes, 19; Schiermonnikoog, 84; Vundam, 37; Groningen, 85;
Delfzye, 68; Nautical section of the Groningen Academy, 39.
[Erratum for Part IV (Bavaria):
Groningen, 85; Delfzye, 68;
_semicolon ; after “85” invisible_]
* * * * *
PART V.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN ITALY.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION IN ITALY.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
As the provinces, duchies, kingdoms, and dominions into which the
territory and population of old Italia, in the progress of centuries
after the utter destruction of the Western Empire, were divided by
conquests, alliance and cessions of reigning families (brought and kept
in power by force of armies), were merged, one after another, under the
government of the House of Savoy, the military system of Sardinia was
extended over the entire kingdom of Italy as now recognized.
The actual strength of the Italian army as constituted in 1869, was as
follows:
----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
| Peace Footing. | War Footing.
----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
| Men. Horses. | Men. Horses.
Infantry of the line | |
(80 regiments, 8 of which | |
are grenadiers, | 128,020 | 245,680
Bersaglieri (40 battal’ns) | |
riflem’n, | 16,165 -- | 26,495 --
Cavalry (4 regiments of the line, | |
7 of lancers, 7 light horse, | |
and 1 of guides--115 squadrons) | 18,167 13,569 | 19,000 14,102
Artillery (1 regiment of | |
pontonniers, 3 foot, 5 mounted, | |
with 80 batteries) | 9,646 4,260 | 16,086 11,234
Six artisan companies, also | |
attached to the artillery | 1,174 -- | 1,589 --
Two regiments of sappers of the | |
engineers (36 companies) | 4,132 48 | 6,793 396
Three regiments of train corps | |
(24 companies) | 2,460 960 | 9,240 11,340
One administrative corps | |
(7 companies) | 3,173 -- | ----
+-----------------+----------------
Total | 189,541 19,027 | 335,870 37,562
----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
The time of service in the standing army is 10 years, on the implied
condition of the men being sent on furlough, in time of peace, for
one-half the period. A certain number, distinguished as “soldati
d’ordinanza,” to which class belong the Carabinieri and some of the
Administrative troops, have to serve eight years complete, and are then
liberated. In the army of reserve, the time of service is 5 years. Every
native of the kingdom is liable to the conscription, and to be enrolled
either in the standing army or the reserve. An exemption in favor of
young men studying for the priesthood, was repealed by a law which
passed both houses of parliament in May, 1869.
The distribution of the standing army over the kingdom was as follows in
the middle of 1869. There were 8 battalions of infantry at and near the
capital, 5 at Genoa, 5 at Turin, 9 at Alessandra, 12 in Tuscany, and 120
in the valley of the Po, from Milan to Ancona. The troops in the valley
of the Po were supported by 24 squadrons of heavy and 36 squadrons of
light cavalry, and 248 pieces of artillery. At Naples there were 18
battalions of the line, 2 of marines, and 3 of bersaglieri; in the
Neapolitan provinces, 39 battalions of the line, 20 of bersaglieri, and
32 squadrons of cavalry. There were, finally, 32 battalions of the line
in Sicily.
II. NAVY.
The navy of the kingdom of Italy consisted, at the commencement of 1869,
of 99 ships of war, armed with 1,032 guns. They were classed as follows:
Steamers. Iron-clads. Screw. Paddle. Sailing
Vessels.
No. Guns. No. Guns. No. Guns. No. Guns.
Frigates, 1st class, 5 79 8 296 .. .. .. ..
“ 2d class 7 118 1 36 .. .. 2 32
Iron-clad Ram 1 2 .. .. .. .. .. ..
Corvettes, 1st class 2 36 4 94 3 32 4 52
“ 2d class 3 34 6 38 .. .. .. ..
“ 3d class .. .. .. .. 4 12 2 20
Gunboats, 1st class 3 29 .. .. .. .. .. ..
“ 2d class 4 8 6 24 .. .. .. ..
Transports, .. .. 13 24 20 40 1 6
------- ------- ------- -------
Total, 22 272 35 508 33 122 9 130
------- ------- -------
Horse Power, 13,380 9,940 7,850
[Transcriber’s Note:
The headers in this table, with “Steamers” over the first column,
were printed as shown.]
The navy was manned in 1869 by 11,193 sailors, 650 engineers and
assistants, 1,211 officers (2 admirals, 5 vice-admirals, 12 rear
admirals, and 104 captains), and 2 regiments of marines with 234
officers and 5,688 soldiers.
III. EDUCATION OF OFFICERS.
The system of military education of the old kingdom of Sardinia has been
enlarged and extended by the government of the Kingdom of Italy so as to
embrace the military schools of Naples, without any change in its
principles or details.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN SARDINIA.
I. GENERAL OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, AND MILITARY EDUCATION.
The wars in which Sardinia has recently been engaged, have led to the
re-organization of her armies, and to the extension and improvement of
institutions for military instruction, but time enough has not yet
elapsed to perfect the system.
One-third of the officers are promoted from the ranks; the remaining
two-thirds, that is, all who enter as officers, must pass through the
Royal Military Academy, and before being commissioned as Captain in the
Artillery and Engineers, must have completed the special course in the
Complementary School. Admission to the Royal Staff Corps is conditioned
on attendance on the lectures of the Staff School, and the results of a
competitive examination. The following is a brief outline of the system
of military instruction now in operation.
1. The character of the education may be described generally as partly
resembling that of Austria, partly that of France. It commences very
early. Every Officer who enters the Army as such must have passed
through the great Military School, the _Accademia Militare_. The minimum
age of entrance is fourteen. The admission is by nomination and not by
competition; and the demand has always been under rather than above the
requirements of the Army. “Bourses” or Exhibitions to assist pupils in
their education, have been established on the Prussian and Austrian,
rather than on the French principle. They are granted by the King on the
recommendation of the Minister, in consideration of the claims of
deceased Officers, or other public servants, and without reference to
the merits of the pupils, preference being given to the candidates whose
circumstances most require assistance. From twenty-five to thirty of
these _Bourses_ (or rather _Demibourses_, for no pupils receive entire
support such as is given in France,) are given annually. We are informed
that a decree will appear almost immediately, throwing open _ten_ out of
this number to public competition. The entire sum expended upon them is
70,000 francs, about 2,800_l._ per annum.
Passing from this outline of the principles of Sardinian Military
Education, as exhibited in the _Accademia Militare_, which may be termed
the General Seminary of the Sardinian Army, we shall briefly allude to
the _three_ remaining Institutions, in which Officers receive
instruction and training at later periods of their career.
2. Admission into the Artillery and Engineer School may be considered
the reward of the most distinguished pupils of the _Accademia Militare_,
who after spending their last year in that Institution in the study of
the higher mathematics, chemistry, and architectural drawing, are
transferred for the completion of their education to the School of the
Artillery and Engineers.
3. The Staff School, the formation of which dates from 1850, is chiefly
frequented by Officers of the Infantry and Cavalry, who must be below
the age of twenty-eight years upon their entrance. It is carried on upon
the competitive system, the Officers being ranged according to merit in
their Final Examination, the ablest entering the Staff Corps in that
order.
4. Regimental Schools for Officers also exist, and in every Brigade or
Division, Officers are taught _topography_, under the supervision of the
Chief of the Staff of the Division. Care is taken to make this teaching
uniform throughout the Army; and it may be regarded as preparatory to
that of the Schools at Ivrea and Pinerol, which accord with the
principle of the Prussian Division Schools in requiring that every
Officer shall have received professional instruction; but as regards
other points, and particularly the period for attending them, these
Schools are peculiar to the Sardinian Army. In time of peace, no
Officer, excepting those of the Special Arms, can obtain a Company
without having studied for a year in one or the other of these Schools,
and having passed an examination on leaving it. The Instruction given is
mainly practical, Field Fortification, the Secondary Operations of War,
and Topography, being the branches of Military Science taught.
These Institutions appear to have been _primarily_ established with a
view to the instruction of Officers and Non-commissioned Officers
throughout the Army, and in order to prevent Regiments or Corps from
following some peculiar system of their own. The same motive seems to
have led to the gradual reduction in number of the Prussian Division
Schools. _Secondarily_, however, these Schools have been made available
for the purpose of organizing and drilling the reserve of the Sardinian
Army, a large body of Conscripts assembled for a few weeks in the autumn
of each year in a camp about twelve miles from Turin. This object seems
to have been attained most successfully.
Quite recently a class has been added to the school at Ivrea for the
exclusive education of Non-commissioned Officers aspiring to a
commission; and for the sake of economy this class is to be common to
Infantry and Cavalry.
It is consequently from this body of officers that teachers are derived
for the topographical classes established in each Regiment or Brigade.
The Staff School having been recently founded, and a period of active
war having intervened since its institution, can not be supposed to have
completely organized its system of instruction. We have elsewhere
mentioned that Topography, the Art of War, and Fortification, are the
branches of military study most attended to; but we have reason to
believe that its plan of instruction will be extended. It may not be
superfluous to mention the high appreciation in Sardinia of the Austrian
General Staff, as tending to confirm our own estimate of the excellence
of the Austrian Staff School. We have been recently informed, on the
best authority, that some of the most distinguished Sardinian Officers,
who, from their service in the Crimea and elsewhere, have been able to
compare the merits of different Staff Corps, consider the Austrian
General Staff “the best in existence.”
As regards the System of Examinations, there is a Standing Board
consisting of from _five_ to _seven_ Officers, presided over by a
Lieutenant-General, which superintends all the more important
Examinations of the Military Schools, such as those upon leaving the
School, &c. The constant Examinations within the School, when the Cadets
are being moved from one class to another, are conducted by the
Professors.
The expense of Military Education in the Sardinian States amounts to
18,000_l._ annually. The Military Schools are all under the direction of
the Minister of War.
5. Two Institutions peculiar to the Sardinian Service are the _Schools
for Officers_, one or other of which it is necessary that every Officer
under ordinary circumstances should attend for a year before being
promoted to the rank of Captain. One of these is for the Infantry, at
Ivrea; the other for the Cavalry, at Pinerol. In saying that _every_
Officer must attend these Schools, we except that proportion of
_one-third_ who are promoted annually from the ranks, and whose
attendance apparently has not hitherto been required.
Details respecting the organization and instruction of these schools
will be found under the following heads.
II. THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT TURIN.
The _Accademia Militare_ was originally designed by Charles Emanuel, for
the instruction of sons of officers of the army and of the nobility in
the use of weapons, in horsemanship, dancing, mathematics, and
belles-lettres. In the course of time, the institution was converted to
its present purpose, of training Officers for the Sardinian Army.
The regular course of study in this school lasts apparently for six
years, shortly to be reduced to five years, and the earliest age at
which it is _possible_ now to enter is fourteen, the _usual_ age of
admission being fifteen or sixteen. Formerly, boys entered at eleven and
twelve, but this practice has lately been altered, to the regret of many
Officers, who prefer the plan so commonly adopted abroad, of training
Officers to their business as soldiers from very early years.
The peculiarity of this school is that during a portion of the course it
educates Officers for all Arms in common. The most talented pupils are
then selected by examination for the Artillery and Engineers, which are
the two favorite services, and indeed the most aristocratic corps in the
Sardinian army. The number of the pupils is limited to 200, but it is
rarely complete; at present there are 180 pupils. About half of these
pay for themselves a yearly sum of 1,200 francs, 48_l._, the remaining
half are supported, or partly supported by the Government. The system of
_demi-bourses_ prevails here as in France.
The pupils are divided into four classes, according to the years of the
course; a fifth class, contains those who have been just selected for
the Artillery and Engineers, who work by themselves, chiefly at the
higher kinds of drawing and the Differential and Integral Calculus, and
Mechanics. These senior pupils are Officers, and have each their
separate room. German is taught, and there is a Course of Italian
Literature, &c., but no Latin is taught in any part of the school. The
system of working (at least with the higher boys) is in rooms where
eight or ten are united, and apparently there is something of the
_Répétiteur_ system.
The arrangements of the house are excellent. The pupils appear to be
strictly confined to barracks during the week, but allowed to go out on
Sundays. The discipline is said to have been relaxed of late years, and
this is attributed by old Officers to a cause which will appear curious
in England, viz., to the pupils having _any_ holidays at all. This
innovation upon the simplicity of the Piedmontese system of education
was alleged to have encouraged distinctions between the richer and
poorer pupils, and thus to have injured both the economy and the
_Camaraderie_ of the school. Great stress was laid here, as at other
Military Institutions, on a strictness of discipline very unusual in
England. The boys begin their work at half-past five o’clock, and work
till seven; then they go to chapel for a short time, and breakfast and
recreation follow immediately after. Both are concluded by eight, when
they return to their studies for an hour and a quarter; then a quarter
of an hour’s relaxation is allowed, and the studies are resumed until
eleven o’clock. An hour is then devoted to the schools of fencing,
riding, gymnastics, or dancing. From twelve to a quarter before two
o’clock is allotted to dinner and recreation, and then another hour is
spent in the fencing, riding, gymnastic, or dancing schools. A quarter
of an hour’s recreation is again granted, and from three to half-past
four o’clock study is resumed. A quarter of an hour’s recreation
follows, and half an hour is then given to military exercises, succeeded
by another quarter of an hour’s interval for rest. Two hours are then
devoted to study--from half-past five to half-past seven o’clock. An
hour is afterwards allowed for chapel, supper, and retiring to rest.
A monthly account is taken of their work, and the marks then given
exercise an influence upon their places in the examinations which take
place every year.
The following tables give a full view of the work of the pupils during
their six years’ course.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF STUDY IN THE DIFFERENT
YEARS OF THE COURSE, AND GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR THE SCHOOLS.
[KEY]
M Months.
W In each Week.
_Rows referring to “Year” were printed in a column headed Classes._
----------------------------------------+-----------
SUBJECTS OF STUDY. | Lessons
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
First Year. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Cathechism, | 8 | 1
Arithmetic, | 1 | 6
Plane Geometry, | 1 | 6
Algebra, 1st Part, | 3 | 6
Solids, | 3 | 6
Italian Elocution, | 4 | 5
History of Italian Literature, | 4 | 5
French Language, | 8 | 5
Caligraphy, | 7 | 2
Soldiers’ Drill, | 3 | 2
Squad Drill, | 3 | 2
Army Regulations, | 2 | 2
Dancing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Figure Drawing, | 8 | 2
N.B.--This class will be abolished | |
at the cessation of the present | |
scholastic course. | |
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Second Year. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Cathechism, | 8 | 1
Algebra, 1st Part, | 8 | 3
Solids, | 6 | 3
Italian Literature, | 8 | 3
French Language, | 8 | 3
Battalion and Company Drill, | 2 | 3
Chasseur Drill, | 1 | 3
Garrison and Divisonal Duty, | 2 | 3
Law on Recruiting, | 1 | 2
Figure Drawing, | 8 | 2
Dancing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Soldiers’ Drill, | 2 | 2
Caligraphy, | 4 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Third Year, General Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Sacred History, | 8 | 1
Rectilinear Trigonometry, | 8 | 3
Geography and Ancient Mediæval History, | 8 | 3
Italian Literature, | 8 | 3
French Literature, | 8 | 3
War in Detail, | 4 | 3
Company & Battalion Drill, | 5 | 1
Chasseur Drill, | 1 | 1
Rifle Practice and Gymnastics, | 1 | 1
Topographical Drawing, | 8 | 3
Fencing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 1
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Third Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Sacred History, | 8 | 1
Algebra 2nd Part, | 3 | 4
Rectilinear Trigonometry | 1 | 4
Spherical Trigonometry | 1 | 4
Algebra Applied to Geometry, | 3 | 4
Descriptive Geometry (the first | |
10 numbers), | 5 | 3
Geography and Ancient Mediæval History, | 8 | 3
Italian Literature | 8 | 3
French Literature | 8 | 3
War in Detail | 4 | 3
Company & Battalion Drill | 5 | 1
Chasseur Drill | 1 | 1
Rifle Practice and Gymnastics | 1 | 1
Topographical Drawing | 8 | 3
Fencing | 8 | 2
Gymnastics | 8 | 1
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fourth Year, General Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ecclesiastical History, | 8 | 1
War in Detail, | 5 | 2
Art of War, 2nd Part, | 3 | 2
Artillery, | 5 | 2
Fortification, | 8 | 3
Physical Mechanics, | 8 | 3
Topography, | 3 | 2
Modern History, History of the Country, | 8 | 3
German Language, | 8 | 3
Army Regulations, | 3 | 3
Military Accounts, | 8 | 2
Italian Literature, | 5 | 2
French Literature, | 2 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2
Topographical Drawing, | 3 | 2
Fencing, | 8 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fourth Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ecclesiastical History, | 8 | 1
Infinitesimal Calculus, | 8 | 4
Descriptive Geometry, 2nd Part, | 6 | 2
Fortification, | 8 | 3
War in Detail, | 8 | 2
Modern History, History of the Country, | 8 | 3
German Language, | 8 | 3
Topographical Drawing, | 3 | 2
Military Accounts, | 8 | 1
Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
Fencing, | 8 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fifth Year, General Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ethics | 8 | 1
Physical Mechanics | 8 | 3
Topography | 8 | 2
Art of War | 5 | 2
Artillery | 6 | 2
Landscape Drawing | 3 | 2
German Language | 8 | 2
Italian Literature | 4 | 2
French Literature | 5 | 1
Army Regulations | 4 | 2
Gymnastics | 8 | 2
Fencing | 8 | 2
Riding | 8 | 3
Military Accounts | 8 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fifth Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ethics, | 8 | 1
Calculus, | 8 | 4
Physics, | 8 | 3
Topography, | 8 | 2
Art of War, | 5 | 2
Artillery, | 6 | 2
Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2
German Language, | 8 | 2
Descriptive Geometry, 2nd Part, | 6 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Fencing, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
----------------------------------------+-----+-------
PUPIL SUB-LIEUTENANTS.
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Sixth Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ethics, | 8 | 1
Rational Mechanics, | 8 | 6
Analysis, | 2 | 6
Chemistry, | 8 | 3
Architectural Drawing, | 8 | 2
German Language, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 2 | 1
Fencing, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR SCHOOL DAYS.
From 5 to 5½, Rising, Dressing, &c.
“ 5½ to 7 A.M., Study.
“ 7 to 8, Chapel, Breakfast, and Recreation.
“ 8 to 9¼, School of Science and Literature.
“ 9¼ to 9½, Recreation.
“ 9½ to 11, School of Science and Literature.
“ 11 to 12, School of Fencing, Riding, Gymnastics, Dancing, &c.
“ 12 to 1¾, Dinner and Recreation.
“ 1¾ to 2¾, P.M., School of Fencing, Riding, Gymnastics,
Dancing, &c.
“ 2¾ to 3, Recreation.
“ 3 to 4½, School of Science and Literature.
“ 4½ to 4¾, Recreation.
“ 4¾ to 5¼, Military Exercises.
“ 5¼ to 5½, Recreation.
“ 5½ to 7½, Study.
“ 7½ to 8½, Chapel, Supper, Dormitory.
III. ARTILLERY AND ENGINEER SCHOOL AT TURIN.
The _Artillery and Engineer School_ (_Scuola Complementaria_,) which is
established in a large building in one of the suburbs of Turin, is a
School of Application, intended to complete the special education of the
Young Officers of the Artillery and Engineers, which the Cadets of those
Corps have previously entered upon during their four last years in the
_Accademia Militare_. Its course of studies occupies nominally two
years, but really only eighteen months, after which the final
examinations begin, and the pupils receive leave of absence. The
Students do not live in barracks here, but the Inspector of the School
seemed to think it desirable that they should do so. The exercises of
the day commence, at eight o’clock every morning, with an hour’s riding.
A lecture then follows, which lasts for an hour and a half, from nine
till half-past ten. The rest of the morning is left free till twelve
o’clock, when the pupils return to the school till three, and where they
study together in large classes in the same room; they have afterwards
some military exercises till five, and are then free for the evening.
The number of pupils at the school is twenty; from ten to fifteen for
the Artillery, the rest for the Engineers. The subjects of study will
show what difference exists in the studies of the two Corps, and we were
told that very little preference was shown in the choice of the Students
for one over the other. The Engineers do not appear to be at all
employed in civil works; indeed, the Government does not allow them to
be so, as there are sufficient fortifications in the kingdom of Sardinia
to afford them constant employment. The pay of the two Corps is equal,
and is very little above that of the Infantry, and the same as that of
the Cavalry. The Artillery and Engineers (the _Armi dotti_) appear to be
decidedly the favorite and aristocratic corps of the Sardinian army.
They rarely enter the Staff Corps, and the reason assigned for this is
their unwillingness to quit their own arm of the service. The position
of the pupils on entering the Corps is fixed by the Final Examination
alone, and is not influenced by marks previously given for industry and
application during the course, as is the case in some of the French and
German schools--at the Polytechnic, for instance, and at Znaim. The only
value of a high position in the Final Examination is that it gives
seniority in the Corps.
The direction of the school is intrusted to a Field Officer of
Artillery, assisted by two Captains, one from the Artillery, and the
other from the Engineers. His authority extends to instruction and
discipline.
The scientific instruction is given by professors (effective and
supplementary) and by Officers belonging to the various Artillery
divisions and establishments, who, together, constitute a Council of
Instruction, of which the Director is President.
The examinations to which the Officer Students are subjected are held by
a Commission, nominated by the Secretary of War.
_Regulations respecting the Professors, &c._
The Professors and Instructors are personally responsible for the
teaching of the subjects contained in the programmes and regulation for
the discipline of the students in School, for the daily drawing up of
the notes and execution of the drawings, and for the constant presence
of the students during the time of the instructions and lectures.
The Military Professors and Instructors will maintain constantly among
the students the spirit of subordination and military discipline in all
its force.
The Professors not possessed of military rank, when reproof is not
sufficient to keep the students to their duty, will report the matter to
the Director and to the Captains attached to the direction of the
School, in order that more vigorous measures may be adopted.
At the beginning of every lecture, the Professors will satisfy
themselves that the students have finished the notes preceding it, and
the regulated tasks and drawings.
The Professors will also have the power of visiting with arrest
students who are negligent in the execution of the notes and tasks, and
those who exhibit a constant indisposition to work, reporting it to the
Director of the School.
When the lectures are upon difficult subjects, it is the duty of the
Professors sometimes to visit the students during the hours of study,
for the purpose of explaining difficulties.
At the beginning of every lecture, the Professors will dictate to the
students a summary of the lesson which they are about to explain.
At the commencement of their course of lectures, they will point out
to the students the books and treatises to be followed.
At fixed intervals, as they shall judge it most convenient, the
Professors will suspend the course of their lectures to satisfy
themselves by questions of the attention given and the progress made by
the students.
At the opening of their course, the Professors will notify to the
Director of the School the hours which suit their engagements best for
the giving of the lectures; these hours will be subsequently maintained
unchanged throughout the duration of their course. These hours can only
be selected out of those fixed in the general time table.
In case of any lectures having to take place out of the lecture-rooms
of the School, they will give notice in time to the Director.
If they should consider any change in the programme necessary, they
will give notice in writing to the Director of the School, so that he
may be able to submit their propositions to the General Commandant.
The Instructors will exact of the students, in the execution of the
practical instructions and in the explanation of them, a demeanor
perfectly military, and a tone of voice appropriate to the circumstance.
All the students, without exception, should render themselves capable of
executing the practical tasks and explanations now mentioned with the
greatest perfection.
The Professors, as well as Instructors, in concluding their course of
lectures, will transmit to the Director of the School a statement
showing the degree of instruction acquired by the students, and their
conduct in School; the credit for the instruction and for conduct will
be given by means of two distinct integral numbers, selected from two to
ten.
_Duration of the Course and Subjects._
The course of the Complementary School will be terminated in a year
and a half.
The students belonging to two successive promotions will participate
in the same instructions during the last six months of the first course,
and the first six of the second course.
The subjects which will be taught to the Officer-students of the
Complementary School are,--
_a._ Mineralogy and metallurgy.
_b._ Introduction to applied mechanics, and application of mechanics
to machinery.
_c._ Theory of the combustion of powder; of the movement inside the
bore; of the resistance of ordnance; of the volume, weight, and
center of gravity of ordnance; projectiles.
_d._ Use of artillery in war, construction of batteries, service in
the field.
_e._ Permanent fortification.
_f._ _Course of construction and of military and civil }
architecture_. }
_g._ _Topography._ }
_h._ _Geodesy._ }
{ For Engineer-Officers only. }
_i._ Military bridges and passage of water.
_l._ Classified nomenclature, and drawing of artillery materials.
_m._ Manufacture of powder, fire-works, arms, ordnance.
_Practical Instructions._
Practical instruction will be given every day to the students of the
Complementary School.
The object of this instruction is to render the Officers themselves
familiar with the execution of the operations, and with the proper
method of instructing Non-commissioned Officers and soldiers of
Artillery.
These instructions, which will be, as far as possible, executed and
explained by the Officers of the School, will consist of--
Gymnastics.
Riding, according to the regulations in force.
The pack of the infantry soldier, armament, infantry instruction.
Classified nomenclature of the various parts of horse furniture,
convenient adaptation of them; pack of the cavalry soldier.
Principles of the physiology of the horse, and of veterinary
science; care of horses.
Nomenclature and use of the field, mountain, siege, garrison, and
coast material.
Lading of field and siege carriages, and mountain mules.
Service of field, mountain, siege, garrison, and coast artillery.
Driving and sectional drill, battery and brigade drill.
Regulations for marches, encampments.
Charges and compositions in use in the field, in sieges, and in
garrisons.
Judging distance drill, practice; remedies applied to materials in
the field.
IV. THE STAFF SCHOOL.
The Staff School at Turin has only existed since the year 1850.
Previously to that time the Staff was supplied by picked scholars from
the _Accademia Militare_.
The whole Staff Corps of the Sardinian Army only consists of thirty-six
Officers, viz., twenty-four Captains, and twelve of higher rank; no one
of a lower rank than Captain being admitted even as attached to the
corps, a regulation which appeared to be considered inconvenient.
Officers are required to have served four years before their admission,
as is the case in the Austrian Staff Schools, and they must not have
exceeded their twenty-eighth year. Again, as in Austria, the Officers on
leaving the school are ranged strictly in the order of merit, as tested
by a final examination; and the ablest obtain appointments to the Staff
in the same order. The Sardinian School has, however, some
peculiarities, partly arising from the higher position which the Special
Arms (_Armi dotti_) of Artillery and Engineers hold in Sardinia than in
Austria or Prussia. The method of admission is as follows:--
An Officer requests his Colonel to recommend him for admission to the
Staff School. Great caution seems to be observed in giving this
recommendation; but having obtained it, an Officer has no further
difficulty in entering the School. In consequence of the small numbers
of the Staff Corps, the demand for entrance is not very great, and there
is accordingly no competitive examination. The numbers in the School
have, during the first five years of existence, varied greatly--from
fourteen or sixteen to four or six. A year (or rather eleven months) is
the time occupied by the studies; the first six months being given to
theory, the last five to practice. The time thus occupied lasts from ten
till three in the afternoon.
The amount of knowledge required for admission into the School is
stated, in the “Note” of Colonel Petitti, to be an acquaintance with
Geometry and Algebra, as far as Equations of the Second Degree.
The practical work consists in the usual surveys of countries, plans,
&c. The young Officers are taken by the Inspecting Colonel of the School
into the country, and worked hard for four or five months. There have
hitherto been only places for one or two of these Officers on the Staff
at the end of the year, and these (as has been already mentioned) have
always been the most distinguished pupils of the School. The rest become
teachers in the regimental schools. Officers leaving the Staff School do
not appear to have a right to a step immediately (as in Austria) by
virtue of their having been at the School; but the Sardinian system of
making all the appointments above the rank of Major by selection gives
them a prospect of advancement. Examinations are held in the School
every three months, at which the Professors give marks of proficiency;
these are combined with those obtained in the final examinations in
determining the position of the pupils.
The Professors in the Staff School are all military men. The building is
very good, and, although small, contains a library, instruments, museum,
and all the apparatus for maps.
Among the conditions which must be met favorably to be admitted to the
Royal Staff Corps are the following:--
_Physique:_--
If the constitution is robust, sufficiently strong, or weak.
If the sight is good, acute, or short.
_Intellectual Qualities:_--
If the intelligence is prompt, clear, reflective, and the mind orderly
or confused.
If he is ready of speech, or uncommunicative.
_Moral Qualities:_--
If he is honorable, and of a good disposition, with much or little
expansion of character.
If of conciliatory or rough manners.
If peaceable, quick, or irascible.
If active, resolute, authoritative, timid, or feeble.
_Education:_--
What degree of instruction he has arrived at in mathematics, in the
theory and practice of surveying.
What ability in plan-sketching and topographical drawing.
If he cultivates any other branch of knowledge connected or
unconnected with the Institute itself, and what.
If he is master of the Italian and French languages, so as to speak
and write them with facility and correctness.
If he is acquainted with, and if he can speak, other languages.
If he is addicted to study.
_Conduct:_--
If his behavior is dignified, as becomes a soldier and a citizen.
If he enjoys the good-will of his superiors, the esteem of his
comrades and inferiors.
_Mode of discharging his Duty:_--
If he discharges his duty with exactness and zeal, or remissly and
ill.
_Particular Aptitude:_--
If he is more especially fitted for the duties of the surveying,
topographical, or military branch of the service.
If he has shown aptitude for teaching.
If he is adapted for progress in the Corps, or in the Infantry or
Cavalry services.
_Miscellaneous Information:_--
N.B.--Under this head will be inserted those notices which, finding no
place under the preceding heads, contribute towards a fuller information
respecting those Staff Officers who, in consequence of circumstances and
duties special and unconnected with the service of the corps, may afford
ground for special mention.
V. REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS OF IVREA AND PINEROL.
The requirement of professional study from Officers after entrance into
the Army is a point almost peculiar to the Sardinian service. The
_principle_ of the Prussian Division School is, indeed, almost the same
as that of the two Schools we are about to describe; but the examination
for which the Division Schools prepare is a qualification for obtaining
a commission, and not (like that of the Sardinian Schools) for
subsequent promotion. And this difference is partly owing to an obvious
cause, the slowness of promotion in the Prussian Service. If the
Division Schools and their examination were placed before the promotion
to a Captaincy, the candidates attending the School would be in most
cases nearly forty years of age.
Some instruction in Topography is given to the Officers of every
Regiment in the Sardinian Army, under the direction of the Chief of the
Staff of the Division. Care is taken to render the teaching uniform
throughout the Army, and it may be considered as a preparation for the
more systematic instruction given in the Schools of Ivrea and Pinerol.
The former of these is intended for the Infantry; the latter for the
Cavalry. Every Officer, excepting those of the Special Arms, must have
passed a year of study in one or other of these Schools, as well as a
subsequent examination, before he can obtain a Captaincy.
The studies are mainly practical, as may be seen from the “Prospectus of
Instruction” annexed. Topography, Field Fortification, and Secondary
Operations are the only branches of Military Science in which
instruction is given; and upon these much care appears to be bestowed.
One-third of the Officers of the Sardinian Army are promoted, as has
been mentioned, from the ranks. Accordingly, a class has been recently
added to the School of Ivrea, intended exclusively for the Education of
those Non-commissioned Officers who aspire to a Commission. This class
is to be common to Infantry and Cavalry.
The following extracts from the Regulations of the Minister of War, will
exhibit the practical character of instruction in this class of schools.
_Prospectus of Instruction to be given to Lieutenants in the Military
School of Infantry_.
Soldiers’ Drill, Squad, Company, Battalion, and Chasseur ditto, &c.
Fencing with the Bayonet.
Exercise of the various Arms, &c.
Musketry Practice.
Regulations of Discipline, Garrison and Field Regulations,
Army Accounts.
Secondary Operations of War.
Topography.
Field Fortification.
_School of Topography._
It is decided that such instruction [in Topography,] shall take place
from the commencement of March till the end of July.
This will be obligatory on Officers who have not passed the age of
thirty years.
Those Corps, however, who may think that they can thus employ themselves
in the winter also for the hour or so which may remain over after the
other occupations of the Officers, shall have the power of establishing,
from the beginning of November, a school, in which drawing and other
preliminary acquirements may be taught.
This School will be attended especially by beginners and the less
educated, who will thus be able better to profit at the beginning of
March by the lectures given to the Officers more advanced in this study.
The Schools will be instituted for regiments or brigades, according as
the General commanding the Division shall determine, upon the report of
the Chief of the Staff, regard being had to the Director who can be
assigned to them and the opportunities afforded by the situation.
In cases, however, where it may be convenient, they can institute
Divisional Schools as well, which will be attended by the Officers of
the different corps already more advanced in the study.
There they will be exercised, by direction of the Chief of the Staff, in
the various subjects taught in the School, especially in the application
upon sketches of themes of secondary operations of war, and will be
taken into the field to execute surveys on the spot with the instruments
and by the eye.
In this case, in the Regimental Schools, the less educated officers will
be trained under the direction of Officers who have given proof of
sufficient capacity.
The Officers of the Detachments of Cavalry or of the Rifles, for whom it
may not be convenient to establish separate schools, will attend those
schools of their garrison to which they are assigned by the General
Commandant of the Division upon the proposition of the Chief of the
Staff.
Inasmuch as this Ministry is careful to provide the Schools of
Topography with the instruments necessary for the practical training
upon the ground, it makes known henceforward the implements with which
they must be provided, at the charge of the Treasury, in cases where
they do not already possess them, viz.:--
Small tables, with desks. Seats or stools. Slate, with stand. 2 pieces
of Indian ink. 2 ditto of French blue. 2 ditto of gum. 2 tablets of
carded wool. 1 case of mathematical instruments. 2 plane rulers of one
metre each, besides some rulers of various dimensions, the necessary
paper for themes, &c. 2 pen-knives. Some pencils. 1 paper of steel pens
for drawing. Half a bundle of crows’-quills. Chalk for the slate, and
sponge. Inkstand, with ordinary ink. 2 crayons (_coulé_) of No. 2. 2
ditto of No. 4. 2 pieces of Indian rubber.
GENERAL SYLLABUS OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE INFANTRY OF THE LINE.
_Months of November, December, January, February and March._
Recruits will be kept separate from the seniors during these five
months in all the instructions (except the drills.)
They will be instructed progressively once a day in soldiers’ and
squad drill.
They will attend daily the gymnastic exercise and the school of
reading and writing.
N.B. As they shall progress by degrees in the various branches of
instruction, they will take their part in the service, at first on duty
where arms are not required, and afterwards with their arms, as much as
possible always upon public holidays.
Seniors will have to attend the school of reading, writing,
arithmetic, and gymnastics daily.
The recruits as well as the seniors will be prepared for the practice
range, during the months of February and March, by aiming at the butt
and firing at the candle.
The Officers, especially the juniors, will be encouraged to exercise
themselves in gymnastics, and to frequent the School of Topography.
The Captains will be taught riding as much as possible where they are
in garrison with Cavalry.
In the months of February and March the Officers will be further
prepared in the appropriate theory, with a view to the instruction of
the following months, and all without exception will have to practice
firing with the rifle.
_April and May._
There will be no further distinction made between the recruits and
seniors.
They will pass successively through soldiers’, squad, and company
drill, bayonet exercise, and rifle practice at the butt.
The school of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gymnastics, will
be continued at least for the lower classes.
The Captains will give instruction to their companies, especially in
bad weather, on the subject of packing necessaries, and on the general
behavior of the soldier under different circumstances on and off duty,
showing them also the manner of making reports in a few clear and
concise words.
The Officers will be prepared by the appropriate theoretical training
for the instruction of the following months.
The School of Topography will be continued as much as possible for the
Officers who desire to attend it.
_June, July, August._
They will pass successively through battalion drill and regimental and
brigade manœuvres.
The rifle practice at the butt will be continued.
The _Chasseur_ exercise will be taught.
The swimming school will proceed with the utmost possible activity.
The school of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gymnastics will be
continued at least for the lowest classes, as much at least as the
instructions in other subjects, and especially swimming, permit.
The Generals of Brigade will explain theoretically to the superior
Officers and Captains, and these latter to their own companies, the
nature of service in the field.
_September._
By frequent marches instruction will be given in field service,
practical in its nature, and separate for every arm.
Manœuvres and evolutions appropriate to the ground will be gone
through.
The troops will be disposed for the defense of a village or a
position, of a stream, or the like.
_October._
The instruction in the field will continue as much as possible, and
especially in the garrisons where troops of different arms are
quartered, one part of the force can be opposed to the other, and, where
the service of the place permits it, by calling in the assistance of the
National Guard, the garrison will be able entirely or in part to absent
itself for two or three days.
GENERAL RULES RELATING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS.
1. As far as is possible the soldiers should receive at least two
lessons in the day.
2. In the months of April, May, June, July, and August, the drill in
the _place d’ armes_ will take place only once a day, the other will be
in the barrack or the neighborhood.
3. The Officers should give the instructions themselves, and should
never appear as idle spectators before the soldier.
The subalterns will themselves conduct the soldiers’ and squad drill,
and the bayonet exercise.
The Captains will be careful to instruct their own companies. At the
rifle practice all the Officers of the Company should be present and
interest themselves for the good working of so important a subject of
instruction.
4. During recreation times, and in all those kinds of instruction
which do not require silence and immobility, the Officers will be
careful to converse with their inferiors, and to study their character
and qualities, praising and encouraging the good to do well, and
visiting with words of blame more or less severe those who are
ill-regulated in their conduct.
5. In order to interrupt as little as possible the course of the
instructions, the Colonels and Generals of Brigade will avail themselves
of the festivals accurately to review the men before and after mass.
6. In forts the Infantry will be exercised at the service of guns
according to the directions which will be given to the Officers of
Artillery commanding in them.
7. Some Non-commissioned Officers in every regiment will be trained as
the carpenters for making cartridges.
8. In the interior of the barracks the men will be encouraged to amuse
themselves, and be gay, rather than to loiter about in idleness. It will
be most advantageous to introduce singing to music, as was done in the
camp of 1846.
9. In the month of August, Staff Officers will be dispatched to the
principal garrisons who, being attached to Generals of Brigade and
Division, will prepare with them the projects and plans for the field
instructions of the months of September and October. These Staff
Officers are further particularly charged to study the environs, and to
point out in reports for that purpose the most important military
positions, and the mode of occupying them.
10. Appropriate instructions concerning the rules to be observed in
the rifle schools, concerning the swimming school, and the exercises in
the field, will be forwarded at the proper time.
VI. SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY IN THE ARSENAL.
Men, who are destined to work in the arsenal, receive here practical
instruction in their art. The arsenal contains, 1st, a chemical and
metallurgical laboratory, in which analysis, &c., are performed; 2d, a
mineralogical collection, containing 1100 specimens of minerals, and
many models of crystalization, besides a complete collection of
specimens from the territory of Genoa; 3d, a collection of philosophical
apparatus, containing 600 different machines and instruments, partly
from Puxy and Dumotier of Paris, and partly from Zest and Brabante of
Turin; 4th, a library containing the best books on Mathematics, Natural
Philosophy, Astronomy, Geology, Geography, &c.; 5th, a foundry of
cannon, which includes the foundry properly so called, the atelier of
modelers, the hall of models, the ateliers of trepans and of engravers;
6th, the lithographic establishment; 7th, the machine shop; 8th, a
manufacture of all kinds of arms for the army and navy; 9th, the atelier
of bombardiers; 10th the manufacture of gunpowder, and refinery of
saltpetre; 11th, a forge for gun-barrels.
SCHOOL OF NAUTICAL INSTRUCTION AT GENOA.
The course of instruction in the Nautical Institute at Genoa
embraces:--I. Nautical Astronomy and Navigation; II. Mechanics and Steam
Engine; III. Maritime and Commercial Law; IV. Geography and Meteorology.
_I. Nautical Astronomy and Navigation._
_Introduction:_ 1. Nautical art in general; different sciences
attached; need of varied knowledge for captains; special applications of
mathematics to navigation. 2. Method to be pursued in carrying on
nautical studies.
_Plane Navigation:_ 3. Figure and dimensions of the earth; equations
in equal spheres of a circle traced on the same. 4. Methods for
determining the course of the ship; the compass. 5. Demonstrations of
the principles on which the solution of problems of navigation rest,
reduction tables. 6. Given two of the four quantities, how to find the
other two in determining the position of a ship. 7. Reduction of a
straight course; degree of confidence to be placed in results.
8. Maritime charts; how constructed; resolution of problems.
_Nautical Astronomy._ 9. Elementary notions of astronomy; special
objects in teaching this science to seaman. 10. Astronomical tables in
use among different nations, and how to use them. 11. Instruments for
reflexion, and principles of construction; verification, rectification,
and use of the sextant, octant, and artificial horizon; corrections to
be made on the heights and angular distances observed; depression;
refraction; parallax, semi-diameter. 12. Examination of the principal
problems relative to the measure and transformation of time. 13. The
chronometer; absolute state of the chronometer; diurnal variations;
comparison; use of chronometers. 14. Compass; its construction and
verification; determination of the declivity; tables of deviation;
correction bars. 15. Different methods for determining the latitude and
longitude at sea. 16. The tides, their fundamental theory; calculations
regarding them. 17. Hydrographic charts; topographical instruments, and
different projections.
_II. Mechanics and Steam Engine._
_Introduction:_ 1. Necessity for the use of mechanics and physics for
the shipmaster, naval constructor and machinist. 2. Method of giving
such instruction to seamen.
_Mechanics:_--Motion considered geometrically; composition;
decomposition. 3. Transformation of motion. 4. Force; composition and
decomposition of force; equilibrium. 5. Center of gravity, and how to
find it; application of the same, on the theory of the ship. 6. Theory
of simple machines; principal machines. 7. Principle of force. 8. Blows.
9. Resistance of materials; experimental elements of resistance, and
elasticity of the principal substances in use in naval construction.
10. Mechanic of fluids; demonstrations of its principal theorems;
application of the same to the stability of the ship.
_Steam Engines:_--11. General notions on steam; mechanical element of
heat; thermometers; tension; expansion; condensation of steam. 12. Steam
engines generally; examination and description of its organs, and its
different forms and applications. 13. Marine steam engines, and
different systems on which they are constructed. 14. The boilers and
their different types. 15. Combustibles and their different kinds.
16. Different systems of propulsion. 17. Mixed Navigation.
18. Historical summary of the origin and progress of machine and steam
power.
_III. Maritime and Commercial Law._
_Introduction:_ 1. Necessity of general culture to shipmasters; study
of the native tongue; foreign languages; history; methods of gaining
such instruction. 2. Necessity of the study of public maritime and
special law, and commercial law; method of giving such instruction.
_International Public Maritime Law:_ 3. The sea, and the laws by which
it is governed; freedom of the sea; restrictions to this principle.
4. International maritime jurisdiction; treaties; reciprocity; consular
agents. 5. War, embargoes and reprisals; letters of marque; capture;
neutrality; blockade; contraband of war. 6. The latest modifications.
_Internal Public Maritime Law:_ Territorial sea; harbors and shores;
administrative division of the boundaries of states, and docks. 9. Laws
applicable to wooden and iron ships, sailing and steamships.
10. Nationality of the ship. 11. Law applicable to the _personel_ of
seamen. 12. Customs, laws, sanitary and police, as regards navigation.
13. Wrecks and recovery. 14. Maritime crimes and penal mercantile
jurisdiction.
_Private Commercial Maritime Law:_ 15. Ownership of ships; privileges
of ships. 16. Contract of freight; insurance and bottomry bonds;
averages; jettison and abandonment. 17. Duties and responsibilities of
the master toward the freighterer, the shipper, the crew, and the
passengers. 18. Legal relations arising from commercial operations;
bills of exchange; partnership and agency.
_IV. Geography and Meteorology._
_Introduction:_ 1. Necessity of this knowledge to seamen. 2. Relations
between geography and meteorology. 3. Historical development.
4. Fundamental principles of geography, astronomy, and mathematics, and
methods of instruction.
_Physical Geography and Meteorology:_ 5. Fundamental principles of
geology; physical configuration of the earth; forces which determine the
formation of continents and islands; extension of lines, &c.
6. Description of different parts of the globe. 7. Physical geography of
the sea; its extensions, divisions, depths, soundings, temperature,
phosphorescence, colors, tides, currents, storms. 8. Descriptive
hydrography--oceans, their divisions and dependencies; the rivers and
lakes in different parts of the globe. 9. The atmosphere--its extension,
temperature, and the thermometer; different thermometric scales;
atmospheric density and pressure; the barometer--different barometric
scales; the winds--general, periodical, variable; hurricanes; storms;
law of storms; watery luminaries and electric meteors; signs and
forecasts of the weather. 10. Magnetism--magnetic action; declension of
the magnetic needle; the compass. 11. Geographical distribution of
minerals, plants, and animals, utilized by man. 12. Man as a
geographical modifying agent.
_Political Description:_ Statistical and commercial geography.
13. Divisions, population, wealth, finances, commerce, and other
statistical data of different states, in different divisions of the
globe.
[Errata for Part V (Italy and Sardinia):
_Italy was unified immediately before the first (1862) edition
of the book. The arrangement of this section generally reflects
pre-unification systems._
[The actual strength of the Italian army ...]
Three regiments of train corps (24 companies)
_opening ( missing_
[GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR SCHOOL DAYS.]
_part of this list is printed out of sequence, with the lines
for 3 and 4¾ placed after those for 5¼ and later_]
* * * * *
PART VI.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN RUSSIA AND OTHER STATES.
* * * * *
VIII. MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN RUSSIA.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The Emperor is commander-in-chief of all the forces, by sea and land,
assisted by the Staff-Office, the members of which are expert linguists,
as well as scientific experienced and military officers. The army is
under a Minister of War, assisted by a colleague and a military council.
The office of Master of Ordnance is generally filled by a grand prince.
The regular force, or army of occupation consists of about 783,000 men,
which can be easily swelled to at least 1,200,000, as the whole male
population are liable to serve when summoned. The army is mainly
recruited by conscription, which falls on the serfs and laboring
population, as the nobility, officials, clergy and merchants are
exempted. The term of service is twenty years for the guards, twenty-two
for the line, and twenty-five for the train and military servants. But
few pensions are granted to discharged or furloughed soldiers, although
veteran soldiers are frequently appointed to situations as doorkeepers,
watchmen, overseers, &c., in government establishments and public
institutions.
Promotion by seniority, imperial favor, and good conduct on the field.
Every officer must be educated and trained to his business, and serve
from the lowest to the highest rank. Non-commissioned officers,
musicians, assistant veterinary surgeons, head workmen in the military
workshops and factories must all be trained for their special duties.
A large portion of these classes are the sons of soldiers, who have been
surrendered by their parents to the government, who receive them at the
age of six or twelve, by special arrangement. They are termed
_cantonists_. Among the special military schools of a technological
character are, eleven for garrison artillery; three for armories; three
for powder mills; three for arsenals; one for riding masters; one for
fencing; one for accountants; one for topographical drawing, &c.
II. MILITARY SCHOOL FOR OFFICERS.
The officers of the Russian army obtain their first commission after
passing through the Military Schools or Cadet Corps, or if qualified in
scientific and other instruction, ascertained by open examination, by
serving as privates six months, and as sergeants or ensign two years.
Applicants for the Staff Corps, must have served as officers two years,
must be recommended by their superior, and have been two years in the
Staff School--and there pass an honorable examination in military
history and strategy. The following statistics are taken from the
_Kalender_ of the St. Petersburg Academy, for 1859.
I. Under a Commission or Board of Military Instruction, which reports
directly to the Emperor, there are
3 Military Schools of Special Application, viz.:
1 The Nicholas Academy of the Staff, with 22 and 250
teachers scholars.
1 The Nicholas Upper Engineer School, “ 50 “ 126 “
1 The Michael Artillery School, “ 32 “ 117 “
1 Page Corps, or College “ 41 “ 159 “
1 Ensign’s School of the Guards, “ 31 “ 206 “
22 Cadet Corps or Military Colleges, “ 723 “ 7440 “
-- --- -----
27 899 “ 8,298 “
The Cadet Corps, or Military Schools, receive their pupils young, and
impart a general as well as a scientific education, preparatory to
entering the Special Schools of Application either for Engineer, or
Artillery, and later in years and experience, the Staff School. These
Special Military Schools are not surpassed by any of the same class in
Europe.
II. Under the Ministry of War there are the following Scientific
Establishments and Schools.
22 Military Schools, with 326 and 10,000
teachers scholars.
3 Lower or Element. Artillery Schools, 22 “ 166 “
1 Topographers’ School, with 13 “ 140 “
1 Medico-Chirurgical Academy, with
Military Hospitals, 35 “ 978 “
3 Veterinary Schools, 1,020 “
12,304 “
The Military Schools are of an elementary and technological character,
and are intended to supersede a class of schools known as the
_Cantonist_ Schools.
The experience of the Crimean War demonstrated to the world, the wise
forecast of the Russian government in providing for the thorough
scientific and practical training of the officers of her great armies as
was confessed by the “_London Times_,” in the bitter disappointments of
the English people with their own officers.
THE IMPERIAL STAFF SCHOOL AT ST. PETERSBURG.
[Extracts from Governmental Regulations.]
I. GENERAL DIRECTIONS.
A Military Academy, the highest institution of its class, is founded in
St. Petersburg, to educate Officers for the service of the General
Staff, and to promote the diffusion of Military Science in general. Its
special functions are--
1. To prepare Officers for the special service of the General Staff.
2. To furnish to a certain number of Officers from the Artillery and
Chief Engineer School a course of Grand Tactics and Strategy, on the
same principles and to the same extent as it is furnished to the
Officers preparing for the Service of the General Staff.
3. To apply all the means indicated in these Regulations to the
diffusion of Military Science.
From forty to fifty Officers shall be educated in the Academy for the
special service of the General Staff, and about ten from the Artillery
and from the Chief Engineer School.
The Military Academy is under the immediate control of the Chief of the
Staff of His Imperial Majesty, and is under the direction of a President
appointed by the Emperor.
A Council, presided over by the President, considers and determines all
important questions relating to Studies and Economic Administration.
A Vice-President, appointed by the Emperor, is associated with the
President to assist him in the performance of his official duties.
The Officers receiving an education for the General Staff are placed
under the control of four Staff Officers appointed by the Emperor.
The subjects of Study and the Scientific Course are divided into two
Sections, the Theoretical and the Practical.
The number of Professors, Adjuncts, and Teachers is determined according
to circumstances by the Academic Council, with the approbation of the
Chief of the Staff of his Imperial Majesty.
The Salaries of the Officials for the internal service of the Academy
are fixed in the List annexed to these Statutes.
It is the most sacred duty of the whole Staff of the Academy, and in
particular of the Chiefs and Professors, never to lose sight of its
object; and while they devote themselves to extend the knowledge of the
student Officers, to impress upon them, by teaching and example, the
precepts of the purest morality, the true and exact performance of their
professional duties, an unconditional obedience to their superiors, and
an inviolable devotion to the throne and their country.
The Academy has a peculiar Seal.
II. ADMISSION TO STUDENTS.
Only Superior Officers can enter into the Academy, and these up to the
rank of Staff Captain if they serve in the Guards, Artillery, or
Engineers; up to the rank of Captain, if they belong to an Army
Regiment.
The Directors of the Noble Guard School, of the Page Corps, of the
First, Second, Pant, Moscow, and Finland Cadet Corps, have the right to
propose in the proper quarter, for admission into the Academy, the most
distinguished Officers who have left these military institutions.
The Officers proposed for admission into the Academy must be at least
eighteen years old, and be distinguished for capacity, industry,
diligence, morals, and good conduct.
Officers from the Regiments and Artillery Brigades must present
testimonials of blameless morals, conduct, and zeal for the Service from
the Chief of their Division. Officers from the Engineer Battalions must
present similar testimonials from the Chiefs of their Brigades.
Those who give testimonials are strictly responsible for their truth, as
are the Chiefs of the Military Schools for the capacity and
qualifications of the Officers they propose.
Admission into the Academy depends upon a strict examination in the
following subjects:--
_a._ Languages:
Russian, German, or French.
_b._ Mathematics:
Arithmetic, Algebra to Equations of the Second Degree, Plane and Solid
Geometry, and Plane Trigonometry.
_c._ Military Sciences:
The Principles of Intrenchment, Fortification, and Artillery.
_d._ Evolution:
Evolutions of a Battalion of Tirailleurs, of a Squadron, of a Whole
Line, of a Scattered Front (_Zerstreuten Fronte_,) and, lastly, the
Service of Outposts.
_e._ History:
General History of the World to the sixteenth century in its chief
epochs, particularly in reference to Russia; special Histories of the
European States in modern times.
_f._ Geography:
Universal Geography, and particularly that of the Russian Empire and
the neighboring States.
Besides this, a clear conception of Situation, Plans, and
Topographical Charts is required.
III. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION.
The Scientific Course is divided into two Sections,--The Theoretical and
the Practical. The Theoretical part of the higher Military Sciences is
expounded by the Professors, their Adjuncts, and the Teachers. Those
Officers who belong to the Practical Section exercise themselves under
the guidance of the Professors.
_a._ In Written Exercises on any proposed Military Subject.
_b._ In the composition of Military Descriptions (_Beschreibungen_,)
of every kind.
_c._ In the Art of taking Military Surveys of a Country, and of
judging the Tactical Nature of a Ground.
In each Section there are from twenty to twenty-five Officers destined
for the Service of the General Staff, and from four to five from the
Artillery and Chief Engineer School.
These Officers, according to their capacities and attainments in the
Military Sciences, enter either into the Theoretical Section or into
both the Theoretical and the Practical Section at the same time, and
remain in each a year.
The complete Academic Course in both Sections extends over two years.
The following subjects are taught:--
_a._ Russian literature, with particular reference to the composition
of Military Essays in a faultless style, and to the style of the
Military Chancery (writing department of the War Office.)
_b._ General ideas on Artillery, and more precise details on the same
subject as a Special Arm; its use in the open field and in sieges.
_c._ Petty Tactics in the employment of a single Division, with which
all Officers must be thoroughly familiar, as this is indispensable to
all. To this is joined the theory of the formation of columns, of their
use, of the effect of the fire of Infantry, and lastly, the explanation
of all evolutions with the three arms which are usually employed for
movement, deployment, or forming in order of battle.
_d._ The Elements of Topography and Geodesy, of Military Drawing, and
the art of measuring situations by the eye.
_e._ Military coup d’œil (_Scharfblick_,) and the art of judging the
tactical nature of ground.
_f._ Castrametation, or the art of encamping, and the theory of
positions.
_g._ Logistic, or all that relates to the details of marches, either
in presence of the enemy, or in the movement of troops from one place to
another.
_h._ Intrenchment and fortification, as far as regards the attack and
defense of intrenched camps and fortified places, and the effect of
intrenchments and fortifications on the operations of an active army.
_i._ Grand Tactics, embracing the various systems of the Order of
Battle; and the formation and employment of the Three Arms, and treating
of unexpected engagements or the sudden collision of two hostile
Divisions.
_k._ The Military Geography of Europe, particularly that of the
Russian Empire and the neighboring States.
_l._ Military Statistics, or knowledge of the land and sea Forces and
warlike means of all the European States.
_m._ Strategy in all its extent; with a criticism on the last wars,
and an indication of the events which demonstrate the influence of this
science on the success of a campaign.
_n._ A general view of military history in its most remarkable
periods, from the earliest times to Peter the Great, and a more complete
view of the Military History of modern times.
_o._ The literary History of the Military Sciences, with a criticism
on the best ancient and modern writers on the History of War; and a
special reference of those who may contribute to the further education
of the Officers after their departure from the Academy.
_p._ Duties of the General Staff Officer in times both of peace and
war.
_q._ The art of riding.
The officers of the Practical Division are employed on the same
Sciences; not, however, during the hours of lecture, but by practicing
under the direction of the Professors, and according to the regulations
of the Academic authorities.
The subjects they are employed upon are principally the following:--
_a._ Topographical and Tactical description of ground after
inspection.
_b._ Military Geography and Statistics.
_c._ Logistic.
_d._ Grand Tactics.
_e._ Strategy.
_f._ Military History.
_g._ Literature of the Military Sciences.
_h._ Designing plans of battles and manœuvres, as exercises in
Topography, Logistic, and Tactics.
_i._ Historic reports, and keeping the usual journal of the General
Staff.
_j._ All that belong to the survey of a country, and the practical
working of the Artillery and Siege operations.
Teachers are appointed for those officers who require to be perfected in
the French or German language.
All the sciences are taught in the Academy in the Russian language; and
an exposition in French or German is only allowed when dictated by
circumstances, and then a special permission must be first obtained from
the Chief of the Staff of his Imperial Majesty.
The Officers of the Practical Section are also required to use their
native tongue in their written exercises, except in one or two composed
in a foreign language by the direction of the authorities.
In summer, the Officers of the Theoretical Section repair to regiments
to which they are directed to learn the camp service. The Officers of
the Practical Section make surveys and reconnaissances, mark out camps
and proportionate intrenchments on a given ground. At the time of grand
manœuvres, they are associated with Officers of the General Staff, and
have the opportunity of witnessing the practical exercises of the
Artillery and Sappers, in order to be able to make a report as
eye-witnesses on the effect of Artillery and Siege operations.
IV. LOCAL REGULATIONS.
All Officers receiving an education in the Academy are entered on the
rolls of their Regiments, Artillery Brigades, and Sapper Battalions, as
supernumeraries and detached Officers, without, however, losing their
standing or right of promotion by seniority, their pay, servants’
rations, or any other advantages enjoyed by Officers present with their
troop.
Those Officers who enter the Academy from the Regiments of the Garrison
of St. Petersburg continue, while they belong to it, to perform the
front service of their Regiments; those who come from the Artillery and
Sapper Brigades, or from Regiments not stationed in St. Petersburg, are
attached for the front service to one of the Regiments of the Garrison
of St. Petersburg; the necessary arrangements are made by the
authorities of the Guard Corps.
The Officers of the Artillery and Chief Engineer School, having only to
attend the Course of Grand Tactics and Strategy, retain their posts
while studying in the Academy.
Four Staff Officers, appointed by the Emperor, have the immediate
control of the Officers preparing themselves for the service of the
General Staff; they are to exercise a vigilant supervision over them,
and to report on their conduct to the Vice-President; they are the organ
by which all orders reach the Officers, and they form a Court of the
First Instance in matters relating to the Service.
One day in the week is devoted to drill, and every day two officers
mount guard with the first division of the garrison of St. Petersburg.
The Officers are to devote exclusively to study the leisure hours at
their command after the performance of front and garrison duties; and
are to observe, in all respects, the Statutes of the Academy.
To facilitate, economically, the residence of the Officers in St.
Petersburg, they receive, with the exception of those belonging to the
Guard, besides their usual pay and an allowance for quarters according
to their rank, an annual allowance of 500 roubles, which is paid in the
Academy.
Officers ordered to survey a country, or to make a reconnaissance,
receive their traveling expenses from the Commissariat, according to the
distance to which they are sent, and in proportion to their rank: their
board expenses are not allowed.
V. REGULATIONS RESPECTING PROMOTION.
The course is terminated, and Students finish their career, in October
annually.
At the same time, Officers are removed from the Theoretical section to
the Practical, making place for candidates who wish to enter the former.
At their departure from the Academy the Officers receive from the
Academic Council testimonials of conduct and scientific attainments,
with a memorial of the rewards which they receive at leaving.
On leaving the Academy the Officers have to act as follows: those who
belonged to the Artillery, or Chief Engineer School, repair to their
highest Commanding Officer; the rest, who were educated for the service
of the General Staff, return to their Regiments, Artillery Brigades, or
Sapper Battalions, on whose rolls they remain as supernumeraries and
Officers reckoned as of the General Staff, until they are formally
transferred to the latter.
The rewards to which Officers can acquire a claim at leaving the Academy
are the following:--The most distinguished is promoted to the lowest
rank (on the Staff,) and receives a golden medal; he is only entitled to
this if all the teachers give him the full number balls, and unanimously
recognize him as most conspicuous for attainments. Besides this, he must
have written a satisfactory essay on a given theme, relating to some
important war, and have been blameless in moral conduct during his
residence in the Academy. The student who is recognized as second, both
in attainments and behavior, and has also obtained the full number of
balls, is rewarded with the great silver medal, and receives double pay
for a year. The student who obtains the third place in attainments and
behavior, and the full number of balls, receives the little silver
medal, and double pay for a year. Each medal bears the name of its
possessor. Besides this, the names of all those who obtain one of the
three above-mentioned rewards are engraved on marble tablets, which
adorn the walls of one of the halls of the Academic building.
Should any of the Students feel no inclination for the service of the
General Staff, even after a successful termination of the Theoretical
Course, he may always request to be dismissed to his Regiment, Artillery
Brigade, or Sapper Battalion.
Every Officer who at his departure from the Academy obtains a
testimonial of having accomplished the object of his admission, and in
consequence is provisionally destined for the service of the General
Staff, if he continues after his return to his Regiment to educate
himself for his vocation, and distinguishes himself by observance of a
strict discipline, by conduct and zeal for the service, is rewarded at
the end of a year by being completely transferred to the General Staff;
and if he belonged to the Young Guard, the Artillery, or a Sapper
Battalion, his right to promotion immediately commences; not so if he
belonged to Troops of the Line.
Every year, on the 1st of January, the Chief of the Regiment, Artillery
Brigade, or Sapper Battalion in command of an Officer reckoned as of the
General Staff, forwards his form and his conduct list to the
Quartermaster-General of the General Staff, who lays it before the Chief
of the General Staff. At the same time the above-mentioned papers are
communicated to the Chief in command of the Officer.
Besides this, the above-mentioned Chief makes a similar report on the
zeal for the service and moral conduct of the Officers twice a year,
namely, on the 1st of March and the 1st of September; and at the same
time reports exactly on the way in which he performs the service of the
front.
No Officer reckoned as of the General Staff is to be charged with the
duties of Paymaster service in his Regiment, or employed as
Quartermaster; and if any General wishes to select him for his Adjutant,
he must first communicate with the Quartermaster-General of the General
Staff.
If the General Staff is increased in time of war, or if any work on
which it is employed requires to be accelerated in time of peace, the
Chief of the General Staff commissions the Quartermaster-General to
select the requisite number out of the Officers who are reckoned as of
the General Staff. The latter then makes the selection, and announces
the names of the Officers selected to their highest Commanding Officer.
As soon as the object proposed is accomplished, these Officers return
back to their commands. Such a selection, however, can only fall upon
those who have spent at least two years with their commands after their
departure from the Academy. If in the meantime an Officer has become
Chief of a Battalion or Squadron, he shall not be transferred from this
post before the lapse of a year. As soon as any of these Officers, or,
in general, any Officer, who has left the Academy, reports himself at
his Corps, his Chief immediately announces his arrival to the
Quartermaster-General of the Staff.
To familiarize the Officers reckoned of the General Staff with the rules
of the Art of War while they remain with their commands, and to practice
them in the duties which belong to Officers of the General Staff, the
Quartermaster-General is directed to charge them with such duties as may
develop their talent, without, however, removing them for that purpose
from the service of the front. These commissions of the
Quartermaster-General are communicated through their superior Officers,
who are directed not only to watch over their performance of these
commissions, but also to assist them therein to the utmost of their
power.
[Errata for Part VI (Russia):
twenty years for the guards, twenty-two for the line,
_hyphen invisible_
[II. Under the Ministry of War there are the following ...]
_In the printed book, the last two lines of this table were out
of place. The “1,020 scholars” item was aligned with the overflow
of the “Medico-Chirurgical Academy” entry, and the total (12,304)
was aligned with “3 Veterinary Schools”._
The Military Schools are of an elementary and technological ...
_In this and the following paragraph, the first letter of each
line is invisible._
in the bitter disappointments of the English people
_hyphen in “dis-/appointments” invisible at line break_]
* * * * *
PART VII.
NORWAY, SWEDEN AND DENMARK.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN SWEDEN.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The Swedish army is composed, according to official data in Martin’s
Year Book, of five distinct classes of troops, viz.:
1. The _Indelta_, or national militia, paid and kept, not by the
Government, but by the landowners, and, to some extent, from the income
of State domains expressly reserved for this purpose. Every soldier of
the _Indelta_ has, besides a small annual pay, his _torp_, or cottage,
with a piece of ground attached, which remains his own during the whole
period of service, often extending over forty years, or even longer. In
time of peace, the troops of the _Indelta_ are not called up for more
than a month’s annual practice, and for the rest of the year are free
from military duty. In time of war, an extraordinary _Indelta_ has to be
raised by landowners, who, on this account, enjoy certain privileges,
including non-contribution to the cost of the peace establishment. When
the soldier dies, his widow turns over the holding to his successor,
whom the owner of the land is bound to provide within three months. In
the location of the officers, regard is had to the situation of the men
who compose the company, regiment, and larger divisions.
2. The _Beväring_, or conscription troops, drawn by annual levy, from
the male population between the age of 20 and 25 years. The law of
conscription, which admits the right of purchasing substitutes, was
introduced into Sweden in 1812. About 19,000 men are drafted annually,
one-tenth of which number, on the average, find substitutes for
themselves, at a cost of from 10_l._ to 25_l._
3. The _Värfvade_, or enlisted troops, to which belong the royal
life-guards, the hussars, the engineers, and the artillery. The men may
engage for either three, or six, or twelve years; but the greater number
are for six years, peculiar inducements being held out for this term.
4. The volunteers, first organized in the year 1861, by the spontaneous
desire of the population of the kingdom. In time of peace the volunteers
are individually free, and bound by no other but their own rules and
regulations: but in time of war they may be compelled to place
themselves under the command of the military authorities.
5. The militia of Gothland, consisting of twenty-one companies of
infantry, organized in a similar manner to the _Indelta_, yet quite
independent of the latter. They are not compelled by law to serve beyond
the confines of the Isle of Gothland, and have a separate command from
the other troops.
The armed forces of Sweden, not counting the Volunteers, consist
altogether of--
_Indelta_, 33,405 rank and file.
_Beväring_, 95,295 “ “
_Värfvade_, 7,692 “ “
Militia of Gothland, 7,921 “ “
-------
Total, 144,313
In the organization of the army, as here enumerated, 85,000 men belong
to the infantry of the line; 6,000 to the cavalry; 5,000 to the
artillery, and the rest to the irregular militia. The number of
volunteers was returned at 40,848 in 1869, but about one-third of these
formed part also of the _Indelta_. In the parliamentary session of 1862,
and again in the sessions of 1865 and 1869, the Government brought bills
before the Diet for a reorganization of the whole of the army, on the
basis of extending the conscription, reforming the _Indelta_, and doing
away, to a great extent, with the _Värfvade_. But neither of these
propositions was adopted by the representatives of the people, whose
habits are not easily set aside.
_Navy._
The Navy of Sweden was reorganized in 1866-67, being divided into two
distinct parts; the first to serve as an ordinary fleet of war for
aggressive as well as defensive purposes, and the second stationary, and
solely devoted to coast defense. It consisted in 1869 of--
6 Iron-clads, of 638 horse-power, and 10 guns.
21 Unarmored steamers, of 2,810 horse-power and 127 “
16 Sailing vessels, with 376 “
158 Gunboats and floating batteries, 551 “
-----
Total, 201 vessels, of 3,458 horse-power 1,064 guns.
The iron-clads are built after the American model; one a turret ship,
called the “John Ericsson,” is partly covered with steel armor. There
were 6,453 sailors and marines in active service, and 28,000 men were on
furlough or attached to the fleet of reserve and coast defense.
The expenditure for the army in 1869 was 9,528,600 _riks dalers_, and
for the navy 3,963,800. The indebtedness of the state is about
$41,000,000, mostly contracted in aid of a system of railways.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN NORWAY.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The armed forces of Norway, as organized by law in 1866, consisted in
1869 of the following:
1. The regular army, with reserve, raised partly by conscription and
partly by enlistment, which must never exceed 12,000 men in time of
peace, and can not be increased above 18,000 men without the special
consent of the Storthing. The average number in time of peace for ten
years past, is about 6,000. The term of service is seven years, but the
men are on duty only 42 days in the first year, and this past, they are
sent home on furloughs, with an obligation to meet for annual practice
of 24 days during the following six years.
2. The Militia or _Landvaern_, which consists of all able-bodied male
citizens 18 years of age, who for three years must, at stated periods,
be trained in the use of arms and field exercises, and at the end of
this time, be enrolled in
3. The final Levy, or _Landstorm_, where he is liable to be called out
in time of war, until he is 45 years of age.
The normal strength of the armed forces of Norway in 1869 was returned
at 47,714 on a peace footing, and 112,225 on a war footing, and required
an appropriation of 1,215,500 _specie dalers_, making the cost of the
Norwegian soldier (on the average of 6,000 men under arms), $155 per
annum.
The King has permission to keep a guard of Norwegian volunteers, and to
transfer, for the purposes of common military exercises, 3,000 men
annually to Sweden; otherwise a soldier of Norway can not set foot in
Sweden; or one of Sweden, in Norway.
The naval force consists of 20 vessels, of 2,280 horse-power, and 168
guns, manned by 2,248 sailors, who are volunteers out of 60,000 men in
the maritime conscription, which includes all seafaring men of the
seaports, between the ages of 22 and 35.
Three of the vessels are iron-clad monitors.
In order to utilize the vessels of the navy they are attached to the
postal service, and are employed in carrying the mails and passengers,
under a special minister, charged with the mail service. The navy and
post service cost in 1869, 1,172,815 _speciedalers_.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN DENMARK.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The armed forces of Denmark as organized in 1870, consists of--
1. The Regular or active army, and--2. The army of Reserve.
By the law of 1867, every male citizen who has completed the age of 21,
is liable to service for eight years in the former, and to be enrolled
ready for special call for eight years more in the latter.
The Kingdom is divided into five territorial brigades, and each brigade
in four territorial battalions, in such way that no town except the
capital, will belong to more than one battalion. Each territorial
brigade furnishes the contingent of a brigade of infantry and one
regiment of cavalry. The artillery contingent is furnished, one half by
the two first territorial brigades, and the second half by the three
other divisions. The forces therefrom comprise 20 battalions of infantry
of the line, with 10 depot battalions and 10 of reserve; 5 regiments of
cavalry, each with 2 squadrons active, and 2 depots; and 2 regiments of
artillery, in 12 battalions. The total strength of the army, exclusive
of the reserve, is 36,782 rank and file, with 1,068 officers, on the
peace footing, and 47,725 men, and 1,328 officers on the war footing.
About one half of the enrolled regular army are usually on furlough. The
drilling is divided into two periods; the first lasts six months for the
infantry; five months for the field artillery and the engineers; nine
months and two weeks for the cavalry; and four months for the siege
artillery and the technic corps. Each corps must drill each year during
thirty to forty days.
The navy comprises the following vessels, all steamers:
Six _iron-clads_, with an aggregate of 2,455 horse-power, and with 65
guns--two of which are turreted, armed each with two of Armstrong rifled
cannon; 12 _unarmored vessels_ of 1,820 horse-power, and with 192 guns;
7 gun-boats of 480 horse-power and 38 guns; 6 paddle-steamers, of 1,060
horse-power and 38 guns. The navy in 1869 was manned by 901 men, and
officered by 15 commanders, 34 captains, and 67 lieutenants.
The budget for 1869 provided 3,783,978 _rigsdalers_ for the army, and
1,676,681 for the navy.
[Erratum for Part VII:
PART VII. / NORWAY, SWEDEN AND DENMARK.
_heading supplied from Table of Contents_]
* * * * *
PART VIII.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN GREAT BRITAIN.
* * * * *
X. MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN ENGLAND.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The British army originated in the feudal system, by which the great
barons were bound to furnish a contingent to the army of the State; and
their vassals were bound to attend them in person, and to furnish each
the contributions in men, horses, arms, and other materials of war, for
which he was liable by the tenure on which he held his lands. When regal
power absorbed the privileges of the great feudatories, the people were
expected to provide themselves with arms, and, in case of invasion, to
respond to the summons issued through officers commissioned by the
sovereign to array the fittest men for service in each county. In the
time of Henry VIII, lord-lieutenants and deputy-lieutenants of counties
were first appointed as standing officers for assembling and mustering
the military forces. For a time, contracts were made with “captains,”
who undertook to provide, clothe, and feed a certain number of fighting
men for a given money allowance. In the reign of Charles I, the
important question arose, whether the King of England did or did not
possess the right to maintain a military force without the express
consent of Parliament. Charles II, was compelled to abandon all control
of the army, except a body guard of 5,000 men, sanctioned by Parliament.
These regiments still exist, and are proud of their genealogy. They are
the First Foot Guards, Coldstream Guards, Life Guard, Oxford Blues, the
Royal Scots, and the Second Queen’s Royals.[1] The Declaration of
Rights, in the time of William and Mary, settled in positive terms “that
the raising and keeping of a standing army in time of peace, without
consent of Parliament, is contrary to law.” The first Mustering Act was
passed in 1689, to last for six months; but it has been annually renewed
ever since, except in three particular years; and it constitutes the
only warrant on which the whole military system of England is exercised
by the sovereign with the consent of Parliament. For 172 years, with
only three interruptions, the ministers of the crown have annually
applied to Parliament for permission to raise a military force and for
money to defray expenses. The sovereign can make war and bestow military
employment and honors; but the House of Commons can refuse supplies.
[Footnote 1: Two regiments created in the reigns of Richard III,
and of Henry VIII, the first styled _Gentlemen Pensioners_, or
_Gentlemen at Arms_, consisting originally exclusively of
noblemen, and the latter, _Yeomen of the Guard_, still exist. The
latter is the only body that has the privilege of traversing
London with flags flying, drums beating, and fixed bayonets.]
Military service in England is voluntary, except in rare cases, and then
only in the militia. As the chances of promotion from the ranks are
small, the recruits are drawn from the most necessitous classes of the
community, or the least fitted for industrial pursuits. The system of
recruiting, with the bounty and machinery of deception is the most
characteristic feature of the British army as compared with those of
Europe, and makes the distinction between officers and men more broad
than in any other service.
The British army, in its completeness, is theoretically commanded by the
sovereign, assisted by the secretary of state for war in some matters,
and by the commander-in-chief in others. The component parts are the
household troops, the infantry of the line, the ordnance corps,
comprising artillery and engineers, and the marines. There are also
certain corps, raised and belonging to the principal colonies; the
troops in India; the yeomanry cavalry; the dockyard battalions; the
volunteer artillery and rifles; the enrolled pensioners, etc. In 1814,
the regular army reached 200,000, and at the close of the war, 10,000
officers were retained on half pay. In 1860-61, in the army estimates,
provision was made for the following force, viz.:
Home and Colonies. India. Total.
Cavalry 11,667 7,243 18,910
Infantry 103,169 66,345 169,514
Artillery 22,675 5,482 28,157
Engineers 4,730 ------ 4,730
Staff & Depot 1,121 13,420 14,541
------- ------ -------
Total 143,362 92,490 235,852
Under the column “India” are included only troops _sent_ to India, and
paid for out of the Indian revenues. Of the total 235,852 forces, 10,459
are officers, 17,670 non-commissioned officers, and 207,723 rank and
file. For the use of this army, 24,342 horses are provided. The total
expenditure sanctioned by Parliament in 1860 was £14,800,000, viz.:
Military Pay and Allowances, £5,500,000;
Civil Salaries and Wages, £1,800,000;
Stores and Works of every kind, £5,400,000;
Pensions, Retired Pay, &c., £2,100,000.
The military force of various kinds within the United Kingdom, excluding
the troops in East India, on the 1st of June, 1860, was 323,259, viz.:
Regulars (service companies,) 68,778;
Regulars (depot companies,) 33,302,
Embodied Militia, 15,911;
Disembodied Militia--Effectives, 52,899;
Yeomanry Cavalry--Effectives, 15,002;
Enrolled Pensioners--Effectives, 15,000;
Volunteer Rifles and Artillery, 122,867.
The total force of the United Kingdom in 1870-71, was as follows:
Total.
Officers on the General and Departmental Staff, 1,239
Regiments. Officers. Non-com., Rank
&c. and file.
Royal Horse Artillery, 78 138 1,834 2,050
Life-Guards and Horse-Guards, 81 192 1,029 1,302
Cavalry of the Line, 465 969 7,733 9,267
Royal Artillery, 661 1,550 12,866 15,087
Riding Establishment, 7 13 205 225
Royal Engineers, 539 564 3,879 4,836
Army Service Corps, 8 386 1,801 2,195
Foot-Guards, 237 453 5,220 5,910
Infantry of the Line, 2,934 6,468 51,990 61,392
Army hospital corps, 1 165 694 860
West India Regiments, 104 150 1,680 1,834
Colonial corps, 58 149 1,632 1,839
----- ------ ------ -------
Total, 6,276 11,197 90,593 108,066
Depots of Indian Regiments.
Cavalry, 27 54 513 594
Infantry, 200 600 5,000 5,800
----- ------ ------ -------
Total, 227 654 5,513 6,394
Recruiting and Teaching Estab’ts.
Cavalry Riding School, 2 2 -- 4
Infantry Depots, 5 9 -- 14
Recruiting Establishments, 6 17 -- 23
Inst. in Gunnery and Engin’ing, 10 57 62 129
--- --- --- ----
Total, 23 85 62 170
Training Schools and Factories.
Cadet Company, Woolwich, 10 20 9 39
Royal Mil. College, Sandhurst, 17 30 1 48
Regi’al Schools and Factories, 32 281 7 320
--- ---- -- ----
Total, 58 331 17 407
The total force of officers and men was 115,037, viz.
General and Department Staff, 1,239
Regiments, 108,066
Depots of Indian Regiments 6,394
Recruiting and Teaching Establishments, 170
Training Schools and Factories, 407
The British forces in India, exclusive of depots at home, comprised the
following troops, in 1870-71:
Officers. Non-Com. Men. Total.
Royal Horse Artillery, 200 253 2,680 3,133
Cavalry of the Line, 225 424 3,672 4,321
Royal Artillery and Engineers, 1,016 795 7,936 9,747
Infantry of the Line, 1,500 3,262 41,000 45,762
------ ------ ------- -------
Total, 2,941 4,734 55,288 63,963
In addition to the troops above mentioned the army estimates include
appropriations for four classes of reserved or auxiliary forces, viz.:
1. Disembodied Militia, 128,971 officers and men.
2. Yeomanry Cavalry, 15,435 “ “
3. Volunteers, 25,688 “ “
4. Enrolled pensioners, 31,102 “ “
-------
Total enrolled number, 201,196 “ “
In England and Wales the Militia Establishment comprises 42 regiments,
with 5,066 officers; in Scotland, 16 regiments and 670 officers; in
Ireland, 48 regiments, with 3,463 officers.
By Act of 1870, in case of invasion, rebellion, or insurrection, or of
imminent danger thereof, the Militia, in pursuance of an order of Her
Majesty in council, can be called out (the whole or any part) and
embodied for actual service; but when so called out, her proclamation
must be communicated to Parliament within ten days. By recent Royal
Warrant, a lieutenant of the Militia is made eligible to appointment of
sub-lieutenant in the Regular Army, and in the localization of the
military force of the United Kingdom, the Militia, Yeomanry and
Volunteers, are to be brought into closer connection with the Regular
Army.
The total cost of the British army, voted by Parliament in 1870-71, was
£13,093,500, besides a supplementary vote of £2,000,000 towards
defraying the expenses of the military and naval services of the
kingdom. Of the regular expenses, it appears from official statements
that £893,200 were for the Militia and Inspection service; £81,900 for
the Yeomanry; £412,400 for volunteers; and £76,000 for enrolled
pensioners and army reserve force.
EDUCATIONAL ESTABLISHMENTS FOR THE ARMY.
The sum of £140,700 was devoted to military education, in the estimates
for 1871, when the educational establishments provided for the army were
as follows:
Royal Military College at Sandhurst, preparatory for Infantry and
Cavalry Officers.
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, for service in the Artillery and
Engineers.
Royal School of Military Engineering at Chatham.
Staff College at Woolwich.
Advanced Class of Artillery Officers at Woolwich.
School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness.
Survey Classes at Aldershot.
School of Musketry at Hythe.
Army Medical School at Netley.
Royal Hibernian Military School at Dublin.
Regimental Schools for Children of Soldiers.
Garrison Schools and Libraries for Adults.
Schools and Asylums for Orphan Children of Soldiers at Dublin and
Chelsea.
Training School for Army Schoolmasters in Chelsea Military Asylum.
Military School of Music at Kneller Hall.
II. ROYAL NAVY.
The administration of the Navy of the United Kingdom is vested in the
Board of Admiralty, composed of five members, who are styled “Lord
Commissioners for executing the office of Lord High Admiral,” which was
formerly charged with all naval matters. The First Lord Commissioner is
a member of the Cabinet, and dispenser of patronage, and, with his
associates, goes out with the Premier.
The effective strength of the Navy in February 1, 1869, was:
[KEY]
Sg _Sailing._
T _Total._
_Classes of Ships._ _Steam._ _Sg_ _T_
Afloat. Building. Afloat.
Iron. Wood. Iron.
Armor-plated ships, 1st Class, 1 - 1 .... 3
“ “ 2nd “ 3 - 3 .... 6
“ “ 3d “ 5 4 - .... 9
“ “ 4th “ 3 5 - .... 8
“ “ 5th “ 4 - - .... 4
“ “ 6th “ - 2 - .... 2
“ “ Sloops and
gun-boats, 3 2 - .... 5
“ “ Special, with
turrets, 5 1 5 .... 11
“ “ Floating
batteries, 3 1 - 1 5
-- -- -- -- ---
27 15 9
Total iron-clads, 42 9 1 52
Ships of the line (screw), 43 2 2 47
Frigates (screw), 29 - - 29
Frigates (paddle), 3 - 1 4
Block ships (screw), 1 - 2 3
Corvettes (screw), 24 - - 24
Sloops (screw), 33 - 1 34
“ (paddle), 7 - 1 8
Small vessels (paddle), 8 - - 8
Dispatch vessels (paddle), 4 - - 4
Gun vessels (screw and double screw), 50 1 - 51
Gun-boats (screw), 58 1 9 68
Tenders, tugs, &c., (screw), 14 - - 14
“ “ “ (paddle), 38 - - 38
Mortar ships (screw), -- - 2 2
Troop and store ships (screw), 11 - - 11
“ “ (paddle), 1 - - 1
Transports for India reliefs
(screw), 5 - - 5
Yachts (paddle), 4 1 - 5
Total screw, 310 14 - 324
“ paddle, 65 1 - 66
--- -- -- ---
Grand total, 375 15 18 408
Not included in the above list are several ships for the defense of the
colonies. The total naval force, August 30, 1870, was:
_In Commission_--238 ships, of 57,205 horse-power, 1,984 guns and
314,449 tonnage. _In Reserve, &c._, 318 ships, 64,286 horsepower, 3,610
guns, and 318,845 tonnage. The total number of officers, seamen, boys
and marines, in 1870-71, was 55,430, besides 4,300 in the coast-guard
and 1,270 in the Indian service. Among the officers were 143 flag
officers; 29 superintending dockyards, and 3,193 other commissioned
officers on service.
III. MERCANTILE MARINE.
The Mercantile Marine of the United Kingdom in number of vessels, their
registered tonnage, and men employed, together with the value of
property and number of passengers transported in them, exceeds that of
any other country. The total number of vessels in the home and foreign
trade, registered in 1869, was 21,881, with a tonnage of 5,575,303,
employing 202,477 men, and freighted with imports and exports to the
total value of 532,475,266_l._
All matters relating to merchant ships and seamen, and the mercantile
marine generally, are committed to the general superintendence of the
Board of Trade, which, as constituted in 1786, is composed of certain
high officers, (members of the Privy Council), and its President is a
Cabinet officer. To this Board all consular officers, all officers of
customs abroad, and all local marine boards and shipping masters must
make reports in matter and form as required. Inspectors, duly appointed
by this Board, may visit any ship, examine any registry, machinery,
boats, equipments, &c., to ascertain if they are conformable to law. In
every seaport a Shipping Master is appointed by the Local Marine Board,
who must keep register of names and character of seamen, facilitate
their engagement and discharge, as well as the apprenticeship of boys to
sea-service. The Local Board must provide for the examination of persons
who intend to become masters or mates according to rules laid down by
the Board of Trade. And to such as pass a satisfactory examination as to
sobriety, experience, ability, and general good conduct on board ship,
shall be given a certificate of competency; and to those who have served
as masters or mates, under certain conditions, a certificate of service
with specifications must be given. Shipping Masters must assist, when
applied to by parents or guardians, or masters of ships, in apprenticing
boys to the sea-service. No person can be employed as master or mate,
who does not hold a certificate of competency, and under certain
conditions, of service. Opportunities of preparing for these
examinations are now provided in all the large seaports, in Navigation
Schools; and the Government, through the Department of Science and Arts,
encourages the study of astronomy, navigation, steam and steam
machinery, and other branches, which are serviceable to officers in
command of vessels, whether propelled by sails or engines, by making
appropriations of money to schools according to the number of pupils who
pass satisfactory examinations in these studies.
MILITARY EDUCATION.
The following account of the institutions for military education in
England is abridged from an article in _Blackwood’s Magazine_ for
November, 1858:
There exist in this country three military seminaries--the Royal
Military Academy at Woolwich, where youths are educated for service in
the Artillery and Engineers; the Royal Military College at Sandhurst,
where cadets are prepared for the Infantry and Cavalry; and the
Honorable East India Company’s Military School at Addiscombe, which
educates simultaneously for the Artillery, Engineers, and Infantry
services of the three Presidencies. Supplementary to these are the
School of Practical Instruction at Chatham, where passed cadets from
Woolwich and Addiscombe learn practical engineering; and the senior
department at Sandhurst, supposed to be a Staff school, into which
officers of infantry and cavalry are, under certain restrictions,
admitted.
I. The Military Academy at Woolwich came into existence in the year
1741. It was created by George II., to supply a want under which the
English army then suffered, by giving some instructions in matters
connected with their respective arts to officers and men who served in
the Artillery and in the Engineers. Its beginnings were of the humblest
imaginable order. A single room in a house at Woolwich, where the Board
of Ordnance used occasionally to assemble, was set apart by Government
as a hall of study; and two masters were appointed to give lectures by
rotation, during four consecutive hours, in three days of every week. At
first only the officers of the single battalion composing the English
Artillery and of the corps of Engineers were required to attend. By and
by the room was thrown open to the non-commissioned officers and
privates also, and eventually the cadets, of whom five were supposed to
be on the strength of each company of Artillery, repaired thither in
like manner. But the cadets being the sons of the officers of the corps,
as they neither dressed in uniform, nor were under any military control,
proved very difficult to manage; and the difficulty led to a great
change as well in their condition as in that of the Academy itself.
In the year 1744 the cadets were, for the first time, clothed in
uniform, and collected into a distinct company. Two officers, with a
drum-major, undertook the management of them; and the arrangement
worked, or was supposed to work, so satisfactorily, that by little and
little, as the regiment enlarged itself, the numbers composing the Cadet
Company were increased also. In 1782 they had grown from twenty to
sixty; in 1798 to a hundred; after which steps were taken to lodge and
board, as well as to educate and drill them, apart from the residences
of their fathers. Hence, after trying for a while to accommodate some in
a separate barrack, while others were billeted on private persons at a
payment of 2s. a day per head, the pile which now attracts the attention
of the passer-by on Woolwich Common was erected. And by the addition of
a lieutenant-governor, and a whole host of officers and professors, it
grew into the sort of establishment which is familiar to most of us. In
1806 the staff of officers and teachers appointed to the Cadet Company
consisted of--
1. Lieutenant-Governor; 2. Inspector; 3. Professor of Mathematics;
4. Professor of Fortification; 5. Mathematical Master; 6. Arithmetical
do.; 7. French do.; 8. Fortification do.; 9. Landscape-drawing do.;
10. Figure-drawing do.; 11. Second French do.; 12. Fencing do.;
13. Dancing do.; 14. First Modeller; 15. Second do.: 16. Clerk.
In 1829 the fencing and dancing masters were discontinued, and a
chemical lecturer appointed. In 1836 three new masters were added; and
in 1857 the staff stood thus:
_Military._--A Governor; one Second Captain, commanding; one do. for
Practical Class; four First-Lieutenants; one Quartermaster; one
Staff-Sergeant; seven Drill-Sergeants; one Paymaster’s Clerk; one
Assistant do.; Servants.
_Civil or Educational._--A Chaplain; Inspector--a Lieut.-Colonel
of Artillery; Assistant do.--Major, R.E.; Professor of
Fortification--Lieut.-Col., R.E.; two Assistants--Second Captains;
Professor of Mathematics; seven Mathematical Masters; Master of
Descriptive Geometry; Master for Geometrical Drawing; Drawing-Master for
Landscape; Second do.; Master for Military Plan-Drawing--Brevet-Major,
R.A.; Instructor in Surveying and Field Works--Captain, R.E.; Assistant
do.--Captain, R.A.; Instructor in Practical Artillery--Second Captain,
R.A.; Assistant do.--Second Captain, R.A.; four French Masters; four
German do.; Master for History and Geography; Lecturer in Chemistry;
Assistant to do.; Lecturer in Geology and Mineralogy; Lecturer in
Practical Mechanics, Machinery, and Metallurgy; Lecturer in Astronomy
and Natural Philosophy; Clerk; First Assistant do.--a Sergeant; Second
do.--Bombardier; one Drill-Sergeant--Practical Class; Modeller,
Modelling Smith, Servants, &c.
Admittance to the Academy was, till very lately, obtained only on the
nomination of the Master-General of the Ordnance. There was a
preliminary examination, it is true; but this all except the dullest
might calculate on passing, and the ages of entrance ranged between
fourteen and sixteen. In 1835 the minimum age was raised to fifteen, the
maximum to seventeen; while candidates were called up to compete for
admission in the proportion of four youths for every three vacancies.
The arrangement did not avail to produce any radical change in the
spirit of the institution. The preliminary examination still proved to
be a “pass,” and no more; and so it continued till those political views
obtained the ascendant which abolished altogether the office of
Master-General and Board of Ordnance, and gave us in their place a
Secretary of State for the War Department.
Occasions had arisen, even under the old regime, when young men were
permitted to enter the service of the Artillery under what may be called
exceptional conditions. During the pressure of the great war of the
French Revolution, the demand for officers became at one time so urgent,
that it was found necessary to dispense with a regular academical
education, and to give commissions to candidates who were pronounced by
competent examiners sufficiently conversant with mathematics and
physical science to enter upon the practical duties of their profession.
Lord Panmure, taking advantage of the precedent thus furnished, threw
open Artillery commissions in 1855, and has continued ever since to
treat admission into the Royal Military Academy as a prize for which the
youth of the United Kingdom may freely compete.
The subjects of study to be pursued in the Royal Military Academy at
Woolwich, not less than the mode of dealing with them, and the
text-books to be used, have hitherto been prescribed to the most minute
particular by regulation. They embrace Mathematics, Fortification,
Descriptive Geometry, French, German, Plan-Drawing, Geometrical Drawing,
Landscape Drawing, History and Geography; to which, during his
continuance in what are called the “theoretical classes,” the attention
of the cadet is confined. When he enters the “practical class,” the
student is instructed, over and above, in Practical Artillery, Surveying
and Field-Works, and attends lectures in Astronomy, Chemistry, Geology,
and Mineralogy. As many as five years may be spent by a young man in
going over this course--viz., four years in the “theoretical,” and one
year in the “practical” class--though the average period of actual
residence does not appear to exceed two years and a half or three years.
There are periodical examinations at the end of every half-year, the
second of which, by its results, determines whether the young man shall
be allowed to go on to a commission, or be removed from the Academy.
The moral tone of this military college has never, we regret to say,
been of a very high order. Excellent men have been at the head of it,
and the ability of the professors and teachers appointed to instruct
admits of no question. Yet few right-minded officers look back upon the
years spent in the cadet barracks except with disgust. It is not very
difficult to account for the circumstance. Long after Continental
nations had seen the absurdity of pressing upon boys the sort of
training which belongs to men, we refused to be guided by their
experience, and persisted, both at Woolwich and elsewhere, in our
endeavor to accomplish an impossibility. “Boys of fourteen, fifteen, and
sixteen,” says a very high authority on this subject, “require much
personal supervision in order to form their characters, which young
officers, very often appointed without any sufficient knowledge of their
tempers and habits, cannot be expected to bestow. Such officers may
indeed be able to superintend drill, but not moral training. Rarely do
they draw the cadets towards them, and become their advisers; more
frequently repel them by a harsh dictatorial manner, the cadet being in
their eyes a soldier. There has been also, during all the time I have
known the Academy, great inconsistency in treating the cadets. Honor is
constantly talked of, and yet doubts as to their truthfulness are not
unfrequently expressed. I have heard even the lie given in rough and
emphatic terms. Confidence is professedly placed, and yet offences are
found out in a way that shows that no confidence existed. Hence a
contest arises between the officer and cadet, and the latter becomes
tricky and disingenuous.”
In these emphatic words Colonel Portlock has struck at the root of
most of the evil which has long been felt, and heretofore combated
without success, in the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. Whatever is
wanting in the morale of that establishment, it owes to the original sin
of its constitution. We know how to deal with boys so long as we
recognize their boyhood, even while appealing to the point of honor
among them. But we no sooner dress them up in uniform, and affect to
treat them as soldiers, than we lose all moral control over them. They
smoke, drink, swear, and fall into other vices, not because they are
overcome by any irresistible temptation, but because they look upon such
acts as tokens of manhood. And the corporals, who report readily enough
for insubordination, and the officers, who punish for what they call
military offences, take little heed of worse things; partly because, in
a military point of view, they are scarcely criminal; partly because,
not being regarded as such, they are seldom brought under the notice of
the superior authorities. How a seminary so conducted and so managed
should have given to the Artillery and Engineers a body of officers
distinguished, as those of both arms unquestionably are for talent,
intelligence, and gentlemanly bearing, would be inexplicable, were not
the fact well known, that one of the first lessons taught to the young
lieutenant, after quitting the Academy, is to throw off the habits which
he had contracted there, and to adopt the high moral tone and excellent
habits of his regiment.
It was partly with a view to provide a palliative for this admitted
evil, partly to encourage in our young Artillery officers the habit of
sustained study, that they were required, by a recent regulation, “to
place themselves under the orders of a director of studies for half a
year after obtaining their commissions. Meanwhile cadets who are
appointed to the Engineers proceed to the training-school for that arm
at Chatham; where they go through a somewhat careful course of
surveying, and are instructed less elaborately in architecture, civil as
well as military, and in mining, sapping, pontooning, and so forth.
According to the report of the Commissioners, it does not appear that
they reach their new field of instruction over and above well prepared
to make the most of it. Indeed, the whole of the Woolwich system is by
these gentlemen condemned in terms as decided as is consistent with good
breeding.
II. It was not till the year 1804 that the propriety of training young
men in ever so slight a degree for the service of the infantry and
cavalry, seems to have occurred to any statesman or soldier in this
country. Appointments to both arms took place for a time by purchase
only, and by and by, when the numbers of the rank and file increased,
through the weight of influence, personal, political, or social.
Moreover, when the pressure of the great war was at its height, a third
door of entrance to military rank was opened, and ensigncies and
captaincies, and even lieutenant-colonelcies, became the prize of
private gentlemen who were able to bring certain fixed contingents of
able-bodied men under the royal standard. So far as the candidates for
commissions themselves were concerned, however, the same even-handed
justice was meted out to all. Nobody took the trouble to inquire whether
the candidates were qualified morally, intellectually, or physically. He
might be a pimp and blockhead, or lame, or deaf, or blind; but so long
as his patron had the ear of the Government, or the men whom he brought
with him were able to pass muster, his commission, whatever it might be,
was secure.
The Military College at Sandhurst consisted at first, as it still
consists, of two departments--one, called the Junior Department, for
cadets--the other, the Senior Department, for officers desirous of
qualifying for the Staff. But it had, in its original constitution, this
marked advantage over the arrangement which has since been effected,
that whereas now cadets and officers occupy portions of the same range
of buildings, and come under the instruction of the same professors,
they were, in 1804 placed, the one at Marlow, the other at
Highwickam--each class of students having its own teachers, though both
were subject to the control and management of the same military
administration.
As first constituted, the junior department afforded both an asylum
and a place of education for the sons of officers exclusively. Youths
once admitted ceased to be a burden to their friends, except for the
necessary expenses of travelling; they were housed, clothed, and
educated at the public expense. But no sooner was the great war ended
than Parliament began to slacken in its gratitude to the army, and by
little and little the grants for military education fell off, till in
the end they ceased altogether. As a necessary consequence, the numbers
of persons seeking education at the Military College fell off in like
manner. And now the junior department exhibits a muster-roll of 180
cadets only, while the strength of the senior department has dwindled to
nine individuals. To be sure, other causes than the withdrawal of public
support from the institution have operated to produce this latter
result. Whatever it might have been forty years ago, the senior
department at Sandhurst is certainly no Staff school now. Indeed, the
only science effectively taught there seems to be mathematics; and it is
a curious fact, that though the army abounds with officers who have
passed through that school, and taken high honors, the instances are
rare in which Staff appointments have fallen to the lot of any of them.
Lads are admitted into the junior department at Sandhurst between the
ages of thirteen and fifteen. The preliminary examination is of the most
trivial kind, and the instruction communicated is, for half the course,
that of a common school not of the highest order. No doubt each youth
may, if he be disposed, master more than the elements of a good deal of
science; for over and above physical geography and history, instruction
is given in practical astronomy, dynamics, and statics, practical
mechanics, co-ordinate geometry, the differential and integral calculus,
trigonometry and mensuration, Euclid’s Geometry, attack and defence of
fortresses, practical field-fortification, course of military surveying,
the Latin, French, and German languages. Unfortunately, however, there
is no compulsion to study, nor any inducement, unless the youth aspire
to win for himself a commission without purchase.
III. The Hon. East India Company’s College at Addiscombe approaches
nearer in its constitution and objects to what a military school ought
to be, than any other of which we can boast in this country. It came
into existence in 1818, previously to which date the Directors were in
the habit of sending to Woolwich, for instruction, youths to whom they
had given cadetships in the Company’s Artillery and Engineers. When
first founded, it was intended as a place of training exclusively for
these young gentlemen; but the benefits derived from it became so
obvious and so great that the Court of Directors gradually enlarged its
views, and now young men are educated at Addiscombe not only for the
Company’s Artillery and Engineers, but for their infantry also. And
herein it is that the Directors have mixed up evil with good. They
consider an Engineer cadetship as their great prize, and next to that a
cadetship of Artillery; and they select for these appointments, not the
youths who may have exhibited special talents for either arm, but the
best men, or the men reported as generally best, of their batch. The
consequence is, that to the infantry--for good service in which talent
is as much required as for either the Artillery or Engineers--the idlers
of the College are appointed, while many a clever lad, who would have
shone as an infantry officer, becomes an indifferent engineer or gunner,
simply because he has been posted to an arm for the practical operation
of which he has no genius.
In all other respects the Military School at Addiscombe may be fairly
said to surpass both Woolwich and Sandhurst. In the first place, youths
enter there almost invariably at a more mature age. Though eligible for
admission after completing their fifteenth year, they seldom, if ever,
come up for examination till after they have turned seventeen. In the
next place, the entrance examination is more severe than either at
Woolwich or Sandhurst; and in the third and last place--and this is the
most important condition of the whole--cadets must complete their course
at Addiscombe in two years, unless for special reasons, such as
sickness, they be allowed to prolong their stay one half-year more. Now,
lads may linger on at Woolwich four, and even five years, gaining this
remarkable advantage from their stupidity, that when forced to compete
at last for choice between Artillery and Engineers, they compete with
youths who may have had but two years’ training. And at Sandhurst, the
course which nominally covers four years, may, if the youth have
interest at headquarters, be completed, as far as his appointment to a
commission completes it, in four months.
The general education given at Addiscombe is certainly not inferior to
that which the cadets receive either at Woolwich or at Sandhurst. It
embraces, indeed, almost entirely the same subjects which are set down
in the curriculum of the others--including lectures in geology,
chemistry, and artillery. But it undeniably falls short in specialties.
Hence, after completing his course at Addiscombe, the Company’s cadet
intended for the Engineers proceeds to Chatham, where, side by side with
young men from Woolwich, he receives practical instruction in his art.
For the Artillery cadet, on the other hand, there is no practical
school. Like his comrade intended for the service of the Infantry, he
proceeds at once from Addiscombe to India, and learns there how to turn
to account the theoretical lessons which have been communicated to him
at home.
Another distinction deserves to be noted between the constitution of
the school of Addiscombe, and that as well of the Royal Military College
as of the Royal Military Academy: Though all alike put from them the
eleemosynary element, at Addiscombe alone is strict impartiality in the
matter of payments observed. The youth who enters there, whether he be
the son of an earl or of a subaltern’s widow, must be provided with his
£100 a year, besides about £25 more to cover the cost of books,
instruments, and uniforms. Both at Woolwich and Sandhurst there is a
graduated scale, which exacts more from a general officer than from a
subaltern, and more from a civilian than from either. The orphan of an
officer dying in poor circumstances is admitted into Woolwich on payment
of £20 a year. He pays for similar privileges at Sandhurst £40. The son
of a gentleman in civil life pays in both cases £125, a sum more than
necessary to cover the expenses of his own board and education, but
which is exacted in order that there may be a surplus out of which the
deficiencies occasioned by the payments of the sons of officers shall be
made good.
Most important changes in the system of Military Education in England
have been introduced since 1855, by Lord Panmure and the Council of
Military Education, inaugurated under his auspices.
1. Admission to the various Military Schools is now gained by open
competitive examination.
2. The order and method of studies, and all examinations for promotion,
are governed by an independent Board of competent officers, and men of
service, called the Council of Military Education.
3. The amount and order of studies in each school are minutely arranged,
and each Professor is kept to the prescribed course by the supervision
of a Master of Studies.
4. The development of the Staff School has given completeness to the
system.
III. FRENCH VIEW OF ENGLISH MILITARY SCHOOLS.
M. Alphonse Esquiros, in the _Révue des Deux Mondes_ of September 1860,
contributes two articles on the military schools and institutions of
England, from which we make a few extracts:
THE MILITARY SPIRIT AND PREPARATION OF ENGLAND.
On what foundation is the assertion based that England is only a
first-class naval power? Although never numerous, have not the English
soldiers sufficed for all the great eventualities of history? Has not
the weight of their arms been felt for centuries past in the balance in
which are weighed the destinies of the Continent? Each time that it was
necessary to conquer, have they not conquered? I will not awaken
irritating recollections. I will not mention the name of a great battle
so painful to our national self-love; it will suffice to recall the
fact, that recently, England, with a handful of men, has reconquered
India. Instead of denying history, it were better to ask by what links
the British character is connected with the group of martial nations.
The Englishman is not warlike from inclination; he does not love war for
war’s sake, or maintain an army for the ruinous pleasure of seeing
bayonets glitter and banners flaunt. He has an army to defend his
territory, his commerce, the immense net-work of his external relations
and possessions. Experience has more than once shown him the necessity
of placing the pride of riches under the protection of courage. The
Englishman has less enthusiasm than coolness. Immovable when attacked,
he feels that the responsibility of the labor which has made England an
opulent nation rests upon his arms. The military element, therefore,
presents in Great Britain peculiar and interesting features. And then,
quite recently, besides the regular army, a new independent army has
arisen. Yesterday, it existed but as a project; to-day, it fills the
towns with the blast of its clarions, passes review in Hyde Park and
Holyrood, and covers the plains with the smoke of its skirmishers.
I speak of the volunteers, or riflemen. We must investigate the origin
of this movement, and the influence it has already exercised on English
habits; but before busying ourselves with the army and volunteers, it
will be well to study the military schools and arsenals.
REFORMS IN MILITARY EDUCATION AND PROMOTION IN 1856.
The delay and disasters of the operations before Sebastopol aroused
the attention of the press and the people to the manner in which
officers for the army were trained, appointed, and promoted. The
Government was aroused by the emotions of the country, and in 1856, a
commission was appointed by Lord Panmure, Secretary of War, to
reorganize the education of the officers. That commission visited the
different military schools of Great Britain, visited similar
institutions in France, Prussia, Austria, and Sardinia, and collected
all documents of a nature to enlighten it researches. Its report is a
monument of science, and art, and impartiality. The authors of that
investigation, Col. Yolland, Col. Mythe, and Mr. Lake, of the Oxford
University, pointed out what reform ought to be made in the English
system to raise the establishment of military education to the level of
the inevitable progress claimed by the present age. They recommended a
Council of Military Education, which, placed beyond and above the
educating body, should direct the studies of the young men destined for
the army. From these various influences--the pressure of public opinion,
the commission appointed in 1856 by the Government, and especially the
Council of Military Education, arose those happy changes, which we shall
endeavor to point out in the military institutions of Great Britain.
ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT WOOLWICH.
Before 1855, the candidates were named by the master-general of
ordnance; and although there was an entrance examination, the
requisitions were very elementary, and no youth, influentially connected
or recommended, was rejected. The results, although the institution
furnished some good engineers and artillery officers to the English
army, were not satisfactory. Since 1855 the system of appointment and
instruction has been re-organized. Appointment on nomination has given
place to open competition. A ministerial circular made an appeal to all
candidates desirous of entering the academy without distinction of
class, or party. Public examinations thrown open to the youth of
England, with independent examinations, succeeded the private
examinations within the college walls. The axe was laid at the tree of
privilege, and personal merit was substituted in its place.
The entrance examinations take place twice, a year, at Chelsea
Hospital--the home of disabled soldiers, and the school of orphan
soldiers’ children--in a large hall hung with the captured trophies and
battle flags of different nations. The programme embraces mathematics,
simple and practical; history, geography, and English literature; the
Greek and Latin classics; the French language and literature; German,
chemistry, and physics; mineralogy and geology; geometrical and
landscape drawing. To each subject a certain numerical value is
assigned. Each candidate is limited to five subjects, including
mathematics, which he may select out of the programme, and on his
obtaining an aggregate as well as relative number of marks depends his
success. The results are made public, and the unsuccessful candidates
are allowed another trial to fill succeeding vacancies. Then
examinations exercise an indirect but elevating influence upon the
schools of the country which send forth the candidates. Competition has
put a check upon ignorance and mediocrity, no matter how well backed by
social and political influence.
Another reform, not less important than that of competition, or the
system of nominations, was that order of the minister of war,
lengthening the age for the admission of candidates. That age was fixed
between 16 and 20. The inconvenience of submitting young men too soon to
military discipline has been recognized with great wisdom by Gen.
Portlock.[2] “The character of adolescents exacts,” he says, “a more
delicate cultivation than that which must be expected from officers
imbued with the command of a military school. In their eyes, no matter
how young he is, the pupil is a soldier, and they treat him almost as
one. Doubtless they excel in drilling him well; but do they possess the
necessary qualities and experience for forming the morals of youth?”
Another consequence of the early admissions was the introduction of a
sort of confusion and uncertainty in the system of teaching. Now, a
distinct line is drawn between the course of studies which precede and
which follow admission to the academy. The conclusion was come to that a
military academy formed a sort of line of demarcation in life between a
good general education which ends, and a professional service which
commences. The character, mind, manners of the candidate are supposed to
be formed according to the usages of the world; he has reached that age
when a man knows himself, and looks out for a career.
[Footnote 2: The Inspector of Studies at the Academy, now member
of the Military Board of Education.]
It is needless to dwell on the course of instruction, which is now
nearly the same in all the great military schools of Europe. There are
thirty-five professors, many of them eminent in their respective
departments. One leading object, both of instruction and discipline, is
to cultivate the habit of self-improvement and self-government. Physical
sports are practiced and encouraged, and the cadets frequently challenge
the officers of the garrison to a match of cricket.
An examination takes place every six months, in which the progress of
each cadet is ascertained and reported. Those who pass through the
series in good standing are promoted to a commission; the most
distinguished to the engineer corps, and the others to the artillery.
The appointment of these young officers gives rise to an interesting
ceremony. The Duke of Cambridge, with a numerous staff, visits Woolwich
Academy twice a year. All the cadets are present in review in front of
the monument. It is pleasing to see how admirably they go through the
manœuvres. The duke then enters a hall where a _viva voce_ examination
takes place on the art of fortification. This over, the cadets form in
square, and the duke then advances to the table where the prizes are
laid out. These prizes consist of a sword of honor, telescopes,
mathematical instruments, and books. The President of the Council of
Education reads out the names of the cadets of the first class who are
to receive commissions in the engineers and artillery. In conclusion,
the Duke of Cambridge addresses some parental words to the young men who
are about to leave the academy to enter the army. Such is a brief
account of this academical festival, to which the brilliancy of the
uniforms, the rank and names of the assistants, the happy emotions on
the faces of the young men, impress a character of charm and solemnity.
MILITARY COLLEGE AT ADDISCOMBE.
Addiscombe was formerly the residence of the Earl of Liverpool, but
was converted into a school at an expense of $40,000, by the East India
Company. Within a few years it has passed into the hands of the
Government. One of the first acts of the Secretary of War and Council of
Military Education was to inaugurate a system of admission (which was
open by patronage of members of the company) by competitive examination,
and which has been attended with the happiest results. After passing a
year at Addiscombe, the cadets enter according to merit (ascertained by
examination) and either enter the engineers, artillery, or line service.
The India service will always remain distinct and sought after; that
life of adventures, encampments in the jungles, tiger hunts, the
attraction of struggles against man and nature, the dazzling figures of
a world shining in the east through the fogs of Great Britain, all this
responds to one feature of the English character, the love of adventure.
ROYAL COLLEGE OF SANDHURST.
Here are two distinct institutions--the college, which is a
preparatory school for infantry and cavalry officers, and the _senior
department_, or staff school. The scholars of the last department, who
have already gone through the competitive examination, are commissioned
officers; they have even served a certain number of years in the army;
some of them have gone through the Crimean war and the Indian campaign.
In 1859, one of these officers had received eighteen or nineteen wounds,
which had deprived him of one of his eyes. I was surprised at finding
among them candidates for staff appointments who could write and speak
French in a manner that would have done honor to a French officer.
The English find it an advantage to admit young officers of talent and
energy into the higher branches of the service. To the experience of
their profession, their picked soldiers add knowledge already acquired,
which a second course of education develops and consolidates. It must,
however, be admitted that it requires a certain moral strength to
return, after having held a command, to the benches of a school, to
follow various studies, and to submit to strict examinations, which
exclude all ideas of promotion and favor, fortune or birth.
In an economical point of view, these two institutions, Woolwich and
Sandhurst, cover their own expenses without any cost to the State. This
fact, which was by no means foreseen, is owing to two measures
relatively of recent date--the gradual withdrawal of subsidies formerly
granted by Parliament, and the accession of the sons of rich men not
belonging to the army; these latter pay a high premium, and thus
contribute towards the education of the other cadets, who, being sons of
officers, enjoy certain immunities. In England, it is thought equitable
that the services of the father should be counted in favor of the son;
according to this principle, the debt contracted by the country towards
military men is paid to their sons by civilians.
Young men who have not passed through Sandhurst may, nevertheless, be
admitted as officers into the line or cavalry, but on the condition of
undergoing an examination and _purchasing_ their commissions. This
purchasing of direct commissions is doubtless detrimental to Sandhurst
College. The abolition of the system has often been mooted. The Duke of
Cambridge approves of the abolition, as does the Minister of War, and
wishes that no officer shall be admitted into the English army except
from a military college.
COUNCIL OF MILITARY EDUCATION.
So far we only behold the members of a great system. There is unity in
the Council of Military Education, which to a certain extent is the head
of instruction. The influence of their council, which consists of
eminent men, is felt in the different schools, introduces changes and
useful reforms, directs the public examinations--in a word, gives the
impulse to the military studies of the United Kingdom. The civil and
religious element is represented therein by one of the most learned men
of England (the Rev. Henry Mosley, canon.) The other members are
generals and colonels belonging to different corps of the army.
Thus it will be seen that England enjoys a system of military
education which will bear comparison with that of any other nation in
Europe. The chief purposes of this system are a good general instruction
up to the age of sixteen or nineteen years, then a short military
instruction, then, after some years of service, a final course of
studies in the senior department or staff college. It must not, however,
be supposed that the present state of things, though happily modified by
the recent principle of competition, is the extreme limit of progress.
In the name of liberty, I am too anxious that Great Britain should
maintain her position in the world, to pay a full compliment to her
self-esteem and enslumber her aspirations for reform. She has done much
in these latter times; but there is still much to be done, and she is
aware of it, to raise the moral power of her officers to the level of
modern times, where enlightenment pervades every class of society.
MODIFICATIONS IN 1871.
In 1867 a Royal Commission was appointed “to inquire into the Present
state of Military Education and into the Training of Candidates for
Commissions in the Army.” The Report, with the minutes of evidence and
illustrated documents, was quite voluminous, and has been followed with
important changes in both the system of military instruction, and in the
mode of making appointments and promotions in the army, that will be
noted in detail in the following chapters, which are compiled from
historical notices by the Secretary of the Commission, and recent
Regulations for the government of the several schools and the
examinations for appointment and promotions.
The most important measure affecting the British army; after repeated
discussions of the principle, in the last and former Parliaments, and
particularly in the last, on a bill of the Gladstone ministry, in which
the votes of the Commons in favor was overruled by the Lords, was the
abolition of the whole system of purchase and sale of commissions by
Royal Warrant issued July 20, 1871. This radical change was followed
(October 30) by a revision of the Queen’s Regulations, in which original
appointments and promotions in the military service are put on a new
basis. Henceforth, commissions of the first grade are to be issued to
sub-lieutenants, for any vacancy occurring:
1. To successful candidates, in the order of merit as ascertained by
competitive examination in general subjects.
2. To graduates of the universities who shall pass a qualifying
examination.
3. To Queen’s Cadets, Indian Cadets, and Pages of Honor, who have passed
successfully the final examination of the Military Academy, or its
equivalent.
4. To non-commissioned officers who are recommended for promotion by
their commanding officers. If more candidates apply than there are
vacancies to be filled, appointment is decided by competition.
5. To a lieutenant of the militia, who shall pass the professional
examination required.
Sub-lieutenants are eligible to promotion only after passing a
professional examination, and only after twelve months’ service with a
regiment, under strict discipline, with liability to be removed for
physical or moral unfitness. Within three years from the date of their
commissions as lieutenants, officers may submit to an examination in
respect to fitness for promotion to captaincies, and any officer failing
to pass within three years, must retire from the army. Lieutenants are
eligible to the rank of captain at any time after two years’ service in
the army, having passed the examination. A captain may be made a major
after two years’ service in the army; and a major is at any time
eligible to a lieutenant-coloneley, which means the command of a
regiment.
Every promotion must now be made on the recommendation of the
Commander-in-Chief, with the approval of the Secretary of State for War;
and from the principles laid down in the Royal Warrant, as will be seen
further on, every precaution is taken to insure a gradual advance by
seniority, and a more rapid rise by meritorious service founded on
intelligent and disinterested tests. By the new Warrant the Militia is
brought into closer connection with the Regular Army. To the abolition
of purchase, and promotion by professional preparation and service, may
be added the autumn field manœuvres, inaugurated in 1871, with 30,000
men, and the localization of the Army, by assigning a corps with staff,
train, men, &c., to territorial divisions of the country.
COUNCIL OF MILITARY EDUCATION.
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
In the debates which took place in Parliament during the Crimean war, in
the year 1855, attention was frequently drawn to the necessity of
improving the professional education of officers, and more particularly
of providing means of instruction for, and requiring special
qualifications from, those who were candidates for the staff. In the
course of the same year a great alteration was made in the principles
which had hitherto regulated preparatory instruction for the army, by
abandoning, so far as the scientific corps were concerned, the system of
juvenile military education, and throwing admission to the Artillery and
Engineers open to public competition among candidates whose age would
afford the presumption that their general education was already
completed. At the beginning of 1856 three Commissioners, Lieut.-Colonel
Yolland, R.E., Lieut.-Colonel Smythe, R.A., and the Rev. W. C. Lake,
were appointed by Lord Panmure, then Secretary of State for War, “to
consider the best mode of reorganizing the system for training officers
for the scientific corps”; and for this purpose were directed to visit
the military schools of France, Prussia, Austria, and Sardinia. The
instructions issued to the Commissioners informed them that it was
already decided that admission to the scientific corps should be
obtained by open competition, and that the age of candidates admitted to
the examination should be from 17 to 20.
While the Commissioners were still engaged in their inquiries, the
question of military education was frequently brought before the notice
of Parliament in the course of the session of 1856, more particularly by
Mr. Sidney Herbert, who, in an elaborate speech on the 5th of June,
explained to the House of Commons the details of a general scheme of
education for officers of all branches of the service, the outline of
which he had previously sketched out while Secretary at War in 1854, in
a letter to the Commander-in-Chief.
The subject of military education was one which at this time engaged the
serious attention both of the Government and the public. Toward the
close of the year, Major-General Lefroy (then Colonel Lefroy, and
employed at the War Office as artillery adviser to the Secretary of
State) was directed by Lord Panmure to draw up a general scheme for the
education of officers; and numerous plans, with a similar object, were
about the same period proposed for the consideration of the Secretary of
State.
The military educational establishments which existed in 1856 were as
follows:
The Royal Military College at Sandhurst, } Under the control of the
comprising a senior and junior department. } Commander-in-Chief.
The Royal Military Academy at Woolwich. }
The Ordnance School at Carshalton, a }
preparatory establishment to the Academy. } Under the control of the
The Department of Artillery Studies at } Clerk of the Ordnance.
Woolwich. }
The Royal Engineer Establishment at }
Chatham. }
The East India Military College at { Under the Court of
Addiscombe. { Directors of the
{ East India Company.
The School of Musketry at Hythe. { Under the control of the
{ Commander-in-Chief.
The Royal Military Asylum at Chelsea, }
comprising a training school for army } Under the control of the
schoolmasters, and a model school for } Deputy Secretary of War.
children. }
The Royal Hibernian School at Dublin. }
Garrison and regimental schools for } Under the control of the
soldiers and children. } Chaplain-General.
Up to this period no systematic organization for the direction of
military education had prevailed in this country; the various
educational establishments were under the control of separate
departments, and no single authority exercised any general supervision
over them. The appointment of a Director-General of Military Education
had been already advocated in Parliament by Mr. Sidney Herbert, and the
institution of a special department to superintend the whole system of
education for the army was one of the main features both of Colonel
Lefroy’s and of all the other schemes brought under the consideration of
Lord Panmure at this period.
The Commissioners appointed in 1856, after having visited the military
schools of the Continent, presented their Report in January, 1857. In
this Report, although their instructions had more particularly directed
their attention to the training of officers for the scientific corps,
they touched upon several points connected with the education of
officers of the army generally. One of the changes most strongly
recommended by them was the formation of a special Board of Military
Education. “We consider it of the first importance,” their Report says,
“that military education in this country should be regarded as a whole,
and that perfect unity of system and harmony in its working should be
made to prevail. This, we conceive, can only be done by bringing
military education generally under the control of one head, the
Secretary of State for War; and to effect this, a Board or Section of
Military Education should be formed, as part of the establishment of the
War Office.” The Report adds: “The creation of such a Section appears to
us far more important than any other single object we can recommend.”
The Commissioners also stated that after careful consideration, they
recommended the combined action of a Board in preference to the
undivided authority of a single individual, on the ground of the variety
of knowledge and experience required for the proper treatment of
educational questions.
The appointment of the Council of Military Education was the first
result of the recommendations of the Commissioners. Its institution was
proposed in a letter from the Commander-in-Chief to the Secretary of
State for War on the 6th of April, 1857, and as originally constituted,
it consisted of the Commander-in-Chief as _ex officio_ president, a
Major-General as vice-president, and two field officers as members. The
appointment of the Council, although the members commenced their duties
at once, was not officially gazetted until June.
The functions of the Council, however, did not in the first instance
extend to a general superintendence over the whole system of military
education. Almost simultaneously with their institution an
Inspector-General of Army Schools was appointed under the Secretary of
State for War, to whom the management of all institutions connected with
the education of soldiers and children, which had previously been in the
hands of the Chaplain-General, was entrusted. Nor was the supervision of
the Council even over the education of officers at first general, as the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich remained under the management of the
War Office (under which department it had been placed on the abolition
of the office of Master-General of the Ordnance), and the examinations
for admission to it were conducted by a separate Board of Examiners,
under the superintendence of Canon Moseley.
The instructions issued to the Council on their first appointment
directed their attention more especially to the organization of a Staff
College, the revision of the system of examinations for direct
appointments to the army, the amalgamation of Woolwich and Sandhurst,
and the professional instruction and examination of officers after
entering the service. On all these questions they submitted reports in
the course of the year, and at the beginning of 1858 they commenced to
conduct the examinations in connection with the Staff College and the
Cadet College at Sandhurst, although these establishments were not
formally put under their authority until, by a Royal Warrant of the 1st
of October, 1858, the Council were appointed Visitors of the Royal
Military College. The examinations of officers for direct appointments
to the staff, which had been instituted in 1857, were also placed under
the superintendence of the Council in 1858; but at a later period, the
portion of these examinations which has more especial reference to
matters of drill and regimental duty was, on the recommendation of the
Council themselves, removed from their control, with the view of its
being conducted by a Board of Officers appointed by the
Adjutant-General.
At the beginning of the year 1858, the office of Secretary to the
Council of Military Education was created, and in June of the same year
an augmentation of their number took place by the addition of two new
members,--one a field officer, the other a civilian, the Rev. Canon
Moseley. The constitution of the Council as then fixed continues to the
present day, and consists of the Commander-in-Chief as _ex officio_
president, a vice-president, and four members, one being a civilian.
The appointment of a civilian as a member of the central Board of
Military Education had been recommended by the Commissioners of 1856, on
the ground of the close connection between military and civil
educational questions. The decision to carry out this recommendation,
simultaneously with an augmentation in the strength of the Council,
appears to have been connected with the determination arrived at, to
place the superintendence of the Academy at Woolwich--the competitive
examinations for admission to which had hitherto been conducted by Canon
Moseley--in the hands of the Council. They were formally appointed
Visitors of the Academy in August, 1858, their control over the
education of the officers of the army being now made almost entirely
general. The powers of the Council, however, in regard to Woolwich
appear, probably from the fact of their not being defined by Royal
Warrant, to be theoretically somewhat less extensive than those
possessed by them over Sandhurst, as the recommendation of the
appointment of professors, which in the case of the latter college is
formally vested in the Council, is at the Academy left to the
Lieutenant-Governor.
In October, 1859, the Indian Military College at Addiscombe was placed
under the supervision of the Council, and the examinations for admission
to it were conducted by them until the close of the establishment in
1861.
In 1860, the superintendence of army schools, garrison libraries,
recreation rooms, the Royal Military Asylum at Chelsea, and the Royal
Hibernian School at Dublin, were transferred from the Secretary of State
for War to the Council.
In 1864, the Advanced Class of Artillery Officers, on its institution,
was placed under the control of the Council. Since this date the whole
system of army education has been superintended by that body, with the
exception of the examinations of officers for promotion, the School of
Musketry at Hythe, and the more peculiarly regimental institutions which
exist in the Department of Artillery Studies, the School of Gunnery at
Shoeburyness, and the School of Military Engineering at Chatham, for the
special instruction of officers of the scientific corps. The Survey
Class at Aldershot, though not formally is indirectly subject to their
supervision.
1. ORGANIZATION AND DUTIES IN 1869.
The Council of Military Education consists of the Duke of Cambridge,
Field Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, _President_; Major-General W. C. E.
Napier, _Vice-President_; Major-General Sir Fred. Abbott, of the Royal
Engineers; Col. Pocklington and Col. Hamley, of the Royal Artillery;
Rev. Canon Moseley, civilian; and Capt. Greentree, _Secretary_.
_Military Schools and Examinations._
1. To recommend to the Commander-in-Chief, and the Secretary of War,
gentlemen for the appointment of examiners in the army examinations.
2. To recommend professors and instructors for the Advanced Class of
Artillery Officers, the Staff College, the Royal Military Academy, and
the Royal Military College.
3. To examine, by means of their staff of examiners, officers for
direct appointment to the staff, chiefly the personal staff, and
aids-de-camp and assistant military secretaries.
4. To examine officers of artillery for admission to the Advanced
Class, and for certificates on quitting it.
5. To examine officers for admission to the Staff College,
probationarily after a year’s residence, and for qualification for the
general staff on quitting the College.
6. To examine candidates for admission to the Royal Military Academy
at Woolwich, and for qualification for commissions in the Royal
Artillery and in the Royal Engineers on quitting that establishment.
7. To examine candidates for admission to the Royal Military College
at Sandhurst, and for qualification for commissions in the army on their
quitting the College.
8. To examine candidates for direct commissions in the cavalry,
guards, and line.
9. To visit the several military colleges whenever they consider it
desirable.
10. To report to the Commander-in-Chief on all questions connected
with the education of candidates for the army, or with the educational
departments of the several military schools.
_Army Schools, Regimental and Garrison Libraries and Reading Rooms._
1. To receive and consider all applications for training schoolmasters
or schoolmistresses; the usual course of procedure in these cases is
annexed.
2. The appointment of trained schoolmasters and schoolmistresses,
according to the regulations.
3. The appointment of acting schoolmasters and schoolmistresses, when
trained masters and mistresses cannot be provided.
4. The appointment of civilian schoolmasters in embodied regiments of
militia under special regulations as annexed.
5. The transfers of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses from one
regiment or garrison school to another, as circumstances may require.
6. Promotion of schoolmasters and schoolmistresses from one class to
another according to the regulations.
7. To receive and consider all communications from commanding officers
on matters relating to the appointment of schoolmasters and
schoolmistresses their discipline, application for leave to marry,
furlough, etc.
8. To receive the monthly report of schools, prescribed by Article 16
of the Schools Regulations, and to consider the same, and take such
proceedings thereon as may appear necessary.
9. The periodical inspection of all military schools, and of the Royal
Military Asylum, Chelsea, and the Royal Hibernian School, Dublin.
10. To provide for and superintend the half yearly examination at the
Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea.
11. The supply of suitable apparatus for the illustration of lectures
for the instruction and entertainment of soldiers, according to the
rules laid down by the Secretary of State.
12. The general supervision of regimental and garrison libraries and
reading rooms.
13. To consider applications for, and appoint librarians at rates of
pay previously authorized by the Secretary of State.
14. To supply games, and other authorized articles for reading rooms,
according to the rules annexed.
15. To receive the quarterly reports of the state of barrack libraries
in duplicate, and to consider any recommendation which maybe made
therein; one copy to be forwarded to the Secretary of State for War,
with the recommendations of the Council recorded thereon, should any be
necessary.
16. To make out requisitions upon the War Office for additions to
libraries, when necessary, within the annual amount granted by
Parliament.
17. To receive and consider the half yearly reports of artillery and
engineer libraries in duplicate, in aid of which a grant of money will
be made annually to each brigade of artillery and company of engineers
by the Secretary of State, on the recommendation of the Council of
Military Education; one copy to be forwarded to the Secretary of State,
with any remarks thereon which may appear called for, the other to be
retained by the Council.
18. Hospital libraries and the schools and libraries of disembodied
regiments of militia will remain under the Secretary of State for War.
19. Upon all matters connected with either schools or libraries, not
specified above, and which may involve expense, reference should be made
to the Secretary of State for War, previously to any decision being
arrived at.
EXAMINATIONS FOR COMMISSIONS AND PROMOTIONS.
I. EXAMINATIONS FOR DIRECT COMMISSIONS.
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
Previously to the year 1849, no educational qualifications were required
as a condition of obtaining a commission, except from officers appointed
to the scientific corps--admission to which could only be obtained by
passing through the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich--and from the
small proportion of officers, scarcely amounting, at that time, to one
sixth of the whole number annually obtaining commissions, who entered
the other branches of the service from the Royal Military College at
Sandhurst. Examinations for admission to the army generally were first
instituted by the Duke of Wellington, when Commander-in-Chief, in 1849.
The examination, in addition to general subjects of elementary
education, included the professional subject of fortification, in which
the candidate was required to have read some easy work on the subject,
and to have received some instruction in drawing. This requirement was
subsequently somewhat modified; and the knowledge of fortification
afterward exacted from a candidate was, “to be able to trace upon paper,
in presence of the examiners, a front of fortification according to
Vauban’s first system, and also the profile of a rampart and parapet.”
In other subjects, modifications were also introduced; but the general
character of the examinations remained much the same as originally
established, and the regulations introduced by the Duke of Wellington,
in 1849, continued substantially in force, until the general revision of
the system of military education, which took place in 1857. It appears,
however, from the evidence given by Lord Panmure, before the Royal
Commission on the Purchase System, that, during the Crimean war, the
stringency of the examinations was very much relaxed.
The examinations were held at Sandhurst by the professors of the
College, in the presence of the Lieutenant-Governor, and were conducted
to a great extent _vivâ voce_. The Select Committee of the House of
Commons on Sandhurst (1855) did not make any recommendation in regard to
these examinations, but stated in their report that in the only branch
of the examination which was of a military character, namely,
fortification, the knowledge required would easily be mastered in a
week. The character of the examination, however, appears to have been
very generally regarded with dissatisfaction. Mr. Sidney Herbert, when
Secretary at War, in 1854, criticised it severely, as being “too
technical, too limited, and within its limits too severe,” and as
leading necessarily to a candidate cramming up a few books which
happened to be in use at Sandhurst, without affording any test of
general education. He contemplated at that time a revision of the
examinations, and the institution of a special board of examiners, in
place of the Sandhurst professors, for the purpose of conducting them;
and the Treasury, in connection with this subject, suggested that the
machinery proposed for the object in view should be combined, as far as
practicable, with that about to be established for examining candidates
for the Civil Service.
The outbreak of the Crimean war prevented Mr. Sidney Herbert’s
proposals, which were connected with a general plan for the instruction
of officers, from being carried into effect; and in 1856, Lord Panmure,
before the Purchase System Commission, spoke of the defects of the
existing examinations in nearly the same terms as those used by Mr.
Herbert in 1854. After stating that they led to a system of cramming up
particular books, he laid down the principle that the examination
“should be such as young men may be supposed capable of passing without
having any particular professional education. It ought to be upon
general subjects, such as a young man ought to become acquainted with
during his passage through any high educational establishment in this
country.”
The various schemes for the reorganization of military education brought
under the notice of Lord Panmure, at the end of 1856, proposed
improvements in the system of examinations for admission to the army;
and nearly all the authorities consulted on the subject at that time
appear to have concurred in the opinion that the examinations should be
strictly non-professional, and should be confined to requiring proof on
the part of the candidates of a knowledge of the ordinary subjects of
liberal education. The commissioners appointed in the same year to
consider the training of officers for the scientific corps also
recommended that the examination of candidates for commissions, who did
not pass through a military college, should be of a general, and not of
a special, character.
The Council of Military Education, on their appointment, in April, 1857,
were instructed “to revise the whole system of examination for direct
appointments to the army,” which is at present very defective; and this
subject was, in fact, the first of those referred to in their
instructions which they were directed to take into consideration. After
consultation with the head masters of some of the chief public schools
of the country, with the view of ascertaining the amount of knowledge
which might fairly be expected from young men of 17, the Council
proposed a scheme of examination based on the fundamental principle that
the examination should be entirely non-professional, and confined to
subjects which form the course of ordinary liberal education at civil
schools. Regulations founded upon the proposal of the Council were
issued on the 1st of August, 1857, and it was announced that they would
come into operation at the beginning of 1858. These regulations were
subsequently modified in some of their details, even before the first
examination was held under the new system; further modifications have
been from time to time introduced in them, without, however, affecting
their general character; and the scheme proposed by the Council of 1857
has, in its main principles, formed the basis of all the regulations
under which examinations for direct commissions have been held to the
present time.
It appears, however, from the evidence given before the Commission of
1869, that it has been found necessary, from time to time, to diminish
the difficulty of the examinations, owing to the number of failures
among the candidates, and that the present standard is considerably
lower than that originally established. An acquaintance with French,
English history and geography, and drawing, was at first an
indispensable condition of qualification, but is now no longer required;
the obligatory subjects of examination have thus been reduced from five
to two--mathematics and English--while, at the same time, the amount of
mathematical knowledge formerly exacted has been reduced.
The first examination under the new system took place in February, 1858.
Even before this, at the end of 1857, the place of examination had been
transferred from Sandhurst to London, and the method of conducting the
examinations by printed papers, instead of by _vivâ voce_, had been
adopted. The examinations have, ever since that period, been conducted
by examiners appointed by the Council of Military Education, and have,
as a rule, been held half yearly. By a regulation which has been for
some years in force, candidates for direct commissions are also
permitted to be examined at foreign stations. The examination is, in
this case, conducted in the presence of a board appointed by the officer
commanding the station; but the method of examination is, in all other
respects, identical with that adopted at home. The examination papers
are forwarded by, and the candidates’ replies are returned to, the
Council of Military Education.
The plan proposed by the Council was intended to regulate admission to
the army in ordinary times of peace; but almost immediately after it had
been formally approved, and before it had actually come into operation,
the pressure occasioned by the outbreak of the Indian Mutiny led to an
abnormal condition of circumstances. In September, 1857, a circular was
issued, announcing that commissions would be given without examination
on the condition of the applicant raising a certain number of recruits.
In March, however, of the following year, this temporary measure was
abolished, the pressure for troops being no longer such as to render its
continuance necessary. Since that period no candidates, with the
exception of graduates of the universities, have obtained commissions
without passing the regular examination.
Before 1862, candidates were eligible for commissions without purchase,
on passing the examination for direct appointments. Since that year,
however, all free commissions have been reserved for cadets at
Sandhurst, and those who pass the direct examination have only obtained
commissions by purchase.
REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN 1869.
I. The examinations of candidates for direct commissions will be held
in London at such periods as the exigencies of the service may require,
and be conducted under the direction of the Council of Military
Education by examiners appointed for the purpose. The number of
candidates summoned to attend each examination will be limited to the
requirements of the service.
II. The age of candidates examined for direct appointments will be,
until further notice, from 17 to 20 years for the infantry, from 17 to
22 years for the cavalry, and from 17 to 26 years for colonial corps.
III. The candidate will be examined by a medical board, to ascertain
that he is in every point of view, as regards his physical constitution,
fit for military service.
He will be required to produce the following certificates, which must
be forwarded to the Council of Military Education, 13 Great George
street, S.W., as soon as possible after the receipt of the Military
Secretary’s order to attend for examination:
(_a._) A certificate of baptism, or other satisfactory proof of his
age.
(_b._) A certificate from a minister of the church or of the
denomination to which he belongs, that he has been duly instructed in
the principles of religion.
(_c._) A certificate of good moral character, signed by a clergyman of
the parish to which he belongs, or by the tutor or head of the school or
college at which he has received his education, for at least the two
preceding years; or such other proof of good moral character as will be
satisfactory to the Commander-in-Chief.
(_d._) A statement of the subjects in which he wishes to be examined.
IV. The following will be the subjects of examination, but no
candidate will be allowed to be examined in more than _five_ of these
subjects.
Marks.
The classics { Latin, 2,000
{ Greek, 1,600
Mathematics, pure and mixed, 3,600
English language, 1,200
Modern languages (not including provincial dialects) each, 1,200
History, ancient and modern, with geography, 1,200
Natural sciences, _i.e._, mineralogy and geology, 1,200
Experimental sciences, _i.e._, chemistry, heat,
electricity, including magnetism, 1,200
Drawing, 600
V. Of the foregoing subjects, the elementary branches of mathematics
and the English language, to the extent stated in the following
paragraphs, will be considered obligatory:
1. In mathematics, 1,200 marks will be given to the following
obligatory portions, viz., arithmetic, including vulgar and decimal
fractions, proportion, extraction of the square root, and simple
interest.
Algebra, including fractions, simple equations, and questions
producing them: Euclid, the first three books.
Of the 1,200 marks allotted to the foregoing portions of mathematics,
400 will be required for qualification, and of these at least 200 must
be obtained in arithmetic.
2. In the English language, the candidate will be required to write
correctly and in a good legible hand from dictation, and to compose
grammatically. He will be required to obtain at least 200 marks in this
subject.
3. Out of the remaining subjects the candidate may select any three.
4. No candidate will be allowed to count the marks gained in any one
of the three voluntary subjects, unless amounting to one-sixth of the
whole number of marks allotted to that subject; and for qualification,
he will be required to obtain on his five subjects a total of 1,500
marks.
5. In the examination in classics, passages will be given for
translation from the books usually read at schools; grammatical
questions will be set, and English passages also given for translation
into the Latin and Greek languages.
VI. The result of each examination will be reported to the
Commander-in-Chief, and the names of any candidates who distinguish
themselves will be specially brought to his notice.
VII. An unsuccessful candidate will not be debarred from applying to
the Commander-in-Chief for permission to attend a future examination. No
candidate, however, will be allowed more than three trials.
Should a candidate obtain only between 700 and 1,200 marks, he will
not be allowed to present himself for reëxamination for at least six
months. If he obtains less than 700 marks, a period of at least twelve
months must elapse before he can be allowed to present himself again.
In all cases permission to be reëxamined must depend upon the number
of applicants on the list.
In subsequent examinations no credit will be given for the marks
gained by a candidate on former occasions.
In the event of a candidate not appearing for examination at the time
appointed, such candidate will not be permitted to attend on the next
occasion, and he will render himself liable to have his name either
erased entirely or placed at the bottom of the list of those noted for
examination.
VIII. A student at either of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge,
Dublin, London, St. Andrew’s, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, or Queen’s
University, Ireland, who shall have passed the examination necessary for
taking a degree in arts, is qualified for a commission by purchase
without being required to pass the foregoing examination, provided he is
within the limits of 17 and 23 years of age if for the infantry, 17 and
25 years if for the cavalry, and of 17 and 28 years for colonial corps,
and can produce the certificates marked (_a_), (_b_), and (_c_).
Such candidate must furnish a certificate of having graduated, or of
having passed the examinations, signed by the Registrar of the
University, and showing the date on which the examination took place.
On his application being approved, the candidate will receive an order
to be medically examined as to his physical fitness for the service.
The candidate will address his application, accompanied by the
necessary certificates, to the Military Secretary, Horse Guards.
III. PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATION AS PREPARATORY TO MILITARY EXAMINATIONS.
A.--GENERAL NOTICE.
In connection with the Modern Departments, at some public schools,
technical instruction in military subjects is actually at present given.
This, for instance, is the case at Cheltenham College, the Modern
Department at which appears, in fact, to have been originally instituted
with the express object of affording means of special military
education, and at the present day is officially called the “Military and
Civil Department.” At one time, also, even at some schools in which
Modern Departments did not exist, classes were formed in which
instruction in military subjects was given to boys intended for the
army. Both at Eton and at Harrow such classes existed, and fortification
and military drawing were taught in them. The object of the formation of
these classes appears in both cases to have been to enable boys to go up
straight from school to the examinations for admission to the army,
without the necessity of having recourse to private tuition. At the time
of their institution a knowledge of fortification was required in the
examination for direct commissions, and a candidate was therefore unable
to present himself for this examination without some special
preparation. At the commencement of 1858, however, the direct commission
examinations were entirely remodelled; the small amount of fortification
previously required was at that time excluded from the subjects of
examination, which have ever since been of a non-professional character,
and more or less such as enter into the course of ordinary liberal
education. With the exclusion of technical subjects from the military
examinations, the necessity for any special instruction in such subjects
in candidates for admission to the army ceased. The military class at
Harrow seems to have died out within a few years of its establishment;
it has not been in existence during the last ten years and more. At
Eton, though the corresponding class is still maintained, the teaching
of technical military subjects in it has been abandoned. Even in the
Modern Department at Cheltenham the instruction appears of late years to
have become of a less decidedly military character than it originally
was; and fortification, which was at one time taught at Wellington
College, no longer enters into the course of instruction there. In the
Modern Side, which has within the present year been established at
Harrow, though partially intended, among other purposes, to assist the
education of boys intended for the army, no attempt is made to give
special military instruction.
The question of the possibility of affording an adequate military
education at civil schools was fully discussed by the Commissioners
appointed in 1856 to consider the training of officers for the
scientific corps.
Having arrived at the conclusion that professional military education
as hitherto given in this country has been begun at too early an age, we
are met by what may be called the extreme opposite view, which would
suggest the desirableness of giving up altogether education in military
colleges previously to entering the army, or to entering a purely
practical class or college for the special corps of Artillery and
Engineers. An opinion appears to exist that the ordinary schools of the
country are the best means of giving nearly the whole teaching of
general and even military science which is desirable for all classes of
officers before entering the army. It seems to be thought that not only
modern languages and mathematics, but military history and topography
are likely to be taught in such schools sufficiently for the highest
military purposes, and that even young men intended for the special arms
of the service may, on joining a military academy, be absolved, or
almost entirely absolved, from any other studies than those included
under the expression “_a purely practical course_.”
The Commissioners expressed their unhesitating dissent from this view.
After pointing out the difficulties of giving at ordinary schools a
complete preparation even in studies of a general preparatory character,
such as modern languages and mathematics, and the still greater
difficulties of teaching special subjects, like military history and
topography, the Report proceeds:
Agreeing, therefore, as to the fact of a “sound general education
being given by public schools,” we are unable to draw from it the
conclusion that they will “give a specific military education.” They may
indeed assist our military education, in a manner which the true sense
of the term “sound general education” expresses, by encouraging
preliminary tastes and studies, such as general history, mathematics,
and modern languages, English included, to a greater extent than they do
at present. But if there is such a thing as a science of war at all, it
stands to reason that it can only be taught fully in cases where young
officers have the passion and the capacity to begin it early, by its own
teachers, and in its own place. The teachers should be practical men, as
well as men of military science; the place a military college. And the
great schools of the country will perform the same service to such an
academy for young scientific officers as they do for places which give a
specific education for other professions; they will _prepare for it_,
but disclaim any attempt to _complete it_.
The Report of the Public Schools Commission does not appear to have made
any direct reference to the question of the possibility of giving
technical military instruction at civil schools; but the disinclination
shown by the Commissioners to recommend even the general institution of
“Modern Departments” would lead to the conclusion that they were not
disposed to view with favor the introduction of any system of special
instruction into the ordinary school course.
The question has been dealt with at considerable length in the evidence
taken before the present Commission. In addition to the evidence given
by Dr. Barry, Mr. Southwood, Dr. Benson, and Dr. Temple, to which
particular reference is made in the Report, opinions on the subject were
expressed by several military witnesses. Major-General Sir P. Herbert
considers that all which is learnt at Sandhurst--all the knowledge
requisite for a line officer--might equally well be acquired at a public
school, if proper arrangements were made for teaching it. In his opinion
fortification (including the practical construction of field-works),
military drawing and surveying, military history and drill, could all be
taught by military instructors at public schools without difficulty, and
without interference with the subjects of general education.
Major-General White considers that military history, modern languages,
and drawing might be taught with advantage at public schools to boys
intended for the army, although it would be difficult to teach the
practical work of field fortification, artillery, and surveying. Colonel
Baker appears to be of opinion that at the Universities, certainly, a
special preliminary education might be given to candidates for the army,
on a system similar to that which it was at one time proposed to
introduce at Cambridge, but which does not appear to have ever been
actually adopted. At the same time, though this instruction would be of
a special character, Colonel Baker does not seem to contemplate its
embracing strictly technical military subjects. On the other hand, His
Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge is of opinion that special military
classes at public schools would fail; Major-General Sir F. Abbott thinks
it unnecessary to establish such classes; Colonel Hort is decidedly
opposed to an attempt to give military instruction at any but a military
college, on the ground that it could not be so effectively given at a
civil establishment, and would, moreover, interfere with the acquisition
of a general education; and Lieut.-General Sir D. Cameron considers that
it would be impossible for public schools to give a thorough or perfect
knowledge of the practical subjects taught at Sandhurst, such as
fortification, artillery, military drawing, and surveying.
In connection with the same subject suggestions have been made by some
witnesses that the Government should assign a certain number of free
commissions annually, as prizes to be competed for, either at particular
public schools, or more generally amongst candidates educated at such
schools. The institution of military exhibitions or scholarships at
civil schools, and of military degrees at the Universities, has been
also suggested. By some witnesses these proposals are advocated with the
special view of inducing public schools to adopt a system of military
instruction; by others with the more general object of holding out
increased encouragement to enter the service to candidates who have had
the advantage of a public school education.
Although the question of giving military instruction at public schools
was not specially discussed by the Public School Commissioners, their
attention was directed to the results of public school education in
preparing candidates for the military examinations. Their Report speaks
as follows in reference to this subject:
The number of public-school boys who enter the army is not large. Of
1,976 candidates for direct commissions within three years, 122 only had
been at any of these schools. Of these 102 succeeded and 20 failed. It
will be observed, on reference to the returns, that this proportion of
failures is considerably below the average; the public school men,
therefore, were better prepared than the general run of candidates. Of
96 who passed at their first examination, 38 came immediately from
school, 58 had had intermediate tuition. Of the 20 who failed, 14 had
had such tuition.
The public-school candidates for Sandhurst during the same period were
23 out of 375; the proportion who succeeded being here also above the
average. Of 18 who succeeded, 11 came straight from school; of five who
failed, only one.
The scheme of examinations for direct commissions, framed to meet the
suggestions of the Head Masters of public schools, is simple and easy,
and requires nothing that is beyond the reach of any boy of moderate
industry and ordinary capacity; and it is clear that no boy, who will
give himself a little trouble, needs to forego the wholesome influences
of a great school for the sake of being “crammed” in the house of a
tutor. The Sandhurst examination is also evidently within the reach of
the schools.
The qualifying examination for Woolwich appears, before 1862, to have
required an amount of mathematical knowledge difficult of attainment for
a boy educated at a public school; but it underwent in that year some
changes which have made it easier for candidates who have not received a
special training. The obligatory mathematics do not now go beyond plane
trigonometry; and a candidate need not obtain in them, to qualify, more
than 700 marks out of 3,500; with this minimum, and with a fair
proficiency in Latin, Greek, French, and geometrical drawing, he is
entitled to enter into the competition. This standard is certainly not
so high as to be inaccessible to a boy educated at a good public school,
and from a table showing the working of the scheme at the examination of
January, 1863, it appears that of the 20 successful competitors, 11
distinguished themselves in classics; the other marks were chiefly
gained in mathematics and French. In three years, previous to this
change, 35 public-school candidates passed and 49 failed to pass the
qualifying examination, the totals being 545 and 689. Of the whole 84,
two only went direct from the schools, and these failed.
In another passage the Commissioners say: “The main studies of the
public schools being classical, it is obvious that, unless a due amount
of weight is given to the classics in the Woolwich examinations, boys
from those schools will not stand a fair chance in the competition. On
the other hand, as it is of importance that the examinations should
comprise other subjects besides classics, it is also obvious that unless
the public schools provide a due amount of instruction in those other
subjects, the candidates whom they send up must compete at a
disadvantage. It is certain that there has hitherto been a want of
adjustment between the Woolwich standard and the teaching of the public
schools. The fault, we think, lies chiefly, though not wholly, in the
deficiencies in the course of education pursued at the latter; and we
are convinced that when these deficiencies have been supplied the
difficulty which is now complained of will speedily disappear. But it is
also to be observed, with respect to the Woolwich examinations
themselves, that the scale of marks has lately (as we have already
stated) undergone an alteration, which diminishes the amount of
mathematical attainment required, and allows greater weight to classical
scholarship. It appears probable that the Modern Departments at
Cheltenham and Marlborough would not have been what they are had the old
Woolwich standard, which is stated to have influenced them so strongly,
been the same as the present; and probable, also, that they will
hereafter feel the effects of the change which has been made in it.”
III. EXAMINATIONS FOR PROMOTIONS.
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
Examinations for promotion were for the first time instituted shortly
after the introduction of examinations for admission to the army, by the
Duke of Wellington when Commander-in-Chief, in the year 1850. A circular
memorandum, published on the 14th of May of that year, announced that
all officers would in future be subjected to an examination previously
to promotion to the respective ranks of lieutenant and captain. The
first examination was to be confined to subjects connected with the
rudiments of drill, regimental duties, interior economy, and the Mutiny
Act and Articles of War. The second examination for the rank of captain
was in addition to extend to more general subjects, and to include
geography, ancient and modern history, mathematics, and field and
permanent fortification; but the examination in these subjects was not
intended to affect lieutenants who had entered the service previously to
1849.
The examination for promotion to the rank of lieutenant was to be
conducted regimentally by the commanding officer and the two next senior
officers of the candidate’s regiment. The purely professional portion of
the second examination, for the rank of captain, was to be conducted in
the same manner; with regard to the mode of testing the candidates’
qualifications in the more general subjects required in this
examination, it was stated that such orders would be given in each
individual case as the Commander-in-Chief might think proper and
necessary.
These regulations continued in force up to the time of the institution
of the Council of Military Education in 1857, although it appears, both
from official statements made by the Secretary at War, and from numerous
expressions of opinion in Parliament between the years 1854 and 1857,
that, at least so far as regarded the second examination for the rank of
captain, little attempt was made, even nominally, to enforce the
regulations. Mr. Sidney Herbert proposed, in 1854, in connection with
his general scheme of military education, to remodel the examinations
and to institute a special machinery for conducting them; and though no
actual steps were taken to carry out his proposal, the necessity of
making the examinations real and genuine tests of professional
knowledge, and of enforcing strict qualifications for promotion, was
frequently recognized in the numerous discussions which took place in
Parliament on the subject of military education during the course of the
Crimean War.
The Council of Military Education, on their appointment in 1857, were
directed to consider the question of the professional examination of
officers for promotion up to the rank of captain, and in the course of
the year submitted a proposal on this subject, in connection with a
scheme for providing instruction for officers after entering the
service.
New regulations on the subject were issued on the 19th of July, 1858,
which, while introducing little change in regard to the examination of
cornets and ensigns, rendered a knowledge of mathematics, history, and
fortification no longer requisite in the second examination for the rank
of captain. Geography, on the other hand, was still retained among the
subjects, and, as a condition of promotion to a captaincy, a lieutenant
was required “to be able to state the general divisions of the world,
the name of the capital of each nation in Europe, and the principal
rivers, seaports, and military posts in Great Britain, Ireland, and Her
Majesty’s Dominions in every part of the world.” The examinations of
cornets and ensigns still continued to be conducted regimentally; that
of lieutenants, so far as related to matters of regimental economy,
detail, or discipline, was to be made by boards of officers appointed by
the commanding officer at the station, consisting, when possible, of
three senior officers not of the same corps as the candidate.
In November, 1858, revised regulations were issued, which, in accordance
with the recommendations of the Council of Military Education, made
considerable changes in the examinations, and placed them on their
present basis. The subjects of regimental and ordinary duties on which
candidates were to be examined were more minutely detailed than
heretofore; the examinations were made entirely professional, geography
being excluded from the second examination, and at the same time it was
announced that lieutenants would be required to show a sufficient
knowledge of reconnaissance and of field fortification. But the most
important change made at this time was in regard to the mode of
conducting the examinations, which were no longer to be carried on
regimentally, but by a board appointed by the commanding officer of the
district, consisting (if possible) of three field officers,--with the
additional provision that in no case in which it could possibly be
avoided, an officer of the same regiment as the candidate was to be a
member of the board. Cornets and ensigns were to be required to pass the
examination before completing eight months’ service; and, in order to
give additional stringency to the regulations, it was announced that the
Commander-in-Chief would “not hesitate to promote (either regimentally
or from other corps) officers who may have passed the required
examination, in place of the idle and incompetent.”
REGULATIONS IN FORCE IN 1869.
_Infantry and Cavalry._
159. Before officers are recommended for promotion to the rank of
lieutenant, the commanding officer is to apply to the senior officer of
the district or station for a board to examine and report upon their
qualifications as under:
(_a._) They must have a thorough knowledge, and must give an
account, of the duties they have to perform as regimental orderly
officers, as officers commanding guards, or as subaltern officers of
guards under officers of superior rank.
(_b._) They must have a thorough knowledge of, and be able to put a
company through the various exercises and evolutions prescribed in the
first two parts of the “Field Exercises of the Infantry;” and they must
be acquainted with the rifle drill and practice, and the theoretical
principles of musketry, as defined in the authorized book of
instruction.
(_c._) They must know exactly the place of all the company officers
in every situation of the battalion, and be able to command a company in
battalion exercise.
(_d._) They must be acquainted with such parts of the Queen’s
Regulations and Orders for the Army as relate to the duties, and conduct
of a subaltern officer, and with the Mutiny Act and Articles of War, so
far as is necessary for the performance of their duties as members of a
court-martial.
(_e._) They must be acquainted with the regulations of the army in
regard to the pay and messing of the troops, the supply of clothing and
necessaries, and all details regarding the weight of, and mode of
carrying, the various articles of the soldier’s kit, arms,
accoutrements, and ammunition.
160. In addition to such portions of the foregoing as may apply to the
cavalry service, it is necessary in the case of cornets recommended for
promotion to the rank of lieutenant,--
(_a._) That they shall have learnt their foot drill and sword
exercise, and have been instructed in the single and double ride.
(_b._) That they shall be able to put a troop through the carbine,
lance, and sword exercise, and to exercise both a squad and troop in the
drill and evolutions prescribed in the Cavalry Exercise Book.
(_c._) That they shall be able to command a troop in squadron
exercise.
(_d._) That they shall have made themselves masters of the detail of
saddlery, the mode of fitting the saddle, bridle, etc., and of the whole
equipment of the cavalry soldier and his horse.
161. Lieutenants in the Cavalry and Infantry will, in addition to the
foregoing, before they are recommended for promotion to the rank of
captain, be required to show that they are further duly qualified as
follows:
(_a._) They must have a thorough knowledge of the provisions of the
Mutiny Act and Articles of War, and of the forms and proceedings of
courts-martial, and must give evidence of having studied some of the
standard works on military law.
(_b._) They must understand perfectly the evolutions of a regiment
of cavalry or a battalion of infantry, as laid down in the regulations
for those services respectively.
(_c._) They must be acquainted with the light infantry drill, duties
of outposts, patrols, escorts, advanced and rear guards.
(_d._) They must perfectly understand the interior economy of a
troop or company, and the established system of keeping their accounts.
(_e._) They must be thoroughly acquainted with the Queen’s and War
Office Regulations applicable to their own branch of the service.
(_f._) They must be competent to take charge of a troop, company, or
detachment, in every position in which it may be placed.
(_g._) And they will be required to show that they have a sufficient
knowledge of field fortification and reconnaissance.
162. The board of examination is to consist, if possible, of three
field officers; but on no occasion, when it can be avoided, is any
officer of the same regiment as the candidate to be a member. In all
cases the board will ascertain by practical examination, as well as by
verbal and written answers to questions, whether the officer is
instructed in the subjects specified in the preceding paragraphs. The
questions are to be written on half margin, and the replies written
opposite to them. The board will mark in red ink its correction of any
mistakes in the answers, and will certify in each case that “the
candidate has not received any assistance from books or other sources.”
The report of the board to be on a separate sheet, and when officers of
different regiments are examined by the same board, the report in
connection with each regiment is to be made separately.
163. The general officer commanding will forward the report of the
board, and the written questions and replies, to the adjutant-general,
accompanied by his own observations thereon, regarding the nature of the
examination, the correctness of the answers, and the eligibility of the
officer examined.
164. Every cornet or ensign is to be examined on the different points
herein specified, before he has completed one year’s service; and should
he fail to qualify himself for promotion within that period, his
commanding officer must report, through the general officer commanding,
for the information of the Commander-in-Chief, whether it is owing to a
want of diligence and attention on the part of the officer, or to
sickness, or other circumstances over which he could have had no
control.
165. No officer will be recommended for promotion to the rank either
of lieutenant or captain unless his examination papers and certificate
of qualification have been received by the Military Secretary; but the
Commander-in-Chief will, in all cases, select the senior officer who may
have qualified for promotion to the higher grade.
_Artillery._
166. The examination of lieutenants of artillery for the rank of
captain will include all the subjects required from officers of the line
of corresponding rank, except that a general knowledge only of the
evolutions of cavalry and infantry will suffice. In addition to the
foregoing, lieutenants of artillery are to be examined as to their
acquaintance with the more special duties of their arm of the service.
The following will serve as a guide:
(_a._) Field-gun drill. Exercise of heavy guns on ground and
traversing platforms, mortar drill, rocket drill, Armstrong gun drill,
practice with hot shot and molten iron shells, gun and transporting
carriage drill.
(_b._) General duties of the men, and principles involved in
mounting and dismounting ordnance generally, in placing guns on towers,
in embarking and disembarking ordnance, and in moving ordnance up steep
inclines; also the tackle, etc., required in the above operations.
(_c._) Different pieces of ordnance in use throughout the service at
the time of examination, their weight and calibre, and special purpose.
(_d._) Ammunition employed with ordnance generally; ammunition
employed with Armstrong guns; general construction of a Congreve rocket,
and the principle of its motion; manufacture and action of fuzes and
tubes; the advantages of the rifle action, and the principle upon which
it depends; essential points with regard to rifling ordnance: general
principles of breaching; position and employment of artillery in the
field; considerations which regulate the rapidity of artillery fire;
principles connected with the construction of artillery carriages;
general knowledge of laboratory duties.
(_e._) Embarking and disembarking horses; management of horses on
board ship.
(_f._) To be able to define technical artillery terms, etc., in such
a way as to make them understood by the non-commissioned officers and
men under their command, such as,--1, point blank; 2, point blank range;
3, dispart; 4, chambers; 5, preponderance; 6, different kinds of
artillery fire; 7, how elevation gives an increase of range; 8, windage;
9, deviation, etc., etc.
(_g._) Subalterns who have been one year or more in the horse
brigade, or in a field battery, will be required, in addition to the
foregoing subjects, to be thoroughly acquainted with stable duties, and
horse artillery or field battery movements and details. All must have a
general knowledge of these subjects.
167. Every officer, on becoming the thirtieth on the list of
lieutenants, must be prepared to undergo the required examination. Any
officer, after four years’ service, may apply for such examination at an
earlier period.
168. Instructions will, from time to time, be issued to the general or
other officer commanding districts or stations, to assemble a board, to
consist of three officers, viz., a field officer (of the artillery, if
possible), an officer of the staff, and a captain of artillery, or an
officer of that corps who may already have passed the examination.
Either the gunnery instructor or the fire-master should, when
practicable, be selected for this duty. If it be impossible to obtain a
staff officer, a captain of the line should be substituted; if a second
officer of artillery cannot be had, an officer of engineers should be
substituted; but either the president or one member must be of the
artillery.
169. That portion of the examination which can be best replied to in
writing will be conducted by means of questions prepared by the deputy
adjutant-general of artillery, and forwarded to the general officer
commanding the district. The _vivâ voce_ and practical examination will
be conducted by the board of officers, who will satisfy themselves that
the officer under examination not only possesses the requisite knowledge
himself, but that he is able to impart that knowledge in a clear and
satisfactory manner.
170. The board will then forward, through the general officer, its
report, together with the written answers, to the adjutant-general of
the forces; and, in returning to him the written answers, the president
of the board will certify that they are the _bonâ fide_ performances of
the candidates, without assistance. The written papers will then be
examined by the deputy adjutant-general of artillery, and the result,
together with the opinion of the board, reported to the
Commander-in-Chief.
ROYAL WARRANT OF OCTOBER 30, 1871.
In pursuance of the abolition of the whole system of purchase, sale, or
exchange for money, of commissions in the army, by Royal Warrant, dated
July 20, 1871, certain changes in respect to first appointments,
regimental promotion, and exchanges, became necessary, and were provided
for in the Royal Warrant issued October 30, 1871, which became operative
on the first day of November following. By these regulations, the first
step in official rank is that of Sub-Lieutenant; the rank of Cornet and
Ensign being no longer recognized. As a general rule, the final
appointments will be given only to successful candidates at a
competitive examination. These will be probationary, and revocable in
case the unfitness of the incumbents shall be demonstrated by practical
trial in their work. From the Memorandum of the Secretary of War (Edward
Cardwell), which accompanies the Warrant, we cite the following as
defining the present system of original appointments and promotion.
Commissions as Lieutenants will be given to all Cornets and Ensigns
appointed before the 26th of August, 1871, and to Cornets and Ensigns
appointed since that date from the A List at Sandhurst, their
commissions to date from the first of November.
Commissions as Sub-Lieutenants will be given to:
(_a._) All other Cornets and Ensigns appointed after the 26th of
August, 1871, the rank of Cornet and Ensign being abolished.
(_b._) Candidates who have passed the examination for Direct
Commissions, in their turn as vacancies occur.
(_c._) Candidates for commissions in the Household Cavalry and Foot
Guards who are nominated to fill the vacancies which occur in those
regiments, before the date of the first competitive examination for
Sub-Lieutenancies, and who pass a qualifying examination.
(_d._) Candidates from the Universities now on the
Commander-in-Chief’s list.
Sub-Lieutenants will be attached for a year to regiments at home. They
will then be required to go through a course of instruction, and on
passing a practical professional examination, be commissioned to
regiments as Lieutenants. They will be under strict discipline, and will
be liable to be removed for unfitness, either moral or physical, and for
misconduct. Those unsuited to the Cavalry may be transferred to the
Infantry.
In dating their commissions they will be allowed a portion, not
exceeding one year, of their services as Sub-Lieutenants; the time
allowed being determined by the class of certificate they receive after
their year’s regimental training, their conduct while under instruction,
and their position at the final examination. Their service for
retirement will reckon from the date of their commissions as
Lieutenants.
Candidates who have passed the examination for direct commissions, and
have also passed satisfactorily through a year’s course of study at the
Royal Military College before being appointed to be Sub-Lieutenants, and
Sandhurst Cadets from the B List will be commissioned to regiments as
Lieutenants on serving satisfactorily for twelve months with a regiment
as Sub-Lieutenants.
There are now a large number of supernumerary officers, and also a
large number of candidates who have passed for commissions.
The absorption of supernumerary officers will probably be completed,
and the candidates who have passed for commissions have received their
appointments in about two years from the present time, and personal
appointments in the Army will then only be given as follows:
(_a._) To successful candidates at a competitive examination.
(_b._) To non-commissioned officers recommended for promotion by the
Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief.
(_c._) To candidates from the Universities.
(_d._) To Queen’s Cadets, Indian Cadets, and Pages of Honor.
(_e._) To Lieutenants of Militia.
The competitive examination will be carried out by the Civil Service
Commissioners; the standard of qualification being that recommended by
the Royal Commission on Military Education. Ample notice will be given
of the first examination, and there will be no advantage in any
applications being made for admission to be examined before the
publication of such notice.
Non-commissioned officers, on being selected for promotion, will pass
an examination in certain professional subjects; and then, after twelve
months’ satisfactory service as Sub-Lieutenants, will receive
commissions as Lieutenants.
A certain number of Sub-Lieutenancies a year will be allotted to
candidates who have passed the University examination specified in the
Regulations. If they also pass the examination for the degree of B.A.,
they will be allowed two years’ extension of the limit of age.
University candidates will be required to give at least six months’
notice of their desire to be admitted into the Army. If in any year
there should be more candidates than appointments, the requisite number
will be chosen by competition between the candidates; after their
appointment they will go through the same course as other
Sub-Lieutenants.
There will be no vacancies for two years for any candidates from the
Universities whose names are not now on the Commander-in-Chief’s list.
Queen’s and Indian Cadets and Queen’s Pages will be required to pass a
qualifying examination, which for the present will be the same as that
recommended by the Royal Commission on Military Education. The
nominations will remain as heretofore. When appointed, Cadets and Pages
will go through the same course as other Sub-Lieutenants.
First appointments as Subalterns in the Militia will be made on the
recommendation of the Lieutenants of counties. Candidates, before
receiving their Commissions as Lieutenants in the Militia, will be
required to pass a qualifying examination in general subjects equal to
the standard fixed as necessary for a candidate for a Sub-Lieutenancy.
They will next be required to be attached to a regiment of the Line for
three months, or such time as may be necessary to teach them their
drill. After serving with their Militia regiments for two annual
trainings, they will be eligible for the appointment of Lieutenants in
the Army. In order to obtain such an appointment they must be
recommended by the commanding officer of their Militia regiment, his
recommendation being confirmed by the general officer commanding the
district, and they will be required to pass an examination in
professional subjects of the same kind as that which will be required of
a Sub-Lieutenant before he receives his commission as Lieutenant.
The limits of age, except for non-commissioned officers, will be fixed
at from seventeen to twenty for Sub-Lieutenants, the limit being raised
to twenty-two in the case of candidates who have passed their
examination for the degree of B.A. at the Universities, and from
nineteen to twenty-two for Lieutenants from the Militia.
In addition to the examinations hitherto required from regimental
officers, those who are promoted to the rank of Captain after the 1st of
November will, before being promoted to the rank of Major, be required,
to pass a professional examination.
The General Order promulgating the Royal Warrant and the Memorandum of
Secretary Caldwell contains the following paragraph:
His Royal Highness the Field-Marshal Commanding-in-Chief, in
promulgating these regulations to the Army, would desire to impress upon
each individual officer, and especially upon those of junior standing
who have still a name to make in the service, that they must more than
ever rely upon their own exertions, upon their professional knowledge
and ability, upon their general character and conduct as officers, and
the opinion with which they impress their military superiors, for
advancement in the service.
_Examiners Employed by Council of Military Education._
_Mathematics._--Rev. Canon Heaviside, Norwich; Rev. W. N. Griffin,
late Fellow and Tutor, St. John’s, Cambridge.
_Classics._--Rev. Osborne Gordon, D.D., late of Christ Church College,
Oxford; Prof. Rawlinson, Camden Professor of Ancient History, Oxford.
_English._--G. W. Dasent, D.C.L.; W. Stebbing, M.A., Fellow of
Worcester College, Oxford.
_French._--M. Esquiros; M. Savoye.
_German._--Prof. Max Müller, Prof. of European Languages, Oxford; C.
Schöll, Ph.D.
_Hindustani._--Prof. J. Dowson; Rev. W. D. Mallagan, M.A.
_Experimental Sciences._--Prof. Liveing, M.A., Prof. of Chemistry,
Cambridge; Prof. Abel, Chemist to War Office.
_Natural Sciences._--Prof. Morris, F.G.S.; H. W. Bristow, F.R.S.
_Drawing._--Lt. Col. H. Scott, R.E.; Rev. W. Kingsley, late Fellow and
Tutor, Cambridge.
_Italian._--C. De Tivoli.
_Spanish._--Señor Vives.
_Portuguese._--Le Chevalier da Costa Ricci.
_Dutch._--Rev. Dr. Gehle.
_Modern Greek._--Rev. N. Morphinos.
_Danish._--Rev. J. Plenge.
_Military History._--Major G. P. Colley.
_Fortification and Practical Gunnery._--Lt.-Col. Hutchinson, R.E.;
Major Milman, R.A.
_Military Administration._--Major M. Petrie.
_Persian._--Col. Ouseley.
_Military Legislation._--Col. J. H. Laye, D.J.A.
_Artillery._--Major C. F. Yonng.
In the evidence before the Military Education Committee, of July 13,
1869, the Secretary of the Civil Service Commission expressed the
opinion that the entrance examination, both to Sandhurst and Woolwich,
on subjects purely civil, might be conducted by the latter; and that the
same and other subjects, in their scientific value, both in all
qualifying and competitive examinations for direct commission and
promotion, could be conducted by the same examiners, thereby securing
economy, more uniformity in the methods and tests, and more satisfactory
results. The staff of examiners should be composed of changing as well
as of permanent members, and when the service is professional, an expert
should be called in. The entire work of the Civil Service Commission,
including the India Service, is done by one Commissioner, the Secretary,
and his permanent examiners, with occasional assistants.
_Expenses of Council of Military Education._
_Year._ £ _s._ _d._
1858-59, 6,325 3 1
1859-60, 6,956 7 7
1860-61, 7,757 12 1
1861-62, 7,789 14 3
1862-63, 7,681 17 6
1863-64, 7,529 11 10
1864-65, 7,976 17 5
1865-66, 7,884 2 8
1866-67, 7,353 16 5
ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE AT SANDHURST.
I. HISTORICAL NOTICE.
The Royal Military College at Sandhurst was instituted in 1799, on the
persistent representations of its necessity and advantages, by General
Le Marchant, an eminent and distinguished officer, who met his death in
actual service on the plains of Salamanca, in 1812. The report of the
Parliamentary Commissioners of 1855 and 1870 give the following
particulars of the history and present condition:
It commenced as a place of instruction for officers, in 1799. In 1801,
the Junior Department was organized. The united departments took the
name of the Royal Military College, and his Majesty George the Third was
pleased by Royal Warrant to appoint a Supreme Board of Commissioners for
the purpose of managing all the affairs of the College.
An establishment and a course of study were recommended by this Board,
and adopted in a Royal Warrant, passed in the same year, 1801. From this
date warrants were issued from time to time until the warrant of 1808,
which cancels all former warrants, and still regulates the College.
By this warrant, a Board of Commissioners was appointed, consisting of
the Commander-in-Chief, the Secretary at War, the Master-General of the
Ordnance, the Quartermaster-General, the Adjutant-General, the Governor,
and the Deputy-Governor of the College,--all for the time being. Certain
other officers were added to these _ex officio_ members. In the Board so
constituted were vested the control, direction, and management of all
the affairs of the College. The College was to be under the immediate
command of the Governor and Deputy-Governor, to be divided into a senior
and junior department, each to have its own course of study, under its
own staff.
A collegiate board was created to take cognizance, of all matters
relating to the interior economy of both departments. This board
consisted of the Governor, the Deputy-Governor, and three other resident
military authorities.
The Royal Warrant of the 27th May, 1808, for regulating all matters
relative to the Royal Military College, states the objects of the two
departments of the College, as follows:
The Senior Department of the Royal Military College is established for
the purpose of instructing officers in the scientific parts of their
profession, with a view of enabling them the better to discharge their
duty when acting in command of regiments (the situation in which they
can best recommend themselves to Us, and be entitled to hope for
advancement in the higher stations of Our service), and,
at the same time, of qualifying them for being employed in the
Quartermaster-General’s and Adjutant-General’s Departments.
The Junior Department of the Royal Military College is appropriated to
the instruction of those who, from early life, are intended for the
military profession, and who, by this means, may be grounded in science
previously to their obtaining commissions in Our army.
This department of the College is also intended to afford a provision
for the sons of meritorious officers, who have fallen or been disabled
in the service of their country, and the means of education to the sons
of those officers who belong to Our regular service.
The first of the departments organized was thus the Senior Department,
which was established at High Wycombe, in 1799, although it would seem
that classes for the military instruction of officers had been in
existence previous to that year. The origin of the Senior Department is
thus described in the evidence given by Sir Howard Douglas before the
Select Committee on Sandhurst:
General Jarry, who was the first Commandant of the Senior Department,
was a Frenchman, highly educated in France, who entered the service of
Prussia a short time before the commencement of the Seven Years’ War,
and was on the personal staff of Frederic the Second through the whole
of that war. He returned to France, and became afterward one of the
generals of the French army; and, in the year 1795, defected from the
French army, and came to London, where he soon became very generally
known as a man of eminent talent, perfectly master of the science and
the practice of his profession, and, from his having served so long
about the person and on the staff of Frederic the Second, full of the
most interesting anecdotes and instructive details connected with that
war. General Le Marchant, having formed an acquaintance with General
Jarry, in London, it occurred to him that, if General Jarry could be
engaged to give lectures to a certain number of young officers Who might
be disposed to go and reside where the general might attend, it would be
very advantageous to the service. General Jarry was so engaged. A house
was taken at High Wycombe; a considerable number of the rising young
officers of the day became his students,--Sir George Murray, Sir Henry
Bunbury, Sir Richard Bourke, General Richardson, and a great many
others. General Jarry soon found that the rudiments of military science
in the British army were not sufficiently known to enable all the
students to profit by his instruction, and recommended that
mathematical, and fortification, and other classes, should be
established; and, accordingly, Mr. Dalby, a mathematical professor, M.
St. Denis, professor of fortification, and M. Polchet, of the
Polytechnic School, were engaged; and in this Way the Senior Department
was established.
General Jarry became commandant of the establishment on its institution,
and, in 1804, Sir Howard Douglas himself was appointed to assist General
Jarry, as superintendent.
The formation of the Junior Department had probably been determined upon
from the time when the Senior Department was established. It was
actually organized in 1801, when it was established at Great Marlow,
and, in the year 1803, consisted of 200 cadets; the Senior Department
being, at the same time, composed of 30 students. Each department had at
this time its own commandant, superintendent, and special staff of
instructors (7 for the Senior, and 19 for the Junior Department); while
there was, in addition, a general staff, consisting of a governor,
lieutenant-governor, and other officials, for the two departments,
which, although in separate localities, together constituted the Royal
Military College.
The Royal Warrant of 27th May, 1808, fixed the establishment on a still
larger scale, as follows:
1 Governor, 1 Lieutenant-Governor, 1 Inspector-General of Instruction.
_Senior Department._--1 Commandant, 1 Adjutant, 30 Students.
_Junior Department._--1 Commandant, 1 Major, 4 Captains of Companies,
412 Gentlemen Cadets.
_Staff._--1 Chaplain and Librarian and Superintendent of Religious and
Classical Instruction, 1 Agent, 1 Secretary to the Board of
Commissioners, 1 Paymaster, 1 Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 1 Assistant
Surgeon.
The number of professors is not fixed by the warrant, but, in 1810, 5
were employed at the Senior, and 32 at the Junior Department. In 1815,
the number of professors was 6 at the former, and 36 at the latter.
The establishment, with slight modifications, continued as above
throughout the period of the war which terminated in 1815; but shortly
after the conclusion of peace reductions began, in consequence of the
recommendations made in the report of the Finance Committee of 1817, and
at the same time the course of instruction in the Junior Department was
made of a much less military character than it had originally been.
The Senior Department was, as has been stated, originally established at
High Wycombe, and the Junior Department, as there was not sufficient
accommodation for it at the same place, was, on its institution, placed
at Great Marlow. It is probable, however, that it was intended from the
first that the Military College should be at Sandhurst, and it appears
that, as early as 1801, the greater part of the estate at Sandhurst had
been purchased. Owing, however, to doubts having subsequently arisen as
to the eligibility of Sandhurst as a site for the college, the works
there do not appear to have been commenced until 1809; and it was
eventually determined that the Junior Department alone should be placed
there, the Senior Department being accommodated at Farnham. In 1812, the
Senior Department went to the quarters prepared for them at the latter
place, and about the same time the Junior Department was removed to
Sandhurst. In 1820, in consequence of the space left vacant by the
reductions which had then been made in the Junior Department, the Senior
Department was transferred to Sandhurst; its separate military staff was
at the same time abolished, the number of students at it was reduced to
15, and the number of instructors to 2. It continued in this state down
to the time of its conversion into the Staff College, which took place
in January, 1858. The Junior Department was also, by successive
reductions, brought, in 1832, to the state in which it stood in 1855, at
the time of the appointment of the Select Committee of the House of
Commons, the number of cadets having been reduced to 180, divided into
two companies. In the year 1832, also, the Parliamentary votes in aid of
the College, which, in 1815, had amounted, for the Junior Department
alone, to £34,000, entirely ceased, and, from this time up to 1855, the
College was not only self-supporting, but, in some years, actually paid
money into the Exchequer.
In the year 1855, in consequence of attention having frequently been
drawn in Parliament to the state of Sandhurst, a Select Committee of the
House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the condition of the
Royal Military College. The establishment of the College, was, at that
time, as follows:
1 Governor, 1 Lieutenant-Governor.
_Senior Department._--2 Instructors, 15 Students.
_Junior Department._--1 Major and Superintendent of Studies, 2
Captains of Companies, 180 Gentlemen Cadets, 1 Chaplain, 1 Secretary to
the Board of Commissioners, 1 Paymaster and Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 1
Assistant Surgeon, 1 Riding Master, 16 Instructors.
This continued without material alteration to be the establishment until
1858.
The instructors undertook the following branches:
(_A._) _Senior Department._--1. Mathematics and Fortification.
1. Military Surveying.
(_B._) _Junior Department._--3. Mathematics. 2. Fortification.
3. Military Drawing and Surveying. 1. Landscape Drawing. 2. History,
Geography, and Latin. 3. French, 2. German. [The seniors in those
branches also gave instruction to the Senior Department.]
The Chaplain also gave instruction in History.
The title of Major and Superintendent of Studies dates from the year
1842. For some years previously, the offices of Adjutant, Paymaster, and
Superintendent of Studies, had been combined in the person of one
officer, Major Proctor. On his retirement, in 1842, Lieut.-Colonel
Prosser was appointed Major and Superintendent of Studies--an office
which has been retained to the present day--and the appointment of
Adjutant was abolished.
At the time of the inquiry by the Select Committee of the House of
Commons (1855), the Junior Department of the College was a school for
boys. The limits of age for admission were from 13 to 15. Candidates
were admitted by application to the Governor, on passing a qualifying
examination, before the professors of the college, in elementary
subjects of ordinary education. The maximum term of residence was four
years, the average period being three years. The course of study was
intended to complete the general education of the youth, in addition to
giving him military instruction, and included history, geography, and
Latin, as well as more professional subjects.
The system of instruction which prevailed at the College at that time is
described as follows by Mr. Twisden, now professor of mathematics at the
Staff College:
The instruction and examinations in the Junior Department were, in the
year 1855, conducted on the following system: There was a division of
the department into upper and lower school; but, practically, the
division was of little importance. The most important division was made
by the line which, in each separate branch of instruction, divided the
cadets in the Board class from those not in the Board class.
A cadet was in a Board class who was actually preparing for the public
examination, which took place before the “_Board_ of Commissioners for
Regulating the Affairs of the Institution.” The Board was, however, in
most cases, represented by not more than one or two of its members. In
any given subject, a cadet had to pass through certain grades of
elementary instruction before he could be placed in a Board class.
Moreover, he was only moved from one grade of elementary instruction to
another on passing examinations, which were held monthly by the senior
instructors in the several subjects. The junior instructors reported
those of their cadets whom they regarded as ready for promotion, and the
senior ascertained that the proper degree of proficiency was obtained.
Thus, in mathematics, a cadet had to pass examinations in Fractions and
Decimals, mixed numbers, Rule of Three, Interest, and Square Root,
Algebra up to the end of Quadratic Equations, and logarithms,--four
successive examinations in all. He had then to spend a half year in the
study of Euclid’s Geometry before admission to the Board class. It will
be understood that all the cadets were not examined monthly, but only
such as were reported as fit for examination; so that any one cadet
might pass a long time without examination, or he might be examined for
several successive grades in one subject, and not undergo any
examination in another. There was, in fact, scarcely any mutual
dependence of one branch of instruction upon another. I believe the only
exceptions to this were, that a cadet was required to have passed his
examination in algebra before getting into the lowest fortification
class, and to have gained a certain proficiency in military drawing
before getting into the surveying class.
The Board class in each branch was taught by the senior instructor in
that branch, except that the Board class of history was taught by the
chaplain. When a cadet had passed an examination in any subject before
the Board, he was said to have taken up a step. The steps which it was
possible for him to take up were as follows, and I have arranged them in
three groups, for conveniences of reference:
A.--(1.) Euclid’s Geometry. (2.) Fortification. (3.) Surveying.
B.--(4.) Trigonometry and Mensuration. (5.) Attack and Defence of
Fortification. (6.) History and Geography. (7.) Latin. (8.) French. (9.)
German.
C.--(10.) Elements of Mechanics. (11.) Elements of Coördinate Geometry
and Differential Calculus.
To gain a commission without purchase, it was necessary to take up the
three steps in the group A, and any three in the group B,--six in all.
But if a cadet took up more than six steps, the fact was mentioned in
the certificate given him on leaving the College. For gaining this
honorary distinction, the steps marked in group C were allowed to count;
but I believe not otherwise. I may mention that, in many cases, more
than six steps were taken up.
The process of examination before the Board was this: About seven
weeks before the end of the half year, the senior instructor in each
branch reported the cadets in his branch whom he thought capable of
taking a step. Thus the senior instructor or professor of mathematics
reported those cadets in the Euclid Board class whom he judged capable
of taking up the step. Shortly after, these cadets were examined before
the Lieutenant-Governor; about a week before the end of the half year,
they were examined again, on this occasion, before the Governor; lastly,
they were examined publicly before the _Board_. Failure was possible in
either of these examinations, and not unfrequently occurred at the
preliminary examinations, and sometimes, though rarely, at the Board
examination. The effect of failure was, that the cadet could not pass
his step without going through his examinations at the end of the next
half year.
The examinations were conducted entirely _vivâ voce_. The Governor’s
and Lieutenant-Governor’s examinations were searching; they sometimes
lasted from six to seven hours; but, of course, the cadets, severally,
were under examination only during a part of that time. The Board
examination, though less searching, was a real examination. A cadet
under examination had not the least notion of what was going to be
asked, except that it was fairly within the subject of the step.
The system thus briefly described was invented by Major Proctor, who
was at first _Adjutant_ and, afterward, Superintendent of Studies. It
was in operation, at all events, as early as the year 1818. It was open
to several objections; but it possessed this capital advantage, that it
was calculated to bring, and, in point of fact, brought a large majority
of the cadets up to a certain moderately high standard of proficiency.
The instructors were under no temptation to take great pains with a few
clever boys, and to neglect the rest; they were nearly sure to assist
every cadet showing the least inclination to work, and to assist those
most who were in need of assistance.
On the other hand, the system failed to supply a cadet of superior
ability with a motive to attain a high degree of proficiency in any
given subject. The utmost attained was, that cadets of more than
ordinary ability were encouraged to attain the standard of proficiency
in more than the necessary six subjects. The system was also open to the
serious objection that, under it, the cleverest cadets got through their
course quickly. This was bad for them, for it had the effect of bringing
their school-education to an early end; and it was bad for the
institution, because the eldest cadets were not the most intelligent.
I must be allowed to add, that my experience of the examinations by
_vivâ voce_ has given me a very lively sense of the value of that kind
of examination; and, though it is not adapted for all subjects, and,
where many have to be examined, takes too much time, yet it might be
used under many circumstances with very great advantage, and I regard
its total disuse since the year 1858 as a very serious error.
I have mentioned above the fact of the Junior Department being divided
into an under and upper school. I may add that there were six
classes,--three in each school, and two removes in each class. I believe
that this was the remains of an earlier organization, which, without
being formally abrogated, was, by degrees, nearly obliterated by the
introduction of the step system. The only thing that kept up the
distinction between upper and lower school was, that a cadet, to be in a
Board class, had to pass into upper school. The three classes in the
upper school did not have a nominal existence in 1851.
With respect to the Senior Department, a somewhat different system was
followed. The course was one of two years; but, in the case of officers
who had been cadets, the course was one of a year and a half. There was
an examination held at the end of each half year on the subject of the
half year’s course. The method of examination resembled that in use in
the Junior Department. The subjects comprised in the course are
mentioned in a paper printed on page 215 of the evidence taken before
the Select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst (1855).
In certain respects, officers might do more than the prescribed
course, and obtain honorary mention, _e.g._, they might do extra plans;
they might take up a certain amount of analytical mathematics, with a
portion of Poisson’s “Traité de Mécanique,” and of Laplace’s “Mécanique
Céleste.” I have by me the synopsis of the ordinary course of
mathematics in use before the year 1858; but, as the heads of it are
given in the paper above referred to, it is unnecessary to give any
details about it.
The Report of the Select Committee of 1855 contained various suggestions
for the improvement of both departments of the College, but did not
propose to alter the character of the Junior Department as a place of
juvenile education. The only practical results of the report were, the
establishment of Queen’s cadetships, and the revision of the rates of
payment required from all classes of cadets. The institution of Queen’s
cadetships was determined upon by the Government in 1856, but the other
alteration was not immediately carried out, and no modification of
importance in the constitution of the College ensued from the
recommendations of the Committee. It was not until the general
reorganization of the system of military education which took place in
1857 that any important change was made in regard to the Military
College.
It appears to have been decided at the end of 1856 by Lord Panmure, then
Secretary of State for War, that an amalgamation of the Junior
Department of Sandhurst with the lower classes of Woolwich should be
effected. The Council of Military Education, on their appointment, in
April, 1857, were directed to suggest the mode in which this
amalgamation could be carried out, taking, as their starting point, the
principle that Sandhurst was to be converted from a school for boys into
a college for young men, with the age of admission ranging from 16 to
18.
The proposed plan having been approved, an announcement was made, in
December, 1857, that the education of candidates for all arms of the
service, who did not obtain commissions by direct appointments, would be
given at Sandhurst; that entrance would be obtained by competitive
examination, open to candidates between the ages of 16 and 18; that the
period of study would be two years, and would be terminated by a
competitive examination, the most successful candidates in which would
be permitted to select the Engineers or Artillery, according to the
number of vacancies in those corps, or would receive commissions without
purchase in the Cavalry, Guards, or Line. Those who selected the
Ordnance corps were to be removed to the school of application at
Woolwich.
Almost simultaneously with this notification, appeared a General Order,
announcing the conversion of the Senior Department into the Staff
College, which was then placed under a separate commandant and staff of
instructors,--the Junior Department being henceforward called the Cadet
College.
An examination for admission to Sandhurst, under the regulations
described above, took place in January, 1858, when 24 candidates were
admitted to the College. On the 26th of April, however, a resolution was
passed by the House of Commons, on the motion of Mr. Monsell, in
consequence of which the plan for the amalgamation of Woolwich and
Sandhurst was necessarily abandoned; and, in May, 1858, revised
regulations were issued, which again placed Sandhurst on the footing of
an entirely distinct establishment from Woolwich. In these regulations,
however, a new provision was introduced, by which a cadet at the
Military College was, if otherwise eligible, permitted to compete at the
examination for admission to Woolwich, without his position at Sandhurst
being affected by failure in this examination. This regulation has been
retained.
The large increase in the numbers of the College which was contemplated
by the amalgamation scheme was not carried out, the establishment still
remaining at 180 cadets, divided into two companies. At the same time,
the other alterations recommended by the Council in the constitution and
course of study of the College were brought into effect. Since this
period the system of juvenile military instruction, which had been
already abandoned at Woolwich, has been discontinued at Sandhurst. The
establishment was converted from a school for boys into a college for
young men, the minimum age for admission being placed at 16; while the
course of instruction--the length of which was fixed at two years--was
made almost entirely professional. The principle of competition was
adopted as the condition of admission, although not to so full an extent
as at Woolwich, the candidate for Sandhurst being required to apply to
the Commander-in-Chief, in order to have his name entered on the list of
competitors. The entrance examinations for admission to the College, and
the final examinations for commissions, were placed under the control of
the Council of Military Education; and the whole method of instruction
was revised, the old system of “steps” being abandoned.
For many years, up to this time, the College had been almost entirely
self-supporting. The orphan-class of cadets, established by the Royal
Warrant of 1808, who had received a gratuitous education, had, after
successive reductions, been finally abolished in 1822; and, though the
sons of officers were still educated at reduced rates, the system had
been gradually introduced of affording them this advantage without
expense to the public, by increasing the rates paid by the sons of
private gentlemen. This system, which had been animadverted on by the
Select Committee of the House of Commons, in 1855, was altered on the
reorganization of the College, in 1858; the rates of payment from all
classes were reduced, and the principle was, at least partially,
adopted, of defraying, by a Parliamentary vote, the difference between
the actual cost of the education of a cadet and the lower rates charged
for the sons of officers. The first public announcement of the
institution of Queen’s cadetships, the holders of which were to receive
a gratuitous education, was also made in 1858. Since this period, a
large part of the expense of the College has been borne by the public.
Some addition to the instructional staff was made in the year 1858, in
consequence of the general changes introduced at that time in the system
and subjects of instruction; and, in the same year, the office of
Adjutant--which had been abolished in the year 1842--was revived, in
consequence of the strong representations of the Governor, Lt.-Gen. Sir
H. D. Jones.
The next important change in the organization of the College was in
1862. After the abandonment of the scheme for the amalgamation of
Woolwich and Sandhurst, the Council of Military Education turned their
attention to the subject of enlarging the latter establishment, with the
view of making it a general military college, through which all
candidates for commissions in any branch of the service, except the
Artillery and Engineers, should be required to pass. The general outline
of a scheme having this object in view was submitted by the Council as
early as July, 1858, to General Peel, then Secretary of State for War.
It was still under consideration when General Peel left office, in the
summer of 1859, and was again brought under the notice of his successor,
Lord Herbert, in August of that year.
After some consideration, the general principle of the scheme was
sanctioned by Lord Herbert, in December, 1859; but no immediate steps
were taken for carrying the plan into operation. At the end of 1860,
however, the Council were directed to draw up a detailed scheme of
organization for the College, on the assumption that all candidates for
commissions in the Cavalry, Guards, and Infantry, would be required to
pass through a year’s course of instruction there; a vote was also
included in the estimates of 1861 for commencing the enlargement of the
buildings, with the ultimate object of providing accommodation for 600
cadets. The details of the scheme were, after some correspondence, fully
matured, and were on the point of being submitted to Her Majesty for
approval, with the view of the new system coming into effect on the 1st
of January, 1862. The plan, however, met with very great opposition,
both in the House of Commons and from the authorities of the
universities, who regarded it as necessarily leading to the exclusion of
university men from the army. In consequence of this opposition, the
Under-Secretary of State for War, toward the end of the session of 1861,
announced, in the House of Commons, that the new system should not come
into operation until Parliament had had a further opportunity of
expressing their opinion upon it. The original plan was also so far
modified that the extension of the College was limited to providing
accommodation first for 500, and then for 400 cadets, in the first
instance; but the abolition of appointments to direct commissions, and
the system of passing all candidates for commissions in the Line through
the College, were still contemplated, though the commencement of the
system was deferred until the 1st July, 1862.
The question was in this state at the time of the death of Lord Herbert,
in August, 1861. Sir George Lewis, who succeeded him as Secretary of
State for War, having, during the recess, reconsidered the question,
announced, shortly after the commencement of the session of 1862, that
it had been determined to abandon the idea of requiring all candidates
for commissions in the Line to pass through the College, and that the
system of appointments to direct commissions by purchase would be
maintained. At the same time, it was proposed that _non-purchase_
commissions should in future only be obtained by passing through
Sandhurst, and that an enlargement of the College to 336 cadets should
take place, to provide for the increased number of non-purchase
commissions caused by the amalgamation of the Indian with the Imperial
Army.
Even in this modified form, the plan for the extension of the College
appears to have been viewed with considerable jealousy by the House of
Commons. A vote adverse to it was actually at first carried; but the
question having, in consequence of the representations of Sir George
Lewis, been reconsidered, the plan proposed by the Government was at
length agreed to. Regulations for the College on the new footing were
issued on the 1st May, 1862. These regulations form the basis of the
present system of the College.
One of the most important changes made at this time was the great
increase in the number of free commissions placed at the disposal of the
College. Under the old system which existed prior to 1858, while the
institution was still a mere place of juvenile education, all cadets who
passed in the six “steps,” to which allusion has been made, received
free commissions; but there was, strictly speaking, no competition for
such commissions. After the alteration in the age of admission to the
College, and the general revision of the course of instruction which
took place in 1858, a limited number of free commissions were bestowed
upon those cadets who stood highest in the final examination. A large
number of these appointments, however, still remained in the gift of the
Commander-in-Chief, and were granted to candidates who passed the
ordinary examination for direct commissions. Since 1862, all
non-purchase commissions have been reserved for cadets at the Royal
Military College, with the exception of a small number (not exceeding on
an average 12 annually) bestowed upon non-commissioned officers promoted
from the ranks, and upon gentlemen who have held the appointment of page
to Her Majesty. The commissions given to the latter are exclusively in
the Foot Guards, and their number seldom exceeds one in each year. The
free commissions allotted to the College are thrown open to competition
among the cadets, with the exception of those reserved for Queen’s and
Indian cadets. Both of these classes of cadets have, since the
institution of Indian cadetships, which took place simultaneously with
the change of the College system, in August, 1862, been entitled to
receive free commissions on passing a qualifying examination at the end
of their term of residence.
The course of study at the College was, at the same time, considerably
modified, with the view of allowing its completion, under ordinary
circumstances, in one year, instead of two years, as formerly,--the
maximum term of residence being fixed at a year and a half. An attempt
was also made to render the course more strictly professional, and
better adapted to qualify a young officer for the performance of
ordinary regimental duties immediately on joining his corps, by the
introduction of instruction in military law, interior economy, etc.
The age of admission was fixed at 16 to 20 for candidates for the
Infantry, and 16 to 22 for those for the Cavalry,--an extension of a
year in these limits being for the first time introduced in favor of
students at the universities. A further privilege held out to the latter
class of candidates was that, while others could only obtain admission
by competitive examination, the fact of having passed certain university
examinations was of itself made a qualification for admission. These
concessions, which, at first, were made to the Universities of Oxford,
Cambridge, and Dublin, have been since extended to the other
universities.
The number of cadets was never raised to the extent contemplated in the
plan proposed by Sir George Lewis. It was originally intended that the
College should accommodate 336 cadets, divided into four companies of 84
each; but the establishment was ultimately fixed at 250. This increase,
however (the numbers having, previously to 1862, been 180), led to the
addition, in August, 1862, of a third company to the two in which the
cadets had been previously divided. An additional captain was appointed
to command this company, and, at the same time, three subaltern officers
(one to each company) were, for the first time, added to the strength of
the establishment, to assist the captains in the charge of the
companies. Simultaneously with this, an important alteration was made in
the discipline of the College, by abolishing the system which had
hitherto prevailed of employing the sergeants to assist in maintaining
discipline by reporting the cadets for offences committed against the
regulations.
The increase in the establishment also necessitated in this year an
augmentation of the staff of instructors.
The establishment of the Royal Military College in 1863, after the
change of system had come into effect, was as follows:
_General Staff._--1 Governor, 1 Chaplain, 1 Paymaster, 1
Quartermaster, 1 Surgeon, 1 Assistant-Surgeon, 1 Riding Master.
_Staff College._--1 Commandant, 1 Adjutant, 9 Professors, 30 Students.
_Cadet College._--1 Lieutenant-Governor, 1 Major and Superintendent of
Studies, 3 Captains of Companies, 3 Subalterns, 250 Gentlemen Cadets, 1
Adjutant, 40 Professors and Instructors, of whom two were employed also
at the Staff College.
The organization of the College has undergone no material alteration
since 1863, with the exception of the abolition of the office of
Lieutenant-Governor, and the substitution for it of that of Commandant
of the Cadet College. The change, though decided upon in 1862, was not
carried out during the tenure of office of the officer who, at that
time, held the appointment of Lieutenant-Governor, and did not actually
take effect until 1864. The Lieutenant-Governor, though nominally the
deputy of the Governor, had exercised no control over the Commandant of
the Staff College from the time of the institution of the latter
establishment, in 1858. His functions were limited to the Cadet College,
of which he was virtually, though not nominally, the Commandant.
The establishment of cadets was raised in 1865 to 300, and some slight
alterations have, at various times, been made in the number of
professors and instructors; but, in its general character, the
establishment at the present time remains as it was in 1863.
The modifications which have since been made consist chiefly in the
reduction of the higher limit of age for admission to 19 for all
branches of the service (retaining, however, the former exception in
favor of students from the universities); the discontinuance of the
study of military law, etc.; and the extension of the ordinary course of
residence from one year to a year and a half.
In regard to discipline, the system of assigning marks for good conduct,
which was introduced by the regulations of 1862, has been discontinued,
owing to practical difficulties which were found to occur in carrying
out the system with uniformity. At the beginning of 1868, an alteration
was introduced in the powers of the professorial staff with regard to
the maintenance of discipline. Previously to this period they had
exercised no disciplinary powers; they have since been required to take
notice of all offences which come within their cognizance, either in or
out of study, and have been empowered to place a cadet in arrest pending
an inquiry into the offence. Even at the present time, however, the
professors have no power of punishment, this power being confined to the
military staff of the College.
According to the Royal Warrant of 1808, the four companies of cadets
were placed upon the establishment of the army, and every one admitted
to the College received a warrant of gentleman cadet, with the daily pay
of 2_s._ 6_d._ Down to the year 1857, the regulations for admission to
the College contained the provision that, “in conformity to the Royal
Warrant, dated the 27th of May, 1808, all gentlemen cadets at the Royal
Military College are subject to the Articles of War.” This provision
appears to have been omitted from all regulations published on the
recommendation of the Council of Military Education since the
reorganization of the College, which took place at the beginning of
1858. At the present time, a cadet, on admission, is required to sign a
declaration “to conform, in every respect, to Her Majesty’s Regulations,
and to the rules and discipline of the service.”
The Board of Commissioners, at the time of the report of the Select
Committee of the House of Commons, in 1855, still continued to
administer all the affairs of the Royal Military College, in virtue of
the wide powers vested in them by the Royal Warrant of 1808. For some
years previously to this, however, the War Office had exercised
considerable control over the financial acts of the Board. On the
appointment of the Council of Military Education, in 1857, the latter
body began to superintend the course of instruction at the College,
their attention having been directed to this subject in the first
instructions issued to them on their appointment. At the beginning of
1858, they commenced to conduct the examinations for admission,
and, by a Royal Warrant of the 1st October, 1858, they were formally
appointed Visitors of the College, and required to report to the
Commander-in-Chief upon the instruction given at it. The power of
recommending either the appointment or removal of the professors and
instructors was, by the same warrant, placed in their hands.
The original warrant of 1808 has never been cancelled, and the powers
vested by it in the Board of Commissioners still, therefore, nominally
remain in force, except so far as by the warrant of 1858. Since this
time, however, the connection of the Commissioners with the management
of the College has been gradually diminished. In 1863, the office of
Secretary to the Board was abolished, his financial duties being
transferred to the Paymaster of the College, and the performance of his
other duties being provided for in the Commander-in-Chief’s office. The
discipline of the College still remains nominally under the
superintendence of the Commissioners; but, even in regard to this point,
their interference, except when questions of considerable importance
have arisen, appears to have been little called for. Their duties of
late years seem to have been principally confined to business connected
with the management of the College property, in regard to which,
although the estate is now formally vested in the Secretary of State for
War, the former powers of the Commissioners are reserved.
The attendance in the College, since its reorganization, has been as
follows, viz.:
1855 180
1862 250
1865 300
_Staff of Government and Instruction_, 1871-2.
_President._--Duke of Cambridge, Field Marshal.
_Vice-President._--Rt. Hon. Edward Cardwell, Secretary of War.
_Governor._--Lt.-Gen. Sir D. A. Cameron.
_Assistant._--Col. J. E. Addison.
_Paymaster._--Major Oliver Nicolls.
_Chaplain._--Rev. E. J. Rogers, M.A.
_Quartermaster._--John Davies.
_Surgeon._--A. McLean, M.D.
_Assistant Surgeon._--John Greig, M.D.
_Riding-Master._--Capt. C. C. Brooke.
CADETS’ COLLEGE.
_Adjutant._--Major W. Patterson.
_Captains of Companies of Gentlemen Cadets._--Lt.-Col. W. R. Farmar,
Lt.-Col. Alfred P. Bowlby, Capt. H. E. Couper.
_Staff of Instruction._
_Mathematics and Arithmetic._--Rev. J. W. Vintner, Rev. Alfred Deck,
G. Hester, J. P. Ketley.
_Fortification._--Capt. G. Phillips, Lt. E. D. C. O’Brien,
Capt. H. L. Mitchell.
_Military Surveying._--Capt. W. Paterson.
_Military History._--Capt. E. M. Jones.
_Military Drawing._--Capt. E. A. Anderson, Capt. C. W. Fothergill,
Capt. R. L. Leir.
_Landscape Drawing._--Robert Harley.
_French Language._--J. Balagué.
_Geology._--T. R. Jones.
_Chemistry._--Edm. Atkinson, Ph.D.
STAFF COLLEGE.
_Commandant._--Col. E. B. Hamley, C.B.
_Adjutant._--Major A. S. Jones.
_Professors and Instructors._
_Mathematics._--Rev. J. F. Twisden, T. Savage.
_Military History._--Major C. Adams.
_Fortification and Artillery._--Capt. H. Schaw.
_Military Topography._--Major S. B. Farrell, Royal Engineers.
_Military Administration._--Capt. W. Walker.
_French._--A. A. De Charente.
_German._--Dr. Overbeck.
_Hindustani._--J. Dowson.
_Military Drawing._--Capt. E. A. Anderson.
QUEEN’S AND INDIAN CADETSHIPS.
The creation of Queen’s cadetships originated in the recommendations of
the select Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst. At the time
the Committee reported (in the year 1855) the age of admission to
Sandhurst was from 13 to 15; in the following year, however, at the time
the recommendations of the Committee were adopted by the Government, it
was in contemplation to raise the minimum age for admission to the
College to 16; and it was consequently decided that, in order to meet
the case of those who under the former regulations would have been
admitted as Queen’s cadets at a younger age, a special allowance of
40_l._ a year might, at the discretion of the Secretary of State, be
granted to a candidate qualified for a Queen’s cadetship, at the age of
13, to assist him in his preparatory education, until he attained the
age at which he would be eligible for admission to the College. This
arrangement was sanctioned by the Treasury in 1856, and at first the
results of the recommendations of the Select Committee seem to have been
confined to granting candidates the special allowance in aid of their
preparatory education, as no cadet entered until 1860.
The first public announcement of the institution of Queen’s cadetships,
and of the regulations under which they were to be granted, was made by
a General Order, dated Horse Guards, 5th January, 1858. It had by this
time been finally determined to fix the ordinary minimum age for
admission to Sandhurst at 16; but an exception was made in favor of the
Queen’s cadets, who were to be admitted one year younger,--at the age of
15. The following were among the regulations:
These cadetships, of which there are twenty in all, are confined to
the sons of officers of the army, Royal navy, and Royal marines, who
have fallen in action, or have died of wounds received in action, or of
diseases contracted on active service, and who have left their families
in reduced circumstances.
Gentlemen cadets on this class are educated gratuitously.
The nominations, with the concurrence of the Secretary of State for
War, are made by the Commander-in-Chief for the army, in the proportion
of 15 cadetships, and by the First Lord of the Admiralty for the navy
and marines, in that of five cadetships,--to whom applications are to be
made.
No candidate can be admitted under the age of 15, nor above that of
17.
In a case where the services of the father and the circumstances of
the family are deemed such as to constitute a claim, a candidate
ineligible for immediate admission, on account of his not having
attained the proper age, but being a promising youth, may, at the
discretion of the Secretary of State for War, be allowed an addition to
the compassionate allowance, with the especial view of promoting his
education, until he is eligible for admission.
The regulations under which Queen’s cadets are at present nominated are
similar to the above, with the exception that the wording of the phrase
“diseases contracted on _active service_” has been altered to “diseases
contracted on _service abroad_,” and that Queen’s cadets, like other
candidates, are not now admitted until the age of 16. An addition to the
“Compassionate Allowance,” not exceeding 40_l._ a year, may at the same
time be granted to a candidate after the age of 13, in order to assist
him in his education until he becomes eligible for admission to the
College. The number of Queen’s cadetships (20) includes both those who
have entered, and those to whom the educational allowance is granted
previously to their admission.
From the first institution of Queen’s cadetships, the candidates
nominated to them have been admitted to the College on passing a
qualifying examination, and have received a gratuitous education; they
were, however, originally required to compete for commissions without
purchase, with other candidates, at the end of the College course. The
privilege of obtaining a free commission on passing merely a qualifying
examination was not extended to them until the institution of the Indian
cadetships in 1862. As it was found necessary to exempt the Indian
cadets from competition with other candidates for commissions without
purchase, a similar privilege was extended to the Queen’s cadets. Both
classes of cadets, in addition to their free education and maintenance,
receive clothing and pocket money.
The institution of Indian cadetships at Sandhurst took place in
consequence of the transfer of the government of India from the East
India Company to the Crown, and the subsequent amalgamation of the
Indian and Imperial forces.
The notice of the admission of Indian cadets to the establishment
appears for the first time in the College regulations of 1st May, 1862.
Their number, like that of the Queen’s cadets, is limited to 20. They
are nominated, under the provisions of Acts 21 & 22 Vict. cap. 106, s.
35, and 23 & 24 Vict. cap. 100, by the Secretary of State for India in
Council, from the sons “of persons who have served in India in the
military or civil services of Her Majesty or the East India Company.”
The restrictions, however, regarding the death of the father and the
circumstances of the family, which apply to a candidate for a Queen’s
cadetship, do not limit the nomination of Indian cadets. The expense of
the education and maintenance of the latter is borne by Indian revenues.
REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION, CLOTHING, BOOKS, PAYMENTS, ETC., 1867.
1. Candidates for vacancies at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst,
will be required to undergo an examination under the superintendence of
the Council of Military Education. Examinations for this purpose will be
held in June and December of each year, at the Royal Hospital, Chelsea.
2. Twenty Queen’s cadets will be borne on the establishment, being the
sons of officers who have fallen in action, or have died of wounds
received in action, or of diseases contracted on service abroad; and who
have left their families in reduced circumstances. Fifteen will be sons
of officers of the army, and five will be sons of officers of the Royal
Navy and Royal Marines.
There will be, in addition, twenty Indian cadetships, for nomination
to which the sons of persons will be selected who have served in India
in the military or civil services of Her Majesty, or of the East India
Company.
3. Candidates, whether for the infantry or the cavalry, must be
between 16 and 19 years of age at the commencement of the term
immediately succeeding their admission examination.
Terms commence on the 1st February and 1st August.
Students from the Universities will be admissible at the ages stated
in Art. 11 of these regulations.
4. Every candidate for admission must apply (if under age, through his
parent or guardian) to the Commander-in-Chief, to have his name entered
on the list of candidates.
5. He must transmit with his application the following documents,
viz.: (_a_) An extract from the register of his baptism, or, in default
of that, a declaration before a magistrate, made by one of his parents,
giving his exact age. (_b_) A certificate, from the minister of the
Church or denomination to which he belongs, of his having been duly
instructed in the principles of the Christian religion.
6. His name having been placed upon the list of candidates, it will be
open to him to offer himself at any of the half-yearly examinations
which may occur while he is within the prescribed limits of age. If
unsuccessful in obtaining one of the vacancies at the college, he will
be allowed to present himself at any subsequent examination until he has
exceeded the maximum age. After he has exceeded the maximum age, he can
only be admitted into the army on obtaining a direct commission by
purchase, in the usual manner, after passing a qualifying examination.
7. He will be examined by a medical officer, who will ascertain
whether he is free from all bodily and organic defects, and whether, as
far as regards physical constitution, he is in every point of view fit
for military service.
8. The following will be the subjects of examination, but no candidate
will be allowed to be examined in more than _five_ of these subjects:
Marks.
Classics: Latin, 2,000; Greek, 1,600, 3,600
Mathematics, 3,600
English language, 1,200
Modern languages, each, 1,200
History, with geography, 1,200
Natural sciences (_i.e._, mineralogy and geology), 1,200
Experimental sciences (chemistry, heat, and electricity), 1,200
Geometrical drawing 600
Free-hand drawing 600
Of the above subjects, the elementary portions of mathematics and the
English language are obligatory on each candidate.
The following elementary branches will be included in the obligatory
section of mathematics, viz.:
In arithmetic: vulgar and decimal fractions, proportion, extraction of
the square root, and interest.
In algebra: fractions, simple equations, and questions producing them.
In Euclid: the first three books.
To these elementary branches 1,200 marks (out of the whole 3,600 for
mathematics) will be allotted, and it will be necessary for
qualification that at least 400 be obtained, of which 200 must be
obtained in arithmetic.
In the English language 400 marks will be allotted to correct and
legible writing from dictation, and to composition; and of these it will
be necessary for qualification that 200 be obtained.
Out of the remaining subjects the candidate may select any three.
No candidate will be allowed to count the marks gained in any of the
three voluntary subjects, unless amounting to one sixth of the whole
number of marks allotted to that subject; and for qualification he will
be required to obtain on his five subjects a total of 1,500 marks.
No marks will be allowed to count in any subject left optional to the
candidate, unless he gain at least one sixth of the whole number
allotted to that subject.
9. Every candidate will be required to forward to the Military
Secretary, Horse Guards, one month before the examination, a statement
of the subjects he desires to take up, as well as a certificate from the
master or tutor under whom he has been educated, of his general moral
conduct for at least the two preceding years. If a candidate has failed
in a previous examination he will only be required to forward a list of
the subjects he selects, and a certificate of conduct between the two
examinations. These documents are under no circumstances to be
transmitted before the date above specified.
10. After the examination the candidates will be reported to the
Commander-in-Chief in the order of their merit, and will be appointed
accordingly as far as vacancies will allow.
11. Candidates who have passed the examinations called “responsions”
and “moderations” at the University of Oxford, or those called “previous
examinations” at the Universities of Cambridge and Dublin, or the
matriculation examination of the University of London; or any one of the
three examinations required for the degree of M.A. at the Universities
of St. Andrew’s and Glasgow; or the “class examination of the second
year” (Curriculum of Arts) at the University of Aberdeen; or the
“preliminary examination” at the University of Edinburgh; or the “first
University examination” of Queen’s University, Ireland, will be
considered as qualified for admission to the Royal Military College
without further examination.
Candidates from the Universities must not be more than 21 years of age
for the infantry, nor more than 23 years for the cavalry. They will be
required to send to the Military Secretary, Horse Guards, two months
before the commencement of the term at which they desire to enter,
certificates from the responsible authorities of their college of
general moral conduct during residence at the University, and of having
passed the above-mentioned examinations, together with the certificate
of age, as required by clause 5
Should the number of general candidates be considerably in excess of
the number of vacancies at the college, a suitable portion of those
vacancies will be offered to the University and to the competing
candidates respectively.
12. Candidates for admission as Queen’s cadets must apply for a
nomination to the Commander-in-Chief, if the sons of officers in the
army; or to the First Lord of the Admirality, if the sons of officers in
the Royal navy, or Royal marines. The above nominations will be made by
the Commander-in-Chief or First Lord of the Admiralty, with the
concurrence of the Secretary of State for War. The Secretary of State
for India in Council will nominate to cadetships for the Indian
services.
_Provision of Necessaries, Books, Contributions, etc._
13. Every gentleman cadet will receive from the Military Secretary a
list of the articles of clothing, books, and instruments with which he
must provide himself before joining the college, and which he will be
required to keep complete during his residence.
Any other books, instruments, or drawing implements that he may
subsequently require for the prosecution of his studies, will be
provided at the college, and charged to his account.
14. The amount of contribution for education, board, washing, and
medical attendance, on account of each cadet, per annum, is as follows:
_a._ For sons of private gentlemen, £100
_b._ For sons of admirals, and general officers having
regiments or receiving Indian colonels’ allowances, 80
_c._ For sons of general officers, 70
_d._ For sons of captains and commanders of the Royal
navy, and field officers of the army having
substantive rank, 50
_e._ For sons of all officers of the royal navy and army
under the above rank, 40
_f._ For sons of officers of the royal navy and army who
have died in the service, and whose families are
proved to be left in pecuniary distress, 20
_g._ Queen’s cadets and cadets nominated by the Secretary
of State for India in Council, Free.
15. General officers on the non-effective list will pay according to
their last substantive rank.
Officers who have sold their commissions are, in this classification,
reckoned as private gentlemen.
The cases of officers who have retired voluntarily upon half-pay
previous to having served twenty-five years on full pay will be
specially considered.
Officers who retire on half-pay after twenty-five years’ service on
full pay will be classified for payment with the rank in which they last
served.
16. The orphans of officers whose claims do not come under classes
_f_, and _g_, must contribute according to the substantive rank last
held by their fathers.
17. For sons of officers who have retired on _full_ pay, the payments
will be according to the substantive rank last held by their fathers.
18. The sons of officers of civil departments having relative rank
with officers of the army and navy, of the permanent militia staff, and
of adjutants of the volunteer force, are admissible to the college on
the same terms as those prescribed for the sons of army and navy
officers of corresponding rank.
19. The sons of Indian naval and military officers not specially
nominated by the Secretary of State for India will be admitted on the
same terms as the sons of officers of the Queen’s service.
20. Contributions for the sons of professors at the Staff and Cadet
Colleges, at the Royal Military Academy, and at the late Indian
Colleges, Addiscombe, will be £50
For the sons of masters at the above institutions, 40
21. Any change which may take place by promotion or retirement in the
rank of the father of a cadet must be immediately notified to the
Military Secretary, in order that the contribution paid to the college
on account of such cadet may be regulated accordingly.
22. _Previously_ to the admission of a cadet (not a Queen’s cadet) he,
or if a minor, his parent or guardian, will be required to make the
following payments, viz.:
1. His contribution for half a year.
2. The sum of 15_l._ for his first equipment of uniform clothing.
3. The sum of 10_s._ for the support of the company reading-rooms.
4. A deposit of 15_l._ on account, for contingent expenses.
23. The above sums are to be paid to the paymaster of the College.
24. For each succeeding half year the regulated contribution is in
like manner to be paid in advance, to the paymaster of the college, to
whom must also be remitted the sum of 5_l._ for the further provision of
uniform clothing, and such sum as may be required to make up the
contingent deposit to 15_l._ The amount of this balance will be shown by
an account, rendered at the end of every half year, of the sums paid out
of the deposit during the past term.
25. No cadet on whose behalf these regulations in regard to payments
have not been complied with, will be received at the college.
26. No refund of contribution will be made for any portion of the half
year in which the cadet may be removed from the establishment, without
the special sanction of the Secretary of State for War.
27. No payments will be required from Queen’s or Indian cadets.
28. If a cadet be rusticated during a term, his contribution for the
half year will be forfeited.
29. If absent a whole term in consequence of rustication or sickness,
a contribution of 10_l._ will be required for the privilege of his name
being kept on the rolls of the establishment, and for a vacancy being
guaranteed at the commencement of the next term.
30. If absent from sickness during any portion of a term, a refund of
that portion applicable to subsistence will be permitted.
31. In the cases of cadets of the orphan class, whose annual
contribution is only 20_l._, the amount to be paid when the absence
extends over a whole term will be submitted to and determined by the
Secretary of State.
32. Every gentleman cadet will be supplied with a weekly allowance of
pocket money, at the discretion of the commandant of the college; but
this allowance will not exceed 4_s._ 6_d._ a week for a gentleman cadet
who is a responsible under officer, 4_s._ a week for a gentleman cadet
who is an under officer, 3_s._ 6_d._ a week for a gentleman cadet who is
a corporal, and 2_s._ 6_d._ a week for all other gentlemen cadets. The
expense of this allowance will be defrayed out of the amount deposited
for the purpose of meeting contingent expenses, and in the case of
Queen’s or Indian cadets it will be borne by the public.
_Discipline._
33. All gentlemen cadets are subject to such rules and regulations as
are, or may be from time to time, established for the maintenance of
good order and discipline.
34. Every gentleman cadet will be liable to be removed from the
college at any time should his conduct be such as to render it obvious
that his remaining would be either hurtful to the institution or
unprofitable to himself.
35. To every cadet will be assigned, at the commencement of each term,
100 marks for conduct.
From this number deductions will be made in certain authorized
proportions for every offence which shall have been met by a punishment
of more than two days’ drill.
Should the cadet forfeit more than three-fourths, or 75 of the above
100 marks, he will not be gazetted to his commission until all other
gentlemen cadets of the same batch shall have been provided for; and
should he lose all his marks for conduct he will be rusticated for one
term.
36. Gentlemen cadets are strictly prohibited from contracting debts
with any publican or tradesman in the vicinity of the college.
37. No perquisites or presents of any kind are to be received by any
person belonging to the college from either the gentlemen cadets or
their friends.
38. Gentlemen cadets will not be allowed to remain at the college
during the vacations without the special sanction of the Secretary of
State for War, on satisfactory proof being shown that they have no
friends in the United Kingdom to whom they could go. Payment of 1_l._
1_s._ a week will be required in such cases from those who are not
Queen’s cadets.
_Termination of the Course, and removal from the College._
39. The course of study is calculated for a residence of three terms,
or 18 months, reckoned from the commencement of the term in which a
gentleman cadet may join. It is open, however, for any cadet, who at the
end of his first term shall have proved himself qualified for promotion
at once to the third term classes, to compete for a commission without
purchase, or to be examined for a commission by purchase, at the end of
his second term; but no fourth term will be allowed on any plea but that
of long continued sickness, in which case special application must be
made to the Commander-in-Chief, accompanied by an opinion from the
surgeon of the college.
Gentlemen cadets allowed a fourth term will not be permitted to
compete for commissions without purchase.
40. Examinations for commissions will be held periodically. The number
of commissions to be given without purchase will be announced previously
to the examination. These will be competed for and awarded to the
candidates who are first in order of merit.
41. Candidates who have not succeeded in obtaining a place amongst
those to whom commissions without purchase can be awarded, but who have
obtained the minimum number of marks required for qualification, will be
considered to have prior claims to all other candidates for commissions
by purchase.
42. Queen’s and Indian cadets will receive commissions without
purchase on passing the qualifying examination. The names of those who
distinguish themselves equally with competitors for commissions without
purchase will be published in the same lists with the latter.
43. In every case a certificate of conduct and proficiency in military
and athletic exercises will be required from the governor of the college
before a cadet can be examined for his commission.
44. Any gentleman cadet desirous of entering the Royal Artillery or
Royal Engineers will be permitted, if otherwise eligible, to offer
himself as a candidate at any of the competitive examinations for
admission into the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich; and his position
at the Royal Military College will not be affected by his failure at
such examination.
45. No gentleman cadet will be allowed to present himself at a direct
commission examination during his residence at the Royal Military
College.
46. No gentleman cadet is to be removed from the college without the
permission of the Commander-in-Chief, obtained through the governor of
the college. And when a parent or guardian intends to withdraw a cadet,
or, if of age, the gentleman cadet intends to leave the college at the
end of a term, at least six weeks’ notice of his intention is to be
given to the governor. In default of such notice a quarter’s
subscription must be paid.
_Miscellaneous._
47. The establishment for Queen’s cadets having been sanctioned by
Parliament when the age of admission to the Royal Military College was
from 13 to 15 years, it has been decided that in any case when the
services of the father and the circumstances of his family are such as
to constitute a claim, an addition of not more than 40_l._ a year to the
“compassionate allowance” may, at the discretion of the Secretary of
State for War, be allowed to a candidate who is over 13, to enable him
to complete his preparatory education, as he is ineligible for immediate
admission into the college in consequence of the minimum age of
admission having been raised to 16.
48. It is desirable that every candidate who is under 21 years of age
should, at his admission, be accompanied by his parent, guardian, or
some other responsible person, to satisfy the requirements of the
college on his behalf.
49. The responsible parent or guardian of every successful candidate,
and the candidate himself, before he can be admitted as a cadet, will be
required to sign respectively the following declarations:
_Declaration by Cadet._
“I ___________________, do hereby declare that I have attentively
considered the regulations for admission to the Royal Military College,
and I consent to abide by the same in every particular, as well as to
observe and follow all such orders and directions as I shall from time
to time receive from the governor, the commandant, or other officers or
authorities of the Royal Military College. And I further hold myself
bound to conform, in every respect, to Her Majesty’s regulations, and to
the rules and discipline of the service.”
(Signature) _________________
_Declaration by the Parent or Guardian._
“I hereby declare that I consent to the admission of my (son or ward)
to the Royal Military College, on the foregoing conditions.”
(Signature) _______________
_Subjects of the Final Examination._
Max. allowed to count.
Min. allowed to count.
Min. required for Qualification.
50. Field fortification and elements of permanent fortification,
including preparatory course of practical geometry,
1,800 450 1,200
Military drawing and surveying,
1,800 450 1,200
Military history and geography,
1,800 450 1,200
Max. allowed to count.
Min. allowed to count.
Mathematics:
_First Section._--Arithmetic: algebra, up to simple equations;
Euclid, four books, use of logarithmic tables, elementary problems
in heights and distances, and mensuration,
1,200 300
_Second Section._--Euclid, Books V., VI., and XI. (propositions
1-20), higher algebra, plane trigonometry, and mensuration,
1,200 --
_Third Section._--Practical mechanics and hydrostatics,
1,200 --
Higher fortification,
600 300
French,
1,200 300
German,
1,200 300
Chemistry,
1,200 300
Geology,
1,200 300
Free-hand drawing,
600 150
In order to qualify for a commission, every gentleman cadet will be
required to obtain 1,950 marks in the obligatory section of
fortification, military drawing and surveying, military history, the
first section of mathematics, and one foreign language; of which number
of marks 1,300 must be gained in the three _military_ subjects before
specified.
SUBJECTS AND COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.
The studies of the college are mathematics, fortification, military
drawing and surveying, military history and geography, and one modern
language (either French or German), which are obligatory on all cadets,
and, in the final examination 1,950 marks (out of 5,400 required), with
a certificate of proficiency in military and athletic exercises, are
required to qualify for a commission. To these studies are added
chemistry or physics, geology, and a second modern language.
For educational purposes, the cadet corps is divided into three
companies, designated A, B, C, each company pursuing the same subjects
at the same time, with a classification of members into sections,
according to the results of the minor and term examinations. The minor
examinations take place every six weeks, and the term examinations every
six months, and the final examination at the close of the course, which
occupies three terms of six months each. The final examination is
conducted by examiners attached to the Council of Military Education.
The final result, as bearing on a commission, is reached by adding the
marks as determined by the average of the minor and term examinations,
and the answers of the final examination.
The instruction is given in halls of study, of which there are 18, large
enough to accommodate, each, 18 cadets, but generally occupied by
15. The lecture hall will accommodate 100 without crowding.
1. _Mathematics_, elementary for all sections, including arithmetic,
algebra up to simple equations, euclid, the use of logarithmic tables,
elementary problems in heights and distances, and mensuration; and
higher in the third section, including trigonometry and practical
mechanics and hydrostatics, occupies 21 hours a week during the entire
residence. To this branch is assigned a professor, one senior master,
and three other masters. To the highest proficiency in mathematics is
assigned a maximum of 1,200 marks, and a minimum of 300 is allowed to
count.
2. _Fortification_ includes field and the elements of permanent
fortification, with a preparatory course of practical geometry. To this
study, which occupies three hours every day, or 18 hours per week, are
assigned six professors, and to the highest proficiency is awarded a
maximum of 1,800 marks, with a minimum of 450. Field fortification is
taught in the first two terms, plan drawing and practical work going on
together. The cadets trace and execute portions of fieldworks, making
and planting revetement, gabions, and fascines, and doing all but the
heavy work, which is left to the sappers. They are also instructed in
bridge making and in pontooning, and witness every species of work done
in the hall, on the fortification ground.
3. _Military Surveying and Drawing_ occupy together 17 hours, under 12
professors. The cadets commence by drawing from copies, then from
models, being in the meantime also taught the use of instruments; then
in six weeks after joining the corps, they are taken out to triangulate
with the prismatic compass and pacing, and traverse roads. The former
practice with the theodilite and sextant has been abandoned, and the
whole instruction has been concentrated on the art of field sketching as
of more importance to an infantry officer. To the highest proficiency in
this subject is given 1,800 marks, and a minimum of 450 is allowed to
count in the final result. In the final examination the candidate for a
commission must obtain at least 1,200 marks in the above subjects.
4. _Military History and Geography_ is under the charge of one professor
and two instructors. The present course is to give instruction by
lecture, in the organization and mode of action of the three arms, and
explanation of the operation of the commissariat and transport
department of an army, followed by a short and simple campaign. In the
second half-year, two campaigns are selected, with a view to illustrate
the generally received principles of tactics and strategy, and in the
third half-year one campaign is thoroughly worked out in detail. The
cadets take notes of the lecture, on which they are examined orally, and
after the main propositions and facts are printed by the professor, a
subsequent study and examination on the printed scheme is had. In this
study the cadets draw plans of the theatre of war and of battles,
showing the position of the opposing forces.
5. _Languages_, French and German,--the former with one professor and
three masters, and the latter with one master. The usual course in
either language is grammar, exercises, dictation, translation, and
composition. To the highest proficiency in either, 1,200 marks are
assigned, and a minimum of 300 is allowed. One of these languages is
obligatory in the final examination, but the candidate can be examined
in both. The cadets can change from one language to the other at the
beginning of the term.
6. _Chemistry_ (including sound, heat, electricity, and magnetism) and
_Geology_ (including mineralogy and physical geography) occupy each a
half hour four days in the week, and employ part of the time of two
professors.
7. _Freehand or Landscape Drawing_ receives two lessons per week, first
from copies and models, and in the third term one lesson per week from
nature. To the highest proficiency is assigned 600 marks, and a minimum
of 150 is allowed.
8. _Military exercises_ enter into the programme for the day, and
consist of gymnastics for the first term, gun-drill and riding (one
lesson per week) in the second term, and two lessons in the last
exercises for the third term. Parade and infantry drill occupy, in
addition, half an hour before breakfast, and 50 minutes between the
first and second period of study in the morning (9.30 and 10.50).
For qualification a cadet must obtain an aggregate of 1,200 marks out of
5,400 on the three military subjects, and a total aggregate of 1,950 of
these. Similar proportions of marks must be obtained each term that the
cadet may return in the following term.
RESULTS OF EXAMINATIONS.
Out of 2,399 admission examinations in eleven years, from 1858 to 1868,
444 were unsuccessful; and in the final examinations, in the same
period, out of 1,726, 25 failed. The results of the examinations show
better preparation from year to year.
EXPENDITURES.
The expenditures of the government, on account of the Military College,
were as follows: for 1858-9, £27,969; for 1863-4, £39,690; for 1866-7,
£36,416, exclusive of payments made by the cadets or by the Indian
government, which, in 1866-67 was £4,237.
ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT WOOLWICH.
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
The Military Academy at Woolwich was instituted by George II. in 1741,
to give instruction to officers who served in the Artillery and
Engineers. It began in a small room in a building at Woolwich, where the
Board of Ordnance used occasionally to assemble, under the instruction
of two masters, who lectured by rotation during four consecutive hours
in three days of every week. At first only the officers of the single
battalion composing the Artillery, and of the corps of Engineers, were
required to attend. In the second year non-commissioned officers, and
privates too, were at liberty to attend, and upon its close cadets, to
the number of five to each company of artillery, resorted to the hall.
Being sons of officers of the corps, and not in uniform or under
military control, the cadets became an element of disorder, which led to
a more systematic organization. In 1744, the cadets were clothed in
uniform, and collected into a distinct company, under two officers, with
a drum-major. By 1782, the number of cadets had increased from twenty to
sixty, and in 1798, to one hundred,--boarding with their families. In
the last year arrangements were made to lodge and board the cadets by
allowing 2_s._ a day per head, until by degrees, in 1857, an imposing
pile of buildings had been erected, and the establishment for government
and instruction consisted of 18 officers on the military staff, and some
fifty professors and masters in the civil and educational corps.
REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION.
Previously to the year 1855 admission to the Royal Military Academy
could only be obtained by a nomination from the Master-General of the
Ordnance. The limits of age for admission were at that time from 14 to
16, and the candidates nominated were required to pass an entrance
examination before the professors of the Academy, which varied somewhat
according to the age of the individual. A certain number of the
candidates previously passed though the preparatory school at
Carshalton, admission to which was equally obtained by nomination from
the Master-General of the Ordnance, and were transferred to the Academy
on passing an examination similar to that required from those who
entered the latter establishment direct. The term of residence at the
Academy varied, according to the progress of a cadet, from two to four
years.
The inability of the Academy to meet the demand for officers for the
Artillery and Engineers created by the Crimean war, led to the
introduction of a new system of obtaining commissions in the scientific
corps. At first a limited number of nominations were placed in the hands
of the head masters of the great public schools of the country, and the
candidates nominated by them were appointed to provisional commissions
on passing an examination at Woolwich; but after a short time the
principle of open competition for admission to the Artillery and
Engineers was adopted, in 1855, by Lord Panmure, when Secretary of State
for War. Simultaneously with this change--the first recognition of the
competitive principle in regard to military education in this country--a
great alteration was made in the limits of age for admission to the
scientific corps. Both direct appointments to commissions in the
Artillery and Engineers, without any previous special instruction, and
admissions to the senior or practical class at the Academy, without
passing through the lower or theoretical classes at that institution,
were thrown open to public competition among all natural-born subjects
of Her Majesty. The limits of age for candidates for the direct
appointments were from 19 to 21. Those who were successful were in the
first instance to receive provisional commissions, and to be placed for
instruction under the Director of Artillery Studies, at Woolwich, for a
period of about six months, at the end of which they were to be
permanently commissioned. Candidates for admission to the practical
class at the Academy were required to be between the ages of 17 and 19;
those admitted were to remain in the practical class for six or eight
months, after which, on passing an examination, they were to receive
commissions in the Artillery or Engineers. The first competitive
examination under this system (the regulations for which will be found
below) was held in August, 1855, and was conducted by a body of
examiners specially appointed for the purpose, under the direction of
Canon Moseley. The examination for both classes of appointments thrown
open to competition was the same, and was based on the general education
of the country, the object being merely to compare the abilities and
attainments of the candidates without reference to special professional
knowledge. Two other similar examinations, both for provisional
commissions and for admission to the practical class, were held in
January and June, 1856, the only difference being that the limits of age
of the candidates were somewhat extended, and that in these later
examinations no commissions in the _Engineers_ were offered to
competition.
On the conclusion of the Crimean war, however, the system of appointing
officers directly from civil life to commissions in the scientific
corps, as well as that of admitting candidates to the practical class at
the Academy, which had been adopted to meet the pressure of the war,
came to an end. No other examination after that in June, 1856, was held
for a year; but in June, 1857, the first competitive examination for
admission to the ordinary course of instruction at the Academy took
place. The limits of age for admission were fixed at 17 to 20, and it
was announced that the successful candidates would remain under
instruction at the Academy “until sufficiently advanced in scientific
knowledge to pass a satisfactory examination.”
Since this period open competitive examinations have been held regularly
every six months for admission to the Academy; and though various
modifications in their details have been made, their general character
remains little altered. The limits of age for candidates, originally
placed at 17 to 20, were, however, in 1862, reduced to 16 to 19, at
which they are at present fixed.
The examinations for admission to the Academy, like those which had
previously been held for provisional commissions and for appointments to
the practical class, were at first conducted by Canon Moseley and a
special Board of Examiners appointed by the Secretary of State for War,
with whom the general management of the Academy, after the abolition of
the office of Master-General of the Ordnance, remained. In 1858,
however, the superintendence of the system of instruction at Woolwich
was transferred to the Council of Military Education, who, since July,
1859, have conducted the examinations.
Although the principle of open competition for appointments in the
scientific corps was first recognized in 1855, and in 1857 was extended
generally to admission to the ordinary course of instruction at the
Academy, yet the system of competitive examination did not become the
sole and universal means of admission to Woolwich until the year 1861.
Time was required to clear off the vested interests of candidates who
had been placed on the old nomination list of the Master-General of the
Ordnance; of youths who had been admitted to the preparatory school at
Carshalton; of cadets who, at the time of the proposed amalgamation of
Sandhurst and Woolwich, had obtained admission to the former institution
on the understanding that they would have the opportunity of obtaining
commissions in the Artillery and Engineers; and, lastly, of cadets at
the Indian Military College at Addiscombe, who, on the abolition of the
local Indian army, were transferred to Woolwich before receiving
commissions in the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers.
Out of 3,085 admission examinations in eleven years, from 1858 to 1868,
more than one-half (2,136) failed. Of those who entered after this
trial, in the same length of time, only three failed to pass the final
examination.
STAFF OF GOVERNMENT AND INSTRUCTION.
_President._--Duke of Cambridge, K.G.
_Governor._--Major General J. L. A. Simmons, K.C.B.
_Secretary and Treasurer._--Bt. Major E. J. Bruce, R.Art.
_Professor of Mathematics._--M. W. Crofton, B.A., and five masters.
_Professor of Fortification._--Lt. Col. J. J. Wilson.
_Instructors._--Major W. J. Stuart, and three others.
_Professor of Military History._--Capt. H. Brackenburg, R.Art.
_Professor of Military Drawing._--Lt. Col. A. W. Drayson.
_Landscape Drawing._--William Clifton.
_Professor of Artillery._--Lt. Col. C. H. Owen, and five masters.
_Professor of Practical Geometry._--T. Bradley, and two masters.
_Professor of German._--C. H. Schaible, and two masters.
_Professor of French._--Theodore Karcher, and two masters.
_Professor of Chemistry._--C. L. Bloxham.
_Chaplain and Classical Instructor._--Rev. W. F. Short.
EXPENDITURE FOR MILITARY ACADEMY AT WOOLWICH:
In 1858, £27,969; in 1861-62, £25,188; in 1866-67, £36,416,--exclusive
of payments made by the cadets.
REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION.
N.B.--All candidates for commissions in the Royal Artillery and Royal
Engineers are required to go through a course of instruction at the
Royal Military Academy.
I. Competitive examinations for admission are held in London twice a
year, in January and July. They are conducted by examiners appointed for
the purpose, in the presence and under the superintendence of the
Council of Military Education.
The candidates must be between 16 and 19 years of age.
II. The admissions will be determined by the result of the
examination, the subjects of which will be as follows, viz.:
Marks.
1. Mathematics
{ Pure
{ { Section I. Arithmetic, algebra, Euclid,
{ { plane trigonometry, 2,000 }
{ { Section II. Spherical trignometry, elements of
{ { co-ordinate geometry, and of the differential
{ { and integral calculus, 500 }
{ Mixed: Statics, dynamics, and hydrostatics, 1,000 } 3,500
2. English language and composition, 1,000
3. History of England, its dependencies and colonies, 1,000
4. Geography (modern), 1,000
5. Classics { Latin language, 1,500
{ Greek do., 1,500
6. French language, 1,000
7. German do., 1,000
8. Hindustani do., 1,000
The examination in French, German, and Hindustani, will include
writing from dictation.
9. Experimental sciences, _i.e._, chemistry, heat,
electricity, magnetism, 1,000
10. Natural sciences, _i.e._, mineralogy and geology, 1,000
11. Drawing { Free-hand drawing of machinery, architectural,
{ topographical, landscape or figure subjects, 1,000
Every candidate must qualify in geometrical drawing; _i.e._, drawing
in ink, with accuracy, neatness, and to scale, the several problems of
Euclid. The standard of qualification in this subject is 100 marks,
which must be gained, out of a maximum of 300 nominally assigned to it.
But the marks so gained will not count toward the general aggregate.
III. No candidate will be allowed to be examined in more than five
subjects, of which one must be mathematics, and no one who does not
obtain at least 700 marks in section I. of pure mathematics, will be
eligible for an appointment.
From the other subjects of examination, to which marks are assigned as
above, each candidate may select any, not exceeding four in number, in
which he desires to be examined. The rules for counting marks in such
subjects are as follows:
In all subjects carrying marks, except the 1st section of mathematics,
in which 700 marks are required, one-sixth of the number allotted to
each must be gained before they can be allowed to count.
In classics, the subject is divided into two sections as above, either
or both of which the candidate may take up as one subject; but he will
not be allowed to count the marks gained in either section unless they
amount to one-sixth of the number allotted to it.
In either _French_, _German_, or _Hindustani_, every candidate will be
required to obtain for qualification one-sixth of the maximum of marks,
whether he takes it up as a subject in which he desires to compete or
not.
It should be understood that, although only a small qualifying test
has been imposed in respect to modern languages, a knowledge of them on
admission will contribute greatly to a candidate’s future success at the
Royal Military Academy.
IV. The candidates are allowed to answer as many questions as the time
allotted to the subject will permit.
V. No candidate will be admitted unless he obtain an aggregate of at
least 2,500 marks.
VI. The successful candidates will remain under instruction for about
two years and a half, or until they are sufficiently advanced in
scientific knowledge to pass a satisfactory examination, and they will
then be qualified to receive commissions in the Royal Artillery or Royal
Engineers. If, however, they should be found unable to qualify
themselves within three years in their professional studies, or to
acquire a sufficient proficiency in military exercises, or if at any
time, by failure at the half-yearly examinations, it should appear
improbable that they will ultimately succeed in qualifying for a
commission, they will be removed. Further, every cadet will be liable to
be removed temporarily or permanently on the commission of any of those
offences to which such penalty is awarded by the regulations of the
Royal Military Academy.
VII. Each cadet on joining will be required to pay a sum of 25_l._ to
cover the expense of uniform, books, etc., and to bring with him the
articles of clothing of which he will receive notice, and which must
afterward be kept up at his own expense. He will also be required to pay
a contribution of 62_l._ 10_s._, payable in advance, for each half year
of the time during which he remains under instruction; and a deposit of
5_l._ into the hands of the paymaster on account, for contingent
expenses, which latter sum he will be required to make up on returning
to the Royal Military Academy after each vacation, to cover any
unavoidable expense that may be incurred on his account during the
ensuing half year.
The annual contributions, however, for sons and orphans of naval and
military officers will be regulated at the following rates, as
heretofore:
For sons of admirals and of generals having regiments, £80
For sons of generals without regiments, 70
For sons of captains and commanders of the navy,
and of colonels and regimental field officers of the army, 60
For sons of all officers of the army and navy under
the above ranks, 40
For sons of all officers of the army and navy who have died
in the service, and whose families are proved to be left
in pecuniary distress, 20
The sons of general officers who are paid only on their commissions as
field officers will pay the same contributions as the sons of field
officers.
Officers who have sold their commissions are in this classification
reckoned as private gentlemen.
The cases of officers who have retired voluntarily upon half pay
previous to having served 25 years on full pay will be specially
considered.
Officers who retire on half pay after 25 years’ service on full pay
will be entitled to be classified for payment with the rank they last
served in.
The sons of officers of the civil departments of the army and navy, of
officers of the permanent Militia Staff, and of adjutants of the
Volunteer Force, are admissible to the Academy upon the same terms as
those prescribed for naval and military officers.
The sons of Indian naval and military officers will be admitted on the
same terms as the sons of officers of the Queen’s service.
The sons of professors at the Staff and Royal Military
Colleges, at the Royal Military Academy, and at the
Royal Military College, Addiscombe, £60
The sons of masters at the above institutions, 40
If a cadet be absent a whole term in consequence of sickness or
rustication, a payment of 10_l._ will be required for the privilege of
his name being kept on the rolls of the establishment, and for a vacancy
being guaranteed at the commencement of the next term.
If a cadet be absent from sickness during a portion of the term, his
pay will continue to be issued and credited to his account; but no
refund of the contribution will be permitted.
If rusticated during a term, the daily pay will cease from the date on
which the cadet is sent away, and the contribution made for the half
year will be forfeited.
In the case of a cadet of the orphan class, whose annual contribution
is only 20_l._, the amount to be paid when absence extends over a whole
term is to be determined by the Secretary of State.
VIII. Any gentleman who wishes to present himself at one of the
half-yearly examinations must send in his name to the military secretary
at the Horse Guards one month before the time of examination, forwarding
with his application to be noted the following papers:
1st. An extract from the register of his baptism, or, in default of
that, a declaration before a magistrate, made by one of his parents,
giving his exact age.
2d. A certificate of good moral character, signed by a clergyman of
the parish to which he belongs, and by the tutor or head of the school
or college at which he has received his education for at least the two
preceding years, or such other proof of good moral character as will be
satisfactory to the Commander-in-Chief.
3d. A statement of the subjects of examination in which (in addition
to mathematics) he may desire to be examined.
A candidate who has been examined before, when he applies for leave to
present himself again, will only be required to forward the list of
subjects he selects, and a certificate from his tutor or the head of his
school, etc., for the interval between the two examinations.
IX. The candidates will be inspected by military surgeons on the first
day of the examination, in order that it may be ascertained that they
are free from any bodily defects or ailments calculated to interfere
with the performance of military duties.
Extreme short-sight, or any serious defect of vision, is regarded as a
disqualification.
The responsible parent or guardian of every successful candidate, and
the candidate himself, before he can be admitted as a cadet, are
required to sign, respectively, obligations to conform to the
regulations.
SUBJECTS AND STAFF OF INSTRUCTION.
For instruction the Cadets are divided into five classes of equal
strength, according to length of residence; forty-four in the first four
classes, and forty-six in the junior. The subjects are:
1. Mathematics, under a professor and four instructors, is studied in
three classes, and the final examination is held after a residence of a
year and a half, with a maximum of 6,800 marks in all.
2. Fortification, under a professor and four instructors, is studied in
four classes. The final examination is in the last class, and the
maximum of marks attainable in all is 6,300.
3. Artillery, under a professor and three instructors, is studied in two
classes; the second and first, and the final examination, is in the
first, with a maximum of 6,200 marks.
4. Surveying and topographical drawing, under a professor and four
instructors, is studied in all the classes, and the final examination is
at the completion of the course, with a total of 4,200 marks.
5. Practical Geometry, under a professor and two instructors, is studied
in two classes, and the final examination is at the close of the first
year, with an aggregate of 2,100 marks.
6. Mechanics and Natural Philosophy, under one professor, are studied in
the last two terms, and the final examination is in the last, with a
maximum of 1,600 marks in the former, and 900 in the latter.
7. French and German are studied, each under a professor and two
instructors, for four terms, and after the final examination in the
second class. The total marks in each is 1,500. Hindustani can be
substituted for German.
8. Landscape Drawing, under two instructors, is studied in three
classes, and the final examination is in the third class, with a maximum
of 1,500 marks.
9. Military History is taught by one professor in the last two terms,
and has a maximum of 2,000 marks.
10. Chemistry, under one lecturer, is taught in the last term, and
receives a total of 1,200 marks.
11. Gymnastics, drill, and riding are taught as follows: Regular
gymnastic instruction is conducted by a superintendent and three
sergeants, for at least six months, and practised through all the terms.
Artillery drill, with gun, sword, and other military drill and tactics,
are conducted partly by military officers and partly by the professors
and instructors of artillery. Riding drill is conducted under the
officers of the Royal Artillery, in the last two terms, and is practised
four or five hours a week. Swimming is taught optionally.
12. Recreations and amusements are optional and at the expense of the
Cadets. Workshops are maintained by the government, but tools and
materials are furnished at the expense of the Cadets. There are two
reading rooms.
SCHOOL PREPARATION FOR WOOLWICH.
From the returns and evidence furnished, it is an extremely rare
occurrence for a candidate to go up direct from a public school which
does not possess a Modern Department to the examination for admission to
Woolwich. Out of 855 candidates admitted to Woolwich in 10 years--from
1858 to 1867--the six public schools of Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Winchester,
Westminster, and Shrewsbury, only sent up five direct. Colonel Addison
states that at Sandhurst, out of 320 admissions during the last two
years, there have been only 16 from the nine schools mentioned in the
Report of the Royal Commission on Public Schools; but from Cheltenham
and Wellington College the admissions have been more numerous. Even for
the direct commission examination, those who present themselves from
public schools (including Cheltenham and Marlborough, where Modern
Departments exist), without seeking the assistance of a private tutor,
scarcely amount to five per cent. of the whole number of candidates. At
the same time, it may be observed that the proportion of failures among
such candidates in the latter examination is comparatively slight, not
amounting to more than 8 per cent., while the average number of failures
among the candidates generally during the last four years has been very
nearly 25 per cent. In fact, the general tenor of the evidence goes to
show that, in the case of the examinations both for direct commissions
and for admission to Sandhurst, there is, or at least should be, no
necessity for candidates who have had the ordinary education of a
classical public school to have recourse to private tuition. The
Woolwich examination appears generally to be regarded in a different
light. Its higher and more special character, and the great importance
attached to mathematics, coupled with the competition which exists for
it, render it apparently doubtful whether success would generally be
obtained by candidates from public schools--other than those where, like
Cheltenham, instruction is given with a particular view to this
examination--without a special preparatory tuition.
The general character of the “Modern Side” at Harrow, which was
established in September of 1869, “for the benefit of boys for whom,
from various causes, an advanced classical training seems undesirable,”
is explained as follows in a circular issued by the Head-Master when
announcing the intention of adopting the institution:
The principal subjects of instruction on the “Modern Side” will be
mathematics, French, German, Latin, history, English literature, and
physical science.
The requirements of boys not intended for the Universities will be
specially kept in view, including the case of those who are candidates
for Woolwich or the Indian Civil Service. It is hoped that this
provision may obviate the supposed necessity for removing boys to a
private tutor’s precisely at an age when the influences of public school
life are most powerful and most salutary.
Except for purposes of instruction there will be no distinction
whatever between boys on the Modern Side and boys on the Classical Side.
No boy will, for the present, be admitted to the Modern Side unless he
has been in the school for at least a year, and has hitherto shown
diligence and made fair progress.
The nature of the instruction in the “Army Class” at Eton is described
by the Head-Master (Rev. Dr. Hornly) as follows:
The Army Class was established by Dr. Goodrich in the year 1858. It
was established in order to give Eton boys greater facilities for
preparing certain subjects which were required in the army examinations,
and to obviate the supposed necessity of giving Eton boys a special
preparation, elsewhere than at Eton, in order to fit them for the army
examinations.
At first fortification and military drawing were included in the
course, and a considerable proportion of the ordinary school work
(_e.g._, Latin verse writing) was remitted.
This was not found to answer. The course included more than was
necessary for the ordinary army examination, and not enough for the
higher examinations at Woolwich. There seemed to be a danger of the
class becoming a sort of refuge for the idlest boys in the school.
Dr. Goodford subsequently altered all this, and placed the class upon
its present footing, which is as follows:
Two lessons a week (repetition lessons) are remitted to make time for
lessons in modern history. English essays, or abstracts of what has been
taught in school, are written by the boys out of school (one exercise a
week), and carefully looked over. No other part of the ordinary school
work (except the two repetition lessons) is given up. Boys cannot join
the class till they are 16 years of age. They are expected to stay at
Eton till the time comes for their examination. The class consists at
present of 28 boys, with an average of 25.
The class has certainly been successful. No boy going up from Eton has
failed yet in the army examination since the reconstitution of the class
of which I have spoken. I think the class has done good in the school.
It will be seen that nothing more has been seriously attempted as yet
than to secure boys from failure in the ordinary examinations. If boys
are to be prepared at Eton for any higher competition, such as that at
Woolwich, a very different course will obviously be necessary, and
probably a system of “bifurcation” will be found indispensable.
I am not prepared to say that this may not be introduced with
advantage at Eton; but the impending changes in the governing body at
Eton, and the anticipated changes with regard to army examinations, make
it difficult to commence any work of reconstruction at the present
moment.
The most successful institutions in preparing candidates either for
Sandhurst or Woolwich are the Cheltenham and Wellington Colleges--each
having a Modern Department, in which Latin and Greek yield their
supremacy to modern science and living languages.
The Modern Department in Cheltenham College was established in 1843 as
a Military School, and is claimed to be such at this time. The studies
of subjects consist of mathematics, drawing of all kinds, physical
science, two modern languages (French and German), English, surveying,
and fortification, both field and permanent. The principal (Rev. T. A.
Southend), in his evidence before the Military Education Commission in
1869, states that his pupils, at the age of eighteen, went through the
whole Addiscombe course, and all that was done at Woolwich, and a good
deal of what was done at Chatham. The whole of his class, in 1868, went
up for the entrance examination at Sandhurst, and passed. From twelve to
fifteen go to Woolwich every year, and in 1869, forty out of one hundred
and twenty in the Academy were prepared at Cheltenham. The special
military instruction is based on a course of Latin and Greek.
Out of three hundred and twelve students in Wellington College,
ninety-six boys are in the Modern Side, entering at the age of twelve
and thirteen, and remaining till seventeen or eighteen. But of the
ninety-six, forty are preparing for the Engineers or Artillery, and
twenty for the Line. The subjects taught in the military division are
the same as at Cheltenham, except fortification; and the head-master
(Rev. Dr. Benson) claims, in his evidence before the Commission, that
his graduates are as well trained in the same subject as the pupils of
Sandhurst or Woolwich. He advises the establishment of exhibitions in
the Military School, open to competition to the pupils of all the public
schools, and regards the modern side as an essential feature in all
public schools.
Rugby School was the earliest of the great Public Schools of England to
make Physical Science a regular part of its curriculum, and to give any
considerable prominence to modern languages and history; but its
governing authorities have resisted all efforts to establish a distinct
Modern Side.
The Rev. Dr. Temple, head-master of Rugby School (now Bishop of
Exeter), in his evidence before the Commission, remarked that the
general education of boys entering Sandhurst should be the same as that
given to other boys of the same age, destined for any other profession
than that of arms. His opinion was adverse to having a modern
department, in which the ancient classics held a subordinate place, in a
school in which the classics held the first, and over which the
head-master presided. The modern studies should have an independent
scope, and their own master, who will by his character and personal
attention fix the standard of attainment. The great public schools
should hold on to their present aim and methods, introducing other
studies to perfect their mental discipline and results. No side sections
or departments in any existing school can do the work of scientific
school culture so thoroughly as an independent school, in which the
natural sciences and modern languages are taught by the main staff of
professors. All teachers, in any school, civil or military, should be
specially appointed for their educational qualities.
In Marlborough College, a modern department exists, which was
established to prepare boys for definite examinations in which they
would not succeed if they competed direct from the classical side of the
College, and at the same time to solve the problem of giving a good
school education on a basis of instruction in which the dead languages
hold a subordinate place. Boys enter the Modern School after they have
reached the fourth form in the classical department, so that Latin and
Greek constitute a substantial part of their attainments and discipline.
The success of the graduates of this institution in competing for
admission into the military or civil service of the government, or in
any of the walks of active or professional life, shows conclusively that
the modern curriculum with its studies properly adjusted, and a well
trained staff, under an able head-master, is quite equal to the
classical, not only in practical utility, but in comprehensive and
liberal discipline.
ROYAL SCHOOL OF MILITARY ENGINEERING AT CHATHAM.
ORGANIZATION, ETC.
The Royal Engineering Establishment at Chatham was instituted in 1854,
to furnish a sound course of practical instruction in Military and Civil
Engineering to the officers, non-commissioned officers, and sappers of
the corps of Royal Engineers, in addition and prior to which both
officers and men pass through the ordinary drill and military duties
common to the army generally.
The present organization and staff are composed of a director; an
instructor and assistant in construction and estimating; an instructor
and assistant in field works; an instructor and assistant in surveying;
an instructor and assistant in telegraphy, photography, and an assistant
in signalling; a brigade major; quartermaster in charge of stores, and
field officer for military discipline.
The number of officers under instruction, recently
commissioned, captains and subalterns, 81
Non-commissioned officers and sappers, average, 1,200
NATURE AND LENGTH OF COURSE.
There are six distinct courses:
1. Drill and military duties, which occupy 107 days. This includes,
besides the interior economy of a company, proceedings of
courts-martial, boards of survey, courts of inquiry.
2. Telegraphy, signalling, submarine mines, etc., which occupy
thirty-five days. This includes the construction and maintenance of
lines, a knowledge of instruments and batteries, application of
electricity to explosions, management of torpedoes, etc.
3. Chemistry, which occupies fifteen days. This course comprises the
analysis of limes, cements, and other building materials.
4. Field works, military bridging, etc, which occupies 122 days. This
comprises instruction in earthworks, pontooning, rafts, spar, and other
temporary bridges, reports on existing fortresses, construction of
railways, escalading, diving, etc.
5. Architectural course, which occupies 183 days. This course includes
building material, design, estimate, and specification for a building,
instruction and report, with hand sketches of various works in
execution, lime and cement works, quarrying, brickmaking, etc.
6. Surveying and Astronomy, which occupy 183 days. This course includes
trigonometrical survey, military reconnoissance, special survey, road
reconnoissance, astronomical memoranda and calculations, adaptation of
works of defence to a contoured site, inspection tours of works of
defence in England, and report on same, isolated lectures on geology,
electricity, machinery, etc., by selected professors.
The first allowance toward expenses of junior officers of the Royal
Engineers, in visiting engineering works, at home and abroad, was made
in 1854, and is now 500_l._ per annum.
INSTRUCTION FOR NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS AND SAPPERS.
All recruits for this corps join at Chatham, and for about sixteen
months are subject to daily drill and military duties in field work and
all branches of the engineer service, and are drafted off, from time to
time, into the special classes in construction, photography, telegraphy,
lithography, printing.
_Synopsis of the Course._
The following synopsis of the instruction given at the Royal School of
Military Engineering at Chatham, was drawn up by Major General J. L.
Simmons, the Director of the establishment.
I.--THE SURVEY COURSE.
The course of surveying for the officers of the Royal Engineers is
intended to qualify them for carrying on survey operations of every
description, and for designing and laying out engineering works, so far
as these are influenced by the features of the ground on which they are
placed, or over which they are carried.
The course consists of two parts,--the one relating to surveying
processes exclusively, the other to the uses made of the plans and maps
prepared by such processes, for engineering purposes.
Under the first of these divisions the officers are practically
instructed in astronomical, general, special, and reconnoitring
surveying, including the accurate delineation of the inequalities of
ground by levelling and by contours traced instrumentally, and also the
giving reliefs to hill forms by sketching with the pen and drawing with
the brush.
Under the second division they are exercised in the adaptation of
works of fortification to contoured sites, and in the selection and
survey of lines of communication by roads, railways, and canals, and in
drawing up projects for their execution.
_Astronomical Surveying._
The officers are taught the construction and use of astronomical
instruments, and are practised in making observations with them. They
study from published works and memoranda printed at the establishment,
the most useful problems for finding the time, the latitude and
longitude, the direction of the meridian, and the variation of the
compass.
Examples of each problem are worked out by them from their own
observations or from observations made in their presence.
The use of meteorological instruments and the reductions of the
observations made with them are also practised.
_General Survey._
As a preliminary exercise in drawing each officer constructs a plate
of scales from data supplied to him. For particular information on the
delicate and powerful instruments and apparatus which have been used in
great national surveys, and which cannot be studied in the establishment
observatory, the officers are referred to published works; and they are
instructed in the adjustments, the unavoidable errors of construction,
and the powers of the instruments put into their hands for the execution
of their survey course.
The general survey comprises:
1st. _The selection and measurement of a base._--The base is measured
with an ordinary chain and a five-inch theodolite, and this measurement
having been reduced to its horizontal value at the level of the sea, the
section of the base is laid down on paper.
2d. _Triangulation._--The measured base is extended by a triangulation
over 10 or 16 square miles of country, and the relative altitudes of,
and the distances between, the stations selected are determined from
observations. The computed horizontal distances are laid down, and the
azimuth of one of them is determined.
3d. _Traversing._--The positions of the roads, streams, boundaries of
woods, and other marked features, surrounding and intersecting an area
of six or eight square miles of the country triangulated, are then
determined by running traverses with a theodolite from one station to
another, so as to cut up this area into spaces which will admit of being
filled in by a less accurate method, without introducing an error in the
plan.
4th. _Plotting of detail and completion of the work._--The protracted
lines are now transferred to another sheet of paper, and the detail,
obtained as the traverses proceed, is plotted from the field-book. From
this plot sketch sheets are prepared, and the remainder of the work is
sketched in with the aid of a prismatic compass, the form of the ground
being represented by pencil strokes, assisted by contours put in with
the aid of a portable level.
The sketch sheets are etched in with a pen, and a finished brush-work
plan of the complete survey, embracing all the information collected, is
prepared from them, with the original plotted detail, as a basis.
_Special Survey._
A piece of ground, about half a mile in area, is surveyed with minute
accuracy as for some special purpose, and is laid down on a scale
sufficiently large to admit of the calculation of the areas of the
enclosures from the paper. The method followed is the same as that
pursued on the Ordnance Survey, and with the Tithe Commutation Surveys,
etc.
_Contouring._--On the ground thus specially surveyed contours are
traced instrumentally at given vertical distances apart and are plotted
on the plan.
_Military Reconnaissance._
This is conducted on principles similar to those which govern the
operations of the general survey; the instruments employed, however, are
all portable. The measurement of a base is made by such means as readily
offer themselves (generally by pacing), and the trigonometrical points
are fixed simply by protracting angles observed with a box sextant or
compass. The whole of the remaining features and details considered
necessary in a military point of view are sketched in with the aid of
bearings and pacing. The reconnaissance embraces about six square miles.
In addition to the topographical sketch of the ground, each officer
sends in a detailed report of its general character, its resources, and
military capabilities. Each officer also makes a hasty reconnaissance of
a road with a view to its employment as a military communication. All
the information which can be obtained as to the character of the
country through which it passes, and towns and villages near it,
together with the construction, gradients, etc., of the road, are noted
on the face of the sketch.
_Fortification Branch._
Every officer is required, in this branch of the survey course, to
design one or more works of defence for the occupation of a site, of
which a contoured plan is furnished to him.
In performing this exercise the officer becomes, expert in reading the
various forms and slopes of ground, as expressed by contours; he meets
with and learns to provide for some of the many modifications of the
conditions of defence which the occupation of irreglar sites
necessitates, and he acquires facility in the application of descriptive
geometry to the determination of the planes of defilade and the several
planes of a work.
The data upon, which, the design, is framed consist of a plan of
ground shown by contours and of some of the conditions to be filled by
the proposed fortification, such as the objects for which; the site is
occupied, the strength of the garrison, the extent, of the works, the
nature of the defence of the ditches, the trace, or the, profile to be
adopted, etc.
On the completion of his design the officer writes a report
explanatory of the character of the works, he has adopted, and
describing his arrangements both for the distant and near defence, with
any improvements which have suggested themselves in working it out; and
since the scale of the design, admits of considerable accuracy in its
preparation, he is required to enter very fully into the detail of the
arrangement he proposes.
The report is accompanied by tables showing how the remblai and deblai
are equalized, and that the distribution of the latter is, economical.
_Civil Applications._
_Projects for a line of communication, general plan, and trial
sections._--The officers are instructed in the general principles which
should guide them in laying out lines of communication, whether by road,
railway, or canal, and are then sent out to examine the country between
two points five or six miles apart, and are required to decide on two or
more routes which apparently offer the greatest facilities in point of
gradients, soil, and the materials of construction. Availing themselves
of the best map or plan they can obtain, they draw a plan showing
approximately the divisions of the properties through which the trial
lines are run; they then make trial sections; and from these sections
and their previous examination of the ground, they determine on the
line, to be adopted, embodying in a report a general description of the
country, the obstacles encountered on each route, the gradients, curves,
etc., and also the calculations which led to their decision. In their
calculations they estimate the cost of the necessary constructions on
each of the trial lines, the cost of conveyance for heavy goods on an
assumed basis of daily traffic, and the time occupied in each case for
quick transit.
_Working plan and section._--A length of one mile of the route
determined on as the best is selected, and for this a special survey is
made, which is laid down as a working plan, the line being picketed out
when no objection is made by the owners of the property through which it
passes. A working section of the line is also prepared from accurate
levels.
_Plan of details, etc._--For the works proposed on that portion of the
line Which is, included within the limits of the working section, a plan
of details Is prepared, as well as a specification for the works and an
estimate of their probable cost.
II. THE COURSE OF CONSTRUCTION AND ESTIMATING.
For this course 142 days, including Sundays, are allowed. The course
is divided into four parts.
_Part I--Theory of Construction._
This part consists of a series of examples in construction, about 50
in number, which will be varied from time to time.
They are drawn up with a special view to the application of the
mathematical knowledge already possessed by the officers to some of the
cases, which they are likely to have to deal with in practice.
References are given in the margin of the printed paper of examples to
some of the many books in which the information, necessary for their
solution can he found.
The instructing officer will explain every morning, except Saturday,
as many of the examples as he considers the officers can work during the
remainder of the day, and the officers are expected to study these
subjects from some one of the books referred to.
The object of these short explanations is twofold: 1st, to explain the
principles on which the particular cases or similar cases are to be
dealt with; 2d, to impart in a condensed form some of the varied
information which is familiar to all engineers of experience, but which
an engineer at the commencement of his career often has a difficulty in
finding.
The officers will take notes of these explanations, and write each
morning notes at the head of the fair copy of the examples, to which
they refer. The examples explained on each day are to be worked out on
that day in the fullest manner; the reasoning of each step is to be
stated, and all rough calculations are to be left on the paper, so as to
lessen as much as possible the labor of examination. They are to be
brought to the instructing officer the following morning, and after
examination are to be written out fair on ruled foolscap,
quarter-margin, on the right-hand sheet, with explanatory diagrams to a
large scale, where necessary, on the left-hand sheet.
The fair notes of each week’s work must be sent in before the end of
the following week.
The weights, strength of materials, and other information, will be
found in the printed tables.
This part of the course occupies about 40 days, and while it continues
leave will be granted on Saturdays and Sundays only.
_Part II.--Materials._
The object of this part of the course is to give the officers some
sort of guide in judging of the quality of the principal materials which
they will have to use, as well as to afford them information as to the
particular material most suitable for a building or engineering work.
It may be subdivided into three parts, viz., lectures given by
professors in the lecture theatre; lectures given by the instructing
officer; and visits made by the officers to lime works, cement works,
brickfields, etc.
The lectures in the lecture theatre are delivered at the periods most
convenient to the lecturer, but the notes taken by the officers form
part of this course, and will be bound up with the rest of the papers.
The notes of the lectures delivered by the instructing officer are to
be written out fair immediately after the lecture, in accordance with
the instructions given, and brought to, the instructing officer on the
following morning.
A printed paper detailing the particular points to which officers
visiting manufacturing works are to direct their attention will be given
to each officer, and a report is to be sent in as soon as possible after
each visit to the instructing officer.
Sketches to illustrate the lectures and visits are to be as numerous
and complete as possible.
The value of these sketches for future reference, and as aids to
officers in their professional constructions hereafter, will be very
much enhanced by having the dimensions clearly written on them, which
should include at least those of all principal parts of machines and
structures.
This part of the course occupies about three weeks, inclusive of the
time required to visit the works referred to.
The officers will also be instructed, after they leave the course of
construction, in the method of testing the quality of some of the
materials by chemical analysis, for which a fortnight is allowed.
_Part III.--Valuation and Measurement of Work._
This part of the course will occupy in all about 37 days, and will
commence with a series of lectures, the subject matter of which will be
found chiefly in the printed “Notes on the Practice of Building” and
“Notes on the Building Trades.” They will comprise, in separate lectures
for each trade,--
1. The materials, tools, etc., and apparatus employed, together with
their application to the different kinds of work produced.
2. The technical terms in vogue.
3. The general practice of measuring and valuing.
Hints and memoranda useful in designing, estimating, and carrying out
works will be given, and explanations afforded by reference to models
and drawings, from some of which colored sketches, with the names and
dimensions of the different parts given on them in full, will be made by
each officer and attached to his printed notes. These sketches will be
done in the Hall of Study from the originals deposited there.
A lecture will be given explaining the different steps taken in
preparing the annual estimates of a district, to be laid before
Parliament, and the various methods of carrying out the services which
may be authorized.
The cost of a building will be approximately estimated by cubing it
out from the general plans and elevations.
The quantities of the same building will then be taken out from the
specifications, working drawings, and a model, by filling in a
measurement form having the details of work done printed on it.
Details and estimates of the same building will be made out on W.O.
Form 1554, the items and prices being taken from the W.D. Schedules of
the district, and the descriptive part printed on.
Lastly, the quantities will be abstracted and brought into bill, as
though the work were to be put up to tender, or as would be done in
drawing out contractors’ bills for work to be paid for on a schedule of
prices.
The portions of the copper plates to be colored will be partly done in
the course of lectures, but about a week at the close of this part of
the course will be allowed to complete the whole. They are to be colored
in the Hall of Study from pattern drawings deposited there. No drawing
whatever to be removed from the Hall of Study.
_Part IV.--Design._
At the commencement of this part of the course each officer will read
through the “Notes on Military Buildings,” by Colonel Collinson, Royal
Engineers, studying more particularly the parts which have special
reference to his own design. The lithographed drawings which accompany
them are not intended to be models to be copied from, but are given as
examples of works executed, many of which with the advance of sanitary
science have become obsolete as a whole. They contain many useful
details still applicable.
The design is intended to afford to each officer an opportunity of
applying the knowledge he may have acquired in the course to some case
which he may actually hereafter have to deal with.
About six weeks are available for this part of the course, and the
conditions under which the design is to be made will be furnished to
each officer.
As a rule the design will consist of a general plan and report, with
some part worked out in detail, this part being specified for and
estimated.
The drawings are to be prepared in accordance with the instructions
deposited in the Hall of Study.
_Tour Reports and Lectures._
All tour reports and lectures pertaining to the course of construction
will be written in accordance with the general regulations for reports,
that is to say, on foolscap paper, quarter margin, on both sides of the
paper, divided into paragraphs, with headings in the margin, and signed
and dated by the officer. They will form part of Part II. of the course,
and will be bound in the proper places.
In writing tour reports and lectures the object should be to condense
as much practical information and fact into as small a space as possible
without abbreviating the language or omitting any of the facts. Sketches
should be made by hand, approximately to scale, but should be clear, and
contain full dimensions. Statistical and tabular information should be
given in full.
For the tour report each officer will receive a statement of the
particulars of each work he has to report on.
_Binding._
The whole of the notes, etc., of each officer will be bound in one or
more volumes. Therefore, before leaving the establishment, each officer
should arrange his notes in the order in which he wishes them bound.
III.--FIELD WORK COURSE.
The time allowed for this course is 122 days, including Sundays. While
on it officers may be required to attend drill one day in each week, and
also brigade field days.
The course comprises instruction in all those duties (with the
exceptions mentioned below) which devolve upon the Royal Engineers when
employed with an army engaged offensively or defensively, either at a
siege or in the field.
The exceptions are surveying, reconnaissance, telegraphy, firing mines
by electricity, etc., torpedoes, and demolition of permanent works; on
all which subjects instruction is given to the officers while on other
courses.
The officers are required to read carefully the notes on field work
instruction, to make models in sand, etc., of such works as admit of
this practice, to take part in the construction of the several works in
the field, etc., and to draw up projects on the subject.
Before leaving the course an officer must be competent to impart
instruction to sappers in all their field duties.
The practical instruction is divided into seven parts.
_Part I.--Modelling in Sand, etc._
This part consists of making models of gabions, fascines, hurdles, and
sap-rollers; of throwing up models in sand of portions of a first
parallel and its approaches, of a second parallel, of single and double
saps, both kneeling and standing, of a trench cavalier, of a lodgment by
half double sap, of rifle-pits, and of trons-de-loup.
Also of making models in sand of field powder magazines, and of
elevated, sunken, half sunken, and screen, gun and mortar batteries
(ordinary and indented), revetted with gabions, fascines, and sand bags.
It includes the laying of model gun and mortar platforms, the making
of a salient of a field redoubt, with gun en barbette, of a field
kitchen, and of the passage of a wet ditch by means of gabions and
fascines.
Also the erection of spar bridges of different forms with model spars,
and the laying in of a cross-over road to connect two lines of railway.
_Part II.--Siege Works._
This part consists of making gabions, fascines, hurdles, and
sap-rollers; of tracing (part by night) parallels, approaches,
batteries, etc.
Also of seeing parallels, approaches, batteries, saps, trench
cavaliers, etc., constructed by the sappers; and the mode of extending
men and setting them to work.
The officers are also required to take up for enfilade the
prolongation of faces, etc.
_Part III--Works of Defence._
This part consists of instruction in forming abattis, entanglements,
rifle pits, trons-de-loup, etc., and in putting up stockades, palisades,
fraises, etc.
_Part IV.--Mining._
This part includes boring and blasting rock, sinking shafts, driving
galleries, making chambers and powder hose, loading, tamping, and firing
mines, also the preparation and firing of fougasses.
_Part V.--Bridging._
This part includes knotting, splicing, and lashing spars, diving,
rowing in boats, packing pontoons, and forming temporary military
bridges over streams with large and small pontoons, casks, etc.
Also the construction of spar, timber, and suspension bridges to
reëstablish a communication by turnpike road or railroad.
_Part VI.--Railways._
This part consists in seeing the mode of laying down and repairing
lines of railway, and of putting in a cross-over road to connect two
lines of railway, and also the mode of destroying railways.
_Part VII.--Sundry Practices._
Under this head are included boring for water (with the American tube
wells as well as with the ordinary apparatus), erecting field kitchens,
filling and throwing hand grenades, and escalading, also the erection of
field observatories.
The officers are, in addition, required to draw up the following
projects:
1. Project of attack of a fortress actually in existence.
2. Project for the restoration of a bridge.
3. Project for a floating bridge.
4. Project for a field work as a bridge-head.
5. Hasty project for a temporary bridge, or hasty project
for the demolition of a portion of a line of railway.
IV.--MISCELLANEOUS SUBJECTS.
(_a._) _Course of Telegraphy.--Fifteen days are allowed for this
course_.
All officers under instruction learn the theory and practice of
telegraphy and visual signalling, bearing in mind that a thorough
knowledge of the theory will enable them to overcome difficulties which
would be perplexing to the men, who can only be expected to learn the
practical working of the telegraph.
The various instruments in use for signalling and testing are
explained to them, and they are taught the ordinary methods of measuring
electrical forces and resistances, and of testing conducting wires for
insulation and conductivity, and for determining the nature and
positions of faults. The degree of accuracy which may be attained in
these measurements is pointed out to them.
They learn the European Morse alphabet, and the method of sending and
receiving messages, but they are not expected to devote so much time to
the subject as would enable them to become expert telegraphists.
Each officer is required to give in a project for the construction of
a line of electric telegraph, including at least three stations. In the
report are described the instruments to be used and the modes of
connecting them in circuit; the batteries, the conductors, the supports,
the insulators, and the mode of putting up the line; and the number of
cells required to work the line is calculated.
An estimate of the stores and materials required accompanies the
report, with a general plan showing the route proposed.
The various methods of exploding gunpowder by electricity are taught
while the course of telegraphy is going on; the application of this
branch of electrical science is made when the officers are employed on
projects for demolitions by mining.
In the School of Telegraphy a certain number of the men of the corps
are trained every year as telegraphists.
The instruments of which the use is taught are.--
The single needle instrument worked by voltaic electricity.
The Morse recording and sounding instrument.
The double needle instrument.
Wheatstone’s magneto dial instrument.
Also day and night signalling with the approved visual apparatus.
Each man is required to read a specified number of words per minute,
and to send correctly by each instrument, before he passes on to the
next.
The European Morse alphabet is used with all the instruments, except
with the double needle instrument, which has a special alphabet.
The men are taught how to make up and repair the voltaic batteries and
instruments, and to put up conducting wires over ground, and to lay them
underground, and also to test roughly for the position of faults. Their
previous education does not generally admit of their acquiring a
knowledge of the theory of electricity, or of performing the more
delicate tests required in telegraphy.
The men who enter the Telegraph School are also instructed in the
practical manipulation of Grove’s voltaic batteries, Wheatstone’s
magnetic exploder, and the dynamo-electric machine, in the use of
frictional electricity, in making the electrical fuzes, and in
connecting and arranging the wires necessary for firing mines by
electricity.
(_b._) _Chemical Laboratory Course.--Fifteen days are allowed for this
course_.
The object of this course is to enable officers and men at the
establishment, who may show an inclination for chemical studies, to
pursue them practically.
The course is confined to the chemical relations and behavior of the
substances which affect the qualities of building materials, or which
may influence the questions which are most likely to require the
professional investigation of a military engineer. It is arranged with
the idea of supplying the want of practical experience in dealing with
substances used in construction, by giving an insight into their nature
and composition; and also with that of imparting such information as may
lead in a new colony, should an officer be called upon to act as its
explorer and pioneer, to a more rapid development of its resources.
The course for the officers consists,--
1st. In making themselves acquainted with the action of reagents, both
by wet methods and by the blow-pipe, on different simple substances, in
experiments to which they are directed by a text-book.
2d. In applying the information so gained to the qualitative
examination of substances, simple and compound, specially prepared as
exercises for analysis.
3d. In the quantitative as well as qualitative examination of building
stones, lime and cement stones, gypsum, brick earths, paints, solders,
and other building materials. A sample of water is also examined, and a
qualitative examination is made of one or more ores.
4th. In preparing, on an experimental scale, bricks, limes, cements,
and plasters, directly from natural stones or earths by simple
calcination, and also by the more complex method which it is often
necessary to adopt.
5th. The chemistry of the voltaic battery.
The course for the men only differs from that for the officers in
respect of the order in which the several divisions of the subject are
taken up. The men, instead of commencing with a thorough examination of
numerous simple substances, begin with a few easy experiments on
recognizing lime and cement stones, and on the mode of ascertaining
their comparative values, so that, in case it is judged inexpedient, in
any instance, that the whole course shall be completed, the knowledge
which has been gained may be of a character requiring comparatively
little skill and intelligence to apply to practical uses.
A certain number of men only are taught.
(_c._) _Course of Photography._
This study is not compulsory; but any officer and a limited number of
men who have completed the prescribed course satisfactorily, and who
wish to study photography, are allowed to do so.
The officers devote their attention more particularly to the chemical
theory of the subject, in order that they may be able to overcome the
practical difficulties which constantly occur when this art is pursued
in foreign countries under circumstances of climate and situation
different from those in England, and when chemicals get out of order and
produce anomalous results. In such cases men who have acquired
considerable skill in manipulation, but who have no knowledge of
chemistry, are unable to devise remedies or to overcome difficulties,
and it is the place of their officers to assist them by their superior
knowledge and intelligence.
The men are taught the negative wet collodion process in all its
branches (except the manufacture of pyroxyline), also the dry process,
and photozincography.
They are also practised in the use of the dark tent, and in taking
negatives in the field, and of photographic reductions of plans.
It is seldom that their previous education admits of their becoming
well versed in the chemical theory of the art, but the means of
overcoming the usual practical difficulties are pointed out to them.
Each man is required to enter in a note-book the various solutions, and
to make memoranda of the processes.
(_d._) _Lectures._
Lectures are delivered between the months of September and April on
civil and mechanical engineering, metallurgy, architecture, electricity
and its applications, and on other subjects of a professional character.
The lectures are attended by all the officers and men under instruction,
and the former are required to take rough notes, and afterward to write
them out fairly, for binding with their other work.
(_e._) _Visits to Professional Works._
With the object of giving an idea of the best methods of carrying on
extensive works, and of imparting practical information on professional
subjects, a certain number of the junior officers are selected every
year to visit engineering, architectural, and other works of
professional character, accompanied by one of the instructing officers
of the establishment.
Of the various constructions and processes seen during these tours
they make notes and drawings, which are embodied in the form of reports
to the director, and are subsequently bound up with the other parts of
the course.
_General Note._--Further explanations of the mode of filling up the
details of the course, and of the forms for the notes and drawings, are
given in the special instructions.
(_f._) _Demolitions._
The ignition of gunpowder or other explosives by powder hose and
Bickford’s fuze as well as by electricity, both on land and submerged
under water, is taught to all officers.
In order that the best methods of using gunpowder or other explosives
for the demolition of works and buildings by mining may be thoroughly
understood, each officer is required to make projects for the following
demolitions, viz.:
1. A front of fortification, or some similar work, exhibiting various
sorts of revetments, and requiring the simultaneous explosion of a large
number of mines.
2. A casemate, powder magazine, or other substantial military building
under two suppositions: 1st, that there is plenty of time, that
sufficient men and tools are available, and that it is required to
effect complete demolition without wasting gunpowder unnecessarily; 2d,
that time presses, and that the demolition must be effected in the most
expeditious manner possible.
3. A bridge or viaduct under two different suppositions, as in No. 2.
The mines in some cases are directed to be tired by powder hose, and
in others by electricity.
Each of these projects consists of a memoir and explanatory drawings.
The memoir comprises,--
1st. A description of the building, or work to be destroyed, in all
points which may influence the mode of demolition.
2d. A general description of the proposed mode of demolition.
3d. The calculations for the charges of the mines.
4th. The mode of preparing and firing the mines.
5th. An estimate of the men, tools, and materials required and of the
time necessary for the operation.
6th. An estimate of the gunpowder.
7th. When electricity is to be employed for firing the mines, a full
description of the batteries, etc., is given, with calculations of the
number of cells, etc.
The drawings include a plan and such sections as may be required to
explain clearly the situations of the various charges of gunpowder, and
of the shafts and galleries.
(_g._) _Submarine Mines._
All officers and a certain number of men are practised in the use of
submarine mines.
The course consists of,--
1. The nature and construction of case.
2. Mode of mooring.
3. Mode of arranging and laying insulated cables.
4. Mode of testing fuzes, also testing cables for conductivity
and insulation and for the detection of faults.
5. Modes of firing at will and by self-acting arrangements.
PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
Although examinations preparatory to promotion had been instituted by
the Duke of Wellington in 1850, no attempt was made to provide any
general machinery for affording to officers of the army means of
instruction, even in those subjects a knowledge of which was by the
regulations of the service required of them. The Department of Artillery
studies at Woolwich, originally instituted on a small scale in 1850, and
the Royal Engineer Establishment at Chatham, supplied to the officers of
the scientific corps, though to a much more limited extent than at the
present day, opportunities of carrying on their professional studies
after entering the army. But to officers of other branches of the
service no means of instruction were afforded in any subjects beyond the
mere routine of drill and regimental duties, except by the Senior
Department at Sandhurst and the School of Musketry at Hythe. The state
of the former institution, the advantages of which extended only to a
very small proportion of the officers of the army, is described in the
accounts of the Royal Military College and of the Staff College. The
school at Hythe was first established in the year 1853, for the purpose
of training a certain number of officers and soldiers in the new system
of musketry, which was adopted on the introduction of rifled arms into
the service.
The first official suggestion, with the object of remedying the
deficiency of professional knowledge among the officers of the army, was
made by Mr. Sidney Herbert, when Secretary at War, in 1854. The outline
of the plan proposed by him at this time was sketched out in a letter
addressed to Lord Hardinge, then Commander-in-Chief, and its details
were subsequently more fully explained in speeches in the House of
Commons. The scheme contemplated a general reorganization of the system
of military education,--the improvement of the examinations instituted
by the Duke of Wellington for admission to the army and for
promotion,--the conversion of the Senior Department at Sandhurst into a
special school for the staff,--and the introduction of a system of
professional instruction for officers after entering the service. With
the view of carrying out the latter part of the scheme, it was proposed,
in 1854, to appoint garrison instructors at certain large stations both
at home and in the colonies. It was not intended to make attendance at
the instruction thus given compulsory, but a stringent examination in
the subjects which entered into the course was to be a necessary
condition of promotion to the ranks of lieutenant and captain
respectively.
The scheme of garrison instruction proposed by Mr. Sidney Herbert met
with the approval of Lord Hardinge, and obtained the sanction of the
Treasury. A sum of 2,000_l._, for the purpose of making a commencement
in carrying it out, was inserted in the estimates for 1854-5, and the
plan, as explained by Mr. Herbert in moving the army estimates, met with
the entire approval of the House of Commons.
The outbreak of the Crimean War, however, in the first instance,
interfered with the practical realization of the scheme, although it
appears that some of the instructors had been actually selected for
their posts, and that it was intended to send them out to the Crimea to
acquire a practical acquaintance with such of the minor operations of
war as would fall within the intended course of instruction. This latter
intention was not carried out, and after the resignation of Mr. Sidney
Herbert, which took place in the beginning of 1855, no further steps
appear to have been taken in the matter. At the same time money
continued to be voted for the purpose of carrying out the scheme
(although no application of the funds was made), until the general
reduction in the estimates which took place on the conclusion of peace
in 1856; it appears also, from statements made by the Under Secretary at
War, in the House of Commons, that the Government had never abandoned
the idea of adopting some measure for the professional instruction of
officers.
In the debates in both Houses of Parliament, during the Crimean War,
numerous discussions took place on the subject of military education;
the failure of the existing examinations for promotion, the lax mode in
which they were carried out, the want of acquaintance with many of the
mere rudiments of military science displayed by the majority of
officers, and the necessity of supplying them with some means of
instruction in the practical duties devolving upon them on active
service, formed frequent subjects of remark. On the 5th of June, 1856,
after the termination of the war, Mr. Sidney Herbert, then a private
member, again brought his proposal for the appointment of garrison
instructors before the notice of the House of Commons, in connection
with his more general scheme for the improvement of the education of
officers; but, although the proposal again met with the approval of
nearly every speaker who took part in the discussion, the Government
declined to pledge themselves to the adoption of the scheme in its
details, as the question of the reorganization of the whole system of
military education was then under consideration.
During the latter part of the year 1856, as has been elsewhere stated,
the attention of the military authorities was seriously directed to the
question of improving the education of the army. Nearly all the plans
submitted to Lord Panmure with this object included, as an essential
feature, the adoption of some means of professional instruction for
officers after entering the service; and the machinery suggested was, in
almost every case, based in its general principles on Mr. Sidney
Herbert’s original proposal for the establishment of garrison
instructors. The Commissioners appointed in the same year to visit the
military schools of the continent, while their inquiries were chiefly
confined to the improvement of the education of the scientific corps,
recommended in their report that young officers of all branches of the
service should, after entering the army, go through some course of
professional study; at the same time they suggested no machinery for
carrying their recommendation into effect. The military witnesses
examined, during the years 1856 and 1857, before the Royal Commission on
the Purchase System, very generally concurred in the opinion that higher
professional acquirements should be demanded from officers, and that
means of instruction should be afforded to them; and the Commissioners,
in their Report, endorsed this view in the following terms: “Nor can it
be fairly said that the purchase system is the obstacle to introducing a
better system of military education. A stricter examination before
granting the first commission, an improved training afterward, and a
further examination on promotion from ensign to lieutenant, are measures
perfectly compatible with the system of purchase.”
The system of garrison instruction suggested by Mr. Sidney Herbert
appears to have found general favor at this period. The instructions
issued to the Council of Military Education, on their appointment in
1857, directed them, in connection with the subject of the professional
examination of officers up to the rank of captain, to consider the
question “of the establishment of instructors at the large stations.”
The plan proposed by the Council, in 1857, did not contemplate the
general appointment of either garrison or regimental instructors; its
main feature was the establishment of officers’ schools at depot
battalion stations, through which all young officers, who were in the
first instance to receive provisional commissions, should pass before
joining their regiments and being permanently commissioned. This
recommendation was supplemented by one for the partial establishment of
district instructors at stations where classes of ten officers could be
formed, for the more advanced instruction of those who had been some
years in the service.
The great demand for officers occasioned by the Indian mutiny, combined
with practical objections which were made to the Council’s scheme,
prevented their proposals from being carried into effect. The only
immediate result of their recommendations was the establishment, in
1857, of a class at Aldershot for the instruction of officers quartered
at the camp in military sketching. A full account of this institution,
which has since been considerably developed, and is now called the
Survey Class, will be found further on.
At a subsequent period the attention of the Council appears to have been
directed more to the question of securing the professional competence of
officers by a special military education before entering the service,
than by compulsory instruction at a later period. The proposal,
originally made in 1858, for requiring all candidates for commissions in
the line to pass through Sandhurst, has been already described in
connection with the Royal Military College. The Council have, however,
never ceased to urge the expediency of providing officers, after they
have entered the service, with facilities for instruction in the higher
branches of military science; and in their last General Report they
recommended the establishment of institutions similar to the Aldershot
Survey Class at other large stations.
Although no general machinery has been introduced for affording
instruction to officers of the cavalry and infantry after entering the
service, various steps have, from time to time, been taken with the
object of extending their professional knowledge to subjects beyond the
mere routine duties of their own arms. In January, 1859, commanding
officers were directed to require from the officers of their regiments
reports and, if possible, sketches of the roads traversed when route
marching in winter; and later in the same year an order was issued that
officers of infantry should, whenever practicable, be instructed in
great gun drill. In the present year a system of instruction in military
signalling has been introduced at the School of Engineering at Chatham,
to which detachments of officers are periodically sent. In addition to
the recommendations of the present Royal Commission for the introduction
of a system of garrison and regimental instruction, the Royal Commission
on Courts-martial, in their recent Report, recommended that more
attention should be paid to the education of officers in military law,
and that stricter examinations in the subject should be enforced.
The necessity of an improvement in the professional acquirements of
officers appears to have been almost universally recognized from the
time when Mr. Sidney Herbert brought the subject to public notice in
1854. Various opinions, however, have been entertained as to the means
by which the desired object could best be effected.
The different plans which have from time to time been suggested may be
classified under two main divisions:
(1.) Those which propose a special military education for all candidates
for commissions before entering the service.
(2.) Those which advocate, in preference, the postponement of
professional instruction, at least for the majority of the officers of
the army, until a later period, after the service has been entered, and
the rank of officer been attained.
Under the former head comes the scheme suggested by the Council of
Military Education in 1858, the adoption of which was at one time
determined upon by the military authorities, for requiring all
candidates for commissions in the cavalry and infantry to pass through
Sandhurst. A similar proposal was suggested by witnesses to the Royal
Commission on the Purchase System in 1856; it was supported by the
authority of the Duke of Cambridge and Mr. Sidney Herbert (who had
originally been opposed to it) before the Select Committee of the House
of Commons on Military Organization, in 1860; and the Committee, in
their Report, though declining to pronounce any decided opinion on the
subject, stated that they considered the measure “well worthy of the
most careful consideration.” Of late years the same principle has been
publicly advocated by Sir C. Trevelyan, who considers that there should
be but two modes of admission to the rank of officer,--one through a
military college, and the other by serving in the ranks; and the
advantages which would result from passing all candidates for
commissions through a military college have been urged by several
witnesses, including His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, before
the present Royal Commission. On the other hand, opponents of this view
have pointed out the objections entertained by them to any such measure.
Allied to the plan for making a military college the sole channel of
admission to the commissioned ranks of the army is one for requiring all
candidates for commissions to serve as cadets, in order to acquire a
practical acquaintance with their duties, before obtaining the rank of
officer. This proposal, originally suggested by Lord Clyde, before the
Royal Commission on the Purchase System, has more recently been
supported by the authority of Sir W. Mansfield and Lord De la Warr; the
latter officer, however, appears of late to have somewhat modified his
views, and to advocate at present, for all young men who obtain direct
commissions by purchase, a probationary course of six or twelve months’
instruction in military subjects and drill, at their parents’ expense,
prior to joining their regiments, in accordance with a plan submitted to
the Commission. The cadet system has also been advocated by Lord Walden
before the Commission.
To the class of plans which advocate the postponement of professional
instruction for the majority of the officers of the army until after the
service has been entered, belong Mr. Sidney Herbert’s original proposal,
in 1854, for the introduction of a system of garrison instruction--the
recommendation of the Commissioners of 1856 “that young officers after
entering the army should go through some course of professional
study,”--the suggestion made by the Royal Commission on the Purchase
System for “an improved system of training after the first commission is
granted,”--and the proposal of the Council of Military Education, in
1857, for the establishment of depot battalion schools for young
officers. Opinions founded on the same principle have been expressed by
several witnesses before the present Commission. The system of garrison
instructors at large stations, that of regimental instructors in each
corps, and, lastly, a combination of both systems, have been
respectively advocated by various authorities as the machinery by which
the later instruction of officers should be carried out. Even those who
advocate a special education at a military college as the universal
condition of obtaining a commission do not, in the majority of cases,
contemplate the cessation of all instruction on the commission being
obtained; at the same time in many instances they do not consider that
this later instruction should be made compulsory on officers, and, while
recommending that facilities should be afforded for it, they maintain
the superior efficacy of a system of preliminary military education at
an earlier age.
I. SURVEY CLASS AT ALDERSHOT.
The survey class at Aldershot originated in an order of the
Quartermaster-General in 1857, appointing two extra deputy-assistants to
afford professional instruction to officers of the division stationed
there in military sketching and surveying, field and permanent
fortification, and photography.
These courses and conditions of attendance are as follows:
1. An elementary course comprises practical geometry, so far as is
necessary for the understanding of the principles of surveying and
fortification, plan drawing, the construction and use of scales, and
military sketching.
The other course embraces surveying in its more advanced branches,
military reconnaissances and road reports, field fortification,
including the attack and defence of small posts, the construction of
simple intrenchments, redoubts, and field works, profiling and tracing
on the ground, gabion and fascine making, camping, and the construction
of field ovens and cook-houses.
2. Officers will not be allowed to go through the course of
instruction unless their commanding officer will certify that they are
intelligent, zealous, and well conducted; but considering that the stay
of regiments at this camp is frequently limited, the Lieutenant-General
Commanding would wish that every facility should be given to officers to
avail themselves of the instruction, even though they may not be
thoroughly acquainted, with all their duties.
3. Every officer wishing to attend the course of instruction will
submit his application to his commanding officer, who will forward it
with his recommendation and the certificate mentioned in the last
paragraph, or with such remarks as he may have to offer, should he
consider it his duty not to recommend the application.
4. Officers going through the elementary course will be struck off all
duty for two months (Sundays excepted). They will go on flying columns.
5. Officers anxious to attend the second course will be allowed to do
so for four months, during which time they will take all regimental
duties which would entail extra work on the other officers, but will be
excused all brigade and divisional duties, except those mentioned in
paragraph 7.
6. Officers permitted to attend are not to absent themselves without
leave from the Lieutenant-General commanding.
7. Officers are to be present at divisional field days, and when the
division marches into the country during the winter months, either with
the deputy assistants quartermaster-general sketching the ground, noting
the movements, preparing reports, etc. (in undress, without swords), or
if not so employed they are to fall in with their respective corps.
8. The number of officers attending is restricted to two per regiment.
9. The instruction will extend from 10 A.M. till 1 P.M., excepting on
Saturdays, when all the officers will attend till 12 only.
10. Staff officers who may wish to avail themselves of the instruction
given at the Survey Office, or in the field, may attend at such hours as
the nature of the duties they have to perform will admit.
11. Officers of the division generally will be assisted by the
D.A.Q.M.G.s as far as practicable, in pursuing their studies in other
branches.
12. A diary will be kept showing the names of all officers attending,
the hours of attendance, the work done, etc.; this diary is to be
submitted for the inspection of the Lieutenant-General commanding, and
from it a monthly report will be prepared for the information of the
Field Marshal.
13. Officers will be allowed the use of surveying instruments but will
have to provide their own drawing and other materials. They will,
however, be permitted to retain all sketches, plans, and reports thus
made on their own materials, after they have been returned from the
Council.
The course actually carried out in 1868-69 was as follows:
Explanation, use, and construction of scales--several examples worked
and a plate of scales drawn--mode of using the usual drawing
instruments, protractors, and Marquois’ scales.
Use of the prismatic compass--a road is traversed with the
compass--bearings and measurements entered in a field-book, and the
result plotted indoors on a large scale.
A plate of the conventional signs used by the topographical
department, and a set of the seven examples of shading ground (by the
late Major Petley), according to the latest scale of shade, are given to
each officer to copy.
The general principles of plan drawing, and the mode of conducting a
survey by means of measuring a base, and by a triangulation, are
explained, and a flat piece of ground is sketched with the compass, and
plotted in the field.
The method of representing ground by contours only is now explained
and illustrated by models, drawings, etc., and it is shown how from a
contoured plan sections and elevations of ground are made, also how by
adding shade to the contoured plan, a certain pictorial effect is
produced, etc.
Abney’s pocket level and clinometer is explained, and various modes of
rough levelling illustrated.
The method of using the pocket sextant is next shown, and the officers
are taken to a plateau with strongly marked slopes, a base is measured,
triangulation made by means of the sextant; and the artificial features
filled in.
Contours at 25 feet vertically apart are now sketched in chain dotted
lines, and several sectional lines taken by means of the level,
clinometer, compass, and a scale of hypothenuses, and the various angles
of inclination written on the sketch. The scale of shade is explained,
and the officers taught how to apply it to the sketch of ground so
contoured, and the sketch finished up as directed in the memorandum by
the Council of Military Education.
Major-General Napier’s pamphlet on reconnaissance is given to each
officer, and four or five miles of road reconnoitred, sketched, and
reported on.
A sketch on a small scale of as large a tract of country as time and
weather will permit of is next made, triangulation done with the sextant
or theodolite, and lastly, a rapid eye-sketch, without instruments, of
some hilly ground.
Some work on field fortification, chiefly the chapters describing the
defence of buildings, villages, and positions, also some work on
surveying, is read.
At the conclusion of each course all sketches and reports, with a
return showing the number of hours’ attendance of each officer, his
attention and progress, are forwarded to the Council of Military
Education.
ADVANCED CLASS FOR ARTILLERY OFFICERS AT WOOLWICH.
The necessity of more advanced attainments both in the science and
practice of gunnery was pointed out by the Commissioners in 1856, but
nothing was done till Colonel Lefroy urged the matter on the Council of
Military Education in 1862, and in November, 1863, regulations were
issued for the establishment of Advanced Classes of Artillery Officers
at Woolwich.
A Director of Artillery Studies was first appointed in 1850, upon the
recommendation of Field-Marshal Sir Hew Ross, G.C.B., R.A. (then
Adjutant-General of Artillery). His duties were to take charge of and
direct the studies of the young officers of artillery on first joining
at Woolwich, to assist them in their professional pursuits, and read
with them military law, military history, treatises on artillery,
fortification, etc.
The appointment was made provisionally in the first instance, but
confirmed before the close of a year. In April, 1853, the department was
increased by the addition of French and German masters, who, besides
assisting the young officers, were called upon to afford instruction in
their respective languages to officers of artillery of all ranks who
might be desirous of profiting by it.
An allowance of 300_l._ per annum was also made to enable a proportion
of the more intelligent of the young officers to accompany the Director
in visits to arsenals and fortresses abroad and manufacturing districts
at home.
In July, 1855, the Director of Artillery Studies was allowed the
following assistants: 2 Captains of Artillery, 1 Instructor in
Surveying, 1 Instructor in Military Drawing, etc., 1 Lecturer on Natural
Philosophy and Mechanics, 3 Non-commissioned officers, for the purpose
of giving instruction to certain gentlemen provisionally commissioned
from public colleges or schools after a competitive examination, but
without passing through the Academy.
The Director was expected to advise and assist the efforts of officers
of the Royal Artillery in improving their professional qualifications,
and to arrange classes of officers for instruction in chemistry,
photography, drawing, French, and German, at the Royal Artillery
Institution. He was to inform himself of all the more interesting
experiments under the Ordnance Select Committee, as well as the
operations and processes carried on in the Government manufacturing
departments. He was to arrange and conduct the annual military tour on
the continent; and direct the studies of young officers.
Upon the formation of the Advanced Class in 1864, the staff was
greatly increased, and an Assistant Director appointed, to take charge
in the absence of the Director; to give instruction to classes of
officers of the regiment sent to Woolwich from time to time, to officers
from the Staff College, and to Militia and Volunteer artillery officers;
to prepare questions for the examination of subaltern officers Royal
Artillery for promotion, and report on the results of such examinations;
to attend on foreigners of distinction, and other duties performed by
the Director prior to the formation of the Advanced Class.
The following shows the attendance for the year ending 31st March,
1869:
Advanced class of artillery officers, 6 2 years’ course.
Firemasters’ class, R.A., 7 9 months’ course.
3 short course classes, “ “
{ Royal Artillery, 29 } 2 “ “
{ Military Store Staff, 8 }
Shoeburyness gunnery class, R.A., 20 3 “ “
Officers of the late Indian brigades, 3
{ 1 for 3 months’ course; 2 for 2 months’ course.
Officers from the Staff College, 13 1½ months’ course.
Militia artillery officers, 6 2 “ “
Volunteer artillery officers, 2
-- Total, 94
_Non-commissioned Officers and Men, Royal Artillery._
2 long course classes,
non-commissioned officers, 19 6 months’ course.
10 short course classes,
non-commissioned officers and men, 200 2 “ “
Shoeburyness gunnery class,
non-commissioned officers, 36 3 “ “
--- Total, 255
The young officers lately joined attend here twice a week to receive
instruction, by lectures, from the Assistant Director of Artillery
Studies on military law, courts-martial, and interior economy.
REGULATIONS FOR ADMISSION IN 1869.
The examination will be early in February of each year, at Woolwich,
under the Council of Military Education.
Candidates for this examination must have undergone a course of
instruction at Shoeburyness; or they must pass satisfactorily a
preliminary examination in practical artillery.
No officer will be admitted who will not have completed six years’
service on 31st March, 1870.
The subjects in which the candidates will be examined, and the
relative importance attached to the subjects, are as follows:
Mathematics, 700
Chemistry and physics, 300
_Mathematics_ includes--
Plane trigonometry (so much of it as is included in the first 16
chapters of Todhunter’s treatise).
Coördinate geometry of two dimensions (Hymer or Todhunter), viz.:
Straight line referred to rectangular, oblique, and polar coördinates.
The circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola, referred to rectangular
and polar coördinates. The equation to the tangent, and the normal to
the circle, parabola, ellipse, and hyperbola referred to rectangular
axes, the sections of a right cone made by a plane.
Applications of the above to solutions of simple problems.
_Differential Calculus._--Differential coefficient of simple, inverse,
trigonometrical, and complex functions; proof of Taylor’s and
Maclaurin’s theorems and examples of expansions of functions;
differentiation of functions of two variables; limiting values of
functions which assume an indeterminate form; change of independent
variable; maxima and minima of functions of one variable; tangents,
normals, and asymptotes to plane curves; differential coefficients of
arcs, areas, etc.; radius of curvature (Hall or Todhunter).
_Integral Calculus._--Meaning of integration; examples of simple
integration; integration by parts; lengths of curves; areas of plane
curves (Hymer, Hall, or Todhunter).
_Elementary Mechanics._--(Whewell or Parkinson.)
_Chemistry._--The general laws of chemical combinations,--the
chemistry of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, and nitrogen, and of their chief
inorganic compounds. The metallurgic chemistry of iron. The chemical
principles of the manufacture and explosion of gunpowder.
_Physics._--In heat,--the subject of “thermometric heat” as treated in
the first seven chapters of “Tyndall on Heat.”
In electricity,--the subject of frictional electricity.
Officers competing are expected to be able to read French scientific
works, such as Helie’s “Traité de Balistique,” Piobert’s “Cours
d’Artillerie,” etc., etc., reference being constantly made to such works
during the course of instruction.
At the conclusion of each year’s course there will be a final
examination in the subjects read during the year; the marks gained at
the first examination being carried forward to the second, when
certificates will be given to those students who are found qualified.
The course of instruction extends over two years.
The subjects of study the first year are: Pure mathematics;
metallurgy; chemistry; mechanism and the steam engine; royal gun
factories; royal laboratory, Part I.
The subjects for the second year are: Mixed mathematics and applied to
gunnery; metallurgy; chemistry; heat and electricity; royal laboratory,
Parts II., III., IV.; royal gunpowder factory, including manufacture of
gun cotton; royal small arms factories, Enfield and Birmingham; royal
carriage department.
In connection with the instruction on metallurgy, the class visit each
year some of the principal private establishments in England and Wales,
accompanied by Dr. Percy, F.R.S., the lecturer on this subject. They
also visit locomotive and marine engine works in connection with the
lectures on the steam engine.
The following processes of manufacture are noted:
In the Royal Gun Factories: Metallurgy of copper, tin, zinc, and their
compounds; mechanical and chemical properties of gun metal.
Metallurgy of iron, including cast iron and wrought iron, steel and
alloys; mechanical and chemical properties.
Principles of construction of cast guns.
Principles of construction of built-up guns, welding, etc.
The steam hammer.
Turning, boring, rifling, and sighting guns. All the machines, lathes,
special tools, and processes.
Comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for cannon.
Gauges and micrometrical measurements.
Organization of labor in the Royal Gun Factories.
System of account keeping, pricing, and payment in the Royal Gun
Factories.
Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal
Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.
Patterns, system respecting them.
Examination of Stores.
Duties of the Inspector of Artillery: proof of guns; examination of
guns and stores.
The Small Arms Departments, Enfield and Pimlico, will follow the Royal
Gun Factories, and be treated in the same comprehensive manner,
including the system of supply of small arms to the army, their repair,
and comparison of systems of rifling and breech-loading for small arms.
From the Royal Gun Factories the class will proceed to the Royal
Carriage Department, where the subjects will be:
Selection and purchase of timber.
Seasoning of timber.
Sawmills.
Planing and other machinery applied to working of timber.
Construction.
Mechanical principles as applied in military machines.
Friction, draught, traction, locomotive power.
Harness.
Organization of labor in the Royal Carriage Department.
System of accountability and payment.
Prices.
Relations to Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal
Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.
Patterns, systems respecting them.
Examination of stores.
Here will evidently conveniently come in the organization and duties
of the department of the Principal Superintendent of Stores, including
the detail of equipments for all services, and proportions of stores,
packing ammunition, arrangement of magazines.
The last term will be devoted to the manufacture of gunpowder,
ammunition, and generally the duties of the Royal Laboratory, including
the chemistry of the subjects.
Selection and purchase of pyrotechnic material.
Examination and refining of saltpetre, etc.
Gunpowder and powder-mills.
Theory of gunpowder, qualities, effect of different sized grains.
Electro-ballistic apparatus, and other modes of proof.
Gun cotton.
Detonating compounds.
Other laboratory preparations.
Small arm ammunition, cannon ammunition, fuzes, rockets, etc.
Manufacture of bullets.
Casting of every description of projectile for smooth-bored and rifled
ordnance.
Organization of the Royal Laboratory Department.
Supply of raw material.
System of account keeping and payment.
Prices.
Relations to the Director of Stores, Director of Contracts, Principal
Superintendent of Stores, and Director of Ordnance.
Patterns, inspection. Examination of stores.
III. SCHOOL OF GUNNERY AT SHOEBURYNESS.
Shoeburyness first became a station for artillery practice in the year
1849. The practice was, however, at that time confined to experiments,
which were conducted on a very limited scale, under the department of
the Director-General of Artillery. A battery was constructed and some
wooden huts erected at the station in that year; but for several years
nothing but experimental practice was carried on by batteries of
artillery who were sent to Shoeburyness merely for the summer months,
and were quartered, at least partially, under canvas. No permanent staff
were employed, the senior officer present with the troops being in
command of the station. In 1854 the establishment assumed a more
permanent character, and was placed under a lieutenant-colonel of
artillery as commandant, who was also at the same time superintendent of
experiments. It still, however, continued to be merely a station for
artillery practice and experiments, until 1859.
The objects for which the School of Gunnery was established are to
ensure a completeness and uniformity in the instruction of the officers
and men of the Royal Artillery in the use of the weapons and military
machines they are called upon to use; impart to them a knowledge of the
ammunition, stores, and appliances made use of in the artillery service;
of the effect of shot and shell under various circumstances; and, by
constant practice from guns of every description, to train and educate
from year to year a number of officers and men who would carry with them
to their respective brigades an amount of valuable knowledge and
experience which would become in that way, and in due time, diffused
throughout the Royal Artillery, in the same manner as the gunnery
instruction for the Royal Navy on board the “Excellent,” and the
musketry instruction for the infantry at Hythe have percolated with such
advantage through those services.
On the first of April in each year a class of from 20 to 25 officers is
formed for what is termed a “long course,” embracing a period of 12
months; and a class of about 40 non-commissioned officers, for a similar
course.
These classes are formed into two separate squads, and entirely occupy
the time of the chief instructor, one gunnery instructor, and four
assistant instructors. They are instructed in the drills and exercises
of every species of ordnance, and the mode of mounting and dismounting
them under various circumstances and with different means; in
transporting the heaviest guns from place to place and mounting them
under difficulties; in making rafts; embarking and disembarking guns;
making up ammunition; preparing demands for stores; carrying on gun
practice with shot, shell, etc.; making signals; throwing up batteries
as at a siege, and afterward testing their efficiency by firing at them;
attending lectures on artillery subjects by the officers instructing the
classes, and on subjects of a scientific nature, and bearing upon the
science of artillery, by professional gentlemen engaged from time to
time for the purpose.
The non-commissioned officers attend these latter lectures, and also
receive from the schoolmaster, under the direction of the officer in
charge of the class (and with great advantage), instruction in
mathematics, and in mechanical drawing applicable to the course they are
being carried through.
In addition to these “long courses,” as they are termed, another class
of 33 non-commissioned officers is sent every three months to go through
what is termed a “short course,” for the purpose of being instructed in
the various duties connected with the service, transport, etc., of heavy
guns.
The result of this system is that an officer and two non-commissioned
officers highly qualified to instruct in all artillery duties and
exercises are sent annually to each brigade; also eight non-commissioned
officers well qualified to assist in the instruction of the
non-commissioned officers and men of their brigades in most duties
connected with heavy ordnance, and with enlarged views of artillery
subjects generally.
Further instruction is imparted to the regiment by sending batteries
from Woolwich, Aldershot, and other contiguous stations, to carry on
their practice, and regimental duty. They take guards and fatigues, move
guns, and otherwise prepare for experiments, and each in its turn goes
through a short course of instruction. The officers and a proportion of
non-commissioned officers of these batteries are formed into a class
under one of the gunnery instructors and his two assistants, and when
they have gone through a preliminary course, one of the batteries, or
more if practicable, are taken off duty for a month, in order to go
through a systematic course, which, though short, is nevertheless highly
valuable.
The staff for government and instruction consists of:
Commandant and Superintendent of Experiments, Brigade major, Surgeon,
Adjutant, Quartermaster, Master gunner, Sergeant-major,
Quartermaster-sergeant.
_School of Gunnery._
1 chief instructor, a field officer
4 gunnery instructors (including 1 at Woolwich), captains.
1 first-class clerk.
1 third-class clerk.
6 first-class assistant instructors.
1 army schoolmaster.
22 store, magazine, and lobbymen.
_Experimental Establishment._
1 Assistant superintendent.
1 second-class assistant superintendent.
1 first-class clerk.
3 laboratory sergeants.
3 range sergeants.
15 storemen, etc.
1 staff wheeler, 1 hospital sergeant, 1 photographer, 1 armorer, 2
wheelers, 2 smiths.
Elementary exercises for the purpose of instructing the squad in
dealing with heavy weights without machines, showing the best mode of
applying power in moving guns, commencing with light and progressing to
guns of 23 tons; instruction concerning ropes, tackles, knots, etc.
Field, garrison, and siege gun drill with smooth bore and rifled guns
mounted on various carriages and platforms; drills with howitzers and
mortars; throwing up works of offence and defence, arming them and
laying platforms, making up ammunition, and arrangements for night
firing.
Exercises with military machines; construction of sheers, derricks,
etc., and placing them in awkward places; construction of trestle and
other bridges for the purpose of passing heavy artillery across ditches,
etc., and of rafts for similar purposes.
Embarkation of artillery and horses.
Mounting, dismounting, and moving heavy guns without the aid of
machines.
Practice from heavy and field guns, smooth bore and rifled, at known
and unknown distances, with full and reduced charges.
Battalion drill and telegraphy.
In the lecture room, instruction in the mechanical powers, in gunnery,
systems of rifling, action and penetration of the service projectiles;
construction, examination, and record of guns.
Army administration as affecting artillery.
Lectures on gunpowder, gun cotton, and fulminates; on metallurgy; on
the various modes of computing velocities and the instruments employed;
on electricity and steam; on strategy and tactics.
Cordage, knotting, tackles, parbuckling, pinching, slewing, etc.
Mounting and dismounting with and without gins.
Drill and practice with 32-pr. and 8 seconds guns.
Drill and practice with mortars on standing and travelling beds, also
mounting and dismounting.
Drill practice with 40-pr. and 64-pr. guns, firing at moving target;
drill with 7 seconds B.L. guns; drill with 7 seconds, 9 seconds, and 12
seconds M.L.R. guns and practice; dismounting and mounting the above.
Laying platforms, etc.
Use of platform wagon.
Light sheers.
Rocket drill and practice.
Facing B.L. guns.
Practical examination, etc.
Cordage, knotting, elementary exercises.
Ordinary shifts and machine drill.
Mortar drill and practice.
12-pr. B.L. gun drill and practice.
40-pr., 64-pr. and 7 seconds B.L. gun drill and practice.
7 seconds and 9 seconds M.L. gun drill and practice.
Dismounting 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns by gins and jacks.
Parbuckling 7 seconds and 9 seconds guns and moving on sledges.
Laying platforms.
Rocket drill and practice.
Sheers (heavy and light), derricks, etc.
Facing vent pieces.
Redrilling and examination of the non-commissioned officers.
STAFF COLLEGE AND STAFF APPOINTMENTS.
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
The Senior Department of the Military College at Sandhurst was
constituted in 1808, to enable officers “to qualify themselves for the
Quartermaster-General’s and Adjutant-General’s departments;” and during
the Peninsular war, most of the officers in these branches of the
service were educated there. So high was its reputation, that the French
Staff School was suggested and modeled after it. From motives of
economy, its independent government and instruction was gradually
reduced, and its graduates, no matter how well qualified, were no longer
sure of appointment and promotion, as against purchase, until, in 1855,
it became virtually extinct,--the teaching force being reduced to two
professors in mathematical studies, and the number of students to six.
In the same year, the French Staff School, with its thirteen military
and five civil professors, and its range of instruction covering the
entire field of practical duties which belong to an efficient staff
officer, was held up as a model. In the plans and discussions respecting
the reorganization and extension of the educational system of the army,
which followed the Crimean war--in the Report (1855) of the Select
Committee of the House of Commons on Sandhurst; on the suggestions
(1856) of the Commissioners on the Training of officers for the
Scientific Corps; the plan of Mr. Sidney Herbert, as Secretary of War,
in 1854 and 1856; in the instructions of Lord Panmure, in 1856; in the
resolution of the House of Commons, July 28, 1857; in the recommendation
of the Royal Commission on the purchase system, in their Report of 1857;
in the plans of the Council of Military Education, in the same year--the
supreme necessity of a staff college, with admission by competitive
examination, and the assured encouragement of appointment and promotion
on ascertained proficiency and general fitness, was so clearly
demonstrated, that at the close (December 17) of 1857, the Senior
Department of Sandhurst was changed to that of a staff college, with a
corps of professors of its own. A separate building was completed for
its accommodation, in 1862; admission was open to officers of all
branches of the service by competitive examination. All appointments to
the Staff were limited to graduates of the College, who had been
attached, for specified periods, to each branch of the service, and to
officers of approved ability in the field.
The present establishment consists of
1 Commandant; 1 Adjutant; 2 Professors of Mathematics; 7 Professors
(1 in each) of Military history, Fortification and Artillery, Military
Topography, Military Administration, French, German, and Hindustani;
besides the services of the Riding-master, and the Professors of
Chemistry and Geology attached to the Cadet College of Sandhurst.
CONDITIONS OF ADMISSION IN 1868.
The college consists of thirty students. Fifteen vacancies will be
offered for competition annually. Only one officer at a time can belong
to the college from a battalion of infantry or a regiment of cavalry,
and only four officers from the Corps of Royal Artillery; but any number
can compete. The officer desiring to compete must be serving with his
regiment.
The qualifications requisite for admission are:
1. A service of not less than five years previous to examination,
exclusive of leave of absence.
2. A certificate from his commanding officer, as to his standing as a
regimental officer, and his general knowledge of the service, character,
habits, and disposition in respect to employment on the staff.
3. Certificate of having passed the examination for a troop or company.
4. Medical certificate of good health and fitness for the active duties
of the staff.
The subjects of the admission examination, and the relative value of
each, in the final result, are
Mathematics, 1,200 Marks.
Military History, 600} 900 “
Military Geography, 300}
French, 300 “
German, 300 “
Hindustani, 300 “
Fortification, 600 “
Military Drawing, 300 “
Mineralogy and Geology, 300 “
Chemistry, Heat, Electricity, and Magnetism, 300 “
In mathematics 400 marks are allotted to arithmetic, the first four
books of Euclid, and Algebra, including questions producing simple
equations; and of this number, at least 250 must be obtained for
qualification.
Every candidate must take up either the French, German, or Hindustani
language for qualification; the qualifying minimum is, in French, 150
marks; in German or Hindustani, 100 marks.
The remaining subjects, as well as the higher portions of mathematics,
may be taken up or not at the option of the candidate, the marks gained
therein being reckoned in determining his position in the list of
competitors. No candidate, however, will be allowed to count marks in
any subject left optional unless he obtains at least one-sixth of the
number allotted to it.
COURSE OF STUDY.
The course of study occupies two years, and the yearly course is divided
into two terms, viz., from February 1 to June 15, and July 15 to
December 15. The subjects are
Mathematics.
French, German, and Hindustani.
Fortification and artillery.
Topographical drawing, military surveying and sketching.
Reconnaissance.
Military art, military history and geography.
Military administration, including the organization and equipment of
armies in the field.
Military legislation.
Elements of natural philosophy, chemistry, and geology, as applied to
the military sciences.
Exercises in composition will be afforded to the students during the
whole course of instruction, in writing memoirs or essays on the
subjects of the course.
Riding.
During the whole course, monthly reports of the application and progress
of each student are forwarded for the information of the Council of
Military Education. Examinations are held at the end of every half year;
the summer examination being conducted by the professors of the college,
and the winter examination by examiners independent of the
establishment, under the superintendence of the Council.
EXAMINATIONS.
The examination at the termination of the first year is probationary,
and any student who fails to obtain the minimum aggregate of marks
specified below, is required to withdraw.
The following five subjects will be taken up by every student at the
probationary examination, viz.:
Maximum. Minimum.
I. Fortification, 280 Marks 90 Marks.
II. Military drawing and surveying, 270 “ 90 “
III. Military history, 300 “ 100 “
IV. Military administration and legislation, 300 “ 100 “
V. French, German, or Hindustani, 400 “ 133 “
Every candidate is expected to obtain 800 marks on the above subjects.
All credits gained on the four military subjects are carried forward
to the final examination.
Of the following subjects the student may select any two, and in those
numbered from one to six, as well as in the language already selected as
“obligatory,” the student may, at his option, carry forward to the final
examination the marks he gains, provided they amount in each case to
three-fourths the allotted maximum, when he will be considered as
finally examined in that subject:
1. Mathematics, lower course, 400 Marks.
2. Mathematics, higher course, 500 “
3. French, 400 “
4. German, 400 “
5. Hindustani, 400 “
6. Any other modern language, 400 “
7. Natural sciences, lower course, 150 “
8. Experimental sciences, lower course, 150 “
In those numbered seven and eight, the marks gained are carried
forward to the final examination.
In addition to any two of the above subjects, the following may be
taken up at the probationary examination; and if 150 marks be gained in
it, they may, at the option of the student, be carried forward to the
final examination:
Spherical trigonometry and practical astronomy, 200 Marks.
The following are the marks attached to each subject at the final
examination, including, in the maximum, the marks appropriated to the
probationary examinations:
Subjects to be taken up by every student:
Maximum. Minimum.
Fortification and artillery, 600 Marks 300 Marks.
Military drawing and surveying, 350 } “ 350 “
Reconnaissance, 350 }
Military art, history, and geography, 600 “ 300 “
Military administration and legislation, 500 “ 300 “
French, German, or Hindustani, 400 “ 200 “
Every candidate will be required to obtain for qualification an
aggregate of 1,800 marks on the above five subjects.
Of the following subjects, the student may select any two, and the
credits gained will count for position in the order of merit:
Maximum. Minimum.
Mathematics, lower course, 400 Marks 240 Marks.
Mathematics, higher course, 500 “ 300 “
French, 400 “ 240 “
German, 400 “ 240 “
Hindustani, 400 “ 240 “
Any other modern language, 400 “ 240 “
Natural sciences. 400 “ 240 “
Experimental sciences, 400 “ 240 “
In addition to any two of the above-mentioned subjects, the following
may be taken up by any student who did not take it up at the first
year’s examination, or did not then obtain three-fourth marks in it:
Maximum. Minimum.
Spherical trigonometry and practical astronomy, 200 Marks 120 Marks.
In the examination in modern languages, great stress will be laid on
original composition.
* * * * *
All officers recommended for staff appointments, who have not proved
their fitness in the field, must pass examinations before a board of
officers and by the Council.
_a.--Aide-de-Camp._
_Regimental Duty._--The candidate must be prepared in all the subjects
required in the examination for promotion to a troop or company.
_Tactics and Field Movements._--He will be expected to show a
competent knowledge of the tactics and field movements of that branch of
the Service to which he is destined to be attached as a staff officer,
and a general knowledge of those of the other two arms; the examination
will include the movements of a brigade, and will be based on the
regulation books.
On being reported by the Adjutant-General to possess the necessary
professional qualifications, the candidate will be examined by the
Council in
_English Composition._--The candidate’s proficiency in this respect
will be tested by his answers to the examination papers.
_Foreign Languages._--He will be examined _vivâ voce_ by the examiner
appointed under the Council of Military Education in whatever language
he may select and he will also write a short letter on a given subject
in that language.
_Military Sketching._--He will be required to sketch at least two
square miles of ground selected by the Council. The sketch need not be
elaborately finished, but it must clearly and intelligibly represent the
features of ground, which must be determined by means of the pocket
sextant or prismatic compass.
_Field Fortification._--He must show a knowledge of the principles and
construction of field works, and must explain the objects to which they
are respectively applicable, as well as the modes of attacking and
defending them.
_b.--Brigade Major._
A certificate will be required from the commanding officer of the
regiment to which the candidate belongs, or has belonged, that he
possesses all the qualifications of a good adjutant. The examination for
brigade major will be especially directed to the points more immediately
connected with the duties attached to the appointment, as Military Law,
the “Queen’s Regulations and Orders of the Army,” the Royal Warrant for
Pay, Promotion,” etc., and, in tactics, all that relates to alignments,
points of formation, distances, etc. The subjects of examination are the
same as in that for the appointment of aide-de-camp, but the examination
will be, throughout, of a higher order.
_c.--Deputy Assistant Adjutant-General, Deputy Assistant
Quartermaster-General._
_Military Drawing and Sketching, Judgment of Ground, and its
Occupation by all Arms._--The candidate will be required to make a rapid
sketch on horseback, with report, of about six square miles of country;
and to select a position which might be occupied by a given force of the
three arms, for some stated object, and to show how he would dispose the
troops for that purpose. He will afterward be required to make a correct
and more finished plan of the position selected, with the disposition of
the troops shown upon it.
_Practical Geometry and Trigonometry._--The examination in these
subjects will be limited to determining heights and distances by ground
problems, and the ordinary trigonometrical calculations with the aid of
logarithms.
_Castrametation._--The candidate will be expected to know the mode of
encampment for each arm of the Service.
_Permanent Fortification._--The theory and construction of permanent
works, as exemplified in Vauban’s or any other system the candidate may
select, as well as the modes of attack and defence applicable to them.
_Military History and Geography._--The candidate will be expected to
give proof that he has carefully studied at least four of the most
memorable modern campaigns, of which the details are best known, such as
those of Marlborough, Frederick the Great, Napoleon, and Wellington, and
in these he must be able to explain the apparent objects of the various
movements and the reasons which he supposes led to their adoption, and,
further, to describe the military geography of the seat of war.
_Foreign Languages and Professional Subjects._--In languages before
the Council of Military Education, as well as in professional subjects
before the Board of Officers, the examination will be of a higher order
than those in (_a_) and (_b_).
The examination for Assistant Adjutant-General and Assistant
Quartermaster-General will, throughout, be of a higher order.
MUSKETRY, AND OTHER ARMY SCHOOLS.
SCHOOL OF MUSKETRY AT HYTHE.
The first School of Musketry was established in June, 1853, and was
composed of detachments from regiments in the neighborhood, viz.: a
sergeant, a corporal, and eight rank and file, from the first, second,
and third battalion of the Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots
Fusileer Guards, Rifle Brigade, etc., to the number of eleven sergeants,
eleven corporals, and eighty-eight rank and file. In 1855, a permanent
corps of instructors of musketry was organized, and in 1861 a second
school was instituted at Fleetwood, which was discontinued in 1867, as
one establishment was found sufficient for training an adequate number
of officers of the regular army, and a due proportion of officers and
sergeants of militia and the Rifle Volunteer Corps.
In connection with the establishment at Hythe, district inspectors are
appointed to superintend the general system of musketry instruction
throughout the army, viz., three in Great Britain, two in Ireland, five
in the colonies, and ten in India.
The instruction embraces not only the practical use of fire-arms, but
the details of construction, both of the weapon and ammunition, the
theory of projectiles, and the comparative value of different arms for
different services.
The staff of the School of Musketry at Hythe consists of 1 Commandant
and Inspector-General of Musketry Instruction; 1 Deputy Assistant
Adjutant-General; 1 Chief Instructor; 2 Captain Instructors; 1
Paymaster; 1 Quartermaster and Acting Adjutant; 1 Surgeon.
In addition to the preparatory and professional schools for officers of
the British Army, already described, there are other public institutions
of a military character and for the military service, which will be
briefly noticed.
ARMY SURGEONS.
In addition to the competitive examination of candidates for the post of
Assistant Surgeon, for which a medical degree is preliminary, the
successful candidates must spend four months at Netley, where the Army
Medical School is now located (since 1863), in connection with the Royal
Victoria Hospital (capable of receiving one thousand patients), where
large numbers of invalid patients of the army are treated. Here, with
every facility of study, observation, and practice, instruction is given
by four professors, each with an experienced assistant, in military
surgery, medicine, pathology, and hygiene, and all the specialities of
the military hospital and field practice, peculiarities of climate, etc.
After spending at least four months in the hospital, laboratory, museum,
and lecture-rooms, the candidate is then examined for his commission as
Assistant Surgeon.
VETERINARY SURGEON.
Although not exclusively for military service, all veterinary surgeons
in the army must hold the diploma of the Royal Veterinary College in St.
Pancras, London, or of the Veterinary School in Edinburgh.
ARMY SCHOOLS FOR SOLDIERS AND SOLDIERS’ CHILDREN.
In 1811, on the recommendation of the Duke of York, then
Commander-in-Chief, a royal warrant was issued, authorizing the
appointment of a sergeant-schoolmaster to each batallion for young
recruits and the children of soldiers, with provision for room, fuel,
and light in each regimental barrack, and allowance for necessary books
and stationery. In 1846, to give greater efficiency and uniformity to
the schools established under the warrant of 1811, a new warrant was
issued, requiring that the sergeant-schoolmaster should obtain a
certificate of fitness from the military training college at Chelsea,
and ordering the appointment of an inspector of army schools. In 1854,
the following classification of masters was introduced: _First Class_,
at 7_s._ a day and certain allowances; _Second Class_, at 5_s._ 6_d._
per day; _Third Class_, at 4_s._ per day; and _Assistants_ at 2_s._ The
first-class schoolmaster was a warrant officer, and ranked next to those
holding a commission; the second and third class ranked next to
sergeant-major, and the assistants ranked as sergeants. At this time the
privileges of the regimental schools were extended to the children of
discharged soldiers, pensioners, and various persons employed about the
barracks. A schoolmistress was also employed for the infant division of
pupils, and for teaching needle-work to the girls. In 1863, the office
of superintending schoolmaster, with a relative rank of ensign, was
created, and four (since increased to twelve) from among the most
experienced first-class masters, were appointed to inspect and examine
all army schools in their several military districts, and candidates for
pupil-teachers and schoolmistresses.
According to the report of the Council of Military Education, for March,
1870, there were two hundred and fifty-nine masters employed by the army
schools, and four hundred and eighty-five mistresses and assistants in
the children’s schools. In Great Britain there were three hundred and
eighteen schools, and thirty-five thousand three hundred and seven
non-commissioned officers and men on the books, nine thousand three
hundred and fifty-nine boys and girls, besides 11,414 children in the
infant schools.
ASYLUM FOR SOLDIERS’ ORPHANS.
Prior to the establishment of the Army Schools in 1811, two large
institutions for orphan children of soldiers who had fallen in battle or
serving at foreign stations, had been founded and maintained at the
public expense.
The Royal Hibernian Institution at Dublin, Ireland, was commenced on a
sum appropriated by the Irish Parliament in 1765, and chartered in 1769.
It has large buildings, with thirty-four acres of land, and provides for
four hundred and ten children on an annual parliamentary grant of twelve
thousand pounds for its maintenance, besides the income from a small
endowment.
The Royal Military Asylum in Chelsea was begun by the Duke of York in
1801, and can now accommodate five hundred children on a public grant of
twelve thousand pounds, besides a further grant of three thousand pounds
for furniture and clothing from the Board of Works and the general vote
of the army.
NORMAL SCHOOL FOR TEACHERS IN ARMY SCHOOLS.
In the Military Asylum at Chelsea, since 1846, there has existed a
Normal School, where teachers of army schools may review their studies,
or candidates for vacancies, or pupil teachers, may qualify themselves
by study, observation, and practice, for appointment as schoolmasters,
and when found qualified they receive certificates of the first, second,
and third class, and are paid accordingly.
MILITARY SCHOOL OF MUSIC AT KNELLER HALL.
In the British Army the cost of maintaining the regimental bands falls
upon the officers. In the infantry a sergeant, a corporal and nineteen
privates are taken from the effective strength of each regiment to form
a band. These receive their ordinary regimental pay,--the rest of the
pay, and the entire salary of the band-master, if a civilian, together
with the cost of the music and musical instruments, are provided out of
the Band Fund, which is raised by “stoppages” from the officers on first
appointment, and promotion, and by subscription. This fund is managed by
a committee of officers. Owing to difficulties in retaining the men, and
of finding band-masters with all the requisite qualifications, the
Commander-in-Chief (Duke of Cambridge) established a Military School of
Music in 1856, in concert with the Secretary of War, which was opened in
Kneller Hall for the reception of pupils in March, 1857. The institution
must be viewed (1) as a barrack, and (2) as a school of music. (1). As a
barrack it is under the direction of the Secretary of War, and is
managed as any other barrack. (2). As a school it is under the immediate
direction of a military officer (who is appointed by the
Commander-in-Chief), and a musical staff composed of nine permanent
professors, four occasional professors, and a varying number of special
assistants who are selected from the first-class students. There is also
a schoolmaster who gives instruction one hour a day in general knowledge
to each class, and a military chaplain. The instruments taught in
Soprano (8); Alto (3); Tenor (3); Bass (6). The students are divided
into four classes, each of which is divided into sections according to
the instruments to be learned. Seven hours a day are devoted to
obligatory study--but more are given, and a restriction prohibits all
practice after 6.45 in the evening.
This course of study occupies two years, and there is a higher which
comprises, beside practical instruction in playing and teaching the
instruments composing the band, some general acquirements under the
theory of harmony. There is also practical training in the duties of a
conductor. In addition to ordinary military music, classical concert
pieces, or chamber music, specially arranged for wind instruments, are
performed. Cheap admissions to the operas and principal concerts of the
metropolis are obtained (900 in one year), to such of the advanced
students as are recommended for diligence by the professors.
Pupils are selected from the various regiments, and often selected for
this special purpose. Boys specially trained for the bands are obtained
from the Royal Military Asylum, Chelsea, the Hibernian Military School,
Dublin, and the Metropolitan Poor-law School. Each candidate must be
examined by the surgeon of the regiment, and certified to as in good
health and with no tendencies to disease liable to be aggravated by
playing on a band instrument.
A military band-master is now sanctioned by the Government for any
regiment and battalion throughout the service, who receive regimental
pay of first-class staff sergeant, and 100_l._ from the Regimental Band
Fund.
The expenses of Kneller Hall as a barrack are borne by the government;
as a school of music, by the regimental officers--including an original
assessment of 5_l._ for supply of instruments, and the salaries to about
1,100_l._ annually.
The average number of students annually admitted is 74; the average
number in attendance, 148. The total number admitted since 1857 is 592,
of whom 163 were practiced musicians, 63 band-masters, 271 band-men.
III. NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS IN ENGLAND.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
Before describing a class of schools in England, which is now receiving
special attention and aid from the Science and Art Department of the
Committee of Council on Education, viz. NAVIGATION SCHOOLS, we will
glance at the condition of Nautical Education generally in this great
maritime and commercial country.
The old system of training officers for the Royal Navy, under which mere
children with the smallest possible amount of elementary knowledge, made
the ship their school, even after a Naval Academy was established, had
its peculiar advantages as well as its drawbacks. The captain, having
the nomination of an almost indefinite number of “youngsters,” stood
towards them in _loco parentis_. He was their governor, guardian, and
instructor, and did not “spare the rod” when he thought its application
necessary. The captain was then looked up to with a feeling bordering on
awe. Without assigning a reason he could disrate or discharge a
midshipman; and he could also do much towards pushing him on in the
service. The youngster felt that he was entirely in the power of his
captain, and, unless of a reckless cast, used his best endeavors to gain
his favor. The captain, on the other hand, talked of _his_ youngsters
with pride. He, (if he belonged to the better class of naval captains,)
took care that every facility should be afforded them for learning their
duty, often made them his companions on shore, and superintended their
education afloat, sometimes taking a leading part in their teaching. He
felt responsible for their bringing up, for some were sons of personal
friends or relatives whom he had promised to watch over the youthful
aspirants, and all were more or less objects of interest to him. But all
this was swept away in 1844, and the captain’s patronage limited to one
nomination on commissioning a ship, the Admiralty taking the rest of the
patronage into their own keeping. And what was the result? No sooner had
the Admiralty absorbed the naval patronage--for the captain was
frequently shorn of his one nomination before leaving Whitehall with his
commission--than old officers and private gentlemen in middling
circumstances found themselves unsuccessful applicants, while the
influential country gentleman totally unconnected with the service, but
able perhaps to turn the scale of an election, was not under the painful
necessity of asking twice for a naval cadetship for his son, or the son
of his friend. But what cared the captain for these Admiralty nominees?
Too many of them were incapable of profiting by their opportunities, and
others neglected to avail themselves of the instructions of the
professors of mathematics, and became the victims of dissipation.
I. NAVAL OFFICERS.
_Royal Naval Academy._
The first attempt to educate lads for the naval service of England was
in 1729, when the Royal Naval Academy was instituted in Portsmouth
Dockyard. The course of instruction included the elements of a general
education, as well as mathematics, navigation, drawing, fortification,
gunnery, and small arm exercises, together with the French language, the
principles of ship-building and practical seamanship in all its
branches, for which latter a small vessel was set apart. The number was
limited to forty cadets, the sons of the nobility and gentry, and
attendance was voluntary. Small as the corps was, it was never full,
probably because there was an easier way of gaining admission to the
service through official favoritism, by appointment direct to some ship,
on board of which during a six years’ midshipman’s berth, he acquired a
small stock of navigation and a larger knowledge of seamanship and
gunnery practice. In these ships where the captains were educated men,
and took a special interest in the midshipmen, and competent instructors
were provided and sustained in their authority and rank, this system of
ship instruction and training worked well, as under the same conditions
it did with us. In 1773 a new stimulus was given to the Academy by
extending a gratuitous education to fifteen boys out of the forty, who
were sons of commissioned officers. In 1806, under the increased demand
for well educated officers, the whole number of cadets was increased to
seventy, of whom forty were the sons of officers and were educated at
the expense of the government. From this date to 1837 the institution
was designated the Royal Naval College, but without any essential
extension of its studies. In 1816 a Central School of Mathematics and
Naval Architecture was added to the establishment, and in 1828 the free
list was discontinued, and the sons of military officers were allowed to
share the privileges of the school with the sons of naval officers, at a
reduced rate in proportion to their rank. To keep up the number of
students who would go through the four years course, it became necessary
to extend special privileges, such as made promotion certain and rapid
over those who entered the navy direct. This produced inconveniences and
jealousies, and in 1837 the Naval College was discontinued.
_Training Ship and Naval College._
In 1857 the Admiralty adopted the plan of a Training Ship for naval
cadets. The candidate was to be from thirteen to fifteen years of age,
and to pass an examination in Latin or French, Geography, Arithmetic,
including Proportion and Fractions, Algebra, to Simple Equations, the
First Book of Euclid, and the Elements of Plane Trigonometry. At the end
of twelve or six months, according to age, spent in study and practice
on the Training Ship, the cadet was examined in the studies before
enumerated with the addition of Involution and Evolution, Simple
Equations, the Elements of Geometry, and of Plane and Spherical
Trigonometry, the simple rules of Navigation, the use of Nautical
Instruments, Surveying, Constructing Charts, and the French language,
besides an elaborate course of Seamanship, and attendance on lectures on
Chemistry, Physics, Hydrostatics, &c. If this examination was
satisfactory, the cadet was appointed to a sea-going ship, and at the
expiration of fifteen months’ service he was eligible for the rating of
midshipman upon passing a further examination. The course in the
Training Ship (first the “Illustrious,” and subsequently changed to the
“Britannia,” first in Portsmouth harbor and more recently at Dartmouth,)
proved too extensive for mastery in one year; and in 1861 the conditions
for admission were lowered, the examinations in the school were made
quarterly, and competitive, and if passed creditably at the end of a
year, according to a fixed standard, (3,000 being the number of marks
attainable, and 2,100 giving a first class certificate,) the cadet is
rated at once as midshipman, and credited a year’s sea-time. If he
receives a second class certificate (1,500 marks,) he must serve six
months at sea, and pass another examination before he can be rated
midshipman. The cadet with a third-rate certificate (1,200 marks,) must
serve twelve months at sea, and pass another examination for his
midshipman’s rating. Prizes and badges are also given, and the stimulus
of competitive examination is applied as shown in the grading of
certificates.
_Gunnery Instruction._
In 1832 a uniform and comprehensive system of gunnery instruction was
provided on the “Excellent,” under command of Captain (now Sir Thomas)
Hastings. To give such officers who were found deficient in the
scientific knowledge requisite for a full understanding of the theory of
gunnery, the Naval College was re-opened in 1839, under the general
superintendence of the Captain of the Excellent, with Professors of
Mathematics, Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, Steam Machinery,
Chemistry and Marine Artillery. Accommodations were provided for
twenty-five half-pay officers, (captains, commanders, and lieutenants,)
and a certain number of mates on full pay, for whom a special course of
study was instituted. The time allowed at the College was a clear year’s
study, exclusive of vacations, and those who have completed the course
rank among the most distinguished officers of the profession.
_Instruction in Steam and the Steam-Engine._
When steam vessels came into use in the Navy, to qualify officers for
special service in them they were encouraged to resort to Woolwich
Dockyard, and afterward to the Portsmouth yard, where an instructor was
appointed and facilities for observation, study, and experiments were
provided. Many officers repaired to private factories, and worked at the
lathe, in stoke-hole and the engine-room, and thus acquired a practical
knowledge of this department of their profession. When the Naval College
was established on its present footing, a small steamer, the “Bee,” was
built and attached under the charge of the instructor in
steam-machinery. And now the greater part of the captains and commanders
on the active list have obtained certificates of having passed the
course in Steam and the Steam-engine.
_Admiralty Order respecting Naval Cadets and Midshipmen, dated April
1, 1860._
CADETS.
“I. No person will be nominated to a Cadetship in the Royal Navy who
shall be under 12, or above 14 years of age, at the time of his first
examination.
“II. Every candidate, on obtaining a nomination, will be required to
pass an examination at the Royal Naval College at Portsmouth, within
three months of nomination.[3] In the special cases of nomination
granted to the sons of natives of the colonies a candidate will be
allowed to pass a preliminary examination on board the flag or senior
Officer’s ship on the Station. But such an examination must be passed in
strict accordance with these regulations, and should the candidate be
found qualified, it will still be necessary that he should be sent to
England, to be entered on board a training ship, where he will be
subject to the same regulations as other Cadets.
[Footnote 3: These examinations will take place on the first
Wednesdays in the months of March, June, September, and December.]
“III. The candidate must produce a certificate of birth, or a
declaration thereof made before a magistrate.
“IV. Must be in good health and fit for the Service--that is free from
impediment of speech, defect of speech, rupture, or other physical
inefficiency.
“Candidates will be required--1. To write English correctly from
dictation, and in a legible hand. 2. To read, translate, and parse an
easy passage from Latin, or from some foreign living language--the aid
of a dictionary will be allowed for these translations.
“And to have a satisfactory knowledge of--3. The leading facts of
Scripture and English history. 4. Modern geography, in so far as relates
to a knowledge of the principal countries, capitals, mountains and
rivers. To be able to point out the position of a place on a map, when
its latitude and longitude are given. 5. Arithmetic, including
proportion, and a fair knowledge of vulgar and decimal fractions.
6. A knowledge of the definitions and axioms of the First Book of
Euclid.
“As drawing will prove a most useful qualification for Naval Officers,
it is recommended that candidates for the Service should be instructed
therein.
“V. Candidates will be allowed a second trial at the next quarterly
examination. Should he not pass this second examination he will be
finally rejected.
“VI. If the candidate succeeds in passing the required examination he
will be at once appointed to a training ship, for the purpose of
instruction in the subjects contained in Sheet No. 1,[4] as well as in
the rigging of ships, seamanship, the use of nautical instruments, &c.
[Footnote 4: The examination on leaving the training ship will
embrace all the subjects of the former examination, except Latin,
and in addition to them it will include, in algebra, simple
equations; the elements of geometry, plane trigonometry, and the
solution, &c., as in the Circular No 288, dated Feb. 23rd, 1857;
and in addition the use of the globes with correct definitions of
latitude, longitude, azimuth, amplitude, and other circles of the
sphere, and drawing.]
“VII. Quarterly examinations will be held on board the training ship,
when any candidate may be examined in the subjects contained in Sheet
No. 1, and also, in the course of instruction, in the rigging of ships,
seamanship, &c.
“VIII. If a candidate be found at the quarterly examinations, not to
have made sufficient progress, or if, by indifferent conduct or idle
habits on board the training ship, he shall show his unfitness for the
Service; it will be the duty of the Captain to make a special report
thereof to the Admiralty, in order that the Cadet may be at once removed
from the Navy.
“IX. When the candidate shall have completed twelve months’
instruction, exclusive of vacations, in the harbor training ship, he
will be examined, and should he obtain a certificate of proficiency, he
will be discharged into the sea-going training ship. A first-class
certificate will entitle him to count twelve months’ sea time; a
second-class, will entitle him to count six months’ sea time; a
third-class, will entitle him to count six months’ sea time. But should
he not obtain a certificate, he will be discharged as unfit for the
Service.
“X. On leaving the harbor training ship, it is intended that the Cadet
shall pass three months in a sea-going training ship, for practical
instruction in seamanship and navigation, which period will count for
sea time, and at the end of this period, if his conduct has been
satisfactory, he will be appointed to a ship with the rating of a
Midshipman.
MIDSHIPMEN.
“To qualify a Midshipman for a Lieutenant’s Commission he must have
attained the full age of 19 years, and have completed 5½ years’ actual
service in Her Majesty’s Navy, including the time awarded to him on
leaving the training ship.
“XI. All Midshipmen, until they have passed their examinations for
Lieutenants, are to keep a book in which the ship’s reckoning is to be
worked out and noted; at sea, this book is to be sent in every day to
the Captain, instead of the slip of paper containing a day’s work. It is
also to be produced at their examinations; and during the last six
months of their service as Midshipmen, it must contain the working of
the observations.
“XII. A Midshipman when he shall have served two years and a half in
that rank will be required to pass the following examination:--1. In
practical navigation, showing that he understands the principle of
navigating a ship from one distant port to another, by dead reckoning
and by his own observations; and that he can explain the principles of
the same; and that he can also take and work a double altitude and
azimuth. 2. A sufficient knowledge of a chart to enable him to place
thereon the position of the ship by observation as well as by cross
bearings; and to lay off the true and compass courses. 3. Such knowledge
of nautical surveying as may enable him to measure a base line and
determine positions by angles, and the manner of ascertaining heights
and distances. 4. If he has served in a steam vessel, an acquaintance
with the different parts and working of the steam engine.
5. A proficiency in French to be attained if he has had an opportunity.
6. He must be a good practical observer, and his sextant must be
produced in good order. 7. He must produce log-books kept by himself
from the time of his entering into a sea-going ship, and certificates of
good conduct.
“8. He will likewise be examined as to his progress in the knowledge
of rigging masts, bowsprits, &c. He must also know the great gun and
small arm exercise, the use of tangent sights, the charges for the guns
of the ship, and be able to exercise the men at his quarters. A report
of the progress he has made in each of the above subjects is to be made
to the Secretary of the Admiralty in the half-yearly return.
“This examination is to be conducted by the Officer in command, not
below the rank of Commander, and the next senior Officer in the ship,
and the examinations in navigation in the presence of a Captain or
Commander, by two Naval Instructors, when it may be practicable, or by a
Naval Instructor and a Master, or, where there is no Naval Instructor,
by two Masters; that in gunnery, by a gunner, or other competent
Officer; and the candidate is to be made to take and work out his own
observations for latitude, longitude, variation, &c., as the case may
be. First or second class certificates are to be given according to the
merit of the candidate, in the form A, page 8, or he is to be rejected
if found incompetent.
“XIII. A Midshipman, having completed his term of service, and being
19 years of age, may be provisionally examined by the Captain or
Commander of such ship or vessel with the aid of other competent
Officers, Lieutenant, Master, or second Master, when no other ships are
present; and if they find him to be duly qualified they are to give him
a certificate to that effect, dated on the day of such examination, and
the Captain may forthwith give him an acting order as Mate; but he must
be re-examined, on the first opportunity that shall afterwards offer, by
three Captains or Commanders, and if he passes successfully he will
receive from the Commander-in-Chief, or senior Officer, an acting order
as Mate, to take rank according to the first certificate.
“The examining Officers are to be most strict in their investigation
of the qualifications of Officers, and they are to see that everything
required by these Regulations has been complied with by the candidates,
and that he produces certificates of good conduct from Captains he has
served under from the time of his discharge from the training ship.
“XIV. All Acting Mates and Midshipmen will be required to undergo the
following final examinations,--1. In Seamanship--On board the training
ship at Portsmouth. 2. In Gunnery--On board the _Excellent_. 3. In
Navigation and the Steam Engine--At the Royal Naval College.
“Acting Mates, who have already passed abroad, are to present
themselves for examination, on board the training ship at Portsmouth, at
the first examination day after their arrival in England, or after being
paid off, and having passed in gunnery they are then at liberty to
select either the first, second, or third examination day at the Royal
Naval College.
“XV. Any Officer rejected on his first examination at the College will
incur the forfeiture of three months’ seniority in his rank as Mate. He
may present himself on the next examination day, but a second rejection
will incur the forfeiture of three months’ more seniority; he may again
present himself on the next examination day, but a third rejection will
cause his name to be removed from the list of the Navy.
“XVI. Officers, when they have passed their final examination at the
Royal Naval College, as provided for in these Regulations, will be
confirmed from the date of their first certificate. The non-appearance
of an Officer for examination at the Royal Naval College at the times
required by these Regulations will be considered as an acknowledgment of
his not being qualified, and he will be dealt with in the same manner as
if he had been actually rejected, on each day on which he may have
omitted to appear, unless under certified ill-health, to be duly
reported at the time.
“XVII. Naval Instructors are to keep a school journal, or register,
which is to be produced when required by the Captain of the ship or the
examining Officers, and the Captain is to allow them reasonable access
to the charts and chronometers, for the purpose of instructing the
Officers in their use.
“XVIII. The Captains of Her Majesty’s ships are to take care that a
convenient place is set apart and proper hours are fixed for instruction
by the Naval Instructor; and all Acting Mates and Acting Second Masters,
as well as all executive Officers under that rank, are to attend; and
care is also to be taken that they are regularly instructed in practical
seamanship, rigging, and the steam-engine, and a monthly examination day
is to be established.
The subject of Education for Officers has been recently under discussion
in Parliament, and some modifications of the existing system is now
under the consideration of the Admiralty, looking to greater maturity of
age and preparation for admission, a more extended and thorough course
of scientific training in cadets, and continued opportunities of study
with accompanying examinations for officers up to the grade of
commanders.
II. THE ROYAL MARINE ARTILLERY.
In 1804 an artillery company was attached to each of the three divisions
of the Royal Marine Corps, to supply the service of the bomb-vessels,
and in time of peace, to drill the whole of the marines in gunnery. But
they were soon made available for other purposes, and on the outbreak of
the American war in 1812, a large body of the Marine Artillery, with a
field battery and rocket equipment, accompanied the battalions of
marines then formed for service in America. In 1817 this force was
augmented to eight companies, and Sir Howard Douglass, while advocating
the establishment of “Naval Depots of Instruction,” for the purpose of
converting officers and men of the Royal Navy into efficient gunners,
complimented the Marine Artillery as being “either a corps of good
infantry, of scientific bombardiers, or expert field artillery men, well
constituted, thoroughly instructed, and ably commanded.” It was not
until June, 1830, that an Admiralty order directed that a school of
gunnery should be established at Portsmouth, on board the “Excellent,”
and with the intention of making this school the one means of
instruction in this department, it was farther ordered, in December,
1831, that the Marine Artillery, as a distinct and separate corps,
should be broken up, retaining two companies as a nucleus of a larger
force, should such become necessary. And the necessity appeared; for the
experience of a few years proved that it would be impossible for the
school to effect, to any important extent, the results which were
desired. In 1841, therefore, a third company of the artillery was
ordered; in 1845, two more; and by subsequent additions, its strength
was raised in 1859, to sixteen companies, with a total of 3,000 officers
and men, who were formed into a separate division with its head quarters
at Fort Cumberland.
The officers of the Marine Artillery were at first appointed from the
marine corps, without any particular qualifications being required, but
afterwards their appointments were made probationary and conditional
upon the satisfactory completion of a prescribed mathematical course. In
1839 it was decided that a certain number of second lieutenants should
be allowed to prepare themselves for examination on board the Excellent,
and upon the re-opening of the Royal Naval College as an educational
establishment for mates, it was arranged that the students for the
artillery should be transferred to it, and that their success or
failure, after a years’ further study, should decide upon their
appointment to the artillery. Another and final modification took place
upon the introduction of preliminary examinations for the marines, and
the subsequent formation of a cadet establishment on board the
Excellent. In case of vacancies in the artillery, those who had passed
the best examinations upon first entering the corps, were selected for
the College, and no officers were allowed to become candidates on any
other terms, their final success depending as before, upon the progress
they might make as students at the College.
The cadets have their periods of study limited to two years; it may be
less, but can not be more. They have to acquire a competent knowledge in
Arithmetic, Algebra, Euclid, including the first four books and part of
the sixth, Plane Trigonometry, the use of the Sextant, Fortification,
English History, and French. To this may be added a practical course of
Naval Gunnery. Their studies are carried on under the direction of a
mathematical instructor, and an instructor of fortification. A French
master attends twice a week. If on obtaining his commission, the young
marine officer is selected to qualify for the artillery at College, he
must be prepared at the end of a year to pass an examination in
Analytical Trigonometry, Differential and Integral Calculus, Conic
Sections, Statics and Dynamics, Hydrostatics, and “Steam,” besides being
required to have an increased knowledge of Arithmetic, Algebra, and
Fortification. In a year little more than a superficial knowledge of
these studies can possibly be attained, yet insufficient as this period
clearly is, it has sometimes been the case that, when a large number of
subalterns were required for the artillery, young officers have been
appointed who have completed only half their term at College. Having
thus gained his appointment to the artillery, his remaining in it
depends upon there being a vacancy or not at the time when his seniority
on the general list of the corps advances him to each successive grade
of rank.
The men are volunteers from the light infantry divisions, possessing
certain specified qualifications as to age, height, intelligence and
character.
The course of training, which is with a few exceptions, common to both
officers and men, is very comprehensive; it includes--
1. The usual infantry drills and musketry instruction.
2. The exercise of field guns and rockets, with such field battery
movements as are of real practical importance.
3. The service of heavy ordnance, including guns, howitzers, and sea and
land service mortars.
4. The naval great gun exercise.
5. Mounting and dismounting ordnance, with or without machines.
6. The various methods of slinging and transporting ordnance.
7. Knotting, splicing, and fitting gun gear, use of pulleys, &c.
8. A laboratory course, including:--use and preparation of tubes,
rockets, and fuzes; making up cartridges; manufacture of port fires,
Valenciennes stars, signal rockets, blue lights, &c., with instruction
in the manufacture and effects of gunpowder and other explosive
compounds.
9. A course of practical gunnery, comprising--instruction in the nature
and uses of the various kinds of guns, howitzers, and mortars; in the
natures, employment, and effects of the various projectiles; disparting
and sighting ordnance; heating and firing red-hot shot; and such matters
connected with the theory of projectiles as may have a practical
application.
10. Practice from different natures of ordnance, with every description
of projectile.
The system of instruction is so arranged that every officer and
noncommissioned officer is qualified, as far as practicable, as an
instructor, a registry being kept of each man’s progress and
capabilities. A spirit of emulation has been created, attended with the
happiest results, and the whole course is now gone through in less than
twelve months, without the men being wearied or overworked.
III. SCHOOLS FOR WARRANT OFFICERS, SEAMEN, AND BOYS.
1. _Seamen’s Schoolmasters._
Schoolmasters for seamen are allowed on all ships having a complement of
not less than three hundred men, and an allowance of £5 per annum is
granted, in addition to the pay of any rating he may hold, to a
qualified person doing this duty of the captain’s orders, in ships not
having a seamen’s schoolmaster. An allowance is made for books, slates,
&c. to all ships having schools. The success of the school to the boys
and the men depends mainly on the interest shown in it by the captain
and second officer in command, and especially on the character of the
schoolmaster employed. The situation is too often filled by an old
quartermaster, or sergeant of marines, who obtains the berth as a kind
of retirement, or by some person who has a fancy for sea life, but who
is fit for nothing on shore, much less for teaching under the
difficulties of a ship at sea. It is found that when the schoolmaster is
qualified for this special service, and is entered for continuous
service, and being placed in regard to pay, pension, and good conduct
badges on an equality with other chief petty officers, and when a log or
register of attendance is kept, and frequent reports are made to
superior authority, the result is highly conducive to discipline, and to
the elevation of the seamen’s habits and character. One of the
Commissioners recently appointed to examine into the state of popular
education among every class of British subjects, speaking of the effect
of this class of schools upon the men on board the ships, says: “After
visiting the “Cambridge,” at Plymouth, as I walked with the captain
through the lower deck, I found many, both boys and men, reading books
with the greatest attention. In the evening of the same day, on the
lower deck of the “Agincourt,” I found the same scene, while others were
engaged in draughts, chess, or writing letters to their friends.” With
the present scale of punishment on board of men of war, the school is an
indispensable element of discipline. The Commissioners referred to, in
their report to the Queen, recommend that schoolmasters of higher
qualification be appointed, with an increase of pay, and promotion by
merit, when their schools are reported favorably upon by any authorized
inspectors, and with the same retiring pension as master-at-arms, and
that in addition to an elementary general education, a knowledge of
navigation, physical geography, and natural history be required of
candidates.
2. _Schools on board of Ships in Harbor._
A second class of naval schools consists of Harbor Ships, into which
boys entered for admission to the Navy, are received until they are
drafted into the various sea-going ships. Four of these ships, the
“Victory” and “Excellent,” at Portsmouth, the “Impregnable” and
“Cambridge,” at Plymouth, are specially devoted to instruction. Boys
remain in these ships for one year. The first part of this period is
generally spent on board the ship, the latter part in the practising
brig, in which during the summer months they are out at sea for five
days during the week. There is a school under a seamen’s schoolmaster on
board of each of these ships. The Commissioners report that the school
time is necessarily subject to great interruptions, but that much
valuable instruction might be given with better organization and
methods. They recommend that an educational test for admission to these
training ships be introduced, which would at once have a good effect
upon the general education of the people resident in the seaport towns,
and elevate the intelligence, morality and manners of the seamen.
3. _Royal Marine Schools._
There are four schools attached to the divisions of marines quartered in
barracks respectively at Woolwich, Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth, and
another to the division of marine artillery quartered at Portsmouth.
These five schools are attended by the marines and their children. The
attendance of the men is for the most part voluntary, with the exception
of the non-commissioned officers, who are obliged to attend the school
until they have passed a prescribed examination. In the marine artillery
every man is required to read and write, and if deficient in these
respects, he is obliged to attend the school until his requirements are
reported to be satisfactory. The Commissioners recommend that a better
class of schoolmasters be specially trained and employed, and that they
receive better rank and pay, and more efficient assistance in the
discharge of their duties, and that trained mistresses be employed as
assistants in the boys’ schools, and have the exclusive charge of the
girls’ schools, in all of which sewing should be taught and practised
daily.
4. _Dock-yard Schools._
There are seven dock-yard schools, held in the respective dock-yards of
Deptford, Woolwich, Chatham, Sheerness, Portsmouth, Devenport, and
Pembroke. They were founded in 1840, and are designed for the
instruction of the apprentices employed in these establishments. The
masters of them were originally foremen of the yard, men of good
attainments, who had for the most part received their education in the
School of Naval Architecture; but in 1847 a special class of
schoolmasters was established, ranking as foremen of the yard. The
object of these schools is to advance the education of the young men,
since none are admitted as apprentices to become shipwrights until they
have passed an examination.
Examinations for admission as apprentices to the dock-yards are held
half-yearly, and about one-half are given to the lads who pass the best
examinations, and the other half to nominees of the superintendent.
These latter, however, are required to come up to a prescribed
intellectual standard. The examinations are held under the Civil Service
Commissioners, in the following subjects:--1. Dictation exercises to
test Hand-writing and Orthography. 2. Reading. 3. Arithmetic.
4. Grammar. 5. English Composition. 6. Geography. 7. Mathematics,
(Euclid, first three books, Algebra including Quadratic Equations,
Arithmetical and Geometrical Progression.) The master shipwright and the
schoolmaster are of opinion that the boys entered by competition are the
best, and among the working shipwrights themselves the opinion is
unanimous that the system of entering at least one-half by competition
ought not to be done away. The effect in inducing parents to keep their
children at school in order to fit their sons for examination is very
manifest, and the justice of promotion by personal merit is felt and
acknowledged by all.
For the first three years all the apprentices are compelled to attend,
while those in the fourth year may volunteer to attend with others if
they show an aptitude for study, and a disposition to profit by the
opportunities afforded them. The fifth-year apprentices may attend after
the hours of labor. So long as admission to the Central School of
Mathematics and Naval Construction at Portsmouth, and an immediate
appointment and regular advancement to the higher offices in the yard,
after leaving the latter establishment, stimulated young men to the
acquisition of knowledge, the attendance for the fourth year was
numerous and regular. But the abolition of the School of Mathematics,
and with it the consequent promotion of its graduates, operated very
unfavorably both on attendance and habits of private study.
In 1859 the Admiralty adopted a supplementary course of study for such
apprentices as have been diligent in their work, exemplary in conduct,
and made satisfactory progress in acquiring a knowledge of their trade.
This course, extending over two years for three hours a day, embraces
Descriptive Geometry, Elementary Mechanics, and Hydrostatics,
Logarithms, Calculations of displacement, Stability of ships, &c., Plane
Trigonometry, Differential Calculus, with Analytical Geometry, Advanced
Mechanics, Hydrostatics, and Dynamics. This class of apprentices perform
the duty ordinarily devolved on mould loft apprentices, under the
superintendence of the draughtsmen in the mould loft. Scholarships of
twenty pounds per annum are granted to such members of the class as show
superior ability, attainments, and good conduct.
In the year 1859 there were 1,060 pupils in the five Dock-yard Schools,
viz.: 461 apprentices, and 599 factory boys, the latter attending mainly
in the evening.
The Commissioners pronounce these schools valuable institutions, both to
the state and to the individuals, and they have demonstrated, according
to the testimony of one of the master shipwrights, that the educated boy
makes the superior workman, and the most moral and temperate man. They
recommend that a better class of teachers be employed, and that their
pay should be increased by half the amount of the scholarship accorded
to the most proficient pupils of the advanced class, and that the
intellectual part of the examinations for promotion should be conducted
by the Civil Service Commissioners. To make this class of schools what
they should be, much must be done to improve the education of the
laboring classes, outside of the dock-yards.
5. _Greenwich Hospital Schools._
The Greenwich Hospital School for 200 pupils, the orphans and sons of
disabled seamen, and known as the Upper School, was founded in 1715. In
1805 the Royal Naval Asylum (founded in 1798,) consisting of 600 boys
and 200 girls, was removed to Greenwich, and in 1821, was united to the
former, and was designated the Lower School, making in that year (1821)
a total of 1,000 children. In 1828, the number of boys in the Lower
School was reduced to 400, and the Upper to 600, one-third of the latter
being the sons of commissioned and ward-room officers. In 1841, the
girls’ school was abolished, leaving 400 in the Upper, and 400 in the
Lower School.
The schools are supported partly by the income of a special endowment
(£136,000,) and partly by the general funds of the Hospital. The total
expenditure for the two schools in 1859 was £20,234, for an average
attendance of 774 boys.
Boys are admitted to the Lower School solely upon the claims of their
fathers’ services. Until quite recently admissions to the Upper School
were by patronage, but by recent regulations all exclusive privileges of
nomination have been discontinued, and all claims for admission into the
school (the distinction of Upper and Lower School having been done
away,) are decided by a Committee of Selection, according to a scale
laid down. The 110 boys found to be best in the last examination of
1860, were constituted the Nautical School, admission to which is now
gained by competitive examination among the other boys of the school.
The instruction of this school (for a Nautical School had always
existed, composed of the two first classes of the Upper School,) is
confined to Mathematics and Navigation, and qualifies its recipients to
rise in their profession as masters’ assistants in the Royal Navy, and
as midshipmen and apprentices in the merchant service. A system of pupil
teachers, selected on account of aptitude for teaching, and a
willingness to adopt the profession of schoolmaster as their career in
life, has been recently introduced.
The Commissioners referred to, recommend that a Normal School for the
Navy be established at Greenwich, similar to that for the Army at
Chelsea, that the present pupil-teachers who are above the age of
eighteen form the nucleus of this school, and that others to the number
of ten at first, be admitted after examination; that the course of their
education be adapted to their future calling, and that at the close of
their career they be examined, and receive a certificate of
qualification. These teachers thus educated and trained, would be fitted
to take charge of the Navigation Schools, under the Board of Trade;
would enter the Dock-yard Schools, as assistants at first, and they
would be appointed to masterships on board the Training Ships, both in
the royal and commercial ports.
They also recommend that boys from the second class in the Ship Schools
be selected to serve as pupil-teachers under the schoolmasters, and that
a small allowance be made them, in addition to their pay, if they pass a
satisfactory examination at the end of the year, and their conduct is
reported to be satisfactory, and at the end of three years they be
admitted, if found competent, to the Normal School at Greenwich, or that
they be entered for continuous service as assistant schoolmasters, with
rank and pay and pension of first class petty officers. At the end of
two years this last class of assistants, if found competent, will be
admitted to the practising school at Greenwich, for six months at the
least, during which residence they will devote their time to the art of
teaching, and to the study of Navigation, Physical Geography, and
Natural History. On the completion of their training they will go out as
Royal Navy Schoolmasters, and will be divided into three classes, viz.:
3d class, who shall have the rank and pay of chief petty officers,
(continuous service,) and shall be entitled to the same pension. 2d
class, who shall rank above master-at-arms, and shall receive the same
pay and pension. 1st class, shall rank with third class warrant
officers, with same pay and pension, and after long and approved
service, masters of this class shall be eligible for further promotion
to rank and pay of second and first class warrant officers.
Schoolmasters in each of these classes shall be entitled to £10 per
annum in addition to their pay, if they are recommended by the captain
and chaplain, and their schools are certified to be in an efficient
state when examined.
NAVIGATION SCHOOLS.
In 1853 the English Government constituted the Department of Science and
Art, to extend a system of encouragement to local institutions of
Practical Science, similar to that commenced a few years before in the
Department of Practical Art, the two Departments being united in the
course of the same year, and the united Department being administered at
first by the Board of Trade, and in 1856, by the Education Department.
To this Department of Science and Art, was assigned in 1853 the general
management of a class of schools which had been instituted or aided by
the Mercantile Marine Department of the Board of Trade, for the benefit
of the navigation interests of the country. Instruction in navigation
was given in the seaports by private teachers, without system, and to a
very small number of those who should be well grounded in the principles
of the art before being entrusted with the responsibilities of command,
involving the lives and property of others. To introduce system, to give
permanent employment to a larger number of well-qualified teachers of
navigation, to elevate and improve the attainments and character of
British masters, mates and seamen, and indirectly but largely increase
the supply for the Royal Navy in time of war, the Government had
determined to encourage local effort in establishing Nautical Schools.
With this view the Marine Department of the Board of Trade had
established two schools prior to 1853, one in London, and the other in
Liverpool; and an arrangement had been made with the Admiralty, by which
it was believed five or six pupil-teachers, who had completed their term
of instruction at the Royal Naval School at Greenwich, would be able to
attend the scientific courses in the Metropolitan Schools of Science and
Art, and be instructed in those sciences which would better fit them to
become masters of schools of navigation in the seaport towns. In 1854,
the Trinity House[5] of Hull reorganized its old school of navigation,
after the plan of the Royal Naval School at Greenwich, with two
divisions, the lower for a class of boys who need elementary
instruction, and the upper, for boys in the technical studies of a
seafaring life. With the latter was opened an evening school for adult
seamen. Similar schools, with a junior or lower division to revise and
complete the general and preparatory studies, and a senior or upper
school for special scientific and practical instruction in navigation
and seamanship, were established at Yarmouth, Leith, Glasgow, Aberdeen,
Belfast, Dublin, Waterford, and other ports, fifteen in all up to 1862,
giving instruction to over 3,000 persons, and all of them enlisting
local co-operation and individual payment with governmental aid. As an
example of this class of schools we cite a brief description of one of
the earliest established, from a Report of the Inspector, Edward Hughes,
one of the masters of the Greenwich Hospital Schools.
[Footnote 5: The Trinity Board of Hull was established in 1537, in
imitation of Trinity House, London, incorporated by Henry VIII in
1515, (but existing long before,) for the promotion of commerce
and navigation, licensing pilots, erecting beacons and
lighthouses, &c. Both were probably in imitation of Charles V who
established at Seville, in Spain, at the _Casa de Contratacion_,
lectures on navigation, and an examination of persons to act as
pilots and mariners.]
_London Navigation School._
_The London Navigation School_ is held on the upper floor of the
Sailors’ Home Institution, situated in Well Street, London Dock, and
consists of two separate apartments, occupied by the Upper and Lower
sections.
The upper section is for the instruction of masters and mates of the
merchant service in the following subjects, viz.:
Sextant Observing. Chart Drawing. Geometry. Algebra. Trigonometry. The
Sailings. Use of the Nautical Almanac and Mathematical Tables. Principle
and Construction of Chronometers. Methods of determining the Latitude
and Longitude. Nautical Surveying. Compasses and Magnetism of Ships.
Theory of Winds, Tides, and Currents. Methods of taking and recording
Meteorological Observations. Principle and Construction of the Steam
Engine as applied to the Paddle Wheel and Screw Propeller.
The Lower section is for the education of seamen and apprentices. The
course embraces the following subjects:--
Reading. Writing. Dictation and Letter Writing. Arithmetic. Geography.
The Sailings. Sextant Observing. Method of Keeping Ships’ Books.
The hours of attendance are from 9 to 12 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 6 to 9
p.m. on the first five days of the working week, and from 9 to 12 a.m.
on Saturdays.
The fees are six shillings per week for masters and mates, sixpence
for seamen, and apprentices are admitted free.
The instruction of both sections is conducted by teachers who have
been educated and trained in the Greenwich Hospital Schools, and who
hold certificates of competency for teaching Navigation and Nautical
Astronomy, from Mr. Riddle, the Head Master of the Nautical School.
As regards the students who at present attend the school, it is
manifest that the masters and mates taught in the senior section come
for the express purpose of learning to solve certain problems in
Navigation and Nautical Astronomy, required for passing the examination
of the Local Marine Board, and they are unwilling to devote any portion
of their time to the other subjects that enter into the course of
instruction. These, though essential to the education of every master
mariner, are unfortunately not at present required of a candidate to
pass an examination which proclaims him competent to take command of a
vessel.
The lower section is composed of seamen and apprentices, who are for
the most part employed during the day at their ships in the docks, and
have acquired the rudiments of an English education before entering the
school. They attend during their short stay in port from 6 to 9 in the
evenings, and their chief object seems to be to acquire a knowledge of
the sailings and the methods of keeping the books of a ship.
Both sections are taught the use of nautical instruments, and for this
important purpose the Board of Trade has granted a liberal supply of
requisites to carry out an efficient system of instruction, as will be
seen by the list appended to this Report.
Those students who are sufficiently educated are accustomed to work
out their own observations. None of them have been allowed to leave the
school without receiving as great an amount as was possible of general
information, in addition to the special instruction in the subjects for
which they attended. Lectures have been delivered in the evenings upon
the Steam Engine, Electricity, and Magnetism, with other branches of
Natural Philosophy; and the Physical Geography of the Ocean has received
particular attention.
The following statistics are given in the Report of Capt. Ryder, of the
Royal Navy, in 1858.
The officers of the committee of management are:--
Chairman, Admiral Sir H. Hope.
Secretary, Captain George Pierce, R.N.
Head-Master, John Bowing, 1 certificate.
The total number receiving instruction in navigation in or through the
agency of the school during 1858 has been 149, showing a total increase
of 25 since last year. The total fees have been 46_l._ 15_s._ 6_d._
The entire number of adults and boys who have at any time paid fees
during the year are, masters, 3; chief mates, 17; only mates, 2; second
mates, 37; seamen, 62; apprentices, 28; total number of students, 149.
The following is the rate of fees paid by adults and boys per
week:--In the day classes--Masters studying for extra certificates,
6_s._; chief mates studying for master, 6_s._; only mates studying for
chief mates, 6_s._; second mates studying for chief mates, 6_s._; seamen
studying for only mates, 6_s._; for second mates, 6_s._; apprentices
studying navigation, 6_s._; those not studying navigation, 1_s._; seamen
not studying navigation, 1_s._; boys learning navigation, 6_d._; boys
not learning navigation, 6_d._ In the evening classes--Adults learning
navigation, 3_s._; not learning navigation, 1_s._; boys learning
navigation, 3_s._; not learning navigation, 6_d._
The average attendance at the classes has been:--
Day classes, morning, 7; afternoon, 6.
Evening classes, 6.
Grand total of fees, 46_l._ 15_s._ 6_d._
The amount of aid afforded to the school by the Department has been
43_l._ 16_s._ 4_d._, which sum includes the payments for the master’s
certificate and other allowances, the payments to pupil-teacher, the
cost of medals, &c.
_School Ships._
There is another class of nautical schools for destitute and endangered
boys, which are aided by the government through the Ragged School
Society, and are kept on board of ships, the practical seamanship of
which might advantageously be incorporated into the navigation schools.
The expense of these ships per day is thus given by Capt. Ryder, in his
Report on Navigation Schools in 1858.
I have collected some statistics showing the expense of school ships.
The Akbar, a frigate at Liverpool, is a reformatory, and has about a 100
boys. The Venus, also a frigate, is in charge of the Marine Society, and
anchored near Woolwich; she is a school ship for destitute lads, and has
about 140 boys. In the Akbar, supported, partly by local contributions
and partly by the Government grant of one shilling a day for each boy,
the expense of the establishment is probably reduced to as low a scale
as possible. The Marine Society is a corporation which can afford to be
more liberal in its arrangements. The Akbar was fitted out at an expense
of 1,800_l._ but about 1,000_l._ is considered to be sufficient for a
fit out, if the hull is in good repair. The Marine Society’s ships are
always fitted out by the Admiralty without charge. The Akbar costs about
250_l._ a year for repairs, &c.
Estimate of Annual Expense per Boy, deduced from Report.
Akbar. Venus.
------ ------
£ _s._ £ _s._
Food, £10 0 £13 10
Clothes, 4 0 6 0
Management, &c. 10 0 10 10
------- --------
24 0 30 0
_Outline of Aims and Management of Navigation Schools._
In 1858, Captain Alfred P. Ryder, of the Royal Navy, was appointed to
inspect the Navigation Schools connected with the Department of Science
and Art, and report on their condition and future management. The
statements and suggestions of this report harmonize so fully with the
conclusions which we have reached respecting the need and mode of
establishing and managing this class of schools in our own country, that
we can not better express our own views than by making liberal extracts.
The Government is very anxious to raise the tone of the Commercial
Marine for the following reasons:--
(_a._) Because the Commercial Marine supplies even in time of peace a
considerable number of men to the Royal Navy, and because in time of war
we should have to rely upon it almost entirely to enable us to man our
ships when our reserves were exhausted, which would soon be the case in
a naval war.
(_b._) Because on the efficiency of our commercial marine depends to a
great extent our position as a commercial country, and on our position
as the greatest commercial country rests our supremacy among European
nations.
(_c._) Because to the commercial marine is entrusted every year an
immense amount of valuable property. Want of skill, intelligence, and
readiness of resource largely increases the yearly loss of this
property.
(_d._) Because to the commercial marine every year are entrusted the
lives of a large and increasing number of Her Majesty’s subjects. Want
of skill, intelligence, and readiness of resource largely increase the
yearly loss of life at sea.
(_e._) Because the commercial marine consists of more than 200,000
persons, and is, therefore, an important portion of the nation,
considering it numerically.
(_f._) Because the commercial marine represents England, its religion,
laws, customs, and habits, in every foreign country, and it is desirable
that our representatives should cease to exhibit (as is now frequently
the case,) the worst side of the national character. Large numbers of
the sailors in our commercial marine are at present neither good men nor
good sailors, but are disorderly, addicted to drink, inefficient at sea
and all but useless in harbor. Many of them who reach the rank of mate
and master compare disadvantageously in general knowledge with the mates
and masters of foreign vessels. There are of course numerous brilliant
exceptions. They are to be found chiefly in the service of the large
ship-owners. In knowledge of seamanship English masters and mates need
not fear a comparison with those of any other nation.
The Government, anxious to raise the tone of the Commercial Marine,
has endeavored to purify the stream at its source, by the creation or
support of Navigation Schools, in order that as soon as possible, by the
introduction of well educated lads, its character may be elevated and
improved. The Navigation Schools referred to are supported by fees, by
local subscriptions, and by aid from the Department of Science and Art.
Their object is to offer instruction in the scientific branches of an
Education specially adapted to the Nautical Profession.
In commencing an investigation into the present position and prospects
of the Navigation schools, it is evidently advisable to ascertain the
number of vacancies that occur annually in the commercial marine; these
vacancies are occasioned by death, desertion, and change of profession.
It is much to be desired that these vacancies should all be filled by
well educated English, Scotch, and Irish lads, for in time of war we
could only recruit from the Commercial Marine those sailors who are
British subjects.[6]
[Footnote 6: According to the Registrar General’s Report for 1858,
there were 13,200 Foreigners serving in the Mercantile Marine in
1854, natives of the following countries:--Americans, (U.S.,)
3,888; Austrians, 532; Belgians, 198, Danes, 423; Germans, 319;
Greeks, 76; Hollanders, 1,(3); Italians, 110; Norwegians, 570;
Portuguese, 564; Russians, 44; Prussians, 563; Spaniards, 388;
Swedes, 1,512; French, 479; Various, viz., South Americans,
Chinese. &c., &c.. 2,499; total, 13,200.]
Capt. Ryder estimates the number of lads required to supply the annual
vacancies by death in the British Commercial Marine at over 5,000, and
by desertion and change of profession, by at least 1,000 more, or a
total of over 6,000; and that schools for seamen and officers should be
sufficient to give an annual supply of at least that number, and so
accommodate 18,000 students. According to the Report of the Registrar
General of Seamen, there were bound and registered at the several ports
of the United Kingdom, in the year 1856, 7,410 apprentices. The 176,387
men (not including masters,) employed in the Home and Foreign Trade,
were classified as follows: 21,204 mates, 13,232 petty officers, 83,682
seamen, 23,974 apprentices and boys, 12,640 other persons, 1,612
engineers, 4,896 firemen. Of this number 14,375 were foreigners, and
7,712 lascars. During the year 1856, examinations were passed for extra
masters, 22; for ordinary masters, 1,223; for first mates, 689; for only
mates, 12,223; for second mates, 940--a total of 4,097. Capt. Ryder
calculates that the total number required every year to fill up the
vacancies and meet the demands of an expanding commerce as follows:
Of those who leave the service, 6,690
Of those who are drowned, 1,300
Of those who die of disease, 2,660
The average annual increase by expansion of commerce, 3,365
Total supply required, 14,015
Capt. Ryder remarks that the system of nautical education should be
broad enough and attractive enough to bring in all the boys of all
classes who wish to go to sea, or may be required to meet the demands of
the national and commercial marine. The education given should make
athletic, intelligent, handy seamen, and impart such an amount of
scientific knowledge of navigation and seamanship as will qualify a due
proportion for a lower grade of officers.
The first point to be aimed at would apparently be the establishment
of an adequate number of schools, so as to offer scientific instruction
on the lowest terms to a sufficient number of boys, to supply the demand
for educated young men to fill the vacancies in the ranks of masters and
mates. Their knowledge of seamanship must of course be gained before the
mast.
A commercial navy, fed by a supply of lads that had for three years
attended the classes at a Navigation school would challenge comparison
for general knowledge and information with any profession in England,
and would soon cease to be the last resort of those idle, troublesome
fellows, expelled from the agricultural class and the various trades,
who are too old, too ignorant, or too profligate ever to make even
indifferent sailors.
Having stated what appears to me to be the ground that may be
beneficially covered by a network of navigation schools, I will proceed
to state what, in my opinion, are the means by which a Navigation School
may be rendered most attractive and efficient.
I. _A Navigation School assisted by the Government should offer sound
Instruction especially adapted to the Nautical Profession._
Although at first sight the number of subjects named hereafter may
appear large, and the education of too high an order, these objections
will vanish when it is remembered that lads are not acceptable on board
merchant ships until they are 15-16, because they are of little use, and
give trouble; and yet, as has been already stated, if not attracted to
the Navigation schools at the age of 12-13, and induced to remain in
attendance on the classes until they are 15-16, they will be drawn into
some other profession.
The course of instruction which is adopted must necessarily therefore
be sufficiently comprehensive to extend over _three_ years, and at the
same time continue to the last to be specialty adapted to conduce
towards the boy’s success in his profession.
The subjects which appear to be suitable for boys destined for the
nautical profession and retained under instruction from 12-13 to 15-16
are as follows:--
* (1.) Reading and writing from dictation.
* (2.) First four rules of arithmetic.
* (3.) Grammar.
(4.) A complete course of arithmetic.
(5.) Algebra to quadratics, with application.
(6.) Geometry, Books of Euclid, I. II. III., and
a few propositions in Book IV.
(7.) Trigonometry, plane and spherical.
(8.) Navigation.
(9.) Nautical astronomy, including lunar double alt.
and Sumner’s method.
(10.) Practical use of the instruments used at sea.
(11.) Geography, descriptive, }
(12.) Geography, physical, }
{ especially as regards products, climates, &c.}
(13.) Chart drawing; surveying.
(14.) Free-hand drawing.
* (15.) History, particularly Scripture History and English History.
* (16.) Letter writing; book-keeping.
(17.) Mechanics and steam-engine.
(18.) Magnetism and electricity in relation to ships.
(19.) Laws of storms and tides.
(20.) Knowledge of the code of signals.
(21.) Mercantile laws and usages, as far as is necessary for
the master of a merchant ship.
(22.) Gymnastics.
[* The boys are expected to be proficient in these subjects before
entry, and they need only be taken up in the way of review.]
The above subjects are taught in the Navigation School at Hull.
II. _A Navigation School should provide a good supply of apparatus,
viz., instruments, books, maps, slates, &c. without any charge to the
pupils._
In Ireland, where a class of Navigation Schools has been established as
part of the system of National Education, a very liberal supply of
sextants, books, maps, &c., is given to each school by the Board of
Education.
III. _A Navigation School aided by Government should offer valuable
prizes in the shape of exhibitions, instruments, books, &c._
The great difficulty we have to contend with is the reluctance on the
part of some parents, the inability on the part of others, to maintain
their children during the three years’ course.
Exhibitions and prize-schemes should therefore be established on the
most liberal footing.
Prizes had been awarded by the Department in only two or three
instances before my tour of visits.
(_a._) I beg to suggest that _prizes_ be awarded, when deserved, at
all the schools every half year.
The prizes to consist of sextants, watches, instruments, books, &c.
The future prizes to be placed at the commencement of the half-year
under the charge of the local committee, to be exposed in the schoolroom
in a case with a glass lid or cover. (The half-yearly value of the
prizes to be about 15_l._); the prizes to be fairly and openly competed
for.
A very limited number of sextants should be given away, not more than
one each half-year among all the schools. The prizes not to be awarded
except on the most satisfactory proof of the lad’s sufficient
proficiency.
(_b._) I beg to suggest that _exhibitions_ be established on the
following scale, viz., at the rate of twelve for a school giving
instruction to 100 boys, or one to every eight boys, and be awarded at
all the schools every half-year.
The boys after the examination to be divided in the following
manner:--
The First Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the
Classes for a period under 6 months.
The Second Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the
Classes for 6, and under 12 months.
The Third Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the
Classes for 12, and under 18 months.
The Fourth Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the
Classes for 18, and under 24 months.
The Fifth Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the
Classes for 24, and under 30 months.
The Sixth Division to consist of all the boys who had attended the
Classes for 30, and under 36 months.
Exhibitions at the rate of one in eight boys to be given to the most
successful boys in each group.
The exhibitions for the 1st and 2nd Divisions to consist of remission
of fee and a donation of 6_d._ a week for ensuing half-year.
The exhibitions for the 3rd and 4th Divisions to consist of remission
of fee, and a donation of 1_s._ a week for ensuing half-year.
The exhibitions for the 5th and 6th Divisions to consist of remission
of fee, and a donation of 2_s._ a week for ensuing half-year.
This part of my proposal is elastic, the value of the exhibitions can
be increased if the principle is approved of, and the number may be
extended even to offering an exhibition to every boy attaining a certain
degree of proficiency in the studies of the school.
The chief merits of this plan are (1.) that as all the exhibitions are
thrown open for competition every half-year, the spirit of emulation is
constantly kept alive; it is notorious that the attainment of an
exhibition or scholarship which will be held throughout a student’s
career is often the prelude to idleness. (2.) That exhibitions are
placed within the reach of the youngest boys.
The examination to decide on the exhibitions and prizes should take
place at the end of the half-year. The questions to be sent from the
Department, and the answers to be sealed up in the presence of the boys,
and sent to the Department on the evening of the examination day. The
prizes and exhibitions should be awarded at the commencement of the next
half-year. As the examination should not, if possible, extend over more
than one day, the Department might make a selection from among the
subjects taught. As the inspector can not be present, one or more of the
local committee should remain in the school during each examination.
The result of each examination should be allowed to be published in
the local papers; competition will then be created among the various
schools at the seaport, who will view with great interest the position
of their boys on the examination list.
Capt. Ryder suggests (1.) that each boy who holds an exhibition or gains
prizes, have the fact engrossed on a _vellum certificate_, and receive a
_medal_ or _badge_. (2.) That all graduates of the school who bring a
good character from their captain or shipowner, for one year after
leaving the school, receive one pound from the funds of the school. (3.)
That shipowners and the Admiralty be induced to look first to the
Navigation schools for their apprentices, and that they open to
competition among the prize boys of the schools, any choice places in
their gift. (4.) That officers and masters of ships, and public men
interested in nautical matters be invited to visit the schools.
IV. _A Navigation School should provide an ample Educational Staff,
whose income should be sufficient, and a certain portion of it fixed,
and whose energies should be mainly directed to the Education of the
Boys._
The educational staff, as a general rule, is very insufficient, owing
to a school for adults having been generally established in connexion
with the school for boys.[7] This course was adopted chiefly for
economical reasons, it being intended that the large fees from the adult
class should pay the greater proportion of the expense of the school;
but it has resulted in the boys’ school being most seriously injured, as
follows, without any compensating advantages.
[Footnote 7: The school at Hull is the only navigation school at
which _no_ adults are received.]
The boys who pay fees, from 6_d._ to 1_s._ a week, are constantly and
unavoidably neglected by the head master, whose interest it is to attend
to the adults who pay from 5_s._ to 7_s._ a week; and even if superior
to that motive, the head master can not leave the adults for more than a
few minutes at a time, because, and not unnaturally, they insist on his
remaining with them.
A peculiarity in the mode of paying masters of Navigation Schools is in
increasing his compensation from all other sources by the payment by the
Department of an amount represented by the certificate he may hold of
his success in passing examination in certain group of subjects. The
scheme is as follows:
Group I. Mathematics necessary to the study of navigation, £5
Group II. General navigation and nautical astronomy, 15
Group III. Adjustment and skillful handling of instruments, 5
Group IV. Physical geography, 10
Group V. Physics, mechanics, marine steam engine, 10
Group VI. Chemistry, 5
Group VII. Natural history, 5
Group VIII. Chart, freehand, and mechanical drawing, 5
-----
£50
This group payment is a well devised scheme to induce masters to improve
themselves, and is applicable to teachers of every grade, and if rightly
applied, will operate as a constant stimulus to professional
improvement. But in the case of this class of schools, where there are
pupils on a varying scale of direct payment to the teacher, the teacher
will be tempted to give his particular attention to the pupils who pay
best. This can be counteracted by making the masters’ payment depend on
the proficiency of the scholars.
To obtain and keep the services of the zealous, intelligent, and very
superior men who alone are fit to take charge of navigation schools,
I believe a superannuation allowance would be at the same time the
greatest and most economical inducement.
I beg to suggest that at 60 years of age a navigation master be
allowed to
retire with his group money as an allowance. This would be a great
inducement to remain in connection with the Department, and to pass in
as many groups as possible.
The direct inducement which I propose to give to the educational staff
to bring their schools up to the highest state of efficiency is a
payment in money, and I have been induced to propose this from the sense
of the paramount advantage derived in any undertaking from making it the
direct pecuniary interest of agents to act up to their instructions.
I propose that every head master, every assistant master and every
pupil-teacher employed in teaching the boys shall receive a sum of money
in addition to his fixed salary and his group money to depend on and
vary with the success of the school at the half-yearly examinations. The
mode by which I propose to estimate the amount of this payment will be
detailed further on, when I speak of inspections.
It consists of a sliding scale of payment, so contrived that it is the
direct pecuniary interest of the head master to bring all his boys up to
the highest state of proficiency, and also the direct pecuniary interest
of all the educational staff to refrain from forcing on the clever boys,
if by so doing they neglect the duller boys, and also to refrain from
drawing the boys into the upper and more showy subjects to the neglect
of the lower, more elementary, but more important subjects, errors
commonly and but too justly ascribed to schoolmasters in their endeavors
to give to their schools the appearance of high efficiency.
I am aware that the sliding scale of payment which I propose has the
demerit of novelty.
The Committee of Council, fully alive to the advantage of a sliding
scale, have provided that, in the primary schools, the master’s pay
shall depend on and vary with the school pence and the capitation grant
(a grant which is made to depend upon the attendance of the children,)
in the art schools it is made to depend on and vary with the number of
prizes won by the students.
The disadvantage of the former plan is that the sliding scale, being
made to depend upon mere numerical attendance, both particular
proficiency and general proficiency are ignored.
The disadvantage of the latter is that it is made the master’s direct
pecuniary interest to force on the clever boys to the neglect of the
dull boys, while general proficiency and numerical attendance are
ignored.
There are doubtless good reasons why these very different plans should
have been adopted in primary and art schools.
In the scheme of varying payment which I propose for navigation
schools, both the general proficiency of the school and the numerical
attendance of the scholars are made the measures of the masters’
emoluments, while the proficiency of individual boys is fostered by
prizes and exhibitions.
V. _The Masters of Navigation Schools should display great
intelligence and aptitude for teaching, should be intimately acquainted
with the best methods of instruction, and be zealous in the performance
of their duties._
As a general rule I have found the masters intelligent and apt to
teach. The majority of them have enjoyed the privilege of an education
at Greenwich under Mr. Riddle.
It is important that the masters should be drawn from some normal
school; Greenwich school appears admirably adapted for such purpose. To
draw a large supply of masters from that school, and retain their
services, the position of the masters in a pecuniary point of view must
in my opinion be improved. But if this is done an engagement should be
entered into to remain as a navigation schoolmaster for a certain time,
and after that, not to leave without at least two months’ warning.
The position of assistants should be open to all persons whose
credentials previously received, as to good character, proficiency in
all the subjects taught in this class of schools, and required for the
place, are satisfactory. The examination should be public, and the
results published. The vacancies among the head masters should be open
to competition among the assistant masters.
VII. _The Navigation Schools should be judiciously situated, have
large airy rooms, a good playground, gymnastic poles, and a lending
library._
Exercise at gymnastics is most beneficial to the boys’ health, and
confirms them in their choice of the naval profession. The lads when
they go to sea are much more useful aloft if they have acquired the
agility and daring which can alone be gained by gymnastic exercises.
One of the causes of the rapid deterioration in the physique of our
sailors is the diminution of work aloft consequent on the introduction
of steam.
VIII. _The Fees in a Navigation School should be carefully adjusted._
A carefully adjusted scheme of fees from 1_d._ to 1_s._ per week will
not exclude by their amount any poor boys whom we might wish to admit,
or to repel by their insignificance those parents who would attach no
value to that which cost them little.
The larger portion of the fees, after deducting a certain fixed sum,
or a certain definite proportion of them for local expenses, will stand
in the school accounts to the credit of the local committee, and will be
expended from time to time, with the consent of the Department, in
paying the masters’ salaries, the boys’ exhibition money, &c.
In some seaports, where there is a pertinacious disinclination on the
part of the parents of the boys to their going to sea, I have suggested
to the committee the undertaking to return all or a portion of the
school fees of any boy who has passed above a certain mark, on proof
being received that the boy has sailed. This would in many cases act
both on parent and child as a great inducement to the boy to go to sea.
IX. _Navigation Schools should be periodically inspected and reported
on._
Inspection to be really valuable should be thorough. Now the subjects
in which it is proposed that the boys shall be taught at the Navigation
School are very numerous, and none of them should, if possible, be
allowed to escape the notice of the inspector and the test of
examination.
I propose that there shall be two examinations every half-year, (1)
the general examination, to measure the progress and proficiency of the
navigation classes, and the payment to be made to the educational staff;
(2) the special competitive examination for prizes and exhibitions. The
first will be held in the course of the half-year, in the presence of
the inspector and master, the answers, however, to be looked over and
valued in London. The second will be held at the close of the half-year,
in the presence of the master and of one or more of the local committee.
It will be entirely a written examination, the questions to be sent from
the Department. To prevent any suspicion of unfair treatment, the
examination books should, after each examination, be sealed up at the
close of the day, in the presence of the boys, and sent to London. The
prizes and prize studentships will be awarded when the school meets
again, at the commencement of the next half-year. The answers will be
valued in London, by a person appointed for that special purpose. The
practice I have adopted is to give full numbers for an accurate answer,
half numbers for an answer which, though inaccurate, shows intelligence.
The inspector who conducts the general examination should have with
him various papers of questions of equal value on each subject, so as to
diminish the possibility of information as to the questions set at the
examination being communicated from one school to the other. The masters
have a direct pecuniary interest in preventing any information being
sent to the other schools.
I suggest that the general examination, to ascertain the amount of
examination money, be conducted in the following manner:
The school to be arranged previous to the arrival of the inspector, in
five classes, each class separated from the other as far as the
arrangements of the school will admit, and the five classes to be so
composed as to be about equal, both in average and collective
intelligence. No difficulty is experienced by the masters in doing this.
The number won by the boys in a class in a particular subject will be
added together and divided by the number of boys in the class; the
result will be the mean number for that subject for that class, and the
classes being equal, that number will be a measure of the proficiency of
the school in that subject. The number of boys in the school multiplied
by the sum of the mean numbers will be the number which will determine
the sum of money to be apportioned to that school, and divided among the
educational staff.
I propose that a sum of money, at the discretion of the Department, be
divided[8] once a year among the schools, in the ratio of the numbers
obtained as above, and that notice be given to them to that effect at
the commencement of each year, naming the total sum. I propose that the
sum won by the school should be divided among the educational staff in
the following proportions:--
Head Master 5 shares, but total not to exceed £30
Assistant Masters, each 2 shares, but total not to exceed 12
Pupil-Teachers, each 1 share, but total not to exceed 6
[Footnote 8: I prefer this to any other plan, because the stimulus
to exertion will be greater.]
As every progressive step made by the dullest boy who attends the
classes tells on the gross number, and through it on the pecuniary gain
of the whole staff, the staff will have no temptation to neglect, but on
the contrary, every inducement to push on the dull boys, and as
proficiency in the lower subjects counts as much as proficiency in the
highest the common fault of neglecting the low subjects would evidently
diminish very much the profits of the staff, and will therefore be
prevented.
I consider this sliding scale would be preferable to paying the master
a certain sum for every prize won in the school, which is a direct
temptation and inducement to him to select from time to time the most
promising boys, and put them under pressure to make prize boys of them,
neglecting the dull boys of the same standing who can not on that system
of reward be productive of any benefit. The collateral advantages of
this system.
(1.) It becomes the direct personal interest of the staff to retain
the boys as long as possible, in order that at each examination, there
shall be as many boys as possible well advanced in all the subjects.
(2.) That it becomes their direct personal interest, to select from
among the boys presenting them selves for entry, those that are most
advanced in the elementary subjects, so that their backwardness may
diminish the mean numbers as little as possible.
(3.) That it becomes their direct personal interest to work the school
with as few masters as possible, as thereby their individual gains are
larger.
(4.) Competition is created among the Navigation schools and their
educational staffs. The result of each examination should be allowed to
be published in the local papers, and the results of the examinations at
all the Navigation schools should be made known at each school.
(5.) The inspector and the Department can see at a glance whether any
Navigation school has neglected any subject. The masters could not evade
the rigor of this test by any artifice.
(6.) The boys will be induced generally to enter into the spirit of
the competition, which will have the best effect. A few only can win the
prizes and exhibitions, but all can contribute by their exertions to the
comparative success of their school.
(7.) The local committee and the neighborhood would enter into the
spirit of the struggle.
X. _A distinctive Dress or Badge is calculated to have a very good
effect on the Navigation Schools._
The Trinity Board at Hull gives to 80 boys in the Navigation school a
neat uniform (blue jacket, blue and white trousers, and blue cap.) This
has a capital effect on the boys, gives them an esprit d’ecole, and acts
as a restraint on their conduct outside the schools.
XI. _In Navigation Schools great pains should be taken to ensure
punctual attendance on the part of the boys._
I beg to suggest that the best form of registers be provided, and that
it be made imperative that the register be strictly kept in all the
schools, and that the following practice be universal instead of
partial, viz., that any boy arriving late is expected to produce a
written authority from the master of his school or his parents for his
absence. Prizes for good attendance have been found very useful in
primary schools. I beg to suggest one prize of 10_s._, three of 5_s._,
and five of 1_s._ every half-year, or 3_l._ a year in a school of 100
boys.
Capt. Ryder recommends that the daily record of attendance, proficiency,
and conduct, be posted up on the walls of the school every week, month,
half-year, and year, as well as the names of all prize boys.
Capt. Ryder goes into detail of the estimates of receipts and payments,
and makes the education of each boy cost the Department about £2 10_s._
per boy per annum. The whole expense of teaching and clothing at the
Hull School averages a little more than £6 per boy per annum.
_Obstacles to the success of Navigation Schools._
The principal obstacles in the way of success, in addition to the
inefficiency of the schools, the absence of prizes, &c., are three in
number.
It is my firm belief that if the Department assist liberally the
establishment of navigation schools, placing them on a proper footing,
and stating that they are schools established for the sole purpose of
giving special instruction in scientific subjects to boys intended for
the Royal Navy and the Commercial Marine, these three obstacles will
gradually vanish. They are,--
(I.) _A disinclination on the part of shipowners to enter boys._
In reply to my inquiries the owners of steamers stated, “We don’t want
boys, who eat as much as men, are of very little use, and give a great
deal of trouble; we want men.”
Steam having superseded the use of sails to a great extent, boys, who
in sailing vessels are invaluable for light work aloft, are not valued
in steamers.
Many of the sailors, so-called, that we find in steamers differ very
little from landsmen, except that they are not sea-sick, they can take
the wheel and pull an oar. To all the valuable qualities of a true
sailor, which were developed by and almost entirely due to his work
aloft, viz., agility, readiness of resource, indifference to all danger
that may be escaped by bodily activity, as distinct from that solid
courage which all Englishmen possess, the steam sailor can lay slight
claim.
In the Royal Navy we want the superior class of sailors, and if
possible those alone. The partial substitution of steam for sails, while
it has injured our own sailors has, in the same way and for the same
reason, injured those in the commercial marine, on whose aid and support
we may at any time be thrown for a supply of seamen.
It is most important, therefore, that every impulse should be given to
keep up in the commercial navy both the quantity and quality of the
seamen; it is much to be regretted, therefore, that the same
disinclination to take boys, although fortunately in a less degree,
exists among the shipowners of sailing vessels.
Lads enter on board merchant ships, some as apprentices, some as boys.
In the employment of the larger shipowners apprenticeships are highly
valued.[9] The proportion of apprentices to tonnage at present is about
1 to 200 tons. Before the repeal of the navigation laws, it was by Act
of Parliament 1 to every 100 tons.
[Footnote 9: The value attached to an apprenticeship varies
largely with the employs, the port, &c. Mr. Green charges 180_l_
for a four-years’ apprenticeship as a midshipman. Large shipowners
at Glasgow and elsewhere pay 35_l_ for a similar term to a common
apprentice]
The disinclination to enter boys will, I believe, gradually vanish
when the attention of the shipowners, as a body, is attracted to the
valuable class of boys who will attend the Navigation schools, for they
will be induced to reflect, that although at first sight it may appear
to be more economical to enter no boys or apprentices, or a very few
only, and those at very low wages,[10] yet that by so doing they are
contributing indirectly, but yet surely and certainly, to the
deterioration of the whole class of seamen, and to the ultimate injury
of the ship-owning interest.
[Footnote 10: Owing to the low rate of wages referred to, large
numbers of apprentices run away every year, after they have served
a portion of their time.]
(II.) _A disinclination on the part of parents to send their boys to
sea._
While sailors are, what they frequently are at present, not the most
moral or respectable members of society, it is probable and natural that
many parents would regret their sons’ choice of the sea as a profession.
But as sailors and masters improve by the aid of navigation schools,
where they will be instructed in their youth, and are received in
sailors’ homes at every port where their vessels touch, this class of
objections will gradually become obsolete; and the profession of the
sailor will take its proper place by that of the high skilled mechanic
as one of the noblest professions a working man’s son can adopt, being
also one of the highest paid; 3_l._ and 4_l._ a month besides victuals
and medical attendance being the not uncommon emoluments of a merchant
seaman. Moreover, the profession of a sailor, if he is a steady man, may
be rendered both healthy, improving, and entertaining, and acts most
beneficially on the character and temper. Steam and science are rapidly
diminishing the longest voyages, and long periods of absence, one of the
not unnatural objections of a parent, are becoming the exception instead
of the rule.
The wish to go to sea is implanted by Providence, doubtless for the
wisest purposes, in large numbers of the boys of these islands,
frequently in those who have never seen the sea. Those parents,
ministers, or schoolmasters who take upon themselves to thwart this
natural and laudable wish, going the length, as they frequently do, of
treating the boy’s desire, as an evidence of a vagabond and depraved
taste, may be fairly charged with the responsibility of the boy’s
immoral and depraved life, if such unfortunately is the result of his
going to sea, for his naval career is probably commenced by running away
from home, and he thus severs all those domestic ties which conduce so
much to the preservation of purity of life and manners.
This conduct on the part of parents should be deprecated by every one
who has the best interests of his country at heart.
Every respectable and well conducted boy who desires to go to sea
should be aided and assisted to do so, and this course should be
systematically adopted throughout the country. The Government, by the
support of navigation schools, show their opinion on this subject. It
only remains for the schools to be put on a proper and liberal footing,
worthy of the Government and of the object which they are intended to
serve. When this is done, the profession of the sailor will be rescued
in the minds of the lower classes from all the odium which at present
surrounds it.
(III.) _A disinclination on the part of boys to go to sea._
This disinclination exists in some ports and not in others; it will
decrease wherever it exists when Navigation schools, established on a
liberal footing, offering the inducements I have suggested, are placed
near the docks in every seaport town of any size or importance. It is
advisable that the schools should be so placed that the boys can when
out of the school play about among the shipping, witness and long to
imitate the evolutions of the sailors aloft, &c.
An attractive evening class will have to be established for the
instruction of boys who have to work for their livelihood during the
day, and for apprentices. I have proposed that half the fees be given to
the educational staff, to insure their taking a direct pecuniary
interest in the evening class.
In concluding this report, I wish to state, that I am fully impressed
with the great benefit that the establishment of good Navigation schools
would confer directly on the Royal Navy, the Commercial Marine, and the
country; and that I see every reason for believing, that if the schools
are placed on a proper footing, the classes will be largely attended,
and the schools will answer every purpose for which they are
established. The limited number of thirty Navigation schools, which I
have suggested, should be forthwith established, although only
professing to assist in providing a sufficient supply of educated young
men to fill up the vacancies among the masters and mates, yet can not
fail to tell with the best effect on the commercial marine generally.
For these well-educated lads, who, after leaving the Navigation schools,
have to struggle through that large body, the seamen of the commercial
marine, before they can win the prizes of their profession, must raise
the tone of the class through which they pass.
If the thirty schools are established, and after two or three years
are evidently working well, it will be worth considering whether more
schools of a simpler and less expensive character should not be
established to educate a sufficient number of lads fully to supply the
vacancies in the seamen class.
The alterations I have proposed in the mode of payment of the
educational staff are those upon which I desire to lay the most stress;
they have had but one object in view, the making it the personal
pecuniary interest of each member of the staff to devote himself
zealously to those duties, and to no other, which the Department wishes
him to perform. In individual cases, we might appeal to higher motives
than these, but in dealing with a body of men, however upright and
conscientious, I am firmly convinced that there is no safer course than
the appealing to the lower motive in aid of the higher.
The plan of payment of the teachers of navigation schools generally,
presented by Capt. Ryder, was substantially adopted by the Department
having charge of this, class of schools, in 1860, but was changed to the
following Minute in April, 1863, on the recommendation of Capt.
Donnelly, for the purpose of restricting the efforts of the teacher, and
the industry of the scholars, to the subject of Mathematics, Navigation,
Nautical Astronomy, and the Use of Instruments, leaving general
elementary studies to be mastered in other schools.
AID TO NAVIGATION SCHOOLS AND CLASSES.
I. Payments will be made by the Department only on the results of
instruction in the following subjects:
1. Mathematics, including such portions of Algebra, Geometry,
Mensuration, Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, Logarithms, as far
as necessary for understanding Navigation and Nautical Astronomy.
2. General Navigation.
3. Nautical Astronomy.
4. Physical Geography.
5. Steam and the Steam Engine.
II. The payments will be made to those teachers only who have taken
certificates as qualified to teach the above studies.
III. Examination for teachers will be held annually in November, in
South Kingston, Dublin and Edinburgh. The traveling expenses of
candidates if successful will be paid.
IV. Examination for students will be held
(1.) The adults, seamen and others, at the seaport towns where local
Marine Boards are formed and are prepared to undertake them from year to
year.
(2.) The youths, in inland towns once a year, the examination forming
part of the general May Science examination will be held simultaneously
all over the kingdom where local committees are formed to conduct them,
the examination papers being supplied by the Science and Art Department.
V. The successful candidate will be classed as passed with honorable
mention, third, second, and first grade certificates. In the three last,
a certificate will be given to that effect. The grades of success may be
improved at any future examination.
VI. The teacher will receive one, two, three, four or five pounds,
according to the class of success of his pupils, on the condition that
the pupil, if a boy, shall have received forty lessons, at least, from
the teacher, and then goes to sea, and if an adult at sea, then he shall
have received twenty lessons, at least.
VII. Should the pupil have been previously examined and payment made
on his account, the twenty or forty lessons, as the case may be, must
have been given since that examination, and the payment to the teacher
will be the difference between that sum previously paid and the amount
found due on the grade then taken.
VIII. A local committee must in all cases be formed, and from them the
teacher will receive the necessary vouchers.
IX. The sum above fixed can only be considered experimental, and may
be altered from year to year.
COLLEGE OF NAVAL ARCHITECTURE AND ENGINEERING.
The course of instruction at the Royal College of Naval Architecture and
Marine Engineering at South Kensington was originally in subjects the
same as at Portsmouth, but after careful observation of what could be
accomplished in connection with practical instruction and observation in
the dock-yards, the subjects have been redistributed, and the number of
sessions increased.
The _first_ year embraces mathematics, practical ship-building (laying
off work), chemistry and metals, machinery, steam and its management,
physics, drawing, and French.
The _second_ year embraces the same subjects, with the addition of heat,
and strength of materials.
The _third_ year includes the same subjects still further pursued.
A _fourth_ year was added to the course in 1868, and the whole scheme in
its details has not yet been fully tested.
A portion of each year is spent in the dock-yards in practical work,
under the superintendence of officers in charge of different departments
of the local service.
At the close of each session of theoretical study, a rigid examination
is instituted, and promotion from class to class, and final graduation
with the diploma of Associate or Fellow is awarded on the results.
In 1869 there were 30 students (15 engineers and 15 shipwrights) sent by
the Admiralty, and receiving their instruction free; and 10 outside or
ordinary students (6 engineers and 8 in naval construction), a total of
40 students.
SCHOOLS AND PRACTICAL TRAINING FOR NAVAL ENGINEERS.
In addition to the higher theoretical instruction in Naval Construction,
Steam, and Marine Engineering, and kindred branches, at South
Kensington, and to the candidates for assistant engineers, furnished by
the numerous marine engine factories, and ocean steamers, to which young
men resort to acquire a practical knowledge of their duties, the
Admiralty have established in the dockyard schools at Portsmouth,
Devonport, and Sheerness, courses of study and practical training, and a
system of test examinations, for the express purpose of securing a body
of educated and skillful engineers, to meet the demands of this
department of the service.
Boys between the ages of 15 and 16, can enter their names as applicants
with the Superintendent of the dockyards, and if they can pass the
medical examination and give evidence of good character, they are
examined twice a year by the Civil Service Commissioners in Arithmetic,
including fractions, square and cube roots; Algebra, including quadratic
equations; Euclid (six books), spelling, writing, and correct oral use
of the English language, translations from the French or Spanish
language, and geography. A certain number, according to the vacancies,
who stand highest in the competitive examination, are received for six
years.
A portion of time is spent, by the boys, on their admission, in the
factories and drawing office, the foundries, the smitheries, and other
shops to acquire a general knowledge of the work done in them. They are
instructed in the parts, construction and working of marine engines and
boilers, and the practical use of the various instruments in the engine
room, including the indicator. They attend regularly for a portion of
the day the dockyard schools, and are examined twice a year by the
Director of Naval Education; and in the final examination they must gain
2,000 marks out of the 2,650 (the aggregate of the marks assigned to
each study), of which more than three-fourths must be in the properties
of steam, mechanics, hydrostatics, plain trigonometry, and good conduct
and industry, to obtain a first-class certificate of qualification. If
his knowledge of steam-machinery, and his good conduct and skill as a
workman, is certified to by the Chief Engineer, a first-class candidate
is fully qualified for the appointment of assistant engineer. The most
intelligent of this class are eligible for a four years’ additional
course in the Royal School in South Kensington, where they study seven
months in the year, the other five being spent in practical application
of principles in the drawing rooms and workshops of the dockyards.
Thirty-two students entered this school from the Dockyard Schools in
1870-71.
The Royal School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering issue two
grades of diplomas. To gain the lowest, that of _Associate_, the
candidate must obtain a certain minimum of marks in the aggregate of all
the subjects, in practical engineering; the proportions and arrangements
of engines, boilers, and propellers; strength of material; heat and
steam, as well as in arithmetic and mensuration, algebra, plane
trigonometry, elementary mechanics and hydrostatics, and engine drawing.
To obtain the second (the diploma of a _Fellow_) the candidate must
produce designs and estimates for building simple and compound engines;
calculate the power of engines and performance of vessels; strength of
material and principles of ship-construction, &c., as well as pass a
satisfactory examination in higher mathematics, physics, and natural
philosophy.
TRAINING SHIPS FOR SEAMEN IN THE ROYAL NAVY.
The entrance to the Royal Navy is now limited to boys between the ages
of 15 and 17, who present themselves at certain recruiting stations on
board of Receiving ships stationed in the principal ports of Great
Britain, and who are found on examination to be in sound health, not
below a certain standard of height, weight, and circumference of chest,
of good character, and with a rudimentary knowledge of reading, writing,
and arithmetic. After passing satisfactorily the required examination,
with the written consent of their parents and guardians they are entered
and bound to Her Majesty as sailors until they arrive at the age of
twenty-eight, and then sent to one of the five Training Ships at
Devonport (_Impregnable and Implacable_), Portsmouth (_St. Vincent_),
Falmouth (_Ganges_), and Portland (_Boscawen_).
In each Training Ship the boys are divided into two classes--the First
and Second. The First class is the upper division, into which those pass
who have been twelve months on board. Here they receive 7_d._ per day
(instead of 6_d._ in the Second), and if they have passed a satisfactory
examination in seamanship, gunnery, and school work, they wear a badge,
and are called Badge Boys, and enjoy the privileges of a Petty
Officer,--extra liberty on shore and exemption from dirty work, as well
as increased pay.
The work on board of a Training Ship, consists of (1.) School duties,
and (2.) Instruction and training in the practical work of a sea-going
vessel.
(1.) The school work is conducted by the Head-master and his assistants,
under the general control of the Chaplain and Naval Instructor. The boys
are put into four divisions, irrespective of the classification of First
and Second, which has reference to the time they have been on board.
Having a knowledge of reading and writing when they enter, they are
taught arithmetic and geography, and become quite expert in elementary
studies. Each division is subjected to a searching examination four
times a year, by the Captain, and twice a year by the Inspector of Navy
Schools, who reports direct to the Admiralty.
(2.) The Training work, includes all branches of the service required of
a sailor, and a familiarity with every part of the vessel and her
rigging; the names and uses of the masts and yards; knotting and
splicing; the use of the helm and needle; the compass; all the various
niceties of rigging; the way to reef and furl; to make, shorten, and
shift sails; and the meaning of the various words of command. To go
through with quickness and precision all these various subjects, the
boys are divided into sections, each under a regular teacher. The
lessons are short, but frequent, and the repetition is continued till
the right way becomes a habit. A portion of the boys are taught flags,
and the various systems of signaling. All are taught swimming, and how
to rescue a man overboard, before they go to sea. To perfect the boys in
rowing, sailing, and managing boats, a number of different descriptions
is attached to each Training Ship. A Brig is also provided which is
placed under the command of a lieutenant, to cruise daily with a party
of boys, who perform all the work, under an experienced sailor. Those
who have been at school for six months are sent off for two or three
weeks at a time to get accustomed to real sea work. After an experience
of two months in a Brig, the boys return to the Training Ship for
further drill as a preparation for sea service on board of naval
vessels.
Boys who show an aptitude for the use of tools are formed into a special
class to be trained for ship-carpentering. And to give the practical
knowledge, a small ship (the _Circe_) is fitted up as a workshop, and is
attached to the _Impregnable_, at Devonport.
The training of the British sailor is not limited to seamanship, but
each boy is now conducted with great attention through a complete course
of gunnery instruction. This course is divided into four sections.
1. The Handspike drill, and manning boats’ sides.
2. Pointing, sponging and loading. Rifle drill.
3. Pointing, dismounting and mounting. Sword Exercise.
4. Independent firing; quick and broadside firing; shifting,
breechings, trucks, and trigger lines, bow and quarter firing;
and securing a lower deck gun.
On leaving a Training Ship about half the boys go through a course of
Practical Gunnery, to enable them to aim and accustom them to firing
shot and shell, on board of a ship specially fitted up for their use.
In few schools of any grade is the occupation of the pupils more
incessant, but the routine is so diversified, that the lads are in high
health and spirits during their entire training.
SCHOOL SHIPS FOR DESTITUTE CHILDREN IN SEAPORTS
In 1856 the frigate _Akbar_ was handed over by the Admiralty to a Board
of Managers in Liverpool, and in 1858, the frigate _Venus_, to the
Marine Society in London, to be fitted up and occupied by a class of
boys, who were found hanging about the docks, and were fit candidates
for police and reformatory treatment. In these ships successive classes
of lads--in the former an average of 70, and in the latter, of 140, each
year have received the ordinary elementary school instruction, and in
addition, have been trained to the ordinary routine of a seaman’s life.
In due time a majority of them, rescued from bad influences, and lifted
on to a higher plane of intelligence, have been put on board of merchant
vessels, to work their way up into positions of good pay and
responsibility.
In 1870 the Admiralty turned over to a Board of Management (charged by
the Poor Law with providing schooling for destitute and pauper children)
in the Forest Gate District, composed of three of the eastern parishes
of London, a fine wooden man-of-war, the _Goliath_, of 84 guns, rendered
powerless for the service, by the progress of modern naval construction.
The ship was fitted up as a nautical and industrial school, at a cost
trifling compared with that of a new building, site, and equipment for
the same number, and, with its complement of 400 lads born to poverty
and almost predestined to vice and crime, anchored off Gravesend.
Fortunate in its superintendent, Captain Bourchier, of the Royal Navy,
and his staff of industrial and book instruction, these lads (increased
during the year to 450) have been subjected to a daily nautical drill
and school course, which give great satisfaction.
From an official statement published in the London Times (Oct. 11,
1871), it appears that out of 449 boys received on board since the
_Goliath_ took up her station, 16 have gone into the Royal Navy, and in
a few weeks 40 others will be in readiness; 13 have gone to sea in
merchant ships, and more berths are promised shortly; 25 have found
desirable situations on shore or been discharged to their friends.
Besides the regular elementary school studies in which all engage for
four hours, and seamanship which is taught to all, 115 are under
instruction in the bands, of which there are four on board, in addition
to a drum and fife band. There are 160 treble and second singers; and
concerts, vocal and instrumental, are given by the young performers. For
young musicians there is a demand in the army, and a list of 30 adepts
have been sent to the Horse Guards. There is a swimming bath attached,
and 185 have been taught to swim. Out of a fund raised by subscription,
prizes are given, the first distribution of which is thus described:
The prizes, of which about 100 were given away--and Captain Bourchier
said he wished heartily that he had a prize for every boy, for “there
was not one black sheep among them”--were awarded according to a system
calculated to stimulate the better feelings as well as the intelligence
of the boys. Thus, while there were prizes for seamanship, for smartness
aloft, for the best sail-makers, best coxswains of boats, best tailors,
shoemakers, carpenters, painters, buglers, &c., there were also prizes
for the best swimmers, the best captain of messes, for the boys who kept
their clothes or band instruments in the best order, one for the boy who
had attended most carefully to the sick, and two for the most popular
boys in the ship. The latter prizes had been awarded according to a
species of informal and unconscious _plébiscite_ on the part of the boys
themselves. There were five “popular boys” nominated; for one of
these--a small, dark, round-faced urchin--every boy in the ship voted;
the next on the list had a little over 50 per cent. of the crew in his
favor; and if names be any guide to nationality both these boys ought to
hail from the sister island. To five of the boys silver medals were
given for special good conduct, and these enjoyed the distinction of
standing in the front row and having their honors fastened on by Miss
Bourchier, daughter of the Captain Superintendent, the general
distribution of books being made by Mr. Brushfield, chairman of the
Board of Managers. As the little fellows came up to the table it was
impossible not to remark what a difference existed between recent
arrivals in the school and those who had been a few months or even a few
weeks on board the _Goliath_. The school records show that, though
commonly feeble and stunted in growth when they embark, numbers of them
have since grown two and three inches in height, and as much as two
inches round the chest. At Gravesend mariners know that the salt water
mingles with the fresh; the process is silent, but not the less real.
And in the _Goliath_, as in the tide itself, a change may be traced,
working quietly but just as surely, in the _physique_ and characters of
the boys on board. The constraint, depression, and helplessness lurking
in all pauper boys lifts and melts away by little and little. In its
place come the frankness, courage, and love of adventure natural to
English boys who live near the sea. Every thing on board encourages a
cheerful, self-reliant tone: the music, good food, good air, alternate
hours of work and play, care, and strict discipline--these are the
elements in the midst of which they live. The boys make every thing for
themselves. Even the neat Hussar uniform in which band No. 1 plays on
the quarter-deck has been cut out and made on board. The form of
punishment held in most awe is to be forbidden to row in the boats.
Moreover, they one and all feel that they have a future. Taking into
account the advantages, physical and educational, which the boys
receive, it would not be placing too high a value upon the training in
the _Goliath_ to estimate it in the case of each boy at 50_l._ a year.
Yet the actual charge made to other unions is 6s. 6d. a week.
The editorial notice of this enterprise concludes as follows:
Thus, beside the regular supply of trained sailor boys who may be
expected to take to the navy--we are told the punishment most dreaded on
board the _Goliath_ is being forbidden to row in the boats--there will
be a considerable residue brought up to steady work on shore, to skilled
labor and occupations which ought to secure them in after life a decent
subsistence, and a position far above the slough of hopeless and
helpless poverty in which they were born.
SPECIAL SCHOOLS, AND INSTRUCTION
FOR THE MERCANTILE AND MILITARY MARINE.
INTRODUCTION.
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._
-------------------------+-----------
Ports. | Number of
| pupils.
-------------------------+-----------
Dunkerque, | 58
Calais, | 8
Boulogne, | 7
Saint-Valerie-sur-Somme, | 21
Dieppe, | 11
Fécamp, | 24
Le Havre, | 39
Rouen, | 5
Honfleur, | 11
Caen, | 19
Cherbourg, | 70
Granville, | 37
Saint-Main, | 116
Saint-Brieuc, | 30
Paimpol, | 28
Morlaix, | 19
Brest, | 74
Douarnenez, | 9
L’Orient, | 94
Vannes, | 34
Le Croisic, | 27
Saint-Nazaìre, | 24
Nantes, | 77
Les Sables-d’Olonne, | 37
La Rochelle, | 11
Rochefort, | 86
Blage, | 27
Bordeaux, | 50
Bayonne, | 17
Saint-Jean-de-Luz, | 16
Narbonne, | 29
Ogde, | 42
Cette, | 24
Arles, | 16
Martigues, | 13
Marseille, | 50
La Ciotat, | 8
Toulon, | 72
Saint-Tropez, | 20
Antibes, | 16
Nice, | 9
Bastia, | 30
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.
INTRODUCTION.
The organization of the North German Confederation, and more recently of
the German Empire, and the necessities of its position, have already led
to the rapid development of a military marine, and the unity of the
commercial interests of the different States will soon expand its
navigation as well as its naval armament.
1. KINGDOM OF PRUSSIA.
Long before Prussia was largely interested in either a military or
commercial marine, the government had provided for the systematic
training of all concerned in the construction, equipment, and running of
ships, whether destined for the defense of the country or to its
commercial interests. After enjoying opportunities of studying the
theory of their business, as well as the practical application of its
principles, they must pass an examination to test their knowledge both
of the theory and practice--with a provision that no one shall assume
the responsibility of the life and property of others without holding a
certificate of proficiency.
NAVIGATION SCHOOLS.
There are six schools, situated at Memul, Dantzic, Pollan, Grabow (near
Stettin), and Stralsund, devoted to the education of young men who
propose to become mariners and masters of merchant vessels. A single
director, residing at Dantzic, has the superintendence of all these
schools, which have each two professors, each in charge of a division of
the school, and an assistant who devotes himself to drawing in
connection with the construction of vessels, and of charts. The
principal has charge of the higher division, in which navigation and
geography, both of the sea, and of the natural productions and
commercial facilities of different countries are taught. The lower
division deals with subjects which concern pilots--their professional
and legal duties.
Candidates must have mastered the subjects of elementary instruction,
and are examined as to their ability to read, write, and compose in
their native language, and to go through ordinary arithmetical problems
with facility and accuracy. An examination of candidates takes place
every year at each school, which is conducted by the head professor, in
the presence of the director of this class of schools.
To be admitted to the examination the candidate must bring a certificate
of good character, that he is over 14 and under 40 years of age. The
school fee is ten thalers per quarter for the highest or navigation
class, and six thalers for the lower or pilot’s class. There are 32
lessons per week in both divisions.
The subjects taught in the lowest division are:--arithmetic, plane
geometry, carpentry, plane and spherical trigonometry, navigation,
territorial and astronomical observations, drawing of sea charts and
astronomical maps, and the English language.
In the highest division, in addition to the studies of the lower, in
which the pupils are carried further on, rigging and other points of
practical seamanship, drawing the different parts of a vessel, the
commercial requirements respecting a ship’s papers, and the course of
exchange at the principal commercial ports, are taught.
A final examination is held in which diplomas are awarded to those who
have completed the whole course, and of proficiency in certain studies,
either of which are of practical service in obtaining situations, and
without which certain positions can not be obtained.
NAVAL ARCHITECTURE.
In the Trade or Polytechnic School in Berlin, provision is made for
instruction in naval construction:
_First_--In the mathematical foundation of the most important physical
laws; in physics, drawing, modeling, and the general principles of
construction; in practical hydraulics; the theory of machinery, and the
steam-engine.
_Second_--In the application of these principles to the business of
ship-designing and construction, and particularly to designs for
vessels, and the different parts of a ship in detail; to the art of
ship-building; the general displacement of water and stability;
hydrostatic calculations; general principles with regard to the form of
vessels, and the theory of sailing and steam-ships; details of
construction of wooden and iron vessels; practice; and planning and
calculating the cost and capacity of vessels.
There are reviews of the ground gone over at the close of each term,
which is obligatory only on those who enjoy free places, and each
student receives a certificate at the end of his course, setting forth
all his lectures and practical exercises, with an opinion as to his
practical judgment.
II. AUSTRIA.
Under the new army organization of 1869, the military forces of the
whole empire are divided into the Standing Army, under the control of
the Imperial Minister of War; the Landwehr, whose duties are limited to
the respective divisions from which it is drawn, under the control of
the Austrian and Hungarian war ministers; and the Landstrum, or general
levy, which is compulsory in the Tyrol and Military Frontier, and
voluntary in the rest of the empire. The Emperor is supreme chief of the
military and naval forces, and from him must emanate all concentrating
movements of troops. In 1871 the Standing Army consisted of 278,470 men
on the peace footing, and 838,700 on the war footing.
The naval forces of Austria consisted in 1871, of 46 steamers and 10
sailing vessels, viz.:
Horse-power. Guns. Tonnage.
2 Iron-clad Line-of-battle Ships, 1,800 22 11,138
7 Iron-clad Frigates, 4,550 88 25,452
4 Screw Frigates, 1,500 149 9,407
3 Screw Corvettes, 860 50 4,703
7 First class Gunboats, 1,610 30 4,311
3 Second class Gunboats, 270 9 999
16 Paddle Steamers, 2,381 51 9,442
10 Sailing Ves’ls, viz.: 2 Frigates, .... 35 3,032
2 Corvettes, .... 30 1,416
4 Brigs, .... 40 1,176
2 Transp’ts, .... 4 283
The navy is officered and manned by 2 vice-admirals, 4 rear-admirals, 24
captains of steamers and frigates, 14 captains of corvettes, 106
lieutenants, 343 ensigns and cadets, and 3,803 sailors, besides 875
officers and men in the marine corps. On the war footing the sailors
number 3,743, and the marines 1,410. The men are recruited by
conscription from the seafaring population, although the voluntary
enlistments in the province of Dalmatia renders its enforcement
unnecessary.
The total commerce of Austria, comprising imports and exports, exceeded
$400,000,000. The commercial marine includes 7,830 vessels, of 324,415
tonnage, and 27,979 seamen. The Austrian Lloyd, a trading society
established in Trieste in 1833, owns a fleet of 70 steamers, of 12,500
horse-power.
To provide officials, well instructed and trained in the administration
of each department of the public service, military and civil--war by
land and sea--both for military and commercial purposes, the government
establishes schools, with studies and practical exercises adapted to
each branch.
SCHOOLS FOR THE MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARINE.
1. _Military Marine._
There are in Austria several kinds of naval schools, as follows: One
each for sailor boys, for marines, for quartermasters, for naval pupils
of the first class, for naval pupils of the second class, a theoretical
school for naval cadets, and a superior establishment for naval
officers.
1. The school for sailor boys is intended to train, as petty officers
for the navy, young men from the Slave and German provinces, admitted
between 12 and 14 years of age into the naval service. The instruction
lasts until the pupil has attained the age for the conscription; he is
then entered as a sailor and becomes a petty officer as soon as he gets
sufficiently used to the sea. The highest post he can attain is that of
upper boatswain (_Hochbootsmann_.)
2. The schools for marines (_Zeugscorps_) receive men drawn from
different corps of the army. They are trained as petty officers, and a
part receive the uniform. Those who are fit to become officers receive
their promotion when they leave their corps to enter the school.
3. The school for naval cadets of the first class is kept on board a war
vessel selected for the purpose. The object is to prepare for the naval
service youths of 16 or 18 years of age, who, on entering the school
have already received a complete civil technical education. The teaching
here consists, therefore, chiefly of practical seamanship, and also of
the application of previously acquired scientific knowledge to
navigation and nautical astronomy. The course occupies a year; on
leaving, the pupil is received as a naval cadet. After passing two or
three years at sea these cadets enter the theoretical school for naval
cadets.
4. The school for naval cadets of the second class is intended solely to
prepare them to become officers. In this school, beside the pupils
placed there at the cost of the State, there are others maintained by
endowments, and also others who pay for their instruction. The sons of
officers and State functionaries are entitled to enter this school at
the public expense, and any Austrian subject who has the necessary
qualifications is admitted on payment. Foreigners are also admissible as
paying pupils, provided they can obtain authorization from their own
government to enter the Austrian service. To be admitted, candidates
must be between 12 and 14 years of age, of sound health without bodily
defect, and able to pass a previous examination. The instruction is
given in accordance with a determined plan, on board a vessel prepared
expressly to receive the pupils. After three years’ instruction the
pupils leave the school as naval cadets and are sent to sea. At the end
of two or three years’ active service the cadets are admitted to the
theoretical school. This school receives from 40 to 50 pupils. The
chaplain on board is charged with the religious instruction; the other
teaching is given by professors from the hydrographic schools. The naval
officers of the school-ship give the instruction in practical
seamanship.
5. The theoretical school for naval cadets is on shore, and its course
occupies a year, after which the pupil undergoes the examination
prescribed for his commission as an officer. On leaving this theoretical
school the pupils are still naval cadets, but become officers when
appointed to a ship.
6. The superior school for naval officers is intended for the further
improvement in mathematical and hydrographic studies, of such young men
as have shown decided talent and taste for those sciences.
III. GERMAN EMPIRE.
The jurisdiction of the German Empire, by treaty concluded at
Versailles, and ratified by the Diet of North Germany Dec. 10, 1870,
embraces among other national interests, the Army and Navy, and the
protection of German navigation.
The war-fleet of the Empire, which embraces all that had been
constructed by Prussia since 1848, consisted in June, 1870, of 38
steamers and 7 sailing vessels, with 42,415 tonnage, and 480 guns.
Horse-power. Guns. Tonnage.
5 Iron-clads, 3,700 62 15,846
9 Steam Frigates and Corvettes, 3,200 200 14,210
8 “ First class Gunboats, 640 24 5,858
14 “ Second “ “ 840 28 5,858
1 “ Yacht, 160 2 445
2 Paddle-Steamer Corvettes, 600 13 1,750
3 Frigates (sailing vessels), ... 114 3,736
4 Brigs, “ ... 46 1,927
The German navy was officered and manned by 1 admiral, 1 vice-admiral, 1
rear-admiral, 27 captains and 217 lieutenants, and 3,283 seamen and
boys, besides 2,760 in the marine corps. The sailors of the fleet and
the marine corps are recruited by conscription, from the seafaring
population, which numbers 80,000.
The provision for naval expenditure in 1870, was for--
Ministry of Marine, 81,250 _thalers_.
Administration officers, 65,557 “
Pay of seamen and marines, 1,086,990 “
Repairs of ships, 890,000 “
Marine hospitals, 71,820 “
War material, 1,221,317 “
Miscellaneous, 179,796 “
---------
Total ordinary expenses, 3,596,730 “
Extraordinary expenditure, 4,403,460 “
---------
Grand total, 8,000,190 “
The artificial harbor and dry-docks at Wilhelmshaven, in the Bay of
Jade, on the North Sea, which was opened by the King of Prussia in June,
1869, have cost over $10,000,000.
The system of professional training for officers of the Imperial Navy is
not yet matured. The Naval School at Kiel is still recognized. Aspirants
enter as naval cadets after passing an examination equivalent to the
requirements of a gymnasial maturity certificate, which in general
education is superior to the requirements of graduation of either our
Naval or Military Academy. Before entering on their professional
studies, the cadet is first sent on a cruise to test his aptitude for
sea-service. He then studies eight months at school and one year at sea,
to pass as midshipman; and one year more at school, and three years at
sea, to become sub-lieutenant.
MARINE ACADEMY AT KIEL.
The German Marine Academy established in 1872, at Kiel, is designed not
for the education of cadets, but for the professional training and
improvement of officers already in the naval service of the empire--and
is of the same character as the Staff School of Berlin for officers of
the army. Those only will be received as pupils, whose conduct and
talents seem to qualify them for superior scientific attainments, and,
hereafter, for the filling of the most important posts. These
officer-pupils will be required to give proofs of their diligence and
progress by the production, from time to time, of theses and
dissertations on scientific subjects given to them by the professors. At
the same time, all naval officers will be permitted to attend the
courses of instruction when their professional duties do not call them
away.
The course of study is to occupy two terms, each of twelve months’
duration, with a vacation of three months for practical exercises.
The subjects for the first term are:--Mathematics, natural philosophy,
chemistry, the theory of naval war in all its branches, military tactics
in as far as disembarkations are concerned, coast surveying, the theory
of the formation of coasts, coastal defenses, field fortification, the
constitution of military courts, the principles of international,
military, and naval law, the system of administration, sanitary science,
especially with reference to life aboard ship and in different climates,
the elements of logic, ethics, &c.
The following subjects will be included in the second term:--Nautical
astronomy, geodesy, theory of maps and charts, the history of war, with
especial reference to naval war, artillery, ship-building, the
construction of steam-engines (with practical exercises), the position
and construction of naval ports, physical geography, the elements of
geology, marine botany and zoölogy, and the general history of modern
literature and civilization, &c.
[Errata for Part VIII (England and Naval Schools):
Oxford Blues, the Royal Scots, and the Second Queen’s Royals.[1]
Royals.”[1]
[Footnote 1]
The latter is the only body that has the privilege
_hyphen in “priv-/ilege” invisible at_
“to place themselves under the orders of a director of studies
_mismatched open quote in original_
feel the effects of the change which has been made in it.”
_closing ” missing_
practical trial in their work. ... appointments and promotion.
_both . missing_
will be regulated at the following rates, as heretofore:
followig
elsewhere than at Eton
Eaton
The use of meteorological instruments
intruments
and to lay them underground,
undergound
Facing B.L. guns. / Practical examination, etc.
etc,
the Royal Warrant for Pay, Promotion,” etc.,
_printed as shown: missing open quote or superfluous close quote?_
[Footnote 5]
and an examination of persons to act as pilots and mariners.
_final . missing_
[Footnote 6]
Hollanders, 1,(3);
_printed as shown_
and give a great deal of trouble; we want men.”
_close quote missing_
a physical and military education, which developes their strength
_anomalous spelling unchanged_
averages a little more than £6 per boy per annum.
_final . missing_
But such was not the case.
csse
and the studies were pursued with greater vigor.
persued
[The following table, giving the statistics of the school at Toulon]
|251|235|181|97|67|58|
_last row of table has 225 for 235_
The requirements for admission are a knowledge of arithmetic,
knowlege]
* * * * *
PART IX.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN SWITZERLAND.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY INSTRUCTION IN SWITZERLAND.
[Extract from “A Plan for Military Education in Massachusetts.” By E.
Dwight.]
1. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM.
In the year 1847 seven of the cantons of the Swiss Republic seceded from
the Confederacy. Among them were the three forest cantons, the original
nucleus around which the whole Republic had been formed, the birth-place
of William Tell and Arnold, of Winkelreid. The seceders held the
strongest military position in Europe, but the loyal cantons put on foot
an army of 100,000 men, well armed, drilled, and officered. The city of
Friburg was taken, and in thirty days from the first proclamation of the
commanding general the war was ended and order was restored.
In 1856, a quarrel having arisen with the king of Prussia, Switzerland
placed on foot an army of 200,000 men well provided with artillery. Thus
the military system of Switzerland has proved itself effective; and as
there is no standing army whatever, and the state is a confederacy of
cantons under democratic forms of government, we may find something in
their system applicable to our own case.
Switzerland covers an area of about 15,000 square miles, equal to that
of Vermont and New Hampshire together, of which a large portion is
covered by lakes, forests, mountains, ice and snow, leaving only
thirty-one per cent of the land fit for agricultural purposes, not
including the mountain pastures. Possessing a population of only two
millions and a half of people, it is surrounded by military powers of
the first class, and must needs be strong to be free. France, Austria,
and Prussia are not always as good friends as they are near neighbors,
and the little Republic must ever be ready to ward a blow and return it.
The constitution of Switzerland declares that every citizen is a
soldier. “Tout Suisse est soldat.” Military service is required between
the ages of twenty and forty-four. The substitution of one man for
another is forbidden, but exemption from service is allowed to certain
persons, such as officers of the government and of public institutions,
clergymen, students of theology, members of the police, pilots and
others. In some cases a man is excused from the more active service, but
required to pass through the regular course of military instruction and
to serve in the reserve of the army when called upon. Such are the only
son, or one of the sons, of a widow; or of a widower, provided the
father be over sixty years old, and the son necessary to his support; a
widower, the father of children in their minority, who has no resources
except the work of his own hands; one of two or more sons when they make
common household with their parents, if the family could not be
supported by other brothers not subject to service; married men, or
widowers having at least two children. These exceptions do not apply to
officers.
The Council of State of each canton appoints yearly a “Commission on
Furlough and Discharge,” consisting of ten members, of whom two are
medical men, two officers, one a corporal, one a soldier, and the others
members of the council. The commission acts under oath; grants exemption
for physical defects or want of height; or passes men from the active
service to the reserve. A man who at the age of twenty has not attained
the height of five feet and one inch can be furloughed for two years;
and if, at the end of the third year, he has not reached this height,
discharged from all service. Men who have been convicted of disgraceful
crimes, or have suffered penal sentence, are declared unworthy of
bearing arms; and if once deprived of their civil rights can not hold a
commission.
The militia is divided into the federal contingent and the landwehr. The
federal contingent consists--_First_, of the elite, which includes three
per cent of the whole population, taken from those between the ages of
twenty and thirty-four. The time of service in the elite is eight years.
_Second_, the reserve, being one and a half per cent of the population
and not above the age of forty. The landwehr includes men up to the age
of forty-four. The landsturm, or _levy en masse_, consists of the whole
male population, capable of bearing arms, between the ages of twenty and
fifty, and not included in the classes before described. The male
population of Switzerland is 1,140,000, of which thirty-seven per cent,
or 422,000, are between twenty and forty-four years of age. One-fourth
of these are exempt or found unfit for service, leaving 316,000
perfectly fit. In 1853 the number of men required for the federal
contingent was 104,354,[1] but according to official statements the
number of men in all branches of the service, well armed and instructed,
amounted to 125,126. The excess of men supplied, over those required,
arose from the public spirit and general desire for military instruction
existing among the people. Add to these 125,000 the landwehr, which
numbered 150,000, and we have a total of 275,000 effective men, well
armed, drilled, and officered.
[Footnote 1: Infantry, including Rifles, 89,366; Artillery,
10,366; Cavalry, 2,869; Engineers, 1,530.]
The federal army is composed of the following arms: engineers, including
sappers and pontoniers; artillery, including rocket batteries; cavalry,
riflemen, light infantry, and infantry. There is besides a medical corps
for the service of the ambulances and hospitals. But as uninstructed men
are of little or no value, the federal law upon military organization
provides that the cantons shall see to it that the infantry of their
contingent is completely instructed according to the federal rules, and
though the application of this principle in its details is left to each
canton, yet the following rules are laid down: recruits are not received
into the federal elite until they have gone through a complete course of
instruction which lasts at least twenty-eight days for infantry, and
thirty-five days for light infantry. The confederation charges itself
with the instruction of the engineers, artillery, cavalry, and riflemen.
This course lasts twenty-eight days for riflemen and forty-two days for
the three other arms, but these recruits have previously been drilled in
the school of the soldier by their cantons, and the riflemen have
received preparatory instruction in firing at a mark.
In the larger cantons--that of Zurich for instance--divisions of
recruits in succession are put into barracks and well drilled
practically and theoretically for fifty-six days, either consecutively
or at two periods of the same year, as may best suit the youths. In the
second year after entering the elite, and for each year afterwards, the
infantry is called out for drill during three days, by half battalions
at least, with preparatory drill of three days for the “cadres,”[2] the
commissioned and non-commissioned officers forming skeleton corps. Days
of entry into service are not counted as days of drill, and in case of
interruption the days of drill are increased by two days. The reserve is
called out for drill during two days of each year, with a preparatory
drill of one day for the “cadres.”
[Footnote 2: The officers, non-commissioned officers, and
corporals, constitute what is called the “cadre.”]
In the corps of engineers, artillery, cavalry, and riflemen, the elite
is called out every alternate year for the engineers and artillery, and
every year for the cavalry and rifles. The drill lasts four days for the
“cadre” of engineers and artillery, and immediately after ten days for
the cadres and companies united, or twelve days for both together. For
the cavalry the drill lasts seven days for dragoons and four days for
“guides;” for riflemen, two days for the cadres, and immediately
afterwards four days for cadres and companies united. The reserve is
called out for a drill of half the length of that of the elite.
To complete the instruction of the soldier the cantons in their turn
send their men yearly to the federal camps where the troops to the
number of three or four thousand, are kept under canvas for two weeks.
Larger numbers of men, forming bodies of 5,000 and upwards, are also
mustered and cantoned in the villages, and during several days exercised
in the grand movements and manœuvres of war, chiefly for the instruction
of commanders and officers of the staff.
To keep up the efficiency of every department of the service the whole
is subjected to the yearly inspection of colonels of the federal staff
appointed by the central government. The inspection of infantry is
confided to ten colonels who serve for three years. There is also an
inspector in each of the arms of engineers and artillery, the latter
having under his direction an administrator of materiel charged with the
inspection and surveillance of all the materiel of the confederation.
This administrator directs and superintends the workmen employed in the
factories of the confederation for the manufacture of powder and
percussion caps, as well as arms, gun-carriages, &c. The colonel of
cavalry and the colonel of rifles direct all that relates to their
respective arms, and recommend the necessary improvements. If these
inspectors detect in the contingent of any canton any want of perfection
in drill, they have the power to order such additional drill as may
bring the men up to the proper standard.
Great care is taken in the instruction and selection of officers. The
officers of infantry, up to the grade of major, are appointed by the
cantonal authorities; the higher officers by the federal government. But
no officers can be appointed to the special arms of engineers,
artillery, and cavalry, except such as have gone through a course of
instruction at a military school appropriate to each arm. No one can
become a non-commissioned officer who has not served at least one year
as a soldier, nor a commissioned officer except after two years’
service. Candidates for promotion must pass a public examination, before
a commission, both in theoretical and practical knowledge. Promotion is
given, according to seniority, up to the grade of first lieutenant.
Captains are chosen from among the lieutenants without regard to
seniority. To be appointed major, eight years’ service as an officer is
required, of which, at least, two years as captain. For a
lieutenant-colonel, ten years’ service as officer, of which, at least,
four as major of the special arm. For a colonel, twelve years’ service
as an officer is required, of which, at least, four years as
“commandant,” or in a higher grade. In the Swiss service there is no
higher rank than that of colonel. When a colonel has been appointed
commander-in-chief of the army, he receives for the time being, the
title of general, which he afterwards retains by courtesy.
We are indebted to Professor L. Simonson, of Trinity College, Hartford,
Conn., for the following communication respecting the cadet system in
schools not specially military and the practice of target shooting in
Switzerland, by which a military spirit is fostered throughout the
entire population and the highest skill in the use of the rifle is
attained by a large number of individuals, who are thus prepared for any
sudden call to arms.
2. THE CADET SYSTEM.
The Swiss boy learns target shooting and practices gymnastic and
military exercises at a very early age. He imbibes with his mother’s
milk the thought that his first duty is to become a defender of his
country.
These boy-soldiers are styled _Cadets_, and are a fruit that can spring
up and ripen on democratic soil only. The first armed corps of the kind
we find in Berne near the end of the 16th century. But the general
practice of military exercises among them dates back only about eighty
years, when the HELVETIC MILITARY ASSOCIATION began to advocate the
formation of _Corps de Cadets_ in all parts of Switzerland. From that
time the most efficient and eminent officers devoted themselves
enthusiastically to this cause. The first corps sprang up in Aarau,
Sursen and Olten. Aarau possessed for a long time the best drilled,
largest and finest corps, and in the canton of Argovia generally the
system has struck deeper root than elsewhere; but well drilled corps can
be found in any of the larger places, as in Zofingen, Lenzburg, Brugg,
Baden, and a dozen other places. It was an old custom for the cadets to
parade in the federal cities--Zurich, Berne and Lucerne--in honor of the
assembling of the Swiss Diet, (Tagsatzung.) As far back as 1770 we find
a boy-corps of infantry and artillery in Zurich, yet towards the end of
the last century the organization was partially broken up, until the
political renovation of the canton in 1830 re-organized the corps anew.
Besides in the capital, we find corps in Winterthur, Uster, Wald, Stäfa,
Meilen, Horgen, Wädenswyl, and other towns on the lake shores. Berne,
Biel, Thun, Burgdorf, and many other Bernese villages, for thirty or
forty years have practiced their school-boys in the exercise of arms.
The state takes special care to give the students of the University of
Berne and of the two normal schools a thorough military training. The
cantons of Lucerne, Solothurn, Basle, Schaffhausen, St. Gall, Appenzell,
Glarus, Tessin, Friburg, Neufchâtel, and the countries of Vand and of
the Grisons, possess each of them one or more cadet-corps. Military
drill, as well as gymnastic exercises, forms part of the regular school
routine of all middle and higher schools of the above-named cantons.
Provision is now made to extend this discipline over all schools, making
it obligatory on every pupil who is not disabled by bodily defects.
Military practice commences at the age of eleven and is continued to the
age of eighteen or nineteen. Federal or cantonal officers and
instructors drill the youth two afternoons in the week, the more
advanced only once a week. The youth thus disciplined, learn not only to
obey but also to command. The officers of every corps are promoted from
the rank and file, and in this manner are excellently fitted to become
afterwards officers in the federal army. All cadets when they are
enrolled at a later period into the militia, are by law exempted from
drill. The arms are furnished by the state or community; the uniform,
which the pupil may wear in or out of service, must be procured by
himself.
Most of the cadet-corps consist of infantry, (sharp-shooters and
musketeers;) many have, however, artillery also, as in Zurich, their
guns throwing balls of two and four pounds weight. In Argovia and some
other cantons there are even grenadiers and sappers. Cavalry exist in
theory only. A gun with bayonet and cartridge-box, here and there also a
knapsack and sword form the equipment of the foot-soldier. The uniforms
are various and fanciful. The Zurich Cadets distinguish themselves by
their simple and tasteful appearance; they wear a dark blue coat with
white metal buttons, grey pants, and dark blue cap with the cockade.
Every corps has one or more smaller or larger flags. Many cantons have
excellent bands of music; others, as Zurich, have only drummers and
their indispensable drum-major, and sing martial songs while marching.
It is a universal custom to close the school year in autumn by a
festival, the shining point of which is the military parade and field
manœuvre. The Swiss juvenile festivals have gained quite a reputation at
home and abroad. In the Argovian communities all the school children,
the females as well as males, festively adorned, participate. The corps
of the whole canton and even of several cantons are often united in the
field manœuvre; on such an occasion the enthusiasm and emulation of
youth reach the highest pitch. Thus the Bernese Cadet Corps in 1821 had
a common drill parade in the neighborhood of the capital, and many
others have since come off. In 1816 about 1,000 Argovians went into camp
at Lenzburg, and all of them will joyfully remember this merry festival.
A still greater notoriety was gained by the hot sham fights at
Wettingen, which came off in 1821, and in which the Argovian, Zurich and
Winterthur cadets operated together. Two brigades consisting of 1,560
men, all told, with seven cannon fought there for the positions between
Wettingen and Baden; the most glorious affair of the day was the heroic
defense and final storming of the Wettingen bridge. Yet all other
manœuvres of that sort have been thrown into shadow by the great Swiss
cadet feast in September, 1856. It will not be forgotten by the
thousands, who participated either as actors or spectators, even if
there should be at some future day a re-union of all the corps of
Switzerland. Ten cantons participated in that festival. Argovia
furnished 974 men; Zurich, 805; St. Gall, 472; Schaffhausen, 186; the
Grisons, 166; Ausserrhoden, 155; Lucerne, 148; Thurgovia, 111; Glarus,
60; and Tessin even sent over the St. Gothard a contingent of
eighty-four. Thus 3,161 young heroes, in various but generally tasteful
uniforms, with bands of music, one hundred and twenty-four drums,
numerous banners, and ten cannon, entered the festively-adorned Zurich
from all sides. Divided into two little armies drawn up in battle array
between Oerlicon and Schwamendingen, they fought over the celebrated
battle of June 4th, 1799, in which the French under Massena, were
defeated by the Austrians under Archduke Charles.
The youths in Zurich as well as in other cantons, have no reason to
complain that their physical development is neglected in favor of the
mental; nay, we might rather fear that the first is at times too much
exaggerated, considering the tender age of the majority of the boys. The
pupils of the canton Gymnasium and Industrial School, many of whom are
foreigners, Germans especially, practice gymnastic exercises throughout
the whole year; the military drill is limited to the summer course only.
In the month of August, from time immemorial, the boys, all and every
one, practice target-shooting. The smaller boys only are allowed to rest
the gun on the stand; the older must shoot without any support whatever.
The cities and individuals furnish prizes for those who hit the centre
of the target. In September the cadets--the infantry as well as
artillery--hold their target-shooting; in October they drill in the
field, (“Vorkämpfli,”) and then comes off the annual School Festival
with its gymnastic exercises and the combined manœuvre in field.
At the sham fight on the 1st of October, 1860, the enemy as usual
existed in fancy only; they fired, however, as if he were flesh and
blood. They had the task of pursuing the imaginary foe from Windicon to
the Höckler. The division marched over the covered bridge at Aussersihl,
detached then a column to the woody heights in order to outflank the
enemy, while the principal body marched along the Sihl and drove the
enemy from the clearings into the thick woods. Both divisions re-united
at the Höckler Bridge and marched to the great “Wollishofer Allmend,”
where they practiced firing. This is a beautiful spot for the deployment
of troops; the sound of every shot is returned in manifold echoes from
the surrounding heights. The Zurich and federal troops also encamp,
practice, and shoot on this “Allmend.”
The annual festival of one canton school came off on the day for
gymnastic and military exercises. The printed programme distributed
among the pupils contains the order of exercises, the plan of the
manœuvre, and some useful hints in large type, as, “Clear the
road”--“Smoking is prohibited to the pupils during the festival”--“Not
too fast”--“Do not forget the ramrod”--“Always 120 paces distance.” At 6
o’clock, A.M., the drummers beat the reveille, proceeding from the
guard-house in three different directions. If the weather is
unfavorable, the reveille is not beaten, the school begins at the usual
hour, and the next fair day is chosen for the feast. The beaming sun
dispersed, however, on this occasion, the autumnal morning mists, and
universal joy beamed from all faces. On the first day the public
gymnastic exercises came off, and after supper the decisions of the
umpires were proclaimed and prizes distributed.
The second day the whole corps, numbering about five hundred, hastens at
7 o’clock, armed and equipped, to the barracks, and marches from there
to the open space near the railroad station, where from 8 to 10, Colonel
Ziegler, the Secretary of War, accompanied by members of the Board of
Supervisors, is occupied with the general inspection of “his young
comrades.” At 12½ the corps assembles again near the barracks, where
they receive their ammunition, and at 1 o’clock they turn out to the
manœuvre. The corps is divided into two small armies, each of which
consists of a centre, right and left wings, and a reserve. The enemy
under the command of Lieutenant-colonel Von Escher, marches over
Riesbach and Zollicon into his position. The federal troops under
Commandant Nadler, take their way over Hirslanden and the Balgrist. The
left wing of the enemy, meanwhile, had taken possession of the heights
above the Zollicon, and his main body is marching on the right bank of
the lake upon Zurich. The enemy makes a halt, and receives the report of
his scouts, that the “Burghölzli” and the heights of the Balgrist have
been taken possession of by the federal army for the purpose of impeding
the further advance of the hostile troops over Hirslanden. The federals
at 3 o’clock attack the enemy in his position on the mountain, but they
are beaten back, notwithstanding their heroic endeavors, and are
compelled to retreat since the enemy changes his defensive position into
a general charge. The federals retire in good order, and the enemy
purchases every inch of ground at a great sacrifice. Though he succeeds
in cutting off a side column, his losses must be great until he can
silence the murderous fire of the federal battery which has taken a very
favorable position on the “Oberrieder Heights,” and after having done so
he advances to the lowlands.
The fight offers many a picturesque scene. Nowhere such a diversified,
broken battle-ground can be found as in the Swiss fore-lands. Especially
in the neighborhood of Zurich one is at a loss which to choose. There
are every where covers and ambuscades for riflemen; the infantry find
numerous advantageous positions, and many heights easily accessible
which command vales and plains are at the command of the artillery. The
leaders have hard work to restrain the ardor of the boy-soldiers,
especially of those in the broken chain of the sharp-shooters. Finally
the signal shot is fired, followed immediately by many others. It is a
real feast to observe how the skirmishers, while running from one cover
to the other, crouch together as much as possible; how skillfully they
take advantage of every little mound, and how they endeavor in their
attack to avail themselves of every protection. This or that one seems a
perfect little Zouave; some even show the disposition of a Turcos. One
loads his rifle lying flat on his back, another springs forward like a
tiger. To be commanded to the chain of the skirmishers is considered
special good fortune, for there the individual is something by himself,
can move at will, and is supplied with plenty of ammunition. Yet, the
main body also of the army, which is obliged to fight in closed lines
and strict order, is allowed to vent its fury in firing by single files
and by battalions in thundering vollies. At the command to fire a
hundred muskets at once, but a single peal as of thunder is heard, and
the smoke of the powder fills the air with the sweetest of savors. For a
change we turn to the artillery. Though they do not possess any rifled
cannon, they are nevertheless intent upon aiming their guns accurately,
and the little self-possessed gunners who serve the pieces would prove
dangerous adversaries to any foe. They mount and dismount a piece as
quickly as any trained artillery-man, and where the ground offers great
impediments, one can see the stronger boys carrying their own pieces.
The “Father of the Cadets,” Colonel Ziegler, is present at the sham
fights as an impartial umpire, walking continually on the battle-field,
and smiling as one or the other section makes a good hit. As soon as the
retreating federal troops have gained a favorable position, they stop
short, concentrate their forces, and brave any further advance of the
enemy who, after he has made some further unsuccessful attempts, is
convinced that the federals are a match for him, and even stronger than
himself, makes a halt, and the battle ends. The white cross in the red
field (the federal banner) remains, of course always master of the
field.
Many a manœuvre has ended without any accident, yet sometimes a
hot-blooded cadet forgets the ramrod, and wounds a soldier from the
hostile lines or a spectator, for the people mingle without fear among
the combatants. Every Swiss is a soldier, and the crack of the guns is a
congenial sound to him. The European diplomatists who met in Zurich in
the Fall of 1860 for the settlement of the peace of Villafranca, were
all present at the manœuvres, and undoubtedly depicted the cadet system
to their respective governments in glowing colors, recommending the
general adoption of the system. We now ask our governors and our people
in general--“Shall we be the last?” A noble ardor may accomplish a good
deal, yet _strength_ combined with will can accomplish far more--almost
every thing.
After the parties have fought an hour and a half in the sight of the
Alps and the glittering lake, and rested a little while, they march in
brotherly union with glowing faces, to the sound of the drum, or singing
patriotic songs, from the heights down to the shore road, enter
Tiefbrunnen, and stack their arms in pyramids on the green sward of its
hospitable pleasure-grounds. Then after the labor and heat of the day,
the young soldiers hasten at double-quick step, and with Goliath-like
appetite, to the garden of the neighboring inn, which stands on the
shore of the beautiful lake, and give fearful battle to a second enemy
in the form of loaves, sausages, etc.; the blood of the grape runs like
water, and so indefatigable are they in continually repeated onslaughts,
that in a short time the forces of the enemy have wholly disappeared.
The state bears the expenses, in order that the poorest boy may be that
day as rich as his upper-ten comrade. Shouts and hurras spice the good
things still more. Meanwhile it has grown dark, the cadets take to their
arms again, and by the light of numerous torches, Colonel Ziegler
proclaims and distributes the prizes. The name of every victor is
received with the beat of the drum and thousands of hurras. The results
of the target shooting in 1860 were not so satisfactory as in former
years. The artillery gained 65 prizes in one hundred shots, the foot 28;
while in 1859 the former received 86, and the latter 33, in the average
of all distances. The first two prizes were again taken by Glarus boys.
This little people, renowned through its marksmen, has for the last
seven years monopolized the first prizes.
Finally the warlike band marches home and the officers and instructors
meet again at a social supper, which lasts until after midnight. Thus
ends the manœuvre of Swiss boys.
The Swiss militia system may be our model. It will insure our internal
peace and national independence. It will unite the citizens of all
states into one band of brothers. Every people rears troublesome
individuals. Switzerland had to contend with internal difficulties,
factions, etc., as we have now, but the majesty of the law was upheld by
the masses, and while the rebels were beaten in the field, the people of
the different sections met again in friendship. And so, we trust, it
will be with us. The day may not be distant when we shall want the
strength of our whole beloved Union to maintain our position among the
great nations of the earth. United we need not fear the world in arms.
The Swiss are the most peaceable and industrious people, and at the same
time the most warlike and ever-ready. In the idea of the Swiss, the
citizen is inseparable from the soldier, lest the free man should become
the slave of a domestic or foreign tyrant. The first advantage of this
idea is, that Switzerland has not a standing army, and yet it can call
into the field at any moment 200,000 well trained men in the flower of
their age; a like number could be raised of younger men under twenty-one
and above forty-five. 200,000 men is eight per cent of its population,
according to which we could have about 2,200,000 citizen soldiers, not
on paper only, but real soldiers. If we institute the cadet system the
next generation will be a warlike one, and no American will even think
of making a law, exempting the citizen from his first duty to appear in
person for the defense of his liberties and independence. The whole
amount of the Swiss military _Budget_[3] is between four and five
millions of francs, equal to ten millions of dollars for our 2,200,000
men--a trifle indeed.
[Footnote 3: Federal and cantonal.]
From time to time the governors of neighboring states could unite the
cadet-corps of different sections and invite the corps from distant
states to send a contingent for a grand manœuvre. Such a proceeding
would tend more to cement the band of brotherhood among the states than
many artificial means. It would at the same time promote the good morals
of the boys, if the governors were to select the best delegates from
their states. Every obdurate, mischievous individual should be expelled
from the ranks, since the state must not suffer a bad subject to enjoy
the honor of serving his country. What a wonderful change will take
place in the disposition of our youth; when accustomed to the discipline
of a soldier, many a bad habit will disappear entirely. They will become
punctual and orderly in the execution of their duties in general, their
step elastic, their carriage erect, their bodies strong, their chests
large, their cheeks rosy, a joy to their parents and a pride to our
people. The lad who leaves his city or his state, if furnished with a
regular certificate from his drill-master, can enter a company in the
place of his future residence, and be no longer a stranger but a
brother-soldier--the member of a mighty association. He enters the
circle of well educated boys at once, and is thus saved from the danger
of associating with such as might corrupt his good habits. There are
thousands of advantages to him and the country, and not a single
disadvantage. Why shall we not seize upon the subject at once? Let our
small state have the honor to be the first, as we already have the best
regulated system of schools--primary, secondary, and higher
institutions. Forward! forward!
In a subsequent article we shall give a description of a “Swiss Shooting
Festival.” It is an ancient custom with the Alpine people, but since the
system of cadet corps has become perfected, these festivals have come
off with a splendor that had never before been dreamed of. They unite
the men of all sections and have gained quite a fame in Europe.
We implore all statesmen and teachers to take the system of military
drill and organization in schools into due consideration; not as a mere
experiment, but as something that has proved an excellent success in a
sister republic.
3. TARGET SHOOTING.
Having made military exercises a part of the regular routine of schools
and the education of youths, and identified the vocation of the soldier
with the privileges of citizenship and the safety of the state, the
policy of the Swiss government, both cantonal and federal, has been
directed so as to make the pastimes of neighborhoods and the national
festivals minister to the general culture of a military spirit, and of
the highest individual skill in the use of arms. To these ends target
shooting is encouraged in various ways, and the festivals of the
sharp-shooters are more generally and enthusiastically attended than any
other national anniversary. We give below an account of a festival of
this kind, which was held in Zurich in July, 1859.
_A Festival of the Swiss Sharp-shooters._
The Frenchman has his rose festivals; the Italian his barcaroli; the
Spaniard his bull-fights; the Englishman, since his cock-fights and
boxing in the street are prohibited, has nothing left to him, for
horse-racing as well as the Parliament belongs to the aristocracy
only.[4] Germany has its popular festivals, though the potentates have
suppressed even these harmless popular gatherings in several parts of
the country.
[Footnote 4: The rifle shooting, cricket matches, and other
popular sports of England seems to be overlooked by Professor
Simonson.]
In southern Germany and in the north-west you may still find the
old-fashioned popular festivals. But Switzerland is their field; there
in the land of freedom they flourish in the utmost freshness. They
arouse and foster in the people the consciousness that they are a
people--a nation; they awaken and strengthen the national spirit; they
unite all citizens, whether they sit as legislators in the Diet, or till
the ground in some unknown corner of the republic.
The festival begins at 6 o’clock, A.M., with the firing of cannon--one
shot for each of the twenty-two cantons into which Switzerland is
divided. The sharp-shooter festivals are the oldest of the Swiss popular
festivals--the original fruits of a free warlike people. They are
customary in every canton, in every community. But the _Swiss_
sharp-shooter festival means that in which the whole country unites, and
it has existed now for many, many years, always fresher and more
beautiful, representing not only the united citizens of the Swiss
cantons, but of Switzerland as a political power.
Such a festival takes place every second year. Then, thirty thousand
free, warlike men, the best marksmen from all parts of the land, the
“élite” of Switzerland’s defenders, assemble with their rifles, which
they handle with more skill than any other nation. They represent in
fact the best men of their nation, the bodyguard of law and order, the
rampart against hostile aggressions, and the stay of popular commotions.
In such a noble assembly many a wise word is spoken, many an idea
exchanged and corrected. The actions of the administration are subjected
to a sharp but judicious and just criticism; you will not hear there
ostentatious speeches, nor see noisy demonstrations. They do not pass
resolutions such as we are wont to see in our country--a small clique of
petty politicians announcing to the people that: _The People of the
State, . . . . resolved, etc._; but calmly they reason and reflect on
what would be beneficial to all sections of the country, and after
having reconciled the opposing interests of all, they go home and work
each in his circle for the realization of their ideas. There is a
principle--not of blind opposition to actions, whether good or bad,
simply because they proceed from another party--but the principle of
doing justice to all, of upholding the rights of all, and of reconciling
opposing interests. A people that has been educated in such principles
and acts in accordance with them has reached the perfection of
republicanism, and need not fear either internal or external foes. Every
American patriot may take example from this little Alpine race; and
since every one, man or woman, is by nature an educator, whether as
director of a household, or as a teacher of other men’s children, let us
all unite in educating the growing generation in the right way, and our
beloved country shall never again see brothers in arms against brothers.
Many a corrupt official has feared the criticism of the assembly of the
Swiss sharp-shooters, and whatever “the men have resolved at the
festival,” is usually adopted by the people and carried through in a
judicious, constitutional way.
At the above-mentioned day Zurich was all in a glee; the city adorned
with flags, triumphal arches and evergreens, the streets thronging with
people in Sunday dress who had come from far and wide to participate in
the popular feast. The shrill sound of an engine is heard, and soon
after the first company of guests from abroad forms in line at the
railroad station. It is the delegation from the Bremen sharp-shooters,
who have come from the far north of Germany to meet their brethren of
the south. They are enthusiastically received by the crowd, the mayor
addresses them and gives them a cordial welcome to the land of freedom.
After one of their number has replied to the speech, the mayor leads the
guests to a tent and invites them to partake of some refreshments; the
best of native wines from the “Rathskeller” are offered, and many a
toast spices the nectar.
An hour later the flag of the Swiss sharp-shooters is received and
unfolded, while shouts and the roar of cannon rend the air. As we stated
before, the festival of the United Sharp-shooters comes off once in two
years, city and canton taking their turns. Two years before, in July,
1857, it had been celebrated in Berne, and the flag had remained there
until now, when a deputation from Berne delivers it to the
sharp-shooters of Zurich, to be kept by them for the next two years; and
so on.
As soon as the banner is unfurled the procession is formed, and the
banner and guests are escorted to the City Hall, preceded by bands of
music playing national airs. What a glorious sight! Man and nature seem
to revel together in joy. The bright morning sunshine gleams from the
polished rifles and a thousand flags wave in the light breeze, while the
procession is accompanied by crowds of men and women, boys and
rosy-cheeked girls who, dressed in white and decked with red ribbons, in
the national costume and colors, add an element of bewitching beauty to
the scene.
Meanwhile other companies of riflemen have arrived, and the lake is
still covered with festively-adorned gondolas that are continually
adding to the crowd of guests. At 10 o’clock the procession is again
formed. It leaves the city and moves toward the “Seefeld,” a large
meadow on the shore of the lake, a short distance from the city. Here an
immense hall has been erected. Behind it are arranged the targets and
shooting-stands, and opposite we see a neat structure in the form of a
temple, with many large windows, in which are exhibited the prizes,
disposed in the most attractive manner. These prizes are of the value of
104,407 francs, and are the contributions of all parts of the
world--every corner where a few Swiss are to be found, having furnished
some small gift in honor of the national festival.
The procession halts in front of the temple. The Bernese deliver into
the hands of the Zurich delegation the flag of the Swiss Rifle Corps,
and Colonel Kurtz, of Berne, thus briefly addresses them: “When two
years ago this flag was delivered into our safe keeping, peace reigned
all around us; and but just now our country has come forth victoriously
from a crisis in which we have shown, as, we had never done before, that
we are _one_ band of brethren.[5] What we have hoped for is now
realized, and we can carry this flag--the banner of the largest
association in Switzerland--to the beautiful lake whose blue waters play
around our sister town. We of Berne have held this flag in peace. Who
knows whether you will be as fortunate, or whether you will be forced to
plant it on the highest pinnacle of your good city, as a sign that the
fatherland is in danger and calls upon her sons to defend her.
Relentless war rages now on our borders;[6] we know not whether the
storm will pass over, or the thunderbolt strike in our midst.”
[Footnote 5: He alludes here to the Neufchatel difficulty. This
canton had been heretofore under the sovereignty of Prussia, and a
handful of royalists made the attempt to sever it from all
connection with the confederacy. The people defeated them and
voted themselves independent. Switzerland assisted them and
Prussia gave up whatever rights she might have had.]
[Footnote 6: The Italian.]
Dr. Dubs replies in a brilliant speech: “We receive this banner and
shall defend it. We are ready now for a joyous feast, and as ready at
any time for the war-dance. Let the trumpet sound and Zurich’s men will
be the first in the field to lead you on to victory or death!” etc.
Thus was the festival opened. A dinner had been prepared in the hall, to
which all marksmen, whether from home or abroad, were invited. This hall
is a wooden structure of large dimensions, open at the sides, with a
wide passage running through the middle, intersected by several narrow
ones. In the middle of the building is a magnificent fountain. The whole
remaining space is filled with tables and benches of unvarnished pine,
at which 6,000 persons may be conveniently seated and served, A platform
hung with Swiss banners is so placed that the speakers can be heard
through the whole hall, and many a wise word has been thence spoken that
met a ready response from both present and distant brethren. Behind this
platform is raised a lofty gallery for the music. Here the bands play
soul-stirring chorals and national tunes, and when the “Marseillaise,”
or other similar air is heard, a chorus of thousands of voices
accompanies enthusiastically the instruments. It is in fact a feast of
the people; unity, peace and joy reign everywhere. There may be seen men
of different religious and political creeds, embracing each other in
brotherly concord. Men whose language is Italian from the southern
cantons, and men who speak French from the west, and German from the
northern, eastern, and middle cantons, form _one_ family, though their
localities, institutions, and interests may differ widely. The words
which Schiller, in his well-known historical drama, “Tell,” causes
Rösselmann to express--
“By this fair light, which greeteth us before
Those other nations that, beneath us far,
In noisome cities pent, draw painful breath,
Swear we the oath of our confederacy!
We swear to be a nation of _true brothers_,
Never to part, in danger or in death!
These words have become true in our age.
At 1 o’clock the firing of a cannon announces the commencement of the
target shooting. The marksmen press to the stands, and their shooting
continues from morning till evening, with only an intermission of an
hour for dinner, for an entire week. As we have before said, the
shooting-stands are erected at the end of the hall, but in a separate
building. Ninety-six stands are arranged in one line, each with its own
target, so that nearly a hundred shots may be fired at once. Behind each
stand there is sufficient space for loading the rifles, and all the
necessary apparatus. There are smaller buildings near by for the
repairing of arms, and a regular field-hospital, completely furnished,
to supply medical or surgical aid to such as may fall suddenly sick or
be wounded. The medical fraternity of Zurich have offered their services
in turn, and two physicians of their number are always present day and
night. The shooting is directed towards the lake and large quantities of
firewood are piled up like a rampart around the grounds, so that an
accident is almost impossible. Navigation on the lake within a certain
distance is also prohibited. The safety of the people is thus secured,
and an accident can happen only at the stands or to a careless
target-man. Only two injuries in all have been reported--a finger-wound
received by a marksman, and the loss of an eye to a target-man by a
splinter from the target.
More than thirty thousand tried their skill during the ten days of the
festival. On the 7th of July 74,000 shots were fired, and about 61,000
on the 11th, though many of the people had already gone home. The rifles
and targets are of various kinds. The Swiss have rifles for field
service, and also target rifles--the latter being much the heavier. No
support whatever is used with either. The distance of the target is
proportioned to the calibre of the rifles, the “field targets” being
over a thousand, and the “stand targets” about six hundred feet distant.
Both the stand and field targets are sub-divided into “Stich” and
“Kehrscheiben;” the former a single fixed target, the latter made double
and turned around after each shot, so as to be immediately ready for
another marksman. The “Kehrscheiben” are designated by the letters in
the order of the alphabet; the “Stichscheiben” have names attached to
each, such as “the Stand,” “Fatherland,” “Industry,” “Titlis,”
“Pilatus,” “Rigi,” “Gotthard,” “Jungfrau,” “Splügen,” “the Field,” &c.
No more than one shot may be fired by the same marksman at any of the
“Stichscheiben,” with the exception of the “Fatherland,” at which two
are allowed. The number of shots at the “Kehrscheiben” is not limited,
but all must be paid for--the “Kehrscheiben” at the rate of about thirty
centimes, (six cents;) the “Stichscheiben” a little more. Commutation
tickets, however, may be obtained.
The prizes are very various, but the most valuable are appropriated to
the “Stichscheiben.” The first prize this year was a large silver basin,
of exquisite workmanship, together with 2,500 francs ($500) in money,
given by the Swiss in Paris, to be won at the target “Fatherland.” The
lowest prize is five francs, and this can be won only by those who
succeed in hitting the bull’s eye, the size of which varies in the
different targets. In the “Stichscheiben” for the target rifle it
measures ten inches in diameter, but in the “Kehrscheiben” only two and
a half, while in the “Kehrscheiben” for the field rifle it measures six
inches. Every six hits in the centre of the “Kehrscheiben” gains a prize
of five francs, to which is added on the twenty-fifth successful shot, a
silver cup or watch. He who hits the bull’s eye fifty times receives
another prize of one hundred francs. Special prizes are also given to
the best marksman _of the day_, for the first and last hits _of the
day_, and for the greatest number of hits during _the whole festival_,
etc. The prizes of the day may be obtained immediately; the others are
distributed publicly at the close of the festival.
Let us now give a glance at the “Gift Temple.” This neat structure is
made wholly of glass, save the roof, in order that the rich prizes may
be more conspicuously exhibited. Here are gifts and prizes for the
successful shooters, consisting either in articles of value or in money,
that have been contributed by the cantonal governments and communities,
and by individuals at home or abroad. The government has also had new
Swiss five-franc pieces coined for this purpose, bearing on their face
the figure of a rifleman instead of Helvetia. There is many a piece of
fine workmanship among the gifts, of which we can here only mention the
silver basin with the 2,500 francs, the first prize of the “Fatherland,”
and a beautiful drinking horn of massive silver, richly embossed,
presented by some friends in Leipsic. The Bremen sharp-shooters also
brought with them twelve “Römer,” large cups of massive silver, gilt
within, which were admired and coveted by all the disciples of Bacchus.
This was not, however, the only present from the old Hanse-town. The
senate had opened the celebrated “Rathskeller” and sent some of their
Hock of the vintage of 1684, the Nestor of German wines, to their
brothers in Bacchus. The greater part of these gifts consisted in silver
cups, and pitchers, and gold and silver watches.
During the festival the houses of Zurich continued adorned with flags,
transparencies, and evergreens, which were every day entwined with fresh
flowers. Near the festive hall a triumphal arch had been erected, on
which stood a colossal figure of William Tell in the act of menacing
Gesler with the arrow, after having shot the apple from the head of his
boy. Some of the critics would have us believe that Tell is not Tell,
that no such person ever existed, but that he is a purely mythical
character--the creation of Schiller’s imagination. Yet it matters little
to the Swiss whether the hero was, or was not; all these thousands of
marksmen who daily pass that triumphal arch are possessed by one
thought, and many can not refrain from shouting, “Hurrah for Tell,
father of the marksman! The Swiss of to-day is as skillful an archer, as
daring and as free as thou wast!” Myth or not, Tell is the man of the
people, the Washington of Switzerland--or, rather, Washington is the
Tell of America; and these words of the dying Attinghausen--
“Hold fast together, then--for ever fast.
Let freedom’s haunts be one in heart, in mind!
Set watches on your mountain tops, that league
May answer league, when comes the hour to strike.
Be _one_--be _one_--be _one_”--
are never forgotten in these days by the inhabitants of Switzerland.
Around the hall there has sprung up a village of wood and canvas, and
while the men are engaged with their rifles, the women and children
crowd to see the circus, the menageries, rope-dancers, puppet-shows,
“the giant Kentuckian,” “General Tom Thumb,” &c., and while every one
amuses himself, there is no rioting, no impropriety, no beggary, no
placards bidding us to “Beware of Pickpockets;” the people are as sound
as their institutions.
At 8 o’clock in the morning the target shooting commences, closing at 8
in the evening. The target and signal men are promptly at their
stations, and the members of the different committees for keeping order,
arrive one by one. The marksmen are impatiently awaiting the signal
shot. Spectators gather in from all sides. The signal is given, and in a
moment the sharp crack of ninety-six rifles is heard. The firing is kept
up incessantly till noon, when the sound of the cannon again calls to
dinner. At about 10 o’clock the first steamers have landed their
passengers from “beyond the water,” and the first trains have come in,
bringing new guests to supply the place of those who leave, so that new
faces and new acquaintances greet us every day. Here a fresh company of
sharp-shooters from distant Ticino approaches, marching to the sound of
music and preceded by their flag, and receive their welcome--there
another company from Neufchâtel is escorted to the station and takes its
departure homeward.
One of the most joyous occurrences of the festival--a silvery gleam in
the general sunshine--was the reception of the marksmen from the four
forest towns, Lucerne, Switz, Uri, and Unterwalden. They numbered full
seven hundred men, noble specimens of the native Swiss, all picked
men--“Kernmannen.” They were preceded by four of their number attired in
the ancient national costume, who carried the very same bugles that for
the last five centuries had called their forefathers to arms. The
ancient banners followed. As they passed under the triumphal arch and
beheld their father, Tell, their shouts, hurrahs, and vivas, knew no
bounds. Their ranks were broken and each threw himself upon the breast
of the nearest stranger--nay, brother. The very men that perhaps were
adversaries in public life, or opposed to each other in political
principles, were here united; the love of fatherland was a common bond
of union. Thus, also, Schiller speaks through the mouth of Meier:
“I know him well. There is a suit between us,
About a piece of ancient heritage;
Herr Reding, _we are enemies in court;
Here we are one_.”
Thus is it in Switzerland. Will it ever be so with us? Come, ye
educators of the people and of the young, preach this principle from the
pulpit, and make it the corner stone of your instructions in the school
and at the firesides of your homes!
At the signal for the noon intermission the firing immediately ceases,
and in a few minutes 6,000 hungry and thirsty people are seated at the
one hundred and fifty tables in the hall; the rest disperse to the
eating-houses in the neighborhood and in the city. The dinner is
enlivened by toasts which, however, are never of a personal character.
No homage is done to the individual; to the country, to the fatherland
alone, is homage due in a republic. Toasts are heard in German, in
French, in Italian--yet all tongues unite in the glorification of a
common country. Separate tables are set for the different cantons, but
so arranged that the more distant cantons are usually the nearest
together--Ticino near Berne, Geneva near Basle, Zurich near Vaud. In the
middle of the hall are the tables for the committees and the honorary
guests.
On the second day of the festival the delegations of marksmen hold a
general conference, and though they enter the hall with opposing
opinions and feelings, yet before they part all differences are settled,
all contradictions are reconciled, and their resolutions are usually
endorsed by the whole people. There is no tendency to disunion, no
necessity for secession, for each one endeavors to satisfy the wishes of
the other; the public weal is considered, not the interest or
aggrandizement of the individual or of the canton.
On Sunday, the 10th of July, a public service was held on the meadow. It
was a solemn ceremony, attended by all the different creeds that hold
fellowship together. On the next day the members of the Diet, which was
then in session at Berne, visited Zurich. The banished duchess of Parma,
who lives in the neighboring Swiss town, Pappenschwyl, was also the
guest of the citizens. She and her children sat with them at the rough
pine board and partook of the same viands. After the dinner she said,
with tears in her eyes, “The Swiss do not know how happy they indeed
are.”
On Tuesday, July 12th, the last shot was fired, and on the following day
the prizes were distributed. This ceremony took place on the grounds
before the gift temple. President Dubs opened with a speech, in which he
said: “We are distributing now the prizes to those who have proved
themselves the best marksmen. An equal chance is given to all; let all
practice with their weapons and emulate their lucky companions. I am
convinced that all who have hit the centre of the target will be able to
pierce the breast of the enemy, should war be unavoidable.” The first
prize, the silver basin from Paris, with the 2,500 francs, was won by a
manufacturer, Durrer, of Unterwalden; the second, the silver horn from
Leipzig, by a farmer named Glogg, of Obermeilen; the third, the twelve
silver cups from Bremen, jointly by Professor Dr. Hug, of the University
of Zurich, and Mr. Baer, of Männedorf, the best shot in Switzerland, who
had hit the target four hundred and eighty-seven times during the
festival.
The whole was closed with a serenade, given by the marksmen to President
Dubs, the chief magistrate of the confederacy, as well as president of
the festival. The next day the remaining guests departed, the garlands
and banners disappeared, the people returned to their business, all
external show had vanished; but the feeling that Switzerland’s sons have
again renewed the bonds of their brotherhood still survives in the
breasts of that simple, quiet people--our republican brethren of the
Alps.
SCHOOLS OF INSTRUCTION FOR OFFICERS.
The Federal system of Military Instruction for officers, in 1871,
embraced--
I. A Central Military School at Thun, to which all officers appointed to
the General Staff repair to be instructed in their duties.
II. A School of Officers at Thun, in which all officers appointed to
their respective regiments are instructed in their duties.
III. A School of Cantonal Instruction, held in Basle, to which the
infantry instructors resort from every canton to learn their duties,
undergo inspection, and preserve a common rule.
IV. A School of Young Officers, held at Solothurn and at St. Gallen,
turn by turn, to which the several Cantons send their young officers who
have just received their commissions, and to which all candidates for
commissions repair for examinations.
V. Comissariat School, to which is joined a Medical and Ambulance School
generally, at Thun.
VI. A Shooting School, for officers who give instruction to the Cadet
Corps and other organizations in the several Cantons.
To these school organizations with their practical exercises must be
added the opportunities afforded by the Cantonal reviews and field
manœuvres, to which the young Swiss officer brings much valuable
experience in his previous school and cadet drill.
The events of the late French-Prussian war tested the efficiency of the
Swiss military organization and instruction. The French declaration was
announced in Paris in the afternoon of Friday, July 15, 1870, and
responded to by a counter declaration from Berlin on Tuesday, the 19th.
But the Federal Council of Switzerland (which lay between the
combatants, and might become the first theatre of belligerent
operations), was summoned by President Dubs to consider the situation;
and within an hour, the Cantons had been regularly summoned to complete
their regiments with men, arms, horses, guns, and all stores and tools
required for actual service, and five divisions of the Elite (the first,
second, sixth, seventh, and ninth), were ordered to assemble in their
several Cantons. The first division, under Colonel Egtoff, was to secure
the bridge at Basle and occupy the two banks of the Rhine. The first
news which the men of Aargau had of the impending war was late on Friday
night. By noon on Saturday squads of men were falling into the ranks in
front of the town-hall of the cantonal capital--companies were
formed--guns were got out--sappers, engineers, and guards were in
readiness--officers were at their posts. In the afternoon the first
Swiss troops were in march for Basle, and by midnight the first regiment
of Aargau were on the bridge; and by Sunday night the first division,
under Col, Egtoff, with 8,296 men, and 692 horses, besides the staff and
guides; and the second division, under Colonel Salis, with 8,319 men,
and 632 men at the same hour had assembled at Basle and held the roads
and streams which led to Bonn. By Tuesday night, before the Prussian
manifest was known in Bonn, the five divisions of the first Swiss army,
with their eleven batteries of artillery mounting 96 field pieces, and a
total force of 37,423 men, and 3,541 horses and 104 staff and guides,
were under arms and at their respective rendezvous; and the President
was authorized by the Council to announce to all concerned, “that any
troops belonging to belligerent states, whether regulars or volunteers,
who violate the territory of the Swiss nation, will be repelled by
force.”
Out of the officers whose men were first in the field, the Federal
Council placed Colonel Herzog, of the Aargau detachment of the Federal
army, in chief command, and by Saturday night the General’s
head-quarters were established at Alton (the center of the Swiss
railways), where he organized his staff, issued his instructions to
organize two hospitals, one for wounded men, and the other for horses,
and at the same time ordered magazines of stores and clothes to be
established in his rear, and the forces to be moved up to the front. All
railway companies were ordered to report their stock of engines,
carriages, and open wagons, and telegraphic communication was
established for night as well as day service, and engineers were sent
out to study every pass and point by which an enemy in any strength was
likely to enter the territory of Switzerland. When all danger to the
Cantons had passed away in the victories of the German arms, Gen. Herzog
was directed to raise his camps, and send to their several Cantons their
respective troops. Later in the war, when it was authentically known
that Bourbaki was moving an army of 150,000 strong, to sweep across the
Rhine; and still later, that the Germans meant to push the French, in
either whole or part, across the Swiss frontier, and put them out of
service for the rest of the war--General Herzog satisfied the President
and the Council, and the Minister of War, of the impending danger, and
on Thursday, Jan. 19th, the third, fourth, and fifth divisions, with two
batteries of mountain guns, well prepared for winter service in a
district lying under snow, were ordered out; and in one week from that
date, these forces were distributed through the various passes in the
Jura, from Basle to Geneva, with orders to repel, or receive--to fight,
or feed and lodge, according to the spirit in which the broken
detachments of the French army should present themselves. For the
enormous number (83,301), who laid down their arms, food and beds were
distributed in the Swiss Cantons, by less than 20,000 citizen troops,
without the forfeit of a single life. And when their work was done,
these citizen soldiers laid aside their arms and uniforms and returned
to their shops and industries of various kinds, to earn their daily
bread, without forgetting for a moment their civic rights and household
duties.
If the occasion had required it, as it did in the war of Secession in
1856, each Canton would have contributed 30 men from every 1,000
inhabitants, to the Elite, and 15 men to every 1,000 to the Reserve; and
in case of danger to the Union, every male Switzer, from the age of
nineteen to forty-five, not included in either of the above forces,
would have obeyed the summons of the national authority for the
Landwehr, adding 97,934 to the ranks, besides volunteering above and
below the military age, to the number of 100,000 men, who, in case of a
defensive war, could have been relied on,--all familiar with military
tactics, and accustomed to obey as soldiers, as well as to the use of
arms.
According to recent official statistics the strength of the several
armies of Switzerland is as follows:
Elite. Reserve. Landwehr.
1. Engineers, 900 630 ......
2. Artillery, 6,513 4,254 ......
3. Cavalry, 1,937 932 ......
4. Carabineers, 4,600 2,460 ......
5. Infantry, 55,994 26,448 ......
6. Sanitary Service, 144 78 ......
Armorers, 30 ......
------ ------ ------
Total, 70,088 34,832 97,934
The system of recruiting, drilling and brigading, is local--which brings
neighbors and friends into camp and field companionship, and inspires a
sense of trust and coöperation.
The cost of the reliable military force is as follows:
Cantonal expense, 4,508,901 _frs._
Federal expense, 5,486,396
---------
9,995,297
Contrasted with the cost of education the figures stand thus:
Communal expenses, 5,000,000 _frs._
Cantonal expenses, 5,157,756
Federal Polytechnic, 287,611
----------
10,445,367
And for this sum Switzerland makes a near approach to universal
education in schools of different grades, adapted to all classes.
[Errata for Part IX (Switzerland):
200,000 men well provided with artillery.
_final . invisible_
The drill lasts four days for the “cadre”
_closing ” missing_
to take the system of military drill and organization
_text has “mili-/itary” at line break_
Never to part, in danger or in death!
_expected close quote missing_
“Gotthard,” “Jungfrau,” “Splügen,”
“Gotthard,” Jungfrau,” “Splügen,”]
* * * * *
PART X.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN THE UNITED STATES.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION OF THE UNITED STATES.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The Constitution of the United States grants to Congress the power “to
raise and support armies,” “to provide and maintain a navy,” “to make
rules for the government of the land and naval forces; and to provide
for calling forth the militia,” as well as “for organizing, arming and
disciplining” the same, and for governing such parts of them as may be
employed in the service of the United States--reserving to the States,
respectively, the appointment of the officers, and the authority of
training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.
By the same instrument the President is made commander-in-chief of the
army and navy of the United States, and of the militia of the several
States when called into actual service of the United States “to execute
the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions.”
By law of August, 1789, a department of war, and in 1798, a secretary of
the navy is provided to aid the President in the administration of
military and naval affairs; and the original rules and articles of war
enacted by the Congress of 1776, were continued in force, and in 1806
made the basis of the military code which has since governed all troops
mustered into the service of the United States.
In 1790 the rank and file of the regular army was fixed at 1,216 men. In
1796 this force was organized into one corps of artillerists and
engineers, whose head-quarters was at West Point, two companies of light
dragoons, and four regiments of infantry of eight companies each. This
force was increased by additional regiments in the war of 1812, the
Indian war in Florida, and the war with Mexico, till in 1861, the army
consisted of 14,000 men, stationed in the different forts and garrisons,
and mainly on the Indian frontier. In the war of the Rebellion the
regular army was increased to 50,000 men.
By act of July 15,1870, the number of enlisted men was reduced to 30,000
by or before July 1, 1871. On the 20th of October, 1871, the army was
composed as follows:
Two regiments of Cavalry, 8,800 enlisted men.
Five regiments of Artillery, 3,105 “ “
Twenty-five regiments of Infantry, 23,742 “ “
One battalion of Engineers, 314 “ “
Ordnance Department, 444 “ “
West Point Detachment, 202 “ “
Signal Department, 199 “ “
Hospital stewards, 310 “ “
Ordnance Surgeons, 114 “ “
Available Recruits, _en route_, 349 “ “
Permanent Recruiting Parties, 904 “ “
General Service Men, 420 “ “
------
Total, 29,003
Commissioned Officers, 2,105
Retired Officers, 295
When the insurrectionary movements and combinations of the Southern
States in 1861, proved too powerful to be suppressed by ordinary civil
powers, the President, April 15, called for 75,000 volunteers for three
months, to defend the capital, and May 3, 42,000 to serve for three
years or during the war. On the 22d of July he was authorized to accept
the services of 500,000, which, within six months afterwards was
increased to 1,000,000. This force proving inadequate, a levy of 300,000
men was ordered in 1863, and in 1864, another call for 500,000
men--making an aggregate of 2,653,062 mustered into the service of the
United States, or nearly one fourth of the entire male population of the
Northern States. This entire force was disbanded within one year from
the close of the war.
The development of the naval resources of the country was quite as
marvelous. In 1861 the entire navy consisted of 94 war vessels of all
classes and in all conditions, capable when in service of carrying 2,415
guns. Only 43 of these ships were in commission, and the seamen and
mariners numbered 7,000. In less than three years 200 war vessels were
constructed and 418 merchant vessels were converted to military service,
and over 50,000 men enlisted in the naval service.
The Southern States in rebellion put into the field over 500,000 men,
and exhausted their pecuniary resources, with the loss of 300,000
soldiers on the field or in hospital.
The debt of the United States contracted in the prosecution of the war,
stood in 1866 at the enormous sum of $2,783,425,879.
These extraordinary efforts were made under circumstances which are not
likely to exist again, and such expenditures could not be repeated
without national bankruptcy.
The Militia of the United States, by act of Congress of 1792, consists
of all white male citizens between the ages of 18 and 45, who must be
enrolled and arranged into brigades, regiments, and companies, as the
legislature of each State may direct. Of the militia, as organized by
state legislation, the governor is commander-in-chief, except when
called into the service of the United States. To provide arms and
equipments for the whole body of militia, arsenals and armories are
provided by Congress, in different parts of the country, at an annual
charge of $200,000 (since 1808).
In the absence of any official information respecting the number and
condition of the Militia of the several States,[1] we gather the
following statistics from a pamphlet by General J. W. Hoffman, of
Philadelphia, on the subject of the National Guard.
[Footnote 1: The Militia System was broken up by the Volunteer
System introduced by the United States and encouraged by State
Legislation, and now (1872) even formal returns as to enrollment
are not complied with by a majority of the States.]
_State. Population. Military Organization._
_Alabama_--996,902.
_Arkansas_--484,167,--78 companies of State Guard, with a total of
5,484 men.
_California_--560,247,--30 companies of infantry, 2 of artillery, 5 of
cavalry; organized into 2 battalions, 2 regiments, 6 brigades, 1
division--aggregate, 2,686. Term of service one year. The State
furnishes uniforms, and pays $50 per month to each company of infantry
and cavalry, and $25 per gun per month to companies of artillery.
_Connecticut_--537,454,--40 companies of infantry, 2 sections of
artillery organized into 4 regiments, 1 brigade; aggregate 2,906. Term
of service 5 years; parade annually, by company or regiment, in the
month of May; attend camp for six successive days once in every two
years. In addition, companies parade once in August or September, and
drill not less than one hour in the evenings, not exceeding two evenings
in each month, from October to April, inclusive. Compensation to all
officers and men $2 per day for each day’s duty performed, and 5 cents
mileage to and from place of parade. Members of bands $2,50 per day and
mileage; $2 per day for every horse used; rent of armories are paid by
the State, and all citizens between 21 and 45 years liable to military
duty, but may commute by annual payment of $2,00. Total moneys collected
from this commutation tax, $62,000 per annum.
_Colorado_--39,864.
_Delaware_--125,015.
_Florida_--187,748,--96 volunteer companies organized with 3,360 men,
out of a total of 21,854 enrolled (116,112 white, and 10,242 colored).
_Georgia_--1,184,109. No organization.
_Illinois_--2,539,891. No state organization: a few volunteer
companies who provide their own uniforms and are furnished with arms and
accoutrements by the State.
_Indiana_--1,680,637. No organization.
_Iowa_--1,191,792. No State organization.
_Kansas_--364,399. No state organization beyond the 2 companies to
operate against the Indians.
_Kentucky_--1,321,011. No organization.
_Louisiana_--726,915,--37 companies of uniformed infantry, 3 of
cavalry, 1 of artillery; organized with 6 regiments, 2 divisions--one of
which has 2 brigade organizations; aggregate strength, 3,469 out of
107,821 enrolled militia. Term of service 2 years.
_Maine_--626,915,--10 companies, with an aggregate of 937; State
furnishes arms, equipments, and uniforms.
_Maryland_--780,894,--the State provides arms, uniforms, and rent of
armories, and exempts members from jury duty.
_Massachusetts_--1,457,351,--92 companies of uniformed infantry, 5
batteries of artillery, 5 companies of cavalry; organized into 10
regiments, 3 brigades, and 1 division; aggregate, 6,277; State pays
nearly $200,000 per annum; at the annual inspection in 1870, 5,221
present.
_Michigan_--1,184,059.
_Minnesota_--439,706,--30 companies of infantry and 4 sections of
field artillery.
_Mississippi_--27,922.
_Missouri_--1,721,295.
_Nebraska_--2,993.
_Nevada_--2,491.
_New Hampshire_--318,300.
_New Jersey_--906,096,--51 companies of infantry, and 2 batteries of
artillery; organized into 4 battalions, 6 regiments, 2 brigades;
aggregate, 3,146 out of 127,000 enrolled; every company parade at least
12 times in the year, one of which is by brigade; State appropriated in
1870 $26,126. Term of service 6 years, with exemptions from poll tax and
jury duty.
_New York_--4,382,759,--398 companies of infantry, 12 of artillery, 28
of cavalry; organized into 41 regiments, 21 brigades, 8 divisions;
aggregate, 24,585; the State furnishes arms and allows rent for armory
and $5 per day for any enlisted man who has paraded 7 days in the year,
which sum goes into a uniform fund. The State allows for head-quarter
expenses, and appropriates annually over $200,000 for its National
Guard. Term of service is 7 years, with exemptions from jury duty, and a
deduction of $1,000 on the assessed valuation of taxable property.
_North Carolina_--1,071,361.
_Ohio_--2,665,260,--2 companies of uniform infantry and 2 sections of
cavalry.
_Oregon_--90,923.
_Pennsylvania_--3,521,791,--311 companies, with an aggregate of
14,800; no general organization into regiments out of the county of
Philadelphia.
_Rhode Island_--217,353,--State provides armories, or rent for same
and pay of armorer, and $2,50 per day for two days’ parade, and $3 per
horse.
_South Carolina_--725,606.
_Tennessee_--1,258,520.
_Texas_--818,579.
_Vermont_--330,551,--4 regiments of infantry, 1 battery of artillery;
the State provides arms, uniforms, armories, and $2 per day for each
days’ drill, not exceeding 4 days, and tents for a three days’ muster in
the autumn.
_Virginia_--1,225,163.
_West Virginia_--442,014.
_Wisconsin_--1,054,670,--8 companies, organized as First Regiment.
The above statement of the legal condition of the militia of the several
States, which together constitute the army of Reserve of the United
States, is not very creditable to all concerned--to the cities and local
communities, whose exemption from riots and illegal combinations of bad
men may depend on the fact of an organized force, which the voice of
authority could in an hour summon to the protection of the threatened
houses and workshops of the citizens;--to the States, whose quota to any
national call can not now be depended upon except at the cost of
extravagant bounties, and whose raw recruits thus furnished would be
worthless till after months of drill and field manœuvres;--to the
nation, whose strength should be its weakness for purposes of foreign
aggression, and its ability to summon millions of willing men, familiar
with military organization and duties, to the defense of their hearths
and free institutions.
The Volunteer Soldiery in time of peace, does not hold the same distinct
recognition in the armed forces of the United States, apart from the
Militia of the several States, as in Great Britain; and yet the most
efficient military organizations of the several States, and especially
in our larger cities, are of this character; and in most of the States
where uniform companies exist, they constitute a permanent and important
force, whose services have proved highly valuable in quelling riots and
protecting public property. Of the number of regiments or
companies--their officers and men, distinct from the enrolled and
organized State Militia, we have no official statistics.
MODE OF OFFICERING THE ARMY.
The commissioned officers of the United States army are drawn from three
sources:--_First_, from the cadets of the Military Academy at West
Point; _Second_, from civil life; _Third_, from the rank and file.
1. The appointment to the grade of lieutenant in either corps, follows
regularly to any cadet on graduation, after having completed the course
of instruction at West Point. From 1815 to 1832, the army was officered
almost exclusively from the Military Academy.
2. The expansion of the military force consequent on the Indian war in
Florida, from 1832 to 1837, and the Mexican war from 1845 to 1848, and
of the Civil war from 1861 to 1865, was followed by the appointment of
many persons from civil life, who had received no military training, and
without any special qualifications beyond personal and political
considerations.
As a stimulus and reward to special service, promotions are occasionally
made from the rank and file, after a mere formal examination in the
elementary branches of a common school education, and without the
provision for professional training except such as can be got from
observation and private reading.
PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION AND TRAINING OF OFFICERS.
In the organization and movements of the armed forces of the Colonies,
the officers were trained in the military service of the mother country.
In the War of Independence, the general spirit of the people supplied
for a time the want of trained soldiers and officers, beyond the small
force which had been schooled in the French and Indian Wars; but the
necessities of the service compelled Congress to authorize its
accredited agents abroad to offer commissions, especially to engineer
and artillery officers; and at the close of the war we find nearly all
the prominent officers in the artillery and engineer departments had
been trained abroad. Nearly all the fortifications were planned by them
and erected under their supervision. The names of Steuben, Kosciusko, Du
Portail, Radière, Romans, Vincent, Rochefontaine, Toussard, Revardi,
L’Enfant, Villefranche, and others of later date, will suggest to any
reader of the military history of the country, the extent of our
obligations to foreign military schools.
The sources of systematic professional instruction and training for
officers of the armed forces of the United States, are--
I. The National Military Academy at West Point, for the general
scientific instruction of officers of all arms.
II. The Practical School of Artillery at Fortress Monroe.
III. The Engineer Battalion School of Practice at Hunter’s Point.
IV. The Company and Regimental Drill of various Volunteer Corps in the
larger cities of the country.
V. The Cadet Corps in various Military and Scientific Schools in
different States.
The gradual development of the military Academy at West Point, and the
present condition of Military Education will now be given.
THE MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT
I. ORIGIN AND HISTORY. PERIOD I.--1802-1812.
The influence of the United States Military Academy upon education, as
well as its wide reputation as a school of science, render an inquiry
into its rise and progress, a subject both of interest and profit. Since
it is mind, rather than any system of forms and studies, which gives
power to such institutions, a mere statement of dates and facts is
insufficient to give us a just view of its character. We must, if
possible, trace the spirit of the men who guided, and the principles
impressed upon it. To do this, we shall resort, not merely to the record
of events, but to our memory of men and acts, with which we were for
years familiar.
It was not to be expected, that schools of refined, scientific art
should be founded by small colonies in the wilderness of the new world.
When even their clergymen must resort to Europe for education, and their
lawyers for license, it was in vain to expect their soldiers to be
accomplished engineers. When the revolutionary war came on, this fact
became a painful experience. No man felt it more than Washington. With a
people, whose patriotism was unquenchable; with soldiers, who rivaled
the warriors of Leonidas, he found the best and truest of men, with the
smallest possible share of military science. He was obliged to depend on
European engineers for a skill which his countrymen did not possess;
while their European ideas, and artificial habits were displeasing to
his American principles.[2] He felt military instruction to be a primary
want in the country. Accordingly, he was the real founder of the
Military Academy; that is, he put forth the _germinal idea_. What the
plan of it was to be, and what shape it should ultimately take, he did
not state, and probably had not thought of; for Washington in the office
of president, seldom meddled with the details of public affairs. What he
meant to obtain, however, he distinctly stated, in his message, dated
December 3rd, 1793; in referring to measures of national defense, he
says an inquiry may be made: “whether your own experience, in the
several states has not detected some imperfection in the scheme; and
whether a material feature in the improvement of it ought not to be to
afford an opportunity for the _study of those branches of the military
art which can scarcely ever be obtained by practice alone_.”
[Footnote 2: Prepared by Major E. D. Mansfield, a graduate of West
Point in 1819, for Barnard’s American Journal of Education, March,
1862.]
In his message of December 7th, 1796, he said: “Whatever, argument may
be drawn, from particular examples, superficially viewed, a thorough
examination of the subject will evince that the art of war is at once
comprehensive and complicated; that it demands much previous study, and
that the profession of it in its most improved and perfect state, is
always of great moment to the security of a nation. This, therefore,
ought to be a serious care of every government; _and for this purpose an
academy, where a regular course of instruction is given_, is an obvious
expedient, which different nations have employed.”[3]
[Footnote 3: It is not meant to say that this subject was not
mentioned before. It was by Col. Pickering, in 1783. But whoever
reads the letters and memoirs of Washington, will see, that all
the early ideas on the subject of military education and military
science were derived from the experience of Washington.]
The views, always entertained, and repeatedly expressed by General
Washington, were adopted by Mr. Adams, and Mr. McHenry, secretary of
war, in his administration, made an elaborate report on this subject,
which was transmitted to congress, on 10th of December, 1800. It is due
to Mr. McHenry, to say that his ideas of what ought to be a course of
military instruction, were far in advance of what were actually
provided, till after the war of 1812-’15 proved his ideas to be correct.
In 1794, prior to the last message of Washington, congress attempted to
supply the want of a military academy, by attaching cadets to the corps
of artillerists, and engineers. This corps consisted of four battalions,
to each of which eight cadets were to be attached. This made the whole
number of cadets thirty-two; and for this corps of artillerists,
engineers and cadets, the secretary of war was directed to procure
books, instruments and apparatus. The term _cadet_ signifying in French,
the youngest brother of a family, and in Spanish, a young volunteer
officer, became naturally applied to young men, who were junior,
volunteer officers. In England, the _cadet_ of a family was a young son,
who volunteered for the India service; and in the United States has been
properly applied to the youth, who enter the military academy.
It seems from the message of Washington, in 1796, that the attempt at
military instruction, was a failure. No place, no teachers, no studies,
were appointed. It was on the 16th of March, 1802, in the early
administration of Mr. Jefferson, that congress established, by that
name, the _Military Academy_. It was still made part of an army corps;
the idea of making a separate institution for scientific studies not
being yet matured. The artillerists and engineers were made two distinct
corps, of which there were forty cadets of artillery and ten of
engineers. The corps of engineers consisted of a major, two captains,
four lieutenants, and ten cadets, making seventeen in all. _The corps
constituted the military academy_, established at West Point, in the
State of New York. So little idea was then entertained of the true
objects and mode of scientific instruction, that the law required the
cadet, as well as officer, to do duty in any part of the United States.
In other words, the only idea of the military academy, at that time, was
_a place appointed where the officers of engineers might give or receive
instruction, when not on other duty_. The actual academy, such as it
was, conformed to that idea. The major of engineers was the commander,
or superintendent. The two captains were instructors, and the cadets
were pupils. It was, as a school, an inchoate existence, without regular
teachers, or limited studies, or proper discipline. Yet, even in this
imperfect condition, it did, as we shall see, some service which ought
to be gratefully remembered.
In the meanwhile, let us turn for a moment, to the _place_ which is so
memorable in the annals of this country, and is now so intimately
associated with science. If Dr. Beattie is correct in saying that the
character of the mind is much associated with natural scenery, no place
in America could have been more wisely selected, as the site of a
national institution. World renowned, as West Point justly is, there is
that in its scenery and associations, more interesting to a poetic or a
patriotic mind, than its famed Academy. Its green plain, hidden amidst
its mountains; its craggy summits; its rocky barriers; its dark
evergreens; its darker waters, flowing on forever; that beautiful view
of town and country, seen through the frowning brows of Crow Nest and
the Beacon; that quiet vale, where Washington oft bent his steps; those
lonely little mounds, where the soldiers of the Revolution repose; these
forts and ramparts now indistinctly seen, which once guarded these
mountain passes; yon ledge of rocks, where Kosciusko once made his
little garden; all these and other memorable things, call up whatever is
sublime in nature, or noble in history. It is impossible to forget them.
It is impossible for the dullest mind, not to have its sensibilities
excited, or its character elevated by the contemplation of such sublime
scenes, or such interesting events. When such a spot becomes the place
of our education, its memories become poetic; its associations mingle
with the flow of life, and the structure of our minds.
To return. The law having authorized this ideal Academy, it was
immediately instituted, by the appointment of officers. The Academy, it
is seen, was on quite a small scale. In fact, so far as teaching was
concerned, the Academy consisted of two captains of engineers and ten
cadets. The two captains were WILLIAM H. BARRON and JARED MANSFIELD. Mr.
Mansfield had been a teacher of mathematics, navigation, and the
classics, first at New Haven, (Conn.,) and then at Philadelphia. He had
written a volume of “Essays” on mathematics and physics, quite original,
and distinguishing him at that time, as the first mathematician of his
country. This was brought to the notice of Mr. Jefferson, who with no
great love of military affairs, was a warm friend of science. When the
act was passed authorizing the Military Academy, Mr. Jefferson wrote to
Mr. Mansfield, that he would appoint him a captain of engineers, for the
_very purpose of becoming a teacher at West Point_. Accordingly he was
appointed, on May 3rd, 1802; Captain Barron had been appointed in April.
Then, in May 1802, the actual Military Academy was constituted, Captains
Barron and Mansfield being teachers of mathematics and philosophy, to
some half dozen or more cadets and lieutenants. No professor of
engineering or of any other department was appointed before 1812. In
pursuing the course and growth of instruction at West Point, during this
period of ten years, we can only refer to the services of the
instructors and graduates. In fact, there were no graduates prior to
1815; but there were _appointments_ made from the cadets of the Military
Academy, after more or less study at West Point. To understand what was
done, we must refer to the actions of teachers and cadets, rather than
to history. Its teachers were few and its annals brief. Captain
Mansfield, after a year’s teaching at West Point, was in 1808, appointed
by Mr. Jefferson, to a more responsible position. It was necessary to
the correctness of our public surveys, that the meridian lines and the
base lines (which are co-ordinates,) should be established with
astronomical accuracy. For this purpose, Captain Mansfield was appointed
surveyor general of the north-western territory; furnished with
astronomical instruments, and taking his residence in Ohio, proceeded to
establish and perfect that beautiful system of surveys, by which the
north-western states are distinguished. Retaining his military bent,
with a view to his original destination at West Point, he actually
returned there in 1814, to recommence, as we shall see hereafter, his
career as an instructor in the national institution. Of Captain Barron,
his co-teacher, we only know that he was relieved in February, 1807. At
the same time, his successor, FERDINAND R. HASSLER, was appointed, and
remained till he resigned in 1810. Mr. Hassler was, we believe, a Swiss
by birth. He wrote a small treatise on mathematics, and had quite an
extensive reputation, as a mathematician, but was said to be too
analytical and refined in the character of his mind, for American
practical habits. He was intended for the coast survey, and, we believe,
actually commenced it.
In November, 1806, ALDEN PARTRIDGE, superintendent of engineers, was
appointed _acting assistant_ professor of mathematics, and retained that
position till April, 1812.
The “Teacherships” of French and drawing were created, by the act of
February, 1803, being a very important addition to the original scheme
of the Academy. To the teachership of French, FRANCIS DE MASSON was
appointed, March, 1804, and resigned in March, 1812. To the teachership
of drawing, CHRISTIAN E. ZOELLER was appointed, September, 1808, and
resigned in April, 1810. Mr. Masson was a Frenchman by birth; Mr.
Zoeller, a Swiss. Mr. Masson was highly spoken of by Colonel Williams, a
good judge of what constitutes a scholar. Mr. Zoeller was an amiable
man, of no high attainments, whose instruction in drawing was wholly
confined to the military part, fortifications and bridges.
From this brief history, it appears, that there were but six teachers at
West Point, between 1802 and 1812. Of these, no more than four were ever
present at one time, and that only between 1808 and 1810. The teachers
present, each year, were as follows:
1802-1803, Captain Barron, Mathematics.
Captain Mansfield, Philosophy.
1804-1806, Captain Barron, “
Francis Masson, French.
1806-1807, Captain Barron, Mathematics.
Francis Masson, French.
Alden Partridge, Mathematics.
1808-1810, Ferdinand Hassler, “
Alden Partridge, “
Francis Masson, French.
Christian Zoeller, Drawing.
1810-1812, Alden Partridge, Mathematics.
Francis Masson, French.
This glance at the actual teachers of West Point enables us to see at a
glance, what was done. No continuous study was pursued at all, except
mathematics. For the eight years, between 1804 and 1812, French was
taught by an able professor, Mr. Masson, and from 1808 to 1810, drawing.
In 1812, this inchoate existence of the Academy was ended by the act of
congress, reorganizing the institution, and placing it on a permanent
and extensive foundation. The next period of five years, from 1812 to
1817, was the _forming_ period of the Academy. In some respects, its
elements were chaotic. In others, its _personnel_ was inefficient and
inharmonious. In others, again, its materials of instruction were
inadequate. From this condition it finally emerged, and attained its
present high character and usefulness. The history of this change is
important, if not interesting to those who would understand what are the
true foundations of a great school of education. In the meanwhile, let
us return to what the CADETS of the Academy had done. If they were few,
and with small means of instruction, they may nevertheless have shown
that the Academy was not altogether fruitless. How many cadets were
appointed between 1802 and 1812, we do not exactly know, but we have the
number appointed _from the Academy_. The number of cadets promoted from
the Academy during that period were for each year, thus:
In 1802, 2.
In 1803, 3.
In 1804, 2.
In 1805, 3.
In 1806, 15.
In 1807, 5.
In 1808, 15.
In 1809, 7.
In 1811, 19.
In 1812, 18.
This makes eighty-nine in ten years. Let us look at their career, as
stated in the brief annals of the army; or, as they are retained in
memory. Of this number, comprising ten cadets of more than half a
century ago, this is the result:
Killed in battle, 10.
Died in service, 21.
In service, 7.
Resigned, 33.
Disbanded, 10.
Dropped, 3.
Dismissed, 4.
Declined, 1.
This is no bad roll. If we were to search our college rolls for those
who had been really useful, those who died in battle, or served to the
end, or entered other fields of usefulness, or now live in the
performance of duty, we should find a less grateful exhibition than
this. The number of those who had been “dropped,” or “dismissed,” for
incompetence, or vice, would be far greater. Alas! if we could read the
secret history of the college roll, how sad would be that account! We
know, that in times past, many of the officers of the army were addicted
to dissipation. Happily, we can say, many less now. But since we would
estimate the value of the Military Academy, even in its most imperfect
condition, let us see _who_ some of these men were.
The first cadet appointed was General JOSEPH G. SWIFT,[4] who having
risen to the rank of general of engineers and inspector of the Military
Academy, resigned, became surveyor of the port of New York, and is now a
venerable and respected citizen of Geneva. Of those who were killed in
battle, _Eleazer D. Wood_, (whose monument stands at West Point,) was
killed while loading a cannon, in the sortie from Fort Erie. Five others
were killed on the Canada frontier, and four in battle with the Indians.
Of those who died in service, _two_ reached the rank of general, and
_eight_ that of field officers. Of those who are now in service, (7,)
one is General JOSEPH G. TOTTEN, chief of the corps of engineers, who
served on the Canada frontier in the war of 1812, and at the siege of
Vera Cruz. One is Col. SYLVANUS THAYER, who served in the war of
1812-’15; who was superintendent of the Military Academy from 1817 to
1833, and to whom it is indebted for a large part of its usefulness. Of
these gentlemen, we shall have more to say, when we refer to the forming
period of the institution. Another is Colonel RENE DE RUSSY, who was
distinguished in the battle of Plattsburg, and became superintendent of
the Academy on the retirement of Col. Thayer. Of those who resigned or
were disbanded, many died young; one became a member of congress and
politician; and another, Col. WILLIAM MCREE, was a remarkable man,
distinguished for gallant conduct in the battle of Niagara and Fort
Erie, a member of the board of engineers, and of cultivated mind; he
resigned from the army and became surveyor general for Missouri and
Arkansas, and finally died of cholera at St. Louis. Of the whole
eighty-nine, who were commissioned prior to 1813, but twenty-one were
alive in 1850, and several others have died since. The few who now
remain have seen more than half a century’s service in useful
employments. Perhaps it should be mentioned to the advantage of the
Military Academy, as a school of physical education, that at the end of
half a century, twenty of its pupils out of eighty-nine, should be yet
alive. In twenty years of civil life, as appears from the United States
census of 1830 and 1850, more than the same proportion of youth between
ten and twenty years of age perished. The general strength and health of
the pupils of West Point are beyond a doubt greater than that of the
same number of young men brought up in the ordinary methods of
education. This is not wholly due to physical exercises, but also to
moral education, and to the care and comforts of their mode of life.
Will any one deny that _discipline_ is a part of moral education? Is not
self-restraint, the regularity of habits, and the art of using the mind
in intellectual pursuits, the most important elements of a moral
education? It is to all these, and not merely the training and exercise
of arms, that the eléves of the Academy owe so large a share of the
health and strength of life.
[Footnote 4: The _first_ diploma, which we suppose was a
manuscript certificate, was the one given to the then Cadet SWIFT,
and signed by Captains Barron and Mansfield.]
In the period of its history which we have now examined, the Military
Academy was really only in the germ of its existence. Like most other
useful or remarkable enterprises, it was first thought of as a thing
needed; then began without any clear idea of what it would become, and
was then improved upon, till it grew to be of magnitude and importance.
PERIOD II.--1812-1825.
The Academy, in its germinal existence, whose history we have briefly
traced, was obviously inadequate to supply the army and country with
young men instructed in the art of war. Congress authorized the
appointment of a large number of cadets. But the President did not act
upon it, because there were neither professors, nor books, nor quarters,
nor material at West Point for their training. In 1808, Mr. Jefferson
recommended an enlargement of the Academy. In 1810, Mr. Madison did the
same. In vain, however, were these recommendations, till the nation was
roused from its indolent repose by the sudden shock of war. In 1811, the
battle of Tippecanoe electrified the people. The war-whoop sounded on
the north-western frontier, and the aggressive conduct of Great Britain
became insufferable. War was an imperious necessity. Then it was that
the use if not necessity of an institution for military training became
obvious to all reflecting minds. In April, 1812, the act was passed
which erected the frame-work of the present Military Academy. As this
legal outline has been little changed since, it is necessary that we
should look to its provisions, for correct ideas of what the law
intended, and what has been substantially carried out in its growth and
development.
1st. It was provided, that the number of cadets might be increased to
two hundred and fifty, and attached at the discretion of the President
as students to the Military Academy at West Point, and be subject to the
regulations thereof.
2d. That these cadets should be between the ages of fourteen and
twenty-one, and previous to his appointment should be well versed in
reading, writing, and arithmetic.
3d. That the Military Academy should consist of the Corps of Engineers,
the Professors of Philosophy, of Mathematics, of Engineering, with their
assistants, and the teachers of French and Drawing.
4th. That when any cadet shall receive a regular degree from the
Academical Staff, he shall be considered a candidate for a commission in
any corps for which he shall be deemed competent.
In addition to these provisions for education, money was appropriated
for buildings and books, and for a band of music. The expenditure
provided for was very small, compared with the need of the Academy; but
it was enough for a beginning. It was far easier, as we shall see, to
provide for all its material wants, than to bring it into that state of
moral and intellectual discipline, which was essential to the attainment
of great results. The institution, in its former period, was in an
inchoate condition. A few young officers, raised up partly as teachers,
and partly as pupils, without a course of studies, without regulations,
and without discipline, could furnish no just ideas, from experience, of
what a highly intellectual, well-ordered school of science should be;
and accordingly the want of just ideas of education was precisely what
first stood in the way of making West Point what it subsequently became.
For more than five years there was a wrestling between old and new
ideas. There was a positive ignorance of what high education should be.
In fact, the country had no models for it. Then there were old habits to
overcome. Lastly, there was a willfulness on the part of some in
authority, opposed as long as opposition was possible, to any new idea
of things. For people are aware, in this day of change and novelty, how
strongly the _vis inertiæ_ of intellectual habits opposes intellectual
improvement. This very _vis inertiæ_, at first, almost nullified the
power of law itself to improve and enlarge the studies at West Point.
How it acted we shall see. The first difficulty at West Point was,
(after preparing the accommodations and material) in complying with the
spirit of the law, and placing the _academic instruction on the high
ground really intended_. To understand this we must here advert to some
provisions of the law which were either overlooked or neglected. First,
the law expressly recognized an _Academic Staff_, who should confer
_degrees_. Secondly, that the cadets of West Point should be _students_,
subject to the _regulations of the Academy_. All this evidently meant
that these two hundred and fifty young men should be placed, like
students in college, under regular academic instruction, and that the
professors and teachers should constitute an academic faculty, with
power to regulate the education of the cadets, and confer degrees
according to merit. Ultimately this was accomplished; but it took much
effort on the part of the Professors to bring the military authorities
into a just conception of this scheme. During the years 1812 and 1813,
little was done except in commencing buildings, buying apparatus,
appointing the cadets, and getting ready for the real business of the
institution. Here we must record the first academic faculty organized at
West Point. The professorship of Natural and Experimental Philosophy,
which was higher in rank and emoluments than the others, was instituted
expressly for Col. JARED MANSFIELD, who, having retained his commission
in the corps of engineers, while he was surveyor-general in the
north-western states, was now (October, 1812,) appointed to the same
professorship which he held ten years before. ANDREW ELLICOTT, who had
been astronomer of the United States, and had a wide reputation for
mathematical knowledge, was appointed professor of Mathematics, in
September, 1813, at which time, also, ALDEN PARTRIDGE was appointed
professor of Engineering. The teacher of drawing was CHRISTIAN E.
ZOELLER, reappointed; and of French, FLORIMOND DE MASSON. This was the
first academic faculty. Subsequently, the principal professors were
allowed assistants, and other teachers were at still later periods
provided in the departments of Ethics, Tactics, Artillery, Chemistry,
&c., as the institution was enlarged, and its wants were better known.
The gentlemen above named were, however, the first professors and the
first faculty. They had the real _labor_ and responsibility of taking
the initial steps, and to a large extent, of forming the Military
Academy. At the very first step a difficulty occurred, which could not
have been anticipated. Captain ALDEN PARTRIDGE, (who was professor of
Engineering) was superintendent of West Point, from January, 1815, to
November, 1816--nearly two years. He was a man of strong will; of
independent and rather eccentric ideas, who quite naturally as a
military man, long resident at the Point, wished to forget that the law
required the education of the institution to be decided by an academic
faculty, and governed by regulations. He chose rather to remember that
it was a military post, governed by a military commandant, and sought to
gratify his own ambition by grasping its sole direction. Professors
Mansfield and Ellicott, who held no command in the army, took a
different view of the subject. They justly thought, that the object of
the institution was to give a thorough _scientific education_,
especially adapted to the art of war; that this required discipline, and
a course of studies systematic and complete; and that all this was
evidently contemplated by the law, which said that the Academy should be
governed by regulations, and hence an academic faculty. This difference
of opinion was vital. It led to a controversy of two years, which
belongs to the private rather than the public history of the Academy.
Little of it was known to the public, and we are now concerned only in
the issue. Had the views of Captain Partridge prevailed, the institution
never could have become what it is.[5] Fortunately, the Professors had
the law on their side, and also the good opinion of the administration,
and eventually gave to the scientific college the cast and features
which it now has. For three years, between 1814 and 1817, this internal
controversy continued, gradually tending to give the Academy a
systematic organization. General JOSEPH G. SWIFT, (head of the corps of
engineers,) who was officially inspector of the Academy, took up his
residence at West Point, in November, 1816, but remained only two
months. While there, there could be no controversy, as to the government
of the Academy, since the commander of engineers was legally its chief.
After the removal of General Swift, Captain Partridge, as senior
officer, again took command. It was determined, however, to remove him;
and the Government most fortunately hit upon an officer, whose
character, education, and accomplishments, most eminently fitted him for
the post of governing, and disciplining the young men, who were in turn
to become the _savans_ as well as the ornaments of their country. This
officer was SYLVANUS THAYER, a native of Massachusetts, commissioner in
1808 from West Point to the engineer corps, and who had recently
traveled in Europe, examining the military schools of France and
Germany. The arrival of Colonel Thayer constitutes the most important
epoch in the history of West Point. Why it is so will appear evident
when we trace out the _scientific culture_ of the Academy, and the
discipline which it furnishes. Up to 1813, we have seen that the
Military Academy was merely a small company of officers and cadets, who,
being stationed at one post, were required while there to pursue certain
mathematical and military studies. It had no one element of
organization. From 1814 to 1817, professors Mansfield and Ellicott were
struggling with no more than partial success, to give it organization
and systematic instruction. But, in 1817, Colonel Thayer, who had seen
in France what such institutions required, and whose enlightened mind
realized the necessity of adopting better methods, at once coöperated
with the Professors, in making a permanent and successful reform.
[Footnote 5: Captain Partridge, who was a useful and energetic
man, had subsequently full opportunity of carrying out his popular
views in the military schools of Norwich and Middletown, which he
founded by his own efforts.]
At this point we should notice the additions made to the academic staff,
between 1816 and 1819, and the steps taken by the war department toward
carrying out the views of the Professors, and Colonel Thayer. CLAUDE
CROZET was appointed professor of Engineering, in March, 1817; DAVID B.
DOUGLAS was appointed assistant professor of Natural Philosophy, in
January, 1815; CHARLES DAVIES was appointed assistant professor of
Mathematics in December, 1816. Rev. THOMAS PICTON was appointed
Chaplain, and professor of Ethics, in July, 1818. THOMAS GIMBREDE was
appointed teacher of Drawing, in January, 1819. Major JOHN BLISS,
instructor of Tactics, in April, 1818; Lieut. GEORGE W. GARDINER,
instructor of Artillery, in September, 1817. CLAUDIUS BERARD succeeded
Francis Masson, as teacher of French, in January, 1815; JOSEPH DU COMMUN
was appointed second teacher of French, in March, 1818. Of the old
professors, Captain Partridge and Francis Masson were gone; all the
others remain. Thus, in 1817, when Colonel Thayer took charge of the
Academy, the corps of teachers was composed of professors Mansfield,
Ellicott, and Crozet; teachers Zoeller and Berard; and assistant
professors Douglas and Davies, exclusive of the military teachers and of
those appointed in 1818 and 1819. This was properly the Academic Staff,
and Colonel Thayer was willing and pleased to have them take their
proper part in organizing the institution, and raising it to that high
standard of discipline and excellence to which it has since attained. In
the meanwhile, the war department, under the enlightened administration
of Mr. Crawford, had endeavored to supply some of the obvious defects of
the Academy, by new regulations.
So far we have pursued the history of the Academy, as it progressed from
a germinal idea to actual being and life. It is now necessary to trace
that system of _scientific culture_ which is its essential element and
peculiar character. In this the student of education may be more
interested, and as we trace it still further, in its _fruits_, the
education and services of more than two thousand young men, who have
held the most important positions in all the departments of life, we
shall be better able to pronounce a just judgment upon its merits and
services.
Mr. CRAWFORD, one of the most enlightened men who have appeared in
public affairs, was, we believe, the first to understand and attempt to
remedy the defects and irregularities which Professors Mansfield and
Ellicott had pointed out.[6] In March, 1816, “Rules and Regulations”
were drawn up by Mr. Crawford. The main points in them were--
1. There shall be a Board of Visitors, to consist of five suitable
gentlemen, who shall attend each annual examination.
2. There shall be a General Examination twice in each year; in July and
December, and an annual vacation in July and August.
3. Cadets shall be admitted in September, and examined in spelling,
reading, writing, and arithmetic.
4. A course of studies, embracing definitely all branches of science and
instruction to be procured, and rules for classification shall be drawn
up, and comprise a complete course of education at the institution.
[Footnote 6: These defects and irregularities arose from not
obeying the law, and not pursuing the ideas it pointed out. The
great effort of Professors Mansfield and Ellicott, was to get the
spirit of the law followed practically.]
According to the last regulation, a course of studies was drawn up by
the Academic Faculty, and approved by Mr. Crawford, in July, 1816. This
course comprised four years, and was substantially the same (although
largely increased,) which has been pursued since.
The _first year_ studies were English Grammar, French, Algebra,
Geometry, and Logarithms.
The _second year_ comprised French, Geometrical Construction,
Application of Algebra, Mensuration, Plain and Spheric Trigonometry, the
Conic Sections, and Drawing.
The _third year_, Natural and Experimental Philosophy, Astronomy, and
Drawing.
The _fourth year_, Engineering, Geography, History, and Ethics.
In the first draft, Engineering was put in the third year; but since
1817, has been placed in the fourth. In a year or two afterwards was
added the Calculus; and in a few years, Chemistry, Mineralogy, and
Natural Law. This course of studies is exclusive of the purely military
part, which under the heads of Tactics, Practical Artillery and Gunnery,
occupied several hours each day.
Thus, in July, 1816, the Academy had for the first time arrived at a
course of studies, and a preparation for discipline. In the fall and
winter of 1816, began an attempt to carry this course of studies into
practical effect. We do not say there had been no studies and no attempt
at classification before that, for there were, but that nothing had
really been perfected in either, till after the “regulations” of 1816.
If we could carry the reader back to the year 1815, and see the
difficulties under which the professor of that day labored, the small
material provided, and the undisciplined condition of the young men
under their charge, we should give better views of the merits and
services of its pioneer teachers. One or two reminiscences may possibly
throw some light on the subject. Colonel Mansfield arrived at West Point
in 1814, and immediately sought for his pupils. He was not like the
professors of whom Gibbon speaks, remembering that he had a salary to
receive, but forgetting he had duties to perform. On the contrary, he
immediately asked for pupils to teach. What was he to teach? Philosophy
and Astronomy. But these required prior training, and it was not till
the winter of 1814-’15, that he could find any pupils. Then he found
_five_ young men who thought that they could go on in such studies. For
want of any recitation rooms at the Point, he taught them in the parlor
of his own house. As we shall refer specifically to the subject of
text-books, we merely add, that the only work to be found at all
suitable, was _Enfield’s Philosophy_. There was no classification, and
in a few months these five cadets were commissioned. They made the first
class in Philosophy, taught at West Point.
Again, there are some who will recollect Professor Ellicott, sitting at
his desk at the end of a long room, in the second story of what was
called the Mess Hall, teaching Geometry or Algebra, looking and acting
precisely like the old-fashioned schoolmaster, of whom it was written,
“And still they gazed, and still the wonder grew,
That one small head could carry all he knew.”
The cadets were all “boys” to him, and his kind face was long
remembered. In the other end of this room, or in the next, was seen his
acting assistant, Stephen H. Long, then a young lieutenant of engineers;
since distinguished as a traveler, an engineer, and a man of science.
The text-book used was “Hutton’s Mathematics,” and at that time the best
to be had. Mr. Hutton had been a professor at Woolwich, England, and his
treatises were plain, simple, easily understood, and therefore well
adapted to beginners. It was, however, very deficient both in extent and
analysis. It was a good text-book then, for there were no cadets trained
to pursue deeper or more analytical works. With Hutton’s Mathematics,
Enfield’s Philosophy, and plain right-lined drawing, and nothing which
could be called engineering, did the cadets of the Academy get along,
without roll, classification, or graduation, till the close of 1816.
In August, 1817, as we have said, Colonel Thayer became superintendent
at West Point; and in the course of the next four or five years the
Academy passed through the great changes which brought it from the
inchoate to the crystallized state in which it now appears. The most
important of these changes relate to scientific culture; and we shall
best describe them by narrating the _actual work_ the classes then
pursued, and the change of text-books. The first step was taken, as we
have seen, in March, 1816, by the regulations of Mr. Crawford, which
required classification, a course of studies, and annual examinations.
Some steps towards these were taken in 1816, but very imperfectly. In
1817 the system of classification was first systematically begun. CLAUDE
CROZET, a French officer under Napoleon, and a pupil of the Polytechnic
School, was appointed professor of engineering, in March, 1817. The
annual examination coming on in June, the course of studies in his
department did not regularly commence till September, and the second or
junior class[7] of 1817-’18 was the _first_ class which commenced
thoroughly the severe and complete course of studies at West Point. The
_labors_ of that class in the years 1818 and 1819 may have been equaled,
but certainly have not been surpassed. It was not a brilliant class, but
its labors were not the less on that account. It had not merely to pass
over the plain turnpike road of science which is now made so easy to
those who follow; but, like the pioneers of an army, had to cut down the
obstructions, make their own bridges, and to no small extent, furnish
their own munitions. Let us look into the class-room of 1817, as
Professor Crozet advances to instruct those young men in studies, which
were not only new to them, but entirely unheard of, and in which the
language to which they were born and bred _furnished not a single
text-book_. Professor Crozet was to teach engineering; but when he met
the class, he found not one of them fit to learn engineering. These were
branches of science, and its affiliations, essentially necessary to
engineering, which they had never been taught. What was he to do? All he
could do obviously was to supply these preliminary studies before he
could commence in his own department. In other words, he must begin by
becoming a teacher of mathematics, and drawing. The surprise of the
French engineer instructed in the Polytechnique may well be imagined
when he commenced giving his class certain problems and instructions,
which not one of them could comprehend or perform. Among these
preliminary studies was Descriptive Geometry, not an original and
distinct science, but which by _projecting_ geometrical figures and
problems on co-ordinate planes, gave a more facile and practical mode of
_representing_ (as its name implies,) as well as solving many
geometrical and practical problems. This, too, required an accurate
knowledge of mathematical and perspective drawing, and its various minor
but important arts. We doubt whether at that time more than a dozen or
two professors of science in this country knew there was such a thing;
_certainly_ they never taught it, and equally certain, there was not a
text-book in the English language. Perhaps this is not surprising, when
we reflect, that this new application of geometry was scarcely thirty
years old. Monge, a French savans, was, we believe, the author of this
system, about the beginning of the French Revolution. Crozet meant to
begin with Descriptive Geometry, but fortunately, the class was not in
the last year of the course (in which engineering has recently been
taught,) and could spare some time for mere mathematics. But, a new
difficulty arose. There was no text-book in English, and none to be had
just then in French. Geometry is not a thing to be taught orally. What
is to be done? It was here at this precise time that Crozet, by aid of
the carpenter and painter, introduced the _blackboard_ and chalk. It is
a very simple thing, and so is every thing which is useful; but we know
of no mere adjunct of teaching, so useful as the blackboard. To
professor Crozet, so far as we know, is due the introduction of this
simple and useful machine. He found it, with many other things, far
superior to the English methods in the Polytechnic of France.
[Footnote 7: The Class here spoken of graduated in 1819. Of its
living members, are HENRY BREWERTON, late Superintendent at West
Point; EDWARD D. MANSFIELD, Commissioner of Statistics for the
State of Ohio; JUSTIN DIMMICK, late Commander of Fortress Monroe;
DANIEL TYLER, a distinguished Engineer and General in the Army of
the Potomac; WM. H. SWIFT, a distinguished Engineer, and President
of the Illinois Canal Company; JOSHUA BAKER, a Civil Engineer,
Judge, and Planter, in Louisiana; and Major TURNBULL,
distinguished as a Topographical Engineer in the War with Mexico.
Among the dead was GEORGE H. WHISTLER, the most distinguished
Civil Engineer our country has produced.]
We now see Crozet with his blackboard before him, chalk in hand, and
animated, intellectual face, about to teach his class a new science,
without a text-book. Again he meets a new difficulty. He does not more
than half understand the American language. This difficulty is only to
be overcome by practice. With extreme difficulty he makes himself
understood. With extreme difficulty his class comprehend that two planes
at right-angles with one another are to be understood on the same
surface of the blackboard on which are represented two different
projections of the same object. But, at last it is done. The Professor
labors with inexhaustible patience, and the pupils are pleased to
receive into their minds entirely new ideas. The first problems are
drawn and demonstrated on the blackboard, by the Professor; then drawn
and demonstrated by the pupils, and then accurately copied into
permanent drawings; and thus this class were taught in the most
important and valuable method of imparting true knowledge, which has
been given to mankind since the days of Socrates. Fortunately, professor
Crozet had brought with him the complete drawings of the French
Polytechnique, so that he was not, in this particular, obliged to depend
upon himself. The path of his instruction soon became easier, and then
this class completed their course in drawing, mathematics, and
Engineering.
In the study of Natural Philosophy and Mechanics, the way was scarcely
less difficult. We have already said, that Enfield’s Philosophy was the
first book on that subject. But this was not enough. Professor Mansfield
looked around in vain for any suitable book on Mechanics. At last,
_Gregory’s Mechanics_ was adopted. It was a book without any analysis,
and probably written only for scientific men. Yet, it was the best to be
had. For several years after, this work still remained the best book on
Mechanics. Whether the class who first studied its mysterious pages
acquired as clear and extensive ideas of the subject as those who have
since passed over smoother roads, may be doubtful. It is certain they
had more arduous labors. We have said there was _no_ text-book on
engineering, as a science. When the class which had commenced
Descriptive Geometry, with professor Crozet, (then the second or the
junior class,) had become the first class, they were instructed in
engineering by drawings from oral teaching, on the blackboard. The
various modes of laying out fortifications, of bridging, of defiling, of
materials, ordnance, &c., were taught by professor Crozet. For several
years no text-book in engineering was found. It was not till 1823 that a
French treatise, entitled the Science of War and Fortication, was
translated by Major O’Connor, and for several years used as a text-book.
It will be seen that the class which, in 1817, 1818, and 1819, commenced
the new culture and discipline of West Point, had an arduous and
difficult task. It is, notwithstanding, quite probable, that this severe
exercise of the mind, in making paths for itself, where there are no
guide-posts on the way, no regal road, is a better discipline than that
furnished by the more easy and systematic methods.
Perhaps no one step taken at West Point, has contributed so much to
intellectual culture as the Merit-Roll. The effect at the Military
Academy is totally different from what it would be at any civil
institution. For there it determines _rank_, which is the great object
of military men. Forty young men may be commissioned on the same day to
the same grade, but through all their after life, even when they return
to civil life, the distinctions of the merit-roll will follow them, and
be counted for or against them. In the very first day of their
commissioned service, the distinction is a practical one, for there are
great and practical advantages in certain _arms_ of the service over
others. Thus the engineer officer, without any actual care of men, or
responsibility for any movements, and almost always stationed at
comfortable posts, has great advantages over other arms. The Artillery
has advantages over the Infantry. Thus the cadet, commissioned from West
Point, has determined for himself, by his position on the merit-roll,
not only his rank in the army, but almost his position in human life.
The merit-roll, as it now exists, graduated in all departments, and
summed up at the close of the course, was not adopted at once, but was
the work of several years.
In February, 1818, the superintendent of the Academy was directed by the
Secretary at War to publish in the Army Register the “names of cadets
who are distinguished for attainments, and meritorious conduct, not
exceeding five in each class, specifying the studies in which they may
excel.”
We well recollect with what excitement and interest this communication
was received by the cadets of that day, especially by those who thought
themselves within the probabilities of that distinction. It
unquestionably stimulated most of the young men to much greater
exertions than they would otherwise have made. In a few months after,
the merit-roll was fully established in the classes, and the rank of the
graduating cadets determined by it.
There has been much discussion, and no small doubt, as to the real
effects of emulation. There is undoubtedly a bad sense, and a bad effect
attached to that term. But is that a necessary consequence of the
merit-roll? Is not the merit-roll adopted, so far as it can be
ascertained, in all departments of human life? Who would risk himself
with an ignorant engineer, if he could get a skilled one? Who would
employ a poor clerk if he could get a good one? The objection made to
emulation is that it excites wrong motives. However this may be, and
however casuists may regard it, it is quite certain that the merit-roll
is the strongest stimulant to intellectual exertion which can be
presented to young men. Nor can we perceive, after much observation on
its effect, that it has impaired the purely moral motives of action, or
excited evil passions, to be remembered in after life. At West Point all
the moral actions which are visible and tangible are brought within the
scale of the merit-roll, and often the fate of a young man is determined
far more by his standing in conduct, than in studies.
II. STUDY, DISCIPLINE, AND FRUITS.
Having thus sketched the historical progress of the Academy in the path
of scientific culture, it remains for us to state what it _is_; what it
has _done_; and what men have _conducted_ it.
Without entering into minute details, we shall very briefly state the
present methods of study and discipline. The leading studies in their
order are Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Mechanics, Astronomy,
Engineering, Chemistry, French, Tactics, Artillery Practice, Mineralogy,
Ethics, and History. This course is wholly scientific, the practical
part being adapted strictly to military purposes. In the early period of
the institution, some attempt was made to introduce the classics, but it
was found impracticable, with the limited time allowed the cadets.
Indeed, it may be doubted whether any institution can have more than one
_tone_. All branches of human learning may be embraced in the proper
schedule of university instruction; but has any university given equal
attention to all branches of education? What are called colleges in our
country, all aim at fitting young men for the civil professions--Law,
Medicine, and Theology. They therefore make the classics the principal
branch of study, and are right, since Law, Medicine, and Theology have
their foundation deep laid in the classic ages. Literature also is a
part of professional knowledge, necessary to adorn and illustrate the
history and theory of professional science. Hence, in these lines of
instruction specially have run the studies of the college, and from
these is derived the _tone_ of college education. The object of the
Military Academy was totally different. It was not civil, but martial
life, for which the young men were fitting. It was neither a
metaphysical discussion, nor a hair-splitting argument on the law, in
which they were expected to excel. They were to learn the sterner
arguments of the battle-field; to arrange squadrons for the hardy fight;
to acquire that profound knowledge of the science and materials of
nature, which should fit them for the complicated art of war; to defend
and attack cities; to bridge rivers; to make roads; to provide
armaments; to arrange munitions; to understand the topography of
countries; and to foresee and provide all the resources necessary to
national defense. This was the object of the Military Academy, and to
that one end it was adapted. The method of education may be happily
stated under the heads of Studies, Physical and Moral Discipline, and of
Military Exercises.
1. The subjects and method of study we have already mentioned;
Mathematical, Philosophical, Mechanical, Chemical, Military, and French,
the military language. These being the chief topics of study, the
students and the time were suitably divided into classes and hours.
There are four classes, occupying four years, as usual in colleges.
There are ten months of study, the intermission being in the hot months
of July and August, when only military studies and exercises are
pursued. The studies of a day are necessarily modified, by the
introduction of military exercises which consume much time. The regular
_study hours_ (which include also the recitations,) are from 8 A.M. to 1
P.M., and from 2 P.M. to 4 P.M., making _seven hours_ of study and
recitations. Generally _four hours_ more are consumed in military
exercise and discipline, being the hours before breakfast, and after 4
P.M. Thus _eleven_ hours are generally occupied either in study or
exercises. The evening also after dark, is devoted to study in so far
that with occasional exceptions, the cadets are required to be in the
rooms. In this division of time we find a _continual alternation of
study and exercise_; leaving the least possible time for idleness, or
mere amusement. Indeed, the problem of education is to find the _maximum
of development_, with the _minimum of idleness_. To this should be
added, that the development should be co-relatively, intellectual,
physical, and moral.[8] It is not merely ignorance, but _unequal_
development, which is the great misfortune of mankind. How many great
and glorious intellects have been lost, because there were no
counter-balances to the force which, inclined in only one direction,
carried them off into a wilderness of fruitless objects!
[Footnote 8: We use the word _moral_, in preference to spiritual,
because, in its comprehensive sense, including the latter; but by
no means intimating, that in this Christian country, we should
make any place of education a mere reproduction of Persian or
Greek models. Our servile imitation of the Ancients, often makes
us forget that we are neither Spartans nor Romans. The man who
attempts at this day to revive the institutions of Pagan Greece,
is as false to true Philosophy, as he is to true Christianity.]
In the course of studies pursued at West Point, the main feature is the
_method_ of study. We can give an idea of this in a few words. The very
first thing done at West Point is to _recognize_ the fact, that
_intellects are unequal_; in other words, that of a given number of
young men, commencing a severe and elaborate course of studies, there
will be some who can not endure it, and can not get through; and others,
who while they will come up to the requisites for graduation, can not
equal a third class, who are capable and ambitious of receiving the
highest style of education. This recognition is effected thus: a class
enters the Academy, we will say _eighty_ in number. This class enters on
the 1st of September; and on the 1st of January there is a semi-annual
examination. This four months of study by that class is regarded as a
period of _probation_, which will furnish some test of the abilities of
its several members. When the January examination is held, some are
found deficient, and they are at once discarded. Then the remaining
class are numbered, according to what is then their _apparent_ merit,
and they are divided into _sections_ of from fifteen to twenty each;
those highest on the roll being placed in the first section; those next
in the second, &c. Usually there are four of these sections. The
professor usually teaches the first section; his assistant the second,
and so on. It is obviously a decided advantage to be in the first
section, and there is usually a struggle to get there. But, a cadet may
change his position in his class, at any time, by his own efforts. This
he can only do, however, by more strenuous efforts. Then, if he be in
the second section, he may at the end of the year be found to have a
higher aggregate of good marks in study and conduct than some of those
in the first section. In that case he will be transferred. Thus the
ambition of the student has always placed before it the possibility of
higher class rank, and if his talents and industry are capable of it, he
will attain it.
The _method_ of study at West Point, which in all institutions is the
important point, is the _rigidly demonstrative_, in those studies which
admit of it, and the _positively practical_ in those which do not. The
course of studies requires this, if the subjects of study are to be
thoroughly understood. There is little of the purely metaphysical or
transcendental known or pursued at West Point. No abstract speculations
or merely theoretical inquiries occupy their minds. It is the actually
knowing, and doing, in which they are engaged. As far as can be made
practically useful, the _oral_ method is pursued. In mathematical and
mechanical, engineering and tactical studies, this is largely the case.
The blackboard, we have said, was first introduced into this country by
Professor Crozet, at West Point. How largely this is used in all
institutions of education now, our readers well know. It has proved one
of the most efficient means of instruction at West Point. The student of
the mathematical section, for example, begins with a text-book on
Algebra, in his hand; but, it is on the blackboard where the workings of
his mind are chiefly exhibited. He learns what he can from the book,
but, on the blackboard the professor makes him trace out what he has
done, not merely by telling what he knows, but what he don’t know;
detects his weak place, and forces his mind (so far as such force is
possible,) to _think_, and think rightly on the subject before him. This
_thinking_, we need not tell experienced teachers, is the great thing
which education is to teach. If a student can not, or will not think
studiously and industriously, he will not long remain at West Point.
There is not, as in civil colleges, the great fallow field of poetry,
history, and metaphysics, in which he may show his classical professor
that he has acquired rich things, although ignorant of mathematics. It
will not do to say that he has wandered with Greeks and Romans around
the ruins of Troy, or by the waters of Babel. There is no such
compensating principle in the system at West Point. The cadet must study
what is set before him; must study it hard; must think upon it, and
discipline his mind to systematic modes of thought.
2. This leads us to the Specific Discipline of the Academy. This is
partially included in what we have already said. The intellectual
discipline is mainly maintained by the method of study; but there is a
grand and perfect system of discipline, which we may briefly describe.
The term DISCIPLINE is derived from disciples, _discipulus_, and means
originally _teaching_ of knowledge; but this is not all, nor entirely
its modern sense. Discipline is _training_ in knowledge and virtue, in
order and diligence, in good conduct, and good habits. To do this
requires a control of the body as well as mind; of food and raiment; of
time and exercise; as well as the imparting of facts and ideas. It was
in the former sense rather than of the latter, that the word EDUCATION,
(to lead forth,) was understood among the ancients, and so far as they
went they were right. It was this _discipline_ in virtue, temperance,
courage, fortitude, and self-denial, which was taught in the days of
Persian Cyrus, and Greek Leonidas. It was adopted among the early
Christians; but, Cowper well said:--
“In colleges and halls in ancient days,
When learning, virtue, piety, and truth
Were precious, and inculcated with care,
There dwelt a sage called Discipline.
* * * * *
But Discipline, a faithful servant long,
Declin’d at length into the vale of years,”
Nothing can be more certain than the decline of “discipline” in modern
civil institutions. “Colleges and Halls” advertise a much enlarged
course of studies; they call to their aid the most learned professors;
and they proclaim “all the modern improvement,” and yet it is quite
certain, that a pupil can walk for years their learned halls, and at
last receive the honors of graduation with a very small share of either
learning, diligence, or virtue. Civil institutions may be most excellent
for all, who either by early care or natural inclination are willing to
use their opportunities for their intellectual or moral advancement.
Nay, more, all open irregularities will be corrected, and all possible
means afforded for spiritual improvement. But there are two things
impossible to overcome--the popular and almost universal license allowed
youth, (under the name of freedom) and the total want of any ultimate
power to restrain it. These stand directly in the way of thorough
discipline. At a Government Military Institution, this is directly
reversed. The very first thing taught is _positive obedience_. The cadet
can not be a week at West Point without knowing that he can not govern
himself, but must be governed by others. If he is either not fit or not
willing, the faculty meet the case in short and decisive language: “If
you are either unable or unwilling to pursue the course of study and
discipline, we direct you must instantly go. There are plenty more
worthy to fill your place.” There is, then, no alternative for the cadet
but to go forward, and exert himself to the utmost, or not to go at all.
There can be no loitering by the way, to slumber in idleness, or waste
in dissipation, or pursue the pleasures of literature. There is no doubt
that this stern and constant discipline is the great merit of West
Point. It acts on the whole conduct and character. We have already said,
that the class-standing determined by the merit-roll, determined their
position relatively, and their rank in the army, and by consequence,
great distinctions and differences in after life.
Let us see how this merit-roll is made up. The _first_ thing done is to
_mark_ each cadet with a _figure_ (having relation to an agreed scale of
numbers,) for every act done or undone, in study, conduct, drill,
attention, &c. The _second_ is to agree upon the _relative values_ of
each study, conduct, &c., in aggregating the whole positive or negative
performance of a cadet, in his whole course at West Point. The summation
of these for any one year gives his class-standing for that year, and
the summation for the whole course gives his standing at the time of
graduation, and his rank in the army.
Formerly, and we believe yet, the mode of marking and summing up for
standing, was this. Each professor or teacher marked for one performance
one of seven marks, from -3 to +3. This being purely artificial may be
changed. But it is in this way the marking is made. Then in regard to
_relative values_ of study and conduct, the scale formerly was:--
Mathematics, 300.
Philosophy and Mechanics, 300.
Engineering and Military Science, 300.
Chemistry and Mineralogy, 200.
Moral and Political Philosophy, 200.
Conduct, 300.
Infantry Tactics, 150.
Artillery Practice, 150.
French, 100.
Drawing, 100.
To obtain 2,100, the aggregate, a cadet must never have failed in a
recitation, or been absent from a military duty, or derelict in the
least particular. This most rarely if ever happens. Not to fall short
more than 100, is evidence of very high standing.
It is evident, that under this system, emulation is highly excited, and,
in fact, there must be a constant, unremitting effort to graduate at
all. The general result is, that not more than one-half of all appointed
are graduates. At the first semi-annual examination, many drop off;
several more at the end of the first year, and more at the end of the
second. Nearly all who survive the second year are graduated.
The only remaining point, peculiar to the system at West Point, is that
of Military Exercises. As a Military Institution, this is a necessity,
but it has also a great advantage as a means of Physical Education. This
is a kind of education too much neglected, and for which civil colleges
afford little opportunity, and no encouragement. The ordinary games,
amusements, and walks in the field are relied upon to afford development
to the body, and the natural tastes the only guide. So thought not
Persian statesmen, Greek Philosopher, or Roman Senator. In contrast, a
systematic education of the body was a principle, and a practice, with
all the civilized nations of antiquity. There was a constant attention
to this in the training of youth; and the Olympian Games, the Gymnastic
Exercises, and the Gladiatorial Shows, all had reference to this
principle. If heathen nations could thus wisely attend to the healthy
development of their bodies, can Christian people safely neglect it?
There is no question that the Christian law of temperance, daily labor,
good temper and amiable dispositions will do much to preserve health and
strength. The health of the mind goes far to make the health of the
body; but we must recollect that all students, properly so called--men
who are set apart for the cultivation of learning and science--the
_savans_ of a country, are cut off at the very beginning, from that
_daily labor_ of the body, which in the dawn of human history was
declared to be the necessity of man’s existence. There is, therefore, a
positive need of supplying by some system of salutary exercises, the
place of that labor in which the farmer and mechanic are constantly
exercised. What shall it be? Our common classical institutions have left
this almost entirely to the student’s own choice. Several hours of the
day are left to the student to employ as he pleases. Does not experience
prove, that he is quite as apt to employ this in novel reading, or
playing cards, or visiting, or (in the case of an ambitious pupil,) in
studying or reading the classics, as in any systematic method of
exercise? Let the early dead of consumption, the victims of dissipation,
and the unhappy subjects of chronic diseases, teach the living, that
education consists not merely in spurring the mind on to intellectual
feats, however admirable. The bird soars through the mid-heavens, but
soars on the strength of his wings; and if he had the soul of Socrates,
would still fall, when they are exhausted.
The military exercises, at West Point, accomplish some great results.
They give an admirable exercise to the body, and they occupy time which
might be wasted, and they compel the cadets to give up late night
studies. Let us begin with the last. Nothing is more common among the
ambitious students of colleges, than to sit up late at night. To burn
the midnight oil, in order to accompany every thought in the realms of
Plato, or fight with Hector on the plains of Troy, or pursue the phantom
of metaphysics, or the genius of literature through the bright worlds of
fiction, is the common boast of scholars. They have little thought, till
too late, that life was shortened, and happiness impaired, by every hour
taken from the natural period of rest. At West Point this evil is
avoided, not so much by force of command, as by that of wise
arrangements. At the dawn of day, even in the shortest days, the shrill
fife and rolling drum summon the cadet to his morning duties, and with
the exception of the hours of meals, there is one incessant pressure
upon him for bodily and intellectual labor, till ten at night. The
results of this is, that when the hour of retirement comes, he must have
more than human strength, who is not ready and willing to lie down and
sleep. There are, of course, exceptions; but, at West Point, they are
rare. The lights are put out at 10 o’clock, and the weary student is
ready to retire. Thus, the system of discipline at the Military Academy
at once strengthens the body, stimulates ambition, prevents idleness,
and compels the mind to pursue the objects of reason, rather than the
charms of imagination.
Having thus traced very briefly the history, studies, and discipline of
West Point, it is only just to say something upon the fruits it has
produced. These are divided naturally into two classes; the work of the
_Professors_, and the performance of _Graduates_. The former is little
noticed in the accounts of our colleges, except in the reputation of
some distinguished men; but the latter, (the divines, lawyers, and
statesmen who have graduated,) make the glory and the ornament of the
triennial catalogue. Let us see if something has not been produced by
West Point, which, in regard to the peculiar objects and teaching of the
Academy, may bear a favorable comparison with the catalogue of any
institution for the last half century. We do not mean in regard to the
learned professions, for if West Point had excelled in these
departments, it would have utterly failed in those for which it was
made. But, we mean in the great field of science and of usefulness.
First, let us look at some of the fruits produced by its professors,
especially in the production of _text-books_. In the history of
instruction at West Point, we have stated the total absence in the
beginning, of text-books on some subjects, and the unfitness of those on
others, even the common studies of Mathematics. The first text-book on
Descriptive Geometry, published in America, and we believe, the English
language, was prepared by Professor CROZET; but, as he then understood
our language imperfectly, and had little taste for authorship, it was
soon supplanted, by a complete treatise prepared by Professor Davies. On
that subject, as on the subject of Engineering, there was no systematic
treatise; and for a time, West Point got along by oral teaching, and
such collateral aid as could be had. The utter deficiency of suitable
books may be known by the fact, that the first really tolerable
text-books on mathematics were translations of La Croix, Bourdon, Biot,
&c., French authors. The French methods of writing and teaching science
are, on most topics, the best. Their style is clear and analytical. The
English treatises are clumsy, being what is called in literature,
elliptical, having vacancies in the reasoning, to be supplied by the
student. The next great and permanent improvement in books, were the
mathematical works of Professor DAVIES, a graduate of 1815, when the
Academy was yet in a chrysalis state; he was several years a teacher
before he conceived the idea of supplying a new series of mathematical
text-books. His first plan was to adopt the best French works as a
basis, and modify them, so as to be adapted to the American course of
instruction. In this manner were prepared “Davies’ Legendre,”
(Geometry,) and subsequently “Davies’ Bourdon,” (Algebra.) Other
treatises were prepared on his own plan, and thus, for many years,
Professor Davies pursued the quiet and laborious task (independent of
other avocations,) of preparing an entire course of mathematical
text-books. In time he modified these again, so as to fit them for the
best colleges, and the higher schools. From the smallest mental
arithmetic, to the profoundest treatise on the Calculus, he has produced
clear and admirable text-books on every topic of mathematical studies.
Many other good books have been prepared by professors in colleges, but
there is no part of the United States in which some one of Davies’ works
is not taught in schools and colleges. Gradually, the civil institutions
have been, in some degree, brought up to the standard of West Point, in
mathematical studies.
In more recent years, Professor BARTLETT has published his treatise on
Optics; Professor CHURCH, on the CALCULUS, and Professor MAHAN, on Field
Fortification, and a treatise on Civil Engineering. Various other works
on military subjects have been contributed to the stock of knowledge, by
graduates of the Academy.[9]
[Footnote 9: The authorship of West Point has been quite
extensive: too much so to enumerate here. Among the works of its
graduates, we may mention the “Political Manual,” “American
Education,” and Statistical Reports by Edward D. Mansfield, the
“Review of Edwards on the Will,” by A. T. Bledsoe, and the
Military Tactics of Generals McClellan, and Halleck. The
Educational Works of Mr. Mansfield have been before the public for
many years, and studied in all parts of the United States. In this
class also may be mentioned the editorial labors of some twenty of
the graduates, some of whom have had no small influence on public
affairs.]
Thus have the graduates of West Point, by disseminating in textbooks,
and teaching the higher knowledge, and better methods pursued there, in
fact, and beyond dispute, _elevated the entire standard of education in
this country_. Contrast, for example, the text-books of Day, Hutton,
Enfield, Gregory, &c., which were the only ones to be had on
mathematical science in 1818, with those now in use at West Point, New
Haven, or Princeton. Contrast the methods of study before the
blackboard, the art of drawing, the system of rigid demonstration, and
of exact scales of merit were introduced, with those now in use in the
higher schools of science, and we shall be satisfied that West Point has
done a great and most useful work in elevating the standard of
education. This is one fruit of its production, which has been
altogether too lightly estimated. If it be of importance to increase the
number of blades of grass, it is of much more importance to increase the
number of minds fitted to enjoy the works of God, and use beneficially
the gifts with which he has intrusted them.
A more obvious and commonly remarked fruit of West Point, is the _men_,
laboring in their vocations, which it has produced. It is impossible
here, (though it would be a labor of love,) to note the individual
examples of merit and usefulness, among those whom West Point has sent
into the service of their country. We are here limited rather to a
statement of general results. It may be done briefly; and since we have
seen no Register later than 1850, we must deal in round numbers. These,
however, will approximate the precise facts. They are there
statistically:--
Whole number of Graduates, (about) 2,000.
Killed in battle, 80.
Died in service, 300.
In military service of the United States now, 800.
Have been in political service (ministers, }
governors,) mayors, and members of congress, } 80.
and of legislature }
Other civil and state offices, 100.
Lawyers, 110.
Clergymen, (including two bishops,) 16.
Physicians, 110.
President of colleges, professors and teachers, 100.
Authors, editors, and artists, 25.
Civil engineers, and officers of R.R. and canals, 180.
Merchants, financiers, farmers, and manufacturers, 140.
Officers of militia, and volunteers, (not of the
army,) 110.
Numbers have resigned, and died young, not above enumerated, and numbers
of these also have died in the civil service. We have made this
classification to show how largely West Point has contributed to
education, civil engineering, and the professions. These were not the
direct objects of the Academy; but, when long years of peace presented
no duties but that of the garrison, and no glory to the profession of
arms, it was natural and proper for active and ambitious young men to
seek honor and usefulness in other pursuits. Nor did the government
discourage this, for it foresaw what has happened, that these young men,
so highly educated in science, would diffuse this knowledge throughout
the country; elevate the standard of education, and be ready when their
country needed their services. This has happened. A better knowledge of
the exact sciences has been carried into the colleges; the railroads and
canals have been built by engineers ready furnished by the government;
and now when half a million of men have been suddenly called to war,
they have been largely officered by the graduates of West Point. Here we
may briefly allude to the most grave fact which has been urged against
the Military Academy. The best officers of the rebel army were educated
there. Why is this? Is there a want of sound morals? or, is loyalty no
virtue there? Neither. A part, and _a part only_[10] of the graduates
born and grown up in the south, have gone with their friends, families,
and connections, into the rebel service. This was on account of social
ties, and had no more to do with West Point, than had other rebels from
Harvard, or Yale, with those institutions. The noticeable fact is that
they were educated at the government expense, and therefore under
peculiar obligations to the country. But we find a parallel in the
numerous officers of the state, as well as of the army and navy, who had
been honored and rewarded at the public expense, but who thought it no
shame to betray their country, and conspire against its life. We in vain
attempt to account for such crimes, except upon the principle of common
depravity, of which history has furnished similar examples in all ages
of the world.
[Footnote 10: We should not forget that a large number of West
Point graduates from the south, (Maryland, Virginia, Carolina, and
Tennessee,) have remained _loyal_, in spite of all the influences
of social and political ties.]
We have come to the end of the work we proposed. The rise, progress, and
fruits of the Military Academy, we have briefly, and, we trust, justly
delineated. Certainly, we have no end to serve, no prejudice to gratify.
We knew the Academy in its early and immature period. We have seen it
grow up to usefulness and honor. We see its graduates taking their
places among those who have well served their country, and well deserved
its laurels. In this we are _glad_. But our memory is filled with other
images. We see West Point, in the now lengthening shadows of time. We
seem to see those with whom we studied freshly present, as they walk the
green plain, or sit before the class, or strive to teach our dull and
inattentive minds. They were men worth remembering, and when, in after
times, we became their friends, rather than their pupils, still more
pleasant memories gathered around them. We seem to see the venerable
ELLICOTT, like Goldsmith’s schoolmaster, alike full of learning, and of
kindly humor; the placid and intellectual expression of MANSFIELD, whose
abstracted looks seemed to be searching the higher philosophy; the
courtly and dignified THAYER, whose graceful manners and attractive
conversation can not be forgotten by any who knew him; and the amiable
COURTNAY, who though of later date, will long be remembered. He left the
world in doubt, whether he was the better scholar or the better man.[11]
[Footnote 11: Mr. Courtnay was afterwards Professor of Philosophy
and Mechanics in the University of Virginia. There he died,
lamented by all who knew him.]
Of these, and of those like them, do we think, when we think of West
Point. Nor of those alone; the place itself, where nature delights in
the sublime and beautiful, rises before us. No imagination is necessary
to clothe it with the hues of poetry; no books to recall the lost
passages of history; no labored eulogy to bring up the memories of the
dead. You can no more forget them, than you can the Pilgrims, when
standing by the rock of Plymouth. Yon gray and moss-covered ruin was
once the fortress of the Revolution. Yon scarcely perceptible pile of
stones marks the spot where its soldiers were hutted in the winter. Yon
slightly raised turf, beneath the dark shades of the cedar, was his
grave, and soon, perhaps even now, that slight memorial will be gone
forever. Yon little valley under the shadows of the mountain, recalls
the illustrious name of Washington. Yon blue mountain-top tells of the
beacon fires he lit. All around are memories; all around are sacred
spots. If the Greek remembers Marathon; if the Jew lingers at Jerusalem,
or the Christian pilgrim grows warm at Bethlehem, so should the American
remember West Point; linger round the ruins of Fort Put, and gaze with
delight on the blue summit of Beacon Hill.
DEVELOPMENT OF INSTRUCTION AT WEST POINT.
1. Down to 1802, the instruction of the Cadets attached to the Corps of
Artillerists and Engineers stationed at West Point, according to Act of
Congress (May 7th, which was all that repeated recommendations of
Washington and other experienced officers could obtain), was confined to
military drill and practical exercises in common with other members of
the Corps; but as that Corps was made up of the scientific officers of
the army, and as military works were in construction under their plans
and superintendence, these exercises were of great practical value, and
the appointment of these Cadets in 1794, and their gathering at West
Point, may be regarded as the nucleus of the Military Academy.
2. The Military Academy, established with that name, by Act of March 16,
1802, in pursuance of a Bill reported in 1800, by the Committee of
Defense in the House of Representatives, of which Harrison Gray Otis was
chairman, and to which an elaborate report of the Secretary of War
(James McHenry, of Maryland), had been referred--consisted of the Corps
of Engineers, which by the Act was organized distinct from that of
Artillery, and could not exceed in officers and cadets, twenty members.
The Corps was stationed at West Point, and its officers and cadets were
subject to duty in such places as the President should direct. The
principal engineer was made superintendent, and down to 1808 he was
instructor in fortifications, field-works, and the use of instruments.
Two officers of the rank of captain, appointed without previous military
experience, but with special reference to their knowledge of
mathematics, gave instruction in that branch, “one in the line of
geometrical, and the other of algebraic demonstration.”
In 1803, two teacherships--one of the French language and the other of
Drawing, was attached to the Corps of Engineers, and in 1804, F. De
Masson was appointed to discharge the duties of both.
In 1808, the basis of the Military Academy, so far as related to the
number of Cadets, was enlarged by the addition of two for each new
company of Infantry, Riflemen, and Artillery, added to the military
force; and the number in the Act of 1812, is limited to 250, which with
the ten originally attached to the Corps of Engineers, fixed the
strength of the Cadets at 260.
By the Act of April 29, 1812, the Corps of Engineers was enlarged, and
was again constituted the Military Academy, and in addition to the
teacher of the French language, and Drawing, provided in Act of Feb. 28,
1803, one Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy; one
Professor of Mathematics; one Professor of Engineering in all its
branches; and for each an Assistant Professor taken from the most
prominent characters of the officers or cadets, are provided for; and
for the purposes of military instruction, it is ordered that the
students shall be arranged into companies and officered from their own
members, to be taught all the duties of a private, non-commissioned
officer, and officer; and for instruction in all matters incident to a
regular camp, shall go into camp for at least three months of each year,
and erecting buildings and providing apparatus, library, and all
necessary implements, the sum of $25,000 is appropriated. By this act
the minimum of age is fixed at 14, and the literary qualifications of
candidates on entering are to be well versed in reading, writing, and
arithmetic.
III. CONDITION IN 1871.
I. GOVERNMENT AND ORGANIZATION.[12]
[Footnote 12: From Instructions for government of the U.S.
Military Academy, Report of Board of Visitors for 1871, and an
account by Col. McDougall in Report of English Military
Commission.]
A military officer, not usually below the rank of colonel, is appointed
by the President of the United States as _superintendent_ of the
Academy, who has supreme local control over both the studies and
discipline of the institution. He renders all prescribed returns, and
addresses his communications to the _inspector_.
The _inspector_ of the Academy is an officer of rank in the army named
by the Secretary of War, who has his residence at Washington, and
through whom all general orders relating to the Academy are transmitted
to the superintendent at West Point. He makes an inspection of the
Academy at least once in each year.[13]
[Footnote 13: The duties of Inspector are now (1871) discharged
directly by the Secretary.]
The general staff of the Academy consists of an adjutant, a
quartermaster, a treasurer, one surgeon, and two assistant surgeons.
Although the system of the Academy as regards the training of the cadets
both in and out of study is peculiarly and rigidly military, the staff
of instruction is separate from the staff of discipline.
_Military Staff._
The cadets are organized into a battalion of four companies.
The _commandant of cadets_, usually not under the rank of
lieutenant-colonel in the army, exercises the immediate command of the
battalion. He is also, _ex officio_, principal instructor in infantry,
artillery, and cavalry _tactics_ (signifying drill).
Under the commandant are six _assistant instructors of tactics_,
viz.--one for artillery; two for infantry; one for cavalry; one for
artillery and infantry; one for infantry and cavalry. The four senior of
these officers command the four cadet companies respectively; the two
junior officers being always available to perform the routine duties of
the others in case of absence. The assistant instructors must be
officers of the army.
The battalion is provided with a full complement of _cadet_ officers,
and non-commissioned officers, who are appointed by the superintendent
from a list submitted by the commandant of cadets.
To each company are appointed
1 Captain,
3 Lieutenants,
1 First Sergeant,
3 Second Sergeants,
4 Corporals.
The battalion staff consists of
1 Adjutant,
1 Quartermaster,
1 Sergeant Major,
1 Quartermaster Sergeant.
The cadet companies are composed indiscriminately of the four classes
into which the students are divided according to their respective years
of residence, the period of residence being four years for all.
The cadet officers are taken from the first, or senior class; the
sergeants from the second class; the corporals from the third class. The
selection is not made with special reference to proficiency in study.
Those are selected who have manifested the greatest military aptitude
and respect for discipline in their own conduct; although _cœteris
paribus_ superior standing in study would be decisive.
_Staff of Instruction_
The general superintendence of the studies is exercised by the
superintendent, acting with the Academic Board. The immediate staff of
instruction is as follows:
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ Two acting assistant professors,
Military and civil engineering.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ Two acting assistant professors,
Natural and experimental philosophy.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ Five acting assistant professors,
Mathematics.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ One acting assistant professor,
Drawing.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ Three acting assistant professors,
French.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ One acting assistant professor,
Spanish.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ One acting assistant professor,
Ethics and Law.
{ One professor,
{ One assistant professor,
{ Two acting assistant professors,
Chemistry, mineralogy, and geology.
{ One instructor,
{ One assistant instructor,
Ordnance and gunnery.
{ One instructor,
{ One assistant instructor,
Practical military engineering.
Military signals and telegraphing.
One sword master.
The Academic Board consists of the Superintendent, the Commandant of
Cadets, the Professors of the Academy, and the Instructors of Practical
Military Engineering, and of Ordnance and Gunnery.
All the professors and instructors, with their assistants and acting
assistants, have been educated at West Point, with exception of the
chaplain, the professors of French and Spanish, and the sword master.
All are regularly enrolled in the military service of the United States,
and subject to military discipline.
_Professors and Assistants._
The professor or chief instructor in each branch is responsible for the
efficiency and uniformity of the system of instruction in his own
department. To this end he has no special class or section assigned to
him for tuition. His time is devoted to general superintendence, and is
chiefly spent in visiting the halls of study of his assistants. He does,
however, take the instruction of the different sections, each in their
turn, as he sees fit, and occasionally assembles all the sections of his
department for lecture.
The assistant and acting assistant professors or instructors are always
appointed from among officers on the full pay of their regiments who
have graduated at the Academy, on the recommendation of the professor or
chief instructor of the branch in which there is a vacancy to be filled.
These assistants are carefully selected through means of the data of
their proficiency, temper, and general character, afforded by their
record of four years’ residence as cadets. They are, thus, all of them
previously well known to the professors to whom they are to act as
assistants, and to whom they are naturally inclined to defer from old
associations.
The term of duty at the Academy of the assistant and acting assistant
professors and instructors is fixed at four years, at the end of which
period they return to regimental service. Duty at the Academy is
obligatory on every officer who may be selected for it, and is
considered as part of the general service which every officer who has
graduated at West Point, owes to the country; practically those only are
selected to whom the duty is not disagreeable.
_Admission_
Each congressional or territorial district of the United States (_i.e._
each district entitled to return a member to Congress), is by law
entitled to have one cadet receiving education at the Academy.
The nominations are made in each year by the Secretary of War, on the
recommendation of the representatives in Congress of the several
districts then unrepresented at the Academy, or whose representatives
are about to quit the Academy. In addition to these, the President of
the United States may nominate ten cadets in each year, to be selected
according to his own will and pleasure, from the community at large.
The number of vacancies at West Point in any one year varies according
to the number of cadets who happen to complete their period of
residence, and of those, who, not having completed their term, are yet
discharged as deficient in studies or discipline, as hereafter
explained. The number of yearly admissions varies from 50 to 70.
The date of admission in each year is the 1st of July, and the candidate
for admission is required to report in person to the superintendent
before the 31st of May, with a view to his qualifications being tested.
But if sickness or any other unavoidable cause should interfere, he may
present himself on the 28th of August. Except at the two periods above
named, no admissions can take place.
Candidates must be over 17 and under 22 years of age, except in the case
of any candidate who may have served faithfully as an officer or
enlisted man in the army of the United States, either as a volunteer or
in the regular service during the late civil war, who may be admitted up
to 24 years of age.
Candidates must be at least five feet in height; free from any
deformity, disease, or infirmity which would render them unfit for
military service; and from any disorders of an infectious or immoral
nature. They must be able to read and write well, and be thoroughly
versed in the first four rules of arithmetic, in reduction, in simple
and compound proportion, and in vulgar and decimal fractions.
Although the examination for entrance is not difficult, the prescribed
tests, both medical and intellectual, are rigidly applied, and many
candidates are rejected.
The examination for entrance is not competitive, but simply a qualifying
examination. The competitive system commences after a cadet is once
admitted; it enters into every branch of instruction, and continues in
full force to the end of his residence.
_Subjects and Course of Study._
The length of the course of study, for all who may succeed in
graduating, is four years; its nature, after the first year, is
principally professional, and the course of study is identical for all
the students. The subjects are not all studied simultaneously, separate
periods of the course being devoted to certain subjects, as shown by the
time tables annexed.
The relative importance of the different subjects is indicated by the
maximum marks of merit assigned to them respectively, at the summing up
of the results of each student’s attendance at the end of his fourth
year, according to the following scale:--
_Subjects._ Maximum. Period of Attendance.
Mathematics, 300 2 years
Natural and experimental philosophy, 300 1 year.
Military and civil engineering, 300 1 “
Chemical physics and chemistry, 150 1 “
Ethics and law, 150 1 “
French, 100 2 years.
Drawing, 100 2 “
Spanish, 75 1 year.
Mineralogy and geology, 75 1 “
Ordnance and gunnery, 75 1 “
Infantry tactics (theory), 50 1 “
Artillery “ “ 50 1 “
Cavalry “ “ 50 1 “
Discipline, 300
-----
General merit, 2,075
Practical instruction in surveying; in fortification; in ordnance and
gunnery, including the loading, pointing, and firing heavy guns; in
drill, or, as it is termed, the tactics of the three arms; in interior
economy and regimental duty; forms an important part of the training of
the cadet at different periods during his residence. In addition, the
months of July and August in each year are entirely devoted to practical
instruction, the battalion being then placed under canvas and relieved
from all study.
During his first year a cadet receives instruction in fencing three
hours in each week, from 10th October to 1st April.
During his second year he receives instruction in riding three hours in
each week, from 1st November to 15th March.
Throughout the whole of his third academic year, from 1st October to 1st
July, he receives instruction in riding, excepting between the 1st
February and 15th April.
Throughout the whole of his fourth academic year he receives instruction
in riding, three days in each week.
Swimming is not taught at the Academy. There is a good gymnasium for the
use of the cadets in recreation hours, but the practice of gymnastics is
purely voluntary.
_Classification for Instruction._
The cadets are ranged in four distinct classes, corresponding with the
four years of residence. Cadets of the first year constitute the fourth
class; those of the second year, the third class; and so on. Cadets are
promoted from one class to another at the end of the academic year, 30th
June; provided only that they shall have passed satisfactorily before
the Academic Board in the examinations which are always held during
June, failing in which, they are either kept back in their then class
for another year, or, in the case of decided deficiency, discharged from
the Academy.
Each class is divided into sections convenient for instruction in the
different branches of study. The method of division will be best
explained by taking the fourth or lowest class as an example.
The members of the fourth class are, on their admission to the Academy,
arranged in alphabetical order, and are then formed into sections,
averaging about 12 cadets for each branch of study. After the lapse of a
month, transfers are made at the close of each week from one section to
another, according to the results of the past week’s attendance in
study, and so continue until those most advanced are found in the first
section; the next in order, in the second section; and so on.
During the first six months of residence, cadets are on probation, and
only receive their _warrant_ as cadets, provided they shall have passed
satisfactorily at the January examinations held before the Academic
Board, and that their conduct shall have been satisfactory.
Before receiving his _warrant_, each cadet is required to sign an
engagement of service in the United States army for eight years, and to
take an oath of allegiance to the National Government and Constitution.
The hours allotted to study are divided nearly equally between
attendance on the instructors in the halls of study--or _section rooms_,
as they are termed--and independent study in quarters. The attendance in
the section rooms is termed _recitation_; the independent study in
quarters, _study_.
The theory is, that during each recitation, every cadet of the section
attending it, shall receive a thorough _viva voce_ examination
illustrated on the blackboard, and there is not much practical variation
therefrom. Where there is any departure from it, it arises from the
number of cadets in a section being too large to enable them all to be
examined during the same recitation, which lasts an hour and a half, or
an hour, according to the subject. Recitations in mathematics, in
natural and experimental philosophy, and in civil and military
engineering, occupy one hour and a half; in all the other branches of
instruction, only one hour. Thus, when it appears in the time table that
a class attends mathematics, for example, from 8 to 11, it is to be
understood that the sections forming one half of the class attend their
respective teachers in the section rooms during an hour and a half,
while the other half of the class is engaged in study in quarters. At
the end of the first hour and a half those sections which have attended
recitation return to their quarters to study, while their places are
taken by the remaining sections which have been up to that time engaged
in study in quarters.
Each teacher, as a general rule, has two sections specially assigned to
him for instruction, excepting the professor or head of each department
who, as has been already explained, devotes his time to general
superintendence, and takes the different sections for his personal
instruction at such times and in such order as he may judge best.
Before proceeding to the section rooms the different sections parade in
the barrack square by sound of bugle, under the superintendence of the
cadet _officer of the day_; the roll is then called by the senior cadet,
who is termed the _section marcher_, who reports absentees to the
officer of the day, and marches his section off to the section room by
direction of the latter. Arrived in the section room, the section
marcher causes the cadets to take their seats in the order of their
names on the roll, and then hands them over to the instructor. When
dismissed by the instructor, the section marcher forms his section as
before, marches it back to the barrack square, reports all infractions
of discipline which may have taken place either in study or on the march
to the officer of the day, and then dismisses his section by the
latter’s permission.
There is no system of private tuition recognized at the Academy. Each
cadet must depend on his own exertions, aided by the explanations given
by the instructors in the section rooms, and by the occasional
assistance he may derive from his more advanced comrades.
The allotment of so large a portion of time to independent study is a
great departure from the practice of military schools in Europe; and it
is a remarkable feature in the West Point system that no continued
supervision is exercised over the cadets when studying in quarters
beyond that which is supplied by the discipline of the cadets
themselves. The senior of the two cadets inhabiting each room is
responsible for discipline and orderly behavior. The officer of the day
(cadet) visits each room during the hours of independent study; and the
_officer in charge_, who is detailed daily from the assistant
instructors of tactics, also visits the rooms at his discretion.
_Routine of Daily Work._
A full-dress parade of the battalion takes place every day at sunset,
after which the cadets are marched to supper, the hour of which varies
with the season of the year, but is never earlier than 5.30 p.m. Half an
hour after supper the evening call to quarters is sounded for study in
barracks until tattoo at 9.30. All cadets excepting officers, the
non-commissioned officers of the battalion staff, and the first
sergeants, must be in bed and their lights extinguished at 10 p.m., the
hour for the signal of _Taps_.
The arrangement of time on Sundays is as follows:
Breakfast at 7 a.m.
Full-dress parade and inspection at 8.
Call to quarters for _study in barracks_ at 9.
Church call at 10.30.
Recreation after church.
Dinner at 1 p.m.
Recreation.
Call to quarters for study, 3 to 5 p.m.
After 5 p.m. the arrangement of time is the same as on a week day.
Cadets may obtain leave from the Sunday afternoon study in barracks to
attend church a second time, should they desire it.
There is no yearly vacation. When a youth enters West Point, he is fixed
there, unless discharged, for four years without intermission, with the
exception of two months’ furlough which he may obtain at the end of his
second year on certain conditions, and which is subject to a scale of
diminution graduated according to misconduct.
This discipline would be intolerably severe but for the relaxation
afforded by the change from barracks and the section room to camp life.
The battalion is encamped from about 20th June to 30th August, and
during that period the time is exclusively devoted to military
exercises, practical instruction, and amusement.
_Proficiency in Study--Examinations._
The system of estimating proficiency in the different subjects studied
is very elaborate. Each instructor keeps daily notes of the proficiency
of the cadets forming the sections of which he has the charge; the
degree of excellence shown by a cadet at any recitation being recorded
by marks, 3 being the maximum for each lesson, which represents
_thorough_ proficiency; 2.5 signifies _good_; 2 _fair_; 1.5 _tolerable_;
1 _very imperfect_; any thing below 1 is recorded as 0, or complete
failure.
A weekly report showing the daily credit of each cadet and the aggregate
for the week, is handed in by each instructor to the professor or head
of his department at the end of the last study on Saturday, and the
professor personally delivers the weekly reports of his department to
the superintendent at the office of the latter between the hours of 12
and 2 p.m. on the same day. The professor at the same time recommends
such transfers of students from section to section as he may think
proper. The aggregate weekly credits of each cadet in all the branches
of instruction are then recorded in the superintendent’s office.
From the weekly class reports, and the monthly record of discipline, a
consolidated report of the progress of the Academy is made up monthly
and forwarded to the inspector of the Academy, who transmits an abstract
of the same to the parent or guardian of each cadet.
The weekly class reports form the most important element in determining
the relative standing of the cadets in their class at the period of
graduation, but a verifying test, or corrective, is supplied by the
examinations which take place in January and June, the method of
conducting which is as follows:
The January examinations commence on the 2d of the month. The
examination of the 4th or lowest class is conducted by the whole
Academic Board, the constitution of which has been already detailed. The
relative standing of the members of the fourth class, up to that time
arranged alphabetically, is then determined by the summing up of the
weekly class reports, verified or corrected by the results of the
examination. A large proportion of the cadets of the fourth class,
usually from one-sixth to one-eighth of the whole, are yearly pronounced
to be _deficient_, and removed from the Academy at this their first
examination, which on account of its importance is required to be
conducted by the whole Academic Board. The examinations of the three
other classes take place before committees of the Academic Board, the
whole Board being divided into two committees for this purpose.
The June, or _annual_ examinations, commence on the first of the month.
The first or graduating class alone is examined by the entire Academic
Board, and the final relative standing of the cadets determined. The
remaining classes are examined before the two committees of the Academic
Board.
The June examinations take place in the presence of the _Board of
Visitors_, the members of which are specially appointed in each year by
the President of the United States, and whose duty it is to report to
the Secretary of War, for the information of Congress, on the state of
discipline, instruction, &c., &c., of the Academy.
The senior assistant professor or instructor of the branch under
examination is _ex officio_ a member of the Academic Board or of the
committee thereof which conducts such examination; and the immediate
instructor of the section to be examined is likewise associated with the
Board or its committee so far as relates to the examination itself and
the arrangement of the section in order of merit.
_Classification according to Marks._
To assist the Academic Board in determining the accurate classification
of any section about to be examined, the immediate instructor of that
section hands to the Board, before the examination commences, a roll in
the order of merit in which he considers the members should stand, based
on the weekly credits which he had himself assigned.
At the close of the examination the same instructor hands to the Board a
second roll in the order in which he conceives the members of the
section should stand, judging by the result of the examination. The
instructor then retires and the Board proceeds to deliberate.
Each member of the Board having kept careful notes of the examination,
the relative standing of the cadets of a section in proficiency is
determined by discussion.
The question next arises, who, if any, are to be pronounced
_deficient_?--a dictum which inevitably entails discharge from the
Academy, or putting down to a lower class.
The different sections composing the class, having been arranged in one
class list in order of merit; one of the Board, usually the professor of
the department concerned, supposing _e.g._ the class to consist of 50
members, may move that No. 50 be declared deficient. If the motion is
negatived on discussion, the salvation of No. 50 proves also the
salvation of all standing above him. But if the motion be carried, Nos.
49, 48, 47, &c., may be pronounced deficient in like manner, and so on,
until a number is reached which is not condemned.
The examinations are entirely _vivâ voce_. Each cadet is subjected to a
searching oral examination of from seven to ten minutes, illustrated on
the blackboard where the subject admits of it. The daily record of the
proficiency of a cadet in any subject forms, as already stated, by far
the most important element in fixing his relative standing among his
classmates: it is only exceptionally that the public examinations alter
materially the order of merit which has been previously framed from the
weekly class reports.
At the close of each examination the Academic Board reports to the
Secretary of War the names of all cadets who are pronounced deficient in
studies or discipline, to be discharged from the Academy unless
otherwise recommended by the Academic Board.
The rule of discharge for deficiency, even in one solitary subject, is
very rigidly enforced; unless where exceptional circumstances, such as
loss of time on account of illness, or having been unavoidably prevented
from joining the Academy until some time after the rest of his class,
induce the Board to recommend that the cadet shall have another trial by
being put back to the next lower class.
Some detail is necessary to explain how the marks obtained by a cadet at
the daily recitations are employed to determine the credit he is to
receive in any given branch of study at the period of his graduation.
Where a subject is studied for two years, the maximum time allotted to
any branch of study, the marks gained during the first year help only to
fix a cadet’s relative standing in his class for the year next ensuing.
The credits shown by the weekly class reports of the second year alone
are taken into account in determining the credit due to a cadet at the
end of his residence.
The exact method of fixing the credits due for any one subject is as
follows. The professor makes out a roll of the class in the order of
merit finally fixed by the Academic Board at the June examinations. The
first on the roll then receives credit for the maximum number of marks
allotted to the subject; the last on the roll receives a credit of
one-third of that maximum only. The _common difference_ for all the
members of the class between those limits is then calculated, and the
remaining members receive credits varying from the first cadet and from
each other by the amount of that common difference. The figures thus
determined represent the credits assigned for any one subject at the
period of graduation, and the figure of general merit for each cadet is
made up of the aggregate credits obtained by him for all the branches of
study, with one column included for discipline.
Proficiency in drill or riding does not affect the figure of general
merit, except indirectly. Inattention or carelessness at these exercises
would be noted by a certain figure of demerit, and would thereby
diminish, as will be hereafter explained, the credit to be allotted for
discipline at the final examination.
_Graduation._
The qualifications required for obtaining an appointment to the army are
simply _graduation_, or in other words that a cadet shall have passed
through the four years’ course at the Academy without being found
_deficient_ in any one branch of study or in discipline. The proportion
of cadets who fail to graduate is very considerable--nearly one-half.
The present first class is a fair sample. It numbered 74 on entrance,
and its members are now only 39, and of these three had belonged to the
next higher class, and were put back for deficiency. From 1842 to 1852
the exact proportion who succeeded in graduating was 0.510. From 1852 to
1862 the exact proportion was 0.523.
Although the ultimate consequences of idleness in being declared
_deficient_ at the half-yearly examinations are generally sufficient to
insure diligence, an immediate penalty is attached to any adverse report
against a cadet for want of attention to study, or any misconduct in the
recitation halls. The instructor of any section notes on his weekly
class reports any cases of decided idleness and all infractions of
discipline, and to each reported instance a double penalty is attached,
as to every instance of misconduct at the Academy; the one immediate, in
punishment according to the scale of the offense; the other prospective,
consisting of a certain figure of demerit, which will rise up in
judgment against the delinquent at the end of his residence, and
diminish his credit for _discipline_.
The _certainty_ of the penalty which attaches to idleness, both in the
immediate punishment it entails, and its more serious ultimate
consequences, is found to be sufficient, as a general rule, to attain
the desired object; hence the character of the cadets for diligence is
decidedly high.
The members of the graduating class have their choice of the services to
which they shall be appointed according to their standing on the roll in
order of merit. The order of precedence of corps of the United States
army is: 1, Engineers; 2, Ordnance; 3, Artillery; 4, Cavalry and
Infantry; and that is, as a general rule, the order of choice. The
Secretary of War may sanction subsequent transfers from one branch of
the service to another, but such transfers are very rare.
Beyond the privilege of choice, the only direct inducement held out to
distinction among his classmates to any cadet, is one which is purely
honorary. By an order from the Secretary of War so early as the year
1818, the five cadets most distinguished in studies and discipline in
each class at the June examinations, are published each year in the
United States Army Register (Army List). The distinction is highly
prized.
The advantages resulting from a degree or peculiar distinction at West
Point after appointment to the army, in respect to professional
advancement or the obtaining staff employment, are very small. No
special qualification is required by law or regulation for admission to
the staff. When a vacancy occurs any one who desires may make
application for the vacant appointment to the Adjutant General of the
army. The decision rests with the Secretary of War or the President. The
head of the department in which the vacancy exists is the proper person
to insist, if he thinks proper, on the possession of certain
qualifications by the officer who is to be employed as his subordinate.
Even graduation at West Point is not insisted on as a necessary
qualification for staff employment.
_Discipline._
Every young gentleman who passes his probationary examination in the
January after his admission, receives his _warrant of cadet_, and signs
an engagement to serve in the military force of the United States during
the eight years next ensuing. He thus becomes amenable to the articles
of War and to trial by court-martial.
The discipline of the Academy has no resemblance to that of an ordinary
civil college, but is peculiarly and essentially military. The cadets
are required to clean their own rooms, make their own beds, and clean
their own arms and belts.
The staff for the maintenance of discipline is distinct from that of
tuition. The professorial staff simply report infractions of discipline
in study, but have no power to punish. All professors and instructors,
however, as well as all military officers who may be stationed at West
Point, are expected to report to the superintendent any improper conduct
on the part of a cadet which may come under their observation.
The punishments to which a cadet is liable are comprised in the three
classes following, viz.:--
1st. Privation of recreation, &c.; extra duty (not guard); reprimands;
arrests or confinement to barrack room or tent; confinement in light
prison. _Inflicted only by the superintendent or by his authority._
2d. Confinement in dark prison. _Only by sentence of court-martial, and
seldom or never resorted to._
3d. Suspension; dismissal with privilege of resigning; public dismissal.
_Only by sentence of a garrison or general court-martial, which must be
approved by the Secretary of War._
“Breach of arrest” is treated as a military offense of the worst nature,
and is classified with “mutinous conduct.”
All offenses are classified under five heads, and are recorded according
to the following scale:
An offense of the 1st class counts 5 demerit.
“ 2d “ 4 “
“ 3d “ 3 “
“ 4th “ 2 “
“ 5th “ 1 “
All offenses reported or to be reported against cadets, are read out at
evening parade on the day after commission, excepting offenses in the
section rooms reported by the instructors, which are read out on Monday
evening’s parade; so that every cadet may have the opportunity of
presenting a written explanation, or plea, in extenuation, of the
offense charged against him.
The commandant of cadets attends at his office, in the square of the
cadet barracks, between the hours of breakfast and the first study every
morning to receive reports of offenses.
Explanations in writing, on paper of prescribed uniform size, may be
taken to the commandant by any cadet charged with an offense not later
than the commandant’s second orderly hour after publication, as a
general rule from which any departure requires to be explained.
If the commandant considers the excuse satisfactory, he erases the
offense and tears up the excuse, but forwards an abstract of all
offenses which have not been explained to his satisfaction, with the
written explanations, for the decision of the superintendent.
The superintendent may, on further inquiry, find the explanations of
some of the offenses forwarded satisfactory, in which case he erases
such offenses. To the remainder he allots such immediate punishment, and
such marks of demerit in addition, as the cases respectively justify; or
he may consider the demerit marks sufficient without any immediate
punishment.
Thus the offenses of which a cadet may be guilty during his residence
are recorded against him by a very elaborate and just method, and rise
up against him at the period of his graduation. No instance of
carelessness or inattention to orders is too trifling to be taken notice
of.
If any cadet has more than 100 demerit recorded against him in any six
successive months, he is immediately discharged from the Academy as
deficient in discipline.
But during the first year’s residence, offenses count one-third less
than those committed during the subsequent three years; a cadet of the
first year would therefore only be discharged as deficient in discipline
who had obtained a demerit of 150 within any period of six successive
months.
The marks of demerit of all the fourth class cadets who have not proved
deficient in discipline, are wiped out entirely at the end of their
first year, and do not therefore affect their relative standing at the
period of graduation. The demerit of the first year is only taken into
account, so as to determine, in combination with the credits received
for progress in study, the relative standing of the cadets in their
class for the year next ensuing.
At the final examination, the credit to be allotted to any cadet on the
score of discipline is made up by means of the demerit rolls as follows.
Each cadet receives a credit of 16.67 for every month during his
residence, in which he has had no demerit recorded against him, to be
deducted from his aggregate marks of demerit at the end of his
residence. The monthly credit is fixed at 16.67, because that number
forms the sixth part of the 100 marks of demerit, which if recorded in
six months against any cadet would have occasioned his discharge.
Notwithstanding that the demerit marks of the fourth class are wiped out
at the end of the first year, and do not count against the cadets at
their final examination, the credit of 16.67 is still allowed to cadets
for every month of their first year in which no demerit was recorded
against them and deducted from their aggregate marks of demerit at the
end of their residence.
The positive marks of merit for discipline due to any cadet at the end
of his residence are thus determined. The cadet of the graduating class
having the lowest aggregate demerit recorded against him is placed
_first_ in discipline, and is credited with the maximum of marks due to
that subject, viz., 300. The whole class is then arranged in the same
sense, the cadet having the highest demerit being placed last, and
receiving only one third of the maximum, viz. 100. The common difference
between these limits is then calculated for each cadet of the class, and
applied as already explained.
Although the nominal value placed on discipline is represented by the
same number of marks only as are allotted to each of the more important
branches of study, in fixing the relative standing of cadets at their
final examination; it should be remembered that no candidate can reach
that period at the Academy who is not fairly well conducted. It would be
quite impossible for any cadet to remain at the Academy who had earned
for himself the sentence “deficient in discipline,” even though the
marks of demerit required for that sentence might have been earned by a
succession of minor infractions of discipline. And a cadet who might be
guilty of any serious willful offense would be at once removed from the
Academy.
Owing to the very limited time allowed for recreation, games are almost
unknown; and almost the only athletic amusement indulged in is boating
on the river, for which, however, Saturday afternoons afford the only
available time.
No difficulty is found to arise from the difference of age among the
cadets in maintaining an uniform system of discipline. The same rules
are applied to all during the whole period of residence.
The cadet officers and non-commissioned officers greatly assist in
maintaining discipline. A daily abstract of offenses show that out of 15
offenses recorded therein, 11 were reported by cadet officers or
non-commissioned officers.
The daily duties are assimilated as much as possible to those of a
battalion in quarters, and are as follows:
_The officer in charge_, detailed daily from the assistant instructors
of tactics, is responsible for the proper performance of all the
military duties of the battalion during the day. His tour of duty
commences at guard mounting (7.30 a.m. in barracks, 8 a.m. in camp); at
which time he reports for orders to the commandant at the office of the
latter. He has an office adjoining that of the commandant where he must
constantly be present from _reveillé_ to _taps_ (the signal for putting
out lights at 10 p.m.), except when absent on duty or at meals. He is
present in the cadets’ mess hall during all meals, and superintends
every parade and roll call. He visits the sentries at his discretion. On
being relieved, he includes in the usual morning report of his company,
all offenses which may have come to his knowledge as having occurred
during his tour of duty.
_The officer of the day_, is detailed usually from the roster of the
cadet officers, although every cadet of the highest class is appointed
at least once to perform this duty. He is present at guard mounting and
receives his guard in the usual military manner, after which he reports
for order to the commandant and is generally under the orders of _the
officer in charge_. His post of duty is the guard room, which is in the
same building as, and immediately beneath, the offices of the commandant
and the officer in charge. He causes all calls to be sounded at the
proper time; is present at all parades and roll calls; and receives
reports of all absentees, whom it is his duty immediately thereafter to
seek and to order when found to repair to their respective duties unless
properly excused. He reports to the officer in charge all absentees whom
he may not be able to find, and all cadets who fail to obey his orders.
He directs the formation of all the class sections before marching to
the section rooms; receives reports of absentees from the section
marchers, and requires the latter to march off their sections in a
proper military manner. He is responsible for the suppression of all
irregularities in quarters or their vicinity during his tour. He visits
the quarters during the hours of independent study and receives reports
of absentees. He visits all the quarters at _Taps_, and reports
absentees to the officers in charge. He afterwards visits the room of
every cadet absent every 15 minutes until the return of the absentee, or
until otherwise directed by the officer in charge. On the back of the
guard report which he forwards next morning to the commandant, he
records all offenses which come to his knowledge as having occurred
during his tour; and presents with it all permits and passes that have
come into his hands, all of which are required to be deposited with him.
The officer of the day is relieved from study during his tour of duty.
_Daily Guard._--A cadet guard, consisting of one sergeant, four
corporals, and 24 privates, is mounted every morning at 7.30. The cadets
of the guard remain in the guard-room during the day, excepting the
hours of study.
_Sentries_ are posted during the hours of recreation, the most important
posts being the different entrance halls of the cadet barracks. Ten
minutes after the _call to quarters_, during the day on Sundays, and
every evening, it is the duty of each such sentry to visit all the rooms
belonging to his particular entrance hall. He then orders all cadets
whom he may find visiting in rooms not their own to their proper
quarters, and reports all who fail to comply promptly with his orders to
the sergeant of the guard, as well as all absentees; and the sergeant of
the guard passes on all such reports to the officer of the day. A sentry
similarly reports every irregularity that may occur on his beat, and
particularly the name of any cadet who may have absented himself from
the barracks for more than ten minutes. A high sense of the honorable
confidence reposed in a sentry seems to be generally entertained; and
there is every reason to believe that the cadet sentries at West Point
perform their duties in a trustworthy and satisfactory manner.
The general duties of the battalion are assimilated as much as possible
to those of a battalion in quarters. The daily detail of duties is drawn
up by the cadet adjutant. The cadets for guard are detailed by the first
sergeants of their respective companies at each evening parade, and the
daily routine is in this respect as nearly as possible the same as that
of military life.
There is no yearly vacation; and the furlough which each cadet may
obtain at the end of his second year is subject to the following
conditions, viz.:--
1st. If he has obtained 350 demerit in the two preceding years, he is
detained twelve days; if 325, 300, 275, 250, or 200 demerit within the
same period, he is detained ten days, eight days, five days, three days,
or two days respectively.
2d. He is required to sign a certificate, declaring that he has in _no
manner improperly interfered with, or molested or injured new cadets_.
The furlough of any cadet declining to sign this certificate is limited
to one month, from 28th July to 28th August. Although there have been
instances of cadets declining to sign this certificate, it is probable
that, as a general rule, the cadet conscience places a liberal
interpretation on the words of the formula.
Leave of absence from the Academy for one to two days is occasionally
granted, but only for exceptional reasons.
_Buildings._
The _cadet barrack_ is a handsome stone building of four stories. It
contains 176 rooms, of which 136 are cadets’ quarters, 14 feet by 22
feet, arranged in eight divisions, each division having its own
entrance, and having no interior communication with the other divisions.
Not more than two cadets are lodged in the same room. The two beds in
each room are curtained off from the room, and separated from each other
by a partition. There are numerous bathing rooms in the basement, to
which the cadets have access.
Each division of quarters is under the superintendence of an assistant
instructor of tactics, who visits the rooms of his division three times
in the course of each day, and occasionally during the night. He makes a
daily report in writing to the commandant of the condition of the rooms
under his charge, noting all delinquencies that may have come to his
knowledge since his last report.
A division of quarters is divided into two _subdivisions of quarters_ of
two floors each, each subdivision being under the charge of one of the
cadet officers, who has his quarters therein, and who is responsible for
the discipline of his subdivision, and for the proper fulfillment of all
orders that may be issued relative to the police of quarters. He visits
all the rooms of his subdivision 30 minutes after reveillé, and
immediately after _taps_ (lights out), notes all irregularities, and
makes a daily report in writing to the superintendent of his division,
recording all delinquencies, and certifying that since the report of the
previous day he has faithfully performed all duties required of him as
_inspector of subdivision_.
The _Academy_ is a building detached, containing the following rooms and
departments, viz.:--
_Chemical department_, comprising laboratory, lecture-room, room for
electrical experiments, and a work-room; _fencing department_;
_gymnasium_; _mineralogical collection_; _engineering department_,
comprising drawing and model rooms; _artillery model room_;
_mathematical model room_; _drawing academy_; _trophy room_; _picture
and statue galleries_; _mineralogical section rooms_; and 10 _recitation
rooms_ (or halls of study).
Another detached building contains the _observatory_; and _library_ of
20,000 volumes, to which the cadets have access at stated times.
There are no rooms specially set apart for day rooms, reading or
recreation rooms.
The _mess hall_ is a detached building. The central hall where the
cadets take all their meals is 96 feet by 46 feet and 20 feet high.
Quarters for the purveyor with kitchen and bakery, and with quarters for
the necessary servants in the basement, are attached.
The cadets are formed in the barrack square previous to each meal, and
are marched to and from the mess hall. The officer in charge visits the
mess hall at all meal times. The senior cadet officer present is
responsible for good order.
The _Riding School_ is detached and is admirably adapted to its purpose.
_Expenses._
The Academy is entirely supported by the State. The average annual cost
for 62 years has been $137,315; and this sum includes the cost of all
buildings and structures, of repairs and maintenance. The yearly
appropriations during the last eight years have varied from $170,000 to
$200,000, but does not include certain sums which are paid out of the
regular appropriation to the War Department.
A new cadet is admitted to the Academy on the 1st of July. From that
date he is credited with Government pay at the rate of $30 a month,
which allowance is calculated as sufficient to pay for the whole cost of
his equipment and maintenance. As the monthly pay is, however, small
compared with the first cost of uniforms and outfit, a new cadet usually
deposits with the treasurer of the Academy on entrance from $60 to $80,
to be credited to his account. Thenceforth all wants and necessaries are
supplied to the cadet by the Government, the prices being a trifle above
cost and charged against his account. At the end of his residence, a
balance is struck, and the sum standing to his credit, if any, is paid
over to him. It is possible by this arrangement for a very careful and
steady lad to secure his education, his maintenance during four years, a
position in the army, and $100 in addition, at the time of his
graduation.
STAFF FOR GOVERNMENT AND INSTRUCTION, JAN. 1, 1872
SUPERINTENDENT.--Col. THOMAS H. RUGER, 18th Infantry.
_Military Staff._
_Adjutant._--Captain Robert H. Hall, 10th Infantry.
_Quartermaster._--Captain Tally McCrea, 1st Artillery.
_Treasurer._--1st Lieut. James M. Marshall, 4th Artillery.
_Surgeon, U.S.A._--Thomas A. McParlin, M.D.
_Assistant Surgeon, U.S.A._--Van Buren Hubbard, M.D.
_Academic Staff._
_Commandant of Cadets and Instructor of Artillery, Cavalry and
Infantry Tactics._--Lieut. Col. EMORY UPTON, 1st Artillery.
_Assistant Instructor of Artillery Tactics._--Captain Alexander
Piper, 3d Artillery.
_Assistant Instructor of Infantry Tactics._--Captain Joseph S.
Conrad, 2d Infantry.
_Assistant Instructor of Artillery and Infantry Tactics._--Capt.
John Egan, 4th Artillery.
_Assistant Instructor of Cavalry Tactics._--Captain Alfred E.
Bates, 2d Cavalry.
_Assistant Instructor of Artillery, Infantry and Cavalry
Tactics._--1st Lieut. William S. Starring, 2d Artillery.
_Assistant Instructor of Infantry Tactics._--1st Lieut. John F.
Stretch, 10th Infantry.
_Professor of Mathematics._--ALBERT E. CHURCH, LL.D.
_Assistant Professor of Mathematics._--1st Lieut. John P. Story,
4th Artillery.
_Acting Assistant Professors of Mathematics._--1st Lieut. William
F. Reynolds, jr., 1st Artillery; 2d Lieut. John E. Greer,
Ordnance; 2d Lieut. Albert H. Payson, Engineers; 2d Lieut.
Frank Heath, 3d Artillery; 2d Lieut. Philip M. Price, jr.,
2d Artillery.
_Professor of Drawing._--ROBERT W. WEIR, N.A.
_Assistant Professor of Drawing._--1st Lieut. Edward H. Totten,
1st Artillery.
_Acting Assistant Professor of Drawing._--2d Lieut. Charles W.
Whipple, 3d Artillery.
_Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology._--HENRY L.
KENDRICK, LL.D.
_Assistant Professor of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology._--2d
Lieut. John Pitman, jr., Ordnance.
_Acting Assistant Prof, of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology._--
2d Lieut. Samuel E. Tillman, 4th Artillery.
_Professor of the Spanish Language._--PATRICE DE JANON.
_Assistant Professor of the Spanish Language._--1st Lieut. James
O’Hara, 3d Artillery.
_Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy._--PETER S. MICHIE.
_Assistant Prof. of Natural and Experimental Philosophy._--1st
Lieut. James Mercur, Engineers.
_Acting Assistant Professors of Natural and Experimental
Philosophy._--2d Lieut. Edward S. Holden, 4th Artillery;
Additional 2d Lieut. Edgar W. Boss, Engineers.
_Professor of the French Language._--GEORGE L. ANDREWS.
_Assistant Professor of the French Language._--1st Lieut. Geo. G.
Greenough, 4th Artillery.
_Acting Assistant Professor of the French Language._--2d Lieut.
Thomas H. Barber, 1st Artillery.
_Professor of Ethics and Law._--JOHN FORSYTH, D.D.
_Assistant Professor of Ethics and Law._--Captain John S. Poland,
6th Infantry.
_Professor of Military and Civil Engineering._--JUNIUS B. WHEELER.
_Assistant Professor of Military and Civil Engineering._--Captain
Jarrett J. Lydecker, Engineers.
_Acting Assistant Professors of Military and Civil Engineering._--
Captain Oswald H. Ernst, Engineers; 1st Lieut John C. Mallery,
Engineers.
_Instructor of Ordnance and Gunnery._--Captain THOMAS C. BRADFORD,
Ordnance.
_Assistant Instructor of Ordnance and Gunnery._--1st Lieut. James
W. Reilly, Ordnance.
_Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, Military Signaling
and Telegraphy, Commanding Company E, Engineers._--Captain
OSWALD H. ERNST, Engineers.
_Assistant Instructor of Military Signaling and Telegraphy, and
Acting Signal Officer._--1st Lieut. Edward H. Totten, 1st
Artillery.
_Assistant Instructor of Practical Military Engineering, on duty
with Company E, Engineers._--2d Lieut. Frederick A. Mahan,
Engineers.
_Sword Master._--Antoné Lorentz.
COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.
The studies pursued, and the instruction given at the Military Academy,
are comprised under the following heads, in the Official Regulations:--
I. INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, AND CAVALRY TACTICS, AND MILITARY POLICE AND
DISCIPLINE.--This course will conform to the system of Infantry Tactics
and Military Police and Discipline, established for the government of
the Army, and will comprise the schools of the soldier, company, and
battalion, the evolutions of the line, the manual exercise and manœuvres
of Light Infantry and riflemen, with the police and discipline of camp
and garrison. (2.) Artillery Tactics will comprise exercise of field,
siege, and garrison artillery; manœuvres of batteries; mechanical
manœuvres and target practice. (3.) Cavalry tactics will comprise the
schools of the trooper mounted, of the platoon, and of the squadron; and
equitation.
II. THE USE OF THE SWORD, &C.--Will comprise the use of the small-sword,
broadsword, and bayonet, and such military gymnastics as circumstances
may permit.
III. MATHEMATICS.--This course will comprise:
(1.) _Algebra._--Fundamental operations; involution and evolution;
reduction and conversion of fractional and radical qualities; reduction
and solution of equations, including those of the third degree ratios
and proportions; summation of infinite series and figurate numbers;
nature, construction, and use of logarithms.
(2.) _Geometry._--Geometry of right lines, planes, and volumes and
spherical geometry; and the formation and construction of determinate
geometrical equations.
(3.) _Trigonometry._--The solution of all the cases in plane and
spherical trigonometry; analytical investigation of trigonometrical
formulæ; and the construction of trigonometrical tables.
(4) _Mensuration and Surveying._--Mensuration of planes; surfaces and
volumes; principles and practice of common land surveying; different
methods of plotting and calculating such surveys; trigonometrical
surveying; measurement of heights and distances; leveling; and use of
instruments in plotting, surveying, &c.
(5.) _Descriptive Geometry._--The graphic illustration and solution of
geometrical problems in space; and the particular application of this
method to spherical projections, construction of maps, to shades and
shadows, and perspective, and isometric projections.
(6.) _Analytical Geometry._--Construction of algebraic expressions;
solution of determinate problems; determination and discussion of the
equations of the right line, plane and conic sections; discussion of the
general equations of the second degree involving two or three variables;
determination of loci, &c.
Differential and Integral Calculus, with its application to maxima and
minima, the drawing of tangents, rectification of curves, radii of
curvatures, quadratures, cubatures, &c.
IV. FRENCH LANGUAGE.--This course will comprise:
French Grammar; reading and writing French; and translating (from text
and orally) English into French and French into English.
V. SPANISH LANGUAGE.--This course will comprise:
Spanish Grammar; reading and writing Spanish; and translating (from text
and orally) English into Spanish and Spanish into English.
VI. DRAWING.--This course will comprise:
Topography, with lead-pencil, pen and ink, and colors.
Figures, with pen and ink.
Landscape, with the lead-pencil.
Landscape, with colors.
VII. CHEMISTRY, MINEROLOGY, AND GEOLOGY.--This course will comprise:
_Chemical Physics._--Magnetism; static and voltaic electricity;
electro-magnetism; magneto-electricity; thermo-electricity; animal
electricity; construction and use of apparatus illustrating the
principles of the foregoing subjects and their mutual relations.
Heat--its nature, sources, and effects; relation between thermal energy
and other forces; measurement and equilibrium of temperatures; thermal
and aqueous phenomena of the atmosphere; light as a chemical agent.
_Chemistry._--Its general laws and language; inorganic and organic
chemistry theory of radicals, types, and substitutions; animal
chemistry; animal nutrition, heat, and force; relation between the
mineral, vegetable, and animal kingdoms; applications of chemistry to
agriculture, fermentation, &c.
_Mineralogy._--Crystallography; structure, practical determination and
uses of minerals; descriptive mineralogy.
_Geology._--The earth’s features; classification, structure, modes of
occurrence and distribution of rocks; rock veins; division of geological
history into ages; the various agents of geological changes; geology of
the United States.
VIII. NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY.--This course will comprise:
_Mechanics._--1st. General classification of the physical sciences;
general constitution and physical properties of bodies; measurements of
the masses; densities and weights of bodies; definitions and
descriptions of natural forces. 2d. _Mechanics of Solids._--Work; laws
of equilibrium and of motion; free and constrained motion of solids;
motion of projectiles; planetary motions and the general principles of
physical astronomy. 3d. _Mechanics of Fluids._--Mechanical properties of
fluids; equilibrium and motion of fluids; general principles of
buoyancy; equilibrium and stability of floating bodies; specific
gravity; and barometrical measurements. 4th. _Mechanics of
Molecules._--General principles of sound, heat, light, and electricity,
to be taught principally by lecture. 5th. _Application._--Objects and
principles of machines; friction; stiffness of cordage and adhesion;
discussion of the elementary machines--cord, lever, inclined plane,
wheel and axle, pullies, screw, hydraulic press, and hydraulic ram.
_Acoustics._--Theory of the internal structure of bodies; nature of
sound; waves in general; velocity of sound in solids, liquids, and
gasses, and measurement of distances by sound; qualities of sound;
reflection, refraction, divergence and decay of sound; echoes, hearing
and speaking trumpets, and description of the ear.
_Optics._--Nature of light; laws of its deviation; laws of vision;
optical instruments; chromatics; achromatism; polarization,
interference, and chromatics of polarized light.
_Astronomy._--Description of the solar and stellar systems; celestial
and terrestrial spheres; figure and magnitude of the earth; its motions,
with the appearances and vicissitudes arising therefrom; theory of
astronomical reductions; eclipses, occultations, and transits; tides and
twilight; use of astronomical instruments and tables; methods of making,
clearing, and calculating observations for time, latitude, longitude,
the earth’s magnetism and true meridian.
IX. ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY.--This course will comprise:
_Ordnance._--1st. The theory and preparation of gunpowder, cannon,
artillery carriages, projectiles, implements, machines, small-arms,
ammunition, and military fireworks. 2d. Practical instruction in making
musket, rifle, pistol, cannon and howitzer cartridges; preparation of
strap, grape, and canister shot, fuzes, slow and quick match, port-fire,
signal rockets, carcases, fire-balls, light balls, and incendiary
composition; loading shells, shrapnel shot and grenades; putting up
stores for transportation; loading caissons; in determining the pressure
on the bore of a gun; in determining the initial velocity of
projectiles; in the manner of proving powder, and when circumstances
will admit of it, the operation of casting cannon solid and hollow,
casting of projectiles and the usual methods of testing gun-metals, will
be witnessed.
_Gunnery._--Embracing the study of the movements of projectiles; the
theory of pointing fire-arms; the different kinds of fires and their
effect; the art of breaching, and the composition of batteries.
X. ETHICS AND LAW.--This course will comprise:
_Ethics._--1st. Common basis with law. 2d. In moral science, the pursuit
of the highest good for each and all; the realization of excellence by
virtue, the fulfillment of obligations to God and our country, to
ourselves and others; and 3d, In its practical division, the duties,
vices and passions.
_Law._--1st. General principles. 2d. International law. 3d. Political
organization and constitution of the United States. 4th. Rules and
articles of war: and the organizations, powers, forms, and proceedings
of courts-martial.
XI. PRACTICAL MILITARY ENGINEERING.--This course will comprise:
The preparation of trench and battery materials--gabions, facines,
sandbags, &c.; the manner of tracing and profiling batteries and
intrenchments, by cords, pickets and laths; the defiladement of
intrenchments and other works; the distribution and posting of working
parties, with their implements and materials in the construction of
batteries, intrenchments, &c.; the construction of the various
revetments for batteries and intrenchments, the laying of platforms for
field, siege, and garrison artillery; the construction of palisades,
fraises, abatis, rifle-pits, and trous-de-loup; the manner of placing
intrenchments and other works, together with houses, walls, fences, &c.,
in a state of defense; the trace, defiladement, and construction of the
several kinds of trenches and saps; descent and passage of a ditch, and
other operations of a siege; the manner of laying out, constructing,
tamping and springing mines, both for attack and defense, with the
application of electricity thereto; trestle, ponton, and other bridge
exercises; military reconnoissance of a route for the march of a column
of troops, and of a locality for defensive works.
XII. MILITARY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING, AND THE SCIENCE OF WAR.
_Military Engineering._--1st Principles and methods of planning and
constructing temporary works, comprising intrenchments, inclosed works,
batteries, lines, bridge-heads, with the modes of their attack and
defense. 2d. Permanent Fortifications.--Principles of planning and
constructing permanent works for land and sea-coast defense, with an
analysis and description of the modern systems of fortifications; the
attack and defense of permanent works, including mines.
_Civil Engineering._--Comprising building materials, masonry, carpentry,
bridges, roads, railroads, canals, and river and harbor constructions.
The theory and description of mechanism and machines. The principles of
architecture.
Descriptive drawing as applied to civil engineering, architecture and
fortification.
_Science of War._--The military organization of states and kingdoms;
composition and organization of an army; strategy illustrated and
explained by military history; the operations of a campaign, comprising
the movements of troops and their general dispositions for attack and
defense.
DISTRIBUTION OF STUDIES BY YEARS AND CLASSES.
_Subjects.--First Year--Fourth Class_.
MATHEMATICS.--Davies’ Bourdon’s Algebra. Davies’ Legendre’s Geometry and
Trigonometry. Church’s Descriptive Geometry.
FRENCH LANGUAGE.--Bolmar’s Levizac’s Grammar and Verb Book. Agnel’s
Tabular System. Berard’s Leçons Françaises. *Spier’s and Surrenne’s
Dictionary.
ARTILLERY AND INFANTRY TACTICS.--Practical Instruction in the Schools of
the Soldier, Company, and Battalion. Practical Instruction in Artillery.
SMALL-ARMS.--Instruction in Fencing and Bayonet Exercise.
_Second Year--Third Class_.
MATHEMATICS.--Church’s Descriptive Geometry, with its application to
Spherical Projections. Church’s Shades, Shadows, and Perspective.
Davies’ Surveying. Church’s Analytical Geometry. Church’s Calculus.
FRENCH LANGUAGE.--Bolmar’s Levizac’s Grammar and Verb Book. Berard’s
Leçons Françaises. Chapsal’s Leçons et Modèles de Litterature Française.
Agnel’s Tabular System. Rowan’s Morceaux Choisis des Auteurs Modernes.
*Spier’s and Surrenne’s Dictionary.
SPANISH LANGUAGE.--Josse’s Grammar. Morale’s Progressive Reader.
Ollendorff’s Oral Method applied to the Spanish, by Valazquez and
Simonne. *Seoane’s Neuman and Barretti’s Dictionary.
DRAWING.--Topography, &c. Art of Penmanship.
INFANTRY, ARTILLERY, AND CAVALRY TACTICS.--Practical Instruction in the
Schools of the Soldier, Company, and Battalion. Practical Instruction in
Artillery and Cavalry.
_Third Year--Second Class._
NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY.--Bartlett’s Mechanics. Bartlett’s
Acoustics and Optics. Bartlett’s Astronomy.
CHEMISTRY.--Fowne’s Chemistry. Chemical Physics, from Miller.
DRAWING.--Landscape. Pencil and Colors.
ARTILLERY, CAVALRY, AND INFANTRY TACTICS.--United States Tactics for
Garrison, Siege, and Field Artillery. Upton’s Infantry Tactics.
Practical Instruction in the Schools of the Soldier, Company, and
Battalion. Practical Instruction in Artillery and Cavalry.
PRACTICAL MILITARY ENGINEERING.--Myer’s Manual of Signals. Practical and
Theoretical Instruction in Military Signaling and Telegraphy.
_Fourth Year--First Class._
MILITARY AND CIVIL ENGINEERING, AND SCIENCE OF WAR.--Mahan’s Field
Fortifications. Mahan’s Outlines of Permanent Fortification. Mahan’s
Civil Engineering. Mahan’s Fortifications and Stereotomy. Mahan’s
Advanced Guard and Outpost, &c. Mahan’s Industrial Drawing. *Moseley’s
Mechanics of Engineering.
MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY.--Dana’s Mineralogy. Hitchcock’s Geology.
ETHICS AND LAW.--French’s Practical Ethics. Halleck’s International Law.
Kent’s Commentaries (portion on Constitutional Law). French’s Law and
Military Law. Benét’s Military Law and the Practice of Courts Martial.
*Webster’s Dictionary.
ARTILLERY, CAVALRY, AND INFANTRY TACTICS.--United States Tactics for
Cavalry. Practical Instruction in the Schools of the Soldier, Company,
and Battalion. Practical Instruction in Artillery and Cavalry.
ORDNANCE AND GENNERY.--Benton’s Ordnance and Gunnery. Practical
Pyrotechny.
PRACTICAL MILITARY ENGINEERING.--Practical Instruction in fabricating
Facines, Sap Fagots, Gabions, Hurdles, Sap Rollers, &c.; manner of
laying out and constructing Gun and Mortar Batteries, Field
Fortifications, and Works of Siege; formation of Stockades, Abattis, and
other military obstacles; and throwing and dismantling Pontoon Bridges.
Myer’s Manual of Signals. Practical Instruction in Military Signaling
and Telegraphy.
[* Books marked * are for reference.]
PROGRAMME OF CAMP DUTIES FROM JULY 5, TO AUGUST 30.
Reveillé, 5 a.m. Policing camp just after reveillé. Infantry company
drills, for all classes, 5.30 a.m. Surgeon’s call, 6.30 a.m. Breakfast
call, 7 a.m. Parade call, 8 a.m. Guard mounting, immediately after
parade. Siege and sea-coast artillery drill for 1st class; Light Battery
drill, 2d class; Foot Light Battery drill, 4th class; 9 till 10 a.m.
Laboratory duty for two weeks, signaling, practical and topograpical
engineering, for rest of term for 1st class, 10 till 12 a.m. Laboratory
duty for 3d class for two weeks, 10 till 12 a.m. Infantry squad drill
for 4th class, 10 till 11 a.m. Dinner, 1 p.m. Policing camp, 4 p.m.
Infantry company’s drill for all classes, 5.30 p.m. Parade, sunset,
Supper, after parade. Tattoo, 9.30 p.m. Taps, 9.45 p.m.
I. REGULATIONS
RELATIVE TO
THE ADMISSION OF CADETS INTO THE MILITARY ACADEMY.
Applications for admission into the United States Military Academy at
West Point, should be made by letter to the Secretary of War. By
provision of law, each Congressional and Territorial district, and the
District of Columbia, is entitled to have one cadet at the Military
Academy, and no more. The district appointments are made on the
nomination of the member of Congress representing the district at the
date of the appointment. The law requires that the individual selected
shall be an actual resident of the Congressional district of the State
or Territory, or District of Columbia, from which the appointment
purports to be made. Also, appointments “at large,” not to exceed ten,
are annually made. Application can be made, at any time, by the
candidate himself, his parent, guardian, or any of his friends, and the
name placed on the register. No preference will be given to applications
on account of priority; nor will any application be entered in the
register when the candidate is under or above the prescribed age; the
_precise age_ must be given; _no relaxation of the regulation in this
respect will be made_; nor will any application be considered in cases
where the age and other qualifications of the candidates are not stated.
The fixed abode of the candidate, and _number_ of the Congressional
district which he considers his permanent residence, must be set forth
in the application. The pay of a cadet is $30 per month, to commence
from his admission into the Military Academy, and is considered ample
with proper economy, for his support.
The appointments will be made annually in the month of February or
March, on the applications made within the preceding year. The claims of
all the candidates on the register will be considered and acted upon. No
certain information can be given as to the probable success of the
candidate, before the arrival of the period for making the selections.
Persons, therefore, making applications, must not expect to receive
information on this point.
As a general rule, no person will be appointed who has had a brother
educated at the institution.
QUALIFICATIONS.
Candidates must be over sixteen and under twenty-one years of age, at
the time of entrance into the Military Academy; must be at least five
feet in height, and free from any deformity, disease, or infirmity,
which would render them unfit for the military service, and from any
disorder of an infectious or immoral character. They must be able to
read and write well, and perform with facility and accuracy the various
operations of the four ground rules of arithmetic, of reduction, of
simple and compound proportion, and of vulgar and decimal fractions.
It must be understood that a full compliance with the above conditions
will be insisted on--that is to say--the candidate must write in a fair
and legible hand, and without any material mistakes in spelling, such
sentences as shall be dictated by the examiners; and he must answer
promptly, and without errors, all their questions in the above-mentioned
rules of arithmetic: failing in any of these particulars, he will be
rejected.
It must also be understood, that every candidate will, soon after his
arrival at West Point, be subjected to a rigid examination by an
experienced medical board; and should there be found to exist in him any
of the following causes of disqualification, to such a degree as will
immediately, or in all probability may at no very distant period, impair
his efficiency, he will be rejected:
1. Feeble constitution and muscular tenuity; unsound health from
whatever cause; indications of former disease; glandular swellings, or
other symptoms of scrofula.
2. Chronic cutaneous affections, especially of the scalp, or any
disorder of an infectious character.
3. Severe injuries of the bones of the head; convulsions.
4. Impaired vision from whatever cause; inflammatory affections of the
eyelids; immobility or irregularity of the iris; fistula lachrymalis,
&c., &c.
5. Deafness; copious discharge from the ears.
6. Loss of many teeth, or teeth generally unsound.
7. Impediment of speech.
8. Want of due capacity of the chest, and any other indication of a
liability to a pulmonic disease.
9. Impaired or inadequate efficiency of one or both of the superior
extremities on account of fractures, especially of the clavicle,
contraction of a joint, extenuation, deformity, &c., &c.
10. An unnatural excurvature or incurvature of the spine.
11. Hernia.
12. A varicose state of the veins, of the scrotum and spermatic cord,
(when large,) sarcocele, hydrocele, hemorrhoids, fistulas.
13. Impaired or inadequate efficiency of one or both of the inferior
extremities on account of varicose veins, fractures, malformation, (flat
feet, &c.,) lameness, contraction, unequal length, bunions, over-lying
or supernumerary toes, &c., &c.
14. Ulcers, or unsound cicatrices of ulcers likely to break out
afresh.
The above Regulations were issued by the War Department in 1862.
Although it appears from this official document, that “applications for
admission into the United States Military Academy at West Point, should
be made by letter to the Secretary of War,” and that “the claims of all
candidates on the register will be considered and acted upon,” it is
also stated, that “_the district appointments are made on the nomination
of the member of Congress representing the district at the date of the
appointment_.” This delicate duty, and great privilege of selecting, out
of all the young men between the ages of sixteen and twenty-one years,
in a Congressional district of at least 70,000 inhabitants, who aspire
to serve their country in a military capacity, the one _best_ qualified,
or even _well_ qualified, is not imposed or conferred directly by law,
but by the practice of the appointing power, on the member for that
district.
_Summary of Qualifications (in Circular of 1871)._
A sound body and constitution, a fixed degree of preparation, good
natural capacity, an aptitude for study, industrious habits,
perseverance, an obedient and orderly disposition, and a correct moral
deportment are such essential qualifications that candidates knowingly
deficient in any of these respects should not, as many do, subject
themselves and their friends to the chances of future mortification and
disappointment, by accepting appointments to the Academy and entering
upon a career which they can not successfully pursue.
_Method of Testing the Qualifications of Candidates._
Candidates should be able to _read_ with facility from any book,
giving the proper intonation and pauses, and to _write_ portions that
are read aloud for that purpose, spelling the words and punctuating the
sentences properly. Some historical work should preferably be chosen,
and successive passages read till the reading exercises are ended. Then,
from another part of the book, a suitable paragraph or paragraphs, of
reasonable length, should be read aloud to the candidates, with proper
intonations and pauses, as a guide to punctuation, and written down by
them as read.
In Arithmetic they should be able to perform with facility examples
under the four ground rules, and hence should be familiar with the
tables of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, and be
able to perform examples in reduction and in vulgar and decimal
fractions, such as:
Add ⅔ to ¾; subtract ⅖ from ⅚; multiply ¾ by ⅞; divide ⅖ by ⅜
Add together two hundred and thirty-four thousandths, (.234,)
twenty-six thousandths, (.026,) and three thousandths, (.003.)
Subtract one hundred and sixty-one ten thousandths (.0161) from
twenty-five hundredths (.25.)
Multiply or divide twenty-six hundredths (.26) by sixteen thousandths
(.016.)
They should also be able to change vulgar fractions into decimal
fractions, and decimals into vulgar fractions, with examples like the
following:
Change 15/16 into a decimal fraction of the same value.
Change one hundred and two thousandths (.102) into a vulgar fraction.
In simple and compound proportion, examples of various kinds should be
given, and the candidates should understand the principles of the rules
followed.
In English Grammar candidates should exhibit a familiarity with the
nine parts of speech and the rules in relation thereto; should be able
to parse any ordinary sentence given to them, and, generally, should
understand those portions of the subject usually taught in the higher
academies and schools throughout the country, under Orthography,
Etymology, Syntax, and Prosody.
In Descriptive Geography they should name, locate, and describe the
natural grand and political divisions of the earth, and be able to
delineate any one of the States or Territories of the American Union,
with its principal cities, rivers, lakes, seaports, and mountains.
In History they should be able to name the periods of the discovery
and settlement of the North American continent; of the rise and progress
of the United States, and of the successive wars and political
administrations.
The examinations in Orthography, Grammar, Geography, and History may
be either oral or written.
Candidates undoubtedly deficient in any one requisite, or more than
one, should resign any expectation of admission till the deficiency is
overcome.
Candidates should first be examined by a medical practitioner, with
reference to the physical requirements and disqualifications set forth
in the circular; such as are manifestly disqualified being so informed.
The condition of body and mind considered together should be regarded,
as well as general proficiency in the studies as a whole. Especially
should natural ability and manifest aptitude for acquiring and applying
knowledge take precedence of mere scholastic finish and readiness of
answer to former problems. Other things being equal, preference should
be given, in order, to those whose claims are strengthened by military,
naval, or other distinguished service rendered to the country by
themselves or their immediate relatives; and it is better for candidates
to be nearer the minimum than the maximum age.
BOARD OF VISITORS
In the Regulations for the government of the Military Academy, approved
July 1, 1816, provision for the appointment of a Board of Visitors, to
consist of five competent gentlemen, who should attend at each general
examination, and report thereon to the War Department through the
Inspector, who appears to have been from the start the senior officer of
the corps of Engineers.
In 1846 (Aug. 8), Congress authorized the appointment annually, by the
President, of a Board of Visitors, whose duty it was made to attend each
yearly examination, and report to the Secretary of War upon the
discipline, instruction, police and fiscal affairs of the Academy. The
members were to be taken from one half of the number of States,
alternating yearly with the other half, each member being a _bona fide_
resident of the State from whence appointed, and each Congressional
district being in turn designated to furnish an appointee. Of the
members each year, not less than six must be taken from among officers
actually serving in the militia.
_Extract from Act of Congress approved August 8, 1846, amended by Acts
of March 16, 1868, and February 21, 1870._
That the President is authorized to appoint a Board of Visitors to
attend the annual examination of the Military Academy, whose duty it
shall be to report to the Secretary of War, for the information of
Congress, at the commencement of the next succeeding session, the actual
state of the discipline, instruction, police, administration, fiscal
affairs, and other concerns of the institution: _Provided_, That the
whole number of visitors each year shall not exceed seven: _Provided,
further_, That no compensation shall be made to said members beyond the
payment of their expenses for board and lodging while at the Military
Academy, and an allowance, not to exceed eight cents per mile, for
traveling by the shortest mail route from their respective homes to the
Academy, and back to their homes. And in addition to the other members
of the Board of Visitors to be appointed by the President, according to
law, to attend the annual examination of cadets at the United States
Military Academy, there shall be on every such board two Senators, to be
designated by the Vice-President, or President _pro tempore_ of the
Senate; and three members of the House of Representatives, to be
designated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, such
designations respectively to be made at the session of Congress next
preceding the time of such examination; and the Senators and members so
appointed shall make full report of their action as such visitors, with
their views and recommendations in regard to the said Military Academy,
within twenty days after the meeting of Congress, at the session next
succeeding the time of their appointment.
EXTRACT FROM REPORT OF VISITORS FOR 1871.
Twenty-five years ago West Point was substantially separate from the
outside world; for several months of the year a mail was not received
oftener than once in three or four days. The presence of visitors was
almost wholly unknown, and the officers and cadets formed a community by
and of themselves. The relations existing between the officers and
cadets was like that at present existing between the officers and
soldiers at a military post. Cadets were permitted to visit at the
quarters of professors and officers on Saturday afternoons, and at no
other time. But so reserved were the manners of officers, even on such
occasions, that the privilege, though recognized, was very rarely
exercised. There was substantially no social intercourse between the
officers and the cadets.
In those days, too, the rigor of discipline put all cadets, the sons
of the rich and the sons of the poor, upon a common footing. The
regulations not only prohibited any cadet from receiving money from his
parents and friends, but no place existed, or was permitted to exist, on
the limits, where cadets could expend money. Occasionally a cadet was
allowed to purchase what he pleased under the head of “sundries;” not
exceeding one dollar in amount, and that only on the order of an officer
in charge.
But all this has changed. West Point is now or fast becoming a place
of fashionable resort. Hotels have been erected in near proximity to the
post, and hundreds of visitors now repair thither where one did in
former years. This influx of fashionable life has caused a relaxation of
the rules in regard to cadets visiting. The great distance between
officers and cadets has been gradually diminished. Cadets of the first
class may now visit officers every day in the week, and officers and
cadets associate together with a freedom of intercourse not formerly
known. Insensibly the standard of discipline has been lowered, until the
Academy has less than formerly the character of the Regular Army, and
more the features of a militia establishment, where officers and men are
separated while on duty, but mingle in social intercourse when the hour
of drill or parade has passed.
Although the regulation in regard to cadets receiving money remains
unchanged, yet, at present, a new functionary, known as the “cadet
confectioner,” is allowed to keep open on cadet limits a place of resort
which cadets are known to frequent daily to enjoy the table, and where
they may treat their fellows without stint or limit. Thus one of the
elements of equality which formerly existed among the cadets is
destroyed, and the son of a wealthy man may fare sumptuously, while the
poor boy must confine himself to such food as the mess-hall affords.
Many other causes might be mentioned as contributing to the present
condition of things, and many other illustrations of the change from the
custom of former years might be given. But those members of the board
who have been appointed by the Vice-President and Speaker of the House
of Representatives, and whose duty it is by law specially made to report
to Congress upon this subject, will doubtless do so at length, and
therefore this board pass the subject without as full a consideration as
would otherwise be demanded. But this board, feeling the importance of a
high state of discipline to the efficiency of the Academy, to accomplish
the purpose for which it is maintained, earnestly recommend a return to
the stricter kind of discipline which was administered years ago. An
army must be governed by different methods and upon different principles
from a civil society and to an army and to every military establishment
discipline is a necessity.
With a view to this end, in the opinion of this board, the
superintendent and commandant of cadets should always be officers of
high rank, who, by their age and military distinction, can command not
only the respect but the implicit obedience of the cadets.
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS FOR 1863.
The Board of Visitors invited by the Secretary of War to visit the
Military Academy at West Point, to make “a full and free investigation
of the Military and Scientific instruction of the Cadets, and of the
internal police, discipline, and fiscal concerns of the institution, and
communicate the results of their observations, with any suggestions for
the improvement of the Academy,” consisted of the following members:
Oliver S. Munsell, _Illinois_, PRESIDENT. Birdsey G. Northrop,
_Mass._, SECRETARY. Thomas M. Allen, _Missouri_. Henry Barnard,
_Connecticut_. Samuel W. Bostwick, _Ohio_. Thomas Brainard, _Penn._
Cyrus Bryant, _Illinois_. A. W. Campbell, _West Virginia_. Ralph W.
Emerson, _Mass._ Oran Faville, _Iowa_. John H. Goodenow, _Maine_. P. D.
Gurley, _District of Columbia_. Oliver P. Hubbard, _New Hampshire_.
Edward Maynard, _District of Columbia_. Henry S. Randall, _New York_.
William H. Russell, _Conn._ William A. Rust, _Maine_. Albert Smith, _New
Hampshire_.
The Visitors introduce an account of their inspection with the following
remarks:
Some of our number came with objections and prejudices against the
Academy. But all doubts as to the value and importance of the
institution were banished by the evidence presented in the course of our
personal inquiries into its present condition and actual results. The
Mexican war clearly evinced the value of military science. Still more
has the present war demonstrated the necessity of maintaining, and even
enlarging our Military Academy.
This Academy belongs to the whole nation. So far as its purpose and
numbers permit, it is the Peoples’ College. It is maintained for the
special benefit of no particular section, sect, party, or class. We
could discover no evidence of aristocracy, exclusiveness, or caste. The
Cadets represent all sects and parties, and almost all nationalities,
now naturalized among us. The poor are not denied its privileges, for
the expenses of all are paid alike. If particular dogmas have at any
time prevailed here, the fact is an accidental, rather than an essential
one, and should be referred to the ruling influences at the seat of
government, and not to any inherent element in the local organization at
West Point.
Their Report has been communicated to the Secretary, by whom the same
will be transmitted to Congress--to receive such attention as the
Secretary and Congress may see fit to bestow on its various suggestions.
By permission of the Secretary, we transfer to our pages, that portion
of the Report in which the subject of the Admission of Cadets--their
number, age, attainments, and mode of appointment, is discussed with
considerable fullness.
ADMISSION OF CADETS.
In concluding the report of their inspection of this, the only national
military school, to which the country naturally looks for the
organization and command of her armies, and the construction of her
works of defense, the Visitors would respectfully urge on the
consideration of the Department, an immediate and thorough revision of
the law and regulations relating to the admission of Cadets--the number,
the qualifications required, and the mode of ascertaining these
qualifications, and of making the appointments. No matter how
appropriate may be the location, how complete the buildings and
equipment, and how skillful and faithful the teachers, unless there is a
constant and sufficient supply of pupils of the right age, character,
bodily and mental vigor and aptitude, as well as aspirations for a
military career, the public will be disappointed in the practical
workings of the institution.
1. The number of pupils in the Military Academy is determined by the
law, which limits the Cadet Corps of the United States Army to one cadet
for each Congressional District in the several States, one for each
Territory, one for the District of Columbia, and to forty more, whom the
President may appoint, ten each year, from the country at large, without
reference to their residence. Under this law, if each Congressional
District and Territory were represented, the whole number of cadets
would be two hundred and eighty, but owing to vacancies by withdrawal or
non-appointment in Congressional Districts in the States involved in the
rebellion, the number at this time is reduced to less than two
hundred--and the graduating class of 1863, to twenty-five--a number
altogether inadequate for the regular army in time of peace, and much
below the present and future exigences of the service, while the expense
of the Academy remains the same. We are assured by the Superintendent
that without any additional expense for building and material equipment,
and with a small advance in the pay of pupils and assistant teachers,
the Cadet Corps could be increased to four hundred. The Visitors are
unanimously of the opinion that the corps should be at once increased to
this number, and should be maintained at this maximum at all times, by
authorizing the President to appoint to any vacancy which may remain
unfilled for three months by reason of nullification, secession,
rebellion, or any other cause. If the appointments to fill and maintain
the Corps at this maximum, can be selected out of the many American
youths, ambitious to serve their country in the army, on the plan of an
open competitive examination in the several States, the Visitors believe
that ninety out of every one hundred thus appointed will go through the
whole course with honor, and the average ability, scholarship, and good
conduct of the whole corps, will equal that now reached by the first ten
of each class.
2. By the original law providing for the appointment of cadets to the
corps of Artillerists and Engineers, and by the act of 1812, by which
the Military Academy was made to consist of the Corps of Engineers, the
candidates for cadets were to be “not under the age of fourteen, nor
above the age of twenty-one years.” By regulations of the Department the
minimum age is fixed at sixteen years, and the Visitors believe that the
interests of the Academy and the military service, will be promoted by
making the legal age for admission between eighteen and twenty-one
years. The four years preceding and including eighteen are peculiarly
the formative period of the body, mind, and character, and should be
devoted to the acquisition of right habits of study and general culture,
as the proper foundation for all special and professional training,
which should not be commenced until the constitution is consolidated,
the taste for a pursuit is distinctly pronounced, and the moral
character is naturally developed under the influences and supervision of
home. The experience of Europe, and particularly of France and England,
has led to the abandonment of juvenile military schools, as nurseries
for officers; and the very common practice of nominating candidates who
exceed the legal age, expresses the convictions of our own people that
military studies now require more maturity of mind than was deemed
necessary in the early history of the Academy. The present want of
uniformity as to age and mental discipline explains in part, the wide
disparity of attainments between members of the same class. With few
brilliant exceptions, confined to cadets of rare aptitude and vigor of
mind, the most solid practical education is obtained by those who come
to West Point when at least eighteen years of age, with at least a good
preparation in English studies, and a taste for mathematical and
military pursuits.
3. The school attainments required by law of candidates for admission to
the Military Academy, are as rudimentary and limited as our language can
express--far below, we are assured, the requisitions of any similar
school in the world. Prior to 1812, when the Academy was little more
than a school of mathematics, taught by two professors, in the line of
geometrical and algebraical demonstrations, and the practical exercises
were confined to surveying, and the simplest forms of military
construction, the candidates were not subjected to any examination. The
act of 1812, provides that “each candidate previously to his
appointment, shall be well versed in reading, writing, and arithmetic,”
and by regulations of the department, the knowledge of arithmetic is
restricted to only a portion of that science. There were special reasons
at the start for thus limiting the amount of knowledge, when the minimum
age of admission was fixed at fourteen years, and the Academy was
properly a juvenile military school, like all cadet schools in Europe at
that time. At that date, science entered far less than now into the art
of war, as applied to the means and modes of attack as well as of
defense. Besides, the opportunities of even elementary instruction were
then far less widely or equally distributed through all the States than
now, when the general government has set apart over sixty million acres
of the best land in aid of primary schools in all the new States, and
nearly every State legislature has subjected the entire property of
their several communities to taxation for the support of public
instruction. Now that the requirement as to age has been advanced from
the fourteenth to the sixteenth year, and by the voluntary action of
parties having the nomination, or seeking the appointment, to the
eighteenth year, we see no reason why the school attainments
corresponding to, and compatible with that age, should not be also
required. The least that should be demanded of any candidate is that
amount of general culture and attainments, which constitutes a good
English education, and which it is now the aim of the public schools,
and their boast, to give without partiality, to all, poor and rich
alike, if the advantages they proffer are properly improved. And we see
no injustice in fixing the standard of general attainments and culture
as high as that now reached by cadets in good standing at the close of
their first year in this Academy, including even an elementary knowledge
of one modern language. If the French, or Spanish, or German language is
to be mastered by American officers for the sake of the military science
and literature which it embodies, or its uses in conversation, or
official duty, called for by the exigences of our foreign relations,
both in peace and war, its acquisition should be begun as early in life
as possible, while the organs of speech are flexible, and the
grammatical and etymological difficulties of a new language are more
readily surmounted. Judging from the results of the examinations we have
witnessed here, and what we know of the attainments made by students in
colleges elsewhere, very few persons, who begin the study of modern
languages, late in their school life, in the pressure of other studies,
ever attain the mastery of even one, so as to be able to use it as an
instrument of written or spoken communication, or make its treasures of
science and literature a familiar possession.
Whatever may be thought of the disciplinary and practical value of
earlier and longer attention to one or more modern languages, to those,
whose minds will otherwise be almost exclusively subjected to the
peculiar training of the mathematics, there can be no doubt that young
men who have reached the age of eighteen, and desire to profit by the
special studies of a purely military school, should exhibit in their
language, habits, and attainments that intellectual, moral, and
esthetical culture, which the public or private schools of any State
can, and should give to any youth of average ability of that age.
4. Low as the requirements for admission now are, from a defective and
vicious mode, as we believe, of selecting candidates, and making
appointments to the Cadet Corps, the number of candidates nominated and
provisionally appointed, who present themselves at West Point and shrink
from any examination, or who fail to pass even the entrance examination
which is confined to reading a few passages of familiar English prose or
verse, and writing a few sentences from dictation, and performing on the
blackboard a few operations of the most elementary character in
arithmetic,--or being admitted, are not able to gain or keep a
respectable standing for one year, although the studies of the first
year belong to a general, and not a military education,--or by a
“special providence,” manage just to escape dismission from
incompetency, and graduate,--is disgracefully large. The country abounds
in youth, competent to master and profit by the course of instruction
here provided, and ambitious of enjoying these privileges of education,
and opportunities of distinction; and a selection by lot from the
juvenile population of any state, could not result in so few prizes, and
such a dreary waste of blanks as have been realized from the
appointments made, in the necessary absence of all personal knowledge of
the candidates by the appointing power, on the recommendation, or
nomination of one or more persons in each Congressional District, in no
way responsible for the incompetency of the individuals named.
From official tables prepared from the records of the Academy,[14] it
appears that the proportion of all who graduate, to all appointed in
successive periods of ten years, is as follows:
For Ten Years, from 1802 to 1811, 0.606
“ “ “ 1812 to 1821, 0.289
“ “ “ 1822 to 1831, 0.377
“ “ “ 1832 to 1841, 0.472
“ “ “ 1842 to 1851, 0.510
“ “ “ 1852 to 1861, 0.523
[Footnote 14: See Boynton’s “History of Military Academy at West
Point,” p. 293.]
From official returns furnished by the Superintendent, a portion of
which are hereto appended, (B. C.) it appears that out of 4626 who have
been admitted to the Corps of Cadets, (including two hundred new
members,) only 2020 were able to graduate, and of those who failed,
(2398, excluding those who remain,) more than three-fifths broke down in
the first year in studies which in almost every military and scientific
school in Europe are required for admission. Out of the whole number
regularly nominated, recommended, and provisionally appointed from 1841
to 1863, more than twenty per cent. failed to pass the examination, as
to health and constitution, or the slight examination in reading,
writing, and ciphering. And this proportion would be increased by the
number who withdrew in advance from the consciousness of their unfitness
for a position to which ambitious and influential friends had promoted
them. Out of the whole number admitted from 1851 to 1862, more than
one-third failed during their first year. The proportion of graduates to
the whole number admitted is 46 per cent. and of those who failed to
graduate, 54 per cent.
The Visitors are unanimously of opinion that in a matter of such vital
importance as the right organization and command of the armies of the
United States, on which the honor and safety of the whole country
depend, the original appointment to the Cadet Corps which is the _first
step_ in promotion to such command, as well as to all the special duties
which attach to the engineer service, should not be made in any case
except on the principle of finding the best youth for the place--having
the health, character, vigor of body, maturity and aptitude of mind, and
preparatory knowledge, to profit by the opportunities of the special
military training provided by the government for this corps, and a
decided taste and expressed desire for a military career. And to this
end, the law and regulations should provide for the rigorous exclusion
in advance of all who can not present testimonials from the teachers
under whose instruction they have been for the two years next previous,
that in their opinion they possess the qualifications above specified,
and who do not make a written declaration of their desire to enter the
Corps for the purpose of qualifying themselves to labor in the military
service of the government, to which they will bear true allegiance
against all enemies foreign and domestic, and over all state and local
authority, government and constitution whatever. To select the best out
of any number who may present their testimonials and written
declarations, public examination should be held of all applicants at
such times and places as the law should prescribe, by such persons and
under such regulations as the Department shall be authorized to appoint;
and the results of such examination of each person examined, and in each
subject specified by law, should be returned to the Department, in which
return the applicants should be arranged in the order of merit. From
this merit roll, revised from year to year, all appointments to the
Cadet Corps should be made, and in the order of merit as assigned by the
examiners.
This principle of appointment and promotion by merit which we advocate,
is in full and successful operation in the classification and
advancement of cadets in the Academy itself, and the country will be
satisfied if the same principle can be as fairly and rigorously enforced
on all who aspire to enter, as well as on all promotions in the service
after leaving the institution. The principle itself, of selection by
merit, either in the mode of public examination, or of careful and
searching inquiry by competent and impartial educators, designated for
this purpose by the parties to whom custom and not law had assigned the
grave responsibility of nominating candidates, has been voluntarily
applied in several Congressional Districts. Not a cadet known to have
been thus selected and appointed, has ever broken down from want of
vigor of body or mind, or failed to reach and maintain an honorable
position on the merit roll of the Academy; and to this careful selection
by those who felt the responsibility of the privilege accorded to them,
is the country indebted for its most eminent and useful officers.
To the objection that selection by public competitive examination, will
involve expense, we reply, that any expense which will do away with the
prejudices against the Academy, which the present system of patronage
has done so much directly and indirectly to evoke and foster, and which
will, at the same time, exclude incompetent, and secure the services of
vigorous, talented, well trained officers, for every arm of the service,
will be well incurred. But, in our opinion, there will be no more
expense in selecting and educating a given number of cadets on this
plan, than on the present. The two thousand cadets who were appointed by
patronage and failed to graduate, cost the government, directly and
indirectly each year, a much larger sum than it would have taken to have
excluded them in advance from the institution by competitive
examination, and filling their places by better men; and their exclusion
by substituting better material, would have been an incalculable gain to
the Academy, facilitating its discipline, increasing the value of its
instruction, and giving to the army a larger number of competent
officers.
The objection, that the mode of making all appointments by open
competitive examination, will deprive the President, and members of
Congress of the opportunity of appointing the sons of meritorious
officers, or poor, and it may be, orphan boys of genius--is more
plausible than real. That such appointments have been made, to the
manifest advantage of the country, is certain. But we know not a single
instance of such marked success, on the part of a cadet thus appointed,
as to attract investigation, where the same youth would not have secured
the appointment in open competition. But if he had failed, and the place
had been filled by one better qualified, the country would have been no
loser, and he would have suffered no injustice or neglect. We fear, from
an abuse of this amiable motive of rewarding meritorious parents, and
assisting the poor, that in some instances, weak, ignorant, and
incompetent persons are appointed, as though this Academy were a public
charity school, or home for orphans; and not a special school for
military instruction and training, for which the great object, in any
mode of appointment, is to select those who will profit most by its
advantages, and do the country the greatest service after being thus
educated at its expense.
To the objections that, in these examinations, “the most forward boys
will have the best chance, and such boys seldom make the best men,” and
that no amount of book knowledge can give assurance of the great
military genius, “which must be born and not made,” we reply, that these
objections apply just as forcibly to any plan of nomination, and to
every system of instruction. But we believe that those examinations can
be and will be so conducted as to distinguish what is precocious from
what is the healthy development of the faculties, what is solid from
what is showy in attainments, what is vigor, grasp and aptitude of mind
from what is mere memory and quickness, in competing candidates. All of
these candidates must bring the testimonials of their former teachers,
as to their character, ability and attainments, must have reached the
age of eighteen years, and will be called upon to exhibit orally as well
as in writing their knowledge and opinions on subjects which require
judgment, reflection, presence of mind and decision. If a young man of
eighteen and upward shows that he has done well what he had undertaken
to do thus far in life, that he has preserved a sound constitution in
vigorous health, has mastered the studies appropriate to his age, is
honest, diligent, thoughtful, teachable, courageous, courteous, and
ambitious of excellence generally, then the country has every assurance
which can be given that on this basis of character, talents,
attainments, and application, a solid fabric of military education can
be reared, and that in the hour of trial he will show not only courage
to dare, but competence to devise, influence and command. In the
responsibilities of such an hour will be found the fruitage of all his
previous promise and preparation.
To the objection--“that a competitive examination must always result in
the success of the best instructed, wholly irrespective of the capacity
of the competing candidates; and the plan will thus secure for the
country the services of dull mediocrity well instructed, and exclude
genius without opportunities of development,”--we reply, that this does
occur now under the present system, but need not, and never has been the
result of competitive examination properly conducted. The examination
which we propose to have inaugurated, is not to search simply or mainly
for the results of memory or diligence, but for “vigor and aptitude of
mind” in reference to the special purposes of this Academy. The
examination will be poorly conducted, and will operate here widely
differently than elsewhere, if it does not only exclude in advance
palpable incompetency, and ascertain beyond doubt the possession by all
the successful candidates, of that knowledge which is the basis of a
special military training, but also seek, and give credit in the result,
for the quick eye, the firm set mouth, the vigor and elasticity of body,
the rapid decision, the contempt of danger, the competency to influence
and command--and all the other marks of the incipient soldier and
officer, as well as the mathematical tastes and qualities of mind which
indicate the successful engineer. Composed as every Examination
Commission might be, of at least one experienced officer of the United
States Army, of one member (past or present,) of the Academic Board, of
one officer of the State Militia, as well as one or more experts in
educational matters, the military qualities of body, character and mind,
will be sought for as well as the mere results of memory, diligence and
good opportunities of instruction, in the competing candidates.
To the objection, that candidates will make special preparation, and in
the phraseology of the class-room, “cram for the occasion,” we
reply,--to such preparation and cramming as cover the whole ground of a
good English education, we can see no possible objection; the more of
it, the better. If the preparation is only crude and on the surface, we
are sure that the ploughshare of interrogation requiring precise
answers, oral and written, will very soon expose its superficial and
undigested character.
To the sifting out and selection by open competition, might be added a
period of probation for the successful candidates--making their first
year’s connection with the academy a further test of capacity,
preparation, and aptitude for a military career. No pains and no expense
should be spared to exclude from the academy and the service,
incompetent, indifferent, and unteachable cadets and officers; such men
are “cumberers of the ground,” and no influence and inertia should be
potent enough to resist the inevitable working of the principle of open
competition, applied at frequent intervals, and at every stage of
promotion, in getting rid of such cadets and officers.
The fact that such a public examination is to be held from year to year,
and that the educational privileges of this Academy, and immediate and
prospective promotion in the army are the prizes which await success,
will, in five years call forth more latent genius in the obscure corners
and poor families of a State, than has ever been sought out by the
lantern of patronage, (which is now seldom carried beyond the family, or
neighborhood, or party of the person having the nomination,) since the
foundation of the Academy. With the network of public and elementary
schools, woven by state legislation over all the land--with public
schools of a higher grade, and special schools of science and the arts
already established, at short intervals, or which will be called into
existence by the demand for a higher and different preparation from that
now given, it may be safely said, that no genius, likely to attract the
attention of a member of Congress, will exist, which will not be
developed under the same influences by which the “dull mediocrity” of
the rest of the community will be educated. Once set in the path of
instruction and development, real genius will assert its own claims to
attention, and will, on a first or second trial, before any board of
examiners, make its vigor, courage, and persistence felt. The result
will be the same in this institution, as in every really good Public
High School and Free Academy--all classes as to wealth, occupation,
religious and political affinities will be represented,--provided the
regulations are judicious, and the examination practical and impartial.
This is the experience of the competitive principle in France ever since
it was inaugurated by Carnot in the Polytechnic School at Paris, and
Napoleon extended its application to every public special school, and to
promotion in every department of administration, civil as well as
military. And where is there more general administrative ability,
central and local? Where are abler or better trained officers, military
and civil, to be found? Where does “well instructed mediocrity,” no
matter how well backed up by wealth, find less favor, or genius for
organization and command, no matter how poor or unfriended, find such
speedy and sure recognition?
The experience of England in the trial of the two principles of
patronage and competitive examination for admission, not only to the
military and naval schools, but to the East India and the Civil service
generally, is instructive, and especially on the points which we are now
considering. Prior to the Crimean war, (which exposed the utter
incompetency of a large number of officers, who had obtained their
military education and promotion by patronage and purchase,)--admission
to the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, was by nomination, and the
age fixed by law, was fourteen years.
The Secretary of War was satisfied by personal inquiry in 1855, that
nothing could do so much to narrow and cramp the full development of a
boy’s mind, as his long confinement from so early an age among lads
having the same limited attainments, special studies, and
destination;--that a majority of those admitted on nomination and
through influential friends, had only the minimum qualifications
specified by law;--that to most cadets the severer studies were irksome
and imperfectly mastered, on account of immaturity of mind and imperfect
preparation;--that the certainty of promotion by influence and purchase,
after obtaining the diploma of the Academy, and not unfrequently without
it, took away all stimulus for continued study;--that resignations were
common, when the profession of arms ceased to be a pastime, or could be
exchanged for something that paid better--and the service was incumbered
by officers without large and trained capacity for command, although not
deficient in courage and dash. Under these circumstances the Secretary
of War, advanced the minimum age of candidates from fourteen to eighteen
years, removed all the general studies of the Academy into the
preparatory course, and opened the doors of admission to those only, who
could prove their title to enter by personal merit, in a free
competitive examination. The same principle was applied to appointments
and promotion in the new regiments called for by the exigences of the
great war in which England found herself engaged.
Subjects, time, and places of examination, were officially made known
throughout the kingdom, and commissions to conduct the examinations were
appointed, composed of men of good common sense, military officers, and
eminent practical teachers and educators. The results as stated in a
debate in Parliament, five years later, on extending this principle to
all public schools, and to all appointments and promotions in every
department of the public service, were as follows:--In the competitive
examinations for admission to the Royal Military Academy, candidates
from all classes of society appeared--sons of merchants, attorneys,
clergymen, mechanics, and noblemen, and among the successful
competitors, every class was represented. Among the number was the son
of a mechanic in the arsenal at Woolwich, and the son of an earl, who
was at the time a Cabinet Minister--the graduates of National Schools,
and the students of Eton, and other great Public Schools. The most
successful candidates were between the ages of eighteen and nineteen, as
is found to be the case in competitions for admission to the Polytechnic
School of France. Out of 579 successful candidates for the latter,
between 1854 and 1857, 450 were over eighteen years. But the most
important result of the competitive examinations for Woolwich, was the
superior mental ability, the vigorous health, and eagerness for study
exhibited by the new classes, and the small number who have failed on
account of ill-health or incompetency. On this point, Mr. Edward
Chadwick, in a Report before the National Social Science Association, at
Cambridge, in 1862, says:--
“Out of an average three hundred patronage appointed cadets at the Royal
Military Academy at Woolwich, for officers of engineers and the
artillery, during the five years preceding the adoption of the principle
of open competition for admission to the Academy, there were fifty, who
were after long and indulgent trial, and with a due regard to
influential parents and patrons, dismissed for hopeless incapacity for
the service of those scientific corps. During the five subsequent years,
which have been years of the open competition principle, there has not
been one dismissed for incapacity. Moreover, the general standard of
capacity has been advanced. An eminent professor of this university who
has taught as well under the patronage as under the competitive system
at that Academy, declares that the quality of mind of the average of the
cadets, has been improved by the competition, so much so, that he
considers that the present average quality of mind of the cadets
there,--though the sorts of attainment are different, has been brought
up to the average of the first classmen of this (Cambridge) university,
which of itself is a great gain. Another result, the opposite to that
which was confidently predicted, by the opponents to the principle, has
been that the average physical power or bodily strength, instead of
being diminished, is advanced beyond the average of their predecessors.”
The opening of the Royal Military School at Woolwich to competition, on
the basis of a more advanced age, and more thorough general education,
has not only drawn in pupils of higher average ability and attainments,
but has enabled the authorities to extend the course of instruction. In
this, the only safe way, they solved the problem which has tortured the
ingenuity of the friends of our Academy--of crowding new studies
acknowledged to be desirable if not indispensable, into a course already
too crowded for cadets so unequally, and, many of them, so imperfectly
prepared for the course as it is.
Another result of immense importance to the educational interests of
Great Britain has followed the introduction of these open competitive
examinations for appointments to the Military and Naval Schools, to the
East India service, as well as to fill vacancies in the principal
clerkships in the War, Admiralty, Ordnance and Home Departments of the
government:--a stimulus of the most healthy and powerful kind, worth
more than millions of pecuniary endowment, has been given to all the
great schools of the country, including the universities of England,
Scotland and Ireland. As soon as it was known that candidates, graduates
of Trinity College, Dublin, had succeeded over competitors from Oxford
and Edinburgh in obtaining valuable appointments in the East India
service--the professors in the latter universities began to look to
their laurels. As soon as it was known to the master of any important
school, that some of his leading pupils might compete in these
examinations, and that his own reputation as a teacher depended in a
measure on the success or failure of these pupils, he had a new motive
to impart the most vigorous and thorough training to his whole school.
The success of candidates who had never seen the inside of a government
Military School, in open competition for appointments to the Artillery
and Engineer Corps, in the new regiments raised in 1855, over those who
hold the diplomas of the Royal Military Academy, was one of the reasons
which led to a thorough revision of the whole system of military
education.
These results, imperfectly presented here, will, the Visitors believe,
be realized from the changes, which they now suggest, in the
requirements as to age, attainments, capacity and aptitude, and
especially in the mode of ascertaining these qualifications, of
candidates for appointments to the Cadet Corps of the United States
Army.
To the present low requirements, and mode of selecting cadets, do they
attribute the hostility which they know exists, to some extent, against
this Academy, in different parts of the country. The charges of
personal, and political favoritism in making nominations, and the
absence of reasonable search, among all the youth of a district, for the
best qualified in natural endowments and acquired knowledge irrespective
of the poverty, or wealth, or occupation, or family, or party relations
of the parents or guardians, we are forced to believe, in too many
instances, to be well founded. To these hasty and injudicious
nominations, do we attribute the bitter disappointments of so many
individuals and families caused by the numerous failures to pass the
almost formal entrance examinations in reading, spelling, penmanship,
and elementary operations of arithmetic, or if admitted, to maintain a
respectable standing in conduct and studies during their first year’s
connection with the institution. To this inequality of preparation and
maturity of mind on entrance, do we attribute the astonishing disparity
of capacity and attainments in the members of the same class, and the
very large proportion of all who are admitted, who fail to graduate in
very high standing as men of science or military promise.
To this want of preparatory knowledge, maturity of mind, and taste for
mathematical and military studies, do we attribute most of the
difficulties of internal administration, and class-room instruction. So
long as the cadet is a boy, or if full grown in body, a youth with only
boyish tastes, and without scholarly and soldierly aspirations,--so long
as not a few are in the Academy, not because they sought its privileges
from an inward and irrepressible impulse to a military career, but for
the eclat of a military position to be resigned when such position
involves sacrifices; _so long_ will the admission of each new class, and
especially, the period of encampment be signalized not only by boyish
pranks, but by personal outrages on unoffending members of the same
corps, which we had supposed to belong to the dark ages of collegiate
institutions, when boyish inmates were congregated in large numbers,
away from the restraints of family discipline;--so long will the time,
skill, and patience of able professors, which should be devoted to the
elucidation of difficult scientific principles and their applications to
military art, be engrossed in supplying the defects of an elementary
education, which should have been obtained by the cadet as well, or
better, at home; so long will the severe mathematical studies, and their
special applications, difficult enough to task a well disciplined mind
even with the preparation provided in a thorough knowledge of
arithmetic, algebra, and geometry,--be irksome in the extreme, and be
never mastered to any useful purpose to the army of the United States,
by more than one half of the graduates of the Academy;--so long will the
country be disappointed in the subsequent career of many graduates, for
whose military instruction and training all these appropriate and costly
preparations have been made.
In view of these and other considerations the Board of Visitors
unanimously recommend that the law and regulations relating to the
military academy be so modified as to provide as follows:
I. The Cadet Corps of the army of the United States shall consist of
four hundred members, to which each state and territory shall be
entitled to a number equal to its representation in the Congress of the
United States, and the remainder shall be designated by the President
from the country at large, including the District of Columbia; and he
shall also fill, in the same way, any vacancy which for any cause may
remain unfilled, for three months after the annual examination in each
year.
II. No person shall be appointed to the cadet corps until he has been
found qualified in the particulars designated by law, after a public
examination conducted in such places, at such times, and in such manner
as Congress shall prescribe; from which examination no person resident
of that portion of the country for which the same is held, shall be
excluded, who shall present credentials from the teacher or teachers
whom he had last attended, that he is over seventeen, and under
twenty-one years of age, of unblemished moral character, and personal
habits, of good physical strength and constitution, and has given
evidence of aptitude and vigor of mind for the studies and duties of a
military career. The examiners shall make return under oath to the
Secretary of War, of the persons so presenting themselves, examined, and
found qualified, arranged in the order of merit, specifying the
residence and school or schools which they have attended in the two
years previous, and the degree of merit exhibited in each subject of the
examination. And all appointments to fill vacancies for any state or
territory, or for the country at large, shall be made from these
returns, and in the order of merit as assigned by the examiners, until
the same shall be revised by new regulations of the Department.
III. No person shall be returned to the Secretary of War as a suitable
candidate for admission to the Cadet Corps, unless he
1. Shall be _over_ seventeen, and under twenty-one years of age.
2. Shall possess an unblemished moral character and correct personal
habits.
3. Shall be in good health, and in no way incapacitated by want of vigor
and elasticity of physical constitution for military service.
4. Shall possess vigor and aptitude of mind for the studies of the
Military Academy, and shall give evidence, oral and written, of a good
English education, which, in view of the wide spread facilities of
instruction in public and private schools, might very properly embrace
(_a._) The correct use of the English language, in speaking, reading,
and writing the same.
(_b._) Penmanship, book-keeping, and elementary drawing.
(_c._) The ability to perform with facility and accuracy the various
operations of arithmetic.
(_d._) The elementary principles of algebra and geometry.
(_e._) A thorough knowledge of American geography and history, and the
leading features of the Constitution of the United States, and of the
State of his residence.
(_f._) Or so much of the subjects above specified as shall be deemed
indispensable to the immediate and profitable attention of the Cadets on
their admission to the special studies and occupations of a military
school.
5. Shall make a written declaration of his desire to obtain admission to
the Cadet Corps for the purpose of qualifying himself for the military
service of the United States, which service he assumes from the date of
his appointment as cadet, to continue in the same for a period of at
least sixteen years--bearing true faith and allegiance to the
Constitution and government of the United States, against all enemies,
foreign and domestic, and paramount to all obligations to any State
government, authority, or constitution.
APPENDIX.
The Appendix to the Report of the Visitors of the Military Academy for
1863, contains the following tables and documents referred to in the
Report.
TABLE A.--Showing the condition in life of the parents of the Cadets
of the United States Military Academy from 1842 to 1863 inclusive.
TABLE B.--Showing the number of Cadets actually admitted into the
United States Military Academy from each State and Territory from its
origin March 16th, 1802, to October 19th, 1863.
TABLE C.--Showing the number of Cadets who have graduated at the
Military Academy, from its origin to 1863, with the State and
Territories where appointed.
TABLE D.--Showing the whole number of Cadets admitted and the whole
number graduated from each State and Territory from 1802 to October
1863, together with the percentage of those who graduated, and of who
failed, out of the whole number admitted from each State, and the number
of Cadets to which each State and Territory is now entitled, according
to the apportionment of members of Congress, under the Census of 1860.
STATEMENT EXHIBITING THE CONDITION OF LIFE OF THE PARENTS OF THE
CADETS OF THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT, NEW YORK,
FOR THE LAST TWENTY-TWO YEARS, FROM 1842 TO 1863, INCLUSIVE.
------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
|1842|1843|1844|1845|1846|1847|1848|1849|1850|1851|1852
------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Fathers are or were: | | | | | | | | |
farmers or planters | | | | | | | | |
| 59| 61| 61| 68| 72| 67| 69| 75| 70| 63| 67
mechanics | 14| 12| 15| 22| 22| 25| 22| 21| 16| 14| 14
judges or lawyers | | | | | | | | |
| 27| 25| 30| 35| 33| 30| 29| 23| 34| 33| 34
merchants | 18| 15| 23| 37| 29| 29| 31| 38| 36| 38| 35
boarding-house or hotel keepers | | | | | |
| 5| 2| 4| 3| 7| 6| 4| 2| 2| 2| 3
physicians| 12| 15| 15| 13| 21| 19| 21| 21| 18| 14| 14
in the army, navy, or marine corps | | | | | |
| 14| 16| 16| 13| 11| 13| 17| 17| 18| 22| 24
clergymen | 4| 6| 6| 6| 5| 3| 3| 4| 4| 4| 3
in the civil employment of the General or State government |
| 5| 15| 16| 9| 5| 2| 3| 7| 7| 8| 10
Miscellaneous: as, bank officers, editors, professors, | |
masters of vessels, &c. | | | | | | | |
| 15| 11| 15| 23| 35| 36| 41| 24| 32| 39| 30
Occupation not stated, or no occupation | | | | |
| 48| 34| 23| 17| 1| 2| 2| 8| 7| 11| 13
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total | 221| 212| 224| 236| 241| 232| 242| 240| 244| 239| 247
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Of these numbers, there are without fathers living
| 26| 57| 44| 48| 42| 41| 34| 48| 40| 45| 36
Without fathers or mothers living | | | | | |
| 22| 16| 18| 15| 21| 20| 18| 16| 26| 17| 19
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total orphans | | | | | | | | | |
| 48| 73| 62| 63| 63| 61| 52| 64| 66| 62| 55
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Of these numbers the parents are stated to be in:
moderate circumstances | | | | | | | |
| .. | 156| 150| 164| 192| 182| 193| 203| 215| 207| 218
reduced circumstances | | | | | | | |
| 182| 26| 26| 36| 35| 38| 40| 29| 25| 16| 9
indigent circumstances | | | | | | | |
| .. | 6| 8| 8| 8| 8| 4| 4| 2| 2| ..
independent circumstances | | | | | | |
| .. | 6| 10| 12| 6| 4| 5| 4| 2| 14| 20
unknown circumstances | | | | | | | |
| 39| 18| 19| 16| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | ..
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total | 221| 212| 224| 236| 241| 232| 242| 240| 244| 239| 247
------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
|1853|1854|1855|1856|1857|1858|1859|1860|1861|1862|1863
------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Fathers are or were: | | | | | | | | |
farmers or planters | | | | | | | | |
| 58| 66| 62| 60| 52| 48| 57| 65| 29| 33| 38
mechanics | 13| 12| 17| 26| 22| 15| 30| 12| 13| 8| 12
judges or lawyers | | | | | | | | |
| 35| 36| 26| 25| 29| 32| 32| 36| 23| 35| 39
merchants | 35| 39| 40| 30| 26| 41| 28| 28| 23| 24| 29
boarding-house or hotel keepers | | | | | |
| 3| 5| 2| 2| 1| .. | .. | 3| 4| 4| 5
physicians| 13| 9| 8| 9| 17| 16| 10| 18| 10| 13| 18
in the army, navy, or marine corps | | | | | |
| 27| 28| 22| 20| 20| 26| 29| 33| 23| 25| 33
clergymen | 5| 4| 6| 5| 4| 5| 6| 7| 7| 8| 11
in the civil employment of the General or State government
| 11| 14| 13| 13| 7| 31| 29| 18| 8| 11| 14
Miscellaneous: as, bank officers, editors, professors, | |
masters of vessels, &c. | | | | | | | |
| 26| 14| 25| 13| 13| 12| 6| 37| 44| 39| 42
Occupation not stated, or no occupation | | | | |
| 7| 10| 19| 15| 20| 25| 39| 22| 18| 18| 19
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total | 232| 237| 239| 223| 221| 251| 266| 279| 202| 218| 260
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Of these numbers, there are without fathers living
| 35| 29| 33| 33| 24| 46| 33| 42| 25| 25| 36
Without fathers or mothers living | | | | | |
| 17| 15| 9| 6| 7| 7| 8| 10| 11| 9| 7
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total orphans | | | | | | | | | |
| 52| 44| 42| 39| 31| 53| 41| 52| 36| 34| 42
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Of these numbers the parents are stated to be in:
moderate circumstances | | | | | | | |
| 205| 206| 215| 196| 195| 216| 218| 239| 184| 199| 232
reduced circumstances | | | | | | | |
| 8| 8| 7| 8| 8| 8| 7| 6| 2| 5| 5
indigent circumstances | | | | | | | |
| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| .. | .. | .. | 1| 5
independent circumstances| | | | | | | |
| 22| 22| 16| 18| 17| 26| 41| 34| 16| 12| 17
unknown circumstances | | | | | | | |
| .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | .. | 1| 1
+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
Total | 232| 237| 239| 223| 221| 251| 266| 279| 202| 218| 260
------------+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----+----
NOTE.--Of the 97 Cadets admitted, to October 19th, 1863, as given in the
table on page 321, 46 were appointed from the U.S. Volunteers engaged in
the War, who held the following rank: 1 _Captain_, 5 _First
Lieutenants_, 3 _Second Lieutenants_, 10 _Non-commissioned Officers_, 20
_Privates_, 1 _Musician_, and 6 _Clerks_, from military departments.
STATEMENT SHOWING THE NUMBER OF CADETS ACTUALLY ADMITTED INTO THE
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY FROM ITS ORIGIN, MARCH 16TH, 1802,
TO OCTOBER 19TH, 1863.
[Transcriber’s Note:
The two following tables were each printed sideways, spanning two
pages. They have been subdivided for this e-text. Note that the
two lists are not the same.]
[KEY:
Unless otherwise noted, states are identified by their modern
two-letter abbreviations. In the second set of tables, Utah,
Washington, New Mexico and Nebraska are listed as Territories.
Year Year of Admission.
DT Dakota (Territory)
al At large.
u Unknown
t Total]
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Year | ME| NH| VT| MA| RI| CT| NY| NJ| PA| DE| MD| VA| WV| NC
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
1802 |...|...|...| 5|...| 1| 1|...|...|...| 1| 1|...|...
1803 |...|...| 3|...|...|...| 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 1
1804 |...|...| 1|...|...|...| 1|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...
1805 |...|...| 3|...|...|...| 2|...| 2|...|...|...|...|...
1806 |...|...| 5| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 1| 1|...|...|...
1807 |...| 2| 5| 2|...| 2| 2|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1808 | 1| 1| 8| 2|...| 4| 10|...| 2|...| 1| 2|...|...
1809 | 1|...|...| 2|...|...| 1| 2|...|...|...|...|...|...
1810 |...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1811 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1812 | 1| 1| 1| 1|...|...| 3|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1813 |...| 1| 3| 11|...| 1| 30|...| 5|...| 5| 6|...| 4
1814 |...|...| 4| 14| 1|...| 48| 4| 9| 2| 21| 22|...| 3
1815 |...|...| 1| 1|...| 1| 14| 1| 4| 4| 6| 5|...| 3
1816 |...| 2|...| 1|...| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| 9|...| 2
1817 |...| 3| 3| 6|...| 2| 5| 1| 3| 1| 3| 4|...|...
1818 |...| 4| 4| 11| 1| 6| 22| 3| 13|...| 6| 17|...| 5
1819 | 4| 1| 5| 4| 1| 5| 11| 6| 9| 3| 3| 10|...| 4
1820 | 3| 3| 1| 6| 1| 1| 9|...| 11|...| 4| 4|...| 3
1821 |...| 1|...| 5|...| 1| 16| 4| 7| 2| 5| 8|...| 5
1822 | 3| 4| 5| 6| 1| 4| 10| 1| 14| 1| 4| 12|...| 7
1823 | 2|...| 3| 7| 1| 3| 13| 2| 9| 1| 4| 13|...| 9
1824 | 5| 2| 1| 5| 2| 4| 8| 3| 7| 1| 3| 2|...| 1
1825 | 2| 2| 1| 6| 1| 3| 15| 2| 12| 1| 7| 7|...| 6
1826 | 2| 3| 1| 2| 4| 1| 12| 3| 8| 2| 6| 11|...| 5
1827 | 1| 3| 3| 3| 1|...| 18| 1| 11| 1| 3| 15|...| 9
1828 | 5| 4| 2| 5| 1| 5| 11| 2| 10| 1| 3| 14|...| 6
1829 | 1| 3| 4| 10| 1| 4| 16| 2| 13| 1| 2| 14|...| 5
1830 | 1| 2| 1| 4| 2| 1| 14| 2| 8|...| 5| 18|...| 5
1831 | 4| 1| 1| 5| 2| 2| 18| 2| 6| 2| 7| 8|...| 6
1832 | 3| 3| 1| 4| 2| 2| 11| 4| 12| 2| 3| 10|...| 7
1833 | 1| 2| 1| 8|...| 6| 9| 2| 8| 1| 6| 17|...| 5
1834 |...| 1| 2| 1|...| 1| 7| 1| 5| 2| 4| 4|...| 2
1835 | 5| 1| 2| 4|...| 1| 13| 1| 10|...| 2| 1|...| 4
1836 | 4| 4| 1| 2| 3| 2| 19| 4| 8|...| 2| 10|...| 5
1837 | 2| 1|...| 5|...| 3| 17| 3| 13| 1 | 6| 14|...| 6
1838 | 1| 1| 2| 2| 1| 2| 9|...| 8| 1 | 3| 10|...| 4
1839 | 2| 1| 2| 2| 1| 2| 12| 4| 7| 1 | 1| 2|...| 1
1840 | 4|...|...| 6| 2|...| 16| 1| 7| 1 | 2| 5|...| 7
1841 | 3| 2| 2| 7|...| 4| 12|...| 11|...| 3| 10|...| 3
1842 | 2| 1| 1| 7| 1| 1| 12| 3| 11|...| 4| 9|...| 4
1843 |...| 1| 1| 1|...|...| 5|...| 5| 1 | 1|...|...| 1
1844 | 1| 2|...| 2| 1| 1| 7| 2| 7|...| 2| 3|...| 4
1845 | 3| 1| 1| 3|...| 3| 12| 1| 6|...| 1| 6|...| 1
1846 | 3| 1| 2| 5| 1| 2| 14| 1| 10| 1 | 4| 7|...| 5
1847 | 3| 1| 2| 2|...| 1| 10| 1| 8|...| 1| 5|...| 3
1848 | 1| 1|...| 1| 1| 1| 9| 4| 7|...| 3| 3|...| 3
1849 | 3| 1| 1| 3|...| 2| 11| 3| 7| 1 |...| 8|...| 1
1850 | 3| 2| 3| 4| 1|...| 8| 1| 11|...| 2| 7|...| 4
1851 | 1|...| 1| 5|...| 1| 13|...| 8| 1 | 1| 3|...| 3
1852 | 2|...|...|...| 1| 1| 13| 3| 5|...| 3| 3|...| 3
1853 | 2| 2|...| 3|...| 3| 8| 3| 4|...| 3| 5|...| 3
1854 | 3|...| 2| 5| 1| 1| 10| 2| 10|...| 4| 5|...| 2
1855 |...|...| 1| 3| 2| 1| 11| 1| 11| 1 | 1| 2|...| 3
1856 | 2| 1| 1| 2|...|...| 11| 2| 8|...| 1| 3|...|...
1857 | 3| 2|...| 2| 1| 2| 6| 1| 8|...| 1| 7|...| 2
1858 | 2|...|...| 5|...| 1| 5| 2| 3|...| 2| 4|...| 4
1859 |...|...| 1| 1|...| 1| 4| 2| 8|...| 1| 2|...| 2
1860 | 2|...| 1| 3| 1|...| 10| 1| 9| 1 | 1| 2|...| 2
1861 | 4| 3| 1| 4| 1| 2| 14| 2| 13| 1 | 3| 2|...|...
1862 | 1|...| 1| 3| 1| 1| 11| 1| 6|...| 4| 1|...|...
1863 |...|...| 2| 2|...| 1| 8| 2| 5|...| 3| 7| 1| 7
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Total.|102| 78|104|232| 42|102|650|101|424| 41|179|379| 1|190
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Year |SC |GA |AL |MS |LA |OH |KY |TN |IN |IL |MO |AR |MI |FL |TX
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
1802 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...
1803 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...
1804 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 5|...|...|...|...
1805 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...
1806 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1807 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1808 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1809 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1810 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1811 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1812 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1813 | 2| 2|...|...|...| 2| 1|...| 2|...|...|...|...|...|...
1814 |...| 1|...|...|...| 4| 5|...| 1|...|...|...| 1|...|...
1815 | 4| 1|...|...|...| 1| 1| 1|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...
1816 | 4| 2|...|...|...| 2|...| 2|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1817 | 8| 1| 1|...| 1| 2| 3| 5| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1818 | 5| 1|...|...| 1| 3| 5| 3|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1819 | 5| 1|...| 1|...| 1| 5|...| 1|...| 1|...| 2|...|...
1820 | 3| 1|...| 2| 1| 1| 4| 2|...| 1| 2|...|...|...|...
1821 | 5| 5|...|...|...| 1| 6| 3| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1822 | 9| 4| 2|...| 1| 3| 3| 4| 1|...| 2|...| 1| 2|...
1823 | 3| 3|...|...| 3| 8| 8| 4|...| 1| 4|...| 2|...|...
1824 | 2| 3| 3| 2| 2| 5| 6| 5| 4| 2|...|...|...|...|...
1825 | 6| 5| 2| 1| 1| 5| 7| 3| 1| 1| 2|...| 1|...|...
1826 | 1| 4| 1|...| 4| 3| 3| 7| 2| 1| 1|...|...| 1|...
1827 | 4| 1| 1|...| 2| 7| 5| 2|...| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1|...
1828 | 4| 2| 3| 2|...| 4| 8| 5| 3| 1|...| 1| 1| 1|...
1829 | 6| 4| 3|...| 3| 4| 3| 2| 1|...| 3|...|...| 1|...
1830 | 3| 5| 1|...| 1| 3| 6| 5| 3| 1| 1| 1|...| 1|...
1831 | 4| 4| 1| 1| 1| 4| 6| 3|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...
1832 | 5| 2| 3| 1| 1| 2| 5| 4| 2| 3|...|...| 2| 1|...
1833 | 1| 3|...| 3| 4| 4| 4| 6| 3| 2| 2|...| 1| 2|...
1834 | 4| 4| 4| 2| 1| 3| 3| 5| 1| 2| 1|...| 1|...|...
1835 | 3|...| 1|...| 2| 5| 3| 7| 3| 1|...|...|...|...|...
1836 | 3| 5| 2| 1| 1| 7| 3| 5| 1| 1|...|...|...| 1|...
1837 | 6| 6| 2|...|...| 6| 4| 3| 3| 2|...| 1| 1|...|...
1838 | 3| 6| 3|...| 2| 7| 6| 6| 2| 1| 1|...| 1|...|...
1839 | 2| 2| 3|...|...| 3| 6| 1| 2|...| 1| 1| 1| 1|...
1840 | 4| 4|...| 1| 1| 6| 5| 5| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1841 | 4| 5| 1|...| 2| 8| 4| 7| 3| 1|...| 1|...| 1|...
1842 | 6| 5| 3| 1|...| 4| 4| 4| 2| 3|...| 1|...|...|...
1843 | 3|...| 3| 1| 2| 6|...| 3| 4| 3| 2|...| 3|...|...
1844 | 2| 1| 4| 1| 2| 5| 3| 3| 3| 3| 2| 1| 2|...|...
1845 | 2| 2| 3| 2| 2| 7| 5| 3| 2| 1| 2|...| 1| 1|...
1846 | 1| 5| 4| 2| 4| 4| 4| 5| 2| 2| 1|...|...|...| 2
1847 | 3|...| 1|...| 1| 7| 3| 3| 3| 2| 1|...| 1|...|...
1848 | 3| 3| 2| 2|...| 10| 3| 3| 2| 4| 2| 1| 1|...|...
1849 | 1| 3| 3| 3|...| 8| 1| 3| 3| 3| 2| 1| 1| 1| 2
1850 | 4| 4| 2| 2| 3| 2| 5| 3| 3| 2|...|...|...|...|...
1851 |...| 1| 1| 1| 2| 5| 3| 3| 2| 3|...| 1|...|...|...
1852 | 1|...| 2| 1| 2| 7| 5| 7| 5| 1| 2|...| 3|...|...
1853 | 2| 5| 4|...| 1| 6| 4| 2| 3| 1| 3|...| 1| 1| 1
1854 | 3| 3| 4| 3| 2| 6| 1| 6| 2| 4| 3| 2| 1|...| 1
1855 | 2| 1|...| 1| 1| 7| 1|...| 3| 7| 1|...| 1| 1| 1
1856 | 1| 1| 1| 1| 2| 4| 3| 4| 3|...| 2| 1| 2| 1| 1
1857 | 2| 3| 2| 3| 2| 5| 7| 4| 1| 1| 2|...| 1|...| 1
1858 | 2| 5| 2| 1| 1| 9| 1| 4| 6| 1|...|...|...| 1|...
1859 | 1| 2| 2| 2| 2| 4| 3| 4| 3| 2|...|...|...|...|...
1860 | 2|...| 3| 2| 1| 4| 2| 2| 2| 7| 2| 1|...|...|...
1861 |...|...| 1|...|...| 8| 1|...| 6| 3| 3|...| 3|...|...
1862 |...|...|...|...|...| 7| 7|...| 4| 4| 5|...|...|...|...
1863 | 4| 8| 4| 5| 2| 4| 2| 7| 2| 1| 1| 2|...| 1| 2
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Total.|159|139| 88| 51| 67|243|196|178|109| 81| 67| 17| 38| 20| 11
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----
Year |IA|WI|CA|MN|OR|NM|UT|WA|NE|KS|DT|CO|NV|DC | al| u |Total
------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----
1802 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...|...| 10
1803 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...| 2| 9
1804 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...| 1| 9
1805 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...| 1| 9
1806 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|...|...| 9
1807 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...| 4| 17
1808 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...| 11| 42
1809 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...| 4| 10
1810 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...|...| 2
1811 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...|...|...| 0
1812 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|...|...| 10
1813 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 12|...| 1| 88
1814 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 6|...|...| 146
1815 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 12|...|...| 61
1816 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 2 |...| 34
1817 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|...|...| 55
1818 |..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 5|...|...| 116
1819 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 86
1820 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 4|...|...| 67
1821 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|...|...| 77
1822 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|...|...| 106
1823 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 1 | 1| 106
1824 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|...|...| 79
1825 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 103
1826 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 91
1827 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|...|...| 97
1828 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 107
1829 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 109
1830 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 5|...|...| 99
1831 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 92
1832 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3| 3 |...| 101
1833 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 5|...|...| 106
1834 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|...|...| 63
1835 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 4|...| 1| 74
1836 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3|...|...| 97
1837 |..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 4| 7 |...| 117
1838 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3| 26|...| 111
1839 | 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 13|...| 76
1840 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 5 |...| 84
1841 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 3| 17|...| 114
1842 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2| 18|...| 109
1843 | 1| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 12|...| 60
1844 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 11|...| 75
1845 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 81
1846 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 10|...| 103
1847 | 2|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 9 |...| 74
1848 |..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 81
1849 | 1| 2|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 89
1850 |..| 2| 1| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 90
1851 |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 11|...| 71
1852 | 1|..| 1|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 16|...| 90
1853 | 2|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 83
1854 |..| 3| 1| 1| 1|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 103
1855 |..| 1| 2|..|..| 1|..| 1|..| 1|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 80
1856 | 1| 2|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 10|...| 73
1857 | 1|..| 1|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 82
1858 | 1|..| 1| 1|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 75
1859 |..|..|..| 1|..|..|..| 1|..| 1|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 60
1860 |..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|...| 10|...| 72
1861 | 1| 3|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..| 1| 26|...| 108
1862 | 2|..| 2| 1|..| 1|..|..| 1| 1|..| 1|..| 1| 13|...| 81
1863 |..|..| 1|..| 1| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|...| 10|...| 97
------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----
Total.|14|17|10| 6| 3| 5| 3| 2| 2| 3| 1| 1| 1|113|330| 26|4626
------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---+---+---+-----
NOTE.--Owing to the destruction of the records by fire in 1838, the
States in which some of the Cadets resided previous to that event is
given; though it is believed they were appointed “At Large.” The
President of the United States having determined late in August, 1863,
to fill all the existing vacancies from the seceded States there were in
the FOURTH CLASS, numbering 97, on the 19th of October, 48 thus
appointed. 10 Cadets similarly appointed had not, on that date, been
examined for admission into the Military Academy.
THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT EXHIBITS THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF CADETS WHO
HAVE GRADUATED AT THE MILITARY ACADEMY, FROM ITS ORIGIN TO THE
PRESENT DATE, WITH THE STATES AND TERRITORIES WHENCE APPOINTED.
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Year | ME| NH| VT| MA| RI| CT| NY| NJ| PA| DE
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
1802 |...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1803 |...|...|...| 1|...|...| 1|...|...|...
1804 |...|...| 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1805 |...|...|...|...|...| 1| 1|...|...|...
1806 |...|...| 5| 1|...|...| 2| 1| 1|...
1807 |...|...| 4|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...
1808 |...| 2| 6| 3|...| 1| 1|...|...| 1
1809 |...|...| 2| 1|...|...| 3|...|...|...
1811 | 1| 1| 3| 1|...| 2| 5| 1| 2|...
1812 | 1|...| 3| 2|...| 3| 4| 1| 1|...
1813 |...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...
1814 |...| 1| 2| 5|...| 1| 9|...| 3|...
1815 |...|...| 1| 5|...|...| 14|...| 1|...
1817 | 1|...| 1|...| 1|...| 4|...| 1|...
1818 |...|...| 1| 2|...| 1| 3| 1| 2| 2
1819 |...| 1| 3| 4|...| 1| 6| 2|...| 1
1820 |...|...|...| 1|...|...| 11| 1|...|...
1821 |...| 1|...| 4|...| 1| 6|...| 2|...
1822 |...| 2| 3| 2| 1| 5| 6| 2| 6|...
1823 |...| 1| 3| 4| 1| 3| 5| 2| 3| 2
1824 | 1| 3|...| 5|...|...| 6|...| 4|...
1825 |...| 1| 1| 2|...| 1| 9| 3| 5|...
1826 | 1| 2| 2| 1| 1|...| 2| 1| 7| 1
1827 |...|...| 3| 4|...|...| 6|...| 4|...
1828 | 3| 1| 2| 4|...| 5| 2| 1| 1|...
1829 | 2| 1| 1| 5|...| 3| 7| 3| 4|...
1830 | 2|...| 1| 1| 2|...| 6| 1| 4| 1
1831 | 1| 1|...|...| 1|...| 8| 2| 4| 1
1832 | 3| 3| 1| 2| 1| 1| 6| 1| 5|...
1833 |...| 2| 1| 7|...| 2| 5| 1| 5| 1
1834 |...| 1| 2| 1|...| 1| 7|...| 6|...
1835 | 4| 1| 1| 4|...|...| 11| 2| 4| 1
1836 | 2| 3| 1| 1| 3| 1| 10| 3| 6| 1
1837 | 1| 1| 1| 6|...| 2| 4| 3| 5| 2
1838 |...|...| 2|...|...| 1| 7|...| 4|...
1839 | 2| 1| 1| 2|...| 1| 6|...| 5|...
1840 | 3| 1|...| 2|...|...| 8| 1| 3|...
1841 | 1| 1| 1| 5|...| 2| 6|...| 7| 1
1842 | 1| 1| 1| 2| 2|...| 7| 1| 5|...
1843 | 2| 1| 2|...|...| 1| 7| 2| 4|...
1844 |...| 1|...| 1| 1| 1| 2|...| 3| 1
1845 | 3|...| 1| 2|...| 1| 8|...| 1|...
1846 | 2| 1| 2| 4| 1| 1| 10| 1| 8|...
1847 |...|...|...|...|...|...| 5|...| 3|...
1848 | 1| 1|...|...|...|...| 5| 3| 5|...
1849 |...| 1| 1| 2|...| 2| 5|...| 3|...
1850 | 3| 1| 1| 3| 1|...| 7|...| 6|...
1851 | 1|...| 1| 3|...| 1| 6|...| 5|...
1852 |...|...|...|...| 1| 1| 7| 2| 4|...
1853 | 1| 1|...| 2|...| 1| 5| 1| 3|...
1854 | 2| 1| 2| 1| 1|...| 4| 1| 5|...
1855 |...| 1| 1| 4|...|...| 7|...| 8| 1
1856 | 1|...|...|...|...|...| 8| 1| 3|...
1857 | 2| 2|...| 2|...| 2| 3| 1| 1|...
1858 | 1|...|...| 4|...| 1| 1| 1| 1|...
1859 |...|...| 1|...|...|...| 4|...| 4|...
1860 | 1|...| 1| 3| 1|...| 7| 1| 3| 1
1861 | 3| 3| 1| 3| 1| 2| 15| 2| 10|...
1862 | 1|...|...| 3|...| 1| 3|...| 2|...
1863 |...|...| 1| 2|...| 1| 4| 1| 5|...
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Total| 54| 47| 75|131| 20| 55|329| 51|197| 18
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Year | MD| VA| NC|SC |GA |AL |MS |LA |OH |IN
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
1802 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1803 |...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1804 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1805 |...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1806 |...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1807 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1808 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1809 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1811 | 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1812 |...| 1|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...
1813 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1814 |...| 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1
1815 | 4| 2|...| 2| 3|...|...|...| 4|...
1817 |...| 8|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1
1818 | 5| 3| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...
1819 | 3| 2| 1| 1|...|...|...| 1|...|...
1820 | 5| 3| 3| 1|...|...|...|...| 1|...
1821 | 2| 1|...| 3| 1|...|...|...| 1| 1
1822 |...| 5| 1| 1|...| 1|...|...| 2|...
1823 |...|...| 3| 1|...|...| 1|...|...|...
1824 | 3| 2|...| 2|...|...| 1| 1|...|...
1825 | 3| 3| 2| 2| 2|...|...|...|...|...
1826 | 2| 8| 3| 2| 1|...|...| 1|...| 1
1827 | 2| 4| 3| 2|...| 1|...|...| 3|...
1828 | 1| 1|...| 1|...| 1| 1| 1| 2| 2
1829 | 2| 2| 2| 3| 3|...|...|...| 4| 1
1830 | 4| 2| 2| 1| 1|...|...| 1| 1| 1
1831 | 3| 2| 2| 1| 1|...|...|...| 3|...
1832 | 2| 4| 1| 1|...| 1| 1|...| 3|...
1833 | 1| 5| 1| 2| 1| 2|...|...|...| 1
1834 | 1| 5|...| 1| 1|...|...|...| 1| 1
1835 | 2| 4| 3| 2| 3| 1|...|...| 4|...
1836 | 2| 5| 2| 2|...|...|...|...|...| 1
1837 | 4| 6| 2|...| 2| 1|...|...|...| 2
1838 | 1| 3| 1| 2| 2| 2| 2| 2| 3|...
1839 | 1| 1| 1| 1|...|...|...|...| 3| 1
1840 |...| 4| 3|...|...|...|...| 1| 6|...
1841 | 4| 7| 1| 3|...|...|...|...| 2| 3
1842 | 2| 7| 1| 3| 1| 2| 1| 1| 4| 1
1843 |...| 3|...|...|...|...|...|...| 3| 2
1844 | 2| 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 2|...
1845 |...| 2| 1|...| 2|...|...| 1| 4| 2
1846 | 3| 5| 2| 1| 4|...|...|...|...|...
1847 |...| 2| 1| 2|...|...|...|...| 8| 4
1848 |...| 1| 1| 3|...| 2|...|...| 1| 1
1849 |...| 5|...|...| 2|...| 2|...| 4| 2
1850 | 3| 2| 2| 1| 2|...|...| 2|...|...
1851 |...| 2| 3|...|...| 1|...| 1| 2| 2
1852 | 2|...| 2|...|...| 2| 1|...| 6| 2
1853 | 1| 5|...| 2| 3| 1|...|...| 8| 3
1854 |...| 4| 2| 3| 2| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1
1855 |...|...| 2|...| 1|...|...| 1| 2| 1
1856 |...| 2| 1|...|...| 1| 1|...| 7| 3
1857 |...| 3|...| 2| 4| 2|...|...| 2| 1
1858 | 2|...| 2| 1| 2| 1| 1|...| 2| 1
1859 | 1| 1|...|...|...| 1|...|...| 2|...
1860 | 1|...| 2| 2|...| 1|...|...| 3| 1
1861 | 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| 5| 1
1862 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 6| 1
1863 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 3| 2
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Total| 79|142| 63| 59| 44| 26| 14| 15|118| 48
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----------
Year |IL |KY |TN |AR |MO |MI |WI |DC |FL | at large
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----------
1802 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1803 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1804 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1805 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1806 |...|...|...|...| 4|...|...|...|...| ...
1807 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1808 |...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...| ...
1809 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1811 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1812 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1813 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1814 |...| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 5|...| ...
1815 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 4|...| ...
1817 |...| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1818 |...| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1819 | 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1820 |...|...| 2|...|...|...|...| 2|...| ...
1821 |...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1822 |...| 1| 1|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1823 |...| 2| 1|...|...| 1|...| 2|...| ...
1824 |...| 2| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1825 |...| 2| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1826 |...| 1| 1|...| 1|...|...| 1| 1| ...
1827 |...| 4|...|...|...| 1|...| 1|...| ...
1828 | 1|...| 2|...| 1|...|...|...|...| ...
1829 |...| 2|...|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1830 | 1| 4| 2|...| 1|...|...| 3|...| ...
1831 |...| 2| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| ...
1832 | 1| 3| 3|...|...| 1|...| 1|...| ...
1833 |...| 1| 2|...| 1|...|...| 2|...| ...
1834 |...| 4| 1|...| 1|...|...| 1| 1| ...
1835 |...| 4| 1|...|...|...|...| 3|...| 1
1836 |...| 2| 1|...|...|...|...| 1|...| 2
1837 | 1| 1| 1|...| 1| 1|...| 3|...| ...
1838 | 1| 3| 2|...| 1| 1|...| 1|...| 4
1839 |...| 3| 1|...|...|...|...| 1|...| ...
1840 |...|...| 3|...|...|...|...| 2| 1| 4
1841 | 2| 1| 1| 1|...| 1|...|...|...| 2
1842 | 1| 3| 1|...|...|...|...| 2|...| 6
1843 |...| 2| 1|...| 1| 1|...|...|...| 6
1844 |...| 4| 1| 1|...|...|...| 2|...| 1
1845 |...| 3| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 1| 8
1846 | 1| 1| 3|...|...|...|...| 1|...| 8
1847 | 2|...|...|...| 1| 1|...|...|...| 8
1848 | 2|...| 2| 1|...| 1| 1|...|...| 7
1849 |...| 2| 2|...| 1|...|...|...| 1| 8
1850 | 1| 2| 2|...|...|...|...|...|...| 5
1851 | 1| 2| 3|...|...|...|...| 1|...| 6
1852 | 1| 2| 1|...| 1| 2|...|...|...| 6
1853 | 2| 1| 2|...| 2|...|...|...| 1| 5
1854 |...|...| 1|...|...|...| 3|...|...| 6
1855 | 2|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...| 3
1856 |...| 4| 2|...| 1| 2|...| 1|...| 10
1857 | 1| 3| 1|...| 2|...|...|...|...| 3
1858 |...| 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...| 3
1859 | 1|...| 1|...|...| 1| 1|...|...| 3
1860 | 6|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...| 5
1861 | 1| 4| 1| 1| 2| 3| 2| 1|...| 14
1862 |...| 1| 1|...| 1|...|...|...|...| 5
1863 |...| 2|...|...|...|...|...| 2|...| ...
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----------
Total| 30| 83| 56| 5| 24| 17| 7| 50| 6| 139
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----------
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++-----------
Year |IA |TX |UT |MN |WA |OR |NM |CA |NE || Aggregate
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++-----------
1802 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 2
1803 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 3
1804 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 2
1805 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 3
1806 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 15
1807 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 5
1808 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 15
1809 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 7
1811 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 19
1812 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 18
1813 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 1
1814 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 30
1815 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 40
1817 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 19
1818 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 23
1819 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 29
1820 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 30
1821 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 24
1822 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 40
1823 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 35
1824 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 31
1825 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 37
1826 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 41
1827 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 38
1828 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 33
1829 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 46
1830 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 42
1831 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 33
1832 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 45
1833 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 43
1834 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 36
1835 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 56
1836 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 49
1837 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 50
1838 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 45
1839 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 31
1840 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 42
1841 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 52
1842 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 56
1843 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 39
1844 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 25
1845 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 41
1846 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 59
1847 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 38
1848 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 38
1849 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 43
1850 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 44
1851 | 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 42
1852 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 43
1853 | 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 52
1854 |...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 46
1855 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 34
1856 |...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 48
1857 | 1| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 39
1858 |...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|...|| 27
1859 |...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|...|| 22
1860 |...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|| 41
1861 | 1|...|...|...|...| 1| 1|...|...|| 80
1862 |...|...|...| 1|...|...|...| 1| 1|| 28
1863 |...|...|...|...| 1|...|...|...|...|| 25
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++-----------
Total| 6| 3| 1| 2| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1|| 2020
------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---++-----------
TABLE D.
EXHIBITING THE WHOLE NUMBER OF CADETS ADMITTED TO THE MILITARY ACADEMY
FROM EACH STATE AND TERRITORY, AND THE WHOLE NUMBER GRADUATED.
[KEY
DC District of Columbia
T Total
N Number
E No. entitl’d ’60
% Per cent. _printed as shown_]
---------------+---------+--------------+----------+---------+-----
|Admitted.| Graduated. |Failed to | Remain. |
STATE | | | Graduate.| |
AND +----+----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+----+
TERRITORY. |From| T |From| T | % | N | % |No. | % | E
---------------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----
Alabama |1817| 88|1822| 26|.295| 61 |.693| 1|.012| 7
Arkansas |1827| 17|1841| 5|.294| ... |.705| ...| ...| 2
California |1850| 10|1862| 1|.100| 6 |.600| 3|.300| 3
Connecticut |1802| 102|1805| 55|.539| 43 |.422| 4|.039| 4
Delaware |1806| 41|1808| 18|.439| 22 |.539| 1|.022| 1
Florida |1822| 20|1826| 6|.300| 14 |.700| ...|....| 1
Georgia |1813| 139|1815| 44|.329| 95 |.670| ...|....| 3
Illinois |1815| 81|1819| 30|.379| 42 |.519| 9|.111| 13
Indiana |1812| 109|1814| 48|.440| 52 |.477| 9|.083| 11
Iowa |1839| 14|1843| 6|.428| 6 |.428| 2|.144| 6
Kansas |1855| 3|....| ...|....| 2 |.667| 1|.333| 1
Kentucky |1813| 196|1819| 83|.423| 105 |.531| 8|.046| 9
Louisiana |1817| 67|1819| 15|.223| 51 |.761| 1|.016| 4
Maine |1808| 102|1811| 54|.529| 43 |.422| 5|.049| 5
Maryland |1802| 179|1802| 79|.441| 95 |.537| 5|.022| 5
Massachusetts |1802| 232|1802| 131|.324| 91 |.392| 10|.043| 10
Michigan |1814| 38|1823| 17|.447| 18 |.474| 3|.079| 6
Minnesota |1850| 6|1859| 2|.333| 2 |.333| 2|.333| 2
Mississippi |1819| 51|1823| 14|.274| 37 |.725| ...|....| 5
Missouri |1802| 67|1806| 24|.358| 37 |.552| 6|.090| 9
New Hampshire |1817| 78|1808| 47|.602| 28 |.359| 3|.039| 3
New Jersey |1803| 101|1806| 51|.504| 45 |.446| 5|.050| 5
New York |1802| 650|1803| 329|.506| 289 |.444| 32|.050| 31
North Carolina |1803| 190|1805| 63|.331| 127 |.668| ...|....| 8
Ohio |1813| 243|1815| 118|.485| 105 |.432| 20|.083| 19
Oregon |1854| 3|1861| 1|.333| 1 |.333| 1|.333| 1
Pennsylvania |1804| 424|1806| 197|.464| 203 |.479| 24|.057| 24
Rhode Island |1814| 42|1817| 20|.476| 20 |.476| 2|.048| 2
South Carolina |1809| 159|1806| 59|.371| 100 |.628| ...|....| 6
Tennessee |1815| 178|1820| 56|.314| 122 |.686| ...|....| 10
Texas |1840| 11|1853| 3|.272| 8 |.727| ...|....| 2
Vermont |1803| 104|1804| 75|.721| 26 |.250| 3|.029| 3
Virginia |1803| 379|1803| 142|.374| 237 |.615| 4|.011| 13
West Virginia |1863| 1|....| ...|....| ... |....| 1|.000| 1
Wisconsin |1837| 17|1848| 7|.411| 7 |.412| 3|.177| 6
District of | | | | | | | | | |
Columbia |1806| 113|1811| 50|.443| 62 |.549| 1|.008| 1
New Mexico |1852| 5|1861| 1|.200| 3 |.600| 1|.200| 1
Utah |1853| 3|1858| 1|.333| 1 |.333| 1|.333| 1
Washington |1855| 2|1861| 2|.100| ... |....| 1|.500| 1
Nebraska |1858| 2|1862| 1|.500| ... |....| 1|.000| 1
Dakota |1861| 1|....| ...|....| ... |....| 1|.000| 1
Colorado |1863| 1|....| ...|....| ... |....| 1|.000| 1
Nevada |1863| 1|....| ...|....| ... |....| 1|.000| 1
At large |1837| 330|....| 139|.421| 156 |.473| 35|.106| 40
Unknown |1803| 26|....| ...|....| ... |....| ...|....| ...
---------------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----
Total | |4626| |2020| | | | 210| | 294
---------------+----+----+----+----+----+-----+----+----+----+-----
The Totals in the column of Cadets admitted, graduated, and failed to
graduate, for each State and Territory, and for the country at large,
are obtained from Tables prepared by Capt. Boynton, in his “History of
the United States Military Academy.” The per centage of graduates,
failures, &c., is calculated from the totals thus obtained. The minute
accuracy of the results is slightly effected by the difficulty of
assigning the twenty-six Cadets admitted, whose place of residence was
unknown, to their respective States. The column of Cadets to which each
State and Territory is entitled in the apportionment of members of
Congress under the Census of 1860, is official so far as States not
involved in rebellion are concerned; the latter is given according to
the Census of 1850.
OPINIONS OF COL. THAYER AND OTHERS.
_On the recommendations of the Board of Visitors as to the conditions of
admission to the United States Military Academy at West Point._
Extract from a letter of COL. SYLVANUS THAYER, Superintendent of the
United States Military Academy, from 1816 to 1831.
“The Extracts from the Report of the Visitors at West Point, for 1863,
I have read with the highest satisfaction, not to say admiration. The
subject of the admission of Cadets, their number, age, attainments, and
mode of appointment, is discussed in the most complete and able manner,
_ne laissant rien a desirer_, as far as I can see. I am naturally the
more pleased from finding my own views so perfectly reflected in many
important particulars. The only difference I notice is the small
addition to my standard of attainment for admission. I not only agree to
that, but would raise the standard as high as Congress would be willing
to adopt. The higher the standard, the more perfect will be the test of
capacity. The subject, as you may well suppose, is not a new one with
me. More than forty years ago I made my first effort to have the mode of
appointment by nomination, done away with, and admission by open
competition adopted. My last effort before the late one, was made in
1858, while I was in command of the Corps of Engineers, during the
absence of Gen. Totten. At the same time, I recommended a higher
standard of attainment, a Board of Improvement, and some of the other
changes comprised in my “Propositions,” but with little expectation,
however, that my solitary voice would be heeded. After long despairing,
I am now encouraged and cheered. Admission by competitive examination,
open to all, may not be attained as soon as we wish, but come it must at
no distant day. Let every future Board of Visitors recall the attention
of the Government to your excellent Report; no new arguments are needed,
and let all the publications devoted to the cause of education, agitate
the question unceasingly.”
We have been favored with the perusal of the “Propositions,” referred to
in Col. Thayer’s letter, and submitted by him to the Secretary of War,
in 1863, with “Suggestions for the Improvement of the United States
Military Academy.” So far as the Visitors go, their views, and those of
Col. Thayer, are almost identical, but Col. Thayer’s communication to
the Secretary includes many other suggestions relating to the
instruction, discipline, and administration of the institution, which we
hope will be adopted by the Secretary, and embodied in the Regulations.
In addition to the modifications suggested by Col. Thayer, we should
like to see the theoretical course at West Point reduced to two years;
and Special Courses, or Schools of Application and Practice established
for the Engineer, Artillery, Cavalry, and Infantry service, open only to
those who should show natural aptitude, and the proper amount of
acquired knowledge, whether graduates of the scientific course of West
Point, or any State scientific or classical school, in a competitive
examination. In each of these courses or schools, there should be a
graduation, and promotion, in the particular service, according to
merit. Our whole system of military instruction should terminate in a
STAFF SCHOOL, open only to those who, in addition to the knowledge
required for graduation in at least two of the above special courses,
should have had at least three years actual experience in service. While
members of the Staff School, these candidates for the Staff Corps,
should, if called for by the State authorities, assist without
compensation, in conducting Military Encampments of the Officers of the
State Militia, like those held every year in Switzerland, and
corresponding to what is known in this country to Teacher’s Institutes.
The graduates of the Staff School, should constitute the Staff Corps,
from which all vacancies in the higher offices of the Regular Army
should be filled, and all appointments to new regiments be made.
EXTRACT from a letter of GEN. H. K. OLIVER.
I have read with the utmost care, the Extract from the Report of the
Board of Examiners of the Military Academy at West Point, for the year
1863, and most heartily concur in the views therein set forth, and
especially in that portion of it, which recommends a competitive
examination of candidates for admission. In all its relations it is
right. In fact it stands out prominently as the only proper mode of
admittance.
My intimate acquaintance with the Academy, having attended the
examination in 1846, by invitation, and again in 1847, as Secretary of
the Board of Visitors for that year, enables me to speak with reasonable
authority. These visits afforded me opportunities, which I improved to
the utmost, and most minutely, to become intimately well informed of the
effect of the prevailing method of selection, and of its practical
results upon character and scholarship after admission, as well as to
know, with what degree of fidelity, the institution was answering the
intent of its founding, and the just expectation of the country; and I
was then satisfied, and subsequent observation has confirmed me in my
opinion, that whatever of deficiency prevailed, was traceable to the
method of admission. Faithful teachers and faithful teaching will
achieve great results, but they can not make good, incompetent natural
endowments, nor infuse vigor and life into sluggish natures. I sincerely
hope that the Government will feel the force of your views, and comply
with your most commendable recommendations.
RESOLUTION adopted by the American Institute of Instruction at the
Annual Meeting in August; 1863.
WHEREAS, the security and honor of this whole country require in the
military and naval service the right sort of men with the right sort of
knowledge and training; _and whereas_, the military and naval schools
established to impart this knowledge and training will fail in their
objects, unless young men are selected as students of the right age,
with suitable preparatory knowledge, with vigor of body, and aptitude of
mind, for the special studies of such schools; _and whereas_, the mode
of determining the qualifications and selecting the students, may be
made to test the thoroughness of the elementary education given in the
several States, therefor
_Resolved_, That the Directors of the American Institute of
Instruction are authorized and instructed to memorialize the Congress of
the United States, to revise the terms and mode of admission to the
National Military and Naval Schools, so as to invite young men of the
right spirit, and with vigor and aptitude of mind for mathematical and
military studies, who aspire to serve their country in the military and
naval service, to compete in open trial before intelligent and impartial
examiners in each State, without fear or favor, without reference to the
wealth, or poverty, or occupation, or political opinions of their
parents or guardians, for such admission, and that in all cases the
order of admission shall be according to the personal merits and fitness
of the candidate.”
EXTRACT from letter of Prof. Monroe, St. John’s College, Fordham, N.Y.
I rejoice that some one has taken hold of this subject at last. It
needs only to be understood to be adopted; for I can not see from what
quarter any opposition to it can arise. You rightly observe that “all
the educational institutions of the several States” are interested in
this mode of appointment. Great Britain, France, and many of the
Continental States admit to their military schools the most competent
young men who present themselves, and the method is found to be as
economical as it is equitable. Long years of _winnowing_ is saved to the
Government; for the subjects who present themselves are, of course, the
most capable. For several years I was a witness of the beneficial
effects produced on youth in France by the stimulation of their energies
in order to undergo an examination for admission into the military or
naval schools. Our present mode of appointment appears to be an anomaly;
for while monarchies find it expedient to adopt a less exclusive mode of
sustaining their military organizations, we still cling to one founded
on patronage and prerogative. Many of our young men in different
colleges and educational institutions have a taste and vocation to the
military profession, and have an equal right to compete for a place in
the only fields where such a taste can be gratified--viz., in the army
and navy. These careers should then be open to them. There is danger and
want of policy in suppressing the legitimate aspirations of young men in
a nation which is, say what we can, passionately fond of military glory.
EXTRACT from the Report of the Board of Visitors of the U.S. Military
Academy at West Point for 1864.
The main features of the Report of the Visitors for 1863 we most
cordially approve, especially its recommendations of competitive
examination, and raising the age and qualifications of candidates for
admission. The only student who obtained his appointment through
competitive examination (introduced into his district by the member of
Congress upon whose recommendation he was appointed from the common
schools[15] of New York) graduated at the head of his class this year.
[Footnote 15: The successful candidate, out of twenty competitors,
was a member of the Free Academy of the city of New York, and
stood in scholarship about the middle of his class.]
The beneficial effect on schools, as regards both pupils and teachers,
of throwing open appointments in civil, as well as in military and naval
service, to competition, and giving them to the most meritorious
candidates, on examination, is thus commented on in the Report of the
Queen’s Commissioners on the Endowed Schools of Ireland:
This measure has received the unanimous approval of our body, who
regard it as an effectual method of promoting intermediate education.
The experience already obtained respecting the operation of public and
competitive examinations, so far as they have hitherto been tried,
leaves no doubt on our minds that the extension of this system would,
under judicious management, produce very beneficial effects, both in
raising the standard of instruction, and in stimulating the efforts of
masters and of pupils. The educational tests adapted for examinations
for the public service would be, in our opinion, of all others the most
general in their character, and therefore, those best calculated to
direct the efforts of teachers to that course of mental discipline and
moral training, the attainment of which constitutes, in our opinion, the
chief object of a liberal education. The experience of the civil service
commission has shown the shortcomings of all classes in the most general
and most elementary branches of a literary and scientific education.
These views are strongly corroborated by the testimony, appended to
the Report, of prominent teachers and educators consulted on the
subject:
Prof. Bullen, in the Queen’s College, Cork, remarks:--“No movement
ever made will so materially advance education in this country as the
throwing open public situations to meritorious candidates. It has given
already a great impulse to schools and will give greater. The
consequence of throwing the civil service open to the public is already
beginning to tell--although only in operation a few months, it has told
in a most satisfactory manner in this city; and, from what I can see, it
will have the happiest results on education generally.”
Prof. King, Head Master of a Grammar School at Ennis, writes:--“These
examinations have already caused improvements in my own school by
inducing me to give instruction in branches which I had never taught
before.”
The Dean of Elphin, the Archdeacon of Waterford and the Bishop of
Doun, advocate the measure on the ground of its tendency to produce
competition between schools, and to stimulate private enterprise. The
Bishop of Cashel “thought that this competition would be more valuable
than the endowment of schools giving education gratuitously.”
In confirmation of the above views, and as an illustration of the
benefits likely to accrue both to the cause of education and to the
public service from the extension of the system of competitive
examinations, we may add that, at the late competitive examination for
certificates of merit held by the Royal Dublin Society Mr. Samuel
Chapman, who was educated solely by the Incorporated Society, as a
foundation boy, obtained the first place and a prize of £5. In
consequence of this success the Bank of Ireland immediately appointed
him to a clerkship. Mr. Chapman was originally elected to the Pococke
Institution, from a parish school, by a competitive examination; and on
his leaving the Santry school Prof. Galbraith appointed him his
assistant in Trinity College, in consequence of the skill in drawing
which he exhibited, and his knowledge of mathematics, as proved by his
final examination.
III. COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION AT WEST POINT.
DEBATE IN THE UNITED STATES SENATE, MAY 18TH, 1864.
The Bill making appropriation for the Military Academy being under
consideration, Senator Anthony, of R. Island, remarked on the following
amendment:
_And be it further enacted_, That hereafter, in all appointments of
cadets to the Military Academy at West Point, the selections for such
appointments in the several districts shall be made from the candidates
according to their respective merits and qualifications, to be
determined under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of War
shall from time to time prescribe.
This, Mr. President, is substantially the proposition which I offered at
the last session; and although I was not so fortunate as to obtain for
it the assent of the Senate, mainly from an apprehension of practical
difficulties in carrying out what is admitted to be a desirable reform
if it could be effected, yet the general expression of Senators was so
much in favor of the principle, and I have been so much strengthened in
my views on the subject by subsequent reflection and examination, that I
am emboldened to renew it.
I differ entirely from those who are fond of disparaging the Military
Academy. It has been of incalculable service to the country; it is the
origin and the constant supply of that military science without which
mere courage would be constantly foiled, and battles would be but Indian
fights on a large scale. Not to speak of the Mexican war, throughout the
whole of which West Point shone with conspicuous luster, it is safe to
leave the vindication of the Academy to the gallant and able men who
have illustrated the annals of the war that is now raging. Nor have its
indirect advantages been less marked than its direct. It has kept alive
a military spirit, and kept up a good standard of military instruction
in the volunteer militia. It furnished, from its graduates who have
retired from the Army, scores of men who rushed to the head of our new
levies, who organized and instructed them, inspired them with
confidence, and led them over many a bloody field to many a glorious
victory. Large numbers of our best volunteer officers owe their
instruction indirectly to West Point.
To say that no course of military instruction can make a pupil a
military genius, can create in him that rare quality that takes in at a
glance, almost by intuition, the relative strength of great masses
opposed to each other, and that power of combination which can bring an
inferior force always in greater number upon the severed portions of a
superior force, is very true. To discard military education on that
account would be like shutting up the schools and colleges because they
can not turn out Miltons and Burkes and Websters. Education does not
create, it develops and enlarges and inspires and elevates. It will make
the perfect flower, the majestic tree, from the little seed; but it must
have the seed. And what I desire is that the Academy at West Point
should have the best seed; that its great resources, its careful
culture, its scientific appliances, should not be wasted on second-rate
material. The Academy has never had a fair chance; the country has not
had a fair chance; the boys have not had a fair chance. This is what I
want them all to have, and especially the country. I desire that the
Academy shall begin, as it goes on, upon the competitive principle. As
all its standing, all its honors, are won by competition, so should the
original right to compete for them be won. I would give all the youth of
the country a fair chance; and, more desirable than that, I would give
the country a fair chance for all its youth. I would have the Academy
filled up by those young men who, upon examination by competent judges,
should be found most likely to render the best service to the country;
to make the best officers; whose qualifications, physical, intellectual,
and moral, whose tastes and habits, should seem to best fit them for
military life.
But, it is objected, no such examination would be infallible. Of course
it would not be. No human judgment is infallible. Our deliberations are
not infallible; but therefore shall we not deliberate? The decisions of
the Supreme Court are not infallible; therefore shall we abolish the
court?
A SENATOR. The Senator from New Hampshire would say yes.
MR. ANTHONY. I know the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. HALE] would say
“Yes.” He would abolish both the Academy and the Court, and I can well
suppose that the policy which would abolish the one might abolish the
other. But although such an examination would not be infallible, it
would, if properly organized and properly conducted, accomplish much
toward the reform which all admit to be desirable, if it be practicable.
It can not be doubted that the young men who would come out best from
such a trial would, as a body, be superior to those who are selected
upon mere personal preferences, and these preferences generally not for
themselves, but for their parents; not for their own qualifications, but
as a recognition of the political services of their fathers.
But, again, it was objected when I made this proposition a year ago that
it was not equal; because, in giving to any given place of examination,
some young men would have further to travel than others! If this
objection had not been gravely made by men for whom I have the highest
respect I should be tempted to call it puerile. A boy asks the privilege
of going a hundred miles to the place of examination, and is told that
he can not have it because another boy will have to go two hundred
miles, and another but fifty, and it is not equal! The fact that either
of them would go five hundred miles on foot for the opportunity of
competition is not taken into the account. On the same principle our
elections are not equal, for one man must travel further than another to
reach the polls. For a boy who can not obtain the means to travel from
his home to the place of examination--and there will be very few such of
those who would be likely to pass high in the examination--the plan
proposed would be no worse, certainly, than the present system; for
those who have the means the difference in travel is too small an item
to enter into the account.
No plan can be made perfectly equal. Shall we therefore refuse to make a
large advance toward equality? Certainly the system which invites a
competition from all who are in a condition to avail themselves of it is
more equal than that which excludes all competition. But although
equality in the advantages of the Academy is very desirable, and
although the amendment proposed would be a long step in that direction,
it is not for that reason that I urge it. It is not to give all the
young men an equal chance for the Academy, it is to give the Academy a
chance for the best young men; and although even under this system the
best young men will often fail of success, it can not be doubted that
many more of them will enter the service than under the present system.
Nor will the advantages of this competition be confined to those who
reach the prize for which so many will struggle. An incalculable
although an incidental benefit will accrue to the thousands whose
youthful hearts will be stirred by an honorable ambition, and who will
cultivate their minds by liberal studies and develop their physical
power by manly exercises in the struggle upon which the humblest may
enter, and in which the proudest can obtain only what he fairly earns.
Under the present system the Academy wastes full half its strength upon
boys who never ought to be admitted, and whose natural incapacity
derives but little benefit from the partial training that they receive
there. Under the system proposed, the Academy would exert its influence
upon thousands of the brightest and most aspiring boys all over the
country, stimulating them to the pursuit of such studies and to the
formation of such habits as, if they fail to carry them to West Point,
will help to conduct them to usefulness and honor in whatever path of
life they may choose.
But, again, we are met with the objection that this proposition is
impracticable, that it looks very well on paper, but that it can not be
carried into effect. Let us see. It is quite safe to conclude that what
has been done can be done, and that what wise and judicious people do,
and persist in doing after experiment, is proper to be done. What is the
most warlike nation of Europe? What nation of Europe has carried
military science to the highest degree? What nation of Europe has the
greatest genius for organization? You will say the French. Let us see
what is their system. I read from the report of the Commission appointed
by Congress in 1860 to visit the Military Academy at West Point, and
report upon the system of instruction; a commission of which you, Mr.
President, [Mr. FOOT,] were a member:
Among the European systems of military education that of France is
preëminent. The stimulating principle of competition extends throughout
the whole system; it exists in the appointment of the student, in his
progress through the preliminary schools, in his transfer to the higher
schools, in his promotion to the Army, and in his advancement in his
subsequent career. The distinguishing features of the French system are
thus described by the British commissioners.
“1. The proportion, founded apparently upon principle, which officers
educated in military schools are made to bear to those promoted for
service from the ranks. 2. The mature age at which military education
begins. 3. The system of thorough competition on which it is founded.
4. The extensive State assistance afforded to successful candidates for
entrance into military schools whenever their circumstances require it.
* * * * * *
Admission to the military schools of France can only be gained through
a public competitive examination by those who have received the degree
of bachelor of science from the lycées or public schools, and from the
orphan school of La Flèche.
A powerful influence has thus been exercised upon the character of
education in France. The importance of certain studies has been
gradually reduced, while those of a scientific character, entering more
directly into the pursuits of life, have been constantly elevated.
The two great elementary military schools are the School of St. Cyr
and the Polytechnic School. These, as well as the other military
schools, are under the charge of the Minister of War, with whom the
authorities of the schools are in direct communication. Commissions in
the infantry, cavalry, and marines can only be obtained by service in
the ranks of the army, or by passing successfully through the School of
St. Cyr, admission to which is gained by the competitive examination
already referred to.”
Again, the Commission say, speaking of the School of St. Cyr:
The admission is by competitive examination, open to all youths,
French by birth or by naturalization, who, on the 1st 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, who, at the date of its
commencement, have been actually in service in their regiments for two
years.
A board of examiners passes through France once every year, and
examines all who present themselves having the prescribed
qualifications.
A list of such candidates as are found eligible for admission to St.
Cyr is submitted to the Minister of War. The number of vacancies has
already been determined, and the candidates admitted are taken in the
order of merit.
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, if so many are forthcoming, for admission to the Staff School of
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.
In regard to the Polytechnic School, the Commission say:
Admission to the School is, and has been since its first commencement
in 1794, obtained by competition in a general examination, held yearly,
and open to all. Every French youth between the ages of sixteen and
twenty (or if in the army up to the age of twenty-five) may offer
himself as a candidate.
This is the system which was organized by Carnot and adopted and
extended by Napoleon. Under this system the French army has attained its
perfection of organization, its high discipline, its science, its dash,
and its efficiency.
But not the French alone have adopted the competitive system. In
England, all whose traditions are aristocratical, where promotion in the
army has so long been made by patronage and by purchase, the sturdy
common sense of the nation has pushed away the obstructions that have
blocked up the avenues to the army, and have opened them to merit, come
from what quarter it may. In the commencement of the Crimean war, the
English people were shocked at the evident inferiority of their army to
the French. Their officers did not know how to take care of their men,
or how to fight them. And although in the end British pluck and British
persistence vindicated themselves as they always have and always will,
it was not till thousands of lives had been sacrificed that might have
been saved under a better system. No French officer would have permitted
that memorable charge at Balaklava, which was as remarkable for the
stupidity that ordered it as for the valor that executed it, and which
has been sung in verses nearly as bad as the generalship which they
celebrate. After the war, the English Government, with the practical
good sense which usually distinguishes it, came, without difficulty, to
the conclusion that merit was better than family in officering the army,
and that it was more desirable to put its epaulets upon the shoulder of
those who could take care of the men and lead them properly than upon
those who could trace their descent to the Conqueror, or whose uncles
could return members of Parliament. Accordingly, the Royal Military
Academy, which had been filled, as ours is, by patronage, was thrown
open to public competition. On this subject I quote from the very
interesting and valuable report of the Visitors of the Military Academy
in 1863:
The same principle was applied to appointments and promotion in the
new regiments called for by the exigencies of the great war in which
England found herself engaged.
Subjects, time, and place of examination were officially made known
throughout the kingdom, and commissions to conduct the examinations were
appointed, composed of men of good common sense, military officers, and
eminent practical teachers and educators. The results, as stated in a
debate in Parliament five years later, on extending this principle to
all public schools, and all appointments and promotions in every
department of the public service, were as follows: in the competitive
examinations for admission to the Royal Military Academy candidates from
all classes of society appeared--sons of merchants, attorneys,
clergymen, mechanics, and noblemen, and among the successful competitors
every class was represented. Among the number was the son of a mechanic
in the arsenal at Woolwich, and the son of an earl who was at that time
a cabinet minister--the graduates of national schools, and the students
of Eton, and other great public schools.
On this point Mr. Edward Chadwick, in a report before the National
Social Science Association, at Cambridge in 1862, says:
“Out of an average three hundred patronage-appointed cadets at the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, for officers of engineers and the
artillery, during the five years preceding the adoption of the principle
of open competition for admission to the Academy, there were fifty who
were, after long and indulgent trial and with a due regard to
influential parents and patrons, dismissed for hopeless incapacity for
the service of those scientific corps. During the five subsequent years,
which have been years of the open-competition principle, there has not
been one dismissed for incapacity. Moreover, the general standard of
capacity has been advanced. An eminent professor of this university, who
has taught as well under the patronage as under the competitive system
at that Academy, declares that the quality of mind of the average of the
cadets has been improved by the competition, so much so that he
considers that the present average quality of the mind of cadets there,
though the sorts of attainment are different, has been brought up to the
average of the first-class men of this (Cambridge) university, which of
itself is a great gain. Another result, the opposite to that which was
confidently predicted by the opponents to the principle, has been that
the average physical power or bodily strength, instead of being
diminished, is advanced beyond the average of their predecessors.”
I read this also from the same report:
Another result of immense importance to the educational interests of
Great Britain has followed the introduction of these open competitive
examinations for appointments to the military and naval schools, to the
East India service, as well as to fill vacancies in the principal
clerkships in the war, admiralty, ordnance, and home departments of the
Government. A stimulus of the most healthy and powerful kind, worth more
than millions of pecuniary endowment, has been given to all the great
schools of the country, including the universities of England, Scotland,
and Ireland. As soon as it was known that candidates, graduates of
Trinity College, Dublin, had succeeded over competitors from Oxford and
Edinburg in obtaining valuable appointments in the East India service,
the professors in the latter universities began to look to their
laurels. As soon as it was known to the master of any important school
that some of his leading pupils might compete in these examinations, and
that his own reputation as a teacher depended in a measure on the
success or failure of these pupils, he had a new motive to impart the
most vigorous and thorough training.
Such has been the result in France and in England. We are not without
examples at home. The competitive system has been tried in repeated
instances here in the appointments both to the Military and the Naval
Academy. Several Representatives in Congress, with a conscientious sense
of the responsibility resting upon them, have given their patronage to
the result of general competition, among them the gentleman who so ably
represented, in the last Congress, the district in which I live. The
results have been most satisfactory. Here, again, I will quote from the
report of the Board of Visitors for 1863:
The principle itself, of selection by merit, either in the mode of
public examination or of careful and searching inquiry by competent and
impartial educators designated for this purpose by the parties to whom
custom, and not law, had assigned the grave responsibility of nominating
candidates, has been voluntarily applied in several Congressional
districts. Not a cadet known to have been thus selected and appointed
has ever broken down from want of vigor of body or mind, or failed to
reach and maintain an honorable position on the merit-roll of the
Academy; and to this careful selection by those who felt the
responsibility of the privilege accorded to them is the country indebted
for its most eminent and useful officers.
The same report makes some observations on another point:
To the objection that selection by public competitive examination will
involve expense, we reply that any expense which will do away with the
prejudices against the Academy, which the present system of patronage
has done so much directly and indirectly to evoke and foster, and which
will, at the same time, exclude incompetent and secure the services of
vigorous, talented, well-trained officers for every arm of the service,
will be well incurred. But in our opinion there will be no more expense
in selecting and educating a given number of cadets on this plan than on
the present. The two thousand cadets who were appointed by patronage and
failed to graduate, cost the Government, directly and indirectly, each
year a much larger sum than it would have taken to have excluded them in
advance from the institution by competitive examination and filling
their places by better men; and their exclusion by substituting better
material would have been an incalculable gain to the Academy,
facilitating its discipline, increasing the value of its instruction,
and giving to the Army a larger number of competent officers.
Even under the despotic government of Austria the competitive system has
been adopted for the higher places, and it has been adopted by Prussia
and Italy. In Austria every subject can claim admission into the
military schools on payment of the cost of his instruction; and all the
appointments to the staff are on the competitive system. On this subject
I read from the work upon Military Education and Schools, by Hon. Henry
Barnard, who stands in the very front rank of the great educators, and
who gives, to the competitive system the weight of a name which alone
should incline us strongly in its favor:
The yearly examinations, the manner in which the marks of the monthly
examinations tell on the final one, and the careful classification of
the pupils in the order of merit, reminded us of the system of the
Polytechnic more than any other school we have seen. * * * *
The arrangements for the general staff-school require more remark.
In our report upon Austrian schools we have specially noticed this
school as remarkable for its thorough and open competitive character
from first to last, and its very sensible plan of study. Admission to it
is by competition, open to officers of all arms. The pupils are not
unduly overburdened with work; perhaps there is even room for one or two
more subjects of importance; but what is done seems to be done
thoroughly. The officers are carefully ranked on leaving the school,
according as the abilities they have displayed may be considered a
criterion of their fitness for employment on the general staff; and in
this order they enter the staff corps. The consequence is that every
officer knows distinctly, from the time that he first competes for
admission until his final examination on leaving, that the order in
which he will enter the staff depends entirely on his own exertions and
success at the school. It seemed to us that this open competition
produced a spirit of confidence and energy in the students as great, if
not greater, than any we met with elsewhere.
I quote from the same work in regard to the military education in
Sardinia:
Admission into the artillery and engineer school may be considered the
reward of the most distinguished pupils of the _Accademia Militare_,
who, after spending their last year in that institution in the study of
the higher mathematics, chemistry, and architectural drawing, are
transferred for the completion of their education to the school of the
artillery and engineers.
The staff-school, the formation of which dates from 1850, is chiefly
frequented by officers of the infantry and cavalry, who must be below
the age of twenty-eight years upon their entrance. It is carried on upon
the competitive final examination, the ablest entering the staff corps
in that order.
In the same work Mr. Barnard characterizes the Staff-School at Vienna:
The most striking features in the system of this school, both at the
entrance and throughout the course, are, that it is distinctly
competitive, that it admits very young officers, and that while the work
is considerable, the subjects for study are not numerous. In these three
points it differs considerably from the Prussian staff-school, in which
the students are generally older, and the principle of competition is
not so fully carried out. In the Austrian school the students are
placed, on entering, in the order which their entrance examination has
just fixed. They are examined once a month during their stay. On leaving
the school their respective places are again determined, and they have a
claim for appointments in the staff corps in the exact order in which
they were placed on leaving the school. In Belgium, the competitive
system is fully adopted.
The following testimony is from a report on the progress of the
principle of competitive examination for admission into the public
service, read before Section F. Economic Science and Statistics of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science, at Leeds, September
27, 1858, by Edward Chadwick:
Mr. Canon Mosely attests that the “qualifications of the whole” body
of competitive candidates appeared to rise above the general “level of
the education of the country.” It is stated in evidence before the
commissioners for inquiring into the means of improving the sanitary
condition of the army, that this was most decidedly so of the whole body
of competing candidates for medical appointments in the East India
service. Mr. Canon Mosely concludes his report on the last year’s
experience in the following terms: “With reference to the general scope
and tendency of competitive examinations, I may perhaps be permitted the
observation, that the consciousness which success in such examinations
brings with it in early life of a power to act resolutely on a
determinate plan, and to achieve a difficult success, contributes more
than the consciousness of talent to the formation of a manly and
honorable character, and to success on whatever career a man may enter.”
The report of the last Board of Visitors at West Point, from which I
have read, I believe has not yet been printed by Congress; I have read
from a pamphlet copy of it printed in the Journal of Education. The
Board was composed, as it usually is, of men of high character and
ability. After a full and laborious examination of the whole subject,
they unanimously and earnestly recommend the adoption of the competitive
system.
If the appointments to fill and maintain the corps at this maximum
[four hundred] can be selected out of the many American youths ambitious
to serve their country in the Army, on the plan of an open competitive
examination in the several States, the Visitors believe that ninety out
of every one hundred thus appointed will go through the whole course
with honor, and the average ability, scholarship, and good conduct of
the whole corps will equal that now reached by the first ten of each
class.
With such experience of other nations, with such examples at home,
I submit that we may safely in this republican country give our young
men the privileges that are conceded in imperial France and in
aristocratic England; that we may safely place competition against
patronage, and give to modest merit a chance with pretentious
imbecility. I would go somewhat further in the competitive system.
I would not have the Army or the Navy officered exclusively by the
graduates of the national Academies. If any young man, at his own
expense, and by his own study and aptitude for the profession, has
fitted himself for a command in either, let the competition be open to
him equally with those who have been instructed at the public expense,
and let the epaulets rest on the shoulders that are most worthy to wear
them. But I do not propose to follow the subject to this extent at
present. I shall be abundantly content if the Senate will adopt the
competitive system, which has worked so well in other countries and so
well here as far as it has been tried, in the Military Academy.
TABLE VII.--SUMMARY OF EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE UNITED STATES
MILITARY ACADEMY FOR FIFTEEN YEARS, FROM 1856 TO 1870, INCLUSIVE.
[Transcriber’s Note:
The following tables were printed sideways, on two pairs of facing
pages. Each has been rearranged for this e-text. The table labeled
“Rejections for Literary incompetency”, was originally part of the
main Table VIII. Under “Table VIII, Continued”, the information for
the two Academies has been split into separate tables.]
[KEY]
C Candidates.
A Accepted, total.
T Total.
PD Physical Disability
15Y During fifteen years. [_1856-1870: See second table_]
W Writing, including orthography.
R Reading.
A Arithmetic.
Ge Geography.
Gr Grammar.
H History.
---------------+-----+-----+------------------------------------
| | | Rejected.
| | +---+--------------------------------
| | | | On what account.
| | | +--------------------------------
| | | | | Literary incompetency.
Appointed | | | | +---+------------------------
from-- | | | | | | Deficient in--
| | | | | +---+---+---+---+---+----
| C | A | T |PD |15Y| W | R | A |Ge |Gr | H
+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
| No.| No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.| No.
---------------+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Alabama | 32| 20| 12| 1| 11| 5| 3| 4| 7| 7| 7
Arkansas | 10| 7| 3| 1| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1| 2| ..
California | 15| 12| 3| ..| 3| ..| ..| 2| 3| 2| 3
Connecticut | 22| 14| 8| 2| 6| 2| ..| 4| 1| 2| 2
Delaware | 11| 6| 5| ..| 5| 2| 2| 4| 3| 3| 4
Florida | 4| 4| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Georgia | 32| 23| 9| ..| 9| 7| 2| 7| 4| 3| 5
Illinois | 55| 47| 8| 1| 7| 5| 1| 1| 2| 4| 1
Indiana | 67| 46| 21| 2| 19| 17| 8| 9| 3| 3| 3
Iowa | 24| 19| 5| 1| 4| 4| 3| 3| ..| ..| ..
Kansas | 6| 3| 3| ..| 3| 2| ..| 1| 2| 1| 1
Kentucky | 60| 43| 17| ..| 17| 8| 5| 9| 7| 6| 6
Louisiana | 18| 14| 4| 1| 3| 2| ..| 3| 1| 1| 1
Maine | 26| 22| 4| ..| 4| 3| ..| 2| 3| 1| 2
Maryland | 32| 25| 7| 2| 5| 3| 2| 3| 1| 1| 1
Massachusetts | 43| 42| 1| ..| 1| ..| ..| ..| 1| ..| ..
Michigan | 29| 20| 9| 1| 8| 6| ..| 3| ..| 2| 3
Minnesota | 11| 9| 2| ..| 2| 2| ..| 1| ..| ..| ..
Mississippi | 24| 16| 8| 1| 7| 4| 4| 4| 6| 5| 5
Missouri | 48| 32| 16| 1| 15| 12| 6| 7| 1| 6| 3
Nebraska | 5| 4| 1| ..| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| 1| 1
Nevada | 7| 1| 6| ..| 6| 1| ..| 3| 1| 3| 1
New Hampshire | 14| 12| 2| 1| 1| 1| ..| ..| 1| ..| 1
New Jersey | 27| 25| 2| 1| 1| ..| ..| 1| ..| ..| 1
New York | 157| 128| 29| 4| 25| 15| 1| 6| 6| 10| 6
North Carolina | 32| 26| 6| ..| 6| 2| 1| 4| 1| ..| 1
Ohio | 111| 80| 31| 4| 27| 18| 13| 9| 3| 6| 4
Oregon | 4| 3| 1| ..| 1| ..| ..| 1| ..| ..| ..
Pennsylvania | 127| 101| 26| 6| 20| 13| 6| 10| 4| 5| 4
Rhode Island | 7| 7| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
South Carolina | 22| 17| 5| 1| 4| 2| ..| 3| 1| 2| 2
Tennessee | 48| 33| 15| 3| 12| 10| 4| 3| 3| 2| 2
Texas | 8| 5| 3| ..| 3| 1| ..| 3| 2| 1| 1
Vermont | 13| 12| 1| ..| 1| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Virginia | 46| 34| 12| 1| 11| 8| 4| 6| 3| 3| 2
West Virginia | 10| 6| 4| 1| 3| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1| ..
Wisconsin | 27| 20| 7| 2| 5| 3| 1| 3| ..| 1| ..
Dist. Columbia | 6| 5| 1| ..| 1| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Colorado Ter. | 4| 2| 2| ..| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1| 1| ..
New Mexico | 5| 4| 1| ..| 1| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Utah Ter. | 3| 3| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Washington Ter.| 4| 4| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Dakota Ter. | 3| 3| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Arizona Ter. | 2| 2| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Idaho Ter. | 4| | 4| ..| 4| 2| ..| 3| 2| 3| 2
Montana | 1| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
Wyoming Ter. | 1| 1| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..| ..
At large | 192| 170| 22| 3| 19| 7| 7| 8| 6| 9| 6
+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Grand totals |1,459|1,133|326| 41|285|173| 76|133| 80| 98|81
---------------+-----+-----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
REJECTIONS FOR LITERARY INCOMPETENCY, BY YEAR:
---------------+---------------------------------------------
Appointed | In the year 18..
from-- +--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---
|56|57|58|59|60|61|62|63|64|65|66|67|68|69|70
---------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---
Alabama |..| 1|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..| 3| 1| 4
Arkansas |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..| 1
California |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2| 1|..
Connecticut |..|..| 2|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..| 3
Delaware |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 2|..| 1| 1
Florida |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Georgia |..| 2| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 4| 2|..
Illinois | 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..| 1|..| 3|..| 1
Indiana | 1| 2|..| 3| 1|..|..| 1| 2| 3| 2| 2| 1| 1|..
Iowa |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2| 1| 1|..|..|..|..
Kansas |..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2
Kentucky | 1|..| 1|..|..| 1|..| 1| 2| 1|..|..| 3| 2| 5
Louisiana |..|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1
Maine |..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 2
Maryland |..|..| 1|..|..| 2|..| 1|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..
Massachusetts |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1
Michigan |..|..|..| 1| 1|..|..|..| 1|..| 1|..| 3| 1|..
Minnesota |..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..
Mississippi | 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 6
Missouri | 1|..| 1| 3| 2|..|..|..|..|..| 2|..| 2|..| 4
Nebraska |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..
Nevada |..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|..|..|..|..| 1|..| 1| 2
New Hampshire |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..
New Jersey |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1
New York | 2| 2|..| 2|..| 1| 2|..| 1| 2|..| 1| 4| 1| 7
North Carolina | 1| 1| 2|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 1|..
Ohio | 3| 2| 1| 1| 2| 2| 3|..| 1| 1| 2| 2| 1| 1| 5
Oregon |..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Pennsylvania | 1| 2| 2| 2|..| 1| 2| 1|..| 2|..| 1|..|..| 6
Rhode Island |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
South Carolina |..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 1| 1
Tennessee |..|..| 1|..| 1|..| 1|..| 1| 1| 1| 1| 3| 1| 1
Texas |..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2
Vermont |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..
Virginia | 3| 1|..| 1|..| 1| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 4
West Virginia |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..| 1| 1|..
Wisconsin |..|..|..| 1| 1| 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2|..
Dist. Columbia |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1|..|..|..|..
Colorado Ter. |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 2
New Mexico | 1|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Utah Ter. |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Washington Ter.|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Dakota Ter. |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Arizona Ter. |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Idaho Ter. |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..| 1| 1|..| 1| 1
Montana |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
Wyoming Ter. |..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..|..
At large |..| 1| 1| 1|..|..|..| 2|..|..| 1| 2| 1| 3| 7
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---
Grand totals |16|16|14|16| 9|11|11| 8|13|13|15|14|36|23|70
---------------+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+---
TABLE VIII--Continued.--SUMMARY OF EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE
UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY DURING THE YEAR 1871.
----------------------+---+---+--------------------------------
| | | Rejected.
| | +---+----------------------------
| | | | On what account.
| | | +---+------------------------
| | | | | For deficiency in--
| | | | +---+---+---+---+---+----
STATES | C | A | T |PD | R | W | A |Ge |Gr | H
AND +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
TERRITORIES. |No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.
----------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Alabama | 4| 1| 3| | | | 1| 3| 2| 3
Arkansas | 1| | 1| | | | 1| | 1| 1
California | | | | | | | | | |
Connecticut | 2| 1| 1| | | | 1| | 1|
Delaware | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Florida | | | | | | | | | |
Georgia | 4| | 4| 1| | | 2| 2| 2| 3
Illinois | 3| 2| 1| | | | 1| | |
Indiana | 4| 3| 1| | | | 1| 1| 1| 1
Iowa | 4| 2| 2| 1| | | | | 1|
Kansas | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Kentucky | 7| 4| 3| | 2| 3| 2| 2| 3| 2
Louisiana | 2| 2| | | | | | | |
Maine | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Maryland | | | | | | | | | |
Massachusetts | 4| 3| 1| 1| | | | | |
Michigan | | | | | | | | | |
Minnesota | | | | | | | | | |
Mississippi | 3| 3| | | | | | | |
Missouri | 4| 1| 3| | | 2| | | 1| 2
Nebraska | | | | | | | | | |
Nevada | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
New Hampshire | | | | | | | | | |
New Jersey | 2| 1| 1| | | | | | 1| 1
New York | 15| 10| 5| 2| | 1| | 2| 3| 2
North Carolina | | | | | | | | | |
Ohio | 9| 8| 1| | | 1| | 1| 1| 1
Oregon | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Pennsylvania | 13| 8| 5| 2| 1| 1| 1| 1| 3| 2
Rhode Island | 2| 1| 1| 1| | | | | 1|
South Carolina | | | | | | | | | |
Tennessee | 4| 3| 1| | | | 1| 1| | 1
Texas | 2| 2| | | | | | | |
Vermont | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Virginia | 5| 1| 4| 1| | 1| 2| 1| 2| 2
West Virginia | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Wisconsin | 2| 1| 1| | | 1| 1| | 1| 1
Arizona Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Colorado Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Dakota Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
District of Columbia. | | | | | | | | | |
Idaho Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Montana Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
New Mexico Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Utah Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Washington Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Wyoming Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Foreign | | | | | | | | | |
At Large | 13| 10| 3| 2| | | 1| | |
----------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Total |119| 77| 42| 11| 3| 10| 15| 14| 24| 22
----------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
TABLE VIII--Continued.--SUMMARY OF EXAMINATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE
UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY DURING THE YEAR 1871.
----------------------+---+---+--------------------------------
| | | Rejected.
| | +---+----------------------------
| | | | On What account.
| | | +---+------------------------
| | | | | For deficiency in--
| | | | +---+---+---+---+---+----
STATES | C | A | T |PD | R | W | A |Ge |Gr | H
AND +---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
TERRITORIES. |No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.|No.
----------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
Alabama | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Arkansas | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
California | | | | | | | | | |
Connecticut | 1| | 1| | | | 1| | |
Delaware | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Florida | | | | | | | | | |
Georgia | 3| 3| | | | | | | |
Illinois | 5| 3| 2| | | 2| 2| 2| 1|
Indiana | 6| 4| 2| | | 2| 2| 1| 2|
Iowa | | | | | | | | | |
Kansas | | | | | | | | | |
Kentucky | 2| 1| 1| | | | 1| | |
Louisiana | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Maine | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Maryland | 4| 2| 2| | | 1| 1| 1| |
Massachusetts | 2| 2| | | | | | | |
Michigan | 1| | 1| | | | 1| 1| 1|
Minnesota | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Mississippi | 3| 2| 1| | | 1| 1| 1| 1|
Missouri | 3| 3| | | | | | | |
Nebraska | | | | | | | | | |
Nevada | | | | | | | | | |
New Hampshire | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
New Jersey | 2| 2| | | | | | | |
New York | 11| 9| 2| | | 2| 2| 1| 2|
North Carolina | 2| 1| 1| | | 1| 1| | |
Ohio | 5| 3| 2| | | 1| 2| | |
Oregon | | | | | | | | | |
Pennsylvania | 5| 1| 4| 1| | 3| 3| 3| 2|
Rhode Island | 1| | 1| 1| | | | | |
South Carolina | 2| 1| 1| | | | 1| | |
Tennessee | 5| 3| 2| 1| | | | | |
Texas | | | | | | | | | |
Vermont | 2| 1| 1| | | 1| 1| | |
Virginia | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
West Virginia | | | | | | | | | |
Wisconsin | 2| 2| | | | | | | |
Arizona Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Colorado Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Dakota Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
District of Columbia. | | | | | | | | | |
Idaho Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Montana Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
New Mexico Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Utah Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Washington Ter. | 1| 1| | | | | | | |
Wyoming Ter. | | | | | | | | | |
Foreign | *1| 1| | | | | | | |
At Large | 17| 15| 2| | | 1| 2| 1| 1|
----------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
Total | 97| 71| 26| 3| | 15| 21| 11| 10|
----------------------+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---
[* A Japanese student.]
ARTILLERY SCHOOL AT FORTRESS MONROE
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
The Artillery School of the United States Army at Fortress Monroe, was
organized and opened April 1, 1868, under a code of regulations and
programme of instruction drawn up by Col. William F. Barry (who was
placed in command from the start), and approved by the General of the
Army. After two years of experience the code and programme were revised,
and the present system established. The class of 1868 and of 1869,
consisted, each, of twenty lieutenants of artillery, and of the whole
number, thirty-eight were sent back to their regiments after having
passed a satisfactory examination. To this number at the close of the
school year (April) 1871, sixteen more out of the class of twenty were
found qualified to return to their respective regiments; twenty more are
now in the progress of instruction, constituting together one-half of
all the officers of that grade belonging to the artillery.
COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.[16]
[Footnote 16: Report of Col. Barry, dated September 12, 1871.]
The course of theoretical instruction embraces the subjects of
mathematics, ordnance, and gunnery, military engineering and surveying,
military history, and military, constitutional, and international law.
The method of pursuing these studies is very similar to that pursued at
the Military Academy at West Point, viz., by recitations, questions, and
demonstrations at the blackboard. In military history each officer is
required, in addition to his regular recitations, to prepare and read
before the class and staff of the school two essays or memoirs upon some
battle, campaign, or the military events of some epoch of peculiar
interest.
The topics for these essays are selected by the instructor in military
history, with the approval of the commandant and superintendent of
instruction, and are generally confined to events not prior to the last
two decades of the eighteenth century.
The necessary maps, instruments, and apparatus for the elucidation or
practical application of the various subjects of the entire range of the
theoretical course have to a considerable extent been supplied to the
school by requisitions upon the Engineer and Ordnance Departments of the
Army. They are kept in active use, and are of the greatest value.
Instructions in the theoretical course is confined to the months of
autumn, winter, and the early spring, except instruction in mathematics,
which unavoidably has to be given during the months of May, June, July,
and August.
The course of practical instruction is pursued, as the weather permits,
throughout the entire year, but is more closely attended to during the
months of summer and autumn. This course consists of the service of
every species of gun, howitzer, or mortar in use in the United States
military service; of the use of the various kinds of projectiles and
fuses; the laying of platforms; the use of plane-tables, and telemeters,
for ascertaining ranges; of mechanical manœuvres; transportation and
other handling of all kinds of ordnance, and particularly of the 15-inch
guns and their carriages, and of 13-inch mortars and their beds, and of
other heavy material which has been adopted into the artillery of the
United States.
The practical course also includes very full target practice with every
description of ordnance; the duties of the laboratory, as far as they
immediately concern officers of artillery; and the study of and
recitation in the tactics for light and heavy artillery, and as much of
the tactics for infantry as is essential for artillery officers.
Guns, carriages, ammunition, platforms, artillery machines, including
hydraulic-jacks of greater or less power, and other appliances, are
supplied by requisition on the Ordnance Department in such number and
variety as may be desired. The school is compelled to be indebted to the
Ordnance Department for the occasional use, when necessary, of some of
its instruments and apparatus for determining initial velocities,
pressures, densities, etc.
Instruction in the practical course is designed to be as thorough as
possible, and no officer leaves the school who has not become
practically familiar with the tools of his trade, and able to use them
intelligently.
A school for non-commissioned officers, and for such other enlisted men
as may desire to avail themselves of its advantages, is also
established. Every non-commissioned officer belonging to the five
instruction batteries is required to attend the school for one year’s
full course of instruction; all other enlisted men are permitted to
attend. But their attendance upon school is entirely voluntary. Enlisted
men of good character, and belonging to batteries not stationed at the
post where the Artillery School is established, are also permitted to
enjoy the benefits of one year’s course of instruction at the school.
Such men, on their own application, are nominated by their battery
commanders to their regimental commanders, on whose approval they are
detached from their batteries, by orders from the head-quarters of the
Army, and directed to report themselves in person to the commanding
officer of the school. Of this last-named class of men twenty-two have
undergone or are now undergoing instruction at the school.
The course of instruction for the non-commissioned officers is both
practical and theoretical. The practical course is pursued _pari passu_
with that of the commissioned officers, but is not carried to the same
extent, being restricted to the scope of the necessary duties and
requirements of non-commissioned officers of artillery, and to the
average capacity of enlisted men of that grade in our Army.
The theoretical course of instruction for the non-commissioned officers
embraces mathematics, history of the United States, geography, reading,
and writing. The subject of mathematics includes the entire field of
arithmetic, and, for the more advanced scholars, it is carried as far as
equations of the second degree in algebra. The instruction in most of
the branches is conducted as in the school for commissioned officers, by
recitations at the blackboard, and by questions.
Since the commencement of the duties of the Artillery School one hundred
and three enlisted men (chiefly non-commissioned officers) have gone
through the entire course of practical and theoretical instruction for
one year, and have been awarded by the staff of the school engraved
certificates, signed by each of its members, setting forth that fact.
The following-named officers constitute the staff and instructors at the
school at the present date, and, with the above-stated exceptions, have
been thus on duty since its first establishment:
_Commandant._--Colonel W. F. Barry, Second Artillery.
_Superintendent of Theoretical Instruction._--Lieutenant-Colonel I.
Roberts, Fourth Artillery.
_Superintendent of Practical Instruction._--Major G. A. De Russy, Third
Artillery.
_Member of Staff._--Major T. G. Baylor, Ordnance Department.
_Adjutant of School and Secretary of Staff._--First Lieutenant I. C.
Breckinridge, Second Artillery.
_Instructor in Mathematics, Ordnance, and Gunnery._--Captain R. Lodor,
Fourth Artillery.
_Instructor in Military, International, and Constitutional Law, and in
Tactics._--Captain S. S. Elder, First Artillery.
_Instructor in Mathematics and Military Engineering._--Captain S. N.
Benjamin, Second Artillery.
_Instructor in Mathematics and Military History._--Captain E. R. Warner,
Third Artillery.
_Instructor in Tactics._--Captain J. W. Piper, Fifth Artillery.
A library of books of reference, professional instruction and general
reading, to the number of 2,050 volumes, belongs to the school, made up
of duplicates from the libraries of the War Department and the Military
Academy, and a bequest of Col. Archer.
A museum of field, siege, and sea-coast artillery; specimens of primers,
fuses, and projectiles; different varieties of small arms of this and
other countries; instruments for inspecting cannon and projectiles, has
been commenced by the Superintendent, as a useful aid to the course of
practical and theoretical instruction in the school. It now numbers over
4,000 articles.
The Artillery School has been organized and conducted thus far to the
satisfaction of the Department, and favor, with this arm of the service,
without any special pecuniary expense to the Government by the present
Commandant, Col. William F. Barry--who closes his annual Report with the
remarkable paragraph:--“No special appropriation (beyond the ordinary
requirements of this Military Post) for the maintenance of this school
are now needed, and none are required.”
VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE AT LEXINGTON.
HISTORICAL NOTICE.
The VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE at Lexington, was established in 1839,
and was organized and conducted from the start on the plan of the
Military Academy at West Point, by Col. Francis H. Smith, a graduate of
that institution of the class of 1833, and professor there from 1834 to
1836.
The State makes an annual appropriation of $15,000 for its support, on
the basis of which a certain number (usually 36) cadets are admitted
without charge; in consideration of which they are required to teach in
some school of the State for two years after graduation. In the
selection of State cadets regard is had to their capacity to profit, and
inability to pay the expenses of tuition and board, and an equal
representation of each senatorial district. Any commissioned officer of
the militia of the State can become a student for a period not exceeding
ten months, and receive instruction in any or all departments of
military science taught therein, without charge for tuition.
The course of instruction was from the start distinctly scientific, and
since its return [from Richmond where it was removed after the
destruction of its building and library, when Lexington was taken
possession of by Gen. Hunter] in 1866, and its reorganization on its
present basis of a general School of Applied Science, it has become even
technic in reference to all the chief industries and natural resources
of Virginia.
The origin and military character of the Institute are thus set forth by
the Superintendent in an address to the Corps of Cadets, Sept. 10, 1866:
Peculiar circumstances gave to this Institution its distinctive
military character. Here the State had a deposit of arms, in an arsenal,
which had been established for many years before the organization of the
Institution, and the annuity which had been formerly given to the public
guard by the State, was transferred to the Virginia Military Institute,
as the basis of its support. Upon this foundation the Virginia Military
Institute was established, and as the duty imposed upon the cadet was
military, so military discipline and military instruction became an
essential and distinctive feature in the education it supplied. Besides
daily exercises in the school of the soldier, company, and battalion in
_infantry_, and of the piece and battery in _artillery_ tactics, minute
instruction is given in the class-room, upon all the theoretic branches
of the military art, embracing, in addition to those enumerated,
_ordnance_ and _gunnery_, _military strategy_ and _military history_,
and the principles and practice of field and permanent fortifications.
It is not necessary that I should say any thing, at this time, to
vindicate the completeness of the arrangements made in this institution
for theoretical and practical military education. The sanguinary
conflict which has just closed has fully tested its efficiency.
_One-tenth_ of the Confederate Armies was commanded by the éléves of
this school, embracing three _major generals_, thirty _brigadier
generals_, sixty _colonels_, fifty _lieutenant colonels_, thirty
_majors_, one hundred and twenty-five _captains_, between two and three
hundred _lieutenants_; and the terrible results of the battles, in
numbering one hundred and twenty-five of these among the _killed_, and
three hundred and fifty among the _wounded_, show that the éléves of
this institution met the call of their country with an earnestness of
devotion which places them in most honorable distinction for their
heroic defense of what they believed to be right.[17]
[Footnote 17: Although no one institution contributed so large a
number of officers to the Confederate Armies, the Military
Institute at Frankfort, Ky., the Cadet Corps connected with the
arsenals in Norfolk, Richmond, and other Southern cities, and the
State Military Institutes in Alabama and Louisiana, furnished a
large number of subordinate officers, which facilitated the early
organization of the armed forces of the South.]
We give the organization and course of instruction from the latest
Circular, issued by the Superintendent.
_Academic Staff._
_Superintendent, and Professor of Mathematics and Moral
Philosophy_--General Francis H. Smith, A.M.
_Professor of Latin, and, English Literature_--Col. John T. L.
Preston, A.M.
_Professor of Practical Engineering, Architecture, and Drawing_--Col.
Thomas H. Williamson.
_Professor of Agriculture_--Col. Wm. Gilham, A.M., (Philip St. George
Cocke).[18]
[Footnote 18: Gen. Cocke, in 1866, gave $20,000 to endow this
professorship.]
_Professor of Animal and Vegetable Physiology applied to
Agriculture_--Col. Robert L. Madison, M. D. (Mercer).[19]
[Footnote 19: Dr. Mercer of Louisiana, made a donation of $11,800
to this chair.]
_Commandant of Cadets, Instructor of Infantry, Cavalry, and Artillery
Tactics, and Professor of Military History and Strategy_--Col. Scott
Ship.
_Professor of Mathematics_--Col. James W. Massie.
_Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy_--Col. William B.
Blair, (Jackson).
_Professor of Civil and Military Engineering and Applied
Mechanics_--General G. W. C. Lee.
_Professor of Practical Astronomy, Geology, Descriptive and Physical
Geography and Meteorology_--Col. John M. Brooke.
_Professor of Geology, Mineralogy, and Metallurgy_--Col. Marshall
McDonald.
_Professor of General and Applied Chemistry_--Col. M. B. Hardin.
_Professor of Modern Languages_--Col. Thomas M. Semmes.
_Professor of Physics and Superintendent of Physical Survey of
Virginia_--Commodore M. E. Maury, LL. D.
_Professor of Fine Arts_--Col. William D. Washington.
_Assistant Professors._
_Assistant in Physics_--Col. W. E. Cutshaw.
_Assistant Professor of French Language_--Capt. O. C. Henderson.
_Assistant Prof, of Chemistry, Mineralogy, and Geology_--Capt. J. H.
Morrison.
_Assistant Professor of English, and Drawing_--Lieut. James H.
Waddell.
_Assistant Professor of Latin_--Capt. Win. M. Patton.
_Assistant Professor of Mathematics_--Lieut. R. H. Cousins.
_Assistant Prof. of Geography, Drawing and Tactics_--Capt. Wm. B.
Pritchard.
_Assistant Professor of Mineralogy, Latin, and Tactics_--Capt. W. H.
Butler.
_Assistant Professor of Natural Philosophy and Latin_--Lieut. R. E.
Nelson.
_Assistant Professor of Mathematics_--Lieut. W. C. Powell.
_Assistant Professor of Latin_--Lieut. James E. Heath.
_Assistant Professor of Drawing_--Lieut. M. Palmer.
_Assistant Professor of Tactics_--Capt. W. Denham.
_Assistant Professor of Mathematics, &c._,--Capt. G. K. Macon.
_Military Staff._
_Surgeon_--Col. R. L. Madison.
_Ass’t Surgeon_--H. T. Barton, M.D.
_Act’g Treasurer_--Capt. W. A. Deas.
_Com. and Steward_--Capt. J. T. Gibbs.
_Adjutant_--Capt. F. H. Smith, Jr.
III. SCHOOLS AND COURSES OF INSTRUCTION.
_Academic Schools._
_First Year_--_Fourth Class._--Arithmetic (Smith and Duke’s); Algebra
(Smith’s); Geometry (Smith’s Legendre); Plane and Spherical Trigonometry
(Smith’s); French (Levizac and La Porte’s Grammar, Gil Blas, Pinney No.
5, Fasquelle); Geography (Maury); Pencil and Pen Drawing: Composition
and Declamation; Latin (Cæsar, Virgil, Cicero, Horace).
_Second Year_--_Third Class._--Descriptive Geometry (Smith’s);
Analytical Geometry (Smith’s Biot); Shades, Shadows and Perspective
(Lectures): Differential and Integral Calculus (Courternay and La
Croix); Surveying (Field Exercise); French (Noel and Chapsal, Laporte
and Collot, French Classics); Latin (Cæsar, Virgil, Livy, and Cicero);
Mechanical Drawing, Composition, and Declamation; Physics (Ganot).
_Third Year_--_Second Class._--Natural Philosophy (Bartlett and
Bouchalat’s Mechanics, Bartlett’s Optics and Acoustics, Bartlett and
Gummere’s Astronomy); Latin (Terence and Horace); Chemistry (Fownes, and
Practical Instruction in Laboratory); Physical Geography (Somerville);
Infantry Tactics.
_Fourth Year_--_First Class._--Civil Engineering (Mahan, Rankine, and
Lectures); Military Engineering (Laisne, aide memoire); Architecture
(Lectures and Drawing); Human Physiology (Kirke); Military History and
Strategy (Jomini); Rhetoric (Blair); Intellectual Philosophy (Wayland);
Logic (Whately); Moral Philosophy (Paley and Butler); Constitution of
United States (Kent); Mineralogy (Dana); Geology (Gray and Adams);
Infantry tactics (Hardee); Artillery and Ordnance (Benton and United
States Tactics).
_Special School of Applied Science._
The Special School of Applied Science, in the Virginia Military
Institute, is arranged in seven _Courses_, which may be prosecuted
separately or in combination: 1. Architecture; 2. Civil Engineering;
3. Machines; 4. Mining; 5. Analytical and Applied Chemistry;
6. Metallurgy; 7. Agriculture.
I. ARCHITECTURE.--1. _Drawing_--Including pen and colored topography,
mechanical lettering and coloring. 2. _Materials_--Stone, brick, wood,
mortar, mastics, glue, paints, &c. 3. _Masonry_--Retaining walls, walls
of inclosure, edifices, ornaments, arches, stone-cutting. 4.
_Carpentry_--Timbers, framing, beams, joints, floors, partitions, roofs,
domes, centres, windows, stairways. 5. _Foundations_--In water, on land.
6. _Classical Architecture_--Orders, Egypt, Rome, Greece. 7. _Design._
8. _Romanesque._ 9. _Gothic._
II. CIVIL ENGINEERING.--1. _Drawing_--Pen and colored topography,
mechanical, etc. 2. _Materials_--Same as in Course of Architecture. 4.
_Carpentry_--Same as in Course of Architecture. 5. _Foundation_--Same as
in Course of Architecture. 6. _Surveying_--Running lines and curves for
common and railroads, canals, leveling profiles, estimates, &c. 7.
_Bridges_--Stone, Wooden, Iron. 8. _Common Roads._ 9. _Railroads._ 10.
_Tunnels._ 11. _Locomotives._ 12. _Canals._ 13. Rivers, Docks, Harbors.
14. _Mining._
III.--MACHINES--GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF MACHINES.--_Muscular
Power_--Power of men, Power of horses, etc. _Water Power and Wind
Power_--Sources of water for Power. Water-Power Engines in general.
Water-Bucket Engines. Water-Pressure Engines. Vertical Water-wheels.
Turbines. Fluid-on-Fluid, Impulse-Engines, Windmills. _Steam and other
Heat Engines_--Relations of the Phenomena of Heat. Combustion and Fuel.
Principles of Thermodynamics, Furnaces and Boilers. Steam-Engines.
Electro-Magnetic Engines.
IV.--MINING.-- _Course of Lectures on Mining_--Embracing prospecting,
breaking ground, boring, blasting, tubing, sinking shafts, driving
tunnels, ventilating and lighting; the different methods of working
mines; mining machinery and motors, engines, horses, pumps, wagons,
drums, etc.; dressing and concentration of Minerals, crushers, stamps,
washers, amalgamators, etc.; quarrying and open workings; details of
mining in this country and statistics.
_Drawing._--Geological maps and sections; coloring the same; and plans
and sections of mines, quarries and other open workings; mining
machinery and implements; plans of ventilation.
V.--METALLURGY.--_Geology_ of Coal, Iron, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Salt,
etc.
_Metallurgy_--Review of more important metals and their ores;
Metallurgical implements, structures, and processes, crucibles,
furnaces, blowing machines; details of the smelting and manufacture of
Iron, Copper, Lead, Silver, Gold, etc.
_Drawing_--Coloring of maps and sections; drawing of furnaces,
refiners, cokeing ovens; Metallurgical apparatus.
VI.--ANALYTICAL AND APPLIED CHEMISTRY.--In the Laboratory facilities
are afforded for prosecuting the various branches of practical
Chemistry. Each student will work independently of the others, receiving
personal guidance and instruction from the Professors. In the last year
the course may be varied according to the special object the student has
in view.
The following is an outline of _Systematic Course for Students in
Mining and Metallurgy:_ 1. Qualitative Analysis. 2. Quantitative
Analysis; (_a._) Analysis of substances of known composition; (_b._)
Analysis of ores, slags, etc. 3. Assayers--Ores of Lead, Silver, Gold,
Iron, Copper, etc.
VII.--AGRICULTURE.--1. _Chemistry_--General and applied to
Agriculture. 2. _Mineralogy._ 3. _Histology._ 4. _Vegetable Physiology._
5. _Agricultural Botany._ 6. _Zöology._ 7. _Civil Engineering_--Applied
to farm bridges, roads, drainage. 8. _Rural Architecture._ 9. _Drawing._
10. _Anatomy and Physiology of Sub-Kingdom_--Vertebrata. 11. _Human
Physiology._ 12. _Hygiene and Dietetics._ 13. _General Botany._ 14.
_Animal Toxicology._ 15. _Veterinary Practice._ 16. _General
Principles._ _Chemistry, Geology, Mechanics, and Domestic Economy._
IV. SYSTEM OF INSTRUCTION AND GOVERNMENT.
The System of Instruction and Government is founded upon that of the
United States Military Academy at West Point.
As soon as a young man enters the Institution, it assumes over him an
entire control, and not only directs his moral and intellectual
education, but provides every thing required for his personal wants or
comfort. A Cadet, may, if his parents desire it, remain in charge of the
Institution for the entire term of four years, as the system of
government keeps it always in operation. The months of July and August,
in each year, are devoted exclusively to Military Exercises. Furloughs
are granted to those who may desire it, in turn, during this period. The
Cadets are lodged and boarded in the Institution, their Clothing, Books,
and other supplies, being provided by the Quartermaster of the
Institute, _at cost_. The sick are under the special care of the
Surgeon, with Hospital and other facilities for nursing.
The energy, system, subordination, and self-reliance which the
military government of the Institute cultivates, give a practical
character to the education which it supplies. The high reputation which
its Alumni have established for the School is the evidence of its value.
V. DEGREES.
A Diploma, signed by the Governor of Virginia and by the Visitors and
Faculty, is awarded to all Cadets who may pass approved examinations on
all the studies of the Academic School, with the title of “_Graduate of
the Virginia Military Institute_.” A like Diploma is awarded to all who
may complete the course prescribed for either of the _Special Schools of
Applied Science_, with the title of “_Graduate_” in such school.
MILITARY TACTICS IN STATE SCHOOLS OF SCIENCE.
INTRODUCTION.
In the Act of Congress (July, 1862) making grants of public lands to the
several States for the endowment of State Schools of Agriculture and the
Mechanic Arts, it is provided that military tactics shall be included in
their schemes of instruction; and by an Act of March, 1869, the
President is authorized to detail an army officer to each institution,
to instruct in such tactics. On these two provisions, with further
cooperative legislation, State and National, a system of military
instruction can be gradually developed, which, for economy, efficiency,
and uniformity, will meet all the conditions of a national armament, and
compare favorably, as against foreign invasion or domestic insurrection,
with that of Switzerland or Prussia. Thus far the subject has received
only slight attention, and the connection of these departments with the
State militia, or volunteer companies, or the appointment of cadets to
our national military schools or to vacancies in the army, has not been
discussed. We state briefly what is attempted in a few of these schools:
CORNELL UNIVERSITY AT ITHACA, N.Y.
In Cornell University (to which the United States Land Grant of 989,000
acres of land was assigned by the Legislature of New York, and which Mr.
Ezra Cornell has endowed with the sum of $525,000, securely invested and
drawing interest at seven per cent.), the military tactics is
incorporated into the general organization of the students, and made the
basis of the College of Military Science. (1.) Attendance on military
exercises is made obligatory on every able-bodied student; and for this
purpose the whole number is organized into a military corps--arms and
equipments being furnished by the State--under the Military Professor,
who has the title of Commandant, and is aided in his duties by a staff,
selected in view of military aptitude, general deportment, and
proficiency in studies. (2.) All students are required to observe and
conform to such regulations as may, from time to time, be promulgated by
the Commandant; provide themselves with the university cap for ordinary
wear, and with the blouse or fatigue cap for parade; and are held to
strict accountability for the proper use of the arms and other property
issued to them. (3.) The practical instruction for all students embraces
infantry and artillery tactics, and special exercises with the sabre,
sword, and bayonet; and (4.) for those who elect, a military course
consisting of (a.) _Military Engineering_, (b.) _the Art of War_, and
(c.) _Military Law_. At the close of each year, after the graduating
exercises, the Faculty will recommend to the Governor of the State a
list (not exceeding one in every ten of such graduates), distinguished
for general proficiency in any one of the complete University courses,
special attainments in military science, expertness in military
exercises, and of good moral character and of sound health, with a
request to transmit the same to the President of the United States for
his consideration in making appointments for positions in which such
qualifications are demanded.
STATE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AT AMHERST, MASS.
The Military features of the Course of Study were originally
administered by Capt. Henry E. Alvord, of the United States Army, who
had been specially charged with this instruction in the Military
Institute and University at Norwich, Vt. The specifications are:
FRESHMAN YEAR.--_First Term_--Military Drill; Infantry Tactics; School
of the Soldier; _Second Term_--Do.; and School of the Company and Manual
of Arms. _Third Term_--Do.; and School of the Company and Battalion.
SOPHOMORE YEAR.--_First Term_--Military Drill; Infantry Tactics;
Manual of the Bayonet and Instruction in duty as Skirmishers. _Second
Term_--Do.; and Bayonet Exercise. _Third Term_--Do.; and Skirmish and
Battalion Drill; Guard Duty; and Forms of Parade and Review.
JUNIOR YEAR.--_Third Term_--Military Drill; Artillery Tactics; School
of the Piece. _Second Term_--Do.; and Artillery and Cavalry Tactics;
Manual of the Sabre; School of the Trooper dismounted; Instruction in
Heavy Artillery Tactics and Gunnery. _Third Term_--Do.; School of the
Section; Infantry Tactics; Battalion Drill.
SENIOR YEAR.--_First Term_--Military Drill and Cavalry, Artillery and
Infantry Tactics; Duty as Drill Masters and Officers in Infantry and
Artillery Drill; Theoretical Instruction in Cavalry Tactics, and the
organization and uses of Cavalry. _Second Term_--Military Drill and
Cavalry Tactics; Sabre Exercise. _Third Term_--Military Drill; Target
Practice; Sword Play: and General Drill.
The Committee of Examination for 1870 report as follows:
Your Committee can not refrain from alluding to the interest which all
the young men take in the drills, the evident beneficial effect upon
their bearing and health, and the value of the accomplished soldiers and
officers thus, made for the future service of the Commonwealth, in the
event of another call to send forth her sons for herself or the nation.
Were no other result accomplished by this institution, the money of the
Commonwealth could be no more judiciously expended, and yet this is but
an incident to the regular course.
The Principal, Col. Clark, writes: “We have a fine hall for in-door
exercise, and are furnished by the State with cannon, breech-loading
rifles, sabres, &c., and consider our course a decided success. Our
graduates are able to act as officers in infantry and artillery
regiments, and I believe our system, as we are organized and taught by a
West Point graduate, a most excellent and economical substitute for the
ordinary militia system.”
LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY.
The Louisiana State University was founded as “a State Seminary of
Learning and Military Academy” by the Legislature in 1855, near
Alexandria, in the Parish of Rapides, on endowments of land made by the
General Government at different times, from 1806 to 1827, for
establishing “a Seminary of Learning.” It was opened for the reception
of students, January 2, 1860, and organized on a military basis, under
the superintendence of Col. W. T. Sherman (now General-in-Chief, United
States Army), who resigned his position, February 2, 1861, on the
hostile demonstration of the State of Louisiana against the authority of
the United States. The instruction of the institution continued under
Col. W. E. M. Linfield, till April 22, 1863, when its operations were
closed by the disasters of the War, to be reopened on the first of
October, 1865, only to be closed again by the utter destruction of its
extensive buildings by fire on the 15th of October, 1869. On the 1st of
November following, its exercises were resumed at Baton Rouge, in the
extensive building of the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, which was placed
temporarily for the occupancy of the classes, and a portion of the
students. The session of 1871, under the superintendence of Col. D. F.
Boyd, closed with 217 matriculated Cadets, of whom 128 were admitted on
the State Cadet warrants.
The Law of March 16, 1870, relative to the appointment of Beneficiary
Cadets, provides that each parish shall delegate two, and the city of
New Orleans, by its Board of School Directors, twenty cadets, to be
selected from the members of the highest class in the public school of
such parishes and city, distinguished for their scholarship and good
conduct, and whose parents may not be able to provide for their
necessary expenses for tuition and maintenance at the State Seminary;
and at the expiration of their residence at the University which can not
exceed four years, these Beneficiary Cadets are required to teach school
within the State for two years, on penalty of default to the amount of
the sum paid by the State.
WABASH COLLEGE, CRAWFORDSVILLE, INDIANA.
By arrangement with the Trustees of Wabash College, the Legislature of
Indiana has authorized the County Commissioners of each county to
appoint one person to receive the advantages of the institution for five
years, free of tuition, in consideration of a portion of the State’s
quota of the United States Land Grant, for agricultural and mechanical
Arts Colleges; and to meet the requirements of the law of Congress, the
college has established a Scientific Course, and under the
superintendence of a Professor of Military Science, daily instruction in
Tactics and Gymnastics is given to the students by divisions with a
weekly drill of all, as a battalion. The _College Courant_ thus notices
the new hall for Gymnastics and Tactics:
The physical culture of this institution is under the charge of the
Chair of Military Science, and for the purpose of this culture a
building has been erected which is more comprehensive than usual in
gymnasiums, and is quite unique in some particulars. Work was commenced
last August, and in fifty days the roof was receiving the slate. The
building presents the form of a cross, of equal members, and the ground
service of seven thousand five hundred feet, is thus divided: A marching
and running course, of three hundred feet, twelve feet wide, and
seventeen feet high; a gymnasium sixty feet by twenty-six, and
twenty-four feet high, ventilated and lighted by a central tower fifty
feet in height; an armory and gun-room, for care of small arms and
artillery; and a room for fencing, boxing, quoits and other manly
exercises. In the four transepts above, are topographical room, model
room; reading room, for maps, charts, etc., and bath rooms. All these,
through interior glass fronts, furnish a full view of the Exercise Hall,
within and below. The small-arms used are the “light, cadet,
breech-loading rifle,” similar to those last issued to the Military
Academy at West Point, and were manufactured by the United States at the
Springfield Arsenal for the use of students receiving their instruction.
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY.
The University of the State of California has a Military Department to
meet the requirements of the Act of Congress, under the directions
(1871) of Professor (General) Welcker and Assistant Professor F. Soulé,
graduates of the West Point Academy. The Adjutant General (Thos. N.
Cazneau) of the State in his Report to the Governor, dated September 1,
1870, remarks:
The gratifying success with which the military department of the State
University has been conducted is worthy of special notice, and I am
happy to announce that perfect discipline and a high state of
proficiency pervade the department of military study at that
institution. The cadets were incorporated with the National Guard of the
State by Act of the last legislature, and have been formed into four
companies of infantry, and instructed most fully and perfectly in that
branch of military service. A personal inspection of the battalion
enables me to speak of its condition with confidence. I find both
officers and cadets thoroughly up to the requirements of the infantry
soldier, perfect in carriage, most proficient in the use of arms, steady
in marching and all company formations, and, in the manœuvres of the
battalion, challenging an admiration worthy to be elicited by a veteran
soldiery. Their _ensemble_ is striking, and the effect of a thorough
military training upon the young gentlemen of the University is largely
manifested in their erect and graceful personal appearance and
movements, apparent not only when upon duty but in their ordinary walks
of every-day occupation; while the gentlemanly and high-toned courtesy
that pervades the whole body may not unjustly be attributed, in a large
degree, to their military studies and military habits. The young
officers evince excellent characteristics of command, great dignity of
deportment and admirable ability in imparting instruction. I can not too
highly commend to your attention the whole military condition of the
cadets of the State University, and to ask for them your fostering care
and encouragement, and that of the Legislature.
There are several colleges in California in which military instruction
is introduced; prominent among them is St. Augustine College at Benicia,
and McClure’s Academy at Oakland. At each there are about 100 boys,
fully equipped and drilled as infantry soldiers.
INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE INSTITUTIONS FOR MILITARY INSTRUCTION.
ALDEN PARTRIDGE.
Alden Partridge, Captain in the United States Corps of Engineers,
Professor and Superintendent of the Military Academy at West Point, and
the Founder of a class of institutions in which the military element is
recognized and provided for as an essential part of the training of the
American citizen, was born at Norwich in Vermont, on the 12th of
January, 1785. His father was a farmer, in independent circumstances,
served in the war of the Revolution, and took part in the capture of
Burgoyne and his army at Saratoga. He brought up his son in the New
England fashion, at such district school as the times and the country
afforded in the winter, and at all sorts of work about the house and on
the farm at other seasons, until he was sixteen years of age, when,
being of studious turn, and fond of reading, he was allowed to fit for
college, and entered Dartmouth in August, 1802. We have no knowledge of
his studies in college, but it is presumed that his predilections were
for the mathematics, and from the lateness with which he commenced his
Latin and his subsequent declarations, his aversion was for the
languages. Before completing his collegiate course he received the
appointment of cadet[20] in the regiment of artillerists in the United
States service, with orders to repair to West Point, and report himself
to the commanding officer of the Military Academy at that place.
[Footnote 20: A _Cadet_ in the military organization of the Army
denoted a junior officer between the grade of lieutenant and
sergeant, and was introduced from the French service. An Act of
Congress, passed May 7th, 1794, provided for a Corps of
Artillerists and Engineers, to consist of four battalions, to each
of which eight _cadets_ were to be attached, and authorized the
Secretary of War to procure at the public expense the necessary
books, instruments and apparatus for the use and benefit of said
corps. In 1798, an additional regiment of Artillerists and
Engineers was raised, increasing the number of Cadets to
fifty-six. In 1798, the President was authorized to appoint four
teachers of the Arts and Sciences necessary to Artillerists and
Engineers. No appointment was made till 1801, and in 1802, the
Military Academy was established at West Point, where the corps of
Engineers was directed to repair with fifty Cadets, and the Senior
Officer of the Corps was constituted Superintendent. Col. Williams
was then Senior Officer of Engineers, and became, _ex-officio_,
Superintendent, and continued such until 1812.]
The Military Academy at the time Cadet Partridge arrived at West Point
was very inadequately equipped with the men and material aids of
instruction, although the two teachers appointed were abundantly capable
in their respective departments. Jared Mansfield, especially, the
teacher of natural philosophy, had won such reputation in mathematical
studies that he received his commission as a captain of engineers from
Mr. Jefferson for the very purpose of becoming a teacher at West Point,
which he did by appointment in 1802, although in reality he did not
perform his duties regularly, and then only for one year, having been,
in 1808, appointed by President Jefferson to the responsible post of
Surveyor-General of the North-western territory. Such instruction as was
given was received by Cadet Partridge in 1806, and in July of that year,
he was transferred to the Corps of Engineers, and in October,
commissioned as first lieutenant. In November, 1806, he was appointed
assistant professor of mathematics, Fedinand K. Hassler, a little later,
having been made Professor in place of Capt. Barron, retired. From Prof.
Hassler, he received great help in his mathematical studies, as he
afterwards repeatedly acknowledged. In 1808, Prof. Partridge was called
to act in place of the Superintendent in the absence of Col. Williams,
and continued to do so, with brief intervals, until January, 1815, when
he was appointed to the office which he filled till March, 1816. In
1809, Mr. Hassler resigned the professorship of mathematics, and the
instruction before given by him devolved on his assistant, Mr.
Partridge. In 1810, he succeeded, after repeated applications to the
Secretary of War, in obtaining two field pieces, for practical
instruction of the Cadets as Artillerists.
In 1812, the Academy was re-organized, and was made to consist of the
Corps of Engineers and the following Professors, in addition to the
teachers of the French language and drawing, viz.: “one professor of
natural and experimental philosophy; one professor of mathematics; and
one professor of the art of engineering; each professor to have an
assistant taken from the most prominent of the Officers or Cadets.” The
number of Cadets was increased to two hundred and fifty, and were
directed to be arranged into companies of non-commissioned officers and
privates, according to the directions of the commandant of Engineers,
and be officered from that corps, “for the purposes of military
instruction, in all the duties of a private, non-commissioned officer,
and officer, and to be encamped at least three months of each year, and
taught all the duties incident to a regular camp.” The age of admission
was fixed, the minimum at fourteen, and maximum at twenty-one, and
preliminary knowledge to be well versed in reading, writing, and
arithmetic. It was further provided that any Cadet who shall receive a
regular degree from the Academical Staff, after going through all the
classes, shall be considered among the candidates for a commission in
any corps, according to the duties he may be judged competent to
perform. The sum of $25,000 was appropriated towards the buildings,
library, implements, &c. On this broad basis the Academy was
progressively enlarged to its present capabilities of usefulness.
Under the new arrangement of 1812, Mr. Partridge was appointed professor
of mathematics, with the pay and emoluments of a major, which
appointment was soon after, at the request of the Secretary of War,
exchanged for that of professor of engineering, it being found more
difficult to fill the latter post than the former. The duties of this
professorship he continued to discharge from September 1, 1813, till
December 31, 1816.
In 1808, Capt. Partridge was ordered by Col. Williams to take charge of
the internal direction and control of the Military Academy as
Superintendent, which duties he discharged until January 3, 1815, when,
by regulations of that date, he was made the permanent Superintendent,
which post he held-till November 25th, 1816, and was finally relieved on
the 13th of January, 1817.
By the regulation of January 3, 1815, the commandant of the Corps of
Engineers was constituted _Inspector_ of the Academy, and made
responsible for instruction, and to report to the Department of War. Out
of this appointment, and the instructions relating thereto, grew a
difference of opinion, which resulted in the final withdrawal of Capt.
Partridge from the institution, the resignation of his commission in the
military service of the United States, and his subsequent devotion to
the dissemination by lectures and personal efforts of the views which he
had formed of the education required by the American citizen, and the
establishment of institutions in which these views could be carried out.
After resigning his commission in the military service of the United
States, Capt. Partridge was engaged, in the summer of 1818, as military
instructor to a volunteer corps, and in giving a course of lectures on
fortifications and other branches of military science to a class of
officers and citizens in the city of New York. The views which he then
presented on the best means of national defense were in advance of the
“piping times of peace” in 1818, but have been since demanded to be
eminently sound and practical by the terrible experience of 1861-1862.
His chief reliance for national defense was in the _military habits_ of
the great body of the American people--organized into suitable militia
departments corresponding in the main to the limits of the several
states, officered by men of the right capacity, scientific education,
and military training. The officers were required to assemble annually
at stated periods, either in camps or rendezvous, at some central point
in the department, to receive instruction from a few competent teachers
of the military art. We give the plan in his own language as published
at the time.
I. Let the United States be divided into military departments, say
thirty in number; each of those departments to be wholly comprised
within the same state, whenever this can be done.
II. To each of those departments let there be attached a military
instructor, (under the authority of the United States,) who should
receive the pay and emoluments of a colonel of infantry, and have the
brevet-rank of a brigadier-general. These instructors to be gentlemen of
established character and reputation, and who have received a regular
scientific military education.
III. Let the officers of each brigade of militia in the United States
be required to assemble annually at stated periods, either in camp or
rendezvous at some central point in the brigade, there to remain six
days, for the purpose of military instruction. Let each instructor
attend in succession at the several camps or places of rendezvous in his
department, and devote himself assiduously to the instruction of the
officers there assembled. One portion of the day might be devoted to
practical drills, and field evolutions--also to the turning off,
mounting, and relieving guards and sentinels, while the remainder could
be most usefully employed in explaining and illustrating the principles
of tactics generally, of artillery, of permanent and field
fortification, the duties of troops in camp and in garrison, and such
other branches as time and circumstances might permit, by means of
familiar explanatory lectures.
IV. Let each officer receive from the government a reasonable
allowance for his expenses while attending the instruction, and also
while going to, and returning from, the camp or rendezvous.
Some of the principal advantages that would result from the adoption
of the foregoing plan, I conceive would be as follows; viz.:--
1. The same system of tactics and discipline would pervade the whole
mass of the militia--the instructors being imperatively required to
adhere to one system. This would be a very important advantage.
2. By this means the country, in the course of a few years, would be
furnished with a well organized military force, of at least one million
of men, composed of the best materials in the world for soldiers; the
whole of which, the officers having been regularly and correctly
instructed, might be rendered, in the course of a few weeks, after being
called into service, perfectly competent to the efficient discharge of
all the duties of the field. This assertion is not founded upon
conjecture. An experience of nearly fifteen years in military
instruction, has convinced me, that any of our regiments of militia, in
their present state of discipline, if brought into the field and placed
under competent officers, could, by three weeks instruction, be prepared
for discharging all the duties of regular troops. The instruction, then,
in time of peace, of the officers, becomes an object of great
importance;--that of the privates is of secondary consideration. There
is no difficulty in making soldiers, when officers understand their
duty, and are disposed to perform it.
It may perhaps be objected to the foregoing plan, that the time
proposed for the officers to remain in camp or rendezvous is too limited
to admit of their deriving much advantage therefrom. In answer to this I
will observe, that a due share of experience in this species of
instruction, has fully convinced me, that they would acquire more
correct military information in six days, under a competent and
systematic instructor, than they usually acquire under the present
system, during the whole period from eighteen to forty-five years of
age; and that, after attending two or three similar courses, the great
body of them would be perfectly competent to the correct, efficient, and
useful discharge of all the duties of the field. From the best
calculation I have been able to make, I feel confident, that the whole
necessary expense of carrying this plan into full and effective
operation, would not exceed six hundred thousand dollars--it would
probably fall short of that sum. Whether the expense, then, is to be
considered as disproportionate to the object in view, and therefore to
constitute a barrier to its accomplishment, must be decided by the sound
discretion of the representatives of the people. It appears to me,
however, to bear no greater ratio to it, than does a grain of sand to
the globe we inhabit. The cultivation of military science must also be
viewed as of the first importance in a system of military defense for
our country. The plan already detailed, is calculated for the general
dissemination of practical military information throughout the
community, but is not adapted to the investigation of principles. This
can only be done at seminaries, where it constitutes a branch of regular
attention and study; and where theory and practice can, in due
proportion, be combined. At those seminaries would be formed our
military instructors, our engineers, and our generals; and from those,
as from so many foci, would all the improvements in the military art be
diffused throughout the country.
In the lectures delivered in 1818, Capt, Partridge, in view of the
Inevitable disintegration by frost and moisture, and the improvements in
the science of attack, anticipated the insufficiency of permanent
fortifications--of works of masonry, no matter how expensively or
strongly constructed--to the defense of our principal harbors against
the attacks of a foreign foe; his reliance was on the general diffusion
of military science and training amongst the militia, on an efficient
navy, and the following plan of marine defense.
I. At the most important and exposed points on our seaboard, let one
or two principal works of the most permanent kind be erected: these
works to be kept in perfect repair, to be plentifully supplied with all
the munitions of war, and the gun’s and carriages well secured from the
weather by means of pent houses.
II. In the vicinity of all the most exposed and vulnerable points on
the seaboard, let spacious and permanent arsenals be constructed, in
which, let there be deposited ample supplies of cannon, mortars, gun
carriages, materials for platforms, and other munitions of war, where
they would remain perfectly safe from the weather.
III. In case of war or threatened invasion, let temporary works,
either of earth, or of wood, be constructed at all the most vulnerable
points, which could be readily furnished with cannon, gun carriages,
platforms, and all the necessary implements and munitions from the
arsenals in their vicinity.
IV. As soon as peace is restored, these works should be dismantled,
and all their apparatus returned to the arsenals from whence it was
taken. In case of future emergencies, they could be restored, or others
of the same descriptions, constructed in their places, which could be
supplied from the arsenals in the manner above stated. The efficacy in
marine defense, of works of the above description, I presume will not be
doubted by any scientific military man. Should any one, however, be
disposed to doubt it, I would beg leave to refer him to the defense of
Fort Moultrie, in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, when
attacked by the British shipping, during the Revolutionary war, and also
to the defense made by the small fort at Stonington, Connecticut, when
attacked in a similar manner during the last war.
By adopting this system, I think the following advantages would
result:--
1. A more secure defense would be obtained. By knowing the description
of force we had to encounter, we should be enabled to construct our
temporary works in a manner the best calculated to repel it; and as the
gun carriages, platforms, and implements, when taken from the arsenals,
would be sound and in perfect order, we might reasonably calculate these
works would make a more vigorous resistance than permanent ones, which,
with their apparatus, are in a state of partial dilapidation and decay.
2. The system would be much less expensive than the one by permanent
fortification. Those temporary works could ordinarily be constructed by
the troops with very little, if any, additional expense; but in case of
pressing emergency, the zeal and patriotism of the people might be
relied upon with safety, to supply any amount of labor that might be
necessary, as was the case at New York in 1814. As it is not proposed
they should be retained as military stations in time of peace, the
expense of keeping them in repair would be nothing.
In the early part of 1819, Capt. Partridge was engaged in the exploring
survey of the North Eastern boundary, under the fifth article of the
treaty of Ghent. While on this survey he determined from barometrical
and thermometrical observations of the altitudes of the Highlands
dividing the rivers which flow northerly into the St. Lawrence, from
those which flow southerly into the Atlantic ocean; he also made a
profile of the country between several points on the St. Lawrence, and
corresponding position in the state of Maine.
In 1820, Capt. Partridge resigned his position in this survey, for the
purpose of carrying into practical effect a plan of education, which had
occupied much of his attention since 1810, and which in its main
features was, doubtless, suggested by his experience at Hanover, and
West Point, and was calculated to supply certain deficiencies which he
and others had already noticed in our American colleges and higher
seminaries of learning. His views both of the deficiencies and their
remedies were set forth in a lecture delivered at this time, which was
subsequently printed. After defining “education in its most perfect
state to be the preparing a youth in the best possible manner for the
correct discharge of the duties of any station in which he may be
placed,” in this lecture he proceeds to characterize the existing plan
of instruction.
1. It is not sufficiently practical, nor properly adapted to the
various duties an American citizen may be called upon to discharge.
Those of our youth who are destined for a liberal education, as it is
called, are usually put, at an early age, to the study of the Latin and
Greek languages, combining therewith a very slight attention to their
own language, the elements of arithmetic, &c.; and after having devoted
several years in this way, they are prepared to become members of a
college or university.
Here they spend four years for the purpose of acquiring a knowledge of
the higher branches of learning; after which, they receive their
diplomat, and are supposed to be prepared to enter on the duties of
active life. But, I would ask, is this actually the case? Are they
prepared in the best possible manner to discharge correctly the duties
of any station in which fortune or inclination may place them? Have they
been instructed in the science of government generally, and more
especially in the principles of our excellent Constitution, and thereby
prepared to sit in the legislative councils of the nation? Has their
attention been sufficiently directed to those great and important
branches of national industry and sources of national wealth--
agriculture, commerce, and manufactures? Have they been taught
to examine the policy of other nations, and the effect of that policy on
the prosperity of their own country? Are they prepared to discharge the
duties of civil or military engineers, or to endure fatigue, or to
become the defenders of their country’s rights, and the avengers of her
wrongs, either in the ranks or at the head of her armies? It appears to
me not; and if not, then, agreeably to the standard established, their
education is so far defective.
2. Another defect in the present system, is, the entire neglect, in
all our principal seminaries, of physical education, or the due
cultivation and improvement of the physical powers of the students.
The great importance and even absolute necessity of a regular and
systematic course of exercise for the preservation of health, and
confirming and rendering vigorous the constitution, I presume, must be
evident to the most superficial observer. It is for want of this, that
so many of our most promising youths lose their health by the time they
are prepared to enter on the grand theatre of active and useful life,
and either prematurely die, or linger out a comparatively useless and
miserable existence. That the health of the closest applicant may be
preserved, when he is subjected to a regular and systematic course of
exercises, I know, from practical experience; and I have no hesitation
in asserting, that in nine cases out of ten, it is just as easy for a
youth, however hard he may study, to attain the age of manhood, with a
firm and vigorous constitution, capable of enduring exposure, hunger and
fatigue, as it is to grow up puny and debilitated, incapable of either
bodily or mental exertion.
3. A third defect in our system is, the amount of idle time allowed
the students; that portion of the day during which they are actually
engaged in study and recitations, under the eye of their instructors,
comprises but a small portion of the whole; during the remainder, those
that are disposed to study, will improve at their rooms, while those who
are not so disposed, will not only not improve, but will be very likely
to engage in practices injurious to their constitutions and destructive
to their morals. If this vacant time could be employed in duties and
exercises, which, while they amuse and improve the mind, would at the
same time invigorate the body and confirm the constitution, it would
certainly be a great point gained. That this may be done, I shall
attempt in the course of these observations, to show.
4. A fourth defect is, the allowing to students, especially to those
of the wealthier class, too much money, thereby inducing habits of
dissipation and extravagance, highly injurious to themselves, and also
to the seminaries of which they are members. I have no hesitation in
asserting, that far the greater portion of the irregularities and
disorderly proceedings amongst the students of our seminaries, may be
traced to this fatal cause. Collect together at any seminary, a large
number of youths, of the ages they generally are at our institutions,
furnish them with money, and allow them a portion of idle time, and it
may be viewed as a miracle, if a large portion of them do not become
corrupt in morals, and instead of going forth into the world to become
ornaments in society, they rather are prepared to become nuisances to
the same. There is in this respect, an immense responsibility resting on
parents and guardians, as well as on all others having the care and
instruction of youth, of which it appears to me they are not
sufficiently aware.
When youths are sent to a seminary, it is presumed they are sent for
the purpose of learning something that is useful, and not to acquire bad
habits, or to spend money; they should consequently be furnished with
every thing necessary for their comfort, convenience and improvement,
but money should in no instance be put into their hands. So certainly as
they have it, just so certainly will they spend it, and this will, in
nine cases out of ten, be done in a manner seriously to injure them,
without any corresponding advantage. It frequently draws them into
vicious and dissolute company, and induces habits of immorality and
vice, which ultimately prove their ruin. The over-weening indulgence of
parents, has been the cause of the destruction of the morals and future
usefulness of many a promising youth. They may eventually discover their
error, but alas, it is often too late to correct it. Much better does
that person discharge the duties of a real friend to the thoughtless,
unwary youth, who withholds from him the means of indulging in
dissipated and vicious courses.
5. A fifth defect is the requiring all the students to pursue the same
course of studies.
All youth have not the same inclinations, nor the same capacities; one
may possess a particular inclination and capacity for the study of the
classics, but not for the mathematics and other branches of science;
with another it may be the reverse. Now it will be in vain to attempt
making a mathematician of the former, or a linguist of the latter.
Consequently, all the time that is devoted in this manner, will be lost,
or something worse than lost. Every youth, who has any capacity or
inclination for the acquirement of knowledge, will have some favorite
studies, in which he will be likely to excel. It is certainly then much
better that he should be permitted to pursue those, than, that by being
forced to attend to others for which he has an aversion, and in which he
will never excel, or ever make common proficiency, he should finally
acquire a dislike to all study. The celebrated Pascal, is a striking
instance of the absurdity and folly of attempting to force a youth to
attend to branches of study, for which he has an utter aversion, to the
exclusion of those for which he may possess a particular attachment. Had
the father of this eminent man persisted in his absurd and foolish
course, France would never have seen him, what he subsequently became,
one of her brightest ornaments.
6. A sixth defect is the prescribing the length of time for
completing, as it is termed, a course of education. By these means, the
good scholar is placed nearly on a level with the sluggard, for whatever
may be his exertions, he can gain nothing in respect to time, and the
latter has, in consequence of this, less stimulus for exertion. If any
thing will induce the indolent student to exert himself, it is the
desire to prevent others getting ahead of him. It would be much better
to allow each one to progress as rapidly as possible, with a thorough
understanding of the subject.
Having stated what appeared to him the most prominent defects in the
academies and colleges as organized and conducted, he next proceeds to
point out the remedies.
1. The organization and discipline should be strictly military.
Under a military system, subordination and discipline are much more
easily preserved than under any other. Whenever a youth can be impressed
with the true principles and feelings of a soldier, he becomes, as a
matter of course, subordinate, honorable, and manly. He disdains
subterfuge and prevarication, and all that low cunning, which is but too
prevalent. He acts not the part of the assassin, but if he have an
enemy, he meets him openly and fairly. Others may boast that they have
broken the laws and regulations of the institution of which they are, or
have been members, and have escaped detection and punishment, by mean
prevarication and falsehood. Not so the real soldier. If he have broken
orders and regulations, he will openly acknowledge his error, and
reform; but will not boast of having been insubordinate. Those
principles, if imbibed and fixed in early youth, will continue to
influence his conduct and actions during life; he will be equally
observant of the laws of his country, as of the academic regulations
under which he has lived; and will become the more estimable citizen in
consequence thereof. I shall not pretend, however, that all who wear a
military garb, or live, for a time, even under a correct system of
military discipline, will be influenced in their conduct by the
principles above stated; but if they are not, it only proves that they
have previously imbibed erroneous principles, which have become too
firmly fixed to be eradicated; or that nature has not formed them with
minds capable of soaring above what is low and groveling.
2. Military science and instruction should constitute a part of the
course of education.
The constitution of the United States has invested the military
defense of the country in the great body of the people. By the wise
provisions of this instrument, and of the laws made in pursuance
thereof, every American citizen, from eighteen to forty-five years of
age, unless specially exempted by law, is liable to be called upon for
the discharge of military duty--he is emphatically a citizen soldier,
and it appears to me perfectly proper that he should be equally prepared
by education to discharge, correctly, his duties in either capacity. If
we intend to avoid a standing army, (that bane of a republic, and engine
of oppression in the hands of despots,) our militia must be patronized
and improved, and military information must be disseminated amongst the
great mass of the people; when deposited with them, it is in safe hands,
and will never be exhibited in practice, except in opposition to the
enemies of the country. I am well aware there are amongst us many worthy
individuals, who deem the cultivation of military science a sort of
heresy, flattering themselves, and endeavoring to induce others to
believe, that the time has now arrived, or is very near, when wars are
to cease, and universal harmony prevail amongst mankind. But, my
fellow-citizens, be not deceived by the syren song of peace, peace,
when, in reality, there is no peace, except in a due and constant
preparation for war. If we turn our attention to Europe, what do we
behold? A league of crowned despots, impiously called holy, wielding a
tremendous military force of two millions of mercenaries! Ill-fated
Naples, and more ill-fated Spain, have both felt the effects of _their
peaceable_ dispositions, and were it not for the wide-spreading
Atlantic, which the God of nature in his infinite goodness has
interposed between us, we also, ere this, should have had a like
experience. The principles of liberty are equally obnoxious to them,
whether found in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America. If rendering mankind
ignorant of the art of war, (as a science,) would prevent wars, then
would I unite most cordially with those, usually termed peace-men, for
the purpose of destroying every vestige of it. But such, I am confident,
would not be the result. Wars amongst nations do not arise because they
understand how to conduct them skillfully and on scientific principles;
but are induced by the evil propensities and dispositions of mankind. To
prevent the effect, the cause must be removed. We may render nations
ignorant of the use of the musket and bayonet; we may carry them back,
as respects the art of war, to a state of barbarism, or even of
savageism, and still wars will exist. So long as mankind possess the
dispositions which they now possess, and which they ever have possessed,
so long they will fight. To prevent wars, then, the disposition must be
changed; no remedy short of this, will be effectual. In proportion as
nations are rude and unskilled in the art of war, will their military
code be barbarous and unrelenting, their battles sanguinary, and their
whole system of warfare, destructive. War, therefore, in such a case,
becomes a far greater evil, than it does under an improved and refined
system, where battles are won more by skill than by hard fighting, and
the laws of war are proportionally ameliorated. What rational man, what
friend of mankind, would be willing to exchange the present humane and
refined system of warfare, for that practiced by an Attila, a Jenghis
Khan, a Tamerlane, or a Mahomet, when hundreds of thousands fell in a
single engagement, and when conquest and extermination were synonymous
terms. On the principles of humanity, then, it appears to me that, so
long as wars do exist, the military art should be improved and refined
as much as possible; for, in proportion as this is done, battles will be
less sanguinary and destructive, the whole system more humane, and war
itself a far less evil. But independent of any connection with the
profession of arms, or of any of the foregoing considerations,
I consider a scientific knowledge of the military art, as constituting a
very important part of the education of every individual engaged in the
pursuit of useful knowledge, and this for many reasons; viz.:--
_First._ It is of great use in the reading of history, both ancient
and modern.
A large portion of history is made up of accounts of military
operations, descriptions of battles, sieges, &c. How, I would ask, is
the reader to understand this part, if he be ignorant of the
organization of armies, of the various systems of military tactics, of
the science of fortification, and of the attack and defense of fortified
places, both in ancient and modern times? Without such knowledge it is
evident he derives, comparatively but little information from a large
portion of what he reads.
_Second._ It is of great importance in the writing of history.
I presume it will not be denied, that in order to write well on any
subject, it must be understood. How, then, can the historian give a
correct and intelligible account of a campaign, battle, or siege, who is
not only unacquainted with the principles on which military operations
are conducted, but is also ignorant of the technical language necessary
for communicating his ideas intelligibly on the subject? This is the
principal reason why, as it appears to me, the ancient historians were
so much superior to the modern. Many of their best historical writers
were military men. Some of them accomplished commanders. The account of
military operations by such writers as Xenophon, Thucydides, Polybius
and Cæsar, are perfectly clear and intelligible, whereas when attempted
by the great body of modern historians, the most we can learn is, that a
fortress was besieged and taken, or that a battle was fought and a
victory won, but are left in entire ignorance of the principles on which
the operations were conducted, or of the reasons why the results were as
they were.
_Third._ It is essentially necessary for the legislator.
The military defense of our country is doubtless one of the most
important trusts which is vested by the constitution in the general
government, and it is a well known fact, that more money is drawn from
the people and disbursed in the military, than in any other department
of the government. Now as all must be done under the sanction of the
law, I would beg leave to inquire, whether it be not of the greatest
importance, that those who are to make such laws should be in every
respect well prepared to legislate understandingly on the subject? That
there has been, and still is, a want of information on this subject
amongst the great body of the members of Congress, I think will be
perfectly evident to any one who is competent, and will take the trouble
to examine our military legislation since the conclusion of the
Revolutionary war. I feel little hesitation in asserting, that from want
of this information, more than from any other cause, as much money has
been uselessly expended in our military department alone, as would
cancel a large portion of the national debt.
_Fourth._ It is of great use to the traveler.
Suppose a young man, with the best education he can obtain at any of
our colleges or universities, were to visit Europe, where the military
constitutes the first class of the community, and where the
fortifications constitute the most important appendages to nearly all
the principal cities, how much does he observe, which he does not
understand? If he attempt a description of the cities, he finds himself
embarrassed for want of a knowledge of fortification. If he attempt an
investigation of the principles and organization of their institutions,
or of their governments, he finds the military so interwoven with them
all, that they can not be thoroughly understood without it. In fine, he
will return with far less information, than with the aid of a military
education he might have derived. As it respects the military exercises,
I would observe, that were they of no other use than in preserving the
health of students, and confirming in them a good figure and manliness
of deportment, I should consider these were ample reasons for
introducing them into our seminaries generally; they are better
calculated than any others for counteracting the natural habits of
students, and can always be attended to, at such times as would
otherwise be spent in idleness or useless amusements. Having expressed
my views thus fully on this subject, I will next proceed to state more
specifically the other branches which I would propose to introduce into
a complete course of education: and--
1. The course of classical and scientific instruction should be as
extensive and perfect as at our most approved institutions. The students
should be earnestly enjoined and required to derive as much of useful
information from the most approved authors, as their time and
circumstances would permit.
2. A due portion of time should be devoted to practical geometrical
and other scientific operations in the field. The pupils should
frequently be taken on pedestrian excursions into the country; be
habituated to endure fatigue, to climb mountains, and to determine their
altitudes by means of the barometer as well as by trigonometry. Those
excursions, while they would learn them to walk, (which I estimate an
important part of education,) and render them vigorous and healthy,
would also prepare them for becoming men of practical science generally,
and would further confer on them a correct _coup d’œil_ so essentially
necessary for military and civil engineers, for surveyors, for
travelers, &c., and which can never be acquired otherwise than by
practice.
3. Another portion of their time should be devoted to practical
agricultural pursuits, gardening, &c.
In a country like ours, which is emphatically agricultural, I presume
it will not be doubted, that a practical scientific knowledge of
agriculture would constitute an important appendage to the education of
every American citizen. Indeed the most certain mode of improving the
agriculture of the country will be to make it a branch of elementary
education. By these means, it will not only be improved, but also a
knowledge of their improvements generally disseminated amongst the great
mass of the people.
4. A further portion of time should be devoted to attending familiar
explanatory lectures on the various branches of military science, on the
principles and practice of agriculture, commerce and manufactures, on
political economy, on the constitution of the United States, and those
of the individual states, in which should be pointed out particularly
the powers and duties of the general government, and the existing
relations between that and the state governments, on the science of
government generally. In fine, on all those branches of knowledge which
are necessary to enable them to discharge, in the best possible manner,
the duties they owe to themselves, to their fellow men, and to their
country.
5. To the institution should be attached a range of mechanics’ shops,
where those who possess an aptitude and inclination might occasionally
employ a leisure hour in learning the use of tools and acquiring a
knowledge of some useful mechanic art.
The division of time, each day, I would make as follows, viz.:--
Eight hours to be devoted to study and recitation; eight hours allowed
for sleep. Three hours for the regular meals, and such other necessary
personal duties as the student may require. Two hours for the military
and other exercises, fencing, &c. The remaining three hours to be
devoted, in due proportion, to practical agricultural and scientific
pursuits and duties, and in attending lectures on the various subjects
before mentioned.
Some of the most prominent advantages of the foregoing plan would, in
my opinion, be the following; viz.:--
1. The student would, in the time usually devoted to the acquirement
of elementary education, (say six years) acquire, at least, as much, and
I think I may venture to say more, of book knowledge, than he would
under the present system.
2. In addition to this, he would go into the world an accomplished
soldier, a scientific and practical agriculturist, an expert
mechanician, an intelligent merchant, a political economist, legislator
and statesman. In fine, he could hardly be placed in any situation, the
duties of which he would not be prepared to discharge with honor to
himself and advantage to his fellow-citizens and his country.
3. In addition to the foregoing, he would grow up with habits of
industry, economy and morality, and, what is of little less importance,
a firm and vigorous constitution; with a head to conceive and an arm to
execute--he would emphatically possess a sound mind in a sound body.
After much correspondence Capt. Partridge decided to carry out his
principles of education in an institution organized on his own plan and
conducted by himself, with such assistance as he could command, in his
native village of Norwich, Vermont. Here he opened, on the 4th of
September, 1820, the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy,
on which the pupils or their parents had their choice of studies, out of
a course as extensive as that of any academy and college in New England
combined--in which military training formed a prominent feature, and the
mathematics, especially as applied to surveying and engineering,
received special attention. During the four years and half of its
continuance in Norwich the Academy was attended by 480 pupils,
representing twenty-one out of the twenty-four states, and of these, and
especially of such as continued on an average two years at the
institution, a large proportion became distinguished in military,
public, and business life--as large it is believed as the records of any
other institution for the same period of time can show. Its success
demonstrated beyond cavil, that military exercises and duties are not
inconsistent with ardent devotion, and the highest attainments in
literary and scientific studies.
In 1824, the citizens of Middletown, Connecticut, made a liberal
subscription to secure the location there, of a college about to be
established in that State, under Episcopal auspices. Failing in that
object, by the location of the institution at Hartford, where it now
exists under the name of Trinity College, they invited Capt. Partridge
to remove his Academy to their city, and offered to erect and place at
his disposal suitable buildings for his accommodation. This invitation
and offer were accepted, and on the 1st of April, 1825, he closed his
institution at Norwich, and on the 1st of September following, opened
his new course of instruction at Middletown, with an attendance of two
hundred and ninety-seven pupils in the first year. During the three
years--up to September 1828, the American Literary, Scientific, and
Military Academy at Middletown remained under his superintendence, there
were nearly twelve hundred pupils representing every State and Territory
of the United States, the British Provinces, Mexico, several of the
South American States, and the West Indies. This attendance shows
conclusively, that the military and scientific element, together with an
optional course of study, and a term of residence limited by the ability
of the pupil to complete the course, met a want not provided for in
existing colleges. Of those who completed the full course of study begun
at Norwich, as large a proportion, as the corresponding graduates of any
American college, attained a high degree of usefulness and eminence in
widely diversified fields of labor. Among its graduates are to be found
the founders or professors of several State Military Institutes, many
officers of the highest rank in the military service of the United
States, several eminent civil engineers, superintendents, of railroads,
members of Congress, lawyers, and men of practical efficiency and
success in every line of business.
One of the characteristic features of Captain Partridge’s system of
instruction and discipline at Middletown, was the military marches and
pedestrian excursions for scientific and recreating purposes conducted
under his personal command, or in his company. Several of these
excursions occupied three or four weeks, extending in one instance to
Washington. The military marches amounted in the aggregate to over two
thousand miles, and these and the various pedestrian excursions,
included visits to nearly all points of military and historical interest
in New England and New York. The immediate and controlling reasons which
induced Capt. Partridge to leave Middletown, are not known to the writer
of this memoir. He has however, understood it was owing partly to a
desire for temporary relief from the cares and confinement of immediate
superintendence, that he might start a similar institution in the
neighborhood of New York, and partly from disgust at the refusal of the
Legislature of Connecticut in 1828, to grant to the institution at
Middletown, the usual privileges and powers of a college.
In 1833,1834, 1837, and 1839, Capt. Partridge was elected representative
from the town of Norwich, to the Legislature of Vermont, and in that
capacity labored to give efficiency to the military system of the State.
In 1834, he secured for certain petitioners a charter for the Norwich
University, in which the Trustees are required “to provide for a
constant course of instruction in military science and civil
engineering,” and are “prohibited from establishing any regulations of a
sectarian character, either in religion or politics.” Of this
corporation, consisting of twenty-five trustees, Capt. Partridge was a
member, and in organizing the institution in 1825, he was elected
president of the Faculty. He continued to instruct in his own department
of military science and engineering, and administered the affairs of the
university till 1844, when owing to some difficulties arising out of the
use of the building, arms, and accourtrements, which were his private
property, he resigned.
In 1838, he was influential in calling together a convention of military
officers and persons interested in giving greater efficiency to the
organization of the militia of the several states, to meet for
consultation. This convention met at Norwich on the 4th of July; and
continued to meet annually for many years, to discuss plans for the
organization and discipline of the militia, for the dissemination of a
knowledge of military science, for the defense of the coast, &c. Many
reports of this body were drawn up by him, and the proceedings were
forwarded to, and printed by order of the Congress of the United States.
In 1839, on the request of many influential citizens, he visited
Portsmouth, Virginia, to establish a Military School, which he did, and
which was soon after recognized by the Legislature of the State as the
Virginia Literary, Scientific, and Military Institute, and aided by an
appropriation out of the Literary Fund. This Institute, with an
Institute of a similar character at Lexington, in the western part of
the State, has been greatly instrumental in diffusing widely in Virginia
a knowledge and taste for military affairs. The success of this
institution, and the personal influence of many of his own scholars at
Norwich and Middletown, led to the establishment of similar schools in
other southern states.
In May, 1842, Capt. Partridge accepted the position of Camp Instructor
for a large body of officers and men of the Pennsylvania volunteer
militia in encampment at Reading, Berks County. Each evening he
delivered a lecture to officers assembled in the General’s marquee, and
during the day exercised the troops in the manual of arms, and in
company, regimental, and brigade movements in the field. On this, and
many similar occasions, he demonstrated the correctness and
practicability of his theory of national defense, so far as testing the
qualifications of officers for command, and giving accuracy, rapidity,
and steadiness of exercise and movements to troops, by assembling
officers and men of the State Militia, once or twice in the year, in
convenient numbers and places, under instructors properly qualified for
the work. A few instructors, themselves trained in the best military
institutions, and familiar with every improvement in military
organization, equipment, and movement, and especially when clothed with
the reputation of success in actual service, would soon bring the entire
militia of the states into a uniform system, and give respectability and
efficiency to this department of the public service. This result would
be more speedily realized if a number of educational institutions
similar to those which he had organized under many disadvantages and
against many prejudices, could call out and cultivate military taste and
accomplishments among a portion of the young men of each state.
In 1853, he opened at Brandywine Springs, near Wilmington, in the State
of Delaware, another institution in which he fondly hoped his ideal of a
National school of education would be realized--an institution in which
physical training in connection with military exercises and movements,
should accompany the acquisition of practical knowledge of the great
principles of science that underlie all the arts of peace and war, and
resorted to by students from every state of the American Union. His plan
as developed in conversation with those directly interested, embraced
his old ideas of scientific, and literary studies with systematic
pedestrian excursions,[21] and marches in vacations to the great objects
of natural, economical, and historical interest in different parts of
the country. In this latter particular, he unconsciously applied the
suggestion of Milton in his letter to Samuel Hartlib, that “the students
of his Academy should go out in companies with prudent and staid guides
to all quarters of the land, learning and observing all places of
strength, and all commodities (facilities) of building and of soil, for
towns and tillage, harbors and ports of trade,--even sometimes taking
sea as far as to our navy to learn there also, what they can in the
practical knowledge of sailing and sea-fight.” Arrangements were made
for a class of ten or twelve of the most advanced and matured cadets to
accompany him to Europe to study the strategy of the great battles of
the world, and the armies, armories, and resources of the great nations
of Europe--thus again realizing Milton’s plan of gratifying “the desire
of the more hopeful youth” “to see other countries at three or four and
twenty years of age, not to learn principles, but to enlarge experience
and make wise observation.” But these hopes were darkened for a time by
a great disaster, and soon extinguished in the sudden death of the great
projector. In the autumn of 1853, the buildings at Brandywine Springs,
were consumed by fire, and although arrangements were at once made to
secure suitable accommodations at Bristol, Pennsylvania, and upwards of
one hundred pupils enrolled their names to attend for a year at that
place, still the great motive power of the enterprise was stricken down.
[Footnote 21: Captain Partridge attached much importance to
pedestrian excursions in reference both to hygenic, and
educational considerations. To these excursions he attributed his
own robust health, and his familiar knowledge of all the details
of American battles. In one year, (1830,) he made four excursions
from Norwich, each occupying from four to six days--and from one
hundred and fifty to four hundred miles--the last day’s walk
generally averaging over sixty miles. He had ascended and measured
the altitude of all the highest mountain elevations in the
Northern States.]
At the close of the year, 1853, Capt. Partridge returned to Norwich,
where his family still resided, in apparently good health and the best
spirits. A few days after he reached home, he was attacked by sharp and
excruciating pains in his back, which were soon subdued by anodynes, but
from the prostration and the cause, which proved on a post-mortem
examination to be an aneurism near the base of the spine, and which had
been exhausting his vitality for years--he never rallied, and on the
17th of January, 1854, he breathed his last--widely and deeply mourned
by troops of friends, who loved and admired him as their teacher, or
looked up to him as the best expounder of principles of military science
and education, and of national defense.
Although living most of his life in the discharge of educational and
public duties, under circumstances inconsistent with “a local
habitation,” he had strong domestic tastes and attachments, and was a
genial companion in his own room and home. In 1837, he married Miss
Swazey, the daughter of a merchant in Claremont, New Hampshire, and to
this happy union were born two children. The oldest boy, George, was
educated by the father on his own system, and had displayed vigorous
health, and strong partialities and attainments in mathematical studies
and their applications; but he survived his father only a few
months--“long desolate months they were to the widow and children ”--and
the tenement of that bright intellect was laid by the side of that of
his hardy and indefatigable father in the little village burying-ground.
The other son Henry, as he grew up, showed a partiality for the
profession of law, and was pursuing his studies in Warren, Penn., when
the call of the President of the United States for volunteers, summoned
him to the defense of the flag of the country. He enlisted for the war,
and was promoted to a captaincy in a Pennsylvania regiment, which was
attached to the army of the Potomac, whose varying fortunes he shared
till, greatly weakened by exposure and disease, he was honorably
discharged from the service. His superior officer in writing to his
mother, says: “He is in every respect a model officer. How could he be
otherwise? He has it all by right of inheritance, and I fully appreciate
that you have made a very great contribution to the government and the
country in sending him forth to fight the battles which have been forced
upon us.”
POPULAR OBJECTIONS TO A NATIONAL MILITARY SCHOOL.
NOTE.
As an Appendix to our Memoir of Capt. Alden Partridge, we republish the
following Memorial by him to the Congress of the United States, not
because we approve the objects or the arguments of either document, but
as part of the educational history of the country.
MEMORIAL OF ALDEN PARTRIDGE,
_Relating to the Military Academy at West Point, and praying that
young men educated at other military schools may have an equal chance
for admission to the army as those young men have who are educated at
West Point. January 21, 1841. Referred to the Committee on Military
Affairs._
_To the Honorable Congress of the United States:_--The memorial of
Alden Partridge, President of the Norwich University, at Norwich, State
of Vermont, respectfully showeth:
That your memorialist holds it to be a cardinal principle of our
republican institutions, that stations of honor, trust, and emolument
should be equally open to all our citizens, to which all have an equal
right to aspire, and from which none can constitutionally be excluded by
any law, rule, or regulation whatever. Your memorialist has, however,
witnessed, with deep regret, a direct violation of this vital principle
of our constitution, by the rules and regulations adopted for the
organization and government of the Military Academy at West Point. The
cadets of that institution, all of whom are educated at the _public_
expense, have, for many years, _monopolized_ nearly, if not quite, all
of the stations of honor, trust, and emolument, above that of a
non-commissioned officer, in the military establishment of the United
States, to the utter exclusion of those who are equally well qualified,
equally meritorious, and who are educated at their _own_ expense. But,
in order to place this subject more clearly before your honorable body,
your memorialist would call your attention to the law of the 29th of
April, 1812, entitled, “An act making further provision for the corps of
engineers.” By the provisions of this act, no candidate can be admitted
into the Military Academy who is under fourteen, or over twenty-one,
years of age. The effect of this provision is to exclude every young man
in the United States who is above twenty-one years of age from the
appointment of cadet, while the rules of the War department require that
none except those educated at this academy can be commissioned in the
army of the United States. The effect, then, of the law and regulation
is to utterly exclude all the youth of our country, except such select
few as the President may think proper to place in this “public charity
school,” from the military service of their country, who are above
twenty-one years of age, unless they will enter in the humble capacity
of _privates_ or _non-commissioned officers_. And can such a system be
in accordance with the principles of our constitution? Your memorialist
believes not. On the contrary, he feels confident in the assertion that
it is a most flagrant and palpable violation of them. The direct and
certain effect of this institution is to extend _Executive patronage_;
for the President has the entire selection of the _chosen two hundred_
and _fifty_ who are to be placed in the institution, and also to
establish an _aristocracy_ of the most dangerous kind, viz.: a
_military_ aristocracy in the United States. What, your memorialist
would ask, is an aristocracy? Is it not where any particular class in a
State claims and exercises privileges of which the great body of the
people are deprived? And do not the cadets at West Point enjoy such
privileges? and if so, do they not constitute an aristocracy? Your
memorialist believes that neither the fact nor the inference can be
controverted. But your memorialist will go further, and aver that the
regulations at West Point have not only constituted an aristocracy in
the United States, but that this aristocracy has already become, in a
great degree, _hereditary_. How many individuals, your memoralist would
ask, who have held offices of honor, trust, or emolument, under the
Government, for the last twenty-five years, have had their sons,
brothers, nephews, or other relatives, educated at the public expense at
West Point, to the entire exclusion of those who (to say the least,)
were equally meritorious, and equally capable of rendering service to
the republic? And how many of those thus educated have ever rendered any
service whatever? A reference to the rolls of the institution will
answer these inquiries. Your memorialist has _personal_ knowledge of
many instances. Your memorialist is well aware that it has been
attempted, by the friends of this monstrous invasion of the rights of
the people, to cast around it the mantle of Mr. Jefferson. Your
memorialist is ready to grant that the institution was established
during the early part of the first term of Mr. Jefferson’s
administration; but denies that any inference can be drawn from that
circumstance to sustain the present system. The institution _then_
consisted only of the corps of engineers, which was limited to sixteen
officers and four cadets, without any of those exclusive privileges
which have since been conferred upon it. On the 29th of April, 1812,
(just previous to the declaration of war,) a law was, however, passed,
entitled “An act making further provision for the corps of engineers;”
by the provisions of which, the whole number of cadets, whether of
infantry, artillery, or riflemen, was not to exceed two hundred and
fifty; and the President to appoint a limited number of cadets, and
conferring on him a _discretionary_ power to attach them to the Military
Academy, was evidently induced by the certainty of immediate war with
Great Britain, and had a direct reference to a _war_ establishment. Your
memorialist would respectfully call the attention of your honorable body
particularly to the provisions of the law of 1812 just referred to; and,
if he does not much mistake, it will satisfactorily appear that the
President is not _required_, but simply authorized, to appoint a single
cadet; and that it is left entirely discretionary with him, after they
are appointed, to attach them to the Military Academy, or to attach them
to their respective companies, agreeably to the provisions of other laws
then in existence. And here your memorialist would observe that, in the
_peace_-establishment of the army previous to the late war, two cadets
were allowed to each company of artillery, light infantry, and infantry,
amounting, in the total, to a _larger_ number than was authorized by the
law of 1812. But neither President Jefferson, nor President Madison
considered that the law required of them to fill those vacancies so long
as they considered their services were not required; and they
consequently did not fill them. The largest number of cadets ever in
service at the same time, previous to the late war, did not exceed
forty, and seldom exceeded twenty-five. Do the necessities of the
country require that any larger number should be retained in service
now, than were deemed necessary by Presidents Jefferson and Madison
during a time of peace? Your memorialist believes not. But it is urged,
in favor of this academy, that it presents a most favorable opportunity
for the education of meritorious young men who are poor, and,
consequently, unable to educate themselves. Your memorialist, however,
has yet to learn by what _constitutional_ authority Congress is
empowered to appropriate any portion of the public revenue for the
support of a _national charity school_ for the education of the poor.
Besides, if this power did exist, (which your memorialist presumes no
reasonable person will contend does,) _all_ the poor in the United
States have an equal right to the benefits to be derived from its
exercise, and that, consequently, the institution at West Point is on
quite too limited a plan for the accomplishment of the contemplated
object. Either, then, the institution should be very much enlarged, or
several others established in different parts of the United States,
which would be far more convenient for the great body of the poor. If,
however, the rolls of this institution for the last twenty years be
examined, it will be found that many more of the _rich_ and
_influential_ have been educated there, than of the _poor_. Poverty,
however meritorious the subject of it may be, is but a sorry
recommendation for admission to this aristocratic establishment.
But it is further urged, that this institution is _necessary_ for the
education of the officers of the army; and that, were it abolished, the
candidates for commissions would not be properly qualified for the
discharge of their duties as officers. Before your memorialist proceeds
to examine the truth of this position, he would inquire, at what
institution, and at whose expense, Generals Washington, Greene, Knox,
Putnam, Lincoln, Sullivan, Morgan, Wayne, Sumter, Pickens, Marion, and
all the other officers of the revolutionary army, by whose valor, skill,
and patriotic exertions, these United States now constitute a free and
independent nation, received their education? The answer is ready: at
the ordinary institutions of the country, and at their _own_ expense;
just as every _American citizen_ should be educated. And have the
_proteges_ of the West Point Academy, on whose education so many
millions of dollars of the peoples’ money have been expended within the
last twenty years, exhibited more skill, more valor, or more patriotism,
than did the officers of the revolutionary army? Let the events of the
Florida war, as compared with those of the Revolution, answer the
question. The truth is, (and it can not be much longer concealed from
the view of the people, by the reports of _boards of visitors_,) that
the whole system of education at West Point is well calculated to form
_military pedants_ and _military dandies_, but will never form
_efficient soldiers_. Much more important to them is their attention to
the _cut_ of the _coat_, the placing of a _button_, and the _snowy
whiteness of gloves and pantaloons_, than to those _physical_ and _moral
qualities_ which are absolutely necessary to the correct and efficient
discharge of the active duties of the field.
But your memorialist denies the truth of the position, that the West
Point Academy is necessary for the education of young men for the army.
There are other institutions where military science and instruction
constitute a branch of education for the pupils. Of these institutions,
however, your memorialist will particularize but one--and that is the
Norwich University, at Norwich, Vermont, over which he has the honor to
preside. This institution was incorporated by the Legislature of
Vermont, in November, 1834, with full power to confer diplomas, &c. By
the act of incorporation, military science is made a part of the
education of all the pupils. They are consequently correctly and
thoroughly instructed in the theoretical part of military science, and
also in the _practical_ duties of the soldier, and every one who
graduates at this institution is well qualified to discharge the duties
of a company officer (and even, if necessary, to command a battalion) in
any corps of the army. In order further to prepare them to discharge the
more hardy and active duties of the soldier, they occasionally perform
military marches. In the month of July, 1840, they performed a march,
under the personal command of your memorialist, to the celebrated
_military post_ of Ticonderoga, carrying their arms, accoutrements,
knapsacks, &c.; the whole length of which was one hundred and sixty-five
miles. Of this distance, one hundred and forty miles was on foot, and
twenty-five miles by steamboat. The march on foot was performed in a
little more than five days, crossing the Green Mountain range twice, and
the ground, with the heavens for covering, constituted their only
resting-place at night. The weather, during the whole march, was hot;
and they were enveloped in a cloud of dust, occasioned by the severe
drought, nearly the whole distance. They all returned in excellent
health and spirits. The youngest member of the corps was thirteen years
of age. The other branches of literature and science are attended to as
extensively, and the latter much more practically, than at any other
institution in the United States; and the students are consequently
equally well qualified to discharge their duties in the _cabinet_ and in
the _field_. But notwithstanding the members of this institution are, to
say the least, as well qualified for commissions of any grade, and in
any corps of the army, as those of any other institution in the country,
and have also obtained the necessary qualifications at their own
expense, they are virtually excluded therefrom by the _arbitrary_ and
_monopolizing_ regulations (established without the least sanction of
law,) of the Military Academy at West Point. In the month of September,
1840, a member of the Norwich University, the son of a highly
respectable gentleman in the city of New York, well recommended, applied
to the Secretary of War for a commission in the army, but was informed
that there were _no vacancies_, and that the cadets from West Point were
_more than sufficient to fill all the vacancies_. On the 21st of
December, 1840, your memorialist wrote to the Secretary of War,
recommending three young gentlemen, members of the Norwich University,
for commissions in the army of the United States; and received an
answer, dated War Department, December 29, 1840, from which the
following is an extract: “I acknowledge the receipt of your letter of
the 21st instant, recommending Messrs. Morris, Stevens, and Dorne, for
appointments in the army; and I have here to inform you, in reply, that
there being no vacancies at present, the application will be filed for
consideration, when any occur, _to which they can be appointed_.” Now
your memorialist feels confident that the records of the War Department
will show that a large number of cadets at West Point are commissioned
every year; and he presumes that such will continue to be the case,
unless a radical change is effected. But when young gentlemen of equal
respectability and attainments, who have not been of the _favored few_
whom _Executive favor_ has admitted into this nursery of aristocracy, to
be educated at the expense of the honest working men of the country,
become applicants, their claims are entirely set aside. Against this
_unconstitutional_, _unequal_, and _monopolizing_ practice, your
memorialist deems it his duty respectfully, but most decidedly, to
protest; and to ask of your honorable body the establishment of some
rule whereby the members of the Norwich University, at least, (to whom,
in many respects, he stands in the relation of guardian,) may be
restored to their _constitutional rights_; that when they become
applicants for stations of honor, trust, or emolument, in the military
service of their country, they shall stand on terms of equality with the
cadets at West Point.
Your memorialist deems it proper here to remark, that in October,
1840, he addressed a communication to the President of the United
States, on this subject, requesting to be informed whether, in the
opinion of the President, he possessed the power to remedy the grievance
of which your memorialist complains; and, if so, whether such power
would be exercised for that purpose. To this communication no answer has
been received. Your memorialist, availing himself of the privileges
granted to every American citizen, by the first amendment of the
constitution of the United States, would beg leave to call the attention
of your honorable body to some subjects, which he considers grievances
of a high order, and respectfully but earnestly solicits that they may
be redressed, viz:
1st. Your memorialist considers the Military Academy at West Point a
grievance. Under its present organization, it is unconstitutional,
calculated to foster a military aristocracy in the country; calculated
to depress the militia, (our only constitutional defense,) by engrossing
all the patronage of government; and is entirely unnecessary, as
military science can be attained at other institutions, from which the
necessary officers for the army can be supplied without any tax on the
people. Your memorialist, therefore, asks that this institution may be
abolished, and that the money that is annually appropriated for its
support may be applied to aid in disciplining the militia, and
disseminating military information amongst the people, who are its
constitutional and safe depositories.
2nd. Your memorialist considers the Board of Visitors that annually
assemble at West Point a grievance. This board never had any _existence
whatever in law_, but was established by Executive usurpation; yet, to
pay the expense of this illegal board, your memorialist believes that
more than fifty thousand dollars has been drawn from the public
treasury. Your memorialist earnestly solicits that this appropriation,
the making of which is a direct sanction to Executive _usurpation_,
should be discontinued.
3rd. Your memorialist considers the removal of the head-quarters of
the corps of engineers from West Point to Washington a grievance,
because it is a direct violation of the law of the 16th of March, 1802,
establishing that corps. That law requires the commandant of engineers
to reside at West Point, unless ordered, by the President of the United
States, on duty at some other place in the line of his profession; and,
when, at West Point, the law makes him superintendent of the Military
Academy; and when he is absent, the next in rank (who is then present,)
is made the _legal_ superintendent. The appointment, therefore, of any
particular officer as permanent superintendent, is evidently illegal, as
the law has clearly specified who the superintendent shall be.
All of which is respectfully submitted,
A. PARTRIDGE,
_President of Norwich University_.
JANUARY, 13, 1841.
REMARKS BY THE EDITOR.
We publish the foregoing Memorial of Capt. Partridge, asking Congress to
redress “the grievance” of the Military Academy, not because we have the
slightest sympathy with the object or main arguments of the memorialist,
but as specimens of the opinions held and propagated by a graduate,
professor, and superintendent of the Academy, who did more than any
other individual to introduce military instruction and exercises in
schools not national or professionally military. We can not, however,
put it forth without accompanying it with a few brief remarks.
To Capt. Partridge, more than to any one man, and to his pupils, and
personal friends, as we believe, is due the popular objections which
prevail respecting the United States Military Academy, except so far as
the objections spring from the abuse of the mode of appointing Cadets.
For nearly twenty years Capt. Partridge was never known to express any
doubt of the constitutionality or usefulness of this institution. His
objections first took shape and utterance when he was superceded in the
superintendence by Colonel Sylvanus Thayer. Of the circumstances and
results of his removal, and of the appointment of Col. Thayer, and the
subsequent reorganization of the Academy, something has already been
said in the History of West Point, in this volume, (p. 17-48,) and more
will be said when we come to speak of the labors of Col. Thayer.
So far as these objections are directed to the constitutionality of the
laws for establishing the Cadet Corps, as distinct from any other Corps
of the army, or against training officers collected together and
organized as a school, we think them preëminently frivolous. If any
friend of the Academy would assure his doubtful faith in its
constitutionality, let him read Capt. Partridge’s Memorial, asking the
same Congress to establish a system of National Education, which he
petitions to redress the grievance of a special school, that every
civilized government holds to be indispensable to the right organization
of its armies.
So far as these objections are aimed at the mode of appointment and
promotion,--confining both to the patronage of one man in the country,
or one man in a Congressional District, acting in either case without
personal examination of the party to be admitted or promoted, and
excluding others, it may be, better qualified,--we hold them to be
valid. A more disgraceful record of failures, where an opportunity of
selecting the most meritorious candidates existed, can not be shown.
While we believe that candidates are too often recommended and nominated
to the appointing power, from family and party considerations, we have
seen no reason to believe that the social condition or occupation of
parents has influenced the appointments. On the other hand, the records
of the Academy, as made out in this particular by the Cadets themselves,
exhibit a fair representation from all classes and occupations of
society.
According to an official Statement, prepared by Capt. Boynton, and
published in his History of the Academy, of 5206 cadets admitted from
1842 to 1863 inclusive, the fathers of 1,300 were farmers or planters;
of 681, were lawyers; of 672, were merchants; of 377, were mechanics; of
69, were physicians; of 256, were in the civil service; of 116, were
clergymen; of 467, were in the army or navy; of 572, were editors,
masters of vessels, &c. Of the whole number, 1,136 were orphans, 1,585
were in moderate, 534 in reduced, 62 in indigent, and 324 in independent
circumstances. We shall publish the Statement in our next Number.
The views presented in the memorial of Capt. Partridge in 1841, have
found advocates in and out of Congress before and since. They were
anticipated by the Secretary of War (John C. Calhoun), under whose
energetic administration of the Department in 1816, the Academy first
assumed the organization of an efficient military school--a place of
thorough scientific instruction in the knowledge not simply of military
drill, but of the duties of an accomplished artillerist and military
engineer; and they have been deepened by the radically vicious system of
appointment to cadetship, in which personal and political considerations
have in too many instances outweighed the merits of young men, whose
natural aptitude and generous ambition would have found here the special
field for their largest development and usefulness. These views found
expression in the elaborate speech of Franklin Pierce, then a member of
the House from New Hampshire, in the discussion of an amendment to the
appropriation bill in 1836 (June 30), who “felt bound to oppose the bill
in every stage of its progress”--mainly on the ground that “the
institution conferred exclusive and gratuitous privileges.”
It is _gratuitous_, because those who are so fortunate as to obtain
admission there, receive their education without any obligation, except
such as a sense of honor may impose, to return, either by service or
otherwise, the slightest equivalent. It is exclusive, inasmuch as only
one youth out of a population of more than 47,000 can participate in its
advantages at the same time; and those who are successful, are admitted
at an age when their characters cannot have become developed, and with
very little knowledge of their adaptation, mental or physical, for
military life. The system disregards one of those great principles
which, carried into practice, contributed perhaps, more than any other,
to render the arms of Napoleon invincible for so many years. Who does
not perceive that it destroys the very life and spring of military ardor
and enthusiasm, by utterly foreclosing all hope of promotion to her
soldier and non-commissioned officer? However meritorious may be his
services, however pre-eminent may become his qualifications for command,
all are unavailing. The portcullis is dropped between him and
preferment, the wisdom of your laws having provided another criterion
than that of admitted courage and conduct, by which to determine who are
worthy of command. They have made an Academy, where a certain number of
young gentlemen are educated annually at the public expense, and to
which there is, in consequence, a general rush, not so much from
sentiments of patriotism, and a taste for military life, as from motives
less worthy--the avenue, and the only avenue, to rank in your army.
I deny utterly the expediency and the right to educate at the public
expense, any number of young men who, on the completion of their
education, are not to form a portion of your military force, but to
return to the walks of private life. Such was never the operation of the
Military Academy until after the law of 1812; and the doctrine, so far
as I have been able to ascertain, was first formally announced by a
distinguished individual, at this time sufficiently jealous of the
exercise of executive patronage, and greatly alarmed by what he
conceives to be the tendencies of this Government to centralism and
consolidation. It may be found in the report of the Secretary of War,
communicated to Congress in 1819.
Mr. Pierce, afterwards President Pierce, quotes with approbation the
suggestion of Col. Williams in a report to Mr. Jefferson in 1808--that
the plan should be large enough to take not only minor officers, “but
also any youth from any of the States who might wish for such an
education whether designed for the Army or Navy, or neither, and let
them be assessed to the value of their education, which might form a
fund for extra or contingent expenses.”
These are the true doctrines upon this subject; doctrines worthy of
the administration under which they were promulgated, and in accordance
with the views of statesmen in the earlier and purer days of the
Republic. Give to the officers of your army the highest advantages for
perfection in all the branches of military science, and let those
advantages be open to all in rotation, and under such terms and
regulations as shall be at once impartial toward the officers, and
advantageous to the service; but let all young gentlemen who have a
taste for military life, and desire to adopt arms as a profession,
prepare themselves for subordinate situations at their own expense, or
at the expense of their parents or guardians, in the same manner that
the youth of our country are qualified for the professions of civil
life.
I am far from desiring to see this country destitute of a Military
Academy; but I would have it a school of practice, and instruction, for
officers actually in the service of the United States; not an
institution for educating, gratuitously, young gentlemen, who, on the
completion of their term, or after a few months’ leave of absence,
resign their commissions, and return to the pursuits of civil life.
There has already been expended upon the institution more than three
millions, three hundred thousand dollars. Between 1815 and 1831,
thirteen hundred and eighteen students were admitted into the Academy;
and of all the cadets who were ever there, only two hundred and
sixty-five remained in the service at the end of 1830. Here are the
expenses you have incurred, and the products you have realized.
When the War of Secession broke out, and graduates of the Academy then
in the army,--like many other Southern men, in the civil service of the
United States, imbued with the political doctrines and sympathizing with
the domestic institution, on which the War was based--sided with the
political leaders of their several states, the opposition to the
institution took another direction. The record of the War silenced these
objectors. According to Gen. Cullum’s _Biographical Register of the
Graduates of the Military Academy_, out of 1,249 graduates living at the
beginning of the Rebellion, 99 in civil life and 184 from the army,
joined in the war against the United States. Three-fourths remained
faithful. Of 821 graduates in the Army at the time, 184 (about
one-fifth) joined in the Rebellion. Of the 99 in civil life all but one
were residents in slave territory. Of 350 graduates who were born in or
appointed from slave States, 162 remained loyal. Of the 292 loyal
graduates in civil life, at the date of secession, 115 re-entered the
Army--all below the age of 45, except those who were disabled for active
duty, and most of these served in civil capacities. One-fifth of all the
graduates who served in the battles of the Rebellion, one-fifth laid
down their lives, and more than one-half were wounded in defence of the
flag.
IV. AMERICAN LITERARY, SCIENTIFIC, AND MILITARY ACADEMY.
AT NORWICH, VERMONT.
The American Literary, Scientific, and Military Academy, at Norwich,
Vermont, was opened on the 4th of September, 1820, by Capt. Alden
Partridge, and continued under his personal superintendence and
instruction, assisted by several professors, until April 1st, 1825, when
it was discontinued at Norwich, and reopened at Middletown, Connecticut.
The catalogue of the officers and cadets published August, 1821,
contains a prospectus from which we make extracts to exhibit the aims of
that school and of this particular class of institutions at that date.
TERMS OF ADMISSION.
The requisite qualifications for becoming members of the Institution
are the following, viz: That the candidate be of good moral character,
that he be able to read and spell correctly, to write a fair, legible
hand, and work the ground rules of arithmetic.
COURSE OF INSTRUCTION.
Young gentlemen destined for a college education, can be prepared at
this seminary for admission into any college or university in the
country, either as freshmen, or one or two years in advance, and in the
mean time will be enabled to acquire a good military and practical
scientific education. Young gentlemen also, destined for the navy, can
here be instructed in the scientific part of their profession, and at
the same time, obtain a correct knowledge of fortification, and of
military operations generally, on land, which it is believed they would
find highly useful in future life. Parents and guardians who are
desirous of placing their sons or wards at this seminary, are requested
to state whether they wish them to go through with the full course of
education; and if not, to specify, particularly, those branches to which
they desire them to attend, and also to mention their ages.
The course of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, French, and English languages,
Arithmetic, the construction and use of Logarithms, Algebra, Geometry,
Plane and Spherical Trigonometry, Planometry, Stereometry, Mensuration
of heights and distances by Trigonometry, and also Geometrically,
practical Geometry generally, including particularly Surveying and
Leveling, Conic Sections, the use of the Barometer, with its application
to measuring the altitudes of mountains and other eminences, Mechanics,
Hydrostatics, Hydraulics, the elements of Chemistry and Electricity,
Optics, Astronomy, Navigation, Geography, including the use of Maps and
the Globes; Composition, Logic, History, Ethics, the elements of Natural
and Political Law, the Law of Nations, Military Law, the Constitution of
the United States, and of the states severally, Metaphysics;
Agriculture, Permanent and Field Fortification, Field Engineering
generally, the construction of Marine Batteries, Artillery duty, the
principles of Gunnery, a complete course of Military Tactics, the attack
and defense of fortified places, Castrametation, ancient Fortification,
the ancient modes of attacking and defending fortified places, the
ancient Tactics, particularly those of the Greeks and Romans, with a
description of the organization and discipline of the phalanx and
legion; Book-Keeping, Music, Fencing, Military Drawing, Topography,
Civil Engineering, including the construction of Roads, Canals, Locks,
and Bridges; Architecture.
The Hebrew and French languages, Fencing and Music will not be
considered as comprised in the regular course of education, and
consequently those who attend to them will be charged separately.
MILITARY EXERCISE, AND DUTIES.
The students will be regularly and correctly instructed in the
elementary school of the soldier, and also in those of the company and
battalion; they will likewise be taught the regular formation of
military parades, the turning off, mounting, and relieving guards and
sentinels; the duties of officers of the guard, officers of the day, and
adjutants; the making out correctly the different descriptions of
military reports; in fine, all the duties incident to the field or
garrison. The military exercises and duties will be so arranged as not
to occupy any of the time that would otherwise be devoted to study; they
will be attended to at those hours of the day which are generally passed
by students in idleness, or devoted to useless amusements, for which
they will be made a pleasing and healthful substitute. Practical
scientific operations will be frequently attended to, which will conduce
equally to health and improvement.
The students will be required to sleep on matrasses, or straw-beds; no
feather-beds will be allowed in the establishment.
For the purpose of giving to the students a military appearance, when
engaged on military duty, and also on a principle of economy, they are
required to wear a uniform dress, a description of which is hereunto
annexed. In prescribing a dress, it has been endeavored to combine as
far as possible, cheapness and a neat military appearance, with such a
form as, while it leaves the student the free and unrestrained use of
his limbs, will at the same time encumber him the least possible. The
discipline will be strict, but correct; and particular attention will be
given to the full development and due cultivation of all those liberal,
manly, noble and independent sentiments which ought to characterize
every American, whether citizen or soldier. The strictest attention will
be given to the health, manners and morals of the students. They will be
continually under the personal inspection of the superintendent, who
will bestow upon them all that care and attention which it is believed
their parents, under similar circumstances, would bestow.
MILITARY LECTURES.
For the accommodation of gentlemen, (particularly of those holding
commissions in the volunteer corps and militia,) who may not wish to go
through with a regular course of military studies and instruction, and
also for the purpose of diffusing military science more generally, Capt.
Partridge will deliver annually at the before-mentioned seminary, three
courses of public lectures; the first course to commence on the second
Monday in May, the second course on the second Monday in July, and the
third course on the first Monday in October, annually. These lectures
will embrace the following branches of military science and instruction,
viz.:--
1st. Permanent and field fortification, the construction of field
works generally, and also of marine batteries.
2d. The attack and defense of fortified places.
3d. The use of artillery, with a general exposition of the principles
of gunnery.
4th. Military Tactics.
5th. Garrison and field service of troops, embracing particularly
their police and rules for turning off, mounting and relieving guards
and sentinels, and also for guard duty, likewise castrametation.
6th. General rules for the attack and defense of a province or country
embracing an exposition of the principles of base lines of operation.
7th. Rules for the inspection and review of troops.
8th. A summary of ancient fortification, and also of the ancient modes
of attacking and defending fortified places.
9th. A summary of the ancient tactics, particularly those of the
Greeks and Romans.
10th. A description of some of the most celebrated battles and sieges,
both of ancient and modern times, for the purpose of practically
illustrating the principles explained in the lectures. In order to
render the lectures on fortification perfectly intelligible, plans will
be prepared, on which the several parts of a work will be clearly and
distinctly exhibited.
Particular attention will be given to a full explanation of all the
technical terms used in fortification, as well as in the other
departments of military science. A full course will comprise about
twenty lectures; five to be delivered in each week until the course be
finished. The terms for attending a course will be ten dollars.
Gentlemen subscribing for two courses, will be allowed ever after to
attend gratis. All those attending the lectures, will be entitled,
during the time of such attendance, to practical military instruction,
and also to the privilege of the reading-room, without any additional
charge.
On the 1st of April, 1825, Capt. Partridge was induced by liberal
overtures from citizens of Middletown, Conn., to leave his institution
at Norwich, and remove to Middletown, Conn., and reopen it in that city.
Before doing so he published a card in which he exhibits the progress
and results of his labors at Norwich.
This seminary was opened at Norwich, in the state of Vermont, on the
4th of September, 1820, under my immediate direction and
superintendence; and although the plan was new and untried, besides
containing principles, which were by many considered discordant with
each other, viz., the connecting of mental improvement with a regular
course of bodily exercise, and the full development of the physical
powers, the whole conducted under a military system of discipline; still
its success has exceeded, rather than fallen short, of my most sanguine
expectations.
The following extract from a recent report of the adjutant of the
institution, compiled from the rolls and other authentic documents, will
enable the public to form their conclusions, from facts on this subject.
1st. The total number of cadets who have joined the institution, since
its organization, is 480.
2d. The numbers from the respective states, and other sections
hereafter mentioned, are as follows, viz.:--
From Maine, 28
Massachusetts, 89
New Hampshire, 57
Vermont, 115
Connecticut, 33
Rhode Island, 10
New York, 40
Pennsylvania, 15
New Jersey, 6
Delaware, 2
Maryland, 4
Virginia, 1
North Carolina, 7
South Carolina, 45
Kentucky, 2
Georgia, 7
Ohio, 1
Louisiana, 4
Mississippi, 5
Missouri, 1
Michigan, 2
District of Columbia, 2
Lower Canada, 2
Havana, Island Cuba, 1
Island Scio, Greece, 1
3dly. Of the above number, twenty are commissioned and warrant
officers of the U.S. Navy, viz., 4 lieutenants, 1 assistant-surgeon, and
15 midshipmen.
4thly. Out of the whole, 441 have been engaged in the study of the
Mathematics, and out of this number 145 have completed a full course of
“_Hutton’s Mathematics_.” Of these, 80 have, in addition, attended to
practical Mathematics, 56 have continued their course through the study
of Philosophy, and others are now fast progressing in the accomplishment
of those higher branches also.
5thly. The whole number who have studied the Greek and Latin
languages, is about 150. Of these, 25 have advanced far towards
completing a course, although none have gone entirely through. Of those
not included in the last-mentioned number, many have fitted for college,
or progressed still farther, and many are progressing. What is here
considered a course, is the same which is laid down in the prospectus,
which could be scarcely completed in the period since the establishment
of the institution.
6thly. The number of those who have attended to the French language,
is about 130. Twenty have become well acquainted with the language--30
are very well advanced, and many of the remainder have made respectable
progress.
7thly. About ten or twelve of those who have been, or are now members
of the institution, have devoted considerable time and instruction of
the militia or volunteer corps, in this and various other sections of
the country, and many of them are still engaged in that useful
employment.
Of those who have been, or are now, engaged in the study of the Latin
and Greek languages, I flatter myself there are several who would not
suffer by a comparison with any of the same degree of advancement at our
older and most approved seminaries; and as a school of practical
science, I have little hesitation in asserting, that it is second to
none in our country. In confirmation of this assertion, I would observe,
that since the establishment of the seminary, my pupils, in addition to
their usual exercises in practical geometry, and many operations of
minor consequence, have executed, in a very handsome manner, a profile
of the country, exhibiting the perpendicular altitudes of all the
prominent points, above tide water, as determined by actual observation,
from the summit of Manchester mountain, in the state of Vermont, to the
summit of mount Washington, the highest elevation of the White
Mountains, in the state of New Hampshire, a distance of 165 miles. They
have also executed a similar profile from Norwich to Whitehall, in the
state of New York, a distance of sixty-eight miles, and have further
executed a trigonometrical survey of the country around Norwich, for a
distance in some directions, of about twenty miles. This survey was
commenced, and has been prosecuted, in such a manner as to serve as a
basis for any further operations that may be thought necessary.
A handsome topographical plan of this survey is finished.
In the department of French, it is believed, the pupils have made as
rapid progress as at any seminary in our country, and in Mineralogy,
Botany, &c., although but recently commenced, there appears to be much
zeal, and a corresponding improvement, amongst the classes which have
attended, and those still attending, numbering about sixty.
Music and fencing have been attended by a large proportion of the
members, and with a progress highly creditable to them.
The military exercises and duties are common to all the cadets, and it
is believed very few have left the seminary, who were not competent to
instruct from the elementary drill of the soldier, to embrace the school
of the battalion, and who, in addition, did not possess a very competent
knowledge of the principles of the grand tactics, of the elements of
permanent and field fortification, of the principles of gunnery, &c. The
beneficial effects of the regular system of exercise and active duty, to
which my pupils are subject, upon their health, has been fully equal to
my expectations. But one death has happened at the institution, since
its commencement; and this was a youth who had just entered his name on
the rolls, but was attacked by a prevailing epidemic, of which he died,
before commencing his studies or regular duties. Several who joined the
seminary feeble and debilitated, have in a short time been entirely
restored to vigorous health. Indeed, such has been the result,
I believe, without a single exception. That a youth may, by means of a
regular system of exercise, preserve all his bodily activity and vigor,
and at the same time apply himself most assiduously to study, I have
never had any doubts; but if I had, the facts developed since the
establishment of this seminary, would have dispelled them. Many of my
pupils, and those the closest applicants to study, walk with facility
forty miles per day. In the summer of 1823, several of them left Norwich
at day-break in the morning, walked to the summit of Ascutney mountain,
and returned to Norwich about 9 o’clock in the evening of the same
day--the whole distance forty-six miles: which, considering the fatigue
and difficulty of ascending and descending the mountain, (upwards of
3,000 feet high,) may reasonably be estimated as equivalent to sixty
miles on the usual roads of the country. They continued their regular
studies and other duties the following day. In September, 1823, a party
of nearly thirty accompanied me on a pedestrian tour to the summit of
Manchester mountain, in the state of Vermont, a large portion of whom
traveled 150 miles in four days, and on the fourth day one of the party,
a youth of sixteen years of age, walked by my side forty-five miles. On
a recent excursion, to the summit of the most elevated of the White
Mountains, with a party of fifty of my pupils, a large portion of them,
on the last day, walked forty-two miles. Belonging to this party, was a
youth of but twelve years of age, who walked the whole distance, (160
miles,) carrying his knapsack, with clothes, &c., and returned in
perfect health.
Since the latter part of June, 1821, the cadets, as a military corps,
have executed, under my personal command, six military marches,
amounting, in the aggregate, to 637 miles. Different detachments from
the corps have also, within the same time, in addition to several of
minor importance, performed, under my personal direction, four
pedestrian excursions, for practical scientific purposes, amounting in
the aggregate to 684 miles, and which, added to the former, gives
637×684=1321 miles. To this may be added an excursion to the White
Mountains, whole distance 170 miles, by a party which I did not
accompany, and which will make the total distance traveled in those
marches and excursions, 1491 miles.
The foregoing facts are stated for the purpose of illustrating and
confirming the correctness of the opinion I have so often advanced in my
lectures on education, relative to the practicability, and even
facility, of combining the full development and perfection of the
physical powers of youth, with a due cultivation and improvement of the
mental faculties. Whether a young man, who enters on the grand theater
of active life, with a mind and body equally vigorous and improved, who,
while he has a head to conceive, possesses also an arm to execute, will
or will not possess advantages in the discharge of the various duties he
may be called upon to perform, over one, who has grown to the age of
manhood, puny and debilitated, destitute of physical energy, and
incapable of bodily exertion, I shall leave to the sound discretion of
the American people to decide.
As it respects the effect of the system on the morals of youth,
I would observe, that I feel confident no one has left the institution
worse than he joined it, and that I flatter myself, several have, in
this respect, been improved. Next after the influence of religion,
I consider habits of industry and economy as constituting the surest
basis of morals amongst youth. To instill these into the minds of my
pupils, ever has, and ever will be, a leading object; and I consequently
shall imperatively require the strictest adherence to ail the
regulations bearing on those points, by all concerned. I would therefore
beg leave to assure the parents, guardians, and relatives of my pupils,
that the regulations prohibiting the cadets being furnished with money,
otherwise than by the superintendent, or by his express permission, is
to be taken in its literal meaning, (without exception,) and must be
adhered to under all circumstances; and that any deviation from it will
be followed by immediate dismission. I would much prefer that the great
body of my pupils should enter young, and grow up under my system. The
mind and body are then more susceptible of improvement, than at a more
advanced period. Few, if any, vicious habits have then been formed, and
the morals, under a strict and regular discipline, may easily be
preserved. It is my fixed determination not, knowingly, to admit any
young man of confirmed vicious or dissipated habits into the
institution. I would accordingly recommend to parents and guardians not
to send me any of this description; for if they should gain admission,
and did not immediately reform, (which seldom occurs when the habits are
confirmed,) it would only eventuate in their dismission, and consequent
disgrace. It is much easier to prevent a youth from acquiring bad
habits, than to correct them after they are acquired. If parents and
guardians will send me their sons and wards free from habits of
dissipation, immorality, and vice, I will guarantee, as far as human
agency will authorize, that they shall be preserved free from such
habits, while they remain under my care. Every requisite means will be
used to correct the foibles and faults incidental to youth--to
accomplish this object no pains will be spared. With their foibles I
will bear as much as any person, but with their vices I will make no
compromise. For the purpose of enabling me the more readily and the more
certainly to accomplish this important object, I must request parents
and guardians, if their sons or wards have foibles or faults, frankly to
state them to me. On this subject there should be no reserve; as, with
such information, I should know much better what course to pursue with
them.
The favorable view taken of the aims, progress, and results of the
scientific and military training provided by Capt. Partridge in his
Academy at Norwich, was amply justified by the success of his pupils at
Middletown, as practical men in various departments of business and
public life.
On account of the condition on which he held a portion of his property
at Norwich, Capt. Partridge was obliged to maintain there a literary
institution, after his removal to Middletown. When he discontinued his
labors at the latter place, and not succeeding in his plans for
establishing a scientific and military school in the neighborhood of New
York, he returned to Norwich, and in 1832, made preparation to
reëstablish his Academy on its old basis, and with enlarged premises.
With this view he erected the building known as the North Barracks,
which were occupied for two years by Rev. Amasa Buck, for the purposes
of a Methodist school, known as the Franklin Seminary.
NORWICH UNIVERSITY.
In the spring of 1834, a number of gentlemen associated to establish at
Norwich, not an academic, but a collegiate institution, after Capt.
Partridge’s views, and in the autumn of that year, obtained from the
Legislature of Vermont, a charter by which the petitioners were
constituted a Board of Trustees of an institution by the name of the
_Norwich University_. The charter further provides “that the said Board
shall be required to furnish at said institution constantly a course of
Military instruction, both theoretical and practical, and also in Civil
Engineering, and the practical sciences generally; and the President of
said institution, with the consent of the Trustees, _shall have power to
give and confer all such diplomas, degrees, honors, or licenses, as are
usually given or conferred in Colleges or Universities_, at their
discretion; provided, however, that in so doing they shall have respect
to the morals and merits of the candidate alone.”
This act of incorporation named fourteen gentlemen, and provided for the
election of eleven others, which twenty-five should constitute the Board
of Trustees of Norwich University. The first meeting of the Trustees was
held at Norwich, Vt., January, 1835. The vacancies in the Board were
then filled, and the first members of the Faculty were elected,
viz.:--ALDEN PARTRIDGE, “President and Professor of Moral and
Intellectual Philosophy, History, Science of Government, Political
Economy, and Military Science and Tactics;” TRUMAN B. RANSOM,
Vice-President, and Professor of Natural and Experimental Philosophy,
Mathematics, Theoretical and Practical, and Civil Engineering; M. NORAS,
Professor of Ancient and Modern Languages; and FRANKLIN MARSH and I. M.
HORR, assistants in the English Department. These gentlemen were
authorized to form a course of study and laws for the government of the
institution.
In May, 1835, the University was opened under the auspices and in the
buildings owned by Capt. Partridge, with a full course of literary,
scientific, and military studies. Among those enumerated in the first
prospectus were Military Law, Military Drawing, Civil and Military
Engineering. “Military Science being considered an important appendage
to the education of every American youth is taught theoretically in all
departments of the University. The military exercises are attended at
those hours of the day which are generally passed by students in
idleness or devoted to useless amusements, for which they will be made a
pleasing and healthful substitute.” “The discipline will be strict, but
correct; in principle, military. It will be a great and leading object
to instill into the minds of students liberality of sentiment and
principles of honorable integrity and attachment to our republican
institutions. Everything of a sectarian character in religion will be
entirely excluded and all literary honors will be conferred in
accordance with scholarship and moral worth alone.”
At the close of the academic year, 1835-6, (August 18, 1836,) the first
Annual Commencement took place, and the class of 1836 then graduated,
consisted of one person, Alonzo Jackman, now Brigadier-General in
Vermont, and Professor of Mathematics, Military Science, etc., at the
University. Professor Ransom, entered the United States Navy about this
time, and Mr. Jackman was appointed to fill the vacant Professorship.
Soon after this, Rev. Zerah Colburn, succeeded Professor Noras. August
17, 1837, the second Annual Commencement was held, and Hon. George
McDuffie, of South Carolina, delivered the address; the next year Robert
Rantoul, Jr., of Massachusetts, was the orator; in 1839, John Wentworth,
of Illinois, and Thomas H. Seymour, of Connecticut, were speakers; and
in 1840, Benjamin F. Hallett, of Boston. The catalogues of each of these
years show that the number of students, or cadets, averaged a little
less than a hundred, and in all the catalogues, the regulations for the
Police of the Cadets’ Quarters were given in full. They provided for all
the military duties of the students, for the wearing of uniform, etc.,
etc.
In July, 1840, the Corps of the University under the command of Captain
Partridge, performed a military march across the State to Fort
Ticonderoga. They were just a week on the excursion, and in that time,
they marched nearly a hundred and fifty miles on foot, about twenty-five
miles per day. Notwithstanding the excessive warmth of the day, and the
exposure to the air of the night, with no other covering than the
soldiers’ blanket, the Cadets all returned in good health and spirits.
During the year 1843, several changes took place in the University. From
the time Mr. Ransom resigned the Vice-Presidency, until May, 1843, that
office was filled by Hon. Aaron Loveland. Mr. Ransom returned at this
time, and was again made Vice-President, and Professor of Civil and
Military Engineering, etc. The buildings and land used up to this time,
were the property of Capt. Partridge. During May, arrangements were made
for the purchase of this property by the University, but some
misunderstanding occurred before this was done, and in November,
President Partridge resigned, and took from the armory all the arms and
accoutrements, attempted to revive his old Academy in another part of
the village, and finally, when the University could not purchase his
property at his prices, obliged the students to remove from the
buildings. On his resignation, Truman B. Ransom was chosen President,
and for the two years the institution was carried on in other buildings
in the town. The Legislature was applied to, and appropriated a hundred
stand of arms, sets of accoutrements, etc., for the use of the students.
At last an arrangement was made with Capt. Partridge, for the purchase
of his property, and the University returned to its old quarters. The
number of students was small during these difficulties, but the military
department was always active, a good military education was given, and
men were graduated who now hold responsible places in the military
service of the United States among the Federal troops.
In May, 1847, President Ransom, then Major-General of the Vermont
Militia, resigned his place at the University, accepted that of Colonel
of the “New England regiment,” ninth infantry, and went with that body
to Mexico. September 13th of the same year, he was shot while gallantly
leading the charge of his regiment upon the fortifications of
Chapultepec. When Gen. Ransom left, Prof. James D. Butler was appointed
President _pro tem._, and in January, 1848, Gen. Henry S. Wheaton, of
Massachusetts, was elected President, and served as such till August,
1849; he was succeeded in September, 1850, by Rev. Edward Bourns, LL.
D., who still (1863,) holds that office.
Soon after 1850, the opposition to anything of a military education
became very strong, the number of Cadets at this institution diminished,
and the tone of the prospectus changed to suit the public. “The
discipline is military in principle and form. The Cadets are under
military organization, they dress in uniform, are regularly drilled with
arms. But they are not made lovers of war! They are not found to adopt
the profession of arms more than others of the same age, however
educated; oftentimes the harmless practice of handling arms at this age,
is found to satisfy the craving for the use of them, and these young men
settle down into the ranks of peace more easily and more contentedly
than those that have had no such training. The drill is an agreeable
exercise. The system of discipline is strict, though not oppressive, its
sole object is to preserve order and promote study.” “The object is not
to make soldiers, but to strengthen the body.” During these years (from
1850 to 1860,) the prospects of the University were not bright. It was
at once engaged in lawsuits, and troubled with debt and opposition. In
1853, it was proposed to move the University to Montpelier, but the
project was finally abandoned, the last of the old Academy property was
bought, the buildings were repaired and the institution freed from debt.
Previous to 1850, the finances were in a very confused state. When the
charter was obtained, land to the value of fifteen hundred dollars was
brought and deeded to the University. The sale of this, and
subscriptions from Trustees and citizens of Norwich, produced enough to
purchase the North Barracks. The money received of students for tuition
was always, and is still, all used for paying the salaries of the
instructors. The room-rents scarcely paid the rent and repairs of the
South Barracks, and the University ran slightly into debt. The State, in
1853-4, gave the institution about thirteen hundred dollars of an
unappropriated school fund, and enough more was raised by friends of the
University to purchase the South Barracks, and pay off old debts, and
put all the buildings in good repair. For several years it was obliged
to struggle against a load of popular prejudice on account of its
military feature, but since 1861, it has brushed up its uniform, and its
Military Department no longer seeks to hide itself. No such
semi-apologies for the military training of its students appear in its
catalogues and prospectus for 1861 and 1862.
“The Norwich University differs from most colleges in two respects.
These are its double system of study, consisting in an Academic and a
Scientific course; and its department of Military Science. The Academic
course comprises those studies usually pursued in other colleges; the
Scientific embraces Mathematics, Natural Sciences, Belles-Lettres,
Surveying, and Engineering. Four years are required to complete the
former, and three, the latter course of study. Students are also allowed
to take a partial course in either department. The students of all
departments are regarded as equals.
“The feature, however, which more than any other distinguishes Norwich
University from other Collegiate institutions, is the department of
Military Science and Tactics.
“Agreeably to the provisions of its charter, the students are all under
Military discipline--are called Cadets--dress in uniform, and are
instructed in Infantry, Rifle, and Artillery Drill, Bayonet Exercise,
Fortification, Reconnoissance, Castrametation, Guard and Out-Post duty,
&c., &c. All the arms and equipments necessary for drills are furnished
by the State of Vermont. * * *
“The military feature of this institution is one which should
particularly commend it to the notice, and patronage of the public at
this time. The want of men skilled in Military Science and Tactics, to
take command of volunteer forces, and discipline them into effective
soldiers, has been severely felt in organizing the present army of the
United States. The reverses with which it has met are, without doubt,
owing largely to this cause. To guard against this defect in the future,
it is now generally felt that young men should be educated thoroughly in
every department of Military Science. In times of peace this knowledge
would not incapacitate men for nor interfere with any other
business;--while in times of war, it would become invaluable to the
country in training an army for efficient service.”
The following persons constituted the Faculty in 1862. Rev. EDWARD
BOURNS, LL. D., President, and Professor of Moral Sciences, Ancient
Languages, and Literature; ALONZO JACKMAN, A.M., Brigadier-General
Vermont Volunteer Militia, Professor of Mathematics, Natural Philosophy,
Military Science, and Tactics; THOMAS R. CROSBY, M.D., Professor of
Anatomy, Physiology, and Natural History; CLINTON S. AVERILL, A.M.,
Acting Professor of Natural Sciences; GEORGE BAILLARD, Professor of
Modern Languages, and Linear and Architectural Drawing; SAMUEL W.
SHATTUCK, B.S., Tutor in Mathematics and Military Tactics; ALONZO
JACKMAN, A.M., Librarian.
MILITARY ELEMENT IN SCHOOLS OF ALL GRADES.
INTRODUCTION.
In all ages and in all countries there have been educators who
recognized the importance of the physical, and more specifically, of the
military element in their schemes of individual and collective teaching.
No higher authority in English pedagogical literature of the liberal
type, can be named in this connection, than John Milton, who, in his
brief but masterly outline of “a virtuous and noble education,” includes
this in the means of a complete and generous culture, that is “to fit a
man to perform justly, skillfully, and magnanimously all the offices,
both private and public, of peace and war.” In the outset he demands
that the number of pupils, for whose accommodations a spacious house and
grounds were to be provided, should be large enough for “the convenience
of a foot company or interchangeably two troops of cavalry,” so that
systematic exercise could alternate with the studies and diet. In his
general programme he includes studies which shall “stir up their spirits
to manly and liberal exercise,” and “inflame their hearts with high
hopes of living to be brave men and worthy patriots.” In the enumeration
of studies he specifies mathematics, the practical aid of instruments in
surveying and engineering, and their application to fortification and
navigation. Living in the midst of a civil war like our own, when the
preservation of constitutional liberty had summoned troops from the
field, the shop, and the study, and placed men in command who had not
been trained to the profession of arms, Milton directs or points out the
value of studies, the mastery of whose general principles “may at some
time or other save an army, and not let the healthy and stout bodies of
young men rot away under them for want of this discipline, which is a
great pity, and no less shame to the commander.” In treating specially
of physical culture, Milton assigns to military drill, and use of sword
and other weapons, at least an hour and a half each day, that his pupils
may be equally good both for peace and war. “The exercise which I
commend first is the exact use of these weapons to guard and strike
safely with edge or point. This will keep them healthy, nimble, strong,
and well in breath; is also the likeliest means to make them grow large
and tall, and to inspire them with a gallant and fearless courage, which
being tempered with seasonable lectures and precepts to make them of
true fortitude and patience, will turn into a native and heroic valor,
and makes them hate the cowardice of doing wrong.” With the use of the
sword Milton would associate all athletic sports “wherein Englishmen are
apt to excel.” And after the day’s study has been thoroughly done, “with
minds in good tune and satisfaction,” he would occupy the “two hours
before supper in military motions, under sky, or cover, according to the
season, as was the Roman wont; first on foot, then as their age permits,
on horseback to all the art of cavalry; that having in spirit, but with
much exactness and daily muster, served out the rudiments of their
soldiership in the skill of embattling, marching, encamping, fortifying,
besieging and battering, with all the helps of ancient and modern
strategems, tactics, and warlike maxims, they may, as it were, out of a
long war come forth renowned and perfect commanders in the service of
their country. They would not then if they were trusted with fair and
hopeful armies, suffer them for want of just and wise discipline to shed
away from about them like sick feathers, though they be never so oft
supplied; they would not suffer these empty and unrecruitable colonels
to quaff out or convey into secret hoards the wages of a delusive list
and miserable remnant. No, certainly, if they knew aught of that
knowledge which belongs to good men or good governors, they would not
suffer these things.” To these school studies and practical exercises,
Milton would add excursions “to all quarters of the land, learning and
observing all places of strength, all material for building, all soil
for towns and tillage, harbors and ports of trade. These ways would try
all their peculiar gifts of Nature, and if there is any secret
excellence among them, would fetch it out and give it fair opportunities
to advance itself by.”
The views of Milton in favor of military exercises can not be attributed
to any professional bias, for his tastes and his habits of life were in
the shaded walks of the academy, “contemplating the serene countenance
of truth in the still air of delightful study.”
The example of Switzerland can be cited on the side of their
practicality, on a scale as liberal and much more popular than their
author at the time contemplated; and quite recently (1871), the Federal
war authorities propose that the older boys in the secondary and
superior schools shall be instructed in outpost and skirmishing duties.
X. PHYSICAL AND MILITARY EXERCISES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
A NATIONAL NECESSITY
BY EDWARD L. MOLINEUX
Major and Inspector in New York Militia.
From a long and unexampled period of political and commercial prosperity
we suddenly find ourselves called upon to struggle for national
existence, and while a noble response from the people to the necessity
of the struggle has strengthened the hand of government with an
intelligent army, and developed the resources of the country, yet the
occasion has laid bare defects which call for correction.
Without a standing army of any magnitude we have found our militia laws
defective, and have been obliged to create ourselves a military people
by the sufferings and bitterness of an experience bought on the field of
active warfare.
Military necessity has compelled the loss of invaluable time in the
organizing and preparing of our troops, which would not have been
required had we been able to meet the rebellion at the commencement with
well trained officers and an experienced and carefully drilled militia.
“_The first object_” says Daniel Webster, “_of a free people is the
preservation of their liberty:_” a noble truth which must speak home to
the heart of every American, and if, as it is asserted, “the future life
and character of a nation is to be seen in its system of schools,” then
we may well listen with some degree of alarm to the warnings and
unmistakable evidences by which we are surrounded, that the American
race is physically deteriorating.[22]
[Footnote 22: Miss C. E. Beecher’s “Appeal to American Women,”
“Calisthenics,” &c.]
The question arises, has our National system of Education been such as
to qualify and prepare us to maintain successfully, the noble
inheritance which was won by the physical energies of the men of the
Revolution, and with our success in the field of intellectual culture,
have we kept the physical advantages possessed by our forefathers?
Let us not mislead ourselves in this matter, but calmly look at the
facts, that as a rule, our present system of Public Education is devoted
_solely_ to the mental and moral improvement of the scholars, and that
the encouragements and rewards held out by committees and teachers,
stimulate to the overexertion of the brain, and sacrifice in too many
instances, the health and growth of the body.
Although great improvement has been made of late by the shortening of
the time devoted to study, and by the introduction of more frequent
periods of recreation, yet still little has been attempted for giving
exercise and activity to the body; this important training being left to
the care of parents or the pupils themselves.
Is it not too true that the increase of ill health, broken
constitutions, and early deaths, among the growing portion of our
population, especially in cities, warns us, year after year, that the
thirst for knowledge, and the restless seeking after mental and
intellectual improvement, have been bought at the expense of the vital
energies of the great body of youth who throng the colleges and public
schools of our land?[23]
[Footnote 23: [We do not share this alarm, or believe that hard
study, apart from open or secret vice, has had much, if any thing,
to do with such physical deterioration as does exist.-- ED. _Am.
Jour. of Ed._]]
If any one denies this, let him visit our institutions of learning, and
while he may well admire the wisdom and forethought which has
established our prosperity on a noble system of National Education, he
can not but notice the debility evinced in the frames of so many
youthful votaries of intellectual training; the exceptions making the
contrast still more strikingly painful. Then let him go to the
counting-house or the close confinement of some mechanical employment,
where the evils from mental activity, unaccompanied by physical
recreation, are yet more strongly developed. These evils assail not only
the happiness of families, but the prosperity of the nation and the
well-being of the race. Is this right or necessary? Can it be avoided?
The solution of these momentous questions may well engage the serious
attention of the reflecting teacher, parent and patriot; and to them we
assert that, _unless physical exercises are enforced upon our system of
Public School education, our intellectual culture will be of little
avail, and that our nationality stands in danger of sinking a prey to
designing opponents_.
That enfeebled races are invariably conquered by those more powerfully
developed, is proved by innumerable instances in history. That physical
training was an important branch of education among the Greeks and
Romans, is well known. The system inculcated by the iron-hearted
Lycurgus, among the Spartan youth, was of a nature admirably adapted to
fit them for all the sterner realities of life, whilst the athletic
games and exercises of the youth of Rome, comprising, as it did,
walking, running, wrestling, swimming, and military drill, were the
means of improving, to the utmost, their physical powers. Upon reaching
manhood, the advantage of this training was indicated by the robustness
of form, and the constitutional vigor which enabled them to undertake
labor, fatigue and hardship of every kind, with perfect indifference.
The Spartan and the Roman soldiers were by this early training, not only
qualified to surmount with ease the various obstacles and difficulties
incident to a state of active warfare, but they also became gifted with
precision and rapidity in every movement, and each man was likewise
endowed with that confidence in himself, and that unbounded reliance
upon order, subordination and combined action, which nourish audacity,
yet temper it with coolness and steadiness.
Unfortunately this system, by which the vigor and valor of a Spartan or
a Roman has passed into a proverb, fell into disuse, and as it was
neglected for more intellectual pursuits, so the grand empires founded
by its vigor crumbled before the assaults of more athletic barbarians.
The influence of health upon the faculties of the mind is acknowledged
by all, and yet how few in this country devote attention to those all
important exercises which are necessary to the preservation of health,
and without which intellectual power can not be applied to its highest
use. The talents, the experience of our best educators of youth, are
taxed to devise exercises to develop the _mental_ faculties, forgetting
that too close application to study is detrimental to the growth of the
body.
But few thoughtful teachers will deny the extent to which this evil has
reached, or be unwilling that the strain upon the intellectual powers of
children, by absorbing studies, should be counteracted by cheerful and
relaxing exercises by which the mind will be relieved and at the same
time strengthened. The testimony of physicians, the valuable works on
health by Dr. Warren, Miss C. E. Beecher, and many other able writers,
furnish incontestable evidence of the necessity of systematic exercise
for children. To accomplish this it is absolutely necessary to adopt it
in our course of education, for in the majority of cases it can not, or
will not, be attended to at their homes.
What then is the most simple, feasible and useful plan to adopt for
physical exercises in our Colleges, Normal and Public Schools?
We unhesitatingly say, that the only successful, orderly, and systematic
method is, _to engraft them upon the course of studies during school
hours, and to carry it out under strict military discipline_; the
exercises being such as are best suited to the age, strength and
capabilities of the pupils, namely: calisthenics and walking for the
girls and younger children, and _military exercises_ for the elder boys.
Let not the kind hearted parent exclaim against his boy learning the
military drill, for fear of his acquiring a taste for warfare; or the
lover of peace imagine we would re-establish the stern laws of Lycurgus.
We would have moderation, in this respect as in mental studies, and
while we would not, as some may imagine, displace the bust of Howard in
our school rooms for a Napoleon, yet we would impress upon the minds of
boys the image and example of Washington, and in cultivating their
intellectual faculties, likewise prepare them in mind and body to
develop in manhood those virtues and powers which constitute a true and
noble citizen;--a sincere love of country, of national probity and
justice, beyond selfish considerations or personal aggrandizement They
should be brought up to a sense and knowledge that it will be their
honorable duty and privilege to protect their native land, that she
fosters and educates them in their youth, and that upon their manhood
her nationality depends.
We can never become an aggressive military people; the fields for
successful enterprise in art, science, commerce and agriculture, are too
broad and inviting to render military pursuits very attractive, and
unless we cultivate such exercises and discipline in youth, they will
be, as they have been, neglected when engaged in the active pursuits of
business. The clear, common sense of the American parent will
acknowledge, not only the national necessity, but the moral advantages
of this; for what fond mother is there but would prefer to see in her
son a manly, patriotic spirit, rather than a timid, mercenary one,
which, shunning danger, would sacrifice the honor and greatness of his
country to the base love of gain and ease.
We have suggested that the exercises be conducted under strict military
discipline, because it is impossible for a large body of children to be
exercised in the usual school limits, unless the greatest decorum and
order is observed; and if conducted under the supervision of a teacher,
dangers and accidents will be avoided, which always occur when children
are rash and thoughtless in attempting to accomplish too much. Thus
conducted, they will prove an invaluable aid to the teacher in the
enforcement of discipline in the school room, and teach that invaluable
lesson which it seems so difficult for children to learn,--unhesitating
obedience.
For the advantages of this system let us examine the practical testimony
afforded in the European schools, where considerable attention has been
paid to this important matter.
On the continent the advantages of physical training are appreciated to
their fullest extent, especially in the Industrial Reform schools, where
the admirable principle has been adopted of teaching “what they will
have occasion to use when they become men,”[24] and thus render them
useful members of society. To Dr. Barnard’s National Education in
Europe, we are indebted for the following extracts and illustrations of
this position.
[Footnote 24: Aristippus.]
In the Reform School of Rauhen Haus, near Hamburg, “they are taught to
develop their bodily and mental powers in various practical ways; to use
the fire engine, to swim, to save persons from drowning, and use
remedies to recover them, to climb a mast and handle the sail, of a
ship. They act as a jury among themselves. Their chief reward is to be
enrolled in the table of honor. In the great fire of Hamburg, their
conduct was physically, as well as morally, heroic, and while bravely
saving life and property, they steadily refused rewards.” Parents who,
perhaps justly owing to the numerous accidents in Gymnasiums, are timid
of their children becoming injured by these exercises, should carefully
read the system pursued in Fellenberg’s celebrated establishment at
Hofwyl. “A great variety of exercises of the body and the senses are
employed, so that every boy shall acquire a knowledge of his physical
strength, and attain confidence with regard to those efforts of which he
is capable, instead of that foolhardiness which endangers the existence
of many who have not learned to estimate their own powers correctly.” At
Ruysselde, Belgium, the following plan was pursued: In summer, from 5½
to 6½ A.M., Exercises and Manœuvres; from 7½ to 8¾ P.M., Gymnastics. In
winter, several hours were devoted to these exercises, and the result
found (as in this report,) was, that “rickets, scrofula, want of
elasticity in the limbs, difficulty of walking, all rapidly disappeared
under the drill, which confirmed the health and increased the strength
and activity of the children, and accustomed them to discipline. It
predisposed the pupils to sleep, and was an effective safeguard against
shameful habits and secret vices. The battalion movements were performed
with as much precision as that of the army, a platoon armed with
condemned carbines, marched at the head. The bayonet exercises and
skirmishing were as good as play to the boys.” A remarkable instance of
the moral effects of military discipline upon the lads of the _Colonie
Agricole_, at Mettray, is related by M. Demetz, and was published in
Barnard’s Journal, Vol. 1, p. 623. “During the revolution of 1848, a
band of workmen came to Mettray, with flags flying and trumpets
sounding, and meeting the youths returning, tired from field labor,
their pickaxes on their shoulders, thus addressed them:--‘My boys, do
not be such fools as to work any longer. Bread is plentiful; it is ready
for you without labor.’ The _chef_, who was conducting the boys, and who
behaved with the greatest calmness and tact, immediately cried, ‘Halt!
form in line,’ The lads, being accustomed to march like soldiers,
immediately formed. The _chef_ then said to the men, ‘My friends, you
have learned to labor; you have a right to rest; but leave these lads:
let them learn now, and when their turn comes they may rest as you do.’
The men gave way, the youths marched home, and Mettray was
saved,--saved, as I believe, by our habit of military discipline.” It
was the heroic exertions of these young _colons_ during the inundation
of 1856, which won for them the praises of all France. These instances
might be multiplied, but are sufficient to show the moral and physical
benefits of military exercises and discipline upon boys, even of the
lowest class.
The governments of Europe being upheld by the bayonets of large standing
armies, and requiring, as they do, in many of the kingdoms, the
compulsory service of all young men, renders it unnecessary for the
daily public schools to teach military exercises to that extent, which
it is well for our Republican government to do. Yet in Europe they watch
with the greatest assiduity and care the bodily powers of the children,
knowing its great advantage not only in health, but the maintenance of
order.
In Great Britain much interest has of late been evinced on this subject,
and Mr. Edwin Chadwick becoming convinced that the studies and
confinement in their schools were generally prolonged beyond the powers
of the children, and in violation of the laws of health, devoted himself
to collecting testimony respecting the advantages of the military drill
upon the health of children. His investigations have elicited much
valuable information, the more interesting to us as they mark its
advantages to a nation which, like our own, depends for its defence
mainly upon a volunteer force.
The following synopsis of his pamphlet we extract from the N.Y. Evening
Post, November 1st:
Mr. Chadwick considers “In a sanitary point of view that a systematized
drill is good, and for defective constitutions requisite for the
correction of congenital bodily defects and taints, with which the youth
of a very large proportion of the population, especially among the
poorer town populations, are affected: and that for these purposes the
climbing of masts, and other operations of the naval drill, and
swimming, are valuable additions to the gymnastic exercises of the
military drill, and when properly taught are greatly liked by boys. From
a moral point of view, also, this drill will give the pupil an early
initiation into all the acquirements of discipline--namely, duty, order,
obedience to command, self-restraint, punctuality and patience.”
The evidence furnished by English drill officers shows its national
value, and “That at school it maybe taught most economically, as not
interfering with productive labor, and that thirty or forty boys may be
taught the naval and military drill at one penny farthing (two and a
half cents) per week per head as cheaply as one man, and the whole
juvenile population may be drilled completely in the juvenile stage, as
economically as the small part of it now taught imperfectly on
recruiting or in the adult stage; and that, for teaching the drill, the
services of retired drill sergeants, and naval as well as military
officers and pensioners, may be had economically in every part of the
country.
That the middle and higher class schools should have, in addition to the
foot drill, the cavalry drill, which the parents of that class of pupils
may afford.
That the drill, when made generally prevalent, (without superseding,)
will eventually accomplish, in a wider and better manner, the objects of
volunteer corps and of yeomanry, which, as interrupting productive
occupations now becoming more absorbing, is highly expensive, rendering
all volunteer forces dependent in fitful zeal, and eventually
comparatively inefficient; that the juvenile drill, if made general,
will accomplish better the objects even of the militia; that the
juvenile drill will abate diffidence in military efficiency, and will
spread a wide predisposition to a better order of recruitment for the
public service, will tend to the improvement of the ranks of the regular
forces, whether naval or military, and will produce an immensely
stronger and cheaper defensive force than by the means at present in use
or in public view.
And, finally, that the means of producing this defensive force, instead
of being an expense, will be a gain to the productive powers and value
of the labors of the country.”
Lieutenant-General Shaw Kennedy, in a letter expressing his high
approval of the plan, states, “that the inferences drawn can not be
controverted.” He is of opinion that if the measure is carried out it
will be the means of bringing two million of men actually under arms in
Great Britain alone, that is, excluding Ireland. He conceives that the
effects of military drill and exercises, and the use of fire-arms taught
at schools, would never be forgotten; that a youth so trained would, at
any future period, with a slight degree of practice, renew his knowledge
of what he had been taught.
Nor has the training of a better class of seamen been neglected. This is
of vital importance to the well-being of a commercial people, and it is
well for us to see what steps England is taking in the matter.
For the purpose of giving instruction in the naval drill, old masts and
tackle have been obtained for some of the training schools in England,
and Mr. Taffnell has received expressions of satisfaction from naval men
of the way in which some of the boys have by these means been tutored as
seamen in pauper schools. In order to form sailors, it is necessary to
have masts and sails rigged in the playground, and a regular seaman must
be engaged to drill the boys.
Mr. Baker has observed that the naval drill as given at Greenwich, is
highly effective. “He states that he was on board the Ganges and the
Conway at a time when many boys came on board who had been taught the
naval drill at Greenwich naval schools; and that they proved to be as
ready and well trained as man-of-war’s men; they were clean and orderly,
and as a class were first-rate seamen, becoming petty and warrant
officers in greater proportion than others.”
Of its consequence upon the national health and industry, Professor Owen
has stated that even in the best-warmed and ventilated schools, five or
six hours’ enforced stillness of growing children is a violation of the
primary laws of physiology; whilst Miss Nightingale and others agree
that, under the present system, children are placed under conditions
which impair good bodily health and generate epidemic disease. Mr.
Rahnson, a school commissioner at Amsterdam, states that the physical
evils attendant upon the present amount of sedentary confinement in
schools, required from young children, is beginning to attract attention
in Holland, and that they have under trial a system of exercises for
schools advocated by Dr. Schrieber, of Leipsic. ‘The chief question,’
says the latter gentleman, ‘is, How are our children to be brought up?
Is it according to the laws of nature? The answer is, No; or we should
not see so many children who were rosy and healthy before going to
school, become pale and bloodless after school has begun;’ and he
prescribes the limitation of the hours of school confinement.
Mr. Robert Rawlinson, civil engineer, gives the following as his opinion
of the advantages of school drill in connexion with manual labor:
“In my opinion, based on experience and observation, I think school
drilling and training would prove of the utmost consequence to the boys
in after life. I may give a few instances. In all engineering and
building, tradesmen are frequently required to use their strength in
concert, lifting, carrying and drawing; men, to use their joint strength
not only effectively but safely, must have confidence in each other. Two
trained men will lift and carry more easily and safely than four
untrained men. I have frequently seen trained men weed out unskilled men
where heavy lifting has been required, because they dare not risk the
danger arising from unskilled strength, and few have performed with more
safety work which would have been lighter and easier if all had been
equally skilled. Men frequently reject the assistance of unskilled men,
as there is absolutely danger in having them near. Frequent accidents
arise from using men unskilled in lifting, in hoisting, and at capstan
work. * * * Boys should not only learn to march, but to lift, carry and
pull in concert. There are many necessary feats of strength in all
trades, which are more matters of knack and tact than of brute strength.
Brute strength frequently fails to do that which comparative weakness
can accomplish easily with skill and confident concert. There is no
regular system of training in concert to use human strength in the best
manner in any trade, so far as I know; acting in concert is a matter of
necessity, and practice gives facility and confidence. Drill and
training would probably double the effective human power of any
establishment, especially if numbers are instructed in joint feats of
strength. That which is taught to youth is never forgotten in after
life.”
“As regards its fitness as an appendage to the highest branches of
education, we have the testimony of experienced examiners at the
University of Oxford, England, who state that six hours mental work,
instead of ten or twelve, for adults, was the time of the great majority
of the prizemen; and it was always found that those who were the
foremost in mental labor were commonly the foremost in boat-rowing and
physical exercise. The Vice-Chancellor of Oxford testifies that the
institution of the systematized exercise of the volunteer drill in that
college had been attended by an improvement of the mental labors, and of
the whole of the order and discipline, as well as of the health of the
University; and that, encouraged by these results, he was considering of
making provision for cavalry exercises.”
Mr. Chadwick has also furnished incontestable proofs of the absolute
necessity of more active physical training for females and of its
bearing upon the future welfare of the race. But this subject has been
rendered so familiar to American readers by the able pen of Miss
Catherine E. Beecher, that we need not touch upon the European view,
except to say that the noble labors of Professors Ling and Branting, of
Sweden, have been ably seconded by very many of the governments of
Northern Europe, where a method of gymnastics for females, has been
systematized and practically adopted. From this brief sketch of the
practical working of physical military exercises in Europe, let us turn
to what has been accomplished among our own countrymen, whose activity
in behalf of public education called forth the compliment from Prof.
LeRoy, which we wish was better deserved, especially by the class which
he specifies. that “the improvement of schools is, so to speak, the
fixed idea, the constant preoccupation of the statesmen of America.”
We have indeed a noble and liberal system of education, but we would see
its fostering care so extended as to invigorate the bodies as well as
develop the mental faculties and intellectual powers of the pupils. The
military exercises would best accomplish this, and at the same time form
our public schools into a NURSERY FOR A BRAVE AND EFFECTIVE MILITIA.
Early in October last a communication was addressed by the writer to the
different governors, and various other persons connected with the
executive departments of the Northern States, in regard to the
advantages to be derived from the introduction of infantry drills in the
public schools, and by early preparation in school-days to strengthen
the _militia_ of the different States. At the same time it was placed
before the New York and other City Boards of Education, and referred by
them to special committees. The subject was also agitated through the
columns of the daily press. The warm responses which have been accorded
to these communications, prove the deep interest which is felt in this
important matter, and it is to be hoped by the time this article appears
in print,[25] some legislative action will have been taken.
[Footnote 25: Written December, 1861. Recommended by Governors
Andrew and Morgan in their messages in January.]
In New York, the energetic Judge Advocate General, William H. Anthon,
being engaged in a report upon the militia laws, and taking a warm
interest in all matters relative to the efficacy of the militia, thus
speaks of the importance of some alteration in the present system, in a
letter addressed to Mr. Curtis, President of the Board of Education in
the city of New York:
“The entire system, in my judgment, needs revision and reform, in order
to make the militia what the Father of the Republic intended it should
be.
It has been suggested by several persons, and among others Col. Richard
Delafield, U.S. A., and Maj. E. L. Molineux, that an excellent
foundation for an improved militia system would be the introduction of
‘The Manual of Arms,’ and ‘The School of the Soldier and of the
Company,’ into our public schools.
I am disposed to consider these suggestions as valuable, and shall feel
obliged to you if you will, as early as may be convenient, inform me how
far you deem them practicable, and how they may be most conveniently
introduced into the institutions under the charge of your Board.”
Mr. Curtis, whose personal observations on the European school systems,
and whose long experience at the head of the Educational Board of the
largest city in the Union, renders his views of the greatest value,
replied:
“It has been my opinion for years that military instruction should,
under certain restrictions, and to a certain extent, be given to the
older boys in all the schools and institutions that are supported or
draw funds from the public treasury. It is but just to the State whose
munificence sustains these schools, that the pupils should be instructed
in those branches of knowledge that will make them useful and effective
in defending and protecting the State. A well organized militia,
receiving from year to year into its ranks the disciplined and
instructed youth who have passed through the public schools, and to whom
the duties of the soldier are familiar, will always be sustained by the
public confidence and esteem.”
Military discipline and exercises are by no means an untried experiment
in the annals of American education; some of our best private schools
and institutes having long since adopted it, and with a good degree of
success as it will be our endeavor now to show.
To the admirable regulations of our National Military and Naval
Academies, we need not refer; the systematic course pursued by them for
the development of health, for discipline of mind and body, being well
known to the majority of our readers.
One instance which came under the writer’s personal observation, will
sufficiently illustrate the dependence which can be placed upon
well-drilled boys in case of emergency.
In April last, when Washington was defenceless, Baltimore in riot, and
all Maryland in a state of revolt, communication being cut off at
Annapolis, there was great fear of attack upon that important
strategetic point. The pupils were prepared for any exigency, and slept
with their loaded rifles over their cots. At an alarm of a night attack,
there was no hesitation among those gallant little fellows. They were up
directly; fell in their ranks and off at a _double-quick_ for the point
of danger, in an almost incredible short space of time. The elder boys
dragged their howitzer with them. Had an attack taken place, those
pupils would have given a good account of themselves and have stood
their ground with courage and steadiness. The secret of this is the
_discipline_, for which they are indebted to the assiduity of their
brave and experienced superintendent, Captain Blake of the Navy.
Let us read the opinion of this able officer in respect to the applying
of this _discipline_ to public schools:
“My experience at this institution long since impressed me with the
importance of this subject, and I intended to have given my views
publicly, but you have left nothing more to be said upon it, and I can
only hope that those who have the control of our public schools will
view the subject as we do. We have received about a hundred and forty
acting midshipmen this year, some of them very young, and although they
have not been here two months, they present a beautiful example of such
results as the system would produce all over the country.”
It must be acknowledged that the States now in rebellion have devoted
much more attention to military instruction in special schools, than we
have, many of them pursuing the European plan of State Academies devoted
to military science. Thus while we have been obliged to _create_
officers from the small nucleus afforded us from West Point, they have
had the students from State Colleges to officer their regiments.
For a long time back Virginia has annually expended upon her Military
Institute nearly $50,000; South Carolina, $30,000; Kentucky and other
States have likewise institutions, founded in whole or part, upon a
military basis.
Although several attempts have been made to obtain legislative action
for similar institutes in the Northern States, they have not, up to the
present time, been successful, owing, we think, to the groundless
opinion that it would prove a heavy tax, without a corresponding
advantage. We shall endeavor to prove in this article how economically
an academy could be supported. It is, therefore, to private enterprise,
we are indebted for any experiments which have been made in this
respect.
Several of our best boys’ boarding-schools in this portion of the
country, have for a long time employed a military instructor for the
pupils and been managed on a semi-military organization; they have been
well sustained by the patronage of the public. We instance two or three
schools of the present time.
Dr. Russell’s Collegiate and Commercial Institute of New Haven, is one
which has already been of national advantage to us, for according to
Prof. Daniel C. Gilman, “the scholars were of great service in drilling
the recruits of Connecticut at the outset of the war, and many of them
now hold important posts in the army. The scholars formerly trained as
infantry and are now at artillery practices.” Mr. Gilman very justly
observes, that in a country like ours with no standing army, every
able-bodied man should learn to bear arms, and there can be no cheaper
or efficient way of doing this than by teaching boys in schools.
The Eagleswood Collegiate and Military School, near Perth Amboy, N.J.,
has been recently organized on the military plan. The scholars are
formed into a battalion under a superintendent and colonel commanding,
the rest of the officers being taken from the scholars. The State of
New Jersey has supplied the institute with arms, and the military
regulations apply to the conduct of the pupils in their general
deportment. The reasons given for employing this discipline are the same
that apply in every instance, that it is the most orderly and effective,
increases the energy, vigor and manly attitude of the boys, and induces
cheerful obedience.
To Major J. P. Prall, Military Instructor, we are under obligations for
the following account of Mr. Tracy’s _Military Boarding School, at
Tarrytown, N.Y._:
“There is no question, in my mind, of the utility of military
instruction in schools, and if I had any doubts, they would speedily be
removed by the fact that the very exigency you propose to provide for is
being developed, only in a less degree, in the volunteer army now
fighting our country’s battles. There are a number holding honorable
positions in the army of the Potomac, and elsewhere, who have more
particularly come under my own observation, that have passed through a
course of similar instruction to what you propose, in private military
boarding schools, who give evidence of superior knowledge as soldiers,
and with a little preparation were _ready_ to assume the duties and
responsibilities of the field and camp. They have more particularly
distinguished themselves as drill masters and thorough disciplinarians,
the very ground you proposed to cover in your articles in the N.Y.
Tribune of Nov. 20. I have especially noticed, of late, the facility
with which youth acquire military knowledge since the outbreak of the
rebellion, when the occasion seems to impress them more strongly with
its importance.
Independent of the military availability of youth thus instructed, the
promptness and precision that the system induces is apparent. A simple
sketch of the routine of duties in a school over the military department
of which I have the supervision, may give an idea of its utility, as
well as its usefulness. This department is conducted in such a way as to
make the military feature an auxiliary to the classical and preparatory.
Part of two days in each week is more especially devoted to military
drill and instruction, when the flag is raised on the flag-staff on the
parade ground with the roll of the drum, and the sunrise gun is fired.
At sunset it is lowered with the same ceremony by a file of boys, in
charge of an officer, or non-commissioned officer. On other days of the
week a drill of about an hour is held, in command of the company
officers,--always in presence of the Principal. The utmost strictness is
required in all the military features. The “Assembly,” when beaten for
drill or parade, occupies one minute--_immediately_ after, “_fall in_”
is given by the orderly, when _entire_ silence is required. Boys being
naturally playful, much more care in these particulars is necessary than
in grown persons. _Tattoo_ begins at 9 o’clock precisely, when the
minute of its duration expires every cadet is required to be in line for
“roll call,” and the three squads, each in charge of an officer, are
marched by flank to their quarters, (the whole not occupying more than
two minutes.) They halt opposite their beds, and salute their officer as
he passes out;--in five minutes the lights are extinguished. Their
clothing is uniformly arranged, and in such way that if called up at
night they can dress without lights and without loss of time. The
officer in command of each, being held responsible for the condition of
his squad. The military instructor inspects at unexpected times, and
directs the chiefs of squads to report the result to the officer of the
day, through whom all reports to the Principal must be made at 9 o’clock
A.M. each day. _Reveille_ at day break, and they march by squads to wash
room, where twenty minutes is allowed for necessary ablutions, blacking
boots, &c., and then the march to the Assembly-room for “_roll call_.”
Inspection of boots twice a week, at unknown times.
The squads for the _mess-room_ march in order, filing each side of the
tables, face inward, and “_sit down_” by command; _rise_, march out and
_break ranks_, observing the same military precision. These various
duties are performed with pleasure and pride by the cadets, and the same
promptness and regularity is apparent in every movement.
The _armory_ and arms are in charge of a detail of four, and are
inspected in turn on the roll, each week, and reports are made of
disabled pieces, and the general condition of the arms and armory, to
the officer of the day, and through him to the Principal. The various
reports are embodied into one, by this officer, so that the Principal is
not burdened with the details unless he calls for them.
Orders are issued from time to time, by the Military Instructor, and
engrossed in a book, which is open for inspection of visitors,
announcing promotions, results of inspection, and noting cases of
military merit and demerit, &c. This has a tendency to stimulate to
exertion, and to efforts to avoid unfavorable notice.
Military classes 1st, 2d and 3d, graduated according to military merit
are established, and promotions to them made after strict examinations.
All company officers are selected from the 1st class.
A class of Honor, consisting of members of the First class who have
escaped being reported for disobedience and improper conduct, is also
formed. A given number of military demerits reduces a cadet, and the
badge which is worn on the left breast is taken from him. He may,
however, be reinstated.
Military demerits are punished by military penalties.
Cadets are taught to observe the position of the soldier when off duty
also; the benefit of this is very marked. When the machinery is properly
set in motion, the labor generally attending the minutiæ of school
duties is greatly reduced, and much more pleasantly and thoroughly
performed.
I have not entered into all the details, (and have given the military
only) but enough to give a general idea of the plan adopted by this
school. There are different modes in use in other schools. Some
partaking more of the military, and some less. I think there is danger,
often, of _too much_ military being engrafted so as to make it
burdensome; great care should be taken in this particular, as the cadet
wearies of it when the novelty is past.”
Mr. N. W. Taylor Root, in his admirable book on School Amusements,
furnishes practical testimony “that it fosters habits of promptness,
exactness, and unanimity of action; teaches implicit obedience to
commands, erectness of carriage, a neat and clean appearance, and a
gentlemanly and respectful behavior.”
It will thus be seen that a system of military drill has been tested
morally and physically, in private schools, and found of decided
advantage.
Why should these benefits be denied to the pupils of Public Day Schools?
Why should this vast defensive power be lost to the Government?
As a national military necessity; as a protection to the health and
constitutional vigor of American youth; and as a powerful agent upon
their moral behavior, their energy, self-reliance and spirit of
enterprise, let PHYSICAL TRAINING BE ENGRAFTED ON THE COURSE OF STUDIES
FOR ALL THE PUPILS EDUCATED AT THE EXPENSE OF THE STATE. Let us not
hesitate at the magnitude of the undertaking, for it is a _necessity_,
and under proper regulations and restrictions can be successfully and
economically accomplished.
The greatest difficulty to be surmounted is the successful working of a
system at once applicable to the requirements of a small district
school, with a limited number of scholars, attending only at certain
seasons of the year, and of those of the larger cities, with numerous
schools, in which a great number are under instruction.
Let us commence at the foundation, in the Primary Schools.
The moment the child enters the school care should be taken that the
mental exercises which are given should be relieved by frequent
intermissions for running and playing, under the supervision of the
teacher. This we are glad to say is the case in very many of our best
primary schools; but it is when the child becomes more advanced, when
there are lessons to commit to memory at home, that some simple physical
_exercises_ should be taught him every day; exercises calculated to
develop the growth and expand the muscles. The calisthenics recommended
in Miss Beecher’s work are excellent, simple, and easily fitted to the
limits of the school house. The report of Mr. W. H. Wells,
Superintendent of Public Schools for Chicago, for 1860, gives some
interesting particulars of simple exercises which have been attempted in
that city.
There would be but little difficulty experienced in selecting movements
and gymnastics suitable for the strength and ability of the classes of
younger boys, and girls under instruction, provided the method was
established as an imperative duty which _must_ be regularly put in
practice, and that no lack of interest on the part of teachers, or
laziness of the pupils would be accepted as an excuse for non-compliance
with the regulation. We trust if Physical Training is carried out in our
system of education, that a carefully prepared Manual of all kinds of
exercises, embracing the military drill, will be compiled for the use of
schools; in a word, a text-book to which our teachers can turn with
confidence to find exercises suitable for all classes of pupils.[26]
[Footnote 26: Such a Manual will soon be published by J. B.
Lippincott & Co., Philadelphia.]
From the Girls and Primary, we pass to the Boys Grammar departments, for
which we propose military exercises, as being the most economical and
advantageous for public schools; for _tactics_ manœuvre large bodies in
a small space, in an orderly manner, whereas gymnasiums are too
expensive, and can not be made large enough to accommodate many scholars
at once. This opens to us our most difficult, but at the same time most
useful, field for prompt and energetic action.
Suppose we take for an example one of our large cities. The lower and
female departments having simple physical exercises in use, it is wished
to introduce military exercises into the grammar schools. Let us see how
simply it can be organized, and how far it is possible to extend these
studies if desired.
The following interesting letter from the Mayor of Bangor, will show the
movement in that city, an example well worthy of being imitated.
CITY OF BANGOR, }
Mayor’s Office, Dec. 21st, 1861. }
DEAR SIR:--In reply to yours of the 19th inst., I would say that, upon
my recommendation, through a communication I made to our City Council,
on the first Monday of the present month, an Order was passed directing
the military drill to be introduced into a portion of the Public Schools
of this city.
I had given the subject some thought and investigation, and was prepared
to recommend the adoption of the drill for the physical training, no
less than for the military instruction it might impart. The prevalent
idea that education consists in training the intellect only, is
gradually becoming superseded by the more rational theory that true
education consists in training the moral and physical, no less than the
intellectual faculties.
For the physical training of boys, I think the military drill has much
to recommend it besides the military instruction it imparts. It will
tend to give them a better command of their muscles, and impart a manly
gait and bearing. It will also, if properly conducted, teach them
self-control, and give them true ideas of order, discipline, and
subordination, and whilst it will relieve them from the monotony of
their ordinary studies will, by a grateful change, enable them to return
to them with renewed interest.
We are entering upon the new experiment with caution, and have commenced
by devoting an hour, twice a week, to the drill. We began in the school
rooms, but found, after a few lessons, that the space these afforded was
too small, and for the present shall use the large Gymnasium Hall. In
summer, the grounds in connection with our school houses may be found
well adapted for the purpose.
The boys, with scarcely an exception, manifest much interest in their
drills, and receive the instruction much more readily than men. Two or
three of our public spirited citizens, well qualified for instructors,
have generously consented to devote the necessary time for drilling the
boys, for the present winter, without compensation.
Some of our teachers are also disposed to qualify themselves for drill
masters, and we are thus enabled to try the experiment without much
expense.
I have had no communication with Gov. Washburn in relation to this
subject, and was quite unaware of your interest in the matter. I however
noticed the article in regard to it in the Evening Post of Nov. 8th, and
was gratified with the important facts which it contained. I shall be
glad to receive any further communication you may make to the public on
this important subject, and should you wish, will be pleased to
communicate to you the further progress of our experiments.
Yours respectfully,
ISAIAH STETSON, Mayor
EDWARD L. MOLINEUX, Esq., New York.
To establish thoroughly and economically this military culture, the
Board of Education should appoint some competent person as Chief of the
Staff to organize and carry out a system of instruction and drill; he to
have under him two or three assistant instructors of experience, under
whose guidance _a teacher, or teachers from each school_, should be
fully instructed in the tactics, so as to be able to superintend the
drill of the boys, which should always take place during school hours,
and thereby form a recreation from mental study, and not encroach upon
their play time. These are the only persons connected with the
department beyond the scholars themselves, as it should be managed on
the principle of obtaining _the whole working force_ of the military
organization from among the pupils.
The grammar department of each school should be formed into a company,
or where the size of the school rendered it necessary, two companies:
the officers to be selected from the most deserving and competent boys.
The officers thus selected to be instructed theoretically and
practically by extra drills, in their respective duties. This would not
occupy much time, and any boy objecting to devote this time would not be
worthy of holding his position, and should be replaced by some one more
deserving. Every school should possess within its limits space for a
parade ground and for a few simple fixtures for gymnastic exercises. In
stormy weather the exercises could be carried on indoors; for the drill
possesses the advantage of affording exercise to a great number in a
_small_ space without disturbance and noise.
No uniform would be required, and the only expense would be the loan or
purchase of 500 or 1000 short muskets, which could be used in turn at
the different schools for drill or parade. A simple musket can be
manufactured very cheaply, which will answer for all purposes.
The care and cleaning of the arms, the escorting and carrying them from
school to school, or point to point, as required, should be the military
duty of the pupils; thus expense will be saved, and the duty of prudent
soldiers to take care of their equipments and do their own work
inculcated.
These different school drills, always in charge of the teachers, should
be visited in turn by the instructors, who would exercise a close and
careful supervision over them.
Every ten companies or schools should be formed into a regiment,
officered by those selected as the most capable, and who had passed the
necessary examination.
Occasionally on Saturdays the regiments, in rotation, should be
exercised by the instructors, in battalion movements, field manœuvres,
skirmish drills, camp duties, &c. These Saturday exercises should not be
compulsory, but would be eagerly looked for by the boys as an amusement.
In the proper seasons they could be marched to the suburbs for their
exercises, and thus a pleasant holiday, with healthy amusements, be
given them under proper guidance. Any father will appreciate the
advantages of such exercises and enjoyment to his boys.
In the summer season it should be found out which of the boys could not
swim, and had no parents able to teach them. All such should be classed
together, and means taken to instruct them in this most requisite art.
If found desirable to teach them to move together in _large masses_,
(in which our militia are certainly deficient,) it can be accomplished
by organizing two, three, or more regiments, into a brigade, to be
commanded by the chief instructor, he selecting for his _staff_ the most
intelligent of the scholars who could relieve him of much of the labor
which the systematic working of this large military department would
render necessary. Thus those assigned to the staff would be learning the
technicalities of the department and the duties of aids, secretaries,
&c.
These staff officers, and any other of the pupils who showed a decided
talent, should be assisted in acquiring knowledge in the military
science by means of lectures, &c., from the chief instructor. An orderly
system once organized, with the incentive to improvement by promotion
for correct deportment, and of military disgrace for ungentlemanly and
unsoldierly conduct, would soon render this military instruction of
great assistance to _teachers in the schools_. Let the boys understand
that disobedience or improper behavior debarred them from military
honors and the whole tone of their conduct would be improved.
Of the exigencies of this war, if complicated by foreign interference,
it is impossible to foresee, but every one is aware of the importance of
early training upon the destinies of nations, and but few will deny the
value of a well-trained battalion of selected elder boys, in case of
INVASION or trouble, by their relieving the fatigue of regular troops in
mounting guard at the least exposed positions, at the camps, on baggage,
or for convoys; likewise to act as drill-masters for the recruits.
The above plan, which was submitted to several Boards of Education last
fall, was offered as being the best adapted for _immediate use_, and is
therefore provided for the instruction of the _teachers_. If, however,
the _Normal Schools and Colleges_ would provide systematically for this
instruction, it would be far better as they are the proper fields for
_permanent benefit_, as each graduate would there become fully prepared
to instruct in these exercises in the public schools.
The views of the Hon. Joseph White, of Massachusetts, respecting
military studies in colleges, are well worth noting. He says, “let the
drill be regular and compulsory, taking the place of the very irregular
and insufficient physical exercises now taken, and our colleges would be
vastly improved in their educational power, and the commonwealth would
in a short time have a numerous body of educated men well skilled in the
military science and art, who will become teachers in our lower grades
of schools and in our military companies and associations, and be
competent when the alarm is sounded, to lead our citizen soldiers to the
field.” New Jersey has just offered a noble example by making an
appropriation for military instruction in her State Normal School.
But we must look at the practical working of physical and military
training in small district schools. Of necessity they are far behind, in
intellectual culture, those in the cities, and owing to the small and
uncertain attendance, physical and military drill would also have to be
simplified. The duties of a country life are such as not to render these
exercises so necessary on the score of health, nor are the pupils
wearied by such constant application to study. But how beneficial it
would be in smoothing the rough, clownish manners of the country pupil
by teaching him the _position of a soldier_, and correct _walking_. In
respect to this, it should be the duty of the trustees to see that the
drill was taught as far as practicable to the boys (calisthenics to the
girls) by the teacher himself, who, if he were not already instructed
from a Normal School, would find but little difficulty in mastering the
details of tactics sufficiently for his purposes. With as small a number
as twelve boys, company and skirmish drills could be taught; the latter
is admirably suited for country schools, and would be a delight to the
boys. If near the water they should be taught to swim.
It is thus we would teach our public school boys when they reach a
certain age, to act together as citizen soldiers and be prepared when
called upon, to do yeomen service in the country; to make it their pride
as well as their duty, to defend the Country and State which so
liberally educates them, let us cultivate in them a lofty and noble
patriotism, which shall have its effect upon future generations, for it
is upon these qualities, their intelligence and enterprise, aided by
_physical strength and health_, that the FUTURE of our country depends.
Although a course of military training in the public schools would soon
furnish our State with an intelligent class of soldiers and line
officers, yet the _art_ of war in many of its branches, such as
artillery, engineering, &c., requires a scientific education, which can
not be given in a private institution. Our colleges undoubtedly could,
to a certain degree, supply this want. New York city possesses in its
Free Academy a college which needs but the addition of two or three
professorships to carry out in part this requirement, yet a _State
Military and Scientific_ College seems a necessity to which early
attention should be given, but to prevent its becoming a tax upon the
State, it should be managed somewhat upon the plan of the Polytechnic of
France, namely, that pupils at large may be admitted upon passing an
examination and paying the annual fee.
Offer inducements in the way of superior education and careful training,
and sufficient income would be received from the _paying_ scholars to
cover the expense to the State. Thus, from this college, might annually
graduate men educated for the most scientific and skillful pursuits of
life, and who, in time of war, would richly repay the State for the care
devoted to their culture.
As an incentive to the public-school boys, several of the most deserving
should annually be sent to this college by the State, and to the
National Military and Naval Academies.
There is yet another important matter to be considered in physical
exercises for public education, more particularly in sea ports, viz.,
_Naval Training_.
A late report of the Shipmaster’s Association has shown us that the
reputation of our American vessels is deteriorating so rapidly, that
unless something is done, quickly and effectually, to provide a remedy,
foreign vessels will supersede ours in freighting. The necessities of
our navy are too well known to need notice here, and surely these evils
which assail the country at this trying moment of peril, should arrest
attention.
In large seaboard cities the naval training school, which has worked so
advantageously in England and Belgium, could be established very
economically by the fitting up of some hall, at a slight expense, with
spars, sails, &c. Here of an _evening_, lectures and classes for
instruction in navigation and seamanship could be formed. This would be
the means of improving our sailors and of forming useful citizens from
those who now idle away their time around the streets and docks. The
expense would be but light, and the advantages obvious to our merchant
marine and navy. This would soon improve our class of sailors and
officers, reduce the rate of insurance upon American vessels, and
relieve us from the stain which is being cast upon us as a commercial
and naval power.
The evening schools of New York city cost $73,000 per annum; a small per
centage of this sum would place in successful operation an _evening
nautical_ school, which would enable, in less than three months,
American sailor boys to acquire sufficient knowledge of navigation to
aspire to the quarter deck. The handling of heavy guns and the
principles of naval gunnery could also be taught. If a war with Great
Britain breaks out, are we to be found slumbering in this respect, and
must we wait for the _first gun_ before taking active measures!
We are a peace-loving and domestic people, and we have indulged in the
delusive fancy that peace was to shine over us forever, until rudely
awakened from our dreams by a formidable attack at the very foundation
of our nationality. Every family circle is represented in that mighty
army which is battling for the Union, and we know that much of the
suffering caused to our brothers by this new and unexpected calling, is
due to the defects of their physical education, and to the want of a
sufficient number of well trained officers. But the war is upon us and
we must meet it as may best become a free nation and be better prepared
for the future.
It is the proud boast of England that in time of war she is “Ready, aye
Ready,” but a much prouder and nobler cry for us would be, the prompt
“Here” at the roll-call of our militia when summoned, like the minute
men of the Revolution, to the defense of the country. We want no large
standing army. In times of peace let our merchants, artisans, farmers,
and mechanics, enrich and develop the resources of the country. It needs
their industry and will amply repay their toil. But let them be trained
and educated from school-days to their military duties, and at the first
note of war let that response of “Here” come cheerfully from our rich
prairie lands, from our counting-houses, from our machine shops, from
the decks of far off vessels and from our public schools,--one mighty
cry of POWER and SELF-RELIANCE from a noble militia, possessing a
thorough _knowledge of its duties_; intelligent and earnest in the
right; patriotic and strong in its devotion to freedom.
A few words to those who fear the tendency of these exercises to instil
a warlike and blood-thirsty spirit, and we will close. To them we say,
we would emulate the ancients only so far as we can obtain from them
some of their earlier and nobler traits of patriotism, courage,
strength, endurance, and health. Let us picture what effect this
training would have upon individual character.
Let us take the example of a young lad, entering the public school in
the primary department, with perhaps a sickly, indolent disposition, and
somewhat careless and slovenly in his appearance.
We know very well from the present system of studies, that his mind will
be well cared for, and therefore pass to the effect of the physical
training upon him.
The first lesson then is to stand in an erect and commanding attitude,
with his chest well expanded, then his careless, slouching steps, with
hanging head, are soon changed to the brisk, smart _walk_ of a young
gentleman, Calisthenics and exercises proportionate to his strength, and
tending to develop his limbs very soon improve his health and impart a
youthful vigor and energetic purpose to his motions, which are so much
to be admired in young lads and give such rich promise of the future
manhood. He soon learns exact and unhesitating obedience, and is taught
by precept and example, that no small advantage in appearance is to be
derived from a clean face and well brushed clothes. Is it to be denied
that he thus learns habits of order, activity and cleanliness which will
be invaluable to him in after years?
But his greatest ambition, the goal of all his hopes,--the reward for
which he studies diligently, is active and neat in his deportment,
docile and obedient to his teachers,--is to be promoted to the grammar
department or higher classes, where the boys have military exercises. He
looks with longing eyes at their neat, orderly ranks, as they form for
drill or parade; their brightly polished shoes, neatly brushed clothes
and well kept arms. All this is something to look forward to, and when
he has accomplished it, has he not to strive by activity to win his
_grade_ and by self-control and obedience prove himself deserving to
command others? Manhood, when it arrives, finds him bright, active,
self-reliant and ready to become a public spirited member of society.
Let the necessity of military exercises be placed before the boy in a
patriotic light and it will induce him not only to take greater care in
the execution, but likewise implant a still greater love of country from
the very knowledge that some day he may be of use to her,--of use to her
in the pulpit, in the legislative forum, in the busy pursuits of
industry and the various walks of life. And if the necessity again calls
for action, or if the present war is of long duration and tests the
strength and perseverance of our national character, let us not shrink
from the ordeal, but with a firm reliance upon an Almighty God and a
righteous cause, let us go forth in this good fight, we of this
generation and our children, and faithfully discharge the duties of
Christian soldiers in defense of truth, justice, and our country.
U.S. MILITARY AND COMMERCIAL MARINE SCHOOLS.
NAVY AND NAVAL AFFAIRS.
By the Constitution of 1789, Congress is empowered “to regulate
commerce, to provide and maintain a navy, and make rules for the
government and regulation of the land and naval forces.” The initiatory
steps for establishing and regulating a navy were taken by the
Continental Congress in November and December, 1775. The management of
naval affairs was first assigned to a Marine Committee of Congress,
appointed Dec. 11, 1775, which in 1779 (June 9), was converted into
Commissioners, and before the close of that year, into a Board of
Admiralty, which consisted of five members, two of whom were members of
Congress, with a secretary, who was appointed by Congress. In 1781
(Feb. 7), a Secretary of Marine was created to execute all the duties
and powers of the Board of Admiralty. In the condition of the public
treasury, and “in the dilatory and parsimonious action of the several
States in forwarding funds for the construction of ships, docks, and
naval arsenals, and for the support of the naval service,” Congress
voted in August, 1783, “that it was not advisable to purchase ships for
the present.”
The necessities of a disordered commerce, and of a sufficient naval
force to protect the navigation of the country, and repel the first
approach of a hostile army from abroad, were among the motives for
establishing a more efficient federal government. But until the danger
of war with England became imminent, a large party in the country, in
and out of Congress, opposed the necessary appropriations for putting
the Navy of the United States on a respectable footing.
In constituting the executive departments of the national government
under the Constitution, the administration of the navy and naval affairs
were committed to the War Department, where it remained till 1798, when
(April 30) an Act was passed “to establish an executive department to be
denominated the Department of the Navy.”
The Act of March 27, 1794, by which the construction and manning of four
ships of 44 guns each, and two of 36 were ordered, was called for by the
depredations on our commerce, and particularly in the Mediterranean Sea.
In this Act the appointment of eight midshipmen, to rank with the
warrant and petty officers, was authorized, and the Navy Register bears
the names of only eight officers holding that rank prior to 1800. In
1801 the naval force of the United States consisted of 13 ships, viz.: 4
of 44 guns each (_United States_, _President_, _Constitution_, and
_Philadelphia_); 4 of 36 guns each (_Chesapeake_, _Constellation_,
_Congress_, and _New York_); 5 of 32 guns each (_Benton_, _Essex_,
_Adams_, and _John Adams_); and by an Act of that year all others were
ordered to be sold, and the completion of any more in the yards, was
suspended. But the insults to our flag and destruction of our commerce
by the Barbary powers, and the privateers of England and France, aroused
such a feeling in the country that Congress ordered a squadron to be
fitted out for the Mediterranean in 1803, which proved to be the school
in which the seamanship of the Navy was trained, and the gallantry of
its officers signally displayed. In the legislation of this period
originated the “gun-boat” policy as an auxiliary means of harbor
defense. In 1805 the first vessel of this class was added to the
Mediterranean squadron, and in 1806 the President announced that 50 more
could be relied on for the naval service. Gun-boats, properly
constructed and armed, are now part of the system of harbor defense in
all countries.
By an Act of Congress approved April 21, 1806, the whole number of able
seamen, ordinary seamen and boys, for the United States Navy was not to
exceed 925. March 3, 1807, the President was authorized to employ 500
additionals, increasing the authorized number to 1,425. January 31,
1809, the President was authorized to employ 3,600 able seamen, ordinary
seamen and boys, in addition to the number of petty officers, seamen,
etc., previously authorized, which increased the number of enlisted men
allowed to 5,125.
In 1810 an appropriation was made to test the value of torpedo or
submarine explosives, as engines of war, and in 1842 to test the
submarine battery ignited by a submerged electric wire, devised by
Samuel Colt. The introduction, of these “engines of war” into the
defense of Southern harbors, in 1861-65, demonstrated their efficiency
and inaugurated a new system of not only harbor defense, but of attack.
March 30, 1812, the President was further authorized to increase the
seamen, etc., and as far as necessary to equip the frigates
_Chesapeake_, _Constellation_, and _Adams_, any law to the contrary
notwithstanding. In this Act provision was made for the appointment of a
schoolmaster to each ship having a complement of 12 midshipmen.
March 3, 1813, he was authorized to have built six sloops-of-war, and to
have them manned and equipped, and to employ the number of seamen which
were necessary for such vessels as were authorized by law to be put in
commission.
In 1816, in the appropriation annually of $1,000,000 for eight years to
the gradual increase of the Navy by nine 74 gun-ships, and twelve 44
gun-frigates, provision was made to procure the steam-engines and build
and equip three steam-batteries for the defense of ports and
harbors--the introduction of a new element into the naval service. In
1839 the Secretary was authorized to construct three steam-vessels of
war, “according to the best advices that could be obtained.”
In 1837, after strenuous efforts to enlist Congress in some systematic
plan for supplying the navy with well instructed and thoroughly
disciplined seamen, the Secretary was authorized to enlist under certain
conditions, boys between the ages of 13 and 18, who should receive
special opportunities for school and professional training.
In 1844, $100,000 was appropriated to build at Pittsburg an iron steamer
(the _Alleghany_); and the appearance and exploits of the _Merrimac_ and
the _Monitor_, in the waters of the Chesapeake, in 1863, introduced a
new system of naval construction and armament, not only into our navy,
but in less than ten years revolutionized the ship-yards and ordnance
foundries of the world.
By Act of March 3, 1845, it was provided “that the whole number of petty
officers, seamen, ordinary seamen, landsmen and boys, in the naval
service, shall not exceed 7,500 at any one time during the fiscal year,”
for which appropriation was then made.
By Act of March 3, 1857, the Secretary of the Navy was authorized to
enlist 8,500 men for the Navy, instead of 7,500. During the late civil
war the limitation of enlisted men was suspended; and in his annual
report, December, 1862, the Secretary states the number of persons
employed on board our naval vessels, including receiving ships and
recruits, as about 28,000; and in his report of December, 1865, he says
the number was increased to 51,500 at the close of the war, which in
1867 had been reduced to 11,900.
In 1864 the Secretary of the Navy revived the system of naval
apprenticeship, which was inaugurated under the Act of March 2, 1837,
but suspended because the favorable results anticipated from a fair
trial were not realized at once, under various disadvantages of a new
enterprise, and because Congress, in 1845, by limiting the whole number
of persons employed in the naval service, compelled the Department to
discharge boys instead of men.
By Act of June 17, 1868, the number of persons enlisted into the Navy,
including apprentices and boys, was limited to 8,500--a limitation
actually below the maximum which existed prior to the war, and compelled
the department to reduce the number of naval apprentices, and finally to
again abandon that system.
The number of line officers is now (1871) limited by law to one admiral,
one vice-admiral, 10 rear admirals, 25 commodores, 50 captains, 90
commanders; total flag and commanding officers, 177. To these are added
80 lieutenant commanders, 280 lieutenants, 200 masters and
ensigns--making the total line officers of all grades, excepting
midshipmen (309 including those at Annapolis), 737.
The medical staff consists of 180, viz.: 15 medical directors
(captains); 15 inspectors (commanders); 50 surgeons (Lieut.-commanders),
and 100 passed assistant and assistant surgeons.
The engineers’ department (total 250) includes 10 chief engineers
(captains); 15 _do._ (commanders); 45 _do._ (lieut.-commanders); 100
assistants (masters and ensigns). There are 126 paymasters, 13 ranking
as captains; 13 as commanders; 50 as lieut.-commanders. The number of
chaplains is limited to 24, and of professors to 12.
Although, strangely enough, not under the administration of the Navy
Department, the inauguration of the Coast Survey in 1807, and its
thorough prosecution since 1844, when the employment of officers of the
army and navy in the work was authorized; the recognition of the Naval
Observatory at Washington city, and authorizing the making astronomical
and meteorological observations, in the Act of August 3, 1848; the
assignment of a competent officer of the navy to the preparation of the
Nautical Almanac; the institution of the bureau of Hydrography and
Ordnance, in 1842; the employment of three suitable vessels of the navy
to test and perfect the plans of Lieutenant Maury in his investigations
of the winds and the currents of the ocean, by Act of March 3, 1849; the
concentration of the teaching staff of the corps of midshipmen
preparatory for their examination at the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia,
and their removal to separate accommodations at the old military station
of Fort Severn, in Annapolis, by order of Secretary Bancroft in 1845,
and the formal recognition of the institution as the Naval School, in
the appropriations for the navy in 1847--these and other acts of
Congress, and the action of the Department under them, are important
data in the history of the Navy and Naval Education--especially of their
scientific character.
GROWTH IN SHIPS, OFFICERS AND MEN.
The following Tables, prepared by Capt. George H. Preble, U.S.N., which
are copied from the Army and Navy Journal for Nov. and Dec., 1871,
exhibit in a condensed view the expansion of the military and merchant
marine of the United States, from 1816 to 1871 inclusive, as well as its
condition in each year from 1816.
TABLE I.--_Naval Vessels, Tonnage, Officers, Seamen, and Cost. Tonnage._
[KEY]
NV Number of Vessels United States Navy.
NG Number of Guns.
TV Tonnage of Vessels belonging to the United States Navy.
TNO Total Number of Navy Officers, including Midshipmen and Mates.
TPO Total Number of Petty Officers, Seamen, etc.
Exp Total Expenditures for the Navy and Marine Corps.
TT Total Tonnage of U.S. Enrolled, Licensed and Registered.
-----+-----+------+--------+------+--------+------------+----------
Year | NV | NG | TV | TNO | TPO | Exp | TT
-----+-----+------+--------+------+--------+------------+----------
1816 | ... | ... | 40,032 | 838 |unknown.|$3,908,278 |1,372,219
1817 | 111 |1,267 | 39,642 | 954 | ... | 3,314,598 |1,399,911
1818 | 115 |1,383 | 39,682 | 948 | ... | 2,953,695 |1,225,184
1819 | 90 |1,243 | 36,512 | 926 | ... | 3,847,640 |1,260,752
1820 | 88 |1,384 | 38,057 | 895 | ... | 4,387,990 |1,280,166
1821 | 36 |1,017 | 33,851 | 876 | ... | 3,319,243 |1,290,959
1822 | 38 |1,047 | 34,413 | 848 | ... | 2,224,459 |1,324,670
1823 | 45 |1,085 | 36,039 | 812 | ... | 2,503,766 |1,336,566
1824 | 49 |1,122 | 36,338 | 843 | ... | 2,904,581 |1,389,163
1825 | 44 |1,107 | 36,174 | 856 | ... | 3,049,087 |1,423,111
1826 | 46 |1,104 | 39,577 | 859 | ... | 4,218,902 |1,534,190
1827 | 49 |1,163 | 42,708 | 877 | ... | 4,263,878 |1,620,608
1828 | 53 |1,243 | 44,149 | 898 | ... | 3,918,786 |1,741,392
1829 | 52 |1,315 | 40,865 | 996 | ... | 3,988,643 |1,260,798
1830 | 51 |1,287 | 40,865 |1,051 | ... | 3,239,429 |1,191,776
1831 | 50 |1,269 | 41,953 | 990 | ... | 3,856,183 |1,276,846
1832 | 52 |1,292 | 42,147 | 987 | ... | 4,947,718 |1,439,450
1833 | 53 |1,872 | 60,002 |1,022 | ... | 4,274,184 |1,606,149
1834 | 53 |1,872 | 67,804 |1,012 | ... | 4,613,657 |1,758,907
1835 | 53 |1,872 | 66,479 |1,035 | 3,627 | 4,209,836 |1,824,940
1836 | 51 |1,969 | 66,281 |1,044 | 3,804 | 6,252,145 |1,882,685
1837 | 55 |1,982 | 69,043 |1,048 | 5,201 | 6,646,915 |1,886,684
1838 | 55 |1,982 | 69,233 |1,104 | 5,650 | 6,131,581 |1,985,649
1839 | 56 |2,022 | 71,396 |1,157 | 6,932 | 6,182,294 |2,096,479
1840 | 62 |2,106 | 74,776 |1,171 | 7,072 | 6,113,896 |2,180,764
1841 | 67 |2,106 | 72,418 |1,222 | 7,419 | 6,001,077 |2,130,744
1842 | 69 |2,044 | 73,895 |1,482 | 9,784 | 8,397,243 |2,092,391
1843 | 71 |2,022 | 77,031 |1,493 | 10,321 | 3,727,712* |2,158,603
1844 | 74 |2,464 | 78,221 |1,448 | 10,000 | 6,498,199 |2,280,095
1845 | 76 |2,400 | 79,592 |1,434 | 7,500 | 6,297,178 |2,417,002
1846 | 76 |2,345 | 80,992 |1,398 | 7,500 | 6,455,014 |2,562,084
1847 | 81 |2,398 | 86,456 |1,391 | 7,500 | 7,900,636 |2,839,046
1848 | 92 |2,401 | 95,755 |1,425 | 7,500 | 9,408,477 |3,154,042
1849 | 78 |2,380 | 92,391 |1,465 | 7,500 | 9,786,706 |3,334,016
1850 | 77 |2,370 | 91,591 |1,423 | 7,500 | 7,904,725 |3,535,454
1851 | 74 |2,336 | 90,786 |1,416 | 7,500 | 8,880,582 |3,772,439
1852 | 75 |2,346 | 90,992 |1,432 | 7,500 | 8,918,842 |4,138,440
1853 | 75 |2,329 | 91,814 |1,417 | 7,500 |11,067,790 |4,407,010
1854 | 73 |2,115 | 91,787 |1,423 | 7,500 |10,790,096 |4,802,902
1855 | 78 |2,355 |112,715 |1,433 | 7,500 |13,327,095 |5,212,001
1856 | 76 |2,359 |111,803 |1,196 | 7,500 |14,074,835 |4,872,652
1857 | 73 |2,332 |109,224 |1,206 | 8,500 |12,651,695 |4,940,842
1858 | 78 |2,231 |113,765 |1,287 | 8,500 |14,053,265 |5,049,808
1859 | 86 |2,273 |132,489 |1,351 | 8,500 |14,690,927 |5,145,038
1860 | 91 |2,329 |133,832 |1,436 | 8,500 |11,514,650 |5,353,868
1861 | 90 |2,309 |133,842 |1,497 | 10,000 |12,387,157 |5,539,813
1862 |383 |2,876 |284,377 |3,493 | 28,000 |42,674,569 |5,112,165
1863 |449 |2,926 |333,841 |4,613 | |63,211,105 |5,155,055
1864 |617 |4,088 |463,107 |6,170 | 51,500 |85,733,293 |4,986,401
1865 |681 |4,662 |470,362 |7,296 | |116,781,676 |5,096,783
1866 |320 |2,688 |336,874 |2,847 | 13,600 |43,324,526 |4,310,778
1867 |273 |2,235 |313,056 |2,770 | 11,900 |31,034,011 |4,304,486
1868 |229 |1,704 |281,629 |2,420 | 8,500 |20,120,395 |4,351,758
1869 |203 |1,701 |255,217 |1,921 | 8,500 |18,985,165 |4,144,639
1870 |186 |1,443 |183,217 |1,853 | 8,500 |15,870,531 |4,246,507
1871 |177 |1,446 |181,738 |2,020†| 8,500 |19,431,027 |4,111,412
[* Change of the fiscal year.]
[† From this number should be deducted 130 mates not permanent officers
of the Navy.]
TABLE II. _Line Officers_--_1816 to 1871._
[KEY]
Y Year.
A Admirals.
VA Vice-Admirals.
RA Rear Admirals.
Cm Commodores.
Cp Captains.
MC Master Command’ts or Commanders.
LC Lieut. Command’rs.
Lt Lieutenants.
Mr Masters.
PM Passed Midshipmen or Ensigns.
Mm Midshipmen.
Cm Cadet Midshipmen.
Mt Mates.
TLO Total Line Officers.
-----+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+--+-----
Y | A |VA | RA| Cm| Cp | MC | LC | Lt | Mr| PM | Mm |CM |Mt| TLO
-----+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+--+-----
1815 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
1816 | | | | | 32| 18| | 150| | | 495| | | 695
1817 | | | | | 31| 22| | 157| 87| | 415| | 4| 716
1818 | | | | | 34| 26| | 182| 83| | 404| | 7| 736
1819 | | | | | 35| 23| | 213| 76| | 362| | 7| 716
1820 | | | | | 34| 22| | 202| 76| | 350| | 4| 688
1821 | | | | | 32| 21| | 193| 62| | 364| | 2| 674
1822 | | | | | 31| 31| | 196| 58| | 336| | 1| 653
1823 | | | | | 30| 30| | 183| 53| 75| 249| | 1| 621
1824 | | | | | 28| 30| | 172| 51| 71| 312| | | 664
1825 | | | | | 24| 30| | 228| 48| | 356| | | 680
1826 | | | | | 32| 29| | 209| 43| 15| 361| | | 689
1827 | | | | | 31| 27| | 228| 36| | 374| | | 696
1828 | | | | | 33| 29| | 229| 33| | 392| | | 716
1829 | | | | | 35| 33| | 263| 30| 10| 435| | | 806
1830 | | | | | 37| 39| | 258| 32| 41| 435| | | 842
1831 | | | | | 37| 34| | 255| 31| 54| 377| | | 788
1832 | | | | | 40| 37| | 259| 32| 74| 345| | | 787
1833 | | | | | 37| 41| | 259| 31| 94| 356| | | 818
1834 | | | | | 37| 41| | 259| 29| 133| 317| | | 807
1835 | | | | | 37| 41| | 257| 27| 178| 272| | | 812
1836 | | | | | 38| 40| | 257| 27| 199| 251| | | 812
1837 | | | | | 40| 41| | 258| 27| 200| 241| | | 807
1838 | | | | | 50| 49| | 276| 27| 181| 247| | | 830
1839 | | | | | 52| 55| | 285| 27| 196| 249| | | 844
1840 | | | | | 55| 55| | 290| 29| 191| 231| | | 851
1841 | | | | | 55| 55| | 288| 28| 195| 262| | | 883
1842 | | | | | 68| 96| | 328| 30| 103| 460| | 4|1089
1843 | | | | | 67| 94| | 324| 31| 133| 410| | 7|1066
1844 | | | | | 67| 96| | 324| 30| 147| 356| |12|1032
1845 | | | | | 68| 96| | 327| 31| 159| 314| |11|1006
1846 | | | | | 67| 97| | 326| 28| 181| 264| |11| 974
1847 | | | | | 64| 97| | 324| 31| 206| 240| | 9| 970
1848 | | | | | 67| 97| | 327| 31| 208| 228| | 8| 966
1849 | | | | | 68| 97| | 327| 31| 270| 181| | 8| 982
1850 | | | | | 68| 97| | 327| 32| 208| 152| | 5| 940
1851 | | | | | 68| 97| | 327| 33| 233| 171| | 3| 932
1852 | | | | | 68| 97| | 325| 32| 205| 144| 55| 3| 929
1853 | | | | | 68| 97| | 327| 32| 197| 122| 76| 3| 892
1854 | | | | | 68| 97| | 326| 18| 198| 89| 94| 2| 892
1855 | | | | | 68| 97| | 326| 32| 190| 66|128| 2| 912
1856 | | | | | 68| 97| | 326| 19| | 46|124| 1| 681
1857 | | | | | 64| 96| | 311| 24| 24| 30|145| 1| 696
1858 | | | | | 76| 106| | 319| 1| 23| 45|174| 1| 745
1859 | | | | | 81| 116| | 338| 20| | 47|187| | 789
1860 | | | | | 80*| 114| | 325| 34| | 49|238| | 840
1861 | | | | | 79*| 114| | 321| 36| | 55|267| | 872
1862 | | | 4| 18| 40| 91| 144| 90| | | 67|220| | 664
1863 | | | 4| 14| 37| 72| 144| 96| | 30| 9|382| | 788
1864 | | | 6| 18| 36| 72| 144| 96| | 88| 2|457| | 913
1865 | | 1 | 5| 19| 35| 67| 139| 113| | 53| 31|458| | 931
1866 | | 1 | 4| 19| 35| 71| 142| 90| 11| 39| 84|450| | 946
1867 | 1 | 1 | 10| 24| 46| 90| 165| 22| 53| 54| 72|421| | 959
1868 | 1 | 1 | 9| 24| 49| 90| 136| 45| 29| 52| 157|344| | 937
1869 | 1 | 1 | 10| 25| 50| 89| 171| 46| 80| 154| 77|286| | 990
1870 | 1 | 1 | 10| 25| 50| 90| 180| 64| 99| 160| 74|251| |1103†
1871 | 1 | 1 | 12| 25| 50| 89| 178| 141|151| 69| 69|246| |1256‡
-----+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+----+---+----+----+---+--+-------
[* One senior flag officer.]
[† Including 98 mates, temporary officers not eligible for promotion and
not properly belonging to the Regular Navy, and should be classed as
Volunteers.]
[‡ Including 130 mates, temporary officers not eligible for promotion
and not properly belonging to the Regular Navy, and should be classed as
Volunteers.]
TABLE III. _Warrant or Forward Officers, and Marine Corps, 1816 to
1871._
[KEY]
Y Year.
B Boatswains.
G Gunners.
Cr Carpenters.
S Sailmakers.
C Colonels.
LC Lieut-Colonels.
M Majors.
Cp Captains.
L Lieutenants.
SL Second Lieutenants.
T Total.
-------------------------------+---------------------------------
Warranted or Forward Officers, | Officers of the United States
1815 to 1871 inclusive. | Marine Corps,
| 1815 to 1871 inclusive.
-----+----+----+----+----+-----+---+---+---+----+----+-----+-----
Y | B | G | Cr | S | T | C |LC | M | Cp | L | SL | T
-----+----+----+----+----+-----+---+---+---+----+----+-----+-----
1815 | 28 | 24 | 18 | 12 | 82 | 1 | | 2 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 62
1816 | 28 | 24 | 6 | 2 | 60 | 1 | | 1 | 20 | 21 | 18 | 61
1817 | 28 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 58 | 1 | | 1 | 16 | 19 | 13 | 50
1818 | 22 | 22 | 17 | 11 | 72 | 1 | | | 9 | 23 | 16 | 49
1819 | 22 | 22 | 16 | 11 | 71 | | | | 9 | 23 | 16 | 48
1820 | 19 | 22 | 17 | 12 | 70 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 9 | 43
1821 | 14 | 18 | 12 | 8 | 52 | | 1 | | 8 | 24 | 16 | 49
1822 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 10 | 56 | | 1 | | 8 | 21 | 15 | 45
1823 | 16 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 58 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1824 | 15 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 59 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 15 | 49
1825 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 10 | 52 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 14 | 48
1826 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 44 | | 1 | | 9 | 23 | 17 | 50
1827 | 15 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 49 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1828 | 14 | 18 | 14 | 11 | 57 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1829 | 17 | 19 | 13 | 14 | 63 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1830 | 18 | 20 | 16 | 16 | 70 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1831 | 18 | 19 | 13 | 17 | 67 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1832 | 21 | 16 | 12 | 18 | 67 | | 1 | | 9 | 24 | 16 | 50
1833 | 16 | 19 | 15 | 13 | 63 | | 1 | | 10 | 24 | 16 | 50
1834 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 65 | | 1 | | 10 | 24 | 16 | 50
1835 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 77 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 19 | 58
1836 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 80 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 19 | 58
1837 | 22 | 23 | 20 | 19 | 84 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1838 | 25 | 29 | 23 | 24 | 101 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 58
1839 | 32 | 35 | 27 | 26 | 120 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 19 | 58
1840 | 32 | 37 | 24 | 25 | 118 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1841 | 29 | 36 | 28 | 27 | 120 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1842 | 32 | 41 | 36 | 33 | 142 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 19 | 58
1843 | 37 | 40 | 38 | 35 | 150 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1844 | 32 | 39 | 35 | 33 | 139 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1845 | 30 | 42 | 36 | 34 | 142 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1846 | 31 | 42 | 36 | 34 | 143 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1847 | 32 | 42 | 36 | 31 | 141 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 13 | 20 | 20 | 59
1848 | 38 | 44 | 40 | 29 | 151 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 23 | 24 | 70
1849 | 39 | 44 | 42 | 33 | 158 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 24 | 24 | 75
1850 | 39 | 43 | 42 | 34 | 158 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 18 | 23 | 23 | 73
1851 | 43 | 46 | 45 | 37 | 171 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 17 | 23 | 21 | 70
1852 | 41 | 45 | 45 | 38 | 169 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 21 | 21 | 67
1853 | 44 | 46 | 49 | 41 | 180 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 65
1854 | 38 | 48 | 51 | 41 | 178 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 63
1855 | 37 | 45 | 32 | 40 | 174 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 62
1856 | 39 | 40 | 48 | 39 | 166 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 63
1857 | 38 | 40 | 48 | 39 | 165 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 61
1858 | 38 | 44 | 47 | 42 | 171 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 19 | 20 | 62
1859 | 40 | 44 | 48 | 41 | 173 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 19 | 63
1860 | 41 | 46 | 46 | 42 | 175 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 63
1861 | 43 | 47 | 45 | 40 | 175 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 20 | 20 | 63
1862 | 54 | 93 | 60 | 46 | 253 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 24 | 30 | 30 | 95
1863 | 53 | 84 | 56 | 45 | 238 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 20 | 28 | 29 | 88
1864 | 49 | 71 | 53 | 40 | 213 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 21 | 30 | 22 | 84
1865 | 46 | 65 | 47 | 36 | 194 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 24 | 87
1866 | 39 | 63 | 43 | 32 | 177 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 24 | 87
1867 | 52 | 59 | 40 | 30 | 181 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 30 | 93
1868 | 52 | 55 | 36 | 31 | 174 | | 2 | 7 | 21 | 30 | 27 | 88*
1869 | 51 | 50 | 32 | 30 | 163 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 23 | 86*
1870 | 46 | 52 | 38 | 31 | 167 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 23 | 30 | 26 | 90*
1871 | 46 | 57 | 39 | 34 | 176 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 22 | 30 | 30 | 93*
------------------------------------------------------------------
[* One brigadier-general since 1868. The senior officer has always been
styled the lieutenant-colonel-commandant, colonel-commandant, or
brigadier-general commandant. Since 1868, in the number of majors and
captains is included those of the staff ranking with the line. At
present there are three staff officers holding the rank of major, and
two that of captain.]
[KEY]
S Surgeons.
PAS Passed Ass’t Surgeons.
AS Assistant Surgeons.
SM Surgeons’s Mates.
PP Pursers or Paymasters.
CPT Chaplains, Professors of Mathematics, and Teachers.
T Total Staff Officers.
--------------------------------------------------------
STAFF OFFICERS, 1815 TO 1842
INCLUSIVE.
-----+---------------------------+------+-------+-------
| Medical Dep’t. | | |
+---------------------------+ | |
Year.| S | PAS | AS | SM | PP | CPT | T
-----+------+------+------+------+------+-------+-------
1815 | 43 | | | 44 | 39 | 4 | 130
1816 | 45 | | | 44 | 40 | 4 | 133
1817 | 48 | | | 72 | 53 | 7 | 180
1818 | 44 | | | 44 | 45 | 7 | 140
1819 | 52 | | | 33 | 45 | 9 | 139
1820 | 47 | | | 34 | 44 | 12 | 137
1821 | 47 | | | 46 | 44 | 13 | 150
1822 | 46 | | | 41 | 42 | 10 | 139
1823 | 42 | | | 32 | 40 | 9 | 123
1824 | 35 | | | 38 | 39 | 8 | 120
1825 | 34 | | | 40 | 40 | 10 | 124
1826 | 39 | | | 35 | 42 | 10 | 126
1827 | 40 | | | 40 | 43 | 9 | 132
1828 | 37 | | | 37 | 42 | 9 | 125
1829 | 43 | | 34 | | 41 | 9 | 127
1830 | 39 | | 58* | | 43 | 9 | 149
1831 | 37 | | 46 | | 43 | 9 | 135
1832 | 44 | | 38 | | 42 | 9 | 133
1833 | 44 | | 45 | | 43 | 9 | 141
1834 | 43 | | 46 | | 43 | 8 | 140
1835 | 44 | 15 | 31 | | 43 | 13 | 146
1836 | 43 | 15 | 35 | | 42 | 17 | 152
1837 | 44 | 26 | 23 | | 44 | 20 | 157
1838 | 49 | 20 | 37 | | 45 | 22 | 178
1839 | 60 | 16 | 51 | | 49 | 27 | 193
1840 | 61 | 17 | 53 | | 51 | 30 | 202
1841 | 59 | 17 | 57 | | 53 | 33 | 219
1842 | 69 | 11 | 55 | | 64 | 52 | 251
-----+------+------+------+------+------+-------+-------
[* Sixteen acting assistants.]
[KEY]
S Surgeons.
PAS Passed Ass’t Surgeons.
AS Assistant Surgeons.
P Paymasters.
PAP Passed Ass’t Paymasters.
AP Assistant Paymasters.
CE Chief Engineers.
1AE 1st Assistant Engineers.
2AE 2d Assistant Engineers.
3AE 3d Assistant Engineers.
Ch Chaplains.
PTL Professors and Teachers of Language.
T Total Staff Officers
----------------------------------------------------------------
STAFF OFFICERS, 1842 TO 1871 INCLUSIVE.
-----+------------+-----------+------------------+---+----+-----
| Medical | Pay | Engineer | | |
| Dep’t. | Dep’t. | Dep’t. | | |
+---+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+ | |
Year.| S |PAS| AS | P |PAP|AP | CE| 1AE| 2AE| 3AE| Ch| PTL| T
-----+---+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+---+----+-----
1843 | 69| 9| 60| 64|...|...| 5| 8| 5| 5| 22| 29| 277
1844 | 69| 26| 39| 64|...|...| 5| 9| 5| 10| 22| 26| 277
1845 | 96| 26| 41| 64|...|...| 5| 11| 9| 11| 23| 25| 286
1846 | 69| 29| 36| 64|...|...| 5| 5| 13| 13| 23| 24| 281
1847 | 69| 33| 34| 62|...|...| 4| 5| 13| 13| 22| 24| 280
1848 | 68| 41| 37| 63|...|...| 6| 9| 18| 24| 24| 23| 308
1849 | 69| 39| 41| 64|...|...| 6| 12| 17| 38| 24| 14| 325
1850 | 68| 37| 43| 64|...|...| 8| 8| 18| 33| 24| 12| 316
1851 | 68| 34| 44| 63|...|...| 9| 7| 17| 35| 23| 12| 313
1852 | 69| 34| 45| 64|...|...| 10| 19| 29| 28| 24| 12| 334
1853 | 69| 40| 37| 63|...|...| 13| 18| 34| 34| 24| 12| 345
1854 | 69| 37| 42| 64|...|...| 11| 24| 25| 44| 24| 12| 353
1855 | 69| 35| 44| 64|...|...| 12| 22| 23| 41| 24| 12| 347
1856 | 69| 36| 43| 64|...|...| 13| 21| 28| 39| 24| 12| 349
1857 | 69| 43| 37| 64|...|...| 17| 24| 20| 35| 24| 12| 345
1858 | 69| 41| 39| 62|...|...| 18| 31| 21| 54| 24| 12| 371
1859 | 69| 41| 39| 64|...|...| 21| 33| 23| 63| 24| 12| 389
1860 | 69| 37| 42| 64|...|...| 24| 36| 23| 92| 23| 11| 421
1861 | 69| 43| 36| 64|...|...| 28| 43| 20| 92| 24| 12| 450
1862 | 80| 2| 118| 62|...| 31| 48| 32| 78| 240|116| 12| 724
1863 | 80| 1| 117| 63|...| 31| 49| 32| 92| 264|118| 12| 759
1864 | 80| 7| 108| 64|...| 32| 52| 48| 149| 252|120| 12| 815
1865 | 78| 22| 108| 63|...| 33| 59| 65| 235| 115|121| 12| 811
1866 | 79| 44| 33| 62|...| 30| 54| 65| 175| 64| 19| 12| 637
1867 | 79| 38| 37| 80| 39| 11| 54| 86| 146| 37| 19| 11| 637
1868 | 80| 42| 38| 80| 39| 26| 50| 88| 131| 21| 18| 11| 617
1869 | 80| 35| 33| 79| 38| 18| 49| 91| 112| 35| 16| 11| 597
1870 | 80| 33| 35| 80| 40| 20| 48| 81| 122| 1| 21| 10| 571
1871 | 80| 32| 38| 80| 39| 20| 56| 98| 93| ...| 23| 9| 575
-----+---+---+----+---+---+---+---+----+----+----+---+----+-----
[* Also one engineer-in-chief and one principal engineer in 1843, ’44,
and ’45.]
[† Also one engineer-in-chief 1847 to 1855 inclusive.]
[KEY]
LC Acting Lieutenants and Lieut.-Commanders.
VL Acting Vol. Lieutenants.
E Acting Ensigns.
M Acting Masters.
MM Acting Master’s Mates and Mates.
BG Acting Boatswains and Gunners.
T Total.
------------------------------------------------
VOL. OFFICERS, 1862 TO 1871 INCLUSIVE.
LINE.
-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+----+------
Year.| LC | VL | M | E | MM | BG | T
-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+----+------
1862 | 14 | 28 | 581 | 60 | 572 | | 1255
1863 | 15 | 50 | 581 | 336 | 754 | 31 | 1767
1864 | 4 | 81 | 516 | 896 | 901 | 47 | 2445
1865 | 14 | 112 | 583 |1280 | 843 | 75 | 2907
1866 | 8 | 39 | 133 | 258 | 192 | 9 | 619
1867 | 4 | 36 | 140 | 251 | 201 | 2 | 634
1868 | 4 | 26 | 114 | 163 | 142 | 2 | 451
1869 | | | 12 | 9 | 79 | | 97
1870 | | 1 | 1 | 1 | | | 3
1871 | | 1 | 1 | 2 | | | 4
-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+------+----+------
[KEY]
APAS Acting Passed Ass’t Surgeons.
AAS Acting Assistant Surgeons.
AAP Acting Assistant Paymasters.
ACE Acting Chief Engineers.
AAE Acting Assistant Engineers, 1st, 2d, & 3d.
ACp Acting Carpenters.
------------------------------------------------------
STAFF.
-----+------+------+------+------+-------+-----+------
Year.| APAS | AAS | AAP | ACE | AAE | ACp |Total
-----+------+------+------+------+-------+-----+------
1862 | | 93 | 140 | | 364 | | 597
1863 | | 142 | 217 | 21 | 665 | 16 | 1061
1864 | | 197 | 330 | 44 | 1185 | 23 | 1784
1865 | | 246 | 372 | 55 | 1761 | 28 | 2453
1866 | 12 | 60 | 80 | 14 | 301 | 1 | 408
1867 | 20 | 18 | 18 | 7 | 296 | 1 | 360
1868 | 19 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 205 | | 242
1869 | 7 | 5 | 1 | | 61 | | 74
1870 | 2 | 2 | | | 5 | | 9
1871 | 2 | 7 | | | | | 9
-----+------+------+------+------+-------+-----+------
TABLE V. _Sailing Vessels of United States Navy--1817 to 1839._
[KEY]
SL Ships of the Line.
R Razees.
F Frigates.
C Corvettes.
SW Sloops-of-War.
BW Brigs-of-War.
Sn Schooners.
Gb Gunboats.
Ga Galleys.
B Barges.
SV Store Vessels.
BS Block Ships.
UV Unarmed Vessels.
BV Bomb Vessels.
SF Steam Frigates.
SG Steam Galliops.
EV Exploring Vessels.
T Total No. of Vessels.
----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+----
Year|SL|R |F |C |SW|BW|S |Gb|Ga|B |SV|BS|UV|BV|SF|SG|EV| T
----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+----
1817| 5| | 9| 2|13|12|11|11| 8|24| | 1| 9| 5| 1| | |111
1818| 5| |10| 3|11|13|10| 9| 8|34| | 1| 7| 3| 1| | |115
1819| 5| | 9| 3| 5|13|13| 7| 8|21| | 1| 3| 1| 1| | | 90
1820| 5| | 9| 3| 5|13|13| 5| 8|21| | 1| 3| 1| 1| | | 88
1821| 7| | 7| 2| 4| 2| 6| 6| | | 1| | | | 1| | | 36
1822| 7| | 7| 2| 4| 2| 8| 6| | | 1| | | | 1| | | 38
1823| 7| | 8| 2| 4| 2|15| 5| | | 1| | | | 1| | | 45
1824| 7| | 8| 2| 4| 1|13| 5| 5| | 2| | | | 1| 1| | 49
1825| 7| | 8| 2| 5| 1| 8| 5| 5| | 1| | | | 1| 1| | 44
1826|12| |14| 2| 8| 1| 5| | | | 2| | | | 1| 1| | 46
1827|12| |14| 2|13| | 5| | | | 1| | | | 1| 1| | 49
1828|12| |16| |17| | 5| | | | 1| | | | 1| 1| | 53
1829|12| |16| |16| | 5| | | | 1| | | | 1| 1| | 52
1830|12| |16| |16| | 5| | | | 1| | | | | 1| | 51
1831|12| |16| |15| | 5| | | | 1| | | | | 1| | 50
1832|12| |17| |15| | 7| | | | | | | | | 1| | 52
1833|12| |17| |15| | 8| | | | | | | | | 1| | 53
1834|12| |17| |15| | 8| | | | | | | | | 1| | 53
1835|12| |17| |15| | 8| | | | | | | | | 1| | 53
1836|11| 1|16| |15| | 7| | | | | | | | | 1| | 51
1837|11| 1|16| |14| 2| 6| | | | | | | | | 1| 4| 55
1838|11| 1|16| |14| 4| 7| | | | 1| | | | | 1| | 55
1839|11| 1|16| |16| 4| 7| | | | 1| | | | 1| 1| | 56
----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+----
TABLE VI. _Sailing and Steam Vessels_--1840 _to_ 1861.
[KEY]
Y Year.
SL Ships of the Line.
R Razees.
F Frigates.
SW Sloops-of-War.
BW Brigs-of-War.
S Schooners.
SV Store Vessels.
BV Bomb Vessels.
PR Perman’t Rec’g Vessels.
SV Total Sailing Vessels.
S1 Screw Steam’s, 1st Cl’s.
S2 Screw Steam’s, 2d Cl’s.
S3 Screw Steam’s, 3d Cl’s.
SS Screw Steamers.
W1 Side Wheeled, 1st Class.
W2 Side Wheeled, 2d Class.
W3 Side Wheeled, 3d Class.
ST Steam Tenders.
TS Total Steam Vessels.
T Total Number of Vessels.
----+-----------------------------++--------------------------++--
| SAILING VESSELS. || STEAM VESSELS. ||
+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--++--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--++--
Y |SL|R |F |SW|BW|S |SV|BV|PR|SV||S1|S2|S3|SS|W1|W2|W3|ST|TS||T
----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--++--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--++--
1840|11| 1|16|21| 4| 8| 1| | |62|| | | | | 2| 1| 1| | 4||66
1841|11| 1|16|21| 4| 9| 1| | |63|| | | | | 2| 1| 1| | 4||67
1842|11| 1|16|21| 4| 9| 3| | |65|| | | | | 2| 1| 1| | 4||69
1843|11| 1|15|18| 8| 9| 3| | |65|| | 1| | | 2| 1| 2| | 6||71
1844|10| 1|15|22| 7| 9| 5| | |69|| | 1| | | 1| 1| 2| | 5||74
1845|10| 1|14|23| 8| 8| 4| | |68|| | 1| | | 1| 1| 5| | 8||76
1846|11| 1|14|23| 8| 6| 4| | |67|| | 1| | | 1| 1| 6| | 9||76
1847|11| 1|14|22| 5| 9| 6| | |68|| | 1| | | 1| 1|10| |13||81
1848|11| 1|14|22| 6|12| 7| 4| |77|| | 1| | | 1| 1|12| |15||92
1849|11| 1|14|22| 5| 5| 6| | |64|| | 2| | | 4| 1| 7| |14||78
1850|11| 1|14|22| 4| 5| 6| | |63|| | 2| | | 4| 1| 7| |14||77
1851|11| 1|14|21| 4| 3| 5| | |59|| | 1| | 2| 4| 3| 5| |15||74
1852|11| 1|14|21| 4| 3| 5| | |59|| 1| 2| | | 4| 3| 6| |16||75
1853|11| 1|13|21| 4| 4| 5| | |59|| 1| 1| 2| | 4| 3| 5| |16||75
1854|10| 1|13|20| 4| 1| 7| | 2|58|| 1| 2| 2| | 4| 3| 3| |15||73
1855|10| 1|13|20| 4| 1| 7| | 2|58|| 7| 1| 1| | 3| 1| 7| |20||78
1856|10| 1|12|19| 3| 1| 6| | 2|54|| 7| 1| 2| | 3| 1| 5| 3|22||76
1857|10| 1|12|19| 3| 1| 5| | |51|| 7| 1| 2| | 3| 1| 5| 3|22||73
1858|10| |10|21| 3| 1| 3| | 5|53|| 8| 6| 2| 2| 3| 1| 2| 1|25||78
1859|10| |10|21| 3| 1| 3| | 5|53|| 8| 6| 9| 2| 3| 1| 3| 1|33||86
1860|10| |10|21| 3| | 3| | 5|52|| 8| 6| 8| 5| 3| 1| 5| 3|39||91
1861|10| |10|20| 3| | 3| | 6|52|| 8| 6| 8| 7| 4| 1| 4| |38||90
----+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--++--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--+--++--
TABLE VII. _Sailing and Steam Vessels--1862 to 1871._
[KEY]
1R First Rates
2R Second Rates
3R Third Rates
4R Fourth Rates
TS Total Sailing
TC Total Screws
T Total
TV Total No. of Vessels in the U.S. Navy
----+-------------------------
| SAILING VESSELS.
+----+----+----+----+-----
Year| 1R | 2R | 3R | 4R | T
----+----+----+----+----+-----
1862| 7 | 10 | 19 | 65 | 101
1863| 4 | 7 | 12 | 83 | 106
1864| 3 | 5 | 16 | 84 | 108
1865| 3 | 6 | 16 | 84 | 109
1866| 1 | 6 | 16 | 19 | 42
1867| 2 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 38
1868| 6 | 9 | 12 | 5 | 32
1869| 6 | 9 | 11 | 5 | 31
1870| | 2 | 17 | 11 | 30
1871| | 2 | 17 | 10 | 29
----+----+----+----+----+-----
----+-----------------------------------------------------------+----
| STEAM VESSELS |
+-------------------+-------------------+-------------------+
| Screws | Iron Clads | Side Wheels |
+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+
Year| 1R| 2R| 3R| 4R| T | 1R| 2R| 3R| 4R| T| 1R| 2R| 3R| 4R|T | TV
----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
1862| 5| 16| 29| 69|119| 5| 5| 37| 6| 53| 2| 19| 40| 51|112| 383
1863| 6| 15| 24| 96|141| 4| 6| 37| 6| 53| 2| 10| 52| 85|149| 449
1864| 12| 35| 37|129|213| 9| 5| 56| 4| 74| 2| 16| 52|152|222| 617
1865| 23| 32| 42|168|265| 3| 6| 6| 56| 71| 3| 8| 56|160|236| 681
1866| 23| 31| 17| 64|135| 3| 7| 6| 53| 69| 3| 4| 47| 20| 74| 320
1867| 20| 18| 15| 53|106| 3| 6| 6| 47| 62| 3| 4| 43| 17| 67| 273
1868| 19| 21| 17| 43|100| 7| 4| 41| 3| 55| 3| 4| 23| 12| 42| 229
1869| 19| 21| 16| 40| 96| 7| 4| 38| 3| 52| 3| 1| 11| 9| 24| 203
1870| 5| 24| 19| 40| 88| | 6| 5| 40| 51| | 4| 1| 12| 17| 186
1871| 3| 24| 18| 42| 87| | 4| 6| 40| 50| | 4| | 7| 11| 177
----+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+---+----
The following Table, prepared from the official Navy Register for
January of each year, by Capt. G. H. Preble, U.S. Navy, exhibits the
number of midshipmen graduates, and midshipmen attached to the Naval
Academy, with their classification and the number of resignations,
deaths, and dismissals, from 1851 to 1871, inclusive.
TABLE VIII. _Midshipmen in Naval Academy._
[KEY]
M Midshipmen
1 First Class
2 Second Class
3 Third Class
4 Fourth Class
T Total
R Resignations
D Deaths
Dm Dismissals
-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+----
Year | M | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | R | D |Dm
-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+----
1851 | 171 | | | | | 171 | 14 | 5 | 13
1852 | 144 | | | | 28 | 172 | 7 | | 16
1853 | 122 | | | 28 | 48 | 198 | 17 | 1 | 13
1854 | 89 | 6 | 16 | 30 | 42 | 183 | 9 | 3 | 17
1855 | 66 | 12 | 26 | 16 | 74 | 194 | 23 | 1 | 15
1856 | 47 | 20 | 17 | 38 | 49 | 171 | 31 | 4 | 2
1857 | 30 | 15 | 24 | 28 | 78 | 175 | 34 | 1 | 2
1858 | 45 | 15 | 24 | 35 | 100 | 219 | 38 | | 7
1859 | 47 | 20 | 28 | 56 | 83 | 234 | 30 | | 1
1860 | 49 | 25 | 39 | 57 | 117 | 287 | 22 | | 3
1861 | 55 | 35 | 38 | 70 | 124 | 324 | 33 | 3 | 4
1862 | 67 | 21 | 31 | 120 | 79 | 318 | 112 | 1 | 14
1863 | 9 | 21 | 31 | 118 | 212 | 391 | 45 | 2 | 14
1864 | 2 | 39 | 63 | 137 | 218 | 489 | 20 | 4 | 53
1865 | 31 | 60 | 99 | 133 | 163 | 486 | 74 | | 53
1866 | 84 | 78 | 110 | 115 | 147 | 534 | 70 | 2 | 12
1867 | 72 | 89 | 87 | 98 | 147 | 493 | 68 | 2 | 7
1868 | 157 | 81 | 82 | 88 | 93 | 501 | 57 | 2 | 3
1869 | 77 | 80 | 77 | 76 | 53 | 363 | 25 | 1 | 5
1870 | 74 | 68 | 54 | 37 | 92 | 325 | 45 | 1 | 4
1871 | 69 | 51 | 33 | 48 | 108 | 309 | 42 | 1 | 3
-----+-----+----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+---+----
U.S. NAVAL ACADEMY AT ANNAPOLIS.
I. HISTORICAL NOTICE.
The history of the United States Naval Academy, as an institution, opens
October, 1845, but its germ and growth in suggestions, for the practical
instruction of midshipmen, dates back to the beginning of the century.
A school of the Navy constituted one of the departments, or group of
schools, in the plan of a Military Academy drawn up by Alexander
Hamilton, as Inspector General of the Army, and submitted to Congress,
January, 1800, in the Report of the Secretary of War (James McHenry),
whose department was at that time charged with the management of naval
affairs.
In 1808, General Williams, in a report on the enlargement of the
Military Academy at West Point, of which he was Superintendent,
recommended “that nautical astronomy, geography, and navigation should
be taught by the professor of mathematics,” and that the plan of the
institution should “take in the minor offices of the navy; but also any
youths from any of the States who might wish for such an education,
whether designated for the army or navy, or neither, and to let these be
assessed to the value of their education.” This plan was doubtless
suggested by the Polytechnic School of France, and if adopted at the
time, would have not only have given to the army and navy a much broader
and firmer basis of scientific attainments, but would have hastened the
construction of roads, bridges, canals, and railroads, and the
development of the mineral and other industrial resources of the
country, by turning out every year a number of young men, qualified in
scientific culture, to enter on the duties of civil, mining and
mechanical engineers, and become superintendents of manufacturing and
other corporate enterprises. In the absence of any special school of
preparation for such civil services, officers of the army were induced
to resign their commissions to superintend the construction of canals
and railroads under state and corporate auspices.
In the measures which grew out of the war of 1812, was the act of
January, 1813, “to increase the Navy of the United States,” in which
authority was given to the Secretary of the Department to employ a
schoolmaster for each vessel to which 12 midshipmen were assigned. By
these, so far as appears in any published document, was given the first
formal employment of this class of officers.
In 1814 the Secretary (William Jones) suggested “the establishment of a
Naval Academy with suitable professors, for the instruction of the
officers of the Navy in those branches of Mathematics and experimental
philosophy, and in the service and practice of gunnery, theory of naval
architecture, and art of mechanical drawing, which are necessary to the
accomplishment of the naval officer.” This suggestion was renewed by his
successor, Smith Thompson, of New York, and a distinct proposition to
locate it on Governor’s Island, in the harbor of New York, by Secretary
S. L. Southard, in 1824. In a special communication to the Senate in
1825, he says:
The younger officers enter at so early an age, that they can not be
accomplished, or even moderately accurate scholars. They are constantly
employed on ship-board, or in our navy-yards, where much achievement in
learning can not be expected. And yet the American naval officer is, in
fact, the representative of his country in every port to which he goes,
and by him is that country in greater or less degree estimated. “The
science and information requisite for a navy officer,” he repeats in his
Report for 1827, “is in no respect inferior to that required by the army
officers and engineers, and the interest as well as the honor of the
country are not less concerned in the correct performance of their
duties.”
President Adams (J. Q.) in his Annual Message, Dec. 5, 1825, remarks
that “the want of a Naval School of instruction corresponding with the
Military Academy at West Point, for the promotion of scientific and
accomplished officers, is felt with daily increasing aggravation.” In
his message, Dec. 4, 1827, he returns to the subject “as still
soliciting the sanction of the legislature,” adding--
Practical seamanship, and the art of navigation, may be acquired upon
the cruises of the squadrons, which, from time to time, are dispatched
to distant seas; but a competent knowledge, even of the art of
ship-building, the higher mathematics and astronomy; the literature
which can place our officers on a level of polished education with the
officers of other maritime nations; the knowledge of the laws, municipal
and national, which in their intercourse with foreign states and their
governments, are continually called into operation; and above all, that
acquaintance with the principles of honor and justice, with the higher
obligations of morals, and of general laws, human and divine, which
constitute the great distinction between the warrior patriot and the
licensed robber and pirate; these can be systematically taught and
eminently acquired only in a permanent school, stationed upon the shore,
and provided with the teachers, the instruments, and the books, adapted
to the communication of these principles to the youthful and inquiring
mind.
In 1841, Secretary Upshur renewed the recommendation of his
predecessors, and a bill to establish a naval school at or near Fortress
Monroe, passed the Senate, but was not acted upon in the House.
The nucleus of a school was formed when the midshipmen were first
ordered to the Naval Asylums at Philadelphia and other places, to
prepare for their examination, and several of the professors of
Mathematics repaired there to give instruction.
In 1845 the Secretary of the Navy (George Bancroft), inaugurated and
completed in four months an arrangement by which a Naval School, with
its corps of professors, was instituted in a suitable location, without
any special appropriation, and with only the existing authority of acts
of Congress. The original plan is best set forth in Mr. Bancroft’s
letter to Commodore Franklin Buchanan, whom he appointed superintendent
of the institution.
NAVY DEPARTMENT, August 7th, 1845.
SIR:
The Secretary of War, with the assent of the President, is prepared to
transfer Fort Severn to the Navy Department, for the purpose of
establishing there a school for midshipmen.
In carrying this design into effect, it is my desire to avoid all
unnecessary expense--to create no places of easy service--no commands
that are not strictly necessary--to incur no charge that may demand new
annual appropriations; but, by a more wise application of moneys already
appropriated, and officers already authorized, to provide for the better
education of the young officers of the navy. It is my design not to
create new officers, but, by economy of administration, to give vigor of
action to those which at present are available; not to invoke new
legislation, but to execute more effectually existing laws. Placed by
their profession in connection with the world, visiting in their career
of service every climate and every leading people, the officers of the
American navy, if they gain but opportunity for scientific instruction,
may make themselves as distinguished for culture as they have been for
gallant conduct.
To this end it is proposed to collect the midshipmen who from time to
time are on shore, and give them occupation during their stay on land in
the study of mathematics, nautical astronomy, theory of morals,
international law, gunnery, use of steam, the Spanish and the French
languages, and other branches essential, in the present day, to the
accomplishment of a naval officer.
The effect of such an employment of the midshipmen, can not but be
favorable to them and to the service. At present they are left, when
waiting orders on shore, masters of their own motions, without steady
occupation, young, and exulting in the relief from the restraint of
discipline on shipboard.
In collecting them at Annapolis for purposes of instruction, you will
begin with the principle that a warrant in the navy, far from being an
excuse for licentious freedom, is to be held a pledge for subordination,
industry and regularity,--for sobriety, and assiduous attention to duty.
Far from consenting that the tone of the discipline and morality, should
be less than at the universities or colleges of our country, the
President expects such supervision and management as shall make of them
an exemplary body, of which the country may be proud.
To this end you have all the powers for discipline conferred by the
laws of the United States, and the certainty that the department will
recommend no one for promotion, who is proved unworthy of it from
idleness or ill-conduct or continuing ignorance, and who can not bear
the test of a rigid examination.
For the purpose of instruction, the department can select from among
twenty-two professors and three teachers of languages. This force, which
is now almost wasted by the manner in which it is applied, may be
concentrated in such a manner as to produce the most satisfactory
results. Besides, the list of chaplains is so great that they can not
all be employed at sea, and the range of selection of teachers may be
enlarged by taking from their number some who would prefer giving
instruction at the school to serving afloat. The object of the
department being to make the simplest and most effective arrangement for
a school; you will be the highest officer in the establishment, and will
be intrusted with its government. It is my wish, if it be possible, to
send no other naval officer to the school, except such as may be able
and willing to give instruction. Among the officers junior to yourself,
there are many whose acquisitions and tastes may lead them to desire
such situation. For this end the department would cheerfully detach
three or four of the lieutenants and passed midshipmen, who, while they
would give instruction, would be ready to aid you in affairs of
discipline and government. Thus the means for a good naval school are
abundant, though they have not yet been collected together and applied.
One great difficulty remains to be considered. At our colleges and at
West Point, young men are trained in a series of consecutive years; the
laws of the United States do not sanction a preliminary school for the
navy; they only provide for the instruction of officers who already are
in the navy. The pupils of the naval school being, therefore, officers
in the public service, will be liable at all times to be called from
their studies and sent on public duty. Midshipmen, too, on their return
from the sea, at whatever season of the year, will be sent to the
school. Under these circumstances, you will be obliged to arrange your
classes in such a manner as will leave opportunity for those who arrive,
to be attached to classes suited to the stage of their progress in their
studies. It will be difficult to arrange a system of studies which will
meet this emergency; but with the fixed resolve which you will bring to
the work, and with perseverance, you will succeed.
Having thus expressed to you some general views, I leave you, with
such assistance as you may require, to prepare and lay before this
department for its approbation a plan for the organization of the naval
school at Fort Severn, Annapolis.
The posts to which you and those associated with you will be called
are intended to be posts of labor; but they will also be posts of the
highest usefulness and consideration. To yourself, to whose diligence
and care the organization of the school is intrusted, will belong, in a
good degree, the responsibility of a wise arrangement. Do not be
discouraged by the many inconveniences and difficulties which you will
certainly encounter, and rely implicitly on this department as disposed
to second and sustain you, under the law, in every effort to improve the
character of the younger branch of the service.
I am, respectfully, your obedient servant,
GEORGE BANCROFT.
Com’r FRANKLIN BUCHANAN,
United States Navy, Washington.
Under these instructions the school was duly organized at Fort Severn,
Annapolis, and formally opened, October 10, 1846, with 36 midshipmen,
appointed in 1840, and who were, before resorting to Annapolis,
preparing for examination at the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia; 13 of the
date of 1841, who were to remain at their studies until drafted for sea,
and 7 acting midshipmen, appointed in 1845. The first staff of
instruction consisted, besides Commander Buchanan, of Lieutenant James
H. Ward, in gunnery and steam; Surgeon J. L. Lockwood, in chemistry;
Chaplain George Jones, in English studies; Prof. Henry H. Lockwood, in
natural philosophy; and Prof. Girault, in French.
In 1846, Congress appropriated an amount not exceeding $28,000 for
repairs, improvements, and instruction at Fort Severn, Annapolis, Md.;
and a like amount in 1847 for the same objects, “including a purchase of
land not exceeding 12 acres, for the use of the Naval School.” In the
same year (Dec. 1847), Secretary Mason recommended a practice ship.
Down to 1849, the regulations provided for two years’ study at the
School, followed by three years’ service at sea, and then two years’
study at the School. This alternation of study and practice--of practice
at sea associated with opportunities of study, and of study at school
with many advantages of testing principles by experiments and the
observations of professors and officers of experience, possessed
advantages which still commend it to the minds of many officers over
that of longer continuous study at school before practice in earnest is
begun. The old system had its shortcomings, but it turned out good
seamen and gallant officers, and its best features ought to be again
engrafted on the new.
In 1849, a board of officers was directed by the Secretary of the Navy
to consider the organization of the school at Annapolis, and report to
the department. This was done, and new regulations were matured, and
ordered to go into effect on the first of July, 1850. The teachers’
staff was enlarged, and a practice ship, the Preble, a sloop-of-war of
the third class, was attached for the purpose of a summer cruise, and
the institution was henceforth styled in Acts of Congress and Reports of
the Secretary, the Naval Academy. The course of instruction was arranged
for four years, with an interval of two or three months in the summer
devoted to a practice cruise for two of the classes. The President was
authorized to appoint a Board of Visitors, whose functions were “to
witness the examinations of the several classes, and examine into the
police, discipline, and general management of the Academy.”
The new system began in October, 1850, under Commander C. K. Stribling,
as Superintendent, who was relieved in 1853 by Commander L. M.
Goldsborough, who was in turn relieved by Captain George S. Blake, in
1857, who continued in the superintendence till 1867, when Admiral
Porter was assigned to the position, which he held till 1870, when
Commodore J. L. Worden succeeded him.
The first or lowest class in the four years’ course, entered in October,
1851, and graduated in June, 1854, having had two summer cruises of
practice, and a long period of continuous study.
The necessities of the War, which as early as April, 1861, had made
Annapolis the seat of military operations, caused the removal of the
Academy--its professors, students, library and apparatus--in the month
of May, to Newport, first to Fort Adams, and afterwards to the Atlantic
House in the town, and to the _Constitution_ and other ships, which were
not fit for active service, in the inner harbor. All the members of the
three highest classes were ordered into active service, and with the
fourth class, and 200 newly appointed, the system of instruction went on
as in times of peace.
_Course of Studies in 1864._
In the organization of the Naval School at Annapolis, in 1845, the
ordering of the course of studies was left practically with Prof.
William Chauvenet, a graduate of Yale College, who had been commissioned
professor of mathematics in 1841, and had acted as such in the
instruction of midshipmen in the Naval Asylum at Philadelphia. The
following is substantially the arrangement proposed by him for the
classes when fully organized--the main deviation in the course as
followed in 1864 was in the assignment of text-books.
FIRST CLASS--FOURTH YEAR.
_Department of Practical Seamanship, Naval Gunnery and Naval
Tactics._--Seamanship, Naval Tactics. Naval Gunnery; Simpson’s Ordnance
and Gunnery. Simpson’s Translation of Page’s Theory of Pointing.
Dahlgren’s Boat Howitzer.
_Department of Astronomy, Navigation and Surveying._--Theory of
Navigation. Practical Astronomy. Marine Surveying.
_Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy._--Lardner on Heat.
Wells’ Chemistry. Main & Brown on the Steam-Engine.
_Department of Ethics and English Studies._--Constitution U.S.; Kent on
International Law, Vol. I.
_Department of Spanish._--Ollendorff.
SECOND CLASS--THIRD YEAR.
_Department of Practical Seamanship, Naval Gunnery and Naval
Tactics._--Seamanship. Simpson’s Naval Gunnery.
_Department of Mathematics._--Smyth’s Analytical Geometry. Smith’s
Differential and Integral Calculus.
_Department of Astronomy, Navigation and Surveying._--Davies’ Surveying.
Herschel’s Astronomy. Bowditch’s Navigation.
_Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy._--Lardner’s Optics,
Acoustics, Electricity, and Magnetism. Smith’s Mechanics.
_Department of Field Artillery and Infantry Tactics._--Hardee’s Light
Infantry Drill. Instruction in Field Artillery.
_Department of Ethics and English Studies._--Wayland’s Moral Science.
_Department of French._--Girault’s French Student’s Manual. Dumas’ Vie
de Napoleon. Manesca’s Reader.
THIRD CLASS--SECOND YEAR.
_Department of Practical Seamanship, Naval Gunnery and Naval
Tactics._--Seamanship.
_Department of Mathematics._--Davies’ Legendre’s Geometry. Chauvenet’s
Trigonometry. Davies’ Mensuration.
_Department of Ethics and English Studies._--Eliot’s History U.S.
Quackenbos’ Rhetoric. Composition.
_Department of French._--Girault’s French Student’s Manual. Girault’s
Vie de Washington.
_Department of Drawing and Draughting._--Line Drawing.
FOURTH CLASS--FIRST YEAR.
_Department of Mathematics._--Greenleaf’s Arithmetic. Davies’ Algebra.
Davies’ Legendre’s Geometry.
_Department of Ethics and English Studies._--Bullions’ English Grammar.
Cornell’s Geography. Worcester’s and Lord’s History. Composition.
_Department of Drawing and Draughting._--Sketching.
CONDITION IN 1864.
The following Report, drawn up by the author of this Treatise, after a
residence of several weeks in the institution, as one of the Board of
Visitors, exhibits its condition in 1864, and contains suggestions on
the educational improvement of the military and commercial marine, which
met the approbation of the Board.
_Report of the Board of Visitors to the Secretary of the Navy._
SIR:--The Visitors, appointed “to witness the examination of the several
classes and to examine into the state of the police, discipline, and
general management of the Naval Academy,” for 1864, report as follows:--
I. THEIR OWN PROCEEDINGS.
The regular session of the Board, although several members were in
attendance earlier, commenced on Monday, the 20th of May, and continued
from day to day until Friday, June 10th. Their investigations as a
Board, embraced--
_First._--A thorough inspection of the buildings, ships, and material
equipment provided by the Department for the residence, subsistence,
health, and instruction of the several classes.
_Second._--An attendance of the whole or a portion of the Visitors, for
a brief period at least, on the examination conducted by the Academic
Board, of one or more sections of each class in each study professedly
attended to during the year.
_Third._--An exhibition of the professional knowledge and skill
attained, including the parade, evolutions, tactics, and drill as a
military corps--the uses of the rapier, cutlass, musket, and cannon,
great and small--the handling of ropes, sails, spars, boats, and
everything included in practical seamanship in harbor, afloat, and in
action.
_Fourth._--Inquiries into the mode of conducting the entrance
examination, and the results--the classification and programme of
studies for each class--Scholarship and conduct rolls--causes of failure
to graduate, and system of punishment--chapel exercises, morality,
manners, and personal habits of the midshipmen--the accounts and
vouchers for the expenditure of government appropriations, including
payments made for the use of the cadets--in fine, into the police,
discipline, and general management of the institution.
A committee of the Board was authorized and requested to attend the
entrance examination of the new class, as well as the final examination
of the graduating class, in order that the report required of the
Visitors might cover the operations of the Academy for the year 1864.
Every facility for prosecuting their investigations was extended to the
Visitors by the Superintendent, Officers, Professors, and Students.
II. CONDITION OF THE NAVAL ACADEMY IN 1864.
In presenting some details of the condition of the Naval Academy as they
found it, and in offering suggestions for its improvement, which the
submitting of a report implies, the Visitors are not unmindful that the
institution is not at present furnished with permanent buildings and
equipments in all respects adapted to its purpose;--that even such as
are furnished were selected with reference to a smaller than the present
number of pupils;--that its staff of instructors and course of
instruction have been disturbed by the pressing exigencies of a great
war, calling off into actual service some of its most experienced
teachers;--that the education which it aims to give is not general but
special, not covering the whole ground of a generous culture, but
particularly adapted to make accomplished seamen and midshipmen;--and,
moreover, that in an educational field so wide and subjects of inquiry
so numerous as attach themselves to the details of such a school, a
brief visit, made while the institution is not following its usual daily
routine, is not in all respects the most favorable to the formation of
just and reliable opinions. They at the same time believe that the
government and people expect that the liberal appropriations in its
favor will be expended with a judicious economy, and that the knowledge
imparted will be accurate, thorough, and professional, and that its
graduates will be really fitted for that rank of the service for which
they are professedly trained. They recognize the fact that the school is
yet in the youth of its development, and also that its purpose is not
only to perpetuate naval science as it has been taught, but to maintain
a progressive course of instruction, engrafting thereon all necessary or
possible improvements.
_Organization for Administration and Instruction._
The Visitors find the Naval Academy, subordinate to the direct
supervision of the Department, under the immediate government of a
Superintendent, Commodore George S. Blake, who is held responsible for
its discipline and management. He is assisted as chief executive officer
by the Commandant of Midshipmen, Commander Donald M. Fairfax, who
resides in the Academy building on shore, and is also head of the
department of Seamanship, Naval Gunnery, and Naval and Infantry Tactics.
The Commandant is assisted in the different departments of his duty on
ship and shore by three senior assistants and eleven assistants, nine of
the latter being of the rank of lieutenant, and the remainder
lieutenant-commanders. Two of the senior assistants have charge of the
Practice-ships Marion and Macedonian, and also assist in instruction;
six of the assistants are engaged in executive duty on board the
School-ships Constitution and Santee, while the others, as well as
these, are charged with certain branches of instruction in the
department of which the Commandant is chief.
There are also attached to the Academic Staff one Professor of
Astronomy, Navigation, and Surveying; two Professors of Mathematics,
with six assistants in the same department; one Professor of Natural and
Experimental Philosophy, with two assistants; one Professor of Ethics
and English Studies, with nine assistants; one Professor of the French
language, with an assistant; one Professor of the Spanish language; one
Professor of Drawing and Draughting, with an assistant; one
Sword-master, with an assistant; and one Librarian, who acts also as
assistant in Mathematics, and Ethics and English studies. The officers
not attached to the Academic Staff include a Paymaster, a Surgeon, with
two assistants, a Chaplain, (with three, who are engaged as
instructors,) a Commissary, Storekeeper, Secretary, Treasurer, and
clerks to the Superintendent and Commandant.
The Academic Board is composed of the Superintendent, the officers in
charge of the Practice and School-ships, and the professors, except that
the professors of French, Spanish, and Drawing take part only upon
matters pertaining to their own departments. The Board is required to
conduct and regulate all examinations of candidates and students,
preparing the necessary papers and reports in connection therewith, to
prescribe the order and times of instruction, to recommend text-books
for the approval of the Naval Department, and books, instruments, and
other necessary material for instruction, to recommend at pleasure the
restoration or farther trial of students that have been dismissed or
found deficient in scholarship, to grant certificates of graduation, and
to report from time to time, on the system of studies and instruction
pursued, and propose such improvements as experience may suggest.
_Buildings and Material Equipment._
The material arrangements for the accommodation of the Academy, for the
lodging, subsistence, and comfort of the pupils in health and sickness,
and for study and instruction, both scientific and professional,
although made on a sudden emergency, for temporary occupancy, and for a
smaller number, are far from being insufficient in extent, or
particularly objectionable, when compared with similar arrangements for
other great schools. The main building on shore is of wood, originally
intended to lodge and board a large number of guests, and as adapted to
the uses of the Academy, accommodates about half of the classes as well
as most boarding schools provide for their pupils. The arrangements are
not as convenient or as safe from fire as those at Annapolis; but they
are too good to be complained of, even if they do require a strict
observance of regulations, or special organization and diligence to
protect from fire, which would carry mourning into many homes. Good
discipline and good recitations, and a large amount of military and
naval knowledge are secured under the difficulties such as they are,
which the Department, be they great or small, will, doubtless, remove at
the earliest possible moment. In any permanent or temporary arrangement,
on ship or shore, while the privacy and comfort of separate lodgings for
pupils should as far as practicable be secured, the Visitors recommend
that convenient halls be provided, properly ventilated, warmed and
lighted, and supplied with the best dictionaries, encyclopedias, and
naval histories and biographies--to be occupied for study at certain
hours by such pupils as have not acquired the power of concentrating
attention, and the habit of solitary study--a power and habit of the
highest importance, but very rarely attained. The same rooms might be
open to the pupils at certain hours every day for the purpose of reading
naval histories and biographies, and for consulting the encyclopedias
and other books of reference. The formation of right habits of study and
the habit and mode of reading such books to the best advantage should be
made a matter of special and frequent inculcation by the head of each
department of study.
The lack of suitable buildings for lodging, subsistence, and study, for
a portion of the pupils, is supplied by an extension of the School-ship
System, first inaugurated on board of the “Plymouth,” at Annapolis, in
1849, in our system, although always the main feature in the French
system of naval education. The old “Constitution” and the “Santee,”
properly moored in the harbor of Newport and adapted, are used for the
residence and study of the younger classes, which are in this way
brought more readily into the daily routine of the school and the
service without the vulgar annoyances, to which the youngest classes are
almost universally subjected, when lodged in the immediate neighborhood
of the next older class. If School-ships are to constitute a permanent,
integral feature of the Academy, the details of arrangements for
separate lodging and class study require additional attention. For the
present, recitations are attended in suitable buildings on Goat Island,
near which the ships are moored and reached by covered passages. On this
island is sufficient room for all sorts of athletic sports, military
drill, and target practice.
The “Macedonian” and “Marion” are used for practice in the evolution of
guns and other naval tactics by the several classes. To these are added,
at least for the purposes of the summer cruise, the screw steamer
“Marblehead” and the yacht “America.”
_Number of Pupils--Entrance Examination._
The number of pupils belonging to the Naval Academy in the year closing
June, 1864, was 458, distributed into four classes, generally according
to the period of their connection with the institution, with a staff of
57 officers and instructors. This is an astonishing development of the
Academy in respect to pupils, as well as in the number of the teaching
staff, and equipment for professional training, since Oct. 10th, 1845,
when the Academy found a location at Fort Severn in Annapolis, or since
January 1st, 1846, when it was reported to have 36 midshipmen and six
professors and instructors, including the Superintendent. To judge of
the progressive development of the institution, and of the results of
the annual examination which they were appointed to witness, the
Visitors deemed it necessary to ascertain the average condition of each
class as to age and attainments, at the time of becoming connected with
the Academy, and with the general results of the entrance
examination--this examination being the only check on the admission of
unqualified candidates--no previous examination being held in the
districts or States from which they come.
By law and regulations governing the admission of candidates into the
Academy, the maximum number of pupils is limited to 526, viz., two for
every Congressional district or territory, appointed on the nomination
of the member or delegate, from actual residents of the district, if
such nomination is made to fill a vacancy duly notified, prior to the
first day of July in any year, and if not so made, by the Secretary of
the Navy; and twenty-five more appointed by the President, two for and
from the District of Columbia, ten from the country at large, ten from
the sons of officers of the army and navy, and three from the enlisted
boys of the navy. All candidates who receive notice of their provisional
appointment must present themselves to the Superintendent for
examination between the 20th and 31st of July, or September in case of
second appointments. The examination is twofold; first, before a medical
board, consisting of the surgeon resident and two other medical officers
designated by the Department; and second, before the Academic Board. The
candidate must be found, according to the law of 1864, to be between the
ages of fourteen and eighteen years--of good moral character--physically
sound, well formed, and of robust constitution--and pass a satisfactory
examination in reading, writing, spelling, arithmetic, geography and
English grammar.
The requisition as to age was advanced from 16 in 1861, to its present
maximum in 1864, while the Board was in session, and conforms in that
respect to the age which they had decided to recommend. The traveling
expenses of the successful candidates are paid.
The Visitors were furnished on application with tables exhibiting the
statistics of these entrance examinations from 1851 to 1863 inclusive.
From these tables it appears that out of 1,522 candidates, nominated and
appointed conditionally, but afterwards examined, 313 or one-fifth of
the whole were rejected as unqualified, although the attainments
required were such as any graduate of a common school should possess. Of
the number (1,209) admitted, 466, more than one-third, failed on the
first year’s course. Out of the number who failed at the earlier
examinations, three hundred and thirty-one were turned back for a second
trial, and after floundering along in the lower sections, only a very
small per cent. succeeded in graduating. Of the whole number admitted,
(1,209,) only 269 graduated, including 93 who were received into the
service from 1861 to 1864 before completing their studies.
From another table, covering the entrance examinations from 1860 to 1864
inclusive, it appears that out of 1,093 candidates who presented
themselves for admission, 807 were admitted, while 53 were rejected by
the Medical Board, 219 by the Academic Board, 11 withdrew, and 3 were
found to be over the maximum age.
From another table, exhibiting the ages of the successful and
unsuccessful candidates, it appears that out of 1,141 candidates
examined, 201 (18 per cent.) were rejected, and of the number rejected,
177 were under 17 years of age. Of the 940 admitted, 313 (33 per cent.)
failed the first year, and of the number that failed, 254 were under 17
years of age. The average age of the candidates admitted was 16 years
and 2 months, and of those who failed, 15 years and 10 months.
The fact that one-fifth of the whole number nominated failed to pass the
examination in the most rudimentary branches of a common English
education--and in only the most elementary portions of these
branches--indicates unmistakably how little regard has been paid to
school attendance and proficiency in the selection of candidates. To
judge how far these failures might be attributed to a laudable
strictness on the part of the Academic Board, the entrance examination
papers, which are filed away from year to year, were called for, and
from those it appears that the questions asked and exercises required
were few and simple--far too few and simple--far below the requirements
of any Public High School; and yet such wretched perversions of the
orthography of the most common words, such mistakes in American
geography, such bungling use of the English language in the composition
of a simple letter, such numerous failures in arithmetical operations
not going beyond the elementary rules and simple exercises in fractions
and proportion, it would be difficult to gather from all the Public High
School entrance examinations of the country. More strictness on the part
of the Academic Board would have saved the government hundreds of
thousands of dollars, for of the candidates allowed to pass, two-fifths
fail on the studies of the first year, although these studies belong to
a good English education, and are preliminary to a special scientific
naval training--showing a want of suitable preparatory knowledge, of
aptitude for study, or of will and desire to learn. A portion of those
who fail the first year are put back for a second year’s trial, and in
some instances for a third, and the proportion of those thus put back
who finally succeed in graduating is very small, thereby causing a total
loss of the thousands of dollars expended upon each. From data gathered
from the annual reports of the Department, it appears the annual expense
of a pupil of the Naval school exceeds $1,500, and that each graduate
who has been four years in the institution costs the government over
$10,000. But the pecuniary loss is not the only consideration--the
places filled by pupils, no matter what their courage or general
ability, unable or unwilling to profit by the opportunities of
scientific and professional instruction so lavishly provided, might be
filled by competent, ambitious, diligent, and courageous young men, if
they could have had their qualifications tested by a competitive
examination.
_Daily Routine._
The morning gun calls the cadets up at 6 o’clock. Inspection of the
rooms follows, when the bedding must be found arranged, the rooms swept,
and every thing in order. Ten minutes are given to chapel services, and
half an hour to breakfast, which is over at 7.15. Forty minutes
recreation are then allowed, during which sick-roll is called and such
as report themselves indisposed are marched to the hospital and reported
to the surgeon. At 7.55 the sections are formed under the supervision of
the Officer of the Day, assisted by the section leaders, and at 8
o’clock, on given signal, they are marched in close order to their
recitation rooms, in perfect silence and with strict military decorum.
All who are not engaged in the recitation rooms are expected to be
preparing their lessons in their own rooms, and it is the duty of the
superintendents of floors to see that they are there. The dismissal and
re-formation of sections at the end of each hour are conducted with
similar formality and regulated by special signals. Study and recitation
continue until 1 o’clock, when the cadets are formed in order by the
captains of crews, (the whole corps being organized in nine guns’ crews,
for the purposes of discipline and practical instruction,) all special
orders and rules for the day are read, and they are then marched into
the mess hall for dinner, which occupies forty minutes. From 1.40 to
1.55 recreation is allowed and the sections are then again formed as in
the morning for recitation and study. At 4 o’clock ten minutes are given
to preparation for drill, as may be the order of the day, and then
follow instruction in fencing, infantry or artillery drill, and
recreation until parade and roll-call at sunset. Supper immediately
succeeds, to which half an hour is given, and recreation until
study-call at 6.30 or 7.00, according to the season. Study hours
continue until tattoo, at 9.30, during which time the cadets must all be
in their rooms, and after inspection of rooms all lights are
extinguished at 10 o’clock.
The routine on board ship is as far as possible the same. No control is
exercised over the occupation of the time by the cadets during study
hours, provided good order is preserved. No studies or exercises are
required on Saturday afternoon and one-half of each class may then be
allowed liberty beyond the limits of the Academy. A vacation is given at
the close of the second year, the only one in the whole course. As means
of recreation, chess, draughts, and all games of chance are strictly
forbidden. On the other hand, every facility is afforded for games of
ball, boxing, fencing, boating, &c.
_Course of Instruction, Examinations, and Merit-Rolls._
The course of instruction at the Naval Academy is comprised in eight
departments, with their special branches, as follows:--
_First Department_, in six branches--Practical Seamanship, Theory and
Practice of Gunnery, Naval Tactics, Infantry Tactics, Howitzer Drill,
and the Art of Defense.
_Second Department_, Mathematics, in seven branches--Arithmetic and
Algebra, Geometry, plane and solid, Trigonometry, Mensuration,
Descriptive Geometry, Analytical Geometry, and the Differential and
Integral Calculus.
_Third Department_, in four branches--Astronomy, Practical Astronomy,
Navigation, and Surveying.
_Fourth Department_, in eight branches--Mechanics of Solids, Mechanics
of Liquids, Pneumatics, Acoustics, Electricity, Heat, Chemistry, and the
Steam-Engine.
_Fifth Deportment_, in seven branches--English Grammar, Descriptive
Geography, Physical Geography, Outlines of History, Rhetoric, Ethics,
and Political Science.
_Sixth Department_--the French Language.
_Seventh Department_--the Spanish Language.
_Eighth Department_--Drawing and Draughting.
These studies are distributed into four annual courses for the four
regular classes, each class being subdivided into convenient sections,
usually according to the relative standing of the members. During the
last year the first class, of 36 cadets, has been graded into three
sections; the second class, of 59 cadets, into five sections; the third
class into six sections; and the fourth class, during the first term,
with 176 cadets, into fourteen sections, and in the second term, with
156 cadets, into twelve sections--each section receiving separate
instruction.
The more difficult portions of the several branches may be reserved for
the higher sections of the classes, and it is frequently the fact that
in certain branches no instruction whatever is given to the lowest
sections. Deviation from the general rule for the admission of cadets
only in the month of September has made the formation of “Intermediate
Classes” necessary, so that there are now two divisions of the second
class and two divisions of the third class. By this means the number of
sections is increased, the labors of instruction augmented, and much
inconvenience in other respects created. The demands of the times have
also introduced other irregularities into the course, hurrying the more
forward sections through their studies and detailing them into active
service at the close of the third year, with or without a graduating
examination, while the lower sections are retained through the whole
four years.
The Commandant of Midshipmen and the several professors are each at the
head of a special department, with such assistants as may be necessary.
The professors, instructors, and assistants are responsible for the
regular and orderly conduct of their respective classes and sections
while under instruction, and must report all want of preparation,
absence, or misconduct. Daily notes are taken of the progress and
relative merit of each pupil in each of his studies. The assistants must
make weekly reports of such notes to the heads of their departments, who
in turn report to the Superintendent, recommending such transfers as
should be made from one section to another. The scale of daily merit in
each study embraces seven grades, with corresponding values designated
by numbers, as follows:--Thorough, (4.0)--Very Good, (3.5)--Good,
(3.0)--Tolerable, (2.5)--Indifferent, (2.0)--Bad, (1.0)--Complete
Failure, (0.) The average standing for the week in each study
accompanies the report. Monthly reports are drawn up by the Academic
Board for each month in the academic year, showing the relative standing
of the members of each class in their different studies, and also their
conduct or demerits. These reports are based upon the weekly reports and
upon the results of the examinations, when such are held within the
month, and are posted for public inspection. The examination weeks are
considered of equal weight with those of the month.
The examinations are held by the Academic Board in the months of
February and June, and are sufficiently thorough to enable the Board to
decide upon the proficiency and relative merits of the members of the
several classes. After each June examination a “general merit-roll” is
formed for each class, for which purpose a maximum number or value is
assigned to each of the principal branches in the several departments.
The total amount of these maxima throughout the course is 1,000, and
they are distributed among the departments and branches, for the
different classes, as follows:--In the first year, to mathematics,
20--grammar and rhetoric, 10--geography, 10--history and composition,
10--drawing, 10--conduct, 5--total, 65;--In the second year, to
seamanship, 20--mathematics, 35--grammar and rhetoric, 15--history and
composition, 10--French, 30--drawing, 25--conduct, 15--total, 150;--In
the third year, to seamanship, 40--gunnery, 20--infantry tactics,
25--howitzer drill, 20--mathematics, 45--general astronomy,
25--practical astronomy, navigation, and surveying, 15--mechanics,
30--physics, 25--moral science and international law, 20--French,
40--conduct, 30--total, 335;--In the fourth year, to seamanship,
100--gunnery, 60--naval tactics, 30--practical astronomy, navigation,
and surveying, 75--physics, 30--steam-engine, 35--moral science and
international law, 20--Spanish, 50--conduct, 50--total, 450. The minima
values are fixed at one-third of the corresponding maxima.
The “general merit-roll” includes only such as pass a satisfactory
examination in all the principal branches of their class and have not
exceeding 200 demerits recorded against them. In the formation of the
roll, the individual having the highest standing in any branch for the
year receives the corresponding maximum number, while the one who has
the lowest standing receives the corresponding minimum. The intermediate
members of the class receive numbers proceeding by equal differences
from the maximum to the minimum, in the order of their relative merit as
fixed by their “class merit-rolls.” The gradation for conduct is
determined by allowing the maximum number to such as have no demerits,
and for others diminishing that maximum by 1/300 part for every demerit
recorded against them. All the numbers thus assigned to the several
members for the different branches of study and for conduct are then
added together, and the members are arranged in each class according to
the aggregates thus obtained. For the graduating class a “graduating
merit-roll” is formed by adding the aggregate numbers of each member
upon the several “general merit-rolls” for the four years and arranging
the order of the members according to these new aggregates. The highest
number reached upon the “graduating merit-roll,” by any one of the class
just graduating, was 859.
If any student at any examination fails to pass a satisfactory
examination in any principal branch, or has recorded against him more
than 200 demerits since the commencement of the academic year, a report
is made of the case to the Secretary of the Navy, showing the habits of
study, aptitude for study and for sea duties, and his general habits and
conduct, and upon his decision the student is dismissed, or upon
recommendation of the Academic Board, allowed to continue at the Academy
for further trial.
The final graduating examination is held by a special Board and occurs,
by a recent regulation, not less than one year after the close of the
course. This examination embraces seamanship and naval tactics,
practical gunnery, navigation, and management of steam-engines, and the
standing in these branches is combined to determine the relative merits
of the candidates. In assigning numbers, 1,000 is considered the maximum
and 333 the minimum for such as are considered qualified for promotion,
and the Board assigns such numbers within these limits as will fairly
express the relative qualifications of the members of the class. The
numbers thus assigned, when added to the numbers already assigned on the
“graduating merit-roll,” determine the standing of the graduates as
ensigns; the highest number taking precedence.
_Text-Books. Studies of the past Year._
The method of teaching as at present pursued is almost wholly by means
of text-books and recitations. A series of lectures is delivered in
connection with the recitations in Natural Philosophy and Chemistry.
Without underrating the office of the text-book, the success of the
French Polytechnic method of teaching even the higher Mathematics by
lectures, collateral study, and examination, and the experience of all
schools, of the power of the human voice and of the human eye to win,
hold, and harmonize attention should not be lost to this institution,
many of whose pupils need the influence of such a method to vitalize
their powers of thinking and to bring within their grasp the general
principle or doctrine of the subjects taught.
The division of the classes into small sections of 12-14 midshipmen
each, of nearly equal standing, tends to secure the personal and
thorough instruction of each and all. The attempt was made, by
furnishing prepared blanks to the several departments, to ascertain the
character and actual amount of the studies and exercises accomplished by
the several sections during the eight months of study of the year
1863-4. The returns made are not complete, but it appears that the
English studies of the lowest class (in 12-14 sections) have consisted
of one lesson a week in Spelling and Derivation, four in Bullion’s
English Grammar, four during the first term in Cornell’s Geography, and
during the second term in General History, with daily exercises in
Composition and the exercise of the Voice; in Mathematics, five lessons
a week during the first term in Greenleaf’s Common School Arithmetic,
and during the second term in Davies’ University Algebra. In the upper
sections, the Algebra was commenced within the first term and more or
less nearly finished at the close of the year. The highest section had
also five lessons a week for three weeks in Davies’ Elementary Geometry
(5 books) and instruction twice a week in Drawing. The space in the
several textbooks actually gone over varied considerably in the
different sections. It will be seen, therefore, that the studies of this
class, with the exception of Algebra and Geometry, are simply those of
every common school, and yet the lower section is reported as having
succeeded but “imperfectly” in Grammar, and “very imperfectly” in
Algebra. It is also to be stated that a part of the class had received
eight weeks additional preparatory instruction during August and
September, 1863.
In the third class, of six sections, there were three lessons per week,
during the first term, in American History, and during the second term
in Rhetoric. The lower section prepared six English compositions each
term--the highest section, weekly compositions through the second term.
All the sections prepared three lessons weekly in French during the
first term and four lessons during the second, but with very unequal
progress. In Mathematics, (five lessons per week,) Algebra was completed
by the lower sections and reviewed by the higher in the first four or
five weeks, when Elementary Geometry was taken up by all, and completed
in the first term by the highest section. In the second term, Elementary
Geometry for three weeks by the lowest section, and Trigonometry for the
rest of the term--in the highest section, Trigonometry for ten weeks,
Mensuration two weeks, and Analytical Geometry commenced, for three
weeks. The first section had also three lessons a week in Marine and
Topographical Drawing, and during the first term one lesson a week in
Seamanship.
In the second class, of five sections, during the first term, five
lessons a week in Analytical Geometry, replaced in the highest section
by the Differential and Integral Calculus for five weeks; four lessons a
week in Statics, to which the first section added Dynamics, three weeks;
five lessons a week in Surveying, three weeks in each term, with
practical exercises. The lowest sections had also four lessons a week in
French, and the first section weekly lessons in Seamanship and Infantry
Tactics, and two lessons a week in Gunnery. In the second term, five
lessons a week in Dynamics, Hydrostatics, Pneumatics and Acoustics, with
twelve lectures, Surveying, three weeks, and Astronomy, ten weeks. Two
lessons a week in Wayland’s Moral Science. The first section had also
two lessons a week in Gunnery.
The first class, consisting of the three more advanced sections of the
second class, and in its third year of study, during the first term were
pursuing chiefly second class studies, having five lessons a week in
Physics, including Statics, Dynamics, Hydrostatics, Acoustics,
Magnetism, and Electricity, with sixteen lectures; four lessons a week
in Theory and Practice of Navigation (six weeks) and General Astronomy
(eleven weeks;) two lessons a week in Seamanship, and two in Gunnery,
Naval Light Artillery, and Field Fortifications. In the second term,
four lessons a week in Heat and Chemistry, with nine lectures; three in
Wayland’s Ethics and Kent’s Constitution of U.S., and International Law;
three in the Theory and Practice of Navigation; two in Seamanship; and
one in Gunnery, &c. Two lessons a week were given through the year in
Spanish, by means of the French.
In addition to the daily lessons of each class are the general practical
exercises by divisions, by the higher classes on shore embracing daily
exercises in Fencing, three exercises weekly in Infantry Drill, Howitzer
Drill once a week, the Great Gun Drill upon the Practice Ships twice
weekly in favorable weather, and a certain amount of Target Practice by
the first class. The younger classes on the school-ships have also their
special drills. Special instruction is given them in boating, and the
numerous cutters and launches belonging to the ships afford ample
opportunity for recreation and practice of this kind at suitable times.
The use of the “Rainbow,” a schooner-rigged craft of 15-20 tons, is also
not unfrequently allowed to pleasure parties made up from the cadets.
Weekly bathing is enjoined and practiced throughout the year as a
sanitary regulation, but the absence of the cadets from port during the
summer months, while on the cruise, prevents the attainment of that
knowledge and skill in the art of swimming, which seem to the Visitors
so essential a requisite.
The general results of the examinations and exercises as observed by the
Visitors, may be stated as in general very favorable. The examinations
of the classes were made by sections and conducted by the individual
professors of the departments, with great fairness and impartiality,
without any purpose of embarrassing the pupils, and for the single
object of eliciting the extent, accuracy, and vividness of the pupil’s
knowledge of the topic. Written lists of questions were furnished to the
cadets on entering the examination rooms, which were usually answered in
writing upon the blackboard, with opportunity for oral explanation. The
difference in the proficiency shown by the higher and lower sections, in
all except the first class, was very strongly marked. In the written
answers, the writing was fair and legible, and the spelling and
composition very creditable--revealing in these respects an immense
improvement upon the entrance examination papers of the same cadets. The
Visitors would suggest that in future examinations there should be more
of paper, even if there should be less of blackboard work, and that a
portion of the questions should be handed in on slips by the Visitors
and answered in writing with ink, in presence of the Board, by every
member of the section present.
The practical professional exercises of the cadets upon the parade
ground and on board ship, embracing all the different branches of shore
and ship duty, (including a harbor cruise on board the Practice
Steamer,) and designed to exemplify the proficiency of the classes in
seamanship, gunnery, and naval and infantry tactics, were performed in
the most satisfactory manner, justifying the professional pride
manifestly felt by those taking part in them. Moreover, these exercises,
instead of being executed under the direction, as heretofore, of the
respective Academic officers in command, were conducted under the charge
wholly of officers appointed from the midshipmen themselves.
_Physical Training._
The unavoidable exposures and risks of the naval service require not
only a sound mind--a mind well informed, quick, and accurate in its
operations, but a sound body--a body supple, athletic, and tough to
resist the rapid alternations and continuous exposures of wet and cold
weather. Although careful and continuous training can do much to
develope and strengthen the qualities referred to, the records of the
Academy and of the service, as well as the present appearance of many of
the cadets, show that sufficient regard has not been paid to vigor and
elasticity of physical constitution, in the original appointment, or the
entrance medical examination. The regular military drill and evolutions,
the small arm and other exercises, in which the whole corps
participates, the professional practice in gunnery and seamanship, all
help to supply these deficiencies. There is still room for more careful
scrutiny for inherited tendencies and hidden defects, in the entrance
medical examination, as well as in the regular course of naval
education, for a well arranged system of gymnastic exercises and
athletic games, to give suppleness to the joints, steadiness to the
nerves, hardness to the bones, and elasticity to the sinews. Such games
and sports as the young universally accept with eagerness and pursue
with unflagging interest, should be systematically introduced. Ample
time, room, and encouragement by rank, prizes, and publicity, should be
given to make a fondness and indulgence in such games as cricket,
football, leaping, boating, &c., the habit of every member of the lower
classes at least. An hour a day devoted to these healthful sports, even
if taken from the study and class-room,--even more, if taken from the
idle lounging, or the listless walk, or vulgar scuffling, will give at
once health and strength, increased capacity for study, and valuable
social qualities and manly virtues--all results of emphatically the
highest professional value.
As part of the physical training of naval cadets, the expansion of the
chest and the culture of the vocal organs should receive more special
attention than the word of command on parade, and the questions and
answers in the examination would indicate they had received. A clear,
full, decisive voice is an element of influence on the deck at all
times, and of power in the hour of danger, as well as on the field or in
the senate chamber.
The first beginning of habits, secret or open, which waste the vigor of
the mind and body, should be watched with professional skill as well as
parental interest, and those cadets in whom such indulgencies have grown
into habits, should be cut off from the institution and service without
hesitation and without reprieve.
_Domestic and Sanitary Arrangements._
The institution is peculiarly fortunate in having had for years a
Commissary who understands his business and gives universal satisfaction
to all concerned. The neatness of the kitchen, the supply, preparation,
and serving of the food, the geniality, good order, and enjoyment of the
mess-hours, and the fact that no complaint reached the Visitors from any
one of the 450 boys, blessed with good health and plenty of physical
exercise, makes the record of this department an exception to similar
departments in other large collegiate institutions. This comes from
having the right man in the right place.
The hospital arrangements on shipboard and on shore, although not as
large and quiet as would be desirable or as would be provided specially
in permanent quarters, are sufficient for the demands on their
accommodations. The location of the institution and the judicious
arrangement and management of the Academy as to cleanliness, exercise,
and diet, as well as the presence of a surgeon and two assistants on the
Academic staff, and numerous attendants for hospital service, would seem
to act as a preventive of accidents and disease, the mean daily
percentage of sick on ship and shore from Oct. 1st to May 31st being
returned at a little more than three per cent. out of an average
attendance of 447 midshipmen. In calling for the annual reports to the
Department of the medical condition of the institution, the Visitors
were informed that a duplicate copy or abstract was not retained. Such
copy or abstract would be highly convenient, and would seem to be even
necessary, if it is deemed advisable to have a periodical inspection of
the sanitary condition and requirements of the school.
_Religious Observances and Instruction._
The regulations require that the students shall be assembled in the
chapel for prayers daily, fifteen minutes before the breakfast hour, and
that divine service shall be held on Sunday, which officers and students
are expected to attend, unless excused on the ground of conscientious
scruples, declared in writing by the former, and by the parents or
guardians of the latter. These daily and Sunday exercises are conducted
by the regular Chaplain of the institution. He is at the present time
assisted in these and other such voluntary religious labors by three
other chaplains of the Navy, who are now in residence as assistant
professors. There are four Bible classes composed of cadets, and over
one-eighth of the members are communicants in the different
denominations of Newport. The student who brings, in his moral culture
from home, religious convictions and habits, can easily preserve and
strengthen them here, and no amount of instruction in the institution
can compensate for the neglect of parental example and teaching in this
respect. The absence of the religious element in the character and
training of youth is a fundamental defect, and no institution of
learning, special or general, can safely, for any length of time,
dispense with appropriate and adequate means of religious instruction
and a practical recognition of religious obligations, consistent with
due regard to the religious convictions of individuals and the equal
rights of all religious denominations. Such individual convictions and
denominational rights can be best respected, not by ignoring the
subjects themselves, but by selecting the chaplain from time to time so
as to represent different religious denominations, and in all cases, in
reference to his ability to be useful as chaplain in this institution.
The reading of the Sabbath, and one of the exercises of Monday morning
might be so arranged as to harmonize with the religious observances and
uses of Sunday, and the whole be made to unfold and enforce the great,
definite, and unchanging obligations of every human being to his
fellow-men, to his country, and to God.
As part of the religious and moral instruction of the Academy, more at
least should be attempted to prevent, and if these unfortunately exist,
to eradicate certain vulgar and vicious habits, whose beginnings are
small, but which ultimately take complete possession of the individual.
Although the Visitors can not, from their own knowledge, speak of its
existence, they have had too many assurances from those who did know, to
have any doubt of the prevalence of the vulgar and immoral practice of
profanity, and that several of those addicted to it are among the
youngest members of their classes, who came here entirely pure in this
respect. The medical and police experience of the institution detects
the occasional existence of other tastes and habits more directly
affecting the health and morality of their victims, and which should and
doubtless do receive the considerate and vigilant attention of the
authorities, especially of the Chaplain, Surgeon and Superintendent.
_Discipline._
The Superintendent is charged with and held responsible for the good
order and discipline of the Academy, and it is made the duty of every
officer, professor, and instructor, having knowledge of any violation of
law or regulation, or of any crime, irregularity, neglect, or other
improper conduct, of which any student or any other one has been guilty,
to report the same without delay to the Superintendent. Offenses are
defined with great minuteness and precision, and the circle of
punishments embraces demerits on the roll of conduct, private and public
reprimand, confinement to Academy grounds, to room, or to guard-room,
and withdrawal on necessity, or dismission. In the administration of
discipline, the Superintendent is clothed with much power, which is
exercised by the present incumbent with great discretion and the
happiest results. The private memorandum and letter book of this
officer, respecting every case of discipline during the year, was placed
before the Visitors, and they can bear willing testimony to the
preventive admonition and parental regard with which he has exercised
his authority.
Demerits, to be considered in making up the conduct-rolls, are assigned
for all offenses. Such delinquencies as are not deemed deserving of
severer punishment are grouped into four classes, which count ten,
eight, six, four, and two demerits respectively, besides a miscellaneous
class counting from one to ten demerits according to circumstances. The
_total_ demerits of each cadet is expressed by the sum of all demerits
standing against him on record for the year, increased for the third
class by one-sixth, for the second class by one third, and for the first
class by one-half.
No punishment of any kind can be inflicted by other authority than that
of the Superintendent. Report is read at evening parade of all demerits
and other punishments that have been inflicted during the day, and
opportunity is always given for excuse or explanation. Full record is
made of every case of discipline, and a monthly conduct-roll is publicly
posted showing the number of demerits against each cadet. It is evident
that this conduct-roll does not fairly represent the character and
conduct of the cadets, as a large number of demerits may be gained by
numerous minor offenses, which involve neither immorality nor
lawlessness, while a cadet who has been guilty of most flagrant acts of
vice and disobedience may still be charged with but few demerits. Yet
the conduct-roll has but a subordinate influence in determining the
general merit-rolls, and in the question of dismissal the fuller record
of punishments, as well as the demerit-roll, has its weight in
determining the action of authorities.
_Financial Affairs._
All money appropriated for the support of the Naval Academy is drawn for
by the Paymaster and by him deposited with the Sub-Treasurer in Boston.
The Paymaster draws upon him, from time to time, to make his
disbursements.
The principal heads of expenditure for the fiscal year ending June 30th,
1864, are as follows:--
Pay of Commissioned and Warrant Officers, Midshipmen,
Seamen, and others, $241,771.71
Pay of Professors and Assistants, 35,000.00
Expenses of the Academy, School and Practice Ships,
Surgeon’s necessaries, contingent expenses,
and repairs of all kinds, 72,753.84
The total of all expenditures from 1st July, 1863, to May 31st, 1864; is
reported at $383,419.41.
From the pay of the midshipmen, which is $500 per annum, $100 are
reserved yearly to be paid upon graduation, though this sum is sometimes
diminished by unavoidable circumstances. There is also deducted from
their pay, the amount of board--at present $16.50 per month--and $3.00
per month for washing. The aggregate of these sums is paid monthly by
the Paymaster to the Commissary. Articles of clothing for the midshipmen
are provided under contract by the Storekeeper with the approval of the
Commandant. All other articles for their use are purchased by the
Storekeeper, from funds provided by the Paymaster, at prices sanctioned
by the Commandant.
The midshipmen receive such articles as they desire upon requisition
approved by the Commandant, and no other articles are permitted to be
sold to them than those which the Storekeeper is authorized to have.
Each midshipman has a pass-book in which his purchases are entered, and
regular report is made by the Storekeeper to the Paymaster, who charges
against each the aggregate amount of his purchases. On the 30th April,
1864, the amount of balances still due to the midshipmen was $44,579.93,
the aggregate of indebtedness by them being only $111.90. The amounts to
the credit of the members of the graduating class vary from $180 to
$400.
The accounts of the Commissary are examined quarterly by a committee of
three officers appointed by the Superintendent, to whom they make
report. The Visitors deemed at their duty to go behind the reports of
this committee, and deputed one of their number to examine personally
the original accounts of the Commissary and Storekeeper. As the result
of this examination, which was conducted with the most rigid scrutiny,
it is but justice to state that they found the accounts correct in all
their details, and the prices of all articles as low as they can be
purchased at wholesale in the city of New York, and the Visitors
consider the financial affairs of the Academy as conducted with
commendable skill and fidelity.
While the Visitors bear willing testimony to the fidelity with which the
financial affairs of the Academy, as well as the departments of
subsistence, discipline, and instruction, are and have been
administered, they can not but express their disappointment at the very
small number of officers of the lowest rank which the institution has
contributed to the naval service. With an aggregate annual expenditure
of several hundred thousand dollars, the aggregate number of graduates,
since the opening of the four years’ course, in 1851, including the
three classes of 1858, ’59 and ’60, which were ordered into active
service in 1862 and ’63, before completing their studies, is but 269, or
at the rate of less than 22 each year, at an expense to the country of
over $12,000 for each graduate. If the 93 who entered the service with
only two or three years’ residence had completed their course, the
aggregate expense for each graduate would have exceeded $15,000. This,
as it appears to the Visitors, small result, is due mainly to the want
of care in selecting candidates, and the very low standard of general
scholarship required for entering the Academy. The experience of this
institution is the same as that of others of the same character; any
mode of selection which does not test in advance the natural aptitude
and preparation for the special studies of the course, and exclude
rigorously all who are found deficient, will burden the institution with
a number of students which will have to be thrown off after months and
sometimes years of struggling to incorporate them into the regular
classes and to the manifest injury, in the meantime, of the scholarship
and character of the institution. While a nomination by patronage, and a
pass examination have a direct tendency to reduce the average ability of
the selected candidates to the minimum required, a competitive
examination raises the general average to the maximum ability of all who
apply.
_Graduating Class of 1864._
The present graduating class (consisting after the final examination
of 31) at the close of its third year has completed the whole course
prescribed, excepting that the Calculus has been omitted and that
Surveying has been limited to instruction in Harbor and Coast Surveying,
from Bowditch. Steam and the Steam-engine have received fuller attention
from this than any preceding class, embracing six weeks of theory and
practice on board of the steamer Marblehead--altogether too little
attention for a department so important. Two summer cruises have been
made by this class--both coast cruises--the first on board the John
Adams, from June 6th to Sept. 30th, 1862; the second from 16th June to
25th Sept., 1864, in which the following vessels were united, viz.:
Flagship Macedonian, sloop of war Marion, screw steamer Marblehead, and
the yacht America. Upon these cruises the midshipmen were practiced in
all the regular duties attaching to the posts of lieutenant and master,
taking by turns upon themselves the working of the ship, in the
different vessels; making and calculating observations for determining
the ship’s position, going through all possible manoeuvres and
performing the duties incident to the management of ships in action, in
heavy weather, or in the many emergencies which arise requiring superior
skill in seamanship. They were engaged in instructing the crews in
gunnery, in infantry and sword-drill, and in drill of the battery. They
were also detailed for actual boat service, and for the transferring of
howitzers and marines from ship to shore. During the last cruise Meyer’s
code of signals was used by the graduating class as signal officers, in
communicating from vessel to vessel in the fleet, and instruction was
also given in the Naval Code of signals, and in Navigation throughout
the cruise to all cadets on board. In addition to these cruises the
yacht America, in charge of cadets of this class, as commanding
officers, has been engaged in the performance of despatch-boat duty, and
also special “coast picket duty” in search for the Tallahassee.
The experience of this class--made up of three advanced sections of what
is now the second class (the graduating class of 1865,) would seem to
indicate, that under a system of appointment that should admit from the
start only those who had maturity of mind and requisite scholarship, the
professional studies of the Academy might be completed in three years.
This is one year longer than the course of the French Naval School at
Brest, the entrance examination of which would exclude most of the
graduates of our Academy.
III. RECOMMENDATIONS.
The Visitors close their report with the following suggestions, as the
results of their examinations and conferences, in reference to the
further development of the Naval Academy and the extension of nautical
education generally, for the consideration of the Department.
I. Until the pupils of the Naval Academy have gone through the
theoretical and practical course of instruction provided in this
institution expressly to qualify them to act as Midshipmen, the Visitors
recommend that they be designated as _Naval Cadets_--simply _candidates_
for the lowest official rank in the Navy--and that no cadet be rated as
midshipman, no matter how well up he may be in his studies, until he has
had at least eighteen months of professional practice afloat, towards
which time the actual time at sea of each experimental cruise shall be
credited.
II. As the most direct blow to the hindrances which practically exclude
a large portion of the youth of the country, no matter how strong may be
their predilection or great their acquired fitness for the naval
service, from even a chance of being admitted to this national
school;--as the most effectual preventive of the disappointments now
experienced by individuals and families in the failure of many
appointees to pass the entrance examination, or to meet even the low
requirements of the first year’s course;--as the only effectual way of
ridding the institution of the low average ability and attainments which
characterize the lower sections of every class, and of bringing up the
talent and scholarship and conduct of the whole corps to the average of
the first two sections;--as a sure guaranty against the early
resignation of officers educated at the public expense for a life
service in the Navy, and of a progressive and honorable career as long
as life and health last;--as a powerful attraction to draw to this
department of the public service a fair share of the best talent and
loftiest ambition of the youth of the country, and as a stimulus to
their best efforts for self and school improvement for this purpose--the
Visitors recommend the immediate abandonment of the custom of selecting
candidates for admission by individual patronage, in consideration of
neighborhood, relationship, or party connection, or the better motives
of the poverty or the public service of parents, and that all
appointments be hereafter made in consideration of the personal merit of
the applicant, ascertained by a public competitive examination,
conducted before an impartial tribunal, constituted as shall be
prescribed by law. Admission, sought and obtained in this way, will be
honorable to the successful candidates, a source of pride to the
neighborhood and State from which they come, a reward to the teachers
who have prepared them, and a stimulus to the industry and good conduct
of their comrades at home. The classes of the Academy, replenished every
year by new recruits, all of whom have sought the service from personal
choice and won their place by personal merit founded on natural aptitude
and vigor of mind and acquired knowledge, and who regard the diligent
improvement of these opportunities of professional study and practice as
the true road to honorable promotion hereafter, to be gained by farther
industry and devotion--will at once have an average ability and
scholarship equal to that now attained by only five or six out of every
one hundred, and a large proportion of the cases of discipline, the
“dead weights,” the reëxaminations, and the failures from inability,
distaste, or want of preparatory knowledge, will forever disappear from
the records of the Academy.
These suggestions have not the merit of originality nor the objections
of novelty. The principle recommended has stood the test of seventy
years’ trial in France in naval and similar public schools, and is now
in successful operation in England, as well as in most of the military
schools of Europe. It has been again and again urged by thoughtful
friends of this institution and of our other national school at West
Point, as the most effectual remedy for the evils complained of. The
Academic Board of this Academy, in answer to a request from a committee
in 1858 for its opinion on this point, replied:--“The Academic Board has
long been of the opinion that the present system of appointing
midshipmen without care in their selection, was undermining the very
existence of the institution. The records of the Academy show that
scarcely more than one-fourth of those admitted graduate. The fault lies
with the appointing power, which has not kept the institution supplied
with the proper material, and the Board has been powerless in applying a
remedy. It has done all in its power by recommending a higher standard
of proficiency.” The Visitors for 1862, in the Report of their
examinations, remark:--“After a careful examination of the subject, the
Board has been forced to the conclusion that the selection of candidates
has not been made with sufficient reference to the wants of the public
service, but has been and continues to be regarded as a portion of the
patronage of the members of Congress making the nominations. The evil
does not stop here; for in many cases, after they have been appointed
without regard to talents or fitness, and have obtained admission to the
institution, and subsequently have been found incapable to pursue the
studies of the class to which they belong, the influence of the same
member of Congress originally nominating them is successfully used to
continue them at the institution, in obtaining authority for them to
recommence their studies by joining a lower class; thus retaining those
wanting in talents and fitness, to the exclusion of others of suitable
qualifications that might be presented. An institution like this, in
which the students are educated and supported by the government, ought
to have them selected from the highest and most promising youths of the
country.”[27]
[Footnote 27: An early friend of this institution, on learning the
fact stated in the same Report of 1862, from which the above
extract is taken, “that in the course of six years one hundred and
twenty-four students were turned back to pursue a second time
portions of the academic course,” and of this number only six
passed the final examination, (thereby costing the country over
$300,000 in pay, salaries, and equipment, for absolutely nothing,
and at the same time depriving the naval service of an equal
number of competent young officers,) writes to a member of this
Board as follows:--“I have had the curiosity to question fifty
middies, as I happened to meet with them, without selection, and
representing different classes in the institution and different
States, as to the circumstances of their appointment--and of these
fifty, forty were the near relations or sons of political friends
of the parties making the nominations, and five were the sons of
persons in official stations at Washington, although appointed ‘at
large,’ leaving but five for selection from other sources. In
several cases the answers were significant--‘My father had to
bleed freely for my appointment.’ ‘My brother worked hard for his
election.’ ‘I had the promise of a cadetship at West Point, but as
there was no vacancy that year, I got an appointment here.’ ‘I am
an exchange. Senator ---- got an appointment for Mr. C.’s nephew,
and Mr. C. nominated Senator ---- friend’s son for the
place.’”--[_Ed. of Amer. Journal of Education._]]
The same general principle, selection by merit, ascertained by the same
general method, competitive examination, conducted on such conditions as
Congress shall authorize or prescribe, has been recommended for
appointments to the kindred national institution--the Military Academy
at West Point--with the view of removing the same hindrances and
remedying the same defects in the practical working of that school. That
eminent military teacher and administrator, General Thayer, under whom
the Academy, notwithstanding many hindrances and defects, attained its
highest development, recommended the adoption of this principle at the
outset of his administration, after having seen its successful operation
in the military schools of France; and he has recently, after the lapse
of nearly fifty years, all of them spent in actual experience or
observation of the practical results of a different principle, renewed
the recommendation in a communication to the Secretary of War. He has,
within the present year, declared his belief that the adoption at the
start, and the continuous recognition of this principle, the selection
of candidates for admission on the ground of personal merit and aptitude
for the special purposes of the institution, in appointments to the
Military Academy, would have more than doubled its usefulness, would
have avoided most of the difficulties of administration which it has
encountered, would have prevented the popular prejudices which
demagogues and disappointed parents and Congressmen have fostered, and
would have gained for it a larger measure of the popular favor.
The Visitors of the Military Academy for 1863, in their Report to the
Secretary of War, go into an extended discussion of the advantages and
objections to this principle and mode of making appointments. To this
document reference is made as embodying the convictions of this Board as
to the probable working of the same principle in admissions to the Naval
Academy.
III. In connection with a change in the mode of appointment, the
Visitors would commend to the consideration of the Department a revision
of the conditions as to the age, bodily vigor, and general knowledge of
candidates. The old system of training naval officers, by placing boys
at the early age of twelve or fourteen years on shipboard in the daily
and constant practice of the routine of the ship, when accompanied with
the parental oversight of the captain as to conduct, and with regular
and progressive instruction in the science and art of his profession, on
ship and shore, by the teacher of mathematics and navigation--has
produced many capable commanders, out of the larger number who have been
ruined for the want of proper supervision and instruction, or grown up
into men of mere routine. Some of the brightest names in the records of
our own and of the English naval service had no other education or
training than this. But these are the exceptions, and their success was
as much due to opportunity and original genius, as to their early and
continuous ship experience. That system of training officers is,
however, everywhere abandoned, and the present aim of every naval power
in the world is to seek out young men having a fondness for sea-life,
with a generous ambition for naval distinction, with an aptitude for the
sciences which qualify and adorn the naval officer, with vigor of body
to bear the inevitable exposures of the service, and with a large amount
of general knowledge, and then subject them to a special course of
professional study and practice in a naval school. For every stage of
promotion, additional knowledge as well as professional experience,
tested by successive rigid examinations, are required. The experience of
this class of schools indicates that those original qualities and
acquired qualifications deemed indispensable in candidates for the
proper mastery of a thorough course of naval instruction, can not often
be found in young men under eighteen years of age.
IV. With an advance in the average age, maturity of mind, and
preparatory attainments of the cadets on admission, the Visitors believe
a revision and readjustment of the subjects and course of instruction
can be advantageously made, which in connection with the new schools of
naval construction, and of marine engineering, would greatly extend the
range, depth, and practical value of the education of the naval officer,
without prolonging the time now devoted to its acquisition. If the
Academy can be relieved of the large amount of merely elementary general
education which every graduate of the common schools of the country
ought to have received, and which in a few years every aspirant to the
privileges of this school would contrive to get, if the law made its
acquisition necessary as a preliminary to a competitive
examination--then the whole general scientific course could be mastered
in two years, with a large amount of military and naval tactics, as well
as of practical seamanship in the two summer cruises. At this point the
Visitors recommend to the consideration of the Department the
establishment of the following departments, or schools, in each of which
the course of instruction shall be far more comprehensive and thorough
than is now practicable where the branches constitute parts of a single
course:--
_First._--Of Navigation and Seamanship.
_Second._--Of Naval Ordnance and Practical Gunnery.
_Third._--Of Hydrography, Marine Surveying, Astronomical Observations,
Construction of Charts, &c.
_Fourth._--Of Drawing, Naval Designs, Construction of Ships, Naval
Machinery, Docks, &c.
_Fifth._--Of Steam and Marine Engineering.
_Sixth._--Of Naval History and Strategy, International Law--especially
of belligerents and neutrals--and the Law of the Sea, Consular Duties,
&c.
_Seventh._--Of Modern Languages.
Into each of these schools let the cadets be drafted, the choice to be
determined by their own predilection or comparative fitness, at the
close of the second year, and after completing such number of these
courses, not less than four, as may be prescribed, let them have the
privilege of an examination.
Each of these departments or schools might be opened to a certain number
of candidates, on competitive examination, from each State--no matter
where they may have received their education--and permission might be
given to officers of any rank to review and extend their knowledge of
either of these departments with the more advanced text-books and means
of instruction. By this arrangement the service will secure the highest
development of any special aptitude, preparation, or experience--and
will more frequently get “the right man in the right place.”
The importance of these great departments of the naval service, and of
special preparation for them, is fully appreciated by the Academic
Board, but any attempt to give this preparation to all the members of
the present classes, with such unequal and deficient preparatory
knowledge and with such diverse aptitudes for particular branches, would
be futile. The attempt to teach as much as is now done, under the
circumstances, only produces confused and unsatisfactory results with a
large portion of the class. The remedy for this state of things seems to
the Visitors to be in:--
1. More thorough preparation, higher average ability, and greater
maturity of mind on the part of the cadets.
2. A thorough scientific course up to a certain point, for all the
cadets, to occupy two years.
3. The requiring of linguistic training (in one or more modern
languages,) only of those who show some aptitude or previous preparation
for the same.
4. An option of two or three of the above courses, and a thorough
proficiency in those selected before being permitted to pass as
midshipman.
5. And finally continuation of study as well as of practice after
graduation in the directions for which there is a demonstrated fitness
and ability.
V. The Visitors deem it desirable to concentrate in and around the Naval
Academy the largest amount and the highest quality of teaching ability,
naval experience, and the apparatus and opportunities of practice of
every kind connected with the naval service. But they would also commend
to the consideration of the Department the encouragement of Naval
Institutes, or temporary courses of instruction, at suitable seasons of
the year, in some of the great departments of naval education specified
in the foregoing classification--for the benefit of officers on
furlough, or connected with the National Dockyards and Depositories,
especially those in the neighborhood of large collegiate institutions,
on the request of a certain number of such officers. Private naval
architects and shipmasters might also be invited to attend these
Institutes. Something of this kind should be provided, especially if
continued study and examination is required by law and regulation at
every stage of promotion in the naval service.
VI. The absence of elementary naval schools and of any regular
instruction in navigation, the want of nationality and the low condition
of the seaman-class generally, prevents any considerable demonstration
or recognition of that nautical taste and aptitude for sea-life in the
great mass of the population, which ought to be the basis of all special
nautical training. To remedy this state of things, to develope and
cultivate, where it exists, a desire for a maritime career, to provide
at once a supply of intelligent, hardy, and well-trained seamen, mates,
and masters, for the national as well as for the commercial marine, in
time of peace as well as in the emergencies of a sudden Or a great war,
the Visitors recommend the inauguration, under the auspices of the Naval
Department, of a system of navigation schools and naval instruction, in
addition to and in connection with our present system of naval
apprenticeship, commensurate with the demands of the service, the
country, and the age. As the basis of this system, they recommend the
immediate offer of pecuniary aid to encourage the establishment of a
class of navigation schools in all the large seaports of the country,
subject to thorough national inspection in order to secure uniformity
and efficiency. They do not deem it necessary to consider here the
organization, management, and instruction of this class of schools,
farther than to present the outline of a system.
1. The schools which they contemplate, are not to be government
schools--although they will be aided and inspected by the Naval
Department. Their original establishment, buildings, material,
equipment, and immediate management will belong to the local Board of
Trade or Commerce representing the shipping and commercial interests of
the communities in which they are located. Through such Board, the State
or municipal authorities, or individuals, can extend pecuniary aid for
the original outfit or annual support.
2. The objects aimed at in the internal constitution of the schools and
classes, will be thorough instruction in navigation, seamanship, and
kindred branches through:--_First_--Evening classes for adults, (seamen,
mates, or masters,) who can not attend regularly on account of absence
from port or engagements by day, in which the instruction will
necessarily be elementary and fragmentary; _Second_--A junior department
or division, in which instruction in arithmetic, drawing, commercial
geography, and statistics, will be given, as well as in navigation, the
use of instruments, calculation of observations, keeping a log-book,
journal, &c; _Third_--A senior department, in which a thorough course of
mathematics, navigation, nautical astronomy, steam and steam navigation,
&c., will be given, with facilities for acquiring one or more of the
languages of the nations with which we have large commercial dealings.
3. The extension of any government aid should be based on the condition
that suitable buildings and material equipment are furnished and kept in
repair and working order by the local Board, or committee of the same,
charged with the immediate management of the school; and such aid shall
be subject to reduction and withdrawal for the succeeding year on the
recommendation of the Department inspectors. For the first year the only
condition should be the actual payment, from other sources, of an equal
amount for the annual expense of the school, subject to the disposal of
the local Board. For the second and subsequent years, the sum paid by
the government shall be appropriated in portions; _First_--a specific
sum to the principal teacher and assistants according to the grade of
certificated qualification each may hold; _Second_--a specific sum to
the managers of each school for the annual expense of the same,
according the average daily or evening attendance of the whole number
enrolled in each class or division for a specified period of time in
each year; _Third_--a specific sum to the managers of each school
according to the number of pupils who shall complete certain specified
courses of study to the satisfaction of the inspectors upon examination
by them; _Fourth_--a specified sum in prizes, in the form of
chronometers, sextants, text-books in navigation, &c., to be competed
for by all the pupils of each division of a school; _Fifth_--a specified
sum in aid of such professional experience as can be secured for the
younger members of the school, as is now given to naval apprentices. All
payments by the government should be so made as to secure and reward the
services of able and faithful teachers, the regular, punctual, and
prolonged attendance of pupils to the completion of each course which
they enter, and the liberal coöperation of the local municipal
authorities and the commercial and shipping portions of the community in
which the school is located. Without such coöperation the whole plan
will fail. The school need not be free--but let the instruction be good,
practical, and cheap, and its possessor be sure of a lucrative
employment, and then there will be a demand for it.
And why should not the national government enter upon this or a better
devised system of training its own seamen, and advancing its naval and
commercial interests? All maritime nations, either directly and
exclusively by the central government, or through local boards of trade
and commerce, have aimed to protect the lives and property of citizens
engaged in commerce and navigation, by providing not only for the
erection of light houses, buoys, and other material safeguards, but also
by an adequate supply of competent pilots and mariners, duly trained and
commissioned. Our own government has recognized its duty in all these
respects, and in the recent enormous expansion and peculiar risks of the
steam-marine, has established a system of inspection which is intended
to reach every engine used for the propulsion of every vessel of any
class in all waters subject to national law. Surely the same policy
which permits and justifies this interference of the national arm and
the application of the national resources to build light-houses, erect
buoys, register the names, tonnage, and ownership of vessels; which
commissions pilots, inspects steam-boilers, surveys harbors, makes
observations of the stars, the currents of the ocean and the prevalent
directions of the winds in different seasons and latitudes; constructs
and circulates maps and charts, and does all these things for the
protection of commerce and for the use of the navy, will, in behalf of
the same great interests, when satisfied that they are jeopardized by
present neglect, see and be assured that the masters, mates, and seamen,
who have all the precious lives and enormous properties embarked in
commerce in their keeping, are properly trained in the science and art
of navigation.
The liberal educational policy of the national government which has set
apart over one hundred millions of acres of the national domain for
educational purposes, which if the right of inspection into its
application had been asserted and exercised, would have amounted ere
this time to a permanent fund of over five hundred millions of
dollars--and which has more recently appropriated over six hundred
thousand acres of public land for the establishment of agricultural and
scientific schools;--the similar policy of the State governments, that
holds all property subject to taxation for the support of schools, and
that authorizes the most munificent appropriations for free public
schools in all of the large cities, which are also the great seaports of
the country--all justify the belief that a system of education for this
large class of the community, once fairly entered upon by the national
government, will be cheerfully and liberally responded to and sustained.
In England the same necessity which exists in this country--the
reluctance of young people in good circumstances, to enter the maritime
service--the low state of the professional as well as general education
of her seaman-class--the enormous amount of property and the large
number of lives directly interested in commerce and navigation--the
reliance for properly manning the national vessels in the sudden
emergency of war, on the commercial marine--the representative character
which mariners bear, of the religion, manners, and civilization
generally of the country, to all nations which they visit--the desire
for the elevation of this large class of the population in intelligence,
morality, and physical well-being, for its own sake as well as for the
happiness, safety, and glory of the whole country--has prompted the
government to organize a system of nautical education, not only for
officers, gunners, architects, shipwrights, engineers, seamen, and boys
employed directly in the national service, but for the masters, mates,
sailors, and boys in her large commercial marine. Prior to 1853, the
whole reliance of that country for the professional education of masters
and mates was their registration after an examination in the mere
mechanical knowledge of navigation and seamanship. To obtain this
knowledge, reliance was placed on the economic law of supply and demand,
and in this case as in others of an intellectual and moral nature, the
least demand was made by those in the greatest want. Only here and
there, in the great seaport towns, individuals poorly qualified in most
instances, opened schools and classes of navigation, in which
instruction of the most elementary and mechanical character was given
without system, to a very small number, and without supervision or
responsibility. In 1853, after the great International Exhibition had
demonstrated the superiority of France and other continental nations, in
the scientific as well as artistic training of their industrial classes,
the English Government constituted a Department of Art and Science to
administer a large appropriation (amounting annually to nearly a
half-million of dollars) so as to extend encouragement to local
institutions of practical science scattered in all the principal centers
of population, and acting in every department of industry, all subject
to the visits of government inspectors. To this Department of Science
and Art was assigned the extension of pecuniary encouragement to, and
the inspection of a class of schools which had been instituted by the
Mercantile Marine Department of the (governmental) Board of Trade, in
connection with local boards of commerce and trade, for the benefit of
the navigation interests of the country. These schools in 1863 had
increased to eighteen--each in an important seaport--each under the
management of a local committee--each having a fair attendance of boys,
seamen, mates, and masters, who all paid small fees. The system is still
in its infancy, but continues to enjoy the confidence of the government
and of the large commercial houses.
Nor is this system of governmental aid and inspection of marine and
navigation schools, confined to England. In all the continental states
in which the commerce is large enough to require the aid of government
in any form for its protection, as well as for the indirect advantage of
the navy, this class of schools exists--and in some the national policy
in this respect is most comprehensive and thorough. In France, the
government in its gigantic efforts within the last twenty-five years to
establish a navy which in the number, design, construction, and armament
of its vessels, in the scientific and professional knowledge of the
officers, and the practical intelligence of her seaman, should be equal
to that of any other nation--has included the whole commercial marine in
its operations. Encouragement is given to private shipyards, architects,
and founderies; and the system of maritime “inscription” or enrollment
is so thorough that there is not a master nor an engineer in the
commercial service who has not served at least two years in the national
dockyards, founderies, or ships, and enjoyed opportunities of
professional study, as well as practice, of the most scientific
character.
VII. To give unity, stability, thoroughness, and general efficiency to
the inspection and operations of the large system of naval education
contemplated in the foregoing suggestions, the Visitors recommend the
appointment of a Council or Board of Naval Education, in the
constitution of which the great features of such a system should be
represented, viz.:--(1.) Experience and success in naval command. (2.)
Experience in large commercial and maritime affairs. (3.) Success in
naval construction. (4.) Success in the instruction and discipline of
educational institutions. (5.) A new infusion every year of the popular
element, by the appointment from year to year of one or more
public-spirited citizens from different sections of the country to
attend the local examinations of applicants for admission, and the
annual examinations of the several institutions.
To this Board should be assigned the duty of (1.) Frequent personal
inspection and examination at other than stated periods. (2.) The
thorough examination by themselves, and in connection with the
professors, of the several classes in their daily recitations. (3.) The
examination by themselves, or by competent experts, of all candidates
for admission, of which as far as practicable, the written answers of
the candidates should be preserved, and a written report in detail
should be filed away for reference.
The language used in the law under which the present Board of Visitors
are appointed--“for the purpose of _witnessing_ the examination of the
several classes”--if taken literally, would certainly justify the
practice adopted by this, and as far as they can learn, by previous
Boards. At all events, the constitution of this and previous Boards,
composed as it is of members a majority of whom have had no experience
in school examinations--who have had no acquaintance with this
institution before their present appointment--and who are together for
but a short period of time, is very inadequate for any purpose of
thorough personal examination. They must be satisfied in the main to
receive statements on trust, and to receive and communicate only general
impressions. All the duties devolving upon the Board of Visitors as at
present organized, could be far more efficiently and successfully
performed in connection with the other duties of the Council of Naval
Education, here suggested.
VIII. With a programme of studies so extensive as that now laid down or
as herein proposed, in which each study is, or should be arranged with
reference to what has gone before, as well as to what is to follow, the
professor of each department and the teacher of each branch and section,
should be kept closely to his portion, each cadet should master
thoroughly every step in the succession, no professor should encroach
upon the time of another, no teacher should be allowed to pass his
pupils indifferently prepared into the succeeding section or branch.
Even if no change be made in the present programme this course is
essential to the success of the school, and to secure this an Inspector
of Studies should be appointed, who should report frequently to the
Academic Board all and every infraction of the programme, so that it may
be ascertained whether the cause of failure be in the programme, or the
class, or the teacher; and the remedy at once applied. Both the special
and general duties of the Commandant preclude the constant and minute
inspection referred to, and to the professor of no one department can
these duties be properly assigned. While there is a superior executive
officer who has in charge the external administration of the affairs of
the Academy, there is no corresponding officer, as in the opinion of the
Visitors there should be, to preside over the vital matters of
instruction and training.
IX. The appointment of professors and assistants is a subject from its
importance at all times, and from its immediate bearing upon the welfare
of the school, deserving of mature consideration. The efficiency and
thoroughness of instruction, the spirit of diligent study and the
enthusiastic love of it among the midshipmen, depend to a great degree,
upon the fitness of the instructor for his post and the method and
manner of teaching which he employs. Though there may be some reason for
limiting their appointment to the graduates of the Academy, yet the
present course of instruction has by no means in view the training of
future teachers, nor has it yet reached its full development. The
success and advancement of the institution would seem to require the
employment of the best educational talent, and none other, to be
obtained wherever it can be found. Whenever any vacancy is to be filled,
or new appointments to be made, the Visitors recommend that due notice
of the same be given, and that the credentials of all applicants be
referred to a competent board, and the applicants themselves whose
credentials are satisfactory, be subjected to an open, competitive
examination.
X. In conclusion, the Visitors recommend that greater publicity be given
to all the documents which set forth the object and operations of the
Naval Academy, the mode and conditions of nominating midshipmen, the
name of the person responsible for a nomination, the requisitions and
results of each entrance as well as of all annual examinations, with
specimens of the questions asked and answers given, so far as the same
were written or printed. They would respectfully urge that the Official
Register of the Academy, with the above and other information deemed
necessary by the Department, be sent not only to every member of
Congress, but to the libraries of all principal High Schools, public and
private, and all institutions where candidates are prepared, that both
teachers and pupils may know what the Department requires as preliminary
to the special professional training provided in this Academy for any
branch of the naval service of the country, and especially how
deplorably deficient a large proportion of the candidates are found to
be, on only a moderately strict but impartial examination. To this
Register might be appended the official report of the Bureau charged
with its supervision, or of any Board of Visitors, or Special Examiners,
appointed by the Department.
With the best permanent accommodations and equipment of the Academy that
can be made at Annapolis or elsewhere--with schools or courses of
scientific and practical instruction for every branch of the service,
and for every stage of promotion--with a teaching staff so numerous and
so diversified as to secure the advantage of special attainment and
qualifications to each branch of study--with entire control of the
pupil’s time--with hospital accommodations and medical services for the
sick--with chaplains for religious observances and the moral culture of
all--with regular alternations of physical exercise and intellectual
labor, and the stimulus of an honorable distinction before and after
graduation--the Visitors think it not unreasonable to expect from an
institution so provided for, the highest results, especially as the
government has it in its power to select for admission, without regard
to the social or political status of parents, from among the entire
youth of the country, those who are best fitted by their physical and
mental endowment and preliminary education, as well as by their aptitude
for special studies and predilection for the naval service, for which
those studies are a preparation.
All which is respectfully submitted.
JOHN MARSTON, _Commodore U.S. Navy, President_.
JAMES A. HAMILTON, _New York_.
JOHN RODGERS, _Commodore U.S. Navy_.
CHARLES D. ROBINSON, _Wisconsin_.
G. D. A. PARKS, _Illinois_.
C. W. PICKERING, _Capt. U.S. Navy_.
JOHN W. HARRIS, _Missouri_.
HENRY BARNARD, _Connecticut_.
The aggregate expense of the Military Academy at West Point, and the
Naval Academy at Annapolis, to the country, is not represented by the
specific sums which appear in the annual appropriation for the military
and naval service, but is increased by the large sums paid to officers
and men who are detailed to these posts for police, instructional, and
other purposes of these institutions. The cost to the government of each
cadet from his admission to his graduation in either Academy, exceeds
$10,000.
NAVAL CONSTRUCTION AND ENGINEERING.
Under authority of an Act of Congress (July 4, 1864), the Secretary of
the Navy, in 1865, made provision at Annapolis for a course of
instruction for a class of Assistant-Engineers, composed of persons
admitted on competitive examination, many of whom had secured a
preliminary scientific training, and all of whom gave evidence of
aptitude for such occupation and of having had experience in the
fabrication of steam machinery. There was every indication of a special
school for this department of the naval service, when the enterprise was
suspended; but to be revived under the following Regulations, issued by
Secretary Robeson, April 4, 1871:
REGULATIONS FOR THE APPOINTMENT OF CADET ENGINEERS.
I. In pursuance of the third and fourth sections of an act passed at
the first session of the 38th Congress, approved July 4, 1864, “_To
authorize the Secretary of the Navy to provide for the education of
Naval Constructors and Engineers, and for other purposes_,” and of the
second section of an act passed at the first session of the 39th
Congress, approved March 2, 1867, entitled, “_An Act to amend certain
acts in relation to the Navy_,” applications will be received by the
Navy Department for the appointment of Cadet Engineers.
II. The application is to be addressed to the Secretary of the Navy,
and can be made by the candidate, or by any person for him, and his name
will be placed on the register. The registry of a name gives no
assurance of an appointment, and no preference will be given in the
selection to priority of application.
III. The number of Cadet Engineers is limited by law to fifty. The
candidate must be not less than eighteen nor more than twenty-two years
of age; he will be required to certify _on honor_ to his precise age, to
the Academic Board, previous to his examination, and no one will be
examined who is over or under the prescribed age. His application must
be accompanied by satisfactory evidence of moral character and health,
with information regarding date of birth and educational advantages
hitherto enjoyed. Candidates who receive permission will present
themselves to the Superintendent of the Naval Academy between the 15th
and 25th of September for examination as to their qualifications.
IV. The course of study will comprise two academic years. All Cadets
who graduate will be warranted as Assistant Engineers in the Navy. The
pay of a Cadet Engineer is the same as that of a Cadet Midshipman.
V. The academic examination previous to appointment will be on the
following subjects, namely: _Arithmetic_: the candidate will be examined
in numeration and the addition, subtraction, multiplication, and
division of whole numbers, and of vulgar and decimal fractions; in
reduction; in proportion or rule of three, direct and inverse;
extraction of square and cube roots. In _Algebra_, (Bourdon’s,) through
equations of the first degree. In _Geometry_, (Davies’ Legendre,)
through the plane figures. _Rudimentary Natural Philosophy. Reading_: he
must read clearly and intelligibly from any English narrative work, as,
for example, Bancroft’s History of the United States. In _Writing_ and
_Spelling_: he must write from dictation, in a legible hand, and spell
with correctness, both orally and in writing. In English _Grammar_ and
English _Composition_ he will be examined as to the parts of speech, the
rules connected therewith, and the elementary construction of sentences,
and will be required to write such original paragraphs as will show that
he has a proper knowledge of the subject. The candidate will also be
required to exhibit a fair degree of proficiency in pencil-sketching,
and to produce satisfactory evidence of mechanical aptitude. Candidates
who possess greatest skill and experience in the practical knowledge of
machinery, other qualifications being equal, shall have precedence for
admission.
VI. Any of the following conditions will be sufficient to reject a
candidate.
Feeble constitution, permanently impaired general health, decided
cachexia, all chronic diseases or injuries that permanently impair
efficiency, viz:
1. Infectious disorders.
2. Weak or disordered intellect.
3. Unnatural curvature of spine.
4. Epilepsy, or other convulsion, within five years.
5. Chronic impaired vision, or chronic disease of the organs of
vision.
6. Great permanent hardness of hearing, or chronic disease of the
ears.
7. Loss or decay of teeth to such an extent as to interfere with
digestion and impair health.
8. Impediment of speech to such an extent as to impair efficiency in
the performance of duty.
9. Decided indications of liability to pulmonary disease.
10. Permanent inefficiency of either of the extremities.
11. Hernia.
12. Incurable sarcocele, hydrocele, fistula, stricture, or
hæmorrhoids.
13. Large varicose veins of lower limbs. Chronic ulcers.
14. Attention will also be paid to the stature of the candidate, and
no one _manifestly_ undersized for his age will be received into the
Academy. In case of doubt about the physical condition of the candidate
any marked deviation from the usual standard of height will add
materially to the consideration for rejection.
15. The Board will exercise a proper discretion in the application of
the above conditions to each case, rejecting no candidate who is likely
to be efficient in the service, and admitting no one who is likely to
prove physically inefficient.
VII. If both these examinations result favorably, the candidate will
receive an appointment as a Cadet Engineer, become an inmate of the
Academy, and will be allowed his actual and necessary traveling expenses
from his residence to the Naval Academy, and be required to sign
articles by which he will bind himself to serve in the United States
Navy six years, (including his term of probation at the Naval Academy,)
unless sooner discharged. If, on the contrary, he shall not pass both of
these examinations, he will receive neither an appointment nor his
traveling expenses, nor can he have the privilege of another examination
for admission _to the same class_ unless recommended by the Board.
VIII. When candidates shall have passed the required examinations, and
been admitted as members of the Academy, they must immediately furnish
themselves with the following articles, viz:
One navy-blue uniform suit,
One fatigue suit,
One navy-blue uniform cap,
One uniform overcoat,
Ten pairs of white pants,
Four white vests,
Six white shirts,
Six pairs of socks,
Four pairs of drawers,
Six pocket handkerchiefs,
One black silk handk’f or stock,
One mattress,
One pillow,
One pair of blankets,
One bed cover or spread,
Two pairs of sheets,
Four pillow cases,
Six towels,
Two pairs of shoes or boots,
One hair-brush,
One clothes-brush,
One coarse comb for the hair,
One fine comb for the hair,
One tumbler or mug, and
One thread and needle case.
Room-mates will jointly procure, for their common use, one
looking-glass, one wash-basin, one water-pail, one slop-bucket, and one
broom. These articles may be obtained from the store-keeper of good
quality and at fair prices.
IX. Each Cadet Engineer must, on admission, deposit with the paymaster
the sum of seventy-five dollars, for which he will be credited on the
books of that officer, to be expended by direction of the Superintendent
for the purchase of text-books and other authorized articles besides
those above enumerated.
X. While at the Academy the Cadets will be examined, from time to
time, according to the regulations prescribed by the Navy Department;
and if found deficient at any examination, or dismissed for misconduct,
they cannot, by law, be continued in the Academy or Naval service,
except upon recommendation of the Academic Board.
XI. A Cadet Engineer who voluntarily resigns his appointment will be
required to refund the amount paid him for traveling expenses.
INSTRUCTION, TRAINING AND PROMOTION OF SEAMEN.
INTRODUCTION.
Under the constitutional powers “to regulate commerce with foreign
nations and among the several States,” and “to provide and maintain a
navy,” Congress, it is believed, can do more than is now done to provide
both the military and commercial marine with intelligent, hardy and
skillful sailors, as well as mates and captains, and to elevate the
position of the whole seamen class.
The frightful accidents from explosions caused by badly constructed, or
worn out steam-boilers, led to a system of national inspection which has
done something to diminish the loss of life and property from this
source, in vessels engaged in commerce on the ocean or our inland
waters--but a system of instruction, examination, and promotion, under
national authority, with national aid and the cöoperation of the
mercantile community, of all persons intrusted with the command and
navigation of all vessels, registered as national shipping, would put an
end to all that class of disasters to life and property which is now
attributable _to ignorance and want of experience_--and which is
regarded by underwriters as much the largest portion of all marine
disasters.
The necessity of doing something led to the establishment of the naval
apprentice system, under the Act of March 2, 1837.
The original trial was not inaugurated under favorable conditions, and
was prematurely abandoned, under the economical action of Congress which
compelled the department to elect between men and boys for its arduous
service. In 1864 the system was revived by Secretary Welles, a vessel
was placed under the command of a competent officer, and a promising
class of boys, after a preliminary examination were enlisted, and the
work of their instruction was begun by training them in all the details
of a sailor’s duty at sea. The Secretary in his Report for 1866,
expressed himself hopeful of the results--but urged Congress to further
legislation, to make the system attractive, by holding out to the most
deserving members of the class, appointments to the Naval Academy, and a
retiring pension after twenty years’ service. His suggestions were not
heeded, and under the limitations of the Act of 1866 the trial failed.
Commodore Jenkins, Chief of the Bureau of Navigation, having cognizance
of Naval Apprentices, in his Report for 1866, remarks:
A judicious naval apprentice system will secure to the navy every
year, after the first enlisted boys are thoroughly trained and educated,
a sufficient number of well-disciplined and better instructed seamen to
give tone and character to the crews of our vessels of war than
heretofore, and if the enlistments were unlimited it would require only
a few years to provide all the seamen necessary for a formidable naval
peace establishment.
But it is not the navy alone that is or ought to be greatly interested
in the success of the naval apprentice system. Every ship-owner and
shipper in the country will be directly or indirectly benefited as well
as the navy. Many of the apprentices will, at the expiration of their
apprenticeship, seek service on board of merchant vessels, where the
advantages of their previous training and education will be felt.
If there were training-ships in every port of the United States for
apprentices to the sea service, and the apprentices, after being taught
the rudiments of an English education and all the seamanship that could
be taught on board of a vessel in port, were sent on long sea voyages,
the seamen of the country would soon become more elevated in character
than they are at present, and ship-owners would realize the importance
of cherishing and protecting a valuable class of our countrymen who are
now left to the tender mercies of hard-hearted landlords, crimps, and
runners.
It is a great mistake to suppose that steam vessels can be managed
well by landsmen at sea. The terrible shipwrecks, loss of numbers of
individuals, and of millions of dollars’ worth of property annually on
the ocean, is in the main attributable to bad management, ignorance, and
want of experience of those in charge of the vessels. It is as necessary
that sea steamers should be officered and manned by expert seamen as it
was in former times for clipper and other sailing vessels. A good
knowledge of seamanship is only to be acquired by a long apprenticeship;
nor does the ability to navigate a vessel from one port to another make
a man a seaman. There is no vocation, profession, or calling which
requires a more varied knowledge and a greater experience than that of
an expert seaman. It is not sufficient that he should know how to knot
and splice a rope, to reef and furl a sail, to take his trick at the
helm, or to give correct soundings in heaving the lead. He must be a
good judge of the appearances of the weather, know how to lay his vessel
to and under what canvas for safety, on what tack to put his vessel to
avoid the strength of the approaching gale or hurricane, when to run and
when to lie to, and he must be fertile in resources to save his vessel
in case of danger or disaster at sea. The expert seaman is a man full of
resources, and ever ready to turn his knowledge and experience to good
account; but such is not the estimate of him by those who only know him
as an outcast of society, without friends and without influence.
As education and careful training elevate those who are engaged in the
different pursuits on shore, the same means, if judiciously employed,
will elevate and make useful and respectable in their sphere that much
neglected and greatly oppressed class of our fellow-citizens--the
American sailor.
_Navigation Schools for the Mercantile Marine._
Whatever may be the success of still another trial of the apprentice
system to secure a supply of trained seamen for the Navy, the experience
of all other countries is decidedly in favor of a liberal system of
Navigation Schools, as well as an efficient system of registration,
examination, and certificates of competency and of service, administered
under national inspection and with pecuniary aid, and under the local
management of merchants, ship-owners, and underwriters, for the
commercial marine.
GENERAL REVIEW OF MILITARY EDUCATION
I. NAVAL SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION.
We can not better introduce the conclusions to which this study of the
subject has brought us, than by giving a few extracts from the many
communications, which the recent agitation of naval education in England
has elicited.
_Proposed Improvements in Naval Education in England._
In 1869, the alternative was offered, on their own petition, to the
2,710 disabled seamen, who resided in the truly magnificent Hospital at
Greenwich, on the Thames, which the national gratitude had set apart for
their accommodation, when no longer able from wounds, age, or other
infirmities to serve under “the meteor flag” of England--to continue
there at the expense of the government, or draw their pensions and spend
it in their own way, among their friends in their old homes, or wherever
they fancied; only 31 elected to remain--and these were too feeble to
leave, or had outlived their friends. The old Hospital infirmary, a
large detached building, was granted by the Admiralty to the Seamen’s
Hospital Society for the benefit of the mercantile marine; but the bulk
of that immense pile--which is covered in by seven acres of roof, and
whose domes and colonnades were designed by Sir Christopher Wren, and
erected at a cost, from first to last, of not less than a million
sterling--full of historic associations as the birthplace of Queen
Elizabeth, and the residence of two dynasties of English kings, and the
greater Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell, and for two centuries the home
of the British Navy--for nearly two years has stood vacant. The TIMES,
in an editorial of September 13, 1871, renews a suggestion made at the
time the system of out pensions was under discussion, to continue its
use for the Navy.
It is almost two years since we hazarded the suggestion that it should
be converted into a Naval University. We used the term “University” in
the sense of a collective institution, embracing several separate
Colleges adapted to a similar purpose. We pointed out how inadequate in
extent and in range of education is the present Royal Naval College at
Portsmouth, the only institution we possess for supplying to Naval
Officers what is termed a “higher education.” We also reminded our
readers that the education of our Naval Cadets between the ages of 12
and 14 is now carried on in a School-ship, which, from the nature of
things, must have many disadvantages in comparison with a building of
ample space on the brink of a great river and on the border of a Royal
Park. We showed that there was already a great Charity-School in the
rear of the Hospital, and supported by its funds, for the gratuitous
education of 800 children of poor sailors; and we reckoned that the
Hospital would still supply ample accommodation for a scheme, suggested
to us on high authority, for furnishing at cost price to the children of
seamen of all grades in the Navy and Commercial Marine, an education in
English, French, the elements of science, and the ordinary rudiments of
instruction.
In the year 1870 the Admiralty appointed a committee on “the Higher
Education of Naval Officers,” and directed them to consider whether it
was desirable to limit the place of study to the College at Portsmouth,
or whether the vacant buildings at Greenwich could be utilized for the
purposes of education. The reported evidence of the Committee revealed a
lamentable want of scientific knowledge in the naval profession. The
witnesses were agreed in stating that few half-pay Officers had
knowledge enough to study with advantage after the age of 30, and that
few could, with advantage to the service and themselves, be spared to
study before the age of 30. It was stated by the Mathematical Master
that Commanders and Captains come to the College very badly prepared,
and that “some come who are unable to work a decimal fraction.” They
come, as the College is now organized, exclusively for scientific study,
in which Mathematics are a necessity, and yet are destitute of the most
elementary preparation. Of course there are a few brilliant exceptions,
but the scientific attainments of the profession as a body appear to be
deplorably low.
In preparing a scheme for the improvement of what is so modestly
termed “the higher education” of Naval Officers, the Committee proposed
to add to the voluntary subjects of study a considerable number of
practical pursuits. They proposed, under the advice of the late Chief
Constructor of the Navy, to add both a short and a long course in Naval
Architecture, in which there is at present absolutely no instruction
given to Naval Officers. Such an education was supplied between the
years 1806 and 1821, but since the latter year it has been altogether
ignored and discouraged. It would require considerable space for the
exhibition of models, and no sufficient room exists for it in the
present College in Portsmouth Dockyard. The Committee proposed to
furnish instruction, as now, in Steam, Mathematics, Nautical Astronomy,
and Field Fortification, but to add facilities for the study of
Languages, Chemistry, including Metallurgy, Geology, Mineralogy, and
Naval Tactics. The want of a knowledge of languages in the British Navy
was signally illustrated on a somewhat recent occasion, when the French
iron-clad fleet visited Spithead, and upon our Admiral signalling for
all officers who could speak French to come on board the Flagship, only
one officer in the Channel Fleet was able to respond to the summons. The
want of a scientific knowledge of the principles of naval architecture
has prevented of late many skilled seamen of the Royal Navy from
contributing useful and practicable suggestions to the discussions on
our ironclad ship-building. The Committee seem to have thought that it
would not be practicable to make a year’s study in the Naval College in
peace time compulsory for every sub-lieutenant, though distinguished
officers, like Admiral Sir Alexander Milne, gave evidence in favor of
it. But, apart from this abundant source for supplying students, it was
anticipated that an extension of the education would attract a large
increase of scholars; and on general grounds, quite distinct from the
accommodation, one-half of the Committee, including the Director of
Naval Education, were strongly in favor of establishing the College at
Greenwich. Fortified by this concurrence of authority, we recommend
again to the consideration of the Government the scheme of a Naval
University as the best mode of repeopling that ancient and now vacant
Hospital.
This “leader” of the Times was followed in the issue for Sept. 20, by a
communication from the eminent ship-builder E. J. Reed, who was for
several years at the head of the Department of Naval Construction--with
reasons for immediately widening and raising the education of naval
officers of all classes.
The absence of everything like a comprehensive organization for
imparting to them the knowledge necessary in these days is truly
deplorable, and is made the more so by the very fact that our officers
are themselves well aware of the extreme defectiveness of their training
in many branches of knowledge which would be most valuable to them, and
exhibit the strongest desire to supplement that training by every
available means. I have had many occasions of observing this during the
last few years; not the least striking of them being the publication of
my book on _Shipbuilding in Iron and Steel_, which, although a purely
technical and professional book, was eagerly procured and studied by a
very large number of naval officers, who, as you justly state, are now
left absolutely without any official instruction in naval architecture.
When in Russia this year I found elaborate means and appliances for
instructing young officers in all the great features of practical
shipbuilding, as well as in the general principles of naval design, and
I had the opportunity of examining a large model of an iron-clad ship
which was being constructed by these young naval officers; while the
shipbuilding and engineering officers of the Russian service have one
entire side of the vast building which accommodates the Admiralty
branches, wholly devoted to their instruction. I have not yet seen the
naval training schools of Germany, but I have had several opportunities
of conferring on shipbuilding questions with the naval officers of that
country, and I can state with perfect confidence that they possess a
most intimate acquaintance with even the latest methods of naval design
and construction, and obviously have had a careful training in the
principles of naval architecture and the details of shipbuilding. How
much this training contributes to the efficiency of naval commanders and
other officers I need not say.
Mr. Reed dwells on the total absence of even an attempt to instruct
naval officers of all ranks in the department of construction.
Even our warrant officers, the “carpenters” of the Navy, whose duty it
is to keep our Navy in repair at sea, and to take instant measures for
saving our ships from the effects of injuries sustained by collisions,
groundings, or during action--even these officers are subjected to no
special and organized training whatever, and are often put on board
ship, in responsible charge of the repairing staff, without any
knowledge whatever of the construction of their vessel.
I knew so well that the whole class of naval “carpenters” have for
years been anxious to obtain a better training for their very
responsible duty, that I made a vigorous effort to be allowed to
organize a system by which every carpenter of the service should be
carefully instructed in iron shipbuilding, and as carefully selected for
particular ships on account of his fitness for the duty; but some
tradition about warrant officers being “executive officers,” and
therefore not under the Chief Constructor of the Navy, and also, I fear,
some jealousy of the patronage of such appointments passing into new
hands, effectually barred my progress, and imposed conditions under
which it was not possible to give effect to my wishes.
I do not think I shall go beyond the truth if I say that other warrant
officers are as deficient of suitable training as carpenters. I have
certainly known of more than one instance in which the machinery by
which our great modern guns are worked at sea has been so imperfectly
understood that the “breaks” which are intended to control them have
been “greased;” and no doubt a war would develope sad consequences of
the enforced ignorance of our gunners.
But let it not be supposed that I advocate the instruction of warrant
officers alone in the principles and practice of shipbuilding; it is in
my judgment pressingly desirable that the whole class of executive
officers should be afforded a certain amount of training in these
subjects, and a far ampler training than they now receive in many other
subjects also. The Navy suffers very much, even in peace times, from the
want of a more liberal training on the part of its officers, as they
themselves well know; and I am thoroughly persuaded that in a time of
war we shall have to make great sacrifices on account of our neglect in
this respect. Many unwise things are done, and many unwise reports are
written, because of the want of fuller scientific and technical
information on the part of naval officers; and I do not hesitate to say
that during my tenure of the Chief Constructorship serious evils arose
in my own department from the outside pressure of the uninformed.
Mr. Reed would locate the Naval University at Greenwich.
Such a University must almost of a necessity be metropolitan. All the
provincial Government Schools of Naval Architecture in this country have
failed, and always must fail, because the metropolis alone can supply
the necessary professors for class education chiefly of a scientific
character; and the same is even more true of the present case. All the
civil members of the late Admiralty Committee on the higher education of
naval officers concurred in this view, none more strongly, I believe,
than the present Director of Admiralty Education, Dr. Joseph Woolley,
who is undoubtedly at once the most experienced and most enlightened
authority alive as regards all questions of naval training. And there is
this very strong further reason for making this University
metropolitan--viz., that one of the most fruitful and valuable results
to be anticipated from a more liberal and enlarged education of our
naval officers is the release of the service from those thousand and one
Old World prejudices which cramp the action and spirit of the service in
these modern days, when other nations are bringing their most free and
cultivated minds to bear upon naval warfare; and to found a University
in a port where the present traditions and habits of thought of the
service have the greatest force, would be to place a fatal stumbling
block at the very threshold of the work; and if the metropolis is to be
the home of the University there can not be a doubt about the superior
eligibility of Greenwich. There the magnificent college already stands,
with its empty halls, inviting the Government to devote them to some
great national and naval object. It is within easy reach of London,
professors and teachers; it is in the neighborhood of great shipbuilding
and marine engine-making establishments, and also of Chatham Dockyard.
It is on the banks of our noblest river, and on the verge of the open
country, so that every form of healthful recreation would be available
for the students. It also affords ample internal space for all those
laboratories, model rooms, lecture rooms, and other apartments, which
could only be secured on a sufficient scale at a seaport by a large
outlay of money. And, above all, it affords the readiest, as well as the
best, means of entering upon a much too long-neglected undertaking.
In the same issue (Sept. 20), the Times had a leader on the subject,
from which we take a few paragraphs.
It is certainly discouraging for a nation which has hitherto held, and
which means to keep, the first place in the world as a naval Power to
find that in systematic training Russia and Germany are dangerously
surpassing us. No doubt in the raw material of a navy we can compete
fearlessly with any country on the face of the earth; our sailors can
not be matched for enterprise, resolution, and discipline, nor can our
captains, in spite of some late disasters, be out-sailed or
out-manœuvred by any who sail under foreign flags. But we must not
forget that war on the seas, like war on land, is year by year becoming
more and more a scientific pursuit. Our magnificent iron-clad fleet, in
which Mr. Reed feels justly a parental interest, is too precious a
possession to be intrusted to men who do not know how to use so
two-edged an instrument. But how should our naval officers know how to
manage an iron-clad ship? They are taught nothing about the construction
of these triumphs of modern science; they do not, as a rule, possess
even the elementary knowledge which would enable them to commence the
study of the subject.
Whether the unequaled advantages offered by Greenwich Hospital be
turned to account or some more expensive method be adopted by a
Government which pins its credit on economy, the necessity of providing
for the education of naval officers can no longer be ignored. Not to
speak of the absolute absurdity of sending iron-clads to sea in charge
of officers who know no more of the construction of an iron-clad than
they know of the latest improvements in cotton-spinning machinery, it is
obvious that a system under which men whose business is to navigate
costly vessels of war, are sent to their work without knowing even the
elements of mathematics, must sooner or later result in a disastrous
collapse. It may be a question whether such has not been the case
already,--whether the recent mischances in the conduct at sea of some of
our finest vessels may not be traceable to the imperfect education of
the officers.
When other nations are giving their sailors scientific teaching, and
when we are expending gigantic sums on the construction of a Navy which
must be handled in accordance with scientific principles, it appears
absurd, or worse, to allow the commanders and the officers of our
iron-clads to go to sea without the slightest guarantee for their
knowledge of the peculiar conditions under which one of our modern
monster ships is to be managed. If an iron-clad happens, as we may
presume, considering what has lately happened, is not impossible, to
strike upon a rock or otherwise seriously to damage herself at a
distance from home dockyards, the chances are that no one on board, from
the captain down to the carpenter, will know how to repair the damage.
To the urgent demand for more scientific knowledge of naval
construction, Admiral Henry J. Rouse interposes a plea for more
seamanship, discipline, and education afloat. In the Times for Sept. 28,
the bluff Admiral says, rather bluntly:
I was alive to the want of seamanship and to the neglect of a naval
education from the moment a midshipman left his school and was appointed
to a steamer: but I always flattered myself there was one redeeming
point--namely--gunnery--in which the officers of the present day had a
wonderful preëminence over the old school. How is the proposed college
to ameliorate this state of things? Will it make the young officers
engineers when on board ship? They are not allowed to interfere with the
engineer, who is, in fact, the commanding officer. Will warrant
officers, carpenters, and gunners, be educated there? And in answer to
Mr. Reed relying upon the carpenter in the event of a ship grounding
(not an uncommon occurrence), we look to the captain to lay out his
anchors, lighten his ship and heave her off by purchase over purchase;
we do not consult the carpenter. Mr. Reed says,--“The men who will have
to design for our Navy will never be free to design the best ships which
can be provided until an improved education of the whole naval service
unbinds the hands of the _scientific servants_ of the Admiralty.”
Who are the scientific servants? Are the men who designed the
iron-bound monsters at the expense of half a million each; which have
every bad quality, which can neither sail, wear, nor stay better than a
coal barge, and which roll and pitch like maniacs owing to the weight of
their armor, and which are certain to founder if called upon to face a
very heavy gale? Are the servants scientific who stow their ballast on
empty cells, thereby preventing a ship righting herself if she heels
over 33 deg. under canvas, and which makes her capsize keel uppermost,
according to the simple law of gravitation which impels the vacuum to
the surface? Was the servant scientific who reduced a ship’s ballast 300
tons, and put a corresponding weight of iron on the upper works,
boasting he had retained the same line of immersion without calculating
the loss of stability, and did not the Admiralty listen to him like
countrymen to a mountebank, and reward him with a grant of money?
If a Greenwich College could diminish the frightful excesses and
expenditure in the last eight years in the building department, for
which the House of Commons demanded an investigation, which was
checkmated by sending a distinguished admiral to the Cape of Good Hope;
if it could instruct the scientific servants in the mysteries of their
vocation, and convert the simple landsmen in Charing-cross into naval
oracles; if it could make young officers seamen by inspiration, then I
should agree with Mr. Reed that a Greenwich College would be most
desirable.
As for the junior officers nothing but a sailing ship can educate a
seaman. If a midshipman loses the precious years from 14 to 17 in a
steamer he will be too old and proud to learn his profession, and when
later in life he is sent to take command of a prize ship under canvas in
war time he will look very foolish in half a gale of wind.
If any man will take the trouble to think, he must be convinced that
no ship of any size, no armor _clypei septemplicis_, no guns of 25 tons
can compete with an iron-cased steam ram of about 1,200 tons,
invulnerable, bomb-proof, which would put five feet of cold steel under
a ship’s water line going 14 miles per hour. We are now building
gunboats to protect the coast. One of Mr. Drake’s steam rams of about
300 tons, without a gun mounted, would destroy a dozen of them. In the
next naval action history will be repeated. Romans, Carthagenians, and
again the _naves rostratæ, alias_ the Steam Ram, will carry the day. It
is wonderful that the Admiralty for the last twenty years have been
building their hogs in armor to defy shot and shell, ignoring the
terrible attack of this superior power. It is never too late to mend. To
save enormous sums of money and a waste of coal we ought to pay off all
our useless monsters, and during peace to commission small ships with
auxiliary screws, never to burn a coal except in a case of necessity;
and then, by keeping squadrons at sea, we might improve our discipline,
our seamanship, and _esprit de corps_.
The letter of Admiral Rouse was accompanied by a leader in the Times of
the same date from which we take a few paragraphs.
The spirit of an English sailor of the old school, with his bluff,
outspoken, uncompromising detestation of change, and his unfaltering
belief that all that has been was right, is something to wonder at and
even admire, if we should not care to imitate it, in these days of
perpetual motion. He has observed, as we all have, with shame and
misgiving, that while the cost of our vast ironclad vessels of war is
growing yearly greater, the officers of the new generation who are to be
intrusted with the handling of these expensive monsters are not
comparable for practical skill and shiftiness with those of Admiral
Rouse’s contemporaries who dominated the seas in sailing frigates in the
days before either steam or ship-armor was devised. In his perception of
the defects of our present system the Admiral does not stand alone; it
is condemned by the ablest officers who are now in command of our
fleets, by the eminent engineers who construct them--unfortunately, with
still more eloquent urgency by the voice of our recent naval annals. The
misadventures of the Captain, the Psyche, and the Agincourt, not to
mention less serious mishaps, have startled us all, and the seamanship
of the British Navy has come to be gravely questioned.
Let us compare Admiral Rouse’s remedy with Mr. Reed’s.
The latter is dwelling on the custom of sending young boys to sea with
necessarily imperfect training, and of promoting them to the higher
grades, though in the meantime they have had no opportunities of
scientific instruction. He asserts the consequence is that very few of
the officers who command our costly iron-clads at the present day know
any thing of the construction or the qualities of those gigantic boating
masses. Admiral Rouse admits this fully, but he superadds a charge at
least as serious; he alleges that few or none of our modern naval
officers who spend the years of their apprenticeship to the sea on board
a steamer, and who “worship the boiler whenever they are in a scrape,”
do know or can know any thing of real seamanship. Mr. Reed says that the
study of the principles of shipbuilding is unknown among the officers of
our Navy, and that accordingly, few of them can handle an iron-clad.
Admiral Rouse says that the study of the winds and waves is neglected by
them, and that not many of them can sail a frigate. Mr. Reed demands a
Naval University to teach officers the theory of navigation as applied
to the vast masses of iron now afloat under our flag. Admiral Rouse
would get rid of these “useless monsters” altogether, would, during
peace, commission small “ships with auxiliary screws,” and “never burn a
coal except in case of necessity.” Here we have the ancient and the
modern spirit in contrast and juxtaposition. The former, obstinate and
often illogical, but with a certain rude and not unjustified faith in
practice, deserves our respect, for it was this spirit which won us, in
old times, our naval supremacy. The latter may be over-bold and
presumptuously contemptuous of the past and all its belongings; but it
is the spirit of progress, and on its guidance we have to depend for the
maintenance of the renown we achieved in the earlier and darker time.
On the 20th of March, 1871, Capt. James G. Goodenough, R. N., read a
paper before the Royal United Service Institute, on the Preliminary
Education of Naval Officers, from which we make extracts.
I should be guilty of an absurd and forced indifference to what is
passing around me if I were not to say that an impression now exists
very generally in the service, that the views which finds most favor
with regard to the training of the officers of Her Majesty’s Navy is,
that the naval officer should be taught young; that he should be made to
devote himself to the details, and nothing but details of his profession
from boyhood to youth, and from youth to middle age, and that somewhere
behind middle age and old age, he should be deemed to be warrant, and be
thrown away a pensioner on the country’s gratitude, unfit even to have a
voice in the guidance of the affairs of the service to which he may have
been an ornament. This impression is doing much harm in all directions.
It is weakening the desire for knowledge and self-improvement in naval
officers; it is tending to narrow and circumscribe the idea of
responsibility of a naval commander for all things coming within his
ken, and to lower his conception of his own position from that of a
representative of his country in all parts of the world, an agent of her
policy, and a guardian of her commerce, to that of being a mere
executing tool, whose only argument is force.
The warning which I should give, and it contains the whole case, is
this,--that while all other circumstances of life at sea have changed
considerably in the last thirty years, the preliminary training of our
officers has not changed in its main features. It is not merely that our
material, whether in ships or guns, steamships or canvas, has changed.
It is not only that our material has become far more complicated than of
yore. If that alone were the case, the system of a former age might
supplant the wants of the day. No! the change whose bearing we have
failed to acknowledge, even though we may have perceived it, is this,
that while formerly the conduct of ships at sea, their discipline, and
the handling of their material generally, was based on the experience
obtained in the practical individual lives from early years, and on an
acquaintance with external phenomena and internal details, which were
not reduced to laws or elevated into systems; now, we do possess rules
and laws, which greatly reduce the value, if they do not quite
supersede, the practical experience of a single life. In every one of
the varied practical duties of a sea officer, this is the case, whether
in navigation or in discipline, in artillery or in manœuvring; and I say
that this constitutes the great change in a sea life to which we have
made no corresponding advance. I say that although those laws and
systems exist, we still continue to let the details which they include
be painfully and only practically acquired by experience, instead of
methodically teaching the principles on which they are based.
The principles on which I consider that that education should rest are
these: _First_, that a distinction should be made between the period of
education and that of special training. _Second_, that special training
should be the business of the Government, while education should be left
to the care of the parents, at the ordinary schools of the country.
_Third_, that the handling of ships’ sails and boats, and the principles
of command should be methodically taught, instead of, as at present,
being left to chance observations and the accidents of service.
_Fourth_, that the young officers under training in schoolships should
have no command, except over each other, and should count no sea time;
and that on entering the service afloat in sea-going ships, they should
become at once, in some measure, responsible officers, though liable to
future examinations, and to produce evidence of having done work after
leaving the training-ships. _Fifth_, that in order to discourage
cramming, all entrance examinations should be confined, as far as
possible, to the subject of study at advanced public schools, and that
every candidate should be required to bring with him certificates of a
year’s good conduct from his last school.
I wish to see a distinction made between the education and the special
training of naval officers. I do not pretend to give the precise age at
which this distinction should be made. It will necessarily differ with
different boys, and I would therefore have a two years’ limit to the age
of entry instead of one. My opinion is, that special training should
begin at from 14 to 16, and that it should be continued from that age
for three years; that is, from an average of 15 to an average of 18 in
the college and sea-going training ships.
I should wish young officers to proceed thence to the ordinary service
afloat, and after two years’ service in a sea-going ship to be admitted
to pass an examination for lieutenants.
The examination for entry, which under the system I propose, would be
at the average age of 15, should take place in November of each year,
and should be arranged, as far as possible, so as to comprise subjects
which do not require special cramming, but are taught generally in our
public schools, omitting some, such as Greek, of which no further use or
notice would be made in their future career, and substituting French, or
another modern language in lieu.
The college would then open for the cadets on the 1st of February, and
while indoor studies of navigation, nautical astronomy and modern
languages occupied the mornings, the afternoons should be devoted to
practical seamanship until the first of May, when they should embark in
a corvette, especially set apart for their instruction, until August.
During these four months they should perform every practical duty of
their profession with their own hands, under instruction, with plenty of
time, and with patient, steady instructors, and at the end of their
cruise, after an inspection by the governor of the college, they should
strip and clear their vessel before proceeding on a summer holiday.
During the cruise they should not only learn to take and work their
own observations for the position of the ship by the ordinary known
methods, but should also study the pilotage of the coast of England,
whenever visited.
After the vacation they should again rig their vessel, and until the
end of October should have instruction in rigging, masting, and so on,
while the weather permitted, as well as continuing to exercise in boats.
November and December being devoted to indoor studies and examination.
This would complete the first year of training.
The second year would begin as the first, with indoor studies in the
morning, the advanced seamanship class of the afternoon, alternating
with gunnery instruction classes until May, when the second class would
embark in a steam corvette, and in addition to the study of seamanship,
as in the first year, would join that of steam machinery. While the
cruise of the first year would have been on board a sailing corvette,
and on the south coast of England generally, that of the second year
should have been extended to the coasts of the United Kingdom and
western coast of Europe; and while the sailing corvette should be manned
by steady old seamen, and no attempt should be made at quickness of
manœuvre, the steam corvette for the second year should be manned by
active young trained able seamen, and all manœuvres should be performed
together, as in actual practice in man-of-war, the young cadets under
training working a mast.
At the end of this cruise, they would not only strip their vessel, but
would also take to pieces the principal parts of the machinery, before
the summer holidays and after inspection.
On recommencement of term in October, indoor studies should again be
taken up, and the final examination for the rank of midshipmen should
take place in December, the average age of the young officers being now
17 years.
I should now reassemble the midshipmen on February 1st, either on
board the gunnery ships or in a special ship attached to the college,
for a three months’ course in practical gunnery, after being examined in
which, they should be discharged into a full-rigged, full-manned frigate
for final instruction in the duties of an officer, under selected
captains, commanders, and lieutenants. They should here alternately take
the duties of officers of tops, officers of boats, officers in charge of
a particular mast, and in rotation as officers of the watch, under the
care and guidance of a lieutenant of each watch, while lectures and
exercise in manœuvres of ships and boats, of heavy and field guns, of
small-arm drills and landing parties, should be systematically taught
them. At the end of this cruise, which should extend to the
Mediterranean, an examination in seamanship should take place, and the
midshipmen would be discharged into the service afloat, at an average
age of 18 years, where they would serve as midshipmen for one year
before examination (as now) for sub-lieutenants.
Thus, the whole course of training would be two years at college, and
in training corvettes as cadets, and one year’s training in practical
gunnery, and instruction as an officer in various duties, with the rank
of midshipman performing all the duties of a subordinate officer, at the
conclusion of which an examination should take place in all the subjects
of the profession, whether at home or abroad. This preliminary education
should be followed by the modification of the navigating class, the
creation of an examination for the rank of lieutenant, and other changes
in rank.
[Errata for Part X (United States):
_Arkansas_--484,167,--78 companies of State Guard,
--484,167--
was followed by the appointment of many persons from civil life
apointment
till after the war of 1812-’15 proved his ideas to be correct
1812--’15
1 Sergeant Major, / 1 Quartermaster Sergeant.
Sergeant,
VIII. NATURAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
VII.
7 a.m. Parade call, 8 a.m. Guard mounting,
_final . after “8 a.m.” invisible_
public examination is to be held from year to year,
_text has “year to / to year” at line break_
the latter is given according to the Census of 1850.
_final . missing or invisible_
agitate the question unceasingly.”
_close quote missing_
We have been favored with the perusal of the “Propositions,”
_close quote missing_
according to the personal merits and fitness of the candidate.”
_printed as shown: missing open quote or superfluous close quote?_
the boys have not had a fair chance. This is what I want them all
to have, and especially the country. I desire that the Academy shall
begin, as it goes on, upon the competitive principle.
_printed with two lines transposed:_
... the boys have
the country. I desire that the Academy shall begin, as it goes on,
upon the
not had a fair chance. This is what I want them all to have, and
especially
competitive principle...
Let us see what is their system.
sytem
the powers and duties of the general government,
_missing hyphen in “govern/ment” at line break_
_Surgeon_--Col. R. L. Madison.
Madison,
these and the various pedestrian excursions,
pedesterain
Before your memorialist proceeds to examine the truth
exaime
the abuse of the mode of appointing Cadets
apppointing
of 5206 cadets admitted from 1842 to 1863 inclusive
_page damaged: number computed from table on page 799_
an amendment to the appropriation bill in 1836
apppropriation
In his general programme he includes studies
progamme
at some time or other save an army, and not let
army,”
[Footnote 23]
ED. _Am. Jour. of Ed._
_all . invisible_
“that the inferences drawn can not be controverted.”
_close quote missing_
renew his knowledge of what he had been taught.
_taught.”_
For the purpose of giving instruction
“For
Professor Owen has stated
“Professor
[Footnote 25]
in their messages in January.
_final . missing_
impress them more strongly with its importance.
_expected close quote missing_
_Reveille_ at day break, and they march by squads
_Revielle_
as the cadet wearies of it when the novelty is past.”
_not an error: this quotation began two pages earlier_
[Footnote 26]
will soon be published by J. B. Lippincott
_both . missing or invisible_
_footnote tag missing: position conjectural_
well instructed and thoroughly disciplined seamen
thoroughy
[The principal heads of expenditure ...]
Pay of Professors and Assistants
Asssistants
and no doubt a war would develope sad consequences
_anomalous spelling unchanged_
on the 1st of February, and while indoor studies
_text has “and / and” at line break_]
* * * * *
* * * *
* * * * *
MILITARY EDUCATION IN FRANCE; Part I. of Military Schools and Courses of
Instruction in the Science and Art of War in different countries. By
Henry Barnard, LL.D., late U.S. Commissioner of Education. Pages 7-276.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
MILITARY SCHOOLS OF SPECIAL APPLICATION IN FRANCE, 131
I. ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS’ SCHOOL AT METZ, 133
1. History and General Description, 137
First Artillery School in 1679 at Douai, 137
Garrison Schools in 1720, 137
Academy at La Fère in 1756, 137
First Engineer School at Mézières in 1749, 137
School at Metz in 1795, 137
2. Location, Buildings, Barracks, Riding School, 138
3. Staff of Government, 140
“ Instruction, 141
Superior Council, 141
Instructional Council, 142
Administrative “ 142
4. Subjects and Methods of Study, 142
Instruction Common to both, 143
“ Special to Artillery, 143
“ “ Engineers, 143
Employment of time for First Year, 144
“ “ Second Year, 143
5. Examination and Classification, 145
Final Examination, 146
Classification of the Order of Merit, 147
6. Subsequent instruction and Employment, 148
7. Regimental Schools, 150
APPENDIX, 151
REGULATIONS AND PROGRAMMES OF INSTRUCTION, 151
I. Police Regulations, 152
II. Regulations for Estimating the value of Work Executed, 151
III. Programme of Artillery Course, 156
Introduction--1. Effects of Powder, 158
2. Projectiles, 159
3. Motion of Carriages, 160
Second Part--Section 1. Small Army, 161
“ 2. Projectiles and Cannon, 162
“ 3. War and Signal Rockets, 164
“ 4. Carriages, 166
“ 5. Artillery Force, 165
“ 6. Construction of Carriages, 166
Third Part--Effects of Projectiles, 167
Fourth Part--Trace and Construction of Batteries, 168
Fifth Part--Section 1. Organization and Service
of Artillery, 179
“ 2. Artillery in the Field, 170
“ 3. Artillery in the Attack
and Defense, 170
“ 4. Artillery in the Sham Siege, 174
Recapitulative Tables, 180
IV. Course on Military Art and Field Fortification, 181
I. Lectures, 181
1. Historical Notices of the Organization
of Armies, 181
2. Tactics, 182
3. Castrametation, 182
4. Field Fortification, 182
5. Military Communications, 184
6. Strategy, 184
II. Works of Application, 184
Recapitulations, 189
V. Permanent Fortifications and Attack and Defense
of Places, 190
VI. Course of Topography, 194
1. Topographical Drawing, 194
2. Topographical Surveying, 194
VII. Course of Geodesy and Dialling, 197
1. Special for Engineers, 197
2. Common to Engineers and Artillery, 198
VIII. Course of Sciences applied to Military Arts, 200
1. Geology, 200
2. Working in Iron, 200
3. Application of the Working of Iron, 201
4. Manufacture of Small Arms, 201
5. “ “ Ordnance, 201
6. “ “ Powder, 201
7. Pyrotechny, 201
Works of Application, Samples of Minerals,
Geological Exercises, Molding, Chemical
Compounds, 202
Practical Instructions on Munitions and Fireworks, 203
IX. Course of Applied Mechanics, 205
1. General Principles, 205
2. Motion of Machines, 205
3. Resistance of Materials, 205
4. Working Machines, 206
5. Explanations and Works of Application, 207
X. Course of Construction, 208
1. Elements of Masonry, 208
2. Architecture of Military Building, 209
3. Resistance of Material, 210
4. Hydraulic Construction, 210
Works of Application, 215
XI. Course in the German Language, 214
XII. Programme of Sham Siege, 217
Preliminary Measures and Lectures, 217
Composition of the Personnel, 218
Conferences, 218
Tracing of the Work, 219
Memoir and Sketch, 219
XIII. Course on the Veterinary Art, 220
Interior of the Horse, 220
Exterior “ “ 220
Health “ “ 220
II. REGIMENTAL ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS’ SCHOOLS, 221
1. Artillery Regimental Schools, 221
Design, 221
Staff, 221
Instruction, 221
Theoretical--Practical--Special, 221
2. Engineer and Regimental Schools, 223
Staff’s, 223
Instruction--kinds, 223
Courses, 224
III. THE INFANTRY AND CAVALRY SCHOOL AT ST. CYR, 225
History and General Description, 225
Origin, 225
General Description, 226
Staff of Government and Instructions, 228
Buildings, 229
Daily Routine, 231
Course of Study, 235
Examinations, 238
Co-efficients of Influence, 238
Classification in Order of Merit, 239
Choice of Service, 240
IV. THE CAVALRY SCHOOL OF APPLICATION AT SAUMUR, 241
Design, 241
Staff, 241
Instruction, 241
Pupils, 242
Text-books and Recitations, 243
Veterinary Instructions, 243
Hippology, 244
The Model Stud, 244
Breaking Young Horses, 244
School of Farriers, 244
V. THE STAFF SCHOOL AT PARIS, 245
1. Duties of the French Staff, 245
The War Dépot, 246
The Staff Corps, 246
2. Buildings and Establishment, 248
3. Staff of Government and Instruction, 248
4. Conditions of Admission, 249
Entrance Examination, 250
Studies, 250
Daily Routine, 251
Examinations, 253
Co-efficients of Influence, 253
Examination before Consulting Committee, 256
VI. THE MILITARY ORPHAN-SCHOOL AT LA FLECHE, 257
Juvenile and Privileged School, 257
Course of Instruction, 257
Staff of Government and Instruction, 257
Yearly Charge, 257
Courses, 258
Examination, 258
Inspection, 258
VII. THE SCHOOL OF MUSKETRY AT VINCENNES, 259
Origin, 259
Staff, 259
Course of Instruction, 260
VIII. THE MILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACY, 261
1. Military School of Medicine at Paris, 261
2. Naval Schools of Medicine at Brest, Toulon,
and Rochefort, 262
IX. THE NAVAL SCHOOL AT BREST, 263
Examination for Admission, 263
Course of Instruction, 264
X. THE MILITARY GYMNASTIC SCHOOL AT VINCENNES, 265
1. Elementary Gymnastics, 265
Classification, 265
Spirit and Method of Teaching, 266
Learning to March, 266
Gymnastic Chain, 266
Pyrrhic Exercise, 267
Equilibrium: Wrestling, 268
Traction, 268
2. Applied Gymnastics, 269
Leaping, 270
Climbing, 271
Swimming, 271
Escalading, 272
Carrying Weights, 272
XI. REMARKS ON THE MILITARY EDUCATION OF FRANCE, 273
1. Officers must be regularly Trained, or have seen
Service, 273
2. Junior Military Schools, 273
3. Professional Education at St. Cyr, 273
4. Staff School, 273
5. Officers of Artillery and Engineers, 274
6. Mathematical bias, 274
7. Bourses, 274
8. Practical Teaching, 274
9. Number of Senior Departments, 274
REVISED EDITION--1872.
I. FRENCH MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1869, 274
1. Increase of professionally educated officers, 274
2. Admission to the Military Schools and to the Staff,
by competition, 275
3. Military Schools under control of Minister of War, 275
4. Internal Economy of each School determined by its
own Staff, 275
5. Military and instructional Staff, distinct but
cooperative, 275
6. Great care exercised in appointment of professors, 275
7. Discipline very strict, 276
Power of dismissal rests with the Minister of War, 276
8. Age of admission, and general education advanced, 276
Strictly professional instruction does not begin
generally till 20, 276
9. Military Schools, more and more professional and
practical, 276
10. Much time given to drawing, military administration
and practical exercises, 277
11. System of Instruction the same in all the schools, 277
Active competition the leading feature, 277
No choice of studies allowed, 277
12. Education of French officers concluded before
regimental duty begins, 278
13. Chief changes since 1856, 278
Increase of literary subjects in the Polytechnic, 278
An examination at the end of the first year at Metz, 278
Advance of age for admission at St. Cyr, 278
Conversion of La Fleche into a purely civil school, 278
Increase of students in the Staff School, 278
II. EXPENSE OF MILITARY SCHOOLS IN 1869, 278
III. ORGANIZATION OF THE POLYTECHNIC SCHOOL IN 1869, 131
Programme of instruction in 1856, 47
Annual expenses for 1869, 132
Changes in course of instruction, 133
Subjects and course of studies, 133
Studies involving least difficulty occupy the evenings, 134
MILITARY EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA AND OTHER GERMAN AND EUROPEAN STATES:
Parts II., III., IV., V. and VI., of Military Schools and Classes of
Special Instruction in the Science and Art of War in different
countries. By Henry Barnard, LL.D., late U.S. Commissioner of Education.
Pages 277-518.
CONTENTS.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN PRUSSIA, 279
I. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, 281
1. The Standing Army, 281
2. The National Militia, or _First Landwehr_, 282
3. The Last Reserve, or _Landsturm_, 282
Origin of the Landwehr System, 283
II. HISTORICAL VIEW OF MILITARY EDUCATION, 284
Basis of the present System is a good General Education, 284
Origin of the Military Schools in the Wars of the
Reformation, 284
School of Frederick William in 1653, 284
Military Academy opened in 1765, 286
Plans of Scharnhorst and Stein in 1807, 288
Origin and Changes of the Division Schools, 289
III. PRESENT SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION AND PROMOTION, 293
Usual Conditions and Course of obtaining a Commission, 293
1. A good General Education, 294
2. Actual Military Service, 294
3. Professional Knowledge by Military Study, 294
Central and Local Boards of Examination, 294
Supreme Officer Board of Control, 295
Classification and cost of Military Schools, 295
IV. EXAMINATIONS--GENERAL AND PROFESSIONAL FOR A COMMISSION, 297
1. Preliminary or Ensign’s Examination, 297
Who may be Examined, 298
Time and Mode of Examination, 298
Results of Examination, how ascertained, 299
2. The Second, or Officers’ Examination, 302
Time and Place, 302
Preliminary Certificates, 302
Mode--Oral and Written, 303
Programme of Studies, on which Examination turns, 304
V. MILITARY SCHOOLS FOR PREPARING OFFICERS, 310
1. The Cadet Schools, or Cadet Houses, 310
Number and Classification, 310
Junior Cadet House at Berlin, 312
Senior Cadet House at Berlin, 312
2. The Division Schools, 320
Number and Location, 320
Professors--Studies--Examinations, 321
3. The United Artillery and Engineers’ School at Berlin, 324
Admission, 324
Examinations, 325
Studies, 326
VI. THE STAFF SCHOOL AT BERLIN, 329
Entrance Examination, 330
Course, Method, and Subjects of Instruction, 331
Final Examination, 335
Appointment to the Staff Corps, 336
VII. ELEMENTARY MILITARY SCHOOLS FOR NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS, 336
1. Military Orphan-Houses, 336
A. Military Orphan-House at Potsdam, 337
B. Military Orphan-House at Annaburg, 342
2. The School Division, or Non-Commissioned Officers’
School, 345
3. Regimental Schools, 347
4. The Noble-School at Liegnitz, 348
VIII. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION
IN PRUSSIA, 348
APPENDIX, 351
THE ARTILLERY AND ENGINEERS’ SCHOOL AT BERLIN, 351
Object and Course of Study, 351
Staff And Authorities, 351
Superior Authorities, or _Curatorium_, 352
Executive Authorities, 352
Course of Instruction, 357
A. General Course, 357
B. Instruction in Detail, 358
Financial Matters, 365
PROGRAMMES OF PRINCIPAL SUBJECTS TAUGHT, 367
1. Artillery, 367
Preliminary Instruction:--_a._ Mathematics;
_b._ Physics;
_c._ Chemistry;
_d._ Tactics;
_e._ Fortification;
_f._ Veterinary Art, 367
A. First Cœtus, 368
1. Arms, 368
2. Gunpowder, 368
3. Cannon, 368
4. Gun-Carriages, 368
5. Military Combustibles, 368
6. Movement of Cannon, 368
7. Firing, 368
8. Small and Side-Arms, 368
B. Second Cœtus, 369
1. Organization of Artillery, 369
2. Use in the field, 369
3. Use in the Siege, 369
_a._ For Attack; _b._ For Defense, 369
C. Third Cœtus, 369
1. Organization of Artillery Service, 370
2. Artillery regarded as an Arm, 370
3. Artillery in Technical and Administrative point
of view, 370
4. Progress and Literature of Artillery, 371
D. General Distribution of Time for each Cœtus, 371
2. GENERAL AND SPECIAL ENGINEERING IN THE FIRST AND
SECOND CŒTUS, 373
A. First Cœtus 373
_a._ In Field Fortification;
_b._ in Permanent Fortification, 373
B. Second Cœtus, 374
The Applied Arts in Attack and Defense, &c., 374
3. EXCLUSIVE ENGINEERING IN THE THIRD CŒTUS, 375
1. Application of Rules to Regular Fortresses, 375
2. Theory of Constructions, Materials,
Modes of Building, 375
4. HYDRAULIC CONSTRUCTION IN THE THIRD CŒTUS, 377
1. General Principles of Hydraulic Architecture, 377
2. Internal Navigation, Harbors, Bridges, &c., 378
5. TACTICS. Construction of Cannon, 378
6. MATHEMATICS, 380
A. First Cœtus--Arithmetic, Algebra, Plane Geometry,
Plane Trigonometry, 381
B. Second Cœtus--Geometry of Solids, Solid Trigonometry,
Projection, Conic Sections, 382
C. Statics, Geostatics, Hydrostatics, 382
D. Dynamics and Hydraulics, 382
7. PRACTICAL ARTILLERY EXERCISES, 384
1. First Cœtus, 385
A. Visits--_a._ Foundry and the Boring-Machine;
_b._ Examination of Ordnance, Carriages, &c.;
_c._ Workshops, 385
B. Exercises--_a._ Small-Arms;
_b._ Management of Machines, 386
2. Second Cœtus, 386
Tracing Batteries; Placing Ordnance;
Ordnance Carriages and Wagons; Sieges, 387
3. First and Second Cœtus, 388
Proof of Powder; Artillery Practice; Laboratory, 389
4. Third Cœtus, 390
Visit to and practice in Workshops; Iron Foundry;
Boring-Machine, 390
Ammunition; Cannon; Gun-Carriages; Rules of placing
Guns; Sham Siege, 391
8. PRACTICAL EXERCISES IN FORTIFICATION, 392
THE WAR OR STAFF SCHOOL AT BERLIN, 395
1. Objects and Plan;
2. Instruction;
3. Professors and Students, 397
REVISED EDITION--1872.
I. PRUSSIAN STAFF IN 1869, 399
1. Peace establishment. 2. War establishment, 399
Staff at head-quarters of each army corps, 399
General Staff at Berlin--Sectional work, 400
II. PRUSSIAN MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1869, 403
1. Changes since 1856, 403
2. General education more and more the basis of
professional studies, 404
3. Theory of military perfection attended to after
practice, 404
4. Military examinations made to advance civil education, 405
5. Liberal education encouraged in officers, 405
6. General management of all military education vested
in a single officer, 405
Assisted by Board of Studies and Board of Examination, 405
7. The heads of each school supreme in discipline, 405
8. Educational experience valued in the head of a school, 405
9. Competition not very extensively recognized, 406
Its place supplied by personal knowledge of each
individual, 406
10. Great care bestowed on the methods of instruction, 406
III. AUSTRIA.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION IN AUSTRIA, 409
I. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, 409
Mode of recruiting--period of service, 409
Officers--non-commissioned--commissioned, 410
Training--payment, 410
II. SYSTEM OF MILITARY EDUCATION, 410
Center of Administration--Fourth Section of
War Department, 410
Annual appropriations in 1856, and 1871, 411, 464
Imperial Institutions of Military Education, 410
A. Schools for non-commissioned Officers, 411
1. Lower Military Houses, 420
2. Upper Military Houses, 422
3. School Companies and School Squadrons, 424
Frontier--Artillery--Engineer--Flotilla, 426
B. Schools for Officers, 429
1. Cadet Institutions, 429
2. Military Academies, 431
Neustadt Academy for Infantry and Cavalry, 433
Artillery and Engineering Academy, 434
3. Marine Academy, 435
C. Special Military Schools 436
1. Normal School for Military Teachers 436
2. United Higher Course for Artillery and Engineers 437
3. Staff and Adjutant School 439
Supreme Control of each class of Schools 441
III. PECULIARITIES OF AUSTRIAN MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1856 453
IV. STAFF SCHOOL AT VIENNA 447
1. General Staff of Austrian Army 447
2. Admission--Specimens of questions put 448
3. Subjects and Course of Instruction 449
4. Austrian Staff in 1868 462
V. REORGANIZATION OF MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1868 453
VI. CAVALRY BRIGADE SCHOOL FOR OFFICERS 463
IV. BAVARIA, SAXONY, HOLLAND, &c.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN BAVARIA 465
I. MILITARY SYSTEM 467
II. MILITARY EDUCATION 468
1. Cadet Corps 468
2. War School 469
3. Artillery and Engineer School 471
4. Staff Academy 472
MILITARY INSTRUCTION IN SAXONY 473
ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT DRESDEN 471
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN HOLLAND 475
I. Military System 475
II. Military Education 476
1. Military Academy at Breda 477
2. Naval Academy and Navigation Schools 478
V. ITALY.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN ITALY 479
I. MILITARY SYSTEM IN KINGDOM OF ITALY 481
II. MILITARY EDUCATION IN THE KINGDOM OF SARDINIA 483
General characteristics 483
1. Military Academy at Turin 486
2. Artillery and Engineer School 489
3. Staff School and Staff Corps 492
4. Regimental Schools 494
5. School of Artillery at the Arsenal 498
III. MODIFICATIONS SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM
OF ITALY 499
VI. RUSSIA
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN RUSSIA 501
I. MILITARY SYSTEM 503
II. MILITARY SCHOOLS 504
1. Schools under Board of Military Instruction 504
2. Schools under Ministry of War 504
IMPERIAL STAFF SCHOOL AT ST. PETERSBURG 505
VII. NORWAY, SWEDEN, AND DENMARK.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS 513
1. Sweden 513
2. Norway 515
3. Denmark 516
VIII. GREAT BRITAIN.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION 519-686
Historical Notice 521
ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS IN 1871 535
I. COUNCIL OF MILITARY EDUCATION 535
1. Historical Notice 535
Organization and Duties in 1869 537
Military Schools and Examinations 539
Army Schools, Regimental Libraries and Reading-rooms 540
2. Examinations for Commissions and Promotions 541
(1.) Examination for Direct Commissions 541
Regulations in 1869 544
(2.) Public School Education as preparatory
for Examination 543
(3.) Examinations for Promotions 550
(4.) Results of Examinations 555
(5.) Expenses of the Council 555
(6.) List of Examiners employed 555
3. Military, Orphan, and Soldiers Schools 557
II. ROYAL MILITARY COLLEGE AT SANDHURST 559
1. Historical Notice 559
Junior and Senior Departments 560
Inquiry and condition in 1855 563
Junior Department changed to a College 566
Queen’s Cadetships--Proposed enlargement in 1860 566
Free Commissions opened to Competition 570
Attendance--Staff--Expense 574
2. Queen’s and Indian Cadetships 575
3. Regulations for Admission, etc. 577
Subjects and Marks--Value of Entrance Examinations 577
Value of University Examinations 578
Preliminary Provisions--Payments 579
Discipline--Termination of Course 580
Compassionate Allowance 581
Subjects and their Marks--Value in Final examination 581
4. Subjects and Course of Instruction 582
5. Results of Competitive Examination 584
III. ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY FOR THE SCIENTIFIC CORPS
AT WOOLWICH 585
1. Historical Notice 585
2. Regulations for Admission 586
Open Competition to the Artillery and Engineers
established 588
Subjects and their Marks--Value in Entrance Examinations 589
Length of Course--Scale of Payments 590
3. Course of Study 591
4. School Preparation for Woolwich Examinations 592
IV. ROYAL SCHOOL OF MILITARY ENGINEERING AT CHATHAM 595
1. Origin and Object of the Institution 595
2. Organization for Instruction 595
3. Nature and Length of Practical Courses 596
(1.) Survey Course--Astronomical Observations 596
(2.) Course of Construction and Estimating 598
(3.) Field-work Course 600
Modeling in Sand 601
Siege Works 601
Works of Defence 601
Mining 601
Bridging 601
Railways 601
Boring for Water 601
Drawing Projects of Attack, Construction 602
(4.) Miscellaneous Subjects 602
Course of Telegraphy 602
Chemical Laboratory course 602
Photography 603
Lectures on Engineering and Professional Subjects 603
Demolitions--Submarine Mines 603
V. PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION OF OFFICERS 605
Historical Notice 605
1. Survey Class at Aldershot 611
2. Advanced Class of Artillery Officers at Woolwich 613
3. School of Gunnery at Shoeburyness 616
VI. STAFF COLLEGE AND STAFF APPOINTMENTS 619
Historical Notice 619
1. Staff College at Sandhurst 620
Admissions--Course of Instruction 620
2. Examinations for Staff Appointments 623
VII. SCHOOLS OF MUSKETRY AND RIFLE CORPS 625
1. School of Musketry 625
2. Rifle Corps--Volunteer Force and Practice 626
3. Corps Manœuvering 626
VIII. NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS 627
1. Naval Schools for Officers 627
(1.) Old System of Training Officers 627
(2.) Royal Naval Academy 628
(3.) Training Ship Britannia 629
(4.) Gunnery Instruction 629
(5.) Steam and Steam Engine 629
(6.) Naval Cadets and Midshipmen 630
2. Marine Artillery 632
3. Schools for Warrant Officers and Seamen 634
(1.) Seamen’s Schoolmasters 634
(2.) Schools on board of Ships in Harbor 635
(3.) Royal Marine Schools 636
(4.) Dockyard Schools 637
(5.) Greenwich Hospital Schools 639
4. SCHOOLS FOR MERCANTILE MARINE 639
(1.) Historical Notice of Navigation Schools 639
(2.) London Navigation School 640
(3.) Number of Seamen required in the British Service 643
(4.) Subjects of Instruction 644
(5.) Teachers and their Assistants 646
(6.) Instruction and Government Aid 647
5. College of Naval Architecture in London 650
6. Present Condition of Naval Education 651
IX. APPENDIX.--French and German Naval Schools 653
I. FRENCH NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS 657
1. Nautical School for Orphans of Sailors 659
2. School Ships for Practical Instruction 662
3. Naval Apprentice Schools 662
4. Schools for Boatswains 664
5. School for Naval Engineers 667
6. Naval Drawing Schools 668
7. Schools of Navigation 669
8. Naval School at Brest--The School Ship Borda--
Jean Bart 672
9. School of Naval Architecture 676
10. Schools of Marine Artillery 678
II. GERMAN NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS 679
1. Prussia 681
2. German Empire 683
3. Austria 685
IX. SWITZERLAND.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY INSTRUCTION, 687-713
I. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, 689
Area--Population--Military Service, 689
Federal Militia--Elite, Reserve, Levy en masse, 690
Federal Army--Various Corps, 691
II. CADET SYSTEM, 693
Helvetic Military Association--Volunteer Corps, 693
Cantonal Organizations--Juvenile Military Festivals, 694
Swiss Cadet Feast in 1856, 695
Sham Fight in 1860, and Zurich Cantonal Festival, 696
III. TARGET SHOOTING OF SHARP-SHOOTERS IN 1859, 701
Number of Candidates--Prizes--Public and Religious
Services, 705
IV. FEDERAL INSTRUCTION OF OFFICERS--SCIENTIFIC CULTURE, 710
X. UNITED STATES.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND MILITARY EDUCATION, 713-940
Regular Army--State Militia--Volunteer Force, 715
Officers--How Trained and Appointed, 717
A. MILITARY EDUCATION FOR LAND SERVICE, 719
National, State, Individual, and Corporate Institutions, 720
I. UNITED STATES MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT, 721
1. Historical Development, 721
2. Summary of Instructional Progress, 751
Condition in 1870-71, 753
(1.) Government and Organization, 753
Military Staff--Staff of Instruction, 753
Professors--Assistant and Acting Assistants, 754
Academic Board, 755
(2.) Mode and Conditions of Admission, 755
(3.) Subjects and Marks--Value of Each Study, 758
Practical Instruction and Exercises, 757
(4.) Classification of Cadets for Instruction, 757
(5.) Methods of Instruction--Recitation--
Independent Study, 758
(6.) Routine of Daily Work, 759
(7.) System of Estimating Daily Proficiency, 760
Weekly Class Report--Monthly Record, 760
(8.) Periodical Examinations--Oral, 760
Annual Examinations--Board of Visitors, 761
Classification by Results--mainly from the
Daily Record, 762
Dismissal for want of Proficiency in Studies, 763
(9.) Graduation--Penalties Attached to Idleness, 763
Choice of Service determined by standing
on the Roll, 764
Honorable Mention in the Army List, 765
(10.) Discipline--Punishments--Demerits, 765
Credit Allowed to Conduct on Final Examination, 767
(11.) Athletic Sports--Recreation, 767
(12.) Assimilation of Duties to those of a Regiment, 768
Officer of the Day--Officer in Charge--
Guard--Sentries, 769
(13.) Academy Buildings, 770
(14.) Annual Expense--Aggregate--to each Cadet, 771
4. Staff of Government and Instruction, Jan. 1, 1872, 772
5. Subjects and Synopsis of Course of Instruction, 773
6. Regulations for Admission, 777
Official Exposition of the Aim and Mode of
Examination, 779
7. Board of Visitors--Annual Report, 781
Report on Competitive Examinations in 1862, 784
8. Discussion of the Subject in Senate, 809
II. SPECIAL SCHOOLS OF APPLICATION 819
ARTILLERY SCHOOL AT FORTRESS MONROE 821
III. MILITARY ELEMENT IN STATE SCHOOLS 825
1. State Military Schools 825
2. Military Tactics in State Science Colleges 827
IV. INDIVIDUAL AND CORPORATE MILITARY SCHOOLS 831
CAPT. ALDEN PARTRIDGE 833
Memorial adverse to Exclusive Government Schools 857
Literary and Scientific Institute at Middletown
and Norwich 857
V. MILITARY EXERCISES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS 865
B. UNITED STATES NAVAL AND MARITIME EDUCATION 885
1. United States Navy and Naval Affairs 885
Growth and Condition in Ships, Officers, and Men 887
2. Steam and Science in their Applications to Navigation 895
I. UNITED STATES NAVAL SCHOOL AT ANNAPOLIS 897
Historical Development 897
Secretary Bancroft’s Letter, Aug. 7, 1815 899
1. EXPOSITION OF ITS CONDITION AND NEEDS IN 1864 901
Organization for Administration and Instruction 902
Buildings and Material Equipment 903
Pupils--Entrance Examination 905
Daily Routine--Study--Recitation--Recreation 907
Course of Instruction, Examinations, and Merit Roll 908
Physical Training--Expansion of Chest--Vocal Organs 915
Domestic and Sanitary Arrangements 916
Religious Observances and Instruction 916
Discipline--Offenses--Demerits--Punishments 918
Financial Affairs-Cost per Pupil 919
Graduating Class of 1864--Summer Cruise 920
2. RECOMMENDATIONS BY BOARD OF VISITORS 921
(1.) Change of Relation and Name from Midshipmen
to Cadets 922
(2.) Change in Mode and Condition of Appointment
and Admission 922
(3.) Practical Test of Aptitude and Constitutional
Qualities 925
(4.) Reorganization of Studies on the Basis of
Special Schools, Courses optional after
Second Year, and open to Outsiders 926
(5.) Temporary and Special Courses for Officers
on Furlough 927
(6.) Navigation Schools for Seamen, Mates, and Masters 927
Not Government Schools, but inspected by
National Officers 928
Evening Classes, Junior and Senior Departments 928
Local and National, Commercial and Military
cooperation 929
Experience of England and France in Navigation
Schools 929
(7.) Appointment of Council of Naval Education 930
Constitution of such a Council--in Attainment,
Experience 931
Duties--Useless Character of Existing Board
of Visitors 932
(8.) Inspector of Studies needed 932
(9.) Appointment of Professors and Assistants 933
(10.) Greater Publicity given to the Annual Reports 934
3. CONDITION IN 1872 935
II. SCHOOL OF NAVAL CONSTRUCTION 937
III. SCHOOL OF STEAM ENGINEERING 938
IV. NAVAL APPRENTICES 939
V. INSTRUCTION IN NAVIGATION, AND EXAMINATIONS FOR COMMANDS 940
VI. NAUTICAL REFORMATORY SHIPS 940
GENERAL REVIEW OF MILITARY SYSTEMS AND EDUCATION 941
CONTENTS OF VOLUME 947
[Errata for (second) Table of Contents:
I. OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, ... 281
221
Ordnance Carriages and Wagons; Sieges, ... 387
378
III. PECULIARITIES OF AUSTRIAN MILITARY EDUCATION IN 1856
AUSRTIAN
2. War School ... 469
461
III. MODIFICATIONS SINCE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE KINGDOM
II.
(4.) Miscellaneous Subjects ... 602
_number “6” missing or invisible_
I. FRENCH NAVAL AND NAVIGATION SCHOOLS
NAVAGATION
Practical Instruction and Exercises, ... 757
357]
* * * * *
* * * *
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_Errors and Inconsistencies: General Notes_
Individual errors are listed at the end of their respective sections.
This book is a compilation of articles and translations that originally
appeared in different sources. No attempt was made to regularize
spelling or punctuation. In particular:
--The position of parentheses with respect to closing punctuation is
unchanged.
--In the “France” section, the form “assymplote” (for expected
“asymptote”) is used consistently.
--In the tables at the end of the “Austria” section, and throughout the
“Bavaria” and “Italy” sections, the word “caligraphy” is consistently
spelled with one l.
--Closing quotation marks were generally not supplied when absent.
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