The Express.
London, England, 1855-08-16 00:00:00

THE CHASSEURS OF VINCENNES.

Worthy to form a companion picture to that which
we have endeavoured to draw of the Zonaves (who
justified their reputation as sagacious pillagers, as
well as brave soldiers, only the other day, at Kertch)
—conspicuous in a brave army for their admirable
discipline, as well as their impetuous courage—ars
the Chassenrs—generally known as the Chasseurs de
Vincennes. Their story has not that kind of interest
attached to it which gives a piquancy to the details
of our Algerian friends, with their Arab name and
their Turkish dress. The interest belonging to the
Chasseure is entirely owing to the military technicali-
ties—the improvements in the science of warfare, of
which they are the suconsful experiment. They pre-
sent to us the soldier, with all the latest improve-
ments. They are the last development of the first
Spanish mousquetaires. They represent the perfected
idea, first shadowed forth in the tercias of the penin-
sula. If one of the old arquebusiers of the army of
Picardy or Piedmont, in the time of the Huguenot
struggle, could riso from his warrior's grave, and exa-
mine the t quipment of a Charmer of the 19th century,
with his dark plume of feathers, his sombre dress, and
the terrible weapon fixed to his wonderful gun, he
would be filled with all the wonder which the civi-
lised man inspires in the savage. In spite of the
anathema of Bayard, the sarcasms of Ariosto, fire-
arms grew in popularity throughout the armies of
Europe. The reader will remember the importance
attached to them by Henri IV., and the effect of his
mounted chamfers, the arquebusiers de rattier.
Maurice of Nassau first arranged infantry to combine
the services of arquebusiers and pikemen, the modern
development of which combination is the bayonet;
but the execution of the idea was reserved for Gus-
tavus Adolphus. He created a moveable artillery,
and hie infantry became a model for the rest of
Europe. His great weapons were not drawn upon
the field of battle by oxen, but, being lightly made,
were easily conveyed by active hones. He adopted
the cartouche and cartouche-box. The introduction
of fire-arms into the science of warfare necessitated
new tactics: these tactics were invented by the
Swedish hero. Then, in the progress of military
science, under these modern influences, Vauban
came upon the scene. To him trance is
indebted for the bayonet. The first French troops
armed with this formidable weapon were the King's
Fusiliers, in 1670. It was not before 1703 that the
French army can be said to have set aside the pike.
The successes of Frederick the Great gave to Europe
universal confidence in the modern system. The
musket was fairly established as the great modern
weapon; and with the exception of the percussion
cap, the arm now in use differs little, except in im-
proved manufacture end in elegance, from that which
served the great captain of the Seven Years' War.
The modern musket, with the bayonet, was de-
scribed by Napoleon as " the best instrument of war
ever invented by man." Its use was established
throughout the armies of Europe.
By degrees men versed in military affairs found
that the musket was a very imperfect weapon. No
man could depend upon it. It carried the ball wide
of the mark. The story of the experiments made
by various men to remedy this great defect
is one which has but recently appeared in
this journal. It is one in which rival interests
are engaged; and we care not to enter into a
fruitless controversy. Let it suffice now, that im-
provements were made which gave additional impetus
to the ball, and truth to its destination. The grooves,
which communicated a rotatory motion, the modes
of charging, &c., are points in the progress of the
rifle to its present state which we need not trace step
by step. The superiority of the rifles now used in
the equipment of our troops, as well as is that of
our Allies—the advantages of the Delvigne—Mtni
rifle in short, are generally acknowledged—are uni-
versally understood. But when the rifle was first in-
troduced, it presented grave inconveniences. The
loading was a complicated process, the short barrel
rendered the firing in line dangerous. Thus, at first
the rifle could not displace the musket. Its use was
confined to special bodies of troops of light cavalry—
the carabins, or carbioeers. The hunters of the
Tyrol—the Swiss—delightedly adopted it in the pur-
suit of the chamois, for in this sport its truth was of
inestimable value. Hifi) practice became a national
pastime, of which the Austrian government was the first
to take advantage, by organising battalions of Tyrolese
riflemen. These troops were of so much service
against the Prussians that Frederick the Great soon
found himself compelled to organise battalions of car-
bineers himself. Corps of riflemen were also orga-
nised in France In the course of the eighteenth cen-
tury, but they did not last long. Some of these,
however, remained intact long enough to acquire a
brilliant reputation—the Legion de Grusin, for ex-
ample. But France owes her light infantry carrying
rifles to the Convention. This power decreed the
formation of half brigades of light infantry, in which
the picked men were armed with rifles, and received
the title of carabiniers. The rifle of the year 1793 is
the model of the first arm of this kind regularly em-
ployed in the French service. But the inconveniences ,1
attending the use of this formidable weapon, and
the absence of special professors to teach its use,
soon threw it into discredit. It disappeared
from the French army. When Napoleon re-
armed his troops he did not even inclode
it among the available weapons ; still the
regiments of light infantry were preserved, as
were even the carabiniers. In the old Imperial
Guard there were even regiments of chasseurs, of
tirailieurer of flasegweers—but none of these corps
Were specially armed nor specially instructed. It was

I the will of the Emperor that the instruction of all
the regiments of infantry should be uniform, so that
the lie* might serve as light troops, or light troops
with the line. He simply congregated the more
active and Intelligent men of different regiment.,
whose want of height prevented their enrolment with
the grenadier's, into companies of voltigeurs. These
companiesjuitifled the Emperor's reliance on their
good service.. They were described as one of his
finer military creations. But it is contended that he
carried his idea too far. Undoubtedly it is well to
instruct infantry of the line so that it may act in
various ways; but it is also certain that, with
the arms thus generally used, the advan-
tage of a body of riflemen, to attack or
defend a farm-house, for instance—to protect a
wood, • village, a fortified work—to harass
a moving body of the enemy, or to disperse a staff of
officers, was beyond dispute. This advantage was
perceived by the English, the Austrians, the Prus-
sians, and the Russians, and even by the Pied-
montese, the Swiss, and the Swedes. All these
powers continued to employ rifle corps.
Battalions of chasseurs were enrolled in the French
army in 1815. The creation of these battalions is a
measure attributed to the sagacity of Marshal Gonvion
Saint-Cyr; but they did not last long es established
by the marshal—they shared the fate of the depart-
mental legions. Still the rifle was excluded from the
list o. French military weapons ; and it was only
when the invention of ao old officer of the Royal
Guard, M. Delvigne, enabled men to load this for-
midable instrument of death as easily as a musket,
that its use became general. This first step towards
the development of the rifle as a weapon of war is
incontestably due to the above gentleman ; but his in-
vention had grave defect.. The mode of loading
destroyed the spherical form of the ball, and so
injured the truth of aim, which was the
conspicuous advantage of the rifle. Then, in 1833, a
royal ordonnance, on the report of Marshal Souk,
' directed the formation of companies offrone-lireurs, to
be armed with rifles and to be dressed in accordance
with their duties. But this command was not immedi-
ately executed. Meantime the Committee of Artillery
made experiments on M. Delvigne's invention ; and
Colonel Poncharra contrived to remedy the defect
apparent in the system of loading, as first described
by Delvigne. It was only after these experiments
had been completely successful that the Duke of
Orleans ordered the formation of a company of rifle-
men, equipped in a special manner, and armed with
the Delvigne-Poncharra rifle. This company was
garrisoned at Vincennes, and was the nucleus of the
famous Chalmers de Vincennes, whose courage and
remarkable matceuvres have given them a place in
the modern history of military France side by side
with the &naves.

This company was commanded by Captain Dela-
mane, and placed under the eye of General d'Hou-
dslot, one of the King's aide-de-camps. The experi-
ment was so satisfactory, that in 1838 it was judged
advisable to organise a battalion of riflemen, which
esesived the title, so popular jut now, of Tirailleurs
de Vincennes. They were dressed in a tunic, wide
trousers, and a light shako. The sword and car-
touche-box no longer interfered with the free action of
the limbs. These troops were armed with a rifle and
a long selid bayonet, called a sword-bayonet. This
sword-bayonet is a formidable weapon, for it can be
fixed to the end of the rifle, or be treed separately as
a sword. The organisation did not end here. As
the Delvigne-Poncharra rifle did not carry so far as
the ordinary infantry musket, the strong riflemen
were armed with a heavy rifle, which carried a ball,
with unerring truth, to a great distance. These
men were distinguished from the ordinary riflemen,
being called carbineers. Thus the tirAlleurs de Vin-
manes could keep up a most efficacious fire
at an ordinary distance, while its carbineers,
with their heavy weapons, could reach the
the enemy when he thought himself beyond reach.
Grouped together, these carbineers could produce
the most telling effect. They were often called, on
this account, hand-artillery.
The battalion of riflemen formed two deep—an
order rendered almost inevitable by the shortness of
their rifles, and indeed which was preferred by some
authorities to the regular three line order. It
manoeuvred in line, like any other infantry battalion,
but to the ordinary exercises of the foot-soldier, the
tirailleur added gymnastic exercises, evolutions per-
formed running, fencing with the bayonet, and
special instruction in shooting. The happiest of these
innovations were the rapid evolutions. They permitted
the battalion to be directed upon a given point—almost
with the rapidity of cavalry. The bayonet exercise
was also a good exercise, giving the men confidence
in the use of their weapon. Nor was the practice
in shooting less excellent. The men learned to mea-
sure distances, to fire lying at full length, or on their
knees—in short, to take any advantages of ground
or height. Ten months after the formation of the
first battalion, the results obtained were so satisfac-
tory that it was definitively constituted. An ordon-
mune. bearing date the 28th of August, 1839, de-
clared it to be a separate and distinct corps. It was
sent to camp at Fontainebleau. Here the agility of
the men, their light and free clothing, and their rapid
and exact manoeuvres, impressed all who saw them.
Before the camp was dispersed the King went to
passe review. When the riflemen of Vincennes de-
filed before him, he asked Marshal Soult, then
President of the Council, what he thought of the new
troops. " Sire," replied the marshal, "it is not one,
but thirty battalions like this, I wish to see in the
service of your Majesty." All military authorities I
did not share the approbation of the marshal. Many
thought that it was wrong to sacrifice the gun's
power of carrying to its truth; others declared
simply that these riflemen were a superfluous corps.
Aod—we are reminded by the Duke of Aumale—if
such resistance irritates now and then, if we find
reason to blame the blindness of routine, let us be
comforted with the assurance that, generally, truth
issues triumphantly from the discussion. Even if,
now and then, a good idea be lost, is there
not consolation in the reflection that many dangerous
innovations have been stopped by this wise barrier P
And then the duke goes on to show that
France owes the efficiency of the riflemen of Vin-
cennes to the opposition their creation met with :
because had the system met with no opposition, its
application would not have met with that healthy
restriction which gives it proper value. But the
best test for the new corps was that to which it was
put, viz., the test of war.
War ad again burst forth in Africa—the battalion
of riflemen was sent thither. The experiment sue
oeeded. The men, trained by their gymnastic exer-
cises, were soon inured to long marches and other
fatigues of a campaign. The excellence of their
individual military education was remarked—
and produced the happiest results. The success
of the heavy rifles—above all—was most re-
markable. A great many marksmen were particu-
larly noticed for their skill, among others Adjutant
Piatonley. Brigaded with the Zouaves—their most
natural associates—under the orders of the general

who had watched over their first instruction (Count
d'Hondelot), animated by a very strong esprit-de-
corps, led by offioers at once ardent and intrepid, they
soon had a good reputation, bought at the price of
blood generously shed. Their commander, Grobon
(now general of division), fell wounded, at the
assault of the Col—a captain, M. Vichery, was killed
in the Bois des Oliviers. Several more officers,
among whom the brave Captain Uhrioh may be cited,
suffered from the fire of the enemy. This officer
retired with the rank of colonel after the revolution
of February, 1848.