The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-08-09
Military Engineering.
CHARLOTTESVILLE, aug,

L
former occasion, the pleasure OF sending
you an article for insertion concerning the
G8rb ,idi Legion. Beng an Italian nv birth
and then 4 natCrsitned American aud now s
devoted citizen OF This Confederacy, | felt it
my duty 10 warn my own countrymen againz {
eniisting III that Legion, and against fgh iii z
III FAVOR OF principles contrary 10 those that
have procured the independence OF Italy
Deeply interested as l am in the caus, OF
the Confederate States, l hope you will allow
Be 10 address you for the second tiInr sinh
hitting, first. that had military education
III tie Poly 'echnicql Military School OF M
pies, which ! entered 4 short lime after Nh
rat lett that Kingdom, ana where, therefore,
the French system OF instruction con tin a cd
for some ime 10 prevail. From there altar
q rigid examination, | passed to be a commits.
sioned OH 'er IN the corps of the Toposra phi
cal Engineer, and Etat- d Ior; and as the ser
vice of that corps was tirely nv profe .sior
aud / uHders tand therefore. the xraat need
that every we'll organ z"d arInH1AskW pro-
portionate number of well iiso ned ON
GERS in that branch, l see with reFrat that
while our ad Yersaries Of the North have RI.
| solved in Congress 10 increase the efficiency
and number OF the Typographical Eus,neors
nothing has been done on our side tow ards
procuring for us the same advantage
II would DO too long here for me 10 demon
stra,e the necessity OF such n corps Oar Ges
era's, and certainly many Of our ustructed
and well educated officers, have, when moth ing
else, read military history. They know what
account Napoleon made Of the military sngi-
n-eTs how Indispensable he deemed the in
,:itution TO be. They know rot 90 the
opinion OF foreigners upon the subject but
also thai of the in t~iligent and learned 4 me
rican engineers. They have probably read
the fine work Of Captain II Wager Hail.ck ;
tney arc probably nca II nin ted with the report
made by Captain McCIelland on the CriIaeau
war, OF which he was aH eye W mess IA ssn I
there by the United States OF America, in or
der TO examine and report they have sesn
the ADVANTAGES that The French derived by n
stric, adherencs 10 The technical rRles OF tho
science of the engineer, and the di.ad van tagss
that the EOgiish sn n red account Of neg
ganCe towards that part of military science
They know, also, that the engineer is not OBJ
thiued by knowledge, cheaply aca uired Of a
little OF strategy or Of field engineering He
IN ust be- Thoroughly trelu.d in all tho sciences
that regard his employment. The engineer
/ ia trGr must he acquainted with strategy
and TEN porarJ notifications hut this know
ledge alone would be too little fer him lilo
c0nld not with it fRlfill one half OF mis- datI-s
There are som. that considerably End per
haps presnmptuously speak, throwing di. =
credit the science of tho we'll edDcated
engineer they pretend to conpider it, IN TO a
c-rtan extent, as supernnous and obsolete,
but they cannot be sure OF what they saw :
they think they are sustained BY some mis-
taken opinions spread by in in dicious persons.
who incOn sideratety viewed the operation.
before Sebastopoi in lsji but thew have no
taken the trouble OF reading The remarks
made by General Neil, in his i,rruSl OF tue
seige of that place, nor those of Captain
McUlelland, or they would certainly nav.
come bnck from their error.
hope, Their, that although orr experiaac cd
Generals are now too much occupied to Lhink
OF this subject, ouf Congress At Iaast Will
take 1: into consideration, and provide in
time, that the Confederation might not be
destitute OF a coed and efficient number OF
we'll instructed topoeraphica engineers, AZ 4
not let our enemies acq uire over us sure-
riority on that score. They will undeTe Ia nd
l hore, not only that the engineer is 70 Re
educated, even In time Of peace, in order TO
be thoroughly prepared and properly formed
wher the war breaks out, but that in tina of
peace ALEC he has much to do, and among us
in particular; for. when peace is made, shall
we not have need, like any other civilized
nation, of system Of permanent forrir a.
tons on our from tier. and the .ea-cosst?
Bot have few more words TO say What
is the reason that, while our publishers n nd
booksellers ad vertise for the sale of booh- Of
Tao tics, camp dnty, hand books for artillery.
instruction for cavalry, &C &c, they do moi
take the least trouble 10 publish any good and
tn orough book on tortificaton, mines, attire X
and defence, SC. 7 The only boob that hears
something of that title, Is Buckholtz; hut do
they really think that tho author intended Ia
give any reasonable inform a ton on ensInoer.
ing lie only intended to make the infantry
officers acquaiE ted with The names of .oms
works, and, at most, with constructing n 81 n
gle profile. But that Ia not in the least what
we want; let them et least publish M,hsn
on foruhcation, with all It's maps. And even
that Is rot all. Can they not find any o. the
excellent French works,as Cormon talgne, st.
Paul, DArgon, or others also, one or what
Is called IN French, Deftsment9 Cannot those
who own such works lend them to the mi h.
ilshers, who could thus confer benefit on
their own conutty and also on themselves;
Tor. after all. these books would be bough
with asidity not only oy the officers OF the
army, bat Also by many who would like to
study ehein"-rlngf Books on stra teey would
also be mead. d The ceuntry is 20 be sar v I'd
not only with material means, but also with
The diffusion of kuoW ledge
Respectfully, yours,
Il NArIvK ITALIAN,
Now u Citizen of the Con FEDERATION.