Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-01-18
THE PRIDE OF FRANCE.
SHE oLoRlEs HISTORICALLY IN HER
MAGNIFICENT ARMY.

IF Fighting Between Her and Great Brit
ain Took Place on Land the Victor
Would Be Hard to Pick In Advance
How the City of Paris Is Defended.
The French army, to save whose
honor human beings are crushed like
ants and justice smitten in the face
is really o noble organization, not
withstanding the corruption that may
exist among some of its superior
officers. The army is organized on
laws passed by the national assembly
cf 1872. These have been modified,
enlarged and adjusted by additional
laws voted by various legislatures
from 1883 to- 1892. To understand
the very deep concern that is felt about
the army by the French people-a
concern similar to ours about the vol
unteers-one need only remember
that by law there is universal liability
to arms, and that substitution or en-
lstment by payment of money is for
bidden. Any French citizen between
the ages of twenty and forty-fve who
has not been pronounced unfit FOR
military service, may be called upon
at any time to become soldier, either
in the active service OF in the re-
serves. Thus it will be seen how per-
sonal matter the military becomes
for every Frenchman.
There is a law 1882, supplemented
by later laws, providing that the year.
ly contingent must serve three years
in the active service, ten in the re-
serve pertinent to the regular army,
six in the territorial army and six in
the territorial reserve. The army in
active service is made up of all young
men-ssthe flower of France''-who
have reached the age of twenty. The
reserve that is held Immediately be-
hind this active army consists of the
men who have served out their time
in the active army. These two
branches of the French army-that is,
the active and the active reserves
are drawn from over the whole of
France and are distributed over the
whole of France. The territorial army
and its reserves, however, are as
signed to locations fixed by the ad-
ministration from time to time.
1t is freely admitted about France
and Great Britain that if the fighting
had to be done on land the result
would be III doubt.
The following figures will convey
very correct idea of the present
strength of the French army: In in
fantry, France has 145 divisional reg
iments of the line, each Of 3 battalions
and 4 companies. Every regiment
has 81 officers and 1884 men. There
are 1S regional regiments of the
line, each with 81 officers and 1860
men, scattered in the various forts of
France. There are 30 battalions of
chasseurs-a-pied, each with 10 officers
and $50 men. Four regiments of
zouaves have each 72 officers and 2551
men,. There are four regiments of
'tirailleurs, each with 103 officers
and 1882 men; two regiments 'tes-
trangers" aud five battalions of Afri-
can light infantry.
There are 16 regular regiments of
cavalry and eight companies of "cav-
alters de remonte," of 229 men each.
OF artillery there are 40regimen,s of
field-423 mounted batteries, SO horse
batteries, 16 mountain batteries, and
- batteries, mounted ard mountain,
in Tunis and Algiers. For engineers
France has six regiments of seppers
and miners, of which five contain each
three battalions and one company of
sapper conductors, and the other four