J - ... -i
1 .J v.
'i
,'. Vol.'
RALEIGH, 'AiAYl 8, 1 809.
.11.. II - M . -r
a. a W ' . M k W t t"
'A
pC7 Pcbushe event Thchidat t Tho
p as 1Udu.so, jvh. ioa, tur & Co, at tbk
vrra. hd or Jt'ATXTTKiLLi-STni he ah
Casio's comiomPaicit Thii. Uoxlaks nut
AVXUtf. TAXABLE HALF TEAftLY If ADVAKCK
Siol Par 10 Ct. . ,
ADVERTISEMENTS.
; Franklin Academy.
THE KinVnnual Ewiriination of the Studcnti of the
Franklin' Academy will coniBteitce on the Third
kmday in June nest, and continue two days. On Wti
nesday follovin; they Will deliver aclect Oration, Dia
logut, &c. and in the Evciiinjr of the ame d,y there will
be performed a Comedy and Force for the benefit of Uu
Jaautation. ' ' ' . '
' GREEN HILL, Sec'ry.
iViburf, May 15, 1809-
1
. 1 axes.
nr?he InhahitanU of thii city are desired to aettle with
X he Subscriber their Sute, Cointy, and IV1UI1 ux
for the vea 1808. without dehy. He ii also juitlioi iscd to
collect forty Shilling from each of those who have, with
at Licences, retailed Spirits by the small measure.
f 1 WILLIAM SCOTT, Dejmtg SUrif.
ttrnifirfe f r htdcmnilence, was induced to rie this ac
Cixi-u of Prrneii Tactics ' Tiua nwnuseriM seema to
been fjr aosjie tmo in tn hands of Urnersi LlUr 1
wny it ws not aooner puhUhrd we sre unabU to aay
twl think it pmbUe vuX u ,wj in ronscicnce of the
s luauon in wmcn immciusbo i.oiki at uie court of r mux.
The result of Bonaparte's ctpnUkm Into Poland anitt
havn antunilMit-tl all ui linpra tor his countrr, ani m oun
sequence have hf. his f.-iend (len. Davie free to ado;
meuaure that certainly cannot he ajfrreable to the anibi
tiois Empemr of rrance. . The nature and impnr
tance of the work is wrll explained in the introdurtion b
, . , ,.WAMTEU 1MMB-.)1ATEL,
A; Journeyman Hatter
0"E.rrom the NwiiiWiud, who is a fool Workman
would be 'preferred, and will meet with pern: roue
acei as.,".- . .HIC1IARU It UEAUINU.
,.Tash county, April 26, lSJ.
- r University. -
THE annual exmiiiulion of the Student of the Uni
versity of North-Ciirolina will commence on the 21
of June' next. The -committee f violation apjiointedto
attend the examination will be comj oied of the following
Truatees, m :
Messrs. William Gaston, John .'oorc,
' ' . Arch'd D. Mui-phey, Israel Pickens,
Walter Alves, Ili-njamin Smith,
John D. Hawkins, Jertmiah Slade, and
, William Hawkins, William Williama.
'; As the necessity of due attendance on the port of the
committee must be obvious to every member, and as tli.
duties they. harp to perform devolve on each ckss on j
' once in five years', the board of Trustees hope that a p'-o-pef
regard to the welfare of the Institution will induct
every gentleman to attend with punctuality.
(: vtv- , . GAVIN ALVES, Sec'ry.
m, Ilillaborough, April 2L 1 809-
ri ; Raleigh Academy.
T,f,.Es,nii-MnuM Examination of the Sirulentg of this
'JL---- lustitutlon will commence on Tuesday the 3uth ot
MaiP,c and -will continue three d.'y. The evenings ot
1 each day will b occupied by the Speeches of the youn
orators, and by Theatrical performances. It is expecteu
that two play JTiU be exhibited.
The next Session will commence on the 12th of June
It is desired of those who intend to enter for that sesioi
to attend early, that the classes may be advantageously
arranged at the commencement.
r. . WILLIAM WHITE, Sec'ry.
i April 24, 1809.
Bank of Nevvbern.
RALEIGH OFFICE.
TFTE' President and Directors having established ar
t!tii:e of Discount in the City of Raleigh, under the
Agency of the Subscriber, notice is hereby given that tin
business ot it will be transacted under the tallowing Kuies
1. Bills, Bond 9 and Notes made negociable at the Baiii
tf Jfewbern and payable at its Office in Italcigh, at 01
within sixty davs, in which two solvent individuals shal
be bound, will be discounted at the rate of 6 per cent. ei
annum. .
4 2. Three days of grace will be allowed and interest ta
ken therefor. ,
3. All paper to h offered for Discount will be expected
to be left with the Agent on Wednesday betore 10 o clock
Xi M, and the Discount will be declared and pymen
made at 3 o'clock, P.M.' SHERWOOD HAYWOOD
. March 30, 18'. . . Agent
MILITARY.
MAXOUVRES CF
horse Artillery
By GesERAL Kasct usko, wntten at Paris in the year
18j0, atthere-vi'aetitof General Davie, then envoy from
the United States to France Translated with notes and
descriptive plates by Jonathan Williams, Colonel Com
mandant of the Corps of Engineers, and President of the
United States' Military Philosophical Society. Published
by.dtrection of the Society. 1 vol. octavo. New-York,
printed 1808. -.
The decidad Supcriirity of the French troops over
A those of every other nation of Europe is entirely due to
I their unequalled skill in the Use of Artilleiy. The merit
0 of th old military tactics of Frederick the Great, which
once rendered the Prussian armies alnrtst invincible, is
now Wholly lost in the improvements of French art, and
contributed only to a fatal security in the battle of Jena,
wlterf the present king of Prussia found his numerous,
well appointed and well disciplined army defeated and
etlt to pieces two hours before lie deemed it possible for
the French to ixne to action, tboujjh he had a perfect
knowledge of tha situation of their r.Hmr. The celeritv
of the movements of the French Artillery has procured
for it the name of " Flying". It has contributed much
to the nreftent greatness and power of Fi ance, and so
jealous have the' French been, lest.othcr nations should
-oppose to tiieTti the instruments of tlnsir own success, that'
they have Cautiously guarde'd against any commuriicatipn
of the particulars of Uteir arf beyond those whom the
wants of their armies made it necessary to instruct. No
puhlic&tioiv of' it was ever made in any place or in any
language untilthatof which we are now about to commu
nicate some account. Tho our country owes much to the
great talents & ardent patriotism of General Davie, yet the
obtatnment of the present woik certainly deserves to hold
a respectable rank in tUe liSt of his services. In France
he renewed an ancient acquaintance with tha illustriotia
. "jlrixt nnfoilunate hero of Poland, General KosoiKsko j who
probably from motives of personal friendship and regard
jfor the country uiiier whom banners he Lad fought in her
Colonel Williams tlte TranaUtor, which we now tmbluli
without comment, omitting for auodier occasion some ana
ysiS of the work itself. J ;
. INTKODUCTION.
HowEVtii numerous treatises on artillery
may be, hovevcr perspicuous ihey may appear
to men, who, cither by education or li.ihit, are
ell versed in the general theory andpractice
of this essential pari rtf the art military ; yet to
the AttiJent or inexperienced jldier, a display
f all the principles as they would appear in
practice on the field of bmle is necessaryj to
-nable him to perform with accuracy & celeritv
whatever he may have theoretically acquired.
Indeed the best informed man, would make a
very indifferent figure in the field, if he'had not
a complete view of even' marrijvre the moment
he uttered the word commanding tt. This can
only be perfectly lcame.1 by carrying them into
fleet. Military manui Is thtrefore are the most
mportant part of a soldier's library, and the best
iflicers h:ive found much advantage in consult-
ng them to revive the dormant knowledge oi
lortn r Jays, wn lctlie vounger soldier cnno
otherwise obtain correct ideas in the titst in
stance.
The regulations here offered to the American
Public are drawn up by a man who rnde-rd ts
ential personal service in the das of di(ficuli
and danger, and no one can be more capable ui
instructing us; the performance has therefor!
the double merit cf friendshipin the motive ant!
talents in the execution.
I be follovviupr extract of a letter from Gen.
Win. R. Dtixiie to the translator renders ant
unher observations relative to the author o:
lis performance wholly unnecessary.
Catauba, tu.tr lancunter V. I. .Html 15, 1808.
Dear Sir After bestowing a proper tUrgrec
if refl -ctiou on what was due to mv friend
Gen. Kosciusko and to my country, I have con
;luded to authorize you to publish his woik 01
Horse Artillery, with your notes, &c. on con-
litiun that you will consider yourself a trustee
.0 apply the pioceeds lor the bent lit 1 the U
". Al. r. Society, in such manner as you ma
leem best for the interest of that institution
" The thirty manoeuvres contained in thi-
tieatise form a complete system of tactics fo
this important branch of the army, compiled b
tn officer who was completely master of th
subject, and whose whole life has been devotet
to military science.
The directions for performing the manoeuvres
being generally very concise, will require soro
xplanaiions by way of notes for the Americai
service.
The words of command in all countries be
ing arbitrary, will not admit generally of a lite
id translation into another language ; and wit
respect 10 them I would recommend that th
words of command should be taken from thost
used in our artillery ami cavalry service whert
they apply; they will be better understood
and will ptobablv be better calculated for th
tone of command. In the quick movements
and manoeuvres of the horse artillery (which ac
quire no perfection until they are rapidly per
formed) as in those of the cavalry, there is not
time for iht lull and formal words of command
on such occasions thev must be rapidly given
much abridged, and all expletives omitted: for
example jns.ead of saving 44 Battery by pieces
io the left about whtel they should say, " Pie
ces left about."
It is true that it is a maxim in horse artillery
to manoeuvre constantly with the prolonge o
drag rope, so that the moment the piece is 1
battery the fire commences without further de
tachine the limber and the horses. The face
this country generally would not permit at a
times the prolonge of so great length as that
generally used in Europe of 25 or 30 feet, but
the necessary modifications will be suggestc
bv pfactice and experience. And the limber
with a pole, now used by the French, is much
more convenient, especially for horse artillery,
than the old limber with thills, which was no
doubt originally suggested by the use at first of
only two wheels to travelling carriages.
The European armies have generally adopt
ed for this service the lighter species of artille
ry, and the eight and nine pounders are not as
much used as formerly. For the American
service, generally, four and six-pounders are
in myopinion the proper caliber, with houitzers
of five inches six lines. The advantages o'
pieces of this description, in point of conveni
ence, economy, and adaptation to our service,
need no detail to officers of experience. Three-
pounders should be altogether rejected in con-
sequence 01 trie nuutty 01 tneir etiect : tuey-are
not of the importance of a weU-hancfled mus
ket. ' x '
I hive too much regard for mr own nputa
tion, ai well at that -of my friend Gen. KoMttu
1(7, to trust the publication of this treatise to a
uy person but yourself. The publication Would
be of great importance to our country, aiu;
therefore wish It effected ; .and 1 hope it may
be so managed at the same time as to he of ser
vice to the society. It is perhaps the only trea-
ise on this sunject in the world. It was un-
Jenood when i was in Paris in 1800 that the
government had not permitted any publication
f this kind, from motives of policy sufficiently
vident ; and finding every research on this mu-
ct vain, I was induced to apply to Gen. Ko-
ciuxko, to undertake a description of the ma-
nseuvres of horse artillery as pracUsed by the
reach armies. The system is complete, ant
to this country of immense value and importance,
Be assured of the h:gh respect and esteem
with which I am Yours, he.
, Wm. H. DAVIE."
The use of artillery in battle is not agains'
the artillery of an enemy', for that would b
waste of power, but against the line 01 the ene
ny in diagonal direction when it is destruc-
ive in the extreme, lhe Trench have gene
rally conquered by the superiority of their ar-
rdery, not so much in number and weight o
netal. as in position and management. F'or-
n;rly (and to this tiay in some nations) lhe ar
liery used to be mixe'd in the line as well as on
he flanks, and the whole, or nearly the whole
vas. in case of a general affair, brought into
ction at the same time. Modem tactics or
le contrary have established it a rule that onl
1 part of the artillery shall be ever tngaged;
nit then his part by being constantly support-
d from the park, and that park again support -d
from a reserve at a distance, is kept up ii
lull vigour and is as entire in all its parts at th
end of the action as it was at dr.- commence
ment of it ; tw 1 thirds of the artilkry is there-
lore always out of danger, and as last as any
niece becomes injured from any cause whate
ver it is instantly r plated by a perfect one.
v hile the injured piece, if susceptible oi repair.
is in the way of being r. fitted in the rear, to
tally unannoyed by the enemy, so long as thv
irontkeep their ground.
By keeping the artillery on the flanks instead
f mixing it in the line, it never can impede
he movements of the latter, which are totally
dependent of it; on the other hand, whenai-
llery is placed ni the centre, the movements
f the line, being of a different nature from
hose of the artillery, can never accord with
Mem : the pieces are therefore always in the
Auy, and the movement, whatever it mat- be, is
n some way or other impeded by tlum, and
bey by the trtoops. Let us suppose a line of in
fantry drawn up in order of battle, with the i rt
illery parly in the centre and partly on the
tlanks, preserv ing the same line, and that it be
leccssary either for a more advantageous attack
r more perfect defence, to take a different po
sition on the right or left ; now as it is impossi
ble to perform the manoeuvre with the artillery
without occupying a very considerable space,
the pieces in the centre must be crowded, and
lie entirely in the way of the infantry. If the
position intended to betaken be at any distance,
it is still more difficult. If there were no ar
tillery in the line, a battalion of ten thousand
men might perform evolutions with as much fa
cility as one thousand; it is only necessary to
arrange the command in proportion to the num
ber, and the effect is the same ; but this is im
possible if there be any impediment, for the lrmf
being once broken the whole is inimediateK
thrown into confusion. In all divisions of the
armv, the divisions of the artillery on the flanks
should be proportionate, and if it were neces
sary to divide an army into a dozen parts, each
part should represent, as it respects artillery
ind infantry, the same form, lu short, an army,
like a polypus, should always preserve the
shape of the whole, however numerous its pans
might be.
It is well understood in fortification, that a
front consists of a courtiuc with a flunk on the
right and left, and that this flank forms an ob
tuse angle with the courtme, so that a line
drawn perpendicularly from the flanks would
cross each other in the centre of the courtin
considerably in advance of it, and be hi a di
rection of the diagonal of a parallelogram of
which the coui tirie is one side. This is called
the line of tbfence because it scours the face of
the opposite bastion. When an army is drawn
up in battle array the battalion may be called
he courtine, the artillery of course become the
flanks, and the line of fire most destructive
is that which would strike the enemy in a diago
nal direction ; this is self evident because a per
pendicular line would go only through the num
ber of men forming the depth of , the battalion,
but the oblique line-might go through three
times the number of the enemy It appears to
be settled that the artillery ought always to be
in th,is position relatively t6 the battalion,1 the
different movements of which it must constant-
..' ... :
lv follow, and take surhn angle as woulJ rait
the greater cumber of men, and a distance that
would give t fleet to tcattertnjr; ahot, ,uch a,
grape, caniter, Scc. Kound hot should only
be used at greater ditancea.y r ;.vr- .. " 'x
The foregoing description of modern tactlct
respecting artillery, especially applies to the or-,
g'niaatioo of an army, ami tho artillery on the
flunks is Mrppofced to consist of fooi and horao 7
artillery in equal proportions, but the latter" acta
more independently, and flies as it were to any
advantageous position in vietr, taking the ene-
my in flank by a motion too rapid for him to
elude: this facility of changing and choosing"
place, almost instantaneously, has probablyoc
cftaioned the different cnotpinatirfns of Fly
ing Artillery" " Artillery of position, .&c
It being once established as a rule that the flK
tillery is always to form 9 flank making an ob-at :
angle with the. line, like a flank to a courtiuc. .
whatever may be its front, it istotallyurjnecea-i
sary to give any orders, 'for it can never err.-
Hie position the line takes, howevef .it may
' hange, is always visible at the flanks, and thp
position of the artillery is therefor? always de- ,
cided; so that while acting independently ao
cording as it may find eminences, it must also
t in concert vIth the line. , , ; . .''v""'" '
In our country it will probably be most useful
to employ horse artillery in detached parties, to
ict by surprtse at un. ipected distances, and to
tccompanvJt occasionally with cavalry.'. SucH
parties hanging about a camp must harass it im
mensely, nowever ionniaaDie tne mvauing ar
my might be, for it could always act out of mus
ket 6hot, and the celerity of its rooveAient
would bid defiance to attack or pursuit, and as
it could take any position at will, it might avoid,
he enemy's heavy artillery, and attack tho
troops in their encampment at the opening of -
the dawn, before it could be Known to be in mo-
Upon the whole, horse artillery is ties
ion.
more than 'a modification of the ordinary field :
irtillery, being manceuvered by homes instead
of men, and having on that account the advan
'agi of attacking, pursuing," or retreating in the
face of an enemy, with a celerit)' thai can nef-
her be overtaken nor avoided The horses it
vill be readily conceived must be' previously.
;rained to stand the fire of ahot action,which isai ! ;
vork of some time and much patienee, but ortcti
fleeted is more certain .han men: for, insensible
to dungcr, this nol le animal would stand firm to
he last moment unless ordered to retreat,and ir s '
pursuit he shires with his rider all the. ardour, M - w
f invincible courage. Every operation" in batj - "
;le is precisely the same in one case as jnlh' o-i . J1
ther ; the prolonge or drag rope lying slpck c ' H
the ground, the horses standing at the eud of it . .':-'!
attached bv it at 15 or 20 feet distance and Veat'j
dy to start in an instant, the trail harid-spikesv"' '"'
fixed in their places, the men w ith filled pouclr '
?s at their posts, and all the utensils distributed
to their proper hands, the action goes on with-
mt the slightest impediment. In an instant ot
imc, if pressed bv the enemV, the utecsilsare
put into their places, the men mount their hor
ses and go off in a gallop. Should the enemy
retreat, the pursuit commences with the- same
cekrittvand escape is impossible. Horse ar-
1 illery pursuing a broken line mustmakttriior
rid carnage indeed, consequently at surrender
always follows, and this accounts for the great
number of prisoners they have made. When
this improvement in artillery tvas first announce
d in this country, many strange ideas were sug
gested : At first it was thought th:it a gun on its
carriage was adapted like a saddle to a horse'sv
ack, and in this way it was literally mounted
irtillehv ' Afterwards it was supposed that It
pair of thills was fixed to the trail, and that the
horse was harnessed in th.-m like a thill horse,
of a cart, (this indeed was a long time ago a
dopted for smaM regirpintal pieces by the Che
valier de Iiostahig buX. only with a view", to f
save the embarrassment of the limber Jn the
line,) and even now it is by many supposed ne
cessary to have artillerv made oh. ptflrpose tobe
used with horses and that such artillery cannot
be used in any other way. But the truth. i
that every field pite now fit, for service may
be used in horse artillery .with no Other change
or addition than a few fathoms of rope and a
proper set of harness. , . s &
In compliance with the request of General
Dnve, and the orders of the U. States Milita
ry Philosophical Society, I have executed,the
lask assigned ine. I am very sensible of its
imperfections, and had personal consideration
influenced me, the work would have, been lefc
to the chance of its translation, by other jbands ;
but its great usefulness Us importance to our
country under the present aspectof .the, times, 5
and the strong desire .that has been manifested "
for information relative to this modern, im- V
provement, together with, a hope of augmentt
ing the funds'of the society, which is aided by
the liberal oirer ot the ir-cretaryot ty ar totake '
a considerable number oiy copie foj" the' use of .,
the army, have altogether operated as a com- ..-':,
mand which I felt myself m duty bound . 4; ,
pbey.
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