H. Wager Halleck, A. M., Lieut. of Engineers, U. S. Army....

Entered, according to the Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by D. Appleton & company, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of New York....

The following pages were hastily thrown together in the form of lectures, and delivered, during the past winter, before the Lowell Institute of Boston. They were written without the slightest intention of ever publishing them; but several officers of militia, who heard them delivered, or afterwards read them in manuscript, desire their publication, on the ground of their being useful to a class of officers now likely to be called into military service. It is with this view alone that they are pl

Our distance from the old world, and the favorable circumstances in which we have been placed with respect to the other nations of the new world, have made it so easy for our government to adhere to a pacific policy, that, in the Sixty-two years that have elapsed since the acknowledgment of our national independence, we have enjoyed more than Fifty-eight of General peace; our Indian border wars have been too limited and local in their character to seriously affect the other parts of the country,

War has been defined, “A contest between nations and states carried on by force.”But this definition is by some considered defective, inasmuch as it would exclude all civil wars. When war is commenced by attacking a nation in peace, it is called Offensive, and when undertaken to repel invasion, or the attacks of an enemy, it is called Defensive. A war may be essentially defensive even where we begin it, if intended to prevent an attack or invasion which is under preparation. Besides this general

Fortifications, or engineering, may be considered with reference to the defence of states and the grand operation of armies; or with reference to the details of the construction, and attack, and defence of forts, and the influence of field-works on the tactical manoeuvres of armies. It is proposed to speak here only of its General character, as a branch of the military art, without entering into any professional discussion of details. The connection of fortification and strategy may be considere

III. We have defined Logistics to be that branch of the military art which embraces all the practical details of moving and supplying armies. The term is derived from the title of a French general officer, (Major-general des logis,) who was formerly charged with directing the marches, encampments, and lodging of the troops. It has been still further extended by recent military writers, and many of them now regard logistics as a distinct and important branch of the art. We shall here consider log

IV. Tactics.— We have defined tactics to be the art of bringing troops into action, or of moving them in the presence of the enemy ;— that is, within his view, and within the reach of his artillery. This branch of the military art has usually been divided into Two parts: 1st. Grand Tactics, or the tactics of battles; and 2d. Elementary Tactics, or tactics of instruction. “It does not come within the view of this work to say any thing of the merely mechanical part of the art; because it must be t

Military Polity.— In deciding upon a resort to arms, statesmen are guided by certain General rules which have been tacitly adopted in the intercourse of nations : so also both statesmen and generals are bound by rules similarly adopted for the conduct of hostile forces while actually engaged in military operations. In All differences between nations, each state has a right to decide, for itself upon the nature of its means of redress for injuries received. Previous to declaring open and public w

The principal attacks which we have had to sustain, either as colonies or states, from civilized foes, have come from Canada. As colonies we were continually encountering difficulties and dangers from the French possessions. In the war of the Revolution, it being One of national emancipation, the military operations were more general throughout the several states ; but in the war of 1812 the attacks were confined to the northern frontier and a few exposed points along the; coast. In these Two co

In discussing engineering as a branch of the military art, we spoke of the use of fortifications on land frontiers, and their influence on the strategic operations of a campaign. A brief notice was also given of the different systems that have been proposed for arranging these defensive works. Let us now apply this discussion to our northern frontier. The principle laid down by Napoleon and Jomini, “That fortifications should always be constructed on important strategic points,” is undoubtedly t

By the law of the 12th of December, 1790, on the organization of the public force of France, the Army was defined, “A standing force drawn from the public force, and designed to act against external enemies.”[Une force habituelle extraite de la force publique, et destinee essentiellement à agir contre les ennemis du dehors.] In time of peace, the whole organized military force of the State is intended when we speak of The army; but in time of war this force is broken up into Two or more fraction

Artillery.— Previous to the invention of gunpowder in the Thirteenth century, the machines of war were divided between Two classes of military men, the engineers (Engignours, as they were called in the middle ages) and the artillery, (Artilliers, as they were formerly called,) the latter being particularly charged with the management of the lighter and more portable projectile machines, such as the balistas and arco-balistas, which were used for throwing different kinds of arrows— Fleches, viret

Engineers.— -The term Engineer is derived from the unclassical Latin word Ingenium, which was applied both to a Machine and the Mind or Skill of the person who devised or constructed it. It was Philip Augustus, say the French writers,— who First introduced engineers (Engigneurs, or Engignours, as they were called) into France, and restored the art of sieges. The engineers of that age were seldom charged with the construction of works of military defence, but, like Archimedes at Syracuse, and Lon

Fortification is defined,— the art of disposing the ground in such a manner as to enable a small number of troops to resist a larger army the longest time possible. If the work be placed in a position of much importance, and its materials be of a durable character, it is called permanent; if otherwise, it receives the appellation of Field, or Temporary. Field-works are properly confined to operations of a single campaign, and are used to strengthen positions which are to be occupied only for a s

Field-Engineering includes the making of military, reconnaissances, temporary fortifications, and military roads; the planning and construction of military bridges; the attack and defeat of military works ;— in fine, all the various duties of engineer troops, either in the operations of a campaign, or in the dispositions on the battle-field. Military reconnaissance.— By this term is meant an examination of a portion of the theatre of war, to ascertain its military character and resources. If the

With the Romans, Six years instruction was required to make a soldier; and so great importance did these ancient conquerors of the world attach to military education and discipline, that the very name of their army was derived from the verb To practise. Modern nations, learning from experience that military success depends more upon skill and discipline than upon numbers, have generally adopted the same rule as the Romans; and nearly all of the European powers have established military schools f