ETAT Minton, in the French army, corresponding to the staff in ours, is composed of a number of select officers, and constitutes the grand medium for the ar rangement and communication of orders. It transmits all instructions relative to the commissariat, and other branches of the interior service of the army; receives reports from detachments, from officers in garrisons, from spies, and, in short, from all officers on duty within the compass of the general's command. It is a recepta cle likewise for the papers relating to prisoners and de serters, as well as for all certificates, and written applica tions. It issues orders of the clay, plans of marches and engagements, and may be termed, in a comprehensive sense, the channel for the transmission of whatever requires the decision of a directing head, but is too much matter of detail to be transacted by the comman der-in-chief. The ch1f of the etat major receives from the general-in-chief a summary of his directions re specting the movement and arrangement of the troops. These directions he extends and distributes to the head of each department, so as to convey the wishes of the commander-in-chief, and to preserve to the latter the disposal of his time for devising and combining plans of operation. The duties of head of the staff are so various as to constitute him the next man in importance to the general. His functions requim a comprehensive knowledge of the principles and practice of war, as well as an accurate acquaintance with the scene of lo cal operations. To these qualifications he must join indefatigable exertion, and a perspicuous method of communicating orders. lie must be fully competent to answer the questions of the general in every point connected with the movements of the army.
It is now somewhat more than a century since the armies of Europe assumed a magnitude which required the constitution of an etat major as a distinct body. Various parts of the duty had been previously perform ed by particular officers; brut it was under Louis XIV. and in the war of 1672, that the establishment first re ceived a separate form. In the succeeding reigns, va rious alterations and improvements were made; but such have been the extent of tecent changes, that, at the time of the revolution, there were in a French ar my no fewer than three separate establishments, which divided among them the duties now performed by the collective etat major. The plan of proceeding has since then been so much improved, and the officers in this department so much better selected, that the military triumphs of the French have been, in a great measure, ascribed to the admirable constitution of this depart ment of the service. A system completely regular governs all its operations. No sooner does the cool rnander-in-chiel communicate his orders to the clieY of this department, than they are transmitted to the mar shals commanding corps. Each corps of the French army has, moreover, its separate elat major, composed of a general of division and assistants, called .,/joints. There is even a third kind of etat major, viz. that el each division, the plan of which is, on a smaller scale, the same as that of the former.
From the time of the commencing operations, the head of the staff in each corps of the French army keeps :t journal of the proceedings, which is composed front the journals of the ctats majors of divisions. Ti•is forms a narrative of the difficulties which have occur red, the advantages obtained, the losses, exploits, &c. with brief notices of the actual condition of the corps, its position, and the nature of ground which it oc cupies. An abstract of this journal, made out in a clear and simple form, is given daily to an officer to be taken to head quarters, who repairs thither with all di ligence, and with orders to deliver it to no one except the commander-in-chief, or the head of the staff. Each corps sends its extract at the same hour, so that the head of the staff is enabled to read and compare at once the different reports. The officer bringing the extract is expected to answer promptly all inquiries; and, if any particular corps has been forced to take a station unsuitable to the general pian, the deviation is corrected by the arrangements for the next day, which are drawn up on the receipt of the reports, and dis patched, in return, by the same officer. In addition to these daily communications, a list is transmitted, every third day, of the number of sick and wounded, and of those who remain fit for action. Frequency of corre spondence continues the invariable rule, even when the different corps of an army are at a considerable distance. Special orders are given to afford every ac commodation to officers travelling as couriers, whether they require horses, carriages, or even escorts. When a division is at the distance of 80 or 100 miles, it still transmits a daily report to head quarters.
Such is the routine of service for the French etat major. In the choice of officers for this department, the French have been careful, since the revolution, to distinguish between the requisites for the staff and the engineer service. While the latter requires extent and accuracy of mathematical knowledge, the proper foun dation for the former consists in activity, good sense, and a practical familiarity with military affairs. 'Alen of this character, though unacquainted with mathema tics, are capable of reconnoitring at the head of a de tachment of horse, and of directing the march of a co lumn of infantry. The points required at their Bands. are accuracy of local knowledge, a correct acquaintance with the force placed tinder their command, and pre cision in the manner of making their report. The pos session of good maps and plans is an object of first rate importance ; and to this the French have long paid very close attention.
When we come, after all, to analyse this .dctail, we find nothing in it which might not, with proper pains, be equalled by the other nations of Europe. The rules prescribed are extremely sitnple, and the efficacy of the whole tesuits front an accurate subdivision and a correct execution of the duties. The successes of the French have accordingly been owing to the concert and activity which prevailed in their movements, in concurrence with the splendid talents of a few of their commanders. (z)