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MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
buttons and the length of his pig-tail; and so precise did we become in 
England, that it had been usual to rouse out the troops two, or even three 
hours before the time fixed for parade, because it was supposed to take that 
time to get the parade properly ready. However, the Prussian system, with 
all its defects, was the model adopted generally on the continent until the revo¬ 
lutionary wars, both in America and Europe, brought its well known collapse. 
The Prussians drew out of the war with the Republic before they had time 
to test their system of line and open companies against the Prench system 
of column; but after remaining at peace for ten years, there came the war of 
1806 and the meeting of the two schools. One's mind naturally recurs to 
the battle of Jena; but the lecturer prefers selecting for illustration a 
skirmish which took place four days previous to that engagement at Saalfeld. 
The advance guards met in a small plain, and what happened showed how 
ineffectual were the tactics of the Prussians. The Prussian force was com¬ 
manded by Prince Louis, a relation of the King of Prussia, who posted his 
main force in a line, with detachments to the right and left, sending a 
battalion and a half to occupy an eligible position on a hill to the right, 
and skirmishers to a small muddy stream which offered a kind of boundary 
on the left. Whilst he was so employed. Marshal Lannes, the officer in 
command of the Prench, saw his advantage, and prepared to overthrow the 
Prussians by a simple process. Deploying from a mountain pass to the 
right and left, he sent out skirmishers, who, having plenty of cover, kept up 
a good fire on the line until it was thoroughly shaken. In a short time the 
line was almost broken by their sharp fire, when the skirmishers ceased firing, 
and columns came suddenly up through them, captured the guns, and broke 
through the line. Louis being killed, his small army retreated with great 
loss. Prom that hour the Prussians adopted the Prench model, resorting to 
the use of skirmishers in every advance; and if the details of any battle 
(Ligny, for instance) were analysed, it would be found that, from May 
1818 to the close of the war, there was practically no difference between 
the mode of warfare on the one side or the other. Taking another stride 
in history, the lecturer said that after the battle of Waterloo there was 
no further change, until the introduction of rifled artillery and the needle 
gun rendered certain alterations unavoidable. It was a singular fact that 
Dreyse discovered the needle gun, and presented it to the King of Prussia 
as early as 1830, as perfect as it now was; but he could not make way 
against the conservatism which is generally found to exist in military 
matters, and it was not until 1849 that his invention was practically 
adopted, and used with considerable execution against the Baden insur¬ 
gents. That, however, was a small affair, and no great change followed 
in Prussian tactics, which remained much as they were left at Waterloo, 
until the Prench fought and won the battle of Solferino in 1859. That 
event, as far as he (Colonel Chesney) could judge from being amongst 
them as a traveller, made the Prussians feel anxious and uncomfortable— 
a feeling intensified by the fact that Prussia had just found considerable 
difficulty in mobilising her army. Then came the well known lecture 
of Prince Precleric Charles, who showed the principles upon which the 
Prench had acted, and how they might be adapted with advantage by 
the Prussians. The lecture filled a great want, and the suggestions were 
well received, not because they were the suggestions of a prince, but because 
they met the demand of the age. The Prince pointed out that the Prench 
