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Lot n° 493
Estimation :
350 - 400
EUR
MARINE. Manuscript, Sur la Marine, [ca. 1795]; notebook of 1 - Lot 493
MARINE. Manuscript, Sur la Marine, [ca. 1795]; notebook of 10 folio pages tied with a tricolor ribbon.
Project of reorganization of the Navy under the Revolution.
This manuscript, in a small and very legible handwriting, corresponds to the second part of a study on the Navy; it is devoted to the reorganization of the French military navy in the first years of the Republic, and bears this sentence in exergue: "Hope and fear compose the motive of man's actions".
The author, who remains anonymous, is primarily interested in the necessary personnel on board ships. Believing that the number of officers and sailors must be "absolutely sufficient and necessary", he gives, for each grade and class, the minimum age required as well as the corresponding remuneration in francs. He proposed the creation of a new rank between the midshipmen and the lieutenants: "There will be an intermediate rank of new creation, of a Master Supervisor on each warship (which will be like the Masters on the warships of England). His duty will be to be on the tillac near the captain or the commander of the maneuver to transmit, with a megaphone, the orders of this chief to all or anyone of the crew during delicate maneuvers, such as bad weather, entering or leaving ports and roadsteads, hunting, retreating and fighting"... After detailing the responsibilities of this new rank, the author indicates the number of officers and sailors needed for each type of ship: vessel, frigate or corvette. Addressing the issue of recruitment, he recommends the creation of a "special committee composed of doctors and surgeons" responsible for verifying the physical and intellectual qualities of young men wishing to serve in the Navy. The training of the crew could be ensured by the crew itself, gathered in eight specialized committees: sail maneuvers; gun drill and handling of weapons; gun drill; anchoring maneuvers, setting sail, tacking and breaking down; knowledge of signals, etc. The author advocates the creation of a provisional council, composed of former general officers and captains, in charge of organizing a recruitment competition for each position and issuing certificates to all newly trained sailors. Once the competition was completed, the Council would be dissolved. He then addressed the question of subordination and responsibilities on board ships, then the service of the ports, before examining the distribution of the catches after the battles, this one being carried out between the "sensors" and the Republic. He concludes by stating that his project for the reorganization of the Navy "is the most judicious, economical and the best in all respects that one can imagine"...
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