Field ArTillery - US Army Center Of Military History

20 The OrganizaTiOnal hisTOry Of field arTillery
artillery—in 1786, but the failure of Shays’s Rebellion and the relative calm on
the frontier reduced the need for such a force. Within a few years, however, the
situation changed, especially after Brevet Brig. Gen. Josiah Harmar and Maj. Gen.
Arthur St. Clair had suffered defeats in their Northwest Territory campaigns against
the Indians respectively in 1790 and 1791. Prompted by public concern, Congress
instituted the Legion of the United States in 1792.
The new organization consisted of a legionary staff and four sublegions. Each
sublegion included a troop of dragoons, an artil lery company, and one rifle and
two infantry battalions with four companies each. The old artillery battalion ceased
to exist, each subordinate company becoming part of one of the sublegions. The
internal organization of the companies remained relatively undisturbed. Although
those of the old artillery battalion each had an authorized aggregate strength of
up to seventy-nine officers and men, the actual number was usually around fifty
because of extra details, sickness, and underrecruitment. The new companies were
each authorized an aggregate strength of sixty-three officers and men (Table 2). 9
Numerically the artillery accounted for a little less than 5 percent of the legion’s
authorized strength. Because the companies remained separated at widely scattered
posts, the reorganization had little effect on the employment of the artillery.
As the United States was concentrating on the defense of the frontier, the revolution
in France and the ensuing European war had resulted in a coalition of Great
Britain and other nations against France. The rivalry between Great Britain and
France, both with their colonies and economic interests in the western hemi sphere,
increased the danger of war. In response, Congress on 9 May 1794 created, as a
new organization, the Corps of Artillerists and Engineers. The corps was organized
into four battalions, each with four companies. 10
One reason for the amalgamation of artillerists and engineers was the need for
similar training in preparing for the attack and defense of fortifications. Distinguished
French officers were appointed to the corps primarily because of their engineering
skills. Stephen Rochefontaine became the corps commandant, receiving the rank
of lieutenant colonel, and Louis de Tousard and John Jacob Rivardi were two of
the authorized majors to command the battalions. Rochefontaine and Rivardi were
already employed as civilian engineers by the government, and Tousard was an
artillerist. Since the ranks contained sappers and miners, the new corps was suited
to building as well as manning the fortifications. The authorization also included the
provision for two cadets per company, thus creating a new grade in the Ar my. 11
9 American State Papers, Class 5, Military Affairs, 1:40–41; Callan, comp., Military Laws, pp. 92–94;
Legion of the United States Orders, 28 Mar 1793, Legionville, p. 123, vol. 499/401, RG 98, NARA. The
rifle battalion was armed with rifles; the infantry, with standard infantry muskets (generally, 1777 French
models or similar ones).
10 Callan, comp., Military Laws, p. 104.
11 Ibid.; Alexander Hamilton, The Papers of Alexander Hamilton, 27 vols. (New York: Columbia
University Press, 1961–87), 3:382.