Instruction sur le service des deux brigades du corps royal du génie

Instruction sur le service des deux brigades du corps royal du génie

[Le Havre] 1779

[20] p. : ill., map ; 32 cm.

MSS L2017F73

"Signé Fourcroy."
Instructions for the French Royal Corps of Engineers assigned to the army of the comte de Vaux during preparations for the projected Franco-Spanish invasion of England in 1779.
Includes diagrams and profiles for field fortifications and defensive obstacles, including chevaux de frise and barriers, and a loose map showing proposed targets and operations in the vicinity of Spithead, the Isle of Wight, and Portsmouth.

Charles René de Fourcroy de Ramecourt (1715-1791) was a French military engineer and general officer of the Royal Corps of Engineers. He entered the Corps of Engineers in 1736, became a captain in 1744, and was appointed Director of Fortifications in 1776. During the American War of Independence, he was charged with planning the service of the engineers assigned to the army of the comte de Vaux for the projected Franco-Spanish invasion of England in 1779. At Le Havre in June and July 1779, Fourcroy prepared detailed instructions governing the organization and tactical employment of the engineer brigades, the construction of field fortifications and defenses following a landing in hostile territory, the use of terrain, and the surveying and mapping of occupied ground and newly constructed works. The expedition formed part of the projected Franco-Spanish invasion of England and included operations directed against Portsmouth and the surrounding naval defenses. Fourcroy was a Grand Cross of the Order of Saint-Louis and a member of the Academy of Sciences.

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