"Promoted finally to lieutenant-colonel in the 55th in Algeria, he took the field there in two campaigns, I believe. Appointed colonel of the 10th of the Line in February, 1869, he was stationed at Lorient and at Limoges during the eighteen months before the war with Germany. He busied himself during this period with the preparation of his work, soliciting from all sides first-hand information. It was slow in coming in, due certainly to indifference rather than ill-will. He made several trips to Paris for the purpose of opening the eyes of those in authority to the defective state of the army and the perils of the situation. Vain attempts! 'They take all that philosophically,' he used to say. "Please accept, Sir, with renewed acknowledgements of gratitude, the expression of my most distinguished sentiments. "C. ARDANT DU PICQ. "P. S. As to the question of atavism in which you showed some interest in our first conversation, I may say that our paternal line does not in my knowledge include any military man. The oldest ancestor I know of, according to an album of engravings by Albert Duerer, recovered in a garret, was a gold and silversmith at Limoges towards the end of the sixteenth century. His descendants have always been traders down to my grandfather who, from what I have heard said, did not in the least attend to his trade. The case is different with my mother's family which came from Lorraine. Our great-grandfather was a soldier, our grandfather also, and two, at least, of my mother's brothers gave their lives on the battlefields of the First Empire. At present, the family has two representatives in the army, the one a son of my brother's, the other a first cousin, once removed, both bearing our name. "C. A. DU P." RECORD OF MILITARY SERVICE OF COLONEL ARDANT DU PICQ Ardant du Picq (Charles-Jean-Jacques-Joseph), was born October 19, 1821 at Perigueux (Dordogne). Entered the service as a student of the Special Military School, November 15, 1842. Sub-Lieutenant in the 67th Regiment of the Line, October 1, 1844. Lieutenant, May 15, 1848. Captain, August 15, 1852. Transferred to the 9th Battalion of Foot Chasseurs, December 25, 1853. Major of the 100th Regiment of the Line, February 15, 1856. Transferred to the 16th Battalion of Chasseurs, March 17, 1856. Transferred to the 37th Regiment of the Line, January 23, 1863. Lieutenant Colonel of the 55th Regiment of the Line, January 16, 1864. Colonel of the 10th Regiment of Infantry of the Line, February 27, 1869. Died from wounds at the military hospital in Metz, August 18, 1870. CAMPAIGNS AND WOUNDS Orient, March 29, 1854 to May 27, 1856. Was taken prisoner of war at the storming of the central bastion (Sebastopol) September 8, 1855; returned from enemy's prisons December 13, 1855. Served in the Syrian campaign from August 6, 1860 to June 18, 1861; in Africa from February 24, 1864 to April 14, 1866; in Franco-German war, from July 15, 1870 to August 18, 1870.