There were difficulties also within the Ministerial Council. The preparations for the expedition were nearly completed, before it was known who was to command it. Three Marshals and six Lieutenant Generals are said to have been successively proposed and rejected; at length the Moniteur of the 20th of April, the same which contained the defence of the objects of the expedition, announced that the King had appointed Count de Bourmont the Minister of War, to the command of the _Army of Africa_, as it was termed. The appointment to a station so responsible of a man who had betrayed every cause in which he engaged is said to have received the unwilling assent of the King; it was considered a fortunate circumstance by the Liberal Party, as it contributed to excite the indignation of the whole country, and to deprive the Government of the popularity, which it might otherwise have gained by the expedition. On the day when his nomination was published, Bourmont left Paris for Toulon, the affairs of his Department having been committed during his absence to Prince Polignac. He was followed by the Minister of the Marine, and soon after by the Duke d'Angouleme, who as grand Admiral of France came to review the armament before its departure. Certainly never did the harbor of Toulon, nor any other harbor exhibit a more gallant spectacle. The Army of Africa was composed of thirty-seven thousand six hundred and fifty men; the number of horses employed in the different branches of its service was three thousand eight hundred and fifty-three, and the artillery consisted of one hundred and eighty pieces of cannon. This force was arranged in three divisions, which were placed severally under the commands of {147} Lieutenant Generals the Baron de Barthezène, Count de Loverdo, and the Duke d'Escars; the Chief Engineer was General Valazé and the artillery was directed by Count de la Hitte. The number of ships of war was one hundred and three, including eleven of the line, twenty-three frigates and seven steam ships; they were manned by twenty-seven thousand seamen, and carried more than three thousand guns. They were arranged in three squadrons; the _Squadron of Battle_ commanded by Admiral Duperré, who conducted the naval operations of the expedition; the _Squadron of Disembarkation_ by Admiral Rosamel, and the _Squadron of Reserve_ by Captain Lemoine. Between four and five hundred merchant vessels were engaged for the transportation of horses, provisions and materials, and many others were allowed to accompany the fleet, laden with various articles which might be needed. Of the equipments and accompaniments of this force, it would be difficult to convey an adequate idea, without entering into details which might not prove generally interesting; suffice it to say that no expense was spared to render them complete, and that nothing was neglected, which could contribute to the attainment of the end proposed.