He was of better education than most of his contemporaries, and had married a daughter of Colonel Seves the French non-commissioned officer who became Soliman Pasha under Mehemet Ali.
A military school, with 125 cadets, is maintained at San Martin, near the national capital, and a training school for non-commissioned officers in the capital itself.
The non-commissioned officers are, as usual in universal service armies, drawn partly from men who voluntarily enlist at a relatively early age, and partly from men who at the end of their compulsory period of service are re-engaged.
The medaille militaire is awarded to private soldiers and non-commissioned officers who have distinguished themselves or rendered long and meritorious services.
It was named in honour of President Monroe and was first regularly garrisoned in 1823; in 1824 the Artillery School of Practice (now called the United States Coast Artillery School) was established to provide commissioned officers of the Coast Artillery with instruction in professional work and to give technical instruction to the non-commissioned staff.
