Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/41

 SIGISMUND SIGNAL SERVICE 33 Ko ! blic. In September, 1792, he took his seat n the convention, being elected by three de- partments at once. On the trial of the king, he at first protested against the unlawful as- ption of powers by the convention; but Iding to the majority, he sat as one of the Budges, and silently voted for death without appeal to the people. During the reign of terror he gave up his priesthood and pension, and skilfully avoided attention, but after the 'all of Robespierre regained influence among e moderate party. He moved the restora- n of the surviving Girondists to their seats the assembly, and had a large share in the ition of foreign policy. On the establish- ment of the directorial government he was elected one of the five directors, but declined, ntenting himself with being a member of council of 500. An unsuccessful attempt as made to assassinate him in 1797. In 1798 went as minister to Berlin, and secured the trality of Prussia. In May, 1799, he suc- ceeded Rewbell as a member of the directory, of which he soon became president. After the p d'etat of the 18th Brumaire, of which he as one of the originators, the liberal consti- .tion prepared by him was altered so as to it the aspirations of the first consul; and hile Bonaparte seized upon absolute power, Sieyes, after having been one of the provision- al consuls, had to content himself with a seat in the senate, the presidency of which he held for a while. He also received as a compensa- tion the princely estate of Crosne, with a large come. Although he figured among those op- nents whom Bonaparte styled ideologists, he was afterward made a count. In 1814, while absent from the senate, he, through Talley- rand's advice, adhered by letter to su<;h mea- sures as were taken by that body against the emperor, but was nevertheless made a peer during the hundred days. He however stood aloof, censured the "Additional Act to the Constitution of the Empire," and appeared neither at the meeting in the Champ de Mai nor at the opening of the chambers. On the second return of the Bourbons, he sought a refuge at Brussels. After the revolution of July, 1830, he returned to Paris. One volume of his collected works, ^edited by Cramer, ap- peared in 1796. See Etude sur Sieyes, by E. de Beauverger (Paris, 1851). SIGISMUBTD, emperor of Germany, the last of the Luxemburg line, born in 1368, died Dec. 9, 437. He was the second son of the emperor arles IV., and became elector of Branden- urg, while his elder brother Wenceslas suc- ded to the empire in 1378. He was af- anced to Mary, daughter of Louis the Great >f Hungary and Poland, and was designated successor in both kingdoms. But on the eath of Louis, in 1382, the Poles rejected im, while an adverse party in Hungary raised 'harles the Little of Naples to the throne, harles was assassinated, and Sigismund, hav- g espoused Mary, was crowned" king of Hun- gary (1387). He fought the Turks, was rout- ed by Bajazet at Nicopolis in 1396, and fled to Greece ; and when after several years he re- turned to Hungary, he had to contend against a new rival, Ladislas of Naples, who finally withdrew in 1403. In 1400 the incapable em- peror Wenceslas had been deposed and suc- ceeded by Rupert of the Palatinate, and on the death of the latter in 1410 Sigismund and his cousin Jodocus of Moravia contested the imperial crown. The electors were at first divided, but on the death of Jodocus in 1411 Sigismund was elected. He called a general council at Constance, violated the safe-con- duct accorded to Huss, and provoked the great Hussite war. He succeeded Wenceslas in Bo- hemia, received the Lombard crown in 1431, and was crowned at Rome in 1433. He was succeeded by his son-in-law, Albert II. of Hapsburg. SIGISMMD L, II., and III., kings of Poland. See POLAND, vol. xiii., pp. 645-'6. SIGMARINGEN. See HOHENZOLLEEN. SIGNAL SERVICE. Organized signal services existed in armies from very early periods. Polybius (about 200 B. C.) mentions the won- derful skill acquired by the signal oorps of his day. In later years semaphores were used with armies, and codes of flag signals became common for fleets. The invention of the elec- tric telegraph greatly developed organizations of this description. Telegraphic corps are now attached to many armies, and field signals are widely used. Messages of any description, and in words or characters of any language, can be sent by signals, by day or night, as far as one man can by telescopes or other means be made visible to another. The apparatus can easily be carried in the hand on horseback or on foot. To transmit any message by the use of portable signal apparatus, a distance of 10 m. would be now considered easy. Ranges of from 16 to 20 m. are often reached in ordinarily clear weather ; and on the west- ern prairies messages have been transmitted 30 m. by flags. In time of war systems of reports are sometimes organized to cover extensive sections of territory. In some instances com- munication can be had from stations on ele- vated points over the heads of an enemy. The signal service of the United States army 'is equipped to maintain communication by signals, by telegraph, or by semaphores, be- tween officers or the different portions of an army or armies, or between armies and fleets. In time of peace it transmits intelligence in reference to storms or approaching weather changes by the display of signals of warning, and by reports at the different cities and ports of the United States. Maps showing the weather conditions are exhibited at board of trade rooms, chambers of commerce, and oth- er places of resort. Bulletins of data are also prominently displayed, and are furnished with- out expense to leading newspapers. ^ Signal stations are established also in connection with