Preparations at Cherbourg for the departure of reinforcements for Mexico, 1862. Engraving from a sketch by M. Lix. From the beginning of July the armaments for the expedition have been carried out with a rapidity rarely met with in the French dockyards. At Cherbourg, at Brest, and at Toulon the same activity has prevailed; and the preparations have assumed such proportions that, without reckoning the ordinary transport-ships scattered throughout the different stations from which troops, ammunition, or provisions are to be sent, upwards of thirty vessels of the line are engaged for the various purposes of such a distant expedition...The Ulm, the Tourville, the Ville de Lyon, and the Duquesne figured amongst the largest outfitting vessels, and each received her contingent of troops of the line, artillery, engineers, and sappers and miners, all animated by the desire to wipe away - what French arms of late have been unaccustomed to regret - the stain left upon the drapeau Fran?ais by the unfortunate affair at Puebla. The public in France will be...impatient to hear the news of General Foreys exploits.... From "Illustrated London News", 1862.