Hi, I'm looking for a report on a weapon by a Swiss man called John Steuble that was commissioned in 1837 by a General Bernard of the French artillery. The only problem is, I have absolutely no idea where to even begin. I know historians use records but how do they find those that aren't easily accessible on the internet? I'm only asking because I'm fairly sure the report isn't on the internet but as the report was commissioned over 100 years ago I figure it must be available to the public in some form. Also, I feel like I should mention that I don't speak any French, which doesn't help matters much.
Well, a couple of things that might help:
Good luck. The document may have been digitized somewhere, but it will likely be in French. One thing that would also help is some idea of the nature of the report.
What sort of weapon was he reporting on? Knowing that would be helpful in narrowing the search down even more.
Well, I would start by finding modern scholarship on the topic, whether that's about the French army in 1837, about the inventor, or about the General. Then look through that scholarship's sources to find any primary sources they might have used. This will be especially useful as you don't speak French, so diving into any archives that may or may not exist would be difficult.
Someone who specialised in French military acquisitions in the 19th century would probably be able to access the actual documents through the French military, or whoever holds the documents. I would think they would be available online though, as loads of English-language documents have been digitised, if you know where to look for them.