times it was an important city in Samnium.
=Albeck.= A village in Würtemberg where 25,000 Austrians, under the
command of Gen. Mack, were defeated by 6000 French in 1805.
=Alberche.= A river of Spain, which joins the Tagus near Talavera de la
Reyna, where, in 1809, a severe battle was fought between the French
army and the allied British and Spanish troops, in which the former were
defeated.
=Albe-Royale.= A city in Lower Hungary, which sustained several sieges.
=Albesia.= In antiquity, a kind of shield, otherwise called _decumana_.
=Albi.= A city in the department of Tarn, France; pillaged by the
Saracens in 730, and taken by Pepin in 765.
=Albigenses.= A sect of heretics, who were in existence during the 12th
and 13th centuries, and inhabited Albi, France; fought many battles;
went to Spain in 1238, where they were slowly exterminated.
=Albuera.= A small village near the river Guadiana, in Spain, where the
French army under Marshal Soult was defeated by the British and Spanish
forces under Marshal, afterwards Lord, Beresford, March 16, 1811.
=Albufera= (Spain, East Central). A lagoon, near which the French
marshal Suchet (afterwards Duke of Albufera), defeated the Spaniards
under Blake, January 4, 1812; this led to his capture of Valencia,
January 9.
=Alcacsbas= (Portugal). A treaty was concluded here between Alfonso V.
of Portugal and Ferdinand and Isabella of Castile.
=Alcantara.= A creek near Lisbon, on the banks of which a battle was
fought between the Spaniards under Alva and the Portuguese under Antonio
de Crato (prior of the Maltese order).
=Alcantara, Order of.= Knights of a Spanish military order, who gained a
great name during the wars with the Moors.
=Alcassar=, or =Alcacar=. A fortified city in Morocco, situated between
Ceuta and Tangier; the narrowest point of the Strait of Gibraltar. The
Portuguese seized this city in 1468.
=Alcazar-Quiver.= A city near Fez, Northwest Africa, where the Moors
totally defeated the Portuguese, whose gallant king, Sebastian, was
slain August 4, 1578.
=Alcmaer.= A city in Holland; besieged by the Spaniards in 1573 without
success; here the British and Russians were defeated by the French in
1799.
=Aldenhofen.= A village of the Prussian Rhenish province, where the
French, under Gen. Miranda, were defeated by Archduke Charles, March 1,
1793; the Austrians were defeated March 18, 1793.
=Aldershott, Camp.= A moor near Farnham, about 35 miles from London. In
April, 1854, the War Office, having obtained a grant of £100,000,
purchased 4000 acres of land for a permanent camp for 20,000 men;
additional land was purchased in 1856. The camp is used as an army
school of instructions.
=Aldionaire= (_Aldionarius_). A sort of equerry, who in the army was
kept at the expense of his master. Under Charlemagne, the _aldionaires_
were of an inferior rank.
=Alem.= Imperial standard of the Turkish empire.
=Alemanni= (or all men, _i.e._, men of all nations, hence _Allemannen_,
German). A body of Suevi, who took this name; were defeated by
Caracalla, 214. After several repulses they invaded the empire under
Aurelian; they were subdued in three battles, 270. They were again
vanquished by Julian, 356-57. They were defeated by Clovis at Tolbiac
(or Zulpich), 496. The Suabians are their descendants.
=Alemdar.= An official who carries the green banner of Mahomet
(Mohammed), when the sultan assists in ceremonies of solemnity.
=Alençon= (Northern France). Gave title to a count and duke. Martel,
count of Anjou, seized this city, which was retaken by William the
Conqueror in 1048. It was the scene of many battles.
=Aleppo= (Northern Syria). A large town named Berœa Seleucus Nicator
about 299 B.C. It was taken by the Turks in 638; by Saladin, 1193, and
sacked by Timur, 1400. Its depopulation by the plague has been frequent;
60,000 persons were computed to have perished by it in 1797; and many in
the year 1827. On October 16, 1850, the Mohammedans attacked the
Christians, burning nearly everything. Three churches were destroyed;
five others plundered, and thousands of persons slain. The total loss of
property amounted to about a million pounds sterling; no interference
was attempted by the pasha.
=Aleria.= An important city in Corsica, at the mouth of the river
Tavignano; was taken in 259 B.C. by the Romans under Consul Cornelius.
=Alert.= Watchful; vigilant; active in vigilance; upon the watch;
guarding against surprise or danger.
=Alesia=, or =Alisia=. Now called Alise-Sainte-Reine, a city in the
department of Cote-d’Or. This city was besieged and taken by the Romans
in 52 B.C.; it was one of the greatest events of Cæsar’s war in Gaul.
=Alessandria.= A city of Piedmont, built in 1168, under the name of
Cæsarea by the Milanese and Cremonese, to defend the Tanaro against the
emperor, and named after Pope Alexander III. It has been frequently
besieged and taken. The French took it in 1796, but were driven out July
21, 1799. They recovered it after the battle of Marengo, in 1800, and
held it until 1814, when the strong fortifications erected by Napoleon
were destroyed. They have been restored since June, 1856.
=Alet=, or =Aleth=. A small city in the department of Ande, France; was
taken by the Protestants in 1573.
=Aleut.= An inhabitant of the Aleutian Islands. These people differ both
from the Indians of the neighboring continent and the Esquimaux farther
north. They are expert hunters of the seal and other animals. They are
industrious and peaceful, but addicted to drunkenness.
=Aleutian Islands.= A number of islands stretching from the peninsula of
Alaska in North America to Kamtschatka in Asia. The greater number
belong to the territory of Alaska.
=Alfere=, or =Alferez=. Standard-bearer; ensign; cornet. The old English
term for ensign; it was in use in England till the civil wars of Charles
I.
=Alford= (Northern Scotland), =Battle of=. Gen. Baillie, with a large
body of Covenanters, was defeated by the Marquis of Montrose, July 2,
1645.
=Alfuro.= A city in Navarre, Spain. The British proceeded against the
city in 1378, the garrison being absent; they found the women ranged on
the ramparts disposed to defend the place. Capt. Tivet, commander of the
English forces, would not attack the brave women, but retreated and did
not molest the place.
=Algebra.= A peculiar kind of mathematical analysis allied to arithmetic
and geometry.
=Algidus.= A mountain-range in Latium, Italy, where Cincinnatus defeated
the Æqui in 458 B.C.
=Algiers= (now _Algeria_, Northwest Africa). Part of the ancient
Mauritania, which was conquered by the Romans, 46 B.C.; by the Vandals,
439; recovered for the empire by Belisarius, 534, and subdued by the
Arabs about 690. The city of Algiers was bombarded a number of times,
and finally taken by the French in 1830. Algeria at present belongs to
France.
=Algonkins=, or =Alogonquins=. One of the two great families of Indians
who formerly peopled the country east of the Mississippi. The Chippewas
are at present the most numerous race descended from this stock.
=Alhama.= A city in Spain, in the province of Granada. It was a most
important fortress when the Moors ruled Granada, and its capture by the
Christians in 1482 was the most decisive step in the reduction of their
power.
=Alhambra.= The ancient fortress and residence of the Moorish monarchs
of Granada; founded by Mohammed I. of Granada about 1253; surrendered to
the Christians in November, 1491.
=Ali Bey.= Colonel of Turkish cavalry; also the rank of a district
commander.
=Alibi= (_Lat._ “elsewhere”). An alibi is the best defense in law if a
man is innocent; but if it turns out to be untrue, it is conclusive
against those who resort to it.
=Alicante.= A fortified city and seaport in Spain, where the French
defeated the Spaniards in a naval battle, April 1, 1688.
=Alidade.= The movable arm or rule carrying the sights of an
angle-measuring instrument.
=Alien.= In law, implies a person born in a foreign country, in
contradistinction to a natural born or naturalized person.
=Alife= (_Alifa_). A city in the kingdom of Naples, where Fabius
defeated the Samnites in 307 B.C.
=Alighur.= See ALLYGHUR.
=Align.= To form in line as troops; to lay out the ground-plan, as of a
road.
=Alignment.= A formation in straight lines, for instance, the alignment
of a battalion means the situation of a body of men when drawn up in
line. The alignment of a camp signifies the relative position of the
tents, etc., so as to form a straight line from given points.
=Aliwal.= A village on the banks of the Sutlej, contiguous to the
Punjab, where a British division, commanded by Maj.-Gen. Sir Henry
Smith, on the 29th of January, 1846, encountered and defeated a superior
body of Sikhs.
=Aljubarrota= (Portugal). Here John I. of Portugal defeated John I. of
Castile, and secured his country’s independence, August 14, 1385.
=Alkmaer.= See BERGEN-OP-ZOOM.
=Allahabad= (Northwest Hindostan). The holy city of the Indian
Mohammedans, situated at the junction of the rivers Jumna and Ganges;
founded by Akbar, in 1583; incorporated with the British possessions in
1803. During the Indian mutiny several Sepoy regiments rose and
massacred their officers, June 4, 1857; Col. Neil marched promptly from
Benares and suppressed the insurrection. In November, 1861, Lord Canning
made this the capital of the northwest provinces.
=Allecrete.= Light armor used by both cavalry and infantry in the 16th
century, especially by the Swiss. It consisted of a breastplate and
gussets, often reaching to the middle of the thigh, and sometimes below
the knees.
=Allecti Milites.= A name given by the Romans to a body of men who were
drafted for military service.
=Allegiance.= In law, implies the obedience which is due to the laws.
_Oath of Allegiance_ is that taken by an alien, by which he adopts
America and renounces the authority of a foreign government. It is also
applied to the oath taken by officers and soldiers in pledge of their
fidelity to the state.
=Allegiant.= Loyal; faithful to the laws.
=Allia= (Italy). A small river flowing into the Tiber, where Brennus and
the Gauls defeated the Romans, July 16, 390 B.C. The Gauls sacked Rome
and committed so much injury that the day was thereafter held to be
unlucky (_nefas_), and no public business was permitted to be done on
its anniversary.
=Alliage= (_Fr._). A term used by the French to denote the composition
of metals used for the fabrication of cannon, mortars, etc.
=Alliance.= In a military sense, signifies a treaty entered into by
sovereign states for their mutual safety and defense. In this sense
alliances may be divided into such as are offensive, where the
contracting parties oblige themselves jointly to attack some other
power; and into such as are defensive, whereby the contracting powers
bind themselves to stand by and defend one another, in case of being
attacked by any other power. Alliances are variously distinguished
according to their object, the parties in them, etc. Hence we read of
equal, unequal, triple, quadruple, grand, offensive, defensive
alliances, etc.
=Alligati.= A name given by the Romans to prisoners of war and their
captors. A chain was attached to the right wrist of the prisoner and the
left wrist of the warrior who captured him.
=Allobroges.= A powerful race in ancient Gaul; inhabited a part of
Savoy; vanquished by Fabius Maximus, 126 B.C.
=Allocutio.= An oration addressed by a Roman general to his soldiers, to
animate them to fight, to appease sedition, or to keep them to their
duty.
=Allodial.= Independent; not feudal. The Allodii of the Romans were
bodies of men embodied on any emergency, in a manner similar to our
volunteer associations.
=Allonge.= A pass or thrust with a rapier or small sword, frequently
contracted into _lunge_; also a long rein used in the exercising of
horses.
=Allowance.= A sum paid periodically for services rendered. The French
use the word _traitment_ in this sense. The allowances of an officer are
distinct from his pay proper, and are applicable to a variety of
circumstances.
=Alloy.= Is a composition by fusion of two or more metals. The alloy
most used for gun-making is bronze (which see).
=Allumelle.= A thin and slender sword which was used in the Middle Ages,
to pierce the weak parts or joints of armor.
=Ally.= In a military sense, implies any nation united to
another,--under a treaty either offensive or defensive, or both.
=Allyghur.= A strong fortress on the northwest of India, which was
captured, after a desperate conflict, by Lord Lake, in 1803. The French
commander-in-chief, Gen. Perron, surrendered himself after the siege.
=Alma.= A river in the Crimea, near which was fought a great battle on
September 20, 1854, between the Russian and Anglo-French armies; the
Russians were defeated with great loss.
=Almadie.= A kind of military canoe or small vessel, about 24 feet long,
made of the bark of a tree, and used by the negroes of Africa. Almadie
is also the name of a long boat used at Calcutta, often from 80 to 100
feet long, and generally 6 or 7 broad; they are rowed with from 10 to 30
oars.
=Alman-rivets=, =Almain-rivets=, or =Almayne-rivets=. A sort of light
armor derived from Germany, characterized by overlapping plates which
were arranged to slide on rivets, by means of which flexibility and ease
of movement were promoted.
=Almaraz, Bridge of.= In Spain, which on the 18th of May, 1812, was
captured by Lord Hill, when he defeated a large French _corps d’armée_,
which was one of the most brilliant actions of the Peninsular war.
=Almeida.= A strong fortress of Portugal, in the province of Beira. The
capture of it by the Duke of Wellington, in 1811, after it had fallen
into the hands of the French, was deemed a very brilliant exploit.
=Almenara=, or =Almanara=. City in Spain, in the province of Lerida,
where, in 1710, Gen. Stanhope, with 4 regiments of dragoons and 20
companies of grenadiers, defeated a Spanish corps, composed of 4
battalions and 19 escadrons.
=Almeria.= City and seaport in Andalusia, Spain; captured from the Moors
in 1147, by the united troops of Alfonso VII., king of Castile, Garcias,
king of Navarre, and Raymond, count of Barcelona.
=Almexial, Battle of.= Between the Spaniards and Portuguese in 1663. The
Portuguese were commanded by Sanctius Manuel, count of Vilaflor, and the
celebrated Count Frederick von Schomberg, the latter being the veritable
hero of the day. The Portuguese gained a great victory; the Spanish army
was commanded by Don Juan of Austria, son of Philip IV.
=Almissa= (Dalminium). City in Dalmatia, Austria; it was the ancient
capital of Dalmatia, but was ruined by Scipio Nasica in 156 B.C.
=Almogavares.= See CATALANS.
=Almohades.= Mohammedan partisans, followers of El-Mehedi in Africa,
about 1120. They subdued Morocco, 1145; entered Spain and took Seville,
Cordova, and Granada, 1146-56; ruled Spain until 1232, and Africa until
1278.
=Almonacid-de-Zorita.= A town in the province of Guadalaxara, Spain,
where the French defeated the Spaniards in 1809.
=Almora.= City in Bengal, which the English captured in 1815, and still
hold.
=Almoravides.= Mohammedan partisans in Africa, rose about 1050; entered
Spain by invitation, 1086; were overcome by the Almohades in 1147.
=Alney.= An island in the Severn, Gloucestershire, England. Here a
combat is asserted to have taken place between Edmund Ironside and
Canute the Great, in the sight of their armies. The latter was wounded,
and proposed a division of the kingdom, the south part falling to
Edmund. Edmund was murdered at Oxford shortly after, it is said, by
Aedric Streon, and Canute obtained possession of the whole kingdom,
1016.
=Alnwick= (Sax. _Elnwix_). On the river Alne in Northumberland, England,
was given at the Conquest to Ivo de Vesco. It has belonged to the
Percies since 1310. Malcolm, king of Scotland, besieged Alnwick in 1093,
where he and his sons were killed. It was taken by David I. in 1136, and
attacked in 1174, by William the Lion, who was defeated and taken
prisoner. It was owned by King John in 1215, and by the Scots in 1448.
Since 1854 the castle has been repaired and enlarged with great taste
and at unsparing expense.
=Alost.= A city in Belgium, captured and dismantled by Turenne in 1667,
then abandoned to the allies after the battle of Ramillies, in 1706.
=Alps.= European mountains. Those between France and Italy were passed
by Hannibal, 218 B.C.; by the Romans, 154 B.C., and by Napoleon I., May,
1800.
=Alsace.= See ELSASS.
=Altenheim.= A village on the banks of the Rhine, grand duchy of Baden,
where the French under Count de Lorges fought the Imperials, July 30,
1675, neither side being victorious; the French army retreated after the
death of Turenne.
=Altenkirchen.= A town in the Prussian Rhine province, where several
battles were fought during the war of the Republic, in one of which Gen.
Marceau was killed, while protecting the retreat of Gen. Jourdan,
September 20, 1796.
=Altiscope.= A device which enables a person to see an object in spite
of intervening obstacles. In gunnery it is used to point a piece without
exposing the person of the gunner. The simplest form consists of a small
mirror set in the line of the sights, which reflects the sights and the
object aimed at to the eye of the gunner. This form of reflecting sight
is used with the Moncrieff counterpoise carriage, and has been recently
proposed by Col. Laidley (U. S. Ordnance Corps) for small-arms.
=Altitude.= Height, or distance from the ground, measured upwards, and
may be both accessible and inaccessible. Altitude of a shot or shell, is
the perpendicular height of the vortex of the curve in which it moves
above the horizon. Altitude of the eye, in perspective is a right line
let fall from the eye, perpendicular to the geometrical plane.
=Alumbagh.= A palace with other buildings near Lucknow, Oude, India,
taken from the rebels and heroically defended by the British under Sir
James Outram, during the mutiny, September, 1857. He defeated an attack
of 30,000 Sepoys on January 12, 1858, and of 20,000 on February 21.
=Aluminium Bronze.= An alloy of copper and aluminium, having great
strength and hardness. See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.
=Alure.= An old term for the gutter or drain along a battlement or
parapet wall.
=Alveda.= An ancient city in Spain, where a battle was fought between
Ramire I., king of the Austurias, and the Moors under the famous
Abdolrahman, or Abd-el-Rahm; according to Spanish history, the Moors
lost 60,000 men.
=Amantea=, or =Amantia=. City and seaport in Naples; sustained a siege
against the French in 1806. It is believed that this city is the ancient
_Nepetum_.
=Amazons.= Female warriors. Tribes, either real or imaginary, belonging
to Africa and Asia, among which the custom prevailed for the females to
go to war; preparing themselves for that purpose by destroying the right
breast, in order to use the bow with greater ease. According to Greek
tradition, an Amazon tribe invaded Africa, and was repulsed by Theseus,
who afterwards married their queen. Hence all female warriors have been
called Amazons.
=Amberg.= A town in Bavaria, where the French were defeated by the
Austrians in 1796.
=Ambit.= The compass or circuit of any work or place, as of a
fortification or encampment, etc.
=Ambition.= In a military sense, signifies a desire of greater posts or
honors. Every person in the army or navy ought to have a spirit of
emulation to arrive at the very summit of the profession by his personal
merit.
=Amblef.= Ancient residence of the kings of France on the river of the
same name, in Germany. Here Charles Martel defeated Chilperic II. and
Rangenfroi, mayor of the Neustrians, 716.
=Ambulances.= Are flying hospitals, so organized that they can follow an
army in all its movements, and are intended to succor the wounded as
soon as possible; a two- or four-wheeled vehicle for conveying the
wounded from the field; called also an ambulance-cart.
=Ambuscade.= A snare set for an enemy either to surprise him when
marching without precaution, or to draw him on by different stratagems
to attack him with a superior force.
=Ambush.= A place of concealment where an enemy may be surprised by a
sudden attack.
=Ame.= A French term, similar in its import to the word _chamber_, as
applied to cannon, etc.
=Amende Honorable= (_Fr._). In the old armies, of France, signified an
apology for some injury done to another, or satisfaction given for an
offense committed against the rules of honor or military etiquette, and
was also applied to an infamous kind of punishment inflicted upon
traitors, parricides, or sacrilegious persons, in the following manner:
The offender being delivered into the hands of the hangman, his shirt
stripped off, a rope put about his neck, and a taper in his hand; then
he was led into the court, where he begged pardon of God, the court, and
his country. Sometimes the punishment ended there; but sometimes it was
only a prelude to death, or banishment to the galleys. It prevails yet
in some parts of Europe.
=Amenebourg.= A place in Hanover which was captured from the English by
the French in 1762.
=Amentatæ.= A sort of lance used by the Romans, which had a leathern
strap attached to the centre of it.
=Amentum.= A leathern strap used by the Romans, Greeks, and Galicians,
to throw lances. It was fastened around the second and third fingers, a
knot was tied on it, which at the throwing of the lance loosened itself.
=America.= One of the great divisions of the earth’s surface, so called
from Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine navigator, who visited South America
in 1499. It is composed of two vast peninsulas called North and South
America, extending in a continuous line 9000 miles, connected by the
Isthmus of Panama or Darien, which is only 28 miles wide at its
narrowest part. The physical features of this large continent are on a
most gigantic scale, comprising the greatest lakes, rivers, valleys,
etc., in the world; and its discovery, which may be said to have doubled
the habitable globe, is an event so grand and interesting that nothing
parallel to it can be expected to occur again in the history of mankind.
Upon its discovery, in the latter half of the 15th century, colonists,
settlers, warriors, statesmen, and adventurers of all nations began to
flock to its shores, until after a lapse of nearly four centuries of
wars, struggles, civilization, progress, and amalgamation of the more
powerful races, and weakness and decay of the effete, it ranks in wealth
and enlightenment as the first of the great divisions of the earth. Of
the different races, governments, etc., occupying its area, it is not
necessary here to speak; events of importance in their histories will be
found under appropriate headings in this work.
=Ames Gun.= The rifled guns made by Mr. Horatio Ames, of Falls Village,
Conn., are made of wrought iron on the built-up principle. See ORDNANCE,
CONSTRUCTION OF.
=Amiens.= A city in Picardy (Northern France). It was taken by the
Spaniards March 11, and retaken by the French September 25, 1587. The
preliminary articles of the peace between Great Britain, Holland,
France, and Spain were signed in London by Lord Hawkesbury and M. Otto,
on the part of England and France, October 1, 1801, and the definitive
treaty was subscribed at Amiens, March 27, 1802, by the Marquis of
Cornwallis for England, Joseph Bonaparte for France, Azara for Spain,
and Schimmelpennick for Holland. War was declared in 1803.
=Amisus.= A city in the ancient kingdom of Pontus, fortified by
Mithridates, and captured by Lucullus in 71 B.C.
=Ammedera.= An ancient city in Africa, where the rebel Gildon was
defeated by Stilicho in 398.
=Ammunition.= Is a term which comprehends gunpowder, and all the various
projectiles and pyrotechnical composition and stores used in the
service. See ORDNANCE, AMMUNITION FOR.
=Ammunition Bread.= That which is for the supply of armies and
garrisons.
=Ammunition-chest.= See ORDNANCE FOR CAISSON.