service are so called, and particularly for use by those frequenting the
magazine, being soft and free from metal.
=Ammunition, Stand of.= The projectile, cartridge, and sabot connected
together.
=Amnesty.= An act by which two belligerent powers at variance agree to
bury past differences in oblivion; forgiveness of past offenses.
=Amnias.= A stream in Asia near which the army of Nicomedes, king of
Bithynia, was defeated by the troops of Mithridates in 92 B.C.
=Amorce= (_Fr._). An old military word for fine-grained powder, such as
was sometimes used for the priming of great guns, mortars, or howitzers;
as also for small-arms, on account of its rapid inflammation. A
port-fire or quick-match.
=Amorcer= (_Fr._). To prime; to decoy, to make a feint in order to
deceive the enemy and draw him into a snare; to bait, lure, allure.
=Amorcoir= (_Fr._). An instrument used to prime a musket; also for a
small copper box in which were placed the percussion-caps.
=Amoy.= A town and port in China, which was taken by the troops under
Sir Hugh Gough, assisted by a naval force, in August, 1841.
=Ampfing.= A village in Bavaria, where Louis, king of Bavaria, defeated
Frederick of Austria in 1322; here Gen. Moreau was attacked by a
superior force of Austrians in 1800, and accomplished his celebrated
retreat.
=Amphea.= A city of Messenia, captured by the Lacedæmonians in 743 B.C.
=Amphec.= A city in Palestine where the Philistines defeated the
Israelites in the year 1100 B.C.
=Amphictyonic Council.= A celebrated congress of deputies of twelve
confederated tribes of ancient Greece, which met twice every year. The
objects of this council were to insure mutual protection and
forbearance among the tribes, and for the protection of the temple of
Delphi.
=Amphipolis= (now _Emboli_). A city situated on the Strymon in
Macedonia; was besieged in 422 B.C., by the Athenians, where Cleon their
chief was killed. Philip of Macedon captured the city in 363.
=Amplitude.= In gunnery, is the range of shot, or the horizontal right
line, which measures the distance which it has run.
=Ampoulette= (_Fr._). A wooden cylinder which contains the fuze of
hollow projectiles.
=Amsterdam.= The capital of Holland. It was occupied by the French
general Pichegru on January 19, 1795, and by the Prussians in 1813.
=Amstetten.= A village on the highway between Ems and Vienna, where the
Russians were defeated by the French under Murat, November 5, 1805.
=Amusette= (_Fr._). A brass gun, of 5 feet, carrying a half-pound leaden
ball, loaded at the breech; invented by the celebrated Marshal Saxe. It
is no longer used.
=Amyclæ.= An ancient town of Laconia, on the right bank of the Eurotas,
famous as one of the most celebrated cities of the Peloponnesus in the
heroic age. It is said to have been the abode of Castor and Pollux. This
town was conquered by the Spartans about 775 B.C.
=Anabash.= In antiquity, were expeditious couriers, who carried
dispatches of great importance in the Roman wars.
=Anacara.= A sort of drum used by the Oriental cavalry.
=Anacleticum.= In the ancient art of war, a particular blast of the
trumpet, whereby the fearful and flying soldiers were rallied to the
combat.
=Anah.= A city in Asiatic Turkey, which was captured and devastated in
1807 by the Wahabites, who were a warlike Mohammedan reforming sect.
=Anam=, or =Annam, Empire of=. Also called Cochin China, an empire in
Southeastern Asia, which became involved in a war with France (1858-62),
concluded by a treaty by which the emperor of Anam ceded the provinces
of Cochin China, Saigon, Bienhoa, and Mytho to France. Subsequently
three other provinces were annexed to France in 1867.
=Anapa.= A city in Circassia which was fortified by the Turks in 1784;
stormed and taken by the Russians in 1791.
=Anarchy.= Want of government; the state of society where there is no
law or supreme power, or where the laws are not efficient, and
individuals do what they please with impunity; political confusion;
hence, confusion in general.
=Anatha.= A fort on an island of the Euphrates; taken by Julian the
Apostate in 363.
=Anatolia=, =Nadoli=, or =Natolia=. The modern name of Asia Minor, a
peninsula in the most western territory of Asia, extending northward
from the Mediterranean to the Euxine, or Black Sea, and eastward from
the Grecian Archipelago to the banks of the Euphrates. It is a part of
the Turkish dominions, and was in ancient times the seat of powerful
kingdoms and famous cities.
=Anazarba=, or =Anazarbus=. A city in Asia Minor, where the Christians
were defeated by the Saracens in 1130.
=Anazehs.= Nomadic Arabs, who infested the desert extending from Damas
to Bagdad; they often laid under contribution the caravans on the way to
Mecca.
=Ancile.= In antiquity, a kind of shield, which fell, as was pretended,
from heaven, in the reign of Numa Pompilius; at which time, likewise, a
voice was heard declaring that Rome would be mistress of the world as
long as she should preserve this holy buckler.
=Ancona.= An ancient Roman port on the Adriatic. In 1790 it was taken by
the French; but was retaken by the Austrians in 1799. It was occupied by
the French in 1832; evacuated in 1838; after an insurrection it was
bombarded and captured by the Austrians, June 18, 1849. The Marches
(comprising this city) rebelled against the papal government in
September, 1800. Lamoriciere, the papal general, fled to Ancona after
his defeat at Castelfidardo, but was compelled to surrender himself, the
city and the garrison, on September 28. The king of Sardinia entered
soon after.
=Ancyra.= A town in ancient Galatia, now _Angora_, or _Engour_, Asia
Minor. Near this city, on July 28, 1402, Timur, or Tamerlane, defeated
after a three days’ battle and took prisoner the sultan Bajazet, and is
said to have conveyed him to Samarcand in a cage.
=Andabatæ.= In military antiquity, a kind of gladiators who fought
hoodwinked, having a kind of helmet that covered the eyes and face. They
fought mounted on horseback, or on chariots.
=Andaman Islands.= A group of small islands in the Bay of Bengal, which
has been used by Great Britain as a penal colony for Hindoos. The Earl
of Mayo, governor-general of India, was assassinated here by a convict,
February 8, 1872.
=Anderlecht.= A town near Brussels, in Belgium, where the French under
Gen. Dumouriez defeated the Austrians, November 13, 1792.
=Andernach.= A city in Rhenish Prussia; near here the emperor Charles I.
was totally defeated by Louis of Saxony, on October 8, 876.
=Andersonville.= A post-village of Sumter Co., Ga., about 65 miles
south-southwest of Macon. Here was located a Confederate military prison
in which Union soldiers were confined during the civil war. So severe
was the treatment which they received here (nearly 13,000 having died),
that a general feeling of horror was excited against the superintendent,
Capt. Henry Wirz; and after the close of the war he was tried for
inhuman treatment of the prisoners, found guilty, and executed
November, 1865. The place is now the site of a national cemetery.
=Andrew, St.=, or =The Thistle, Order of=. A nominally military order of
knighthood in Scotland. The principal ensign of this order is a gold
collar, composed of thistles interlinked with amulets of gold, having
pendent thereto the image of St. Andrew with his cross and the motto,
_Nemo me impune lacessit_.
=Andrew, St., Knights of.= Is also a nominal military order instituted
by Peter III. of Muscovy in 1698.
=Andrussov, Peace of.= This peace was ratified (January 30, 1667)
between Russia and Poland for 13 years, with mutual concessions,
although the latter power had been generally victorious.
=Anelace=, or =Anlace=. A kind of knife or dagger worn at the girdle by
civilians till about the end of the 15th century.
=Anemometer=, or =Wind-gauge=. An instrument wherewith to measure the
direction and velocity of wind under its varying forces,--used in the
Signal service.
=Aneroid Barometer.= A pocket instrument indicating variations in
atmospheric pressure. Used in military surveys to obtain the height of
mountains. It consists of a circular metallic box, hermetically sealed,
from which the air has been extracted. The play of the thin, metallic
cover under atmospheric pressure, is made to operate a hand pointing to
a scale on the dial-face.
=Angaria.= According to ancient military writers, means a guard of
soldiers posted in any place for the security of it. Angaria, in civil
law, implies a service by compulsion; as, furnishing horses and
carriages for conveying corn and other stores for the army.
=Angeliaphori.= Reconnoitring parties of the Grecian army.
=Angel-shot.= A kind of chain-shot. See CHAIN-SHOT.
=Angers.= Principal city of the department of Maine-et-Loire, France. It
was sacked by the Normans during the 9th century; taken and retaken
several times by the Bretons, English, and French.
=Anghiari.= A city of Tuscany, where the Florentines under Berardino
Ubaldini were defeated by the Milanese general Torello, in 1425, and in
1440 the Florentine general Orsini defeated the Milanese general
Piccinino.
=Angle.= In geometry, is the inclination of two lines meeting one
another in a point, or the portion of space lying between two lines, or
between two or more surfaces meeting in a common point called the
_vertex_. Angles are of various kinds according to the lines or sides
which form them. Those most frequently referred to in fortification and
gunnery are:
ANGLE, DIMINISHED, is that formed by the exterior side and the line of
defense.
ANGLE, FLANKED, or SALIENT, is the projecting angle formed by the two
faces of a bastion.
ANGLE, INTERIOR FLANKING, is that which is formed by the meeting of the
line of defense and the curtain.
ANGLE OF ARRIVAL. The angle of arrival is the angle which the tangent to
the trajectory at the crest of the parapet makes with the horizon.
ANGLE OF DEPARTURE, or ANGLE OF PROJECTION, is the angle which the
tangent makes with the horizontal at the muzzle.
ANGLE OF ELEVATION, or ANGLE OF FIRE, in gunnery, is that which the axis
of the barrel makes with the horizontal line.
ANGLE OF FALL, in gunnery, is the angle made at the point of fall by the
tangent to the trajectory with a horizontal line in the plane of fire.
ANGLE OF FIRE, in gunnery, is the angle included between the line of
fire and horizon; on account of the balloting of the projectile, the
angle of fire is not always equal to the angle of departure, or
projection.
ANGLE OF INCIDENCE is that which the line of direction of a ray of
light, ball from a gun, etc., makes at the point where it first touches
the body it strikes against, with a line drawn perpendicularly to the
surface of that body.
ANGLE OF REFLECTION is the angle intercepted between the line of
direction of a body rebounding after it has struck against another body,
and a perpendicular erected at the point of contact.
ANGLE OF SIGHT, in gunnery, is the angle included between the line of
sight and line of fire. Angles of sight are divided into natural and
artificial angles of sight, corresponding to the natural and artificial
lines of sight, which inclose them. See POINTING.
ANGLE OF THE CENTRE is the angle formed at the centre of the polygon by
lines drawn thence to the points of two adjacent bastions.
ANGLE OF THE EPAULE, or SHOULDER, is formed by one face and one flank of
the bastion.
ANGLE OF THE FACE is formed by the angle of the face and the line of
defense produced till they intersect each other.
ANGLE OF THE FLANK is that formed by the flank and curtain.
ANGLE OF THE LINE OF DEFENSE is that angle made by the flank and the
line of defense.
ANGLE OF THE POLYGON is that formed by the meeting of two of the sides
of the polygon; it is likewise called the _polygon angle_.
ANGLE OF THE TENAILLE, or FLANKING ANGLE, is made by two lines
fichant,--that is, the faces of the two bastions extended until they
meet in an angle towards the curtain, and is that which always carries
its point towards the outworks.
ANGLE, RE-ENTERING. An angle whose vertex points inward, or towards the
place. A re-entering angle which is not defended by a flanking fire is
said to be _dead_.
=Angles.= An ancient German tribe from which England derives its name.
They occupied a narrow district in the south of Sleswick, whence some of
them passed over in the 5th century, in conjunction with other Saxon
tribes, into Britain, where they conquered the native Britons, and
established the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. See HEPTARCHY.
=Anglou.= A place in Armenia where a Persian army 4000 strong defeated
and cut to pieces a Roman army of 30,000, in 543.
=Angon.= In ancient military history, was a kind of a dart of modern
length, having an iron beaded head and cheeks; in use about the 5th
century. This sort of javelin was much used by the French. The iron head
of it resembled a _fleur-de-lis_.
=Angora.= See ANCYRA.
=Angouleme.= A city in the department of Charente, France. It was ruined
by the Normans during the 9th century, and devastated several times
during the 16th century.
=Anguis.= A flag adopted by the Romans, which was carried at the head of
a cohort (the tenth part of a Roman legion, consisting of 600 men); this
flag resembled a serpent in shape, and was more commonly called _draco_.
=Angusticlave.= A robe or tunic embroidered with purple studs or knobs,
and with _narrow_ purple stripes, worn by Roman knights, to distinguish
them from members of the senatorian order, who wore a garment with
_broad_ stripes, called _latus clavus_.
=Anholt, Island of= (Denmark). Was taken possession of by England, May
18, 1809, in the French war, on account of Danish cruisers injuring
British commerce. The Danes made an attempt to regain it with a force
which exceeded 1000 men, but were gallantly repulsed by the British
force, not amounting to more than 150, March 27, 1811.
=Animate, To.= In a military sense, is to encourage, to incite, to add
fresh impulse to any body of men who are advancing against an enemy, or
to prevent them from shamefully abandoning their colors in critical
situations.
=Anime= (_Fr._). A sort of ancient cuirass, also called _brigandine_;
was used in Italy until the 17th century, under the name of _anima_, or
_animetta_.
=Anio= (now _Teverone_). A river of ancient Italy, an affluent of the
Tiber. On its banks the Romans gained two great battles over the Gauls,
one by Camillus about 367 B.C., and the other about sixty years
afterwards.
=Aniocrater.= The highest military rank of the Lacedæmonians; one who
commanded the whole army during the absence of the king.
=Anippus.= Name of the light cavalry of the Grecians.
=Anisocycle.= An ancient machine of a spiral form, like the spring of a
watch, used for throwing arrows to a great distance.
=Anitorgis.= A city in Spain, near which Asdrubal, general of the
Carthaginians, gained a memorable battle over the Romans under Scipio
and his brother Publius, in 212 B.C.
=Anjou=, or =Beauge, Battle of=. Between the English and French; the
latter commanded by the Dauphin of France, March 22, 1421. The English
were defeated; the Duke of Clarence was slain by Sir Allan Swinton, a
Scotch knight, and 1500 men perished on the field; the Earls of
Somerset, Dorset, and Huntingdon were taken prisoners. Beauge was the
first battle that turned the tide of success against the English.
=Annals.= A species of military history, wherein events are related in
the chronological order they happened. They differ from a perfect
history, in being only a mere relation of what passes every year, as a
journal is of what passes every day.
=Annatinæ.= Were transport-ships (so called by Julius Cæsar) in which
were transported provisions, etc., to armies and fleets. Also called
_Corbitæ_.
=Anneau d’Or= (_Fr._). A gold ring. In accordance with the example of
the ancients, Francis I. of France instituted a military recompense in
the shape of an _anneau_, for all who distinguished themselves in any
military enterprise.
=Annee de Corbie= (_Fr._). Name given to the year 1636, when the capture
of Corbie (by the Austrians), a small city of the department of the
Somme, France (during the war which Richelieu had decided to undertake
against the Austrian house), nearly caused the overthrow of France.
=Anne, St., Order of.= An order of knighthood, originally established in
Holstein, and carried with the princes of that country into Russia. It
was made a Russian order in 1796, and is now widely diffused.
=Annihilate.= To reduce to nothing; to destroy the existence of; to
cause or cease to be; as, the army was annihilated.
=Annoy.= To injure or disturb by continued or repeated acts; to
incommode or molest; as, to annoy an army by impeding their march, or by
a continued cannonade.
=Annuity.= A sum of money payable yearly, to continue for a given number
of years, for life or forever; an annual allowance. The U. S. government
furnishes annuities and annuity goods to certain tribes of Indians.
=Annul.= To make void, or of no effect; to abrogate; to rescind;--used
of laws, decisions of courts, or other established rules, permanent
usages, and the like, which are made void by competent authority.
=Annunciada.= An order of military knighthood in Savoy, first instituted
by Amadeus I. in the year 1409; their collar was of fifteen links,
interwoven one with another, and the motto “F. E. R. T.,” signifying
_fortitudo ejus Rhodum tenuit_. Amadeus VIII. changed the image of St.
Maurice, patron of Savoy, which hung at the collar, for that of the
Virgin Mary, and instead of the motto above mentioned, substituted the
words of the angel’s salutation. Now extinct.
=Anse des Pieces= (_Fr._). A term for the handles of cannon. Those of
brass have two, those of iron seldom any. These handles serve to pass
cords, handspikes, or levers through, the more easily to move so heavy a
body, and are made to represent dolphins, serpents, etc.
=Antandros= (now _St. Dimitri_). A city of Troas, inhabited by the
Leleges, near which Æneas built his fleet after the destruction of Troy.
=Antecessores=, or =Antecursores=. Light cavalry of the Romans, which
formed the advance-guard of an army while on the march.
=Antemuraille.= In ancient military art, denoted what now the moderns
generally call the outworks.
=Antepilani.= Soldiers of a Roman legion who composed the first and
second ranks in line of battle, and who were accordingly placed in front
of the third rank. The first rank was called _hastati_, the second
_principes_, and the third _pilani_, or _triarii_.
=Antequera.= A city in Spain, formerly fortified; besieged and captured
from the Moors by Ferdinand of Castile, September 16, 1410; he also
defeated under the walls of this city the Moorish king of Toledo, who
had an army of 100,000 men.
=Antesignani.= A name given to the soldiers of the Roman army who
protected the colors, etc.; according to some authorities they were the
_hastati_ or _principes_, and according to others they were a select
detachment consisting of picked soldiers.
=Antestature= (_Fr._). A small intrenchment or work formed of palisades
or sacks of earth.
=Anthony, St., Knights of.= A military order instituted by Albert, Duke
of Bavaria, Holland, and Zealand, when he designed to make war against
the Turks in 1382. The knights wore a collar of gold made in the form of
a hermit’s girdle, from which hung a stick like a crutch, with a little
bell, as they are represented in St. Anthony’s pictures.
=Antibes.= A city in the department of Alpes Maritimes, France. It was
ruined some time after the capture of Marseilles by Cæsar. This city was
fortified by Francis I. and Henry IV.; besieged without success by the
Imperials in 1746.
=Anti-corrosion.= A lacker applied to iron traversing platforms,
gun-carriages, and the outside of guns. See LACKER.
=Antietam.= A small, deep river in Maryland, which empties into the
Potomac about 6 miles above Harper’s Ferry. Here was fought a terrible
battle on September 17, 1862, between the Federals, under Gen.
McClellan, and the Confederates, under Gen. Lee. After his victory at
Bull Run, August 30, Lee invaded Maryland, and was immediately followed
by McClellan. On September 16, Lee was joined by Jackson. The battle on
which was staked “the invasion of Maryland,” in the view of the Federal
government, but in reality the sovereignty of the Union, was near at
hand. On the night of the 15th the greatest part of McClellan’s troops
were in bivouac behind the heights on the left bank of the Antietam,
sheltered from, but within range of, the enemy’s batteries. The morning
of the 16th was occupied in reconnoissance of the enemy’s position, in
rectifying the position of the Federal troops, and perfecting the
arrangements for the attack. At about 3 o’clock P.M. Gen. Hooker crossed
the Antietam by the bridge in the village on the Hagerstown road, and an
adjacent ford, and soon gained the crest of the height on the right bank
of the stream. He then turned to his left and followed down the ridge
under a strong opposition, until brought to a standstill by the
darkness. Gen. Mansfield was ordered to follow Gen. Hooker, so as to be
in a position to support him at daybreak.
At daybreak on the 17th, Gen. Hooker attacked the forces in his front,
and for a time drove them before him. The enemy, however, rallying, and
strengthened from their supporting columns, repulsed him. Gen.
Mansfield’s corps was then drawn to Hooker’s support, and the two masses
repelled the enemy. Gen. Mansfield was killed and Gen. Hooker wounded at
this crisis, and obliged to withdraw from the field. Gen. Sumner’s corps
soon reached this portion of the field and became hotly engaged. This
corps suffered greatly at this period of the contest, Gens. Sedgwick and
Crawford being wounded, and portions of the line were compelled to fall
back. The enemy, however, were checked by the Federal artillery.
Sumner’s corps was soon reinforced, and the lost ground was recovered.
The contest in the mean time on the right was most obstinate, and the
losses in this part of the field were very heavy. Gen. Burnside’s corps,
on the left, was ordered early in the day to carry the bridge across the
Antietam and to attack the enemy’s right. The approaches to the bridge
being in the nature of a defile, and being swept by batteries of the
enemy, the opposite bank of the Antietam was only reached after a severe
struggle. It was afternoon before the heights were in his possession.
The enemy were driven back, and a portion of their line in disorder. By
the most desperate efforts, however, the enemy rallied their retreating
regiments, strengthened their lines with all their available fresh
troops, and opened batteries on the hills.
Gen. Burnside could not maintain his advantage, and was obliged to
withdraw from the extreme position which he had gained to one slightly
in rear. He, however, held his bank of the river completely, and
maintained much ground beyond it which he had taken from the enemy.
During the advance on the left Gen. Rodman was wounded.
Notwithstanding substantial and decided successes of the day, the
Federal forces had suffered so severely during the conflict, having lost
11,426 killed and wounded, and among them many general and superior
officers, that it was deemed prudent by Gen. McClellan to reorganize and
give rest and refreshment to the troops before renewing the attack. The
18th was accordingly devoted to those objects. On the night of the 18th,
however, Gen. Lee withdrew his forces hastily across the Potomac,
abandoning further contest with the Union forces, and yielding all hopes
of further remaining on Maryland soil. The Confederate army is supposed
to have lost nearly 30,000 men during its brief campaign in Maryland.
The Federal forces captured 39 colors, 13 guns, more than 15,000
small-arms, and more than 6000 prisoners.--_Extracts from D. Appleton’s
“History of the Rebellion,” by Tenney, “Lippincott’s Gazetteer,” and
Haydn’s “Dates.”_