empire, bounded on the north by Saxony and Prussian Silesia, east by
Prussia and Moravia, south by Lower Austria, and west by Bavaria. It
derives its name from the Boii, a Celtic people who settled in the
country about 600 B.C., and who were expelled by the Marcomanni in the
time of Augustus. About the middle of the 6th century a numerous army of
Czechs entered the country and subdued it. In 1310 the crown came to the
house of Luxemburg, when Charles IV. united Bohemia with the German
empire. After many vicissitudes it fell to the house of Austria in the
person of the Archduke Ferdinand, brother of Charles V., and
brother-in-law of Louis II., king of Hungary and Bohemia, who was killed
in battle with the Turks near Mohacs, in 1526. In 1619 the Bohemians
revolted against the house of Austria, and offered the crown to
Frederick V., elector palatine, but Frederick was defeated at the battle
of White Mountain in November, 1620, and the country has ever since
remained under the sway of the emperors of Austria.
=Bohmisch-Brod.= A small town of Bohemia. Here the emperor Sigismund
defeated the Hussites in 1434.
=Boii.= An ancient Celtic people who emigrated into Italy, where they
waged war for several centuries against the Romans. They were defeated
at the Vadimonian Lake, 283 B.C. They were finally subdued by Scipio
Nasica, 191 B.C., and expelled front Italy. A portion of them founded
the kingdom of Boiohemum (Bohemia), from which they were expelled by the
Marcomanni in the time of Augustus.
=Bois-le-Duc.= A fortified city of Holland, capital of North Brabant;
besieged and captured by the Dutch in 1629, and by the French in 1794;
surrendered to the Prussian army, under Bulow, in January, 1814.
=Bojano.= A town in the province of Molise, Naples. The site of Bojano
has been identified as that of the famous Samnite city of _Bovianum_,
which played so conspicuous a part in the Samnite, Punic, and Social
wars. Unsuccessfully besieged by the Romans in 314 B.C., it was taken by
them in 311 B.C., and yielded immense spoils. Passing out of their
hands, it was retaken by them in 305 B.C., and once more reverting to
its original owners, was a third time captured by the Romans in 298 B.C.
During the second Punic war it formed the headquarters of the Roman army
on more than one occasion. In the great Social war the confederates made
it their capital. It was surprised by Sulla, and retaken by the Marsic
general, Pompædius Silo. Cæsar established a military colony, and it
afterwards throve under the Roman empire.
=Bojeleschti.= A village of Wallachia, where, in 1828, the Russians
under Gen. von Geismar defeated the Turks, although the latter were
superior in force. The Russians captured 7 guns, 24 ammunition- and 400
bread-wagons, 24 colors, and guns enough to arm 10,000 men. The Cossacks
took 507 prisoners.
=Bokhara.= The ancient _Sogdiana_, a state of Central Asia in
Independent Toorkistan. It was conquered by the Turks in the 6th
century, by the Chinese in the 7th, and by the Arabs about 705. After
many changes of masters it was subdued by the Uzbek Tartars, 1505. The
British envoys, Col. Stoddart and Capt. Conolly, were murdered at
Bokhara, the capital, by the khan in 1843. In the war with Russia,
beginning in 1866, the emir’s army was defeated several times in May and
subsequent months during that year. Peace was made July 11, 1867. The
Russians were again victors, May 25, 1868, and occupied Samarcand the
next day. Further conquests were made by the Russians, and Samarcand was
secured by treaty November, 1868.
=Bolade= (_Fr._). A weapon of the shape of a mace.
=Bologna.= The ancient _Felsina_, afterwards Bononia. A distinguished
city of Italy, capital of the province of the same name; besieged and
taken by Pope Julius II., 1506; taken by the French, 1796; by the
Austrians, 1799; again by the French after the battle of Marengo, in
1800; restored to the Pope in 1815; a revolt suppressed by Austrian
interference, 1831; rebellion in 1848; taken by the Austrians, May,
1849; provisional government formed June 15, 1859; Victor Emmanuel
entered Bologna as sovereign, May 2, 1860.
=Bolster.= A block of wood on the carriage of a siege-gun, and on the
mortar-wagon upon which the gun rests when moving it from place to
place. The first is a _breach_-, the second a _muzzle-bolster_.
=Bolster.= A cushioned or padded part of a saddle.
=Bolt.= A pointed shaft or missile intended to be shot from a cross-bow
or catapult; an arrow; a dart.
=Bolt.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, NOMENCLATURE OF ARTILLERY CARRIAGE.
=Bolt, Palliser.= A screw-bolt for securing armor plates. The end upon
which the screw-thread is cut is larger than the shank.
=Bomarsund.= A strong fortress on one of the Aland isles in the Baltic
Sea, taken by Sir Charles Napier, commander of the Baltic expedition,
aided by the French military contingent under Gen. Baraguay d’Hilliers,
August 16, 1854. The governor Bodisco and the garrison, about 2000 men,
became prisoners, and the fortifications were destroyed.
=Bomb.= A hollow ball or shell of cast iron filled with explosive
materials, and furnished with a fuze, which being ignited when the
missile is discharged from a mortar or howitzer, burns during its
flight, and causes it to explode with destructive violence when it
falls. They are now commonly called shells.
=Bombard.= An ancient piece of ordnance, very short, thick, and wide at
the bore. Some of the bombards used in the 15th century propelled stones
weighing from 200 to 500 pounds each.
=Bombard.= To assault a town or fortress by projecting into it shells,
etc., from mortars, in order to set fire to and destroy the houses,
magazines, and other buildings.
=Bombardelle= (_Fr._). A small bombard which was used in ancient times.
In 1830, one was disinterred near Laon, France; it is the opinion of
some that this bombardelle was manufactured during the reign of Charles
VII., from 1436-40.
=Bombardier.= Is an artilleryman versed in that department of arms which
relates especially to bombs and shells, mortars and howitzers, grenades
and fuzes. In some foreign armies, the bombardiers form a separate
corps. In the British service a bombardier is a non-commissioned grade
in the artillery below that of corporal.
=Bombardment.= Is an attack upon a fortress or fortified town by means
of shells, red-hot shot, carcasses, rockets, etc., to burn and destroy
the buildings, and kill the inhabitants, and by this means compel its
surrender. A bombardment requires little engineering skill; whereas a
regular siege requires the aid of engineers to direct the attack against
fortifications, guns, and soldiery, leaving the inhabitants and
buildings untouched. It is generally regarded by military engineers as a
cruel operation, and in modern times is mostly adopted as an adjunct to
a siege. The stores required for a vigorous bombardment are immense.
Thus, in 1759, Rodney threw 20,000 shells and carcasses into Havre; in
1792, the Duke of Saxe Teschen threw 36,000 shot and shell into Lille in
140 hours; in 1795, Pichegru threw 8000 shells into Mannheim in 16
hours; and in 1807, the English threw 11,000 shot and shell into
Copenhagen in three days. Of the bombardments recorded in history may be
mentioned that of Algiers by Duquesne in 1682-83, by the Venetians in
1784, and by the English in 1816; of Genoa in 1684; of Tripoli in 1685,
1728, and 1747; of Barcelona in 1691; of Brussels in 1694; of Toulon by
the English in 1707; of Prague in 1744, 1759, and 1848; the bombardment
of Lille by the Austrians in 1792; of Le Quesnoy, Breda, Lille, Lyons,
Maestricht, and Mayence in 1793; of Menin, Valenciennes, and Ostend in
1794; of Copenhagen by the English in 1807; of Glogau, Breslau, and
Schweidnitz by the French in 1806-7; of Saragossa by the French in 1808;
of Flushing by the English in 1809; of Antwerp in 1832; of St. Jean
d’Ulloa by the French in 1838; of Beyrout and St. Jean d’Acre by the
English in 1840; of Barcelona by Espartero in 1842; of Mogador by the
French in 1844; and of Odessa by the English and French fleets in 1854.
Vera Cruz was bombarded by Gen. Scott for three days before its
surrender, March 27, 1847. During the civil war recourse was had several
times to this method of reducing fortified places. Among the most noted
were the bombardment by Admiral Farragut for six days, April 18, 1862,
of Forts Jackson and St. Philip (after which they surrendered); the
bombardment of Fort Pulaski, Ga., by Gen. Gillmore, in April, 1862; the
first bombardment of Fort Sumter in August, 1863, which effectually
disabled the fort for immediate defense of Charleston harbor, although
the works remained in the possession of the Confederates; and the second
bombardment, which took place in October following, leaving the place in
ruins. During the Franco-German war Strasburg was bombarded by the
Prussians on August 18, 1870, and after an immense number of shells were
thrown into it with ruinous effect the city surrendered on September 27.
During the siege of Paris it was estimated that for two weeks in
January, 1871, about 500 shells a day were thrown into the city, to the
great destruction of life and property.
=Bomb-chest.= A chest filled with bombs, or only with gunpowder, placed
under ground, to cause destruction by its explosion.
=Bomb-proof.= A term applied to military structures of such immense
thickness and strength that bombs cannot penetrate them.
=Bomb-shell.= A hollow globe of iron, filled with powder, and thrown
from a mortar; a bomb.
=Bone=, =Bona=, or =Bonah=. A fortified seaport town of Algeria, 85
miles northwest of Constantine; it is surrounded by a wall with square
turrets which has four gates. Fort Cigogne is its chief defense; the
French occupied this place in July, 1830.
=Bonn.= A town on the Rhine (the Roman Bonna) was in the electorate of
Cologne; it has been frequently besieged, and was assigned to Prussia in
1814.
=Bonnet.= In fortification, is a small defense work constructed at
salient angles of the glacis or larger works. It consists of two faces
only, with a parapet 3 feet high by 10 or 12 feet broad. There is no
ditch. A larger kind, with 3 salient angles, is called a _priest’s
bonnet_, or _bonnet à prêtre_. The use of the bonnet is to check the
besiegers when they are attempting to make a lodgment.
=Bonneval.= A town of France, formerly fortified; it was partially
destroyed by the English during the 15th century.
=Bontchouk.= A lance ornamented with a horse’s tail. When the kings of
Poland led their armies, boutchouks were carried before them.
=Boomerang.= A very singular missile weapon used by the natives of
Australia. It is made of hard wood, usually from 20 to 30 inches in
length, from 2 to 3 inches wide, and ¹⁄₂ or ³⁄₄ of an inch thick. It is
curved or bent in the middle at an angle of from 100° to 140°. When
thrown from the hand with a quick rotary motion, it describes very
remarkable curves, according to the shape of the instrument and the
manner of throwing it, often moving nearly horizontally a long distance,
then curving upward to a considerable height, and finally taking a
retrograde direction, so as to fall near the place from which it was
thrown, or even very far in the rear of it.
=Booneville.= A river-port, capital of Cooper Co., Mo., situated on the
right bank of the Missouri River, 48 miles northwest of Jefferson City.
During the civil war a Confederate force of about 2500 raw troops was
here attacked by the Federals under Gen. Lyon, June 17, 1861. After a
short conflict the Confederates were routed, abandoning their guns and
camp equipage, which fell into the hands of the Union forces.
=Boothauk.= A fortified pass of Afghanistan, 12 miles to the east of
Cabul. It runs for 5 miles between cliffs 500 feet high, and in some
places only 50 yards wide.
=Boots and Saddles.= In cavalry tactics, a trumpet call which is the
first signal for mounted drill, and for all other formations mounted; it
is also the signal for the trumpeters to assemble.
=Booty.= Is the victors’ share in property captured from the vanquished.
It is generally a military term, the word _prize_ being more frequently
used in the navy.
=Bordeaux=, or =Bourdeaux= (Southwest France). This city was sacked by
the Visigoths, who were driven from it by Clovis; it was ravaged by the
Saracens and Normans in the 8th and 9th centuries. It came into the
possession of the Duke of Gascoyne in 911; in 1653 the city rebelled,
but was taken by the royal troops; Bordeaux was entered by the
victorious British army after the battle of Orthes, fought February 27,
1814.
=Bordure=, or =Border=. In heraldry, coats of arms are frequently
surrounded with a bordure, the object of which is to show that the
bearer is a cadet of the house whose arms he carries. Its character
often has reference to the profession of the bearer; thus a _bordure
embattled_ is granted to a soldier, and a _bordure ermine_ to a lawyer.
=Bore.= Of a piece of ordnance includes all the part bored out, viz.,
the cylinder, the chamber (if there is one), and the conical or
spherical surface connecting them.
=Borghetto.= A town of Italy, on the Mincio, 15 miles southwest of
Verona; it has a castle and a vast fortified causeway. The French here
defeated the Austrians in 1796.
=Borgo Forte.= A town of Italy, in Lombardy, on the Po, 7 miles south of
Mantua. The Austrians were here defeated by the French in 1796.
=Bori.= A Turkish term for military trumpets.
=Boring Cannon.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF.
=Borissov.= A town of Russia, on the left bank of the Berezina. A
conflict took place here November 23, 1812, between the French and
Russians; near this town, at the village of Studienka, the disastrous
passage of Berezina was effected by the French army, November 26-27,
1812.
=Bormann-fuze.= A fuze which is used for spherical case-shot. The
fuze-case is made of metal (a composition of lead and tin), and consists
of a short cylinder, having at one end a horseshoe-shaped indentation,
_one_ end only of which communicates with the magazine of the fuze
placed in the centre by a channel filled with _rifle_ powder. This
horseshoe indentation extends nearly to the other end of the cylinder, a
thin layer of the metal only intervening. This is graduated on the
outside into equal parts representing seconds and quarter-seconds. In
the bottom of this channel a smooth layer of the composition is placed,
with a piece of wick or yarn underneath it. On this is placed a piece of
metal, the cross-section of which is wedge-shaped, and this, by
machinery, is pressed down upon the composition, sealing it
hermetically. The cylindrical opening is filled with musket powder and
covered with a sheet of tin, which is soldered, closing the magazine
from the external air. Before using the fuze several holes are punched
through this sheet of tin, to allow the flame to enter the shell. On the
side of the fuze the thread of a screw is cut which fits into one cut on
the inside of the fuze-hole, and the fuze is screwed into the shell with
a wrench. The thin layer of metal over the composition is cut through
with a gouge or chisel, or even a penknife, at the interval marked with
the number of seconds which we wish the fuze to burn. To prevent the
metal of this fuze, which is soft, from being driven into the shell by
the explosive force of the charge, a circular piece of iron, with a hole
through its centre, and the thread of a screw on the outside, is screwed
into the fuze-hole before the fuze is inserted. The most important
advantage of this fuze is, that the shells can be loaded, all ready for
use, and remain so any length of time, perfectly safe from explosion, as
the fuze can be screwed into its place, and the composition never
exposed to external fire until the metal is cut through.
=Borneo.= An island in the Indian Ocean, the largest in the world except
Australia; discovered by the Portuguese about 1520; the pirates of this
island were several times chastised by the British government;
incorporated with the British empire, December 2, 1846.
=Bornhoevede.= A village of Holstein, where a battle was fought on July
22, 1227, between Woldemar II., king of Denmark, and Adolphus IV. of
Holstein; the Danes were totally defeated.
=Borodino.= A Russian village on the Moskwa, near which a sanguinary
battle was fought, September 7, 1812, between the French under Napoleon,
and the Russians under Kootoosof, 240,000 men being engaged. Each party
claimed the victory; but the Russians retreated, leaving Moscow, which
the French entered September 14. The French name it the battle of
Moskwa, and it gave Marshal Ney his title of Prince of Moskwa.
=Boroughbridge.= A town in Yorkshire, England, the site of a battle
between the Earls of Hereford and Lancaster and Edward II., March 16,
1322. The latter at the head of 30,000 men pressed Lancaster so closely
that he had not time to collect his troops together in sufficient force,
and being defeated and made prisoner, was led, mounted on a lean horse,
to an eminence near Pontefract, and beheaded by a Londoner.
=Boscobel.= Near Donington, Shropshire, England, where Charles II.
concealed himself after his defeat at Worcester.
=Bosnia.= In European Turkey, formerly part of Pannonia, was governed by
chiefs till a brother-in-law of Louis, king of Hungary, was made king,
1376. He was defeated by the Turks in 1389, and became their vassal.
Bosnia was annexed to the Ottoman empire in 1522. Many efforts have been
made by the Bosnians to recover their independence; they rebelled in
1849, and were subdued by Omar Pasha in 1851.
=Bosniaken.= Formerly light cavalry of the Prussians, resembling the
present Uhlans. Frederick I. formed this cavalry in 1745.
=Bosphorus=, or =Bosporus, Thracian= (now _Strait of Constantinople_).
The ancient name of the strait which connects the Black Sea with the Sea
of Marmora. Darius Hystaspes threw a bridge of boats over this strait
when about to invade Greece, 493 B.C.
=Bosporus.= The country on both sides of the Bosporus Cimmerius, or
Strait of Yenikalé, formed in ancient times the kingdom of Bosporus. The
Scythians conquered Bosporus, 285 B.C.; conquered by Mithridates VI., 80
B.C.; conquered by Cæsar, 47 B.C.; Polemon conquered Bosporus, 14 B.C. A
list of obscure kings given by some writers ends with Sauromates VII.,
344.
=Boss.= The apex of a shield.
=Bosse=, =Bosse à Feu= (_Fr._). A term used in the French artillery to
express a glass bottle which is very thin, contains 4 or 5 pounds of
powder, and round the neck of which 4 or 5 matches are hung after it has
been well corked. A cord 2 or 3 feet in length is tied to the bottle,
which serves to throw it. The instant the bottle breaks the powder
catches fire, and everything within the immediate effects of the
explosion is destroyed.
=Bostanji.= The first Turkish foot-guards, about 12,000 strong; they
guard the imperial castles and accompany the sultans to the field. They
were originally employed as gardeners, guards for the seraglio, etc.
Their number is now greatly reduced.
=Boston.= A city and capital of Massachusetts, situated on the west side
of Massachusetts Bay, at the mouth of Charles River. It was built about
1627. Here originated that resistance to the British authorities which
led to American independence. The act of Parliament laying duties on
tea, papers, colors, etc. (passed June, 1767), so excited the
indignation of the citizens of Boston, that they destroyed several
hundred chests of tea, December 16, 1773. Boston seaport was shut by the
English Parliament, until restitution should be made to the East India
Company for the tea lost, March 25, 1774. The town was besieged by the
British next year, and 400 houses were destroyed. A battle between the
royalist and independent troops, in which the latter were defeated, took
place June 17, 1775; the city was evacuated by the king’s troops, April,
1776. The inhabitants were very zealous against slavery in 1861.
=Boston Massacre.= A name popularly given to a disturbance which
occurred in the streets of Boston on the evening of March 5, 1770, when
a sergeant’s guard belonging to the British garrison fired upon a crowd
of people who were surrounding them and pelting them with snowballs, and
killed 3 men besides wounding several others. The leader of the
townspeople was a black man named Crispus Attucks. The affair is of
historical importance, as it prepared the minds of men for the
Revolutionary struggle which followed.
=Bostra=, or =Bozrah=. A city of Arabia, in an oasis of the Syrian
Desert, 76 miles south of Damascus; it was besieged, captured, and
sacked by the Saracens, who were commanded by Khaled.
=Bosworth Field.= In Leicestershire, England, the site of the thirteenth
and last battle between the houses of York and Lancaster, August 22,
1485, when Richard III. was defeated and slain by the Earl of Richmond,
afterwards Henry VII. Sir William Stanley at a critical moment changed
sides, and thus caused the loss of the battle. It is said that Henry was
crowned on the spot with the crown of Richard found in a hawthorn bush
near the field.
=Bothwell Bridge.= In Lanarkshire, Scotland. The Scotch Covenanters, who
took up arms against the intolerant government of Charles II., and
defeated the celebrated Claverhouse at Drumclog, June 1, 1679, were
totally routed at Bothwell Bridge, June 22, 1679, by the Earl of
Monmouth, and many persons were tortured and executed.
=Botoné=, or =Bottony=. In heraldry, a _cross-botoné_ is a cross of
which the ends are in the form of buds or buttons.
=Bottle Cartridge.= See CARTRIDGE, BOTTLE.
=Bottoming.= The foundation of a roadbed.
=Botzen=, or =Bolzana= (anc. _Pons Drusi_). The capital of the circle of
Etsch in Tyrol. This town was captured by the French in 1809.
=Boucanier= (_Fr._). A long, heavy musket, used by the American
buccaneers, and with such skill as to give the weapon a high degree of
celebrity.
=Bouchain.= A small strongly fortified frontier town of France, in the
department of the North; besieged and captured by Louis XIV. in 1673; by
the Duke of Marlborough in 1711; retaken by the French in 1712, and
ceded to France by the treaty of Utrecht.
=Bouche= (_Fr._). Means the aperture or mouth of a piece of ordnance,
that of a mortar, of the barrel of a musket, and of every species of
fire-arms from which a ball or bullet is discharged.
=Boufarik=, or =Boofareek=. A place in Algeria where the French
encountered the Arabs, October 2, 1832.
=Bouge=, or =Boulge= (_Fr._). An ancient war-club, the head of which was
loaded with lead, also called _plombée_.
=Bougiah= (anc. _Salvæ_). A seaport town of Algeria, which was captured
by the French, October 19, 1833, and successfully defended against the
Arabs, August 25, 1842.
=Bouillon= (Belgium). Formerly a duchy, was sold by Godfrey, its ruler,
to Albert, bishop of Liège, to obtain funds for the crusade, 1095; it
was seized by the French in 1672, and held by them till 1815, when it
was given to the king of the Netherlands, as duke of Luxemburg. It was
awarded to Belgium after the revolution of 1830.
=Boulaf.= A kind of baton or very short mace, formerly used by the
Polish generals.
=Boulak=, or =Boolak=. A town of Lower Egypt, on the right bank of the
Nile; burned by the French in 1799; since rebuilt by Mohammed Ali.
=Boulanger Chronograph.= See CHRONOSCOPES.
=Boulanger Telemeter.= See RANGE FINDERS.
=Boulevard= (_Fr._). An ancient bastion, bulwark, or rampart.