British under Henry VIII., September 14, 1544, but restored at the
peace, 1550. Lord Nelson attacked this city, disabling 10 vessels and
sinking 5, August 3, 1801; in another attempt he was repulsed with great
loss. In 1804, Bonaparte assembled 160,000 men and 10,000 horses, and a
flotilla of 1300 vessels and 17,000 sailors, to invade England; it is
supposed that this French armament served merely for a demonstration,
and that Bonaparte never seriously intended the invasion. Sir Sidney
Smith unsuccessfully attempted to burn the flotilla with fire-machines
called catamarans, October 2, 1804. Congreve rockets were used in
another attack, and they set the town on fire, October 8, 1806. The army
was removed on the breaking out of the war with Austria in 1805. Louis
Napoleon, afterwards emperor, made a descent here with about 50
followers, August 6, 1840, without success.
=Bounty.= A premium offered or given to induce men to enlist into the
public service.
=Bourbon, Isle of= (in the Indian Ocean). Discovered by the Portuguese
about 1545. The French here formed a colony in 1653 (according to
others, 1642, 1646, 1649). In 1810, after a gallant resistance, it fell
into the hands of the British, who retained it till the general peace,
1814. In 1815, before the downfall of Napoleon, it was once more
besieged by the English, and along with the Mauritius again fell into
their hands. After the general pacification of Europe, Bourbon was
restored to France, in whose possession it now is; but the adjoining
island has since been retained by its English conquerors.
=Bourdonnante= (_Fr._). A name formerly given to a kind of bombard of a
heavy caliber.
=Bourg-en-Bresse.= A town of France, capital of the department of Ain.
The town was captured by the allies in 1814.
=Bourges.= The capital of the department of the Cher, in France;
captured by Cæsar, 52 B.C.; destroyed by Chilperic, 583; carried by
assault by Pepin, 762; sustained a siege during the reign of Charles
VII., in 1415; captured by the Protestants, 1562; by Henry IV., 1594; by
the Protestants, 1615, and by Marshal Matignon in 1616.
=Bourguignote=, or =Bourgignotte= (_Fr._). A helmet worn by the
Burgundians, from whom it was named. It was of polished iron, with a
visor. Under Louis XIV. their head-dress was changed to a kind of
bonnet.
=Bourlette= (_Fr._). In antiquity, a mace which was garnished with iron
points.
=Bournous=, =Burnoose=, or =Burnos=. A kind of cloak or overcoat, used
by the Arabs, and which constitutes a part of the military clothing of
some corps of the French army.
=Bouton=, or =Boutoou= (_Fr._). A kind of war-club, formerly used by the
Caribs of the Antilles.
=Bovianum= (now _Bojano_). A town of Italy, 10 miles southwest of
Campobasso. It was sacked by the Romans in 311, 305, and 298 B.C. During
the second Punic war it was several times the headquarters of the Roman
army.
=Bouvines= (Northern France). The site of a desperate battle, July 27,
1214, in which Philip Augustus of France was victorious over the emperor
Otho and his allies, consisting of more than 150,000 men. The Counts of
Flanders and Boulogne were taken prisoners.
=Bow.= A weapon made of a strip of wood, or other elastic material, with
a cord connecting the two ends, by means of which, when drawn back and
suffered to return, an arrow is propelled.
=Bow, Cross.= An ancient weapon of offense of the 11th century. Philip
II., surnamed the Conqueror, introduced cross-bows into France. In this
reign Richard I. of England was killed by a cross-bow at the siege of
Chalus.
=Bowie-knife.= A knife from 10 to 15 inches long, and about 2 inches
broad, worn as a weapon in the Southern and Southwestern States of the
United States,--so named from its inventor, Col. James Bowie.
=Bowman.= A man who uses a bow; an archer.
=Bow-shot.= The space which an arrow may pass when shot from a bow.
=Bowstring.= The string of a bow. Also a string used by the Turks for
strangling offenders.
=Bowyer.= The man who made or repaired the military bows was so called.
=Boxer-cartridge.= The metallic cartridge used in the service rifle of
England. See CARTRIDGE.
=Boxtel= (in Dutch _Brabant_). Here the British and allied armies,
commanded by the Duke of York, were defeated by the French republicans,
who took 2000 prisoners and 8 pieces of cannon, September 17, 1794.
=Box Pontons.= See PONTONS.
=Boyaca.= A village of the republic of New Granada, South America,
celebrated for the victory gained by Bolivar over the Spaniards, August
7, 1819, which secured the independence of Colombia.
=Boyau.= In military engineering, is a winding zigzag or trench, made by
besiegers to enable them to approach a town or fortified place under
cover. These trenches are also called zigzags, or approaches.
=Boyne.= A river in Kildare, Ireland, near which William III. defeated
his father-in-law, James II., July 1, 1690. The latter lost 1500 (out of
30,000) men; the Protestant army lost about a third of that number (out
of 30,000). James fled to Dublin, thence to Waterford, and escaped to
France. The Duke of Schömberg was killed, shot by mistake by his own
soldiers as he was crossing the river.
=Brabançons= (_Fr._). Soldiers of fortune, adventurers, freebooters of
Brabant, who, during the Middle Ages, hired their services to those
chiefs who paid them best.
=Bracelet.= In ancient times, a piece of defensive armor for the arm; a
part of a coat of mail.
=Bracket.= The cheek of a mortar-carriage, made of strong plank.
=Braconnière=, or =Bragonnière= (_Fr._). In antiquity, a mail-armor, of
the shape of a petticoat, which was attached to the cuirass, and reached
from the hips to the middle of the thigh, and sometimes below the knee.
=Braga= (anc. _Bracara Augusta_). The capital of the province of Minho,
in Portugal; it is fortified and defended by a citadel. The Suevi were
here vanquished by the Goths in 585.
=Brailoff=, =Brahilow=, or =Ibraila=. A fortified town and the principal
port of Wallachia, European Turkey. In 1770 the town was taken by the
Russians, and almost razed to the ground; rebuilt, and again taken by
the Russians in 1828, after a brave defense. It was restored to Turkey
by the treaty of Adrianople in 1829. During the war of 1854-56, it was
occupied by Russian troops.
=Brake.= That part of the carriage of a movable battery or engine which
enables it to turn.
=Brake.= An ancient engine of war analogous to the cross-bow and
balista.
=Bramham.= In Yorkshire, England; near here the Earl of Northumberland
and Lord Bardolf were defeated and slain by Sir Thomas Rokeby, the
general of Henry IV., February 19, 1408; and Fairfax was defeated by the
royalists under the Duke of Newcastle, March 29, 1643.
=Brand.= The Anglo-Saxon for a burnished sword.
=Brandenburg.= A city in Prussia, founded by the Slavonians. Henry I.,
surnamed the Fowler, after defeating the Slavonians, fortified
Brandenburg, 926, as a rampart against the Huns, and bestowed the
government on Sigefroi, count of Ringelheim, with the title of Margrave,
or protector of the marches or frontiers. Occupied by the French,
October 25, 1806.
=Branding.= Was a mode of punishment, in nearly all armies, inflicted on
soldiers who were convicted of the crime of desertion,--the branding or
marking being with ink, or other similar preparation. This practice is
now discontinued in the American, and several European armies.
=Brandschwaermer= (_Ger._). A small rocket which contained a bullet; it
was fired out of a gun and used for the purpose of setting fire to
straw-thatched buildings.
=Brandywine.= A river in Pennsylvania and Delaware, near which a battle
took place between the British and Americans, in which the latter (after
a day’s fight) were defeated with great loss, and Philadelphia fell into
the possession of the victors, September 11, 1777.
=Brass.= See BRONZE.
=Brassar.= A piece of defensive armor for the arm.
=Brassart.= In plate-armor, joined plates of steel which protected the
upper part of the arm, from the elbow to the shoulder. When the front of
the arm only was shielded, the pieces were called _demi-brassarts_.
=Brasset.= A casque or head-piece of armor.
=Braunau.= A town of Bohemia, Austria; captured by the French, October
28, 1805.
=Bray.= A small town in the department of Seine-et-Marne, France; it was
occupied by the allies, February 12, 1814.
=Brazil.= An empire in South America, was discovered by Vincent Pinzon
in February, and Pedro Alvarez de Cabral, a Portuguese, driven upon its
coasts by a tempest, in 1500. The French having seized Portugal in 1807,
the royal family and nobles embarked for Brazil, and landed March 7,
1808. Brazil declared war against Uruguay in February, 1865; entered
into a treaty with Uruguay and the Argentine Republic against Paraguay,
governed by Lopez, in May, 1865, and war was waged with varying results
up to 1870.
=Breach.= Rupture made in a fortification to facilitate the assault. The
operation by which the opening is produced is called _breaching_, and
the guns used for this purpose are _breaching batteries_. _To repair a
breach_, is to stop or fill up the gap with gabions, fascines, etc., and
prevent the assault. _To fortify a breach_, is to render it inaccessible
by means of chevaux-de-frise, crow’s feet, etc. _To make a lodgment in
the breach._ After the besieged are driven away, the besiegers secure
themselves against any future attack in the breach. _To clear the
breach_, that is, to remove the ruins, that it may be better defended.
=Breach of Arrest.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 65.
=Bread and Water.= A diet used as a military punishment.
=Break Ground.= Is to commence the siege of a place by opening trenches,
etc.
=Breast-height.= In fortification, the interior slope of a parapet.
=Breastplate.= A plate worn upon the breast as a part of defensive
armor.
=Breastwork.= In fortification, a defensive work breast-high, hastily
thrown up, of earth or other material.
=Brechin.= A place in Scotland; sustained a siege against the army of
Edward III., 1333. The battle of Brechin was fought between the Earls of
Huntly and Crawford; the latter was defeated, 1452.
=Breech.= In ordnance, is the mass of solid metal behind the bottom of
the bore, extending to the cascabel. The _base of the breech_ is its
rear surface.
=Breech-block.= The block of metal which closes the bore in
breech-loading arms.
=Breech-loader.= A fire-arm that receives its load at the breech.
=Breech-loading.= Receiving the charge at the breech instead of the
muzzle. A feature of modern small-arms. The principle, however, is very
old, as some of the earliest guns were breech-loaders. A gun of the time
of Henry VIII. still extant is substantially the same as the modern
_Snider_. Puckle’s revolver of 1718 was mounted on a tripod, and was
very much like the _Gatling gun_ in its general features. The first
American patent was to Thornton & Hall, of Massachusetts, 1811. These
guns were extensively issued to U. S. troops. There is a specimen in the
West Point Museum. Prior to 1861 the best known breech-loading
small-arms were _Sharps’_, _Burnside’s_, _Maynard’s_, _Merrill’s_, and
_Spencer’s_. See SMALL-ARMS.
In modern times the _breech-loading_ principle for _heavy ordnance_ has
gained and lost favor at different epochs. On the continent of Europe it
is generally accepted. Italy, however, has committed itself in the
largest calibers to the enormous 100-ton muzzle-loaders of Sir William
Armstrong. The same inventor introduced his breech-loading field-piece
in England about 1850. His principle was approved and adopted for
various calibers about 1858, but partial failures in his system led to
an investigation by a committee of the House of Commons, 1862-63, and
after a tedious discussion, the breech-loading principle was officially
discarded (1866), though many of the guns were retained in the service.
The successful application of hydraulic machinery in handling and
loading heavy guns (1876) confirmed the government in its choice of
muzzle-loaders. The difficulty of muzzle-loading in a turret and the
impossibility of employing the great length of bore necessary to obtain
the best results was, up to this time, the strong argument in favor of
_breech-loaders_. Loading by hydraulic machinery from beneath the deck
through a trap-door outside the turret obviated these objections to
muzzle-loaders, and gave the gunners ample protection by closing the
port, thus placing these guns for the time being on a par with
breech-loaders. The bursting of the 38-ton gun on the “Thunderer”
(1878), however, which has been generally attributed to double loading,
has shaken confidence in hydraulic ramming, and now there is a strong
current in favor of a return to breech-loaders. The splendid performance
of _Krupp_ guns on the practice-ground at Meppen, 1879, and the
numerous misfortunes which have recently befallen the Woolwich and
Elswick systems, have doubtless had their weight in this change of
opinion.
=Breech Mechanism.= The mechanism used for opening and closing the
breech of a fire-arm and securing it against the escape of the gas. In
_small-arms_ this is readily accomplished. The use of the metallic
cartridge-case renders any special gas-check unnecessary, as the case
itself by being expanded against the walls of the chamber serves the
purpose. The various mechanisms used in _small-arms_ have been
classified as follows: 1st, _Fixed chamber_; 2d, _Movable chamber_. The
second class is now obsolete. The _fixed chamber_ class is subdivided
into--1st, _Barrel moves_; 2d, _Breech-block moves_. The first class
comprises many of the _shot-guns_ in use, the second, the best known of
_military arms_. Under this latter class are the following subdivisions:
1st, _Sliding block_; 2d, _Sliding and rotating_; 3d, Rotating about an
axis. We find excellent guns under each of these classes which are
further subdivided as to the direction of the motions. The _Sharps’_ may
be taken as typical of the first of these classes, the _Hotchkiss
magazine_ gun of the second, and the _Springfield_ of the third.
A similar classification may be made for _breech-loading_ devices in
_heavy ordnance_, but the problem here is not so simple. The pressure is
much greater, the masses of metal much larger, and the cartridge must be
used without a case to check the gas. Breech-loaders were impossible
until the problem of checking the gas had been solved. The inventor of
the first successful gas-check was an American, L. W. Broadwell, now
residing abroad. The term _Broadwell ring_ has been applied to all
similar devices. This is a steel ring which fits in a recess reamed out
in the rear of the chamber and abutting upon the breech-block. The
inside of the ring is so shaped as to be pressed by the gas outwards and
backwards, thus closing both the space outside of the ring and between
it and the block. Broadwell is also the inventor of a breech mechanism
which, with a few modifications, is that used by Krupp for all of his
guns. The breech-block slides horizontally through a rectangular slot in
rear of the chamber. In the _Armstrong_ breech-loader, the block called
the vent-piece is taken out and put in through a rectangular orifice on
the top of the gun. It is locked in place by a hollow breech-screw. The
French use a breech-screw with the threads cut away in longitudinal
rows. The female-screw being similarly arranged, a very small rotation
enables it to be entirely withdrawn. Among American devices are
_Thompson’s_, a breech-block which rolls to the side and opens or closes
the bore. _Sutcliffe’s_, a cylindrical block, with its axis parallel to
the one hanging on a pin projecting from the front periphery of the
hollow screw. The block is raised and locked by turning the screw, and
falls into a recess below when the screw is half turned back. _Mann’s_,
in which the gun rotates upwards about the trunnions something like a
shot-gun, and many others.
=Breech-pin.= A strong plug firmly screwed in at the breech of a musket
or other fire-arm.
=Breech-sight.= In gunnery, an instrument having a graduated scale of
tangents by means of which any elevation may be given to a piece.
Correctly speaking, the breech-sight gives the angle made by the line of
aim or sight with the axis of the piece. The base of the breech-sight is
a plate of brass curved to fit the base-ring or line, the scale and
slides are similar to those of the pendulum hausse except that a hole is
made in the plate, instead of a notch to sight through. Breech-sights
are graduated for no _disparts_, a _front-sight_ equal in height to the
dispart being screwed into the top of the muzzle; in the Rodman guns,
into the seat provided for the purpose between the trunnions.
Breech-sights are also frequently held in sockets, and when the
front-sight is placed on the trunnion, the socket is on the side of the
breech. The _pendulum hausse_ (see HAUSSE) is a breech-sight used for
field-guns to correct the error arising from difference of level in the
wheels of the carriage. The _Quinan breech-sight_ (invented by Lieut. W.
R. Quinan, 4th U. S. Artillery) is an improvement on the pendulum
hausse. It is fixed in a socket on the right side of the breech. The
scale has a spirit-level, by means of which it is made vertical. The
front sight is a short tube with cross-hairs fixed in it. The advantages
claimed over the hausse are increased steadiness and accuracy.
=Bregenz=, or =Bregentz=. A town of Tyrol, Austria; it was occupied by
the French in 1799.
=Breisach, Old.= A very old town of the grand duchy of Baden; taken by
Ariovistus when he invaded Gaul. Being regarded as the key to the west
of Germany, it was a prominent scene of action during the Thirty Years’
War, at the conclusion of which it was ceded to the French. During the
next century it frequently changed masters, now belonging to France and
now to Austria; its fortifications were destroyed by the French in 1744,
and during the war of the Revolution, in 1793, part of the town was
burned by them. In 1806 the French handed it over to the house of Baden.
=Breitenfeld.= A village and manor of Saxony, about 5 miles north of
Leipsic. It is historically remarkable for three battles, fought on a
plain in its neighborhood. The first of these, between the Swedes and
the Imperialists, which was fought September 7, 1631, was of the highest
importance to Europe, as it secured the permanency of Protestantism and
the freedom of Germany. Tilly’s pride had reached its highest point
after the fall of Magdeburg, which took place on May 20, 1631; and in
the early part of September of the same year he advanced against the
Saxons with an army of about 40,000 men for the purpose of forcing the
elector, John George I., into an alliance with the emperor. Gustavus
Adolphus, king of Sweden, joined by the Saxons, advanced towards
Leipsic, where Tilly lay, the latter advancing into the plain of
Breitenfeld. The Imperial forces were completely defeated, and their
three most distinguished generals, Tilly, Pappenheim, and Fürstenberg,
wounded. The second battle which Breitenfeld witnessed again, resulted
in the triumph of Swedish valor: it took place on October 23, 1642,
between the Swedes, headed by Torstenson, one of the pupils of Gustavus,
who had invested Leipsic, and the Archduke Leopold, with Gen.
Piccolomini, who were advancing from Dresden to its relief. The Swedes
gained a complete victory over the Imperialists, who fled into Bohemia,
leaving behind them 46 cannon, 121 flags, 69 standards, and the whole of
their baggage. The third battle of which Breitenfeld was the scene was
fought on October 16-18, 1813. See LEIPSIC.
=Bremen= (Northern Germany). Said to have been founded in 788; in 1648
it was erected into a duchy and held by Sweden till 1712; it was taken
possession of by Denmark in 1731, by whom it was ceded to Hanover; it
was taken by the French in 1757, who were expelled by the Hanoverians in
1758; annexed by Napoleon to the French empire in 1810; its independence
restored in 1813; its old franchises in 1815 It became a member of the
North German Confederation in 1866.
=Brenneville= (Northwest France). Here Henry I. of England defeated
Louis VI. of France, who had embraced the cause of William Clinton, son
of Robert, duke of Normandy, August 20, 1119.
=Brenta.= A river which rises in Tyrol and flows, after a course of 90
miles, into the Adriatic Sea, at Porto di Brondolo. On the banks of this
river the French twice defeated the Austrians in 1796.
=Brentford.= A county town of Middlesex, England. Here Edmund Ironside
defeated the Danes, May, 1016. It was taken by Charles I., after a sharp
fight, November 12, 1642.
=Brescelia=, or =Bregelia= (anc. _Brixellum_). A town on the right bank
of the Po, in North Italy. Here the emperor Otho put himself to death in
69. On May 20, 1427, an army under Duke Philip Maria Visconti, of Milan,
was here defeated by an army sent against him by the republic of Venice,
under Francis Carmagnola.
=Brescia.= A town in Northern Italy (the ancient _Brixia_), became
important under the Lombards, and suffered by the wars of the Italian
republics, being attached to Venice. It was taken by the French under
Gaston de Foix in 1512, when it is said 40,000 of the inhabitants were
massacred. It surrendered to the Austrian general Haynau, March 30,
1849, on severe terms; annexed to Sardinia in 1859.
=Breslau.= Capital of the province of Silesia, Prussia; it was burnt by
the Mongols in 1241, and conquered by Frederick II. of Prussia in
January, 1741. A fierce battle took place here between the Austrians and
Prussians, the latter under Prince Bevern, who was defeated November
22,1757. Breslau was taken, but was regained, December 21, the same
year; besieged by the French, and surrendered to them January, 1807, and
again in 1813.
=Bressuire.= A small town of France, department of Deux-Sèvres; it was
fortified during the Middle Ages, and was captured from the English by
the celebrated Du Guesclin in 1373; it was nearly destroyed during the
wars of La Vendée.
=Brest.= A seaport in Northwestern France; besieged by Julius Cæsar, 54
B.C.; possessed by the English in 1378; given up to the Duke of Brittany
in 1390. Lord Berkeley and a British fleet and army were repulsed here
with dreadful loss in 1694. The magazine burnt to the value of some
millions of pounds sterling, 1744; marine hospital, with 50
galley-slaves, burnt, in 1766; the magazine again destroyed by fire,
July 10, 1784. England maintained a large blockading squadron off the
harbor from 1793 to 1815, but with little injury to France. It is now a
chief naval station of France, and from the fortifications and other
vast works of late construction it is considered impregnable.
=Bretigny, Peace of.= Concluded with France, May 8, 1360, by which
England retained Gascony and Guienne, and acquired other provinces;
renounced her pretensions to Maine, Anjou, Touraine, and Normandy; was
to receive 3,000,000 crowns, and to release King John, long a prisoner.
The treaty not being carried out, the king remained and died in London.
=Breuci.= A powerful people of Pannonia, near the confluence of the
Savus and the Danube, took an active part in the insurrection of the
Pannonians and Dalmatians against the Romans, 6 A.D.
=Brevet.= An honorary rank conferred upon an officer, for meritorious
services, above the rank he holds in his own corps. In the U. S. army
rank by brevet is conferred, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate, for “gallant actions or meritorious services.” A brevet rank
gives no right of command in the particular corps to which the officer
brevetted belongs, and can be exercised only by special assignment of
the President. Officers while so serving under assignment are said to
have _local rank_ (which see).
=Brevet.= To confer rank or title upon by brevet.
=Brevetcy.= The rank or condition of a brevet.
=Bricole.= An improved kind of traces used by the French in drawing and
manœuvring artillery; analogous to the old drag-rope, but having the
addition of a leather strap or girdle with a buckle, to which the drag
is affixed, and an iron ring and hook at the end to drag by.
=Bridge.= A structure usually of wood, stone, brick, or iron, erected
over a river or other water-course, or over a ravine, railroad, etc., to
make a continuous roadway from one bank to the other.
=Bridge.= In gunnery, two pieces of timber which go between the two
transoms of a gun-carriage. Not used in the U. S. service.
=Bridge, Flying.= See PONTONS.
=Bridge, Trail.= See PONTONS.
=Bridge, Train.= See EQUIPAGE.
=Bridge, Trestle.= See TRESTLE BRIDGE.
=Bridges.= When a river is more than 4 feet in depth, or when its bottom
is of mud or quicksand, recourse must be had either to ferrying by means
of boats, rafts, etc., or to military bridges. The latter are always to
be preferred when circumstances will permit their establishment.