of small-arms. The first bullets used were round, and were designated by
the number weighing one pound. The sizes employed were very large. Until
quite recently the round ball still held its place with rifles and
smooth-bores. Various devices were used for making it take the grooves
of the rifle,--a guard-patch being among the best. (See SMALL-ARMS.) It
was with this that the early settlers of America won their reputation as
marksmen. Robins, in 1742, showed the superiority of the conical form,
but it was not till about 1840 that round balls were generally
discarded. The conical bullet was often used in grooves with an
increasing twist, and gave wonderfully accurate results at short range.
For long ranges, long bullets are necessary, and these require uniform
twists, which are now generally used in military arms. Various forms of
the elongated bullets were used. Most of these bullets had an expansive
base, either hollow or plugged with wood; the design being to force the
soft lead outward, so as to cause it to fit the grooves of the rifle,
and thus give the bullet a rotation around its long axis during the
motion forward. (See SMALL-ARMS.) This rotation, as is well known,
increases the range and precision. Bullets were formerly cast, but now
they are more frequently stamped in steel dies, and, as in
breech-loading arms, the bullet takes the grooves by compression; the
exploding base is omitted. The form of bullet now used in military arms
is the cylindrical conoidal. The tendency recently has been to reduce
the caliber. (See PROJECTILES.) Copper bullets are used by the
Circassians. Bullets of stone were used in 1514; iron ones are mentioned
in the _Fœdera_, 1550, and leaden ones were made before the close of the
16th century.
=Bullets, Explosive.= Oblong bullets carrying a percussion-cap on the
front end and sometimes containing a small charge of powder in a cavity,
used to blow up caissons and magazines. There is a strong sentiment
against the use of these bullets in firing at troops.
=Bullets, Express-.= An explosive bullet of great killing power, used in
hunting large game. It is of large caliber but quite light, being much
shorter than the ordinary rifle-bullet. A cylindrical cavity bored in at
the point carries a small metallic cartridge-case filled with powder. It
is fired with a large charge of powder, which, owing to its lack of
weight, gives it a high initial velocity and a very flat trajectory up
to about 200 yards, obviating the necessity for an elevating sight. _The
Winchester Express-bullet_ (a good type of those made in America) has a
caliber of .50, weighs 300 grains, and is fired with 95 grains of
powder, giving an initial velocity of 1640 feet. It is made of pure
lead, the softness of which increases its deadliness. The shock from
this bullet will bring down the largest game. See EXPRESS-RIFLE.
=Bullets, Grooved.= Bullets having grooves, or cannelures. These grooves
were originally used to increase the relative resistance of the air on
the _rear_ of the bullet, thus assisting the rotation in keeping the
point to the front. In muzzle-loading arms they also increased the
_setting up_ of the bullet to take the grooves. They are now used to
hold the lubricant, and to facilitate the swaging action of the grooves
and lands in breech-loading guns. For the other form of modern bullets,
see BULLETS, PATCHED.
=Bullets, Patched.= One of the forms of modern rifle-bullets. The bullet
has wrapped around its cylindrical portion a layer of thin paper called
the _patch_. The bullet is perfectly smooth. The other form has grooves,
or cannelures. (See BULLETS, GROOVED.) The lubricant for the patched
bullet is a greased wad or disk of wax, placed between powder and
bullet. The _grooved bullet_, carrying its own lubricant, is best
adapted to shallow lands and grooves. The _patched bullet_ to sharp
lands. The grooved bullet would seem to be the best for military
service, as the cartridge-case can be tightly crimped upon it, making
the case waterproof. For very long range the best shooting has been done
with patched bullets.
=Bullets, Percussion-.= See BULLETS, EXPLOSIVE.
=Bullock.= See PACK AND DRAUGHT ANIMALS.
=Bull Run Battles.= See MANASSAS.
=Bull’s-eye.= In gunnery and archery, is the centre of a target.
=Bulwark.= In fortification, a rampart or bastion; an outwork for
defense; that which secures against an enemy; a shelter or means of
protection.
=Bunker Hill.= A hill in Charlestown, now part of Boston, Mass., which
gave its name to the first important battle of the American Revolution.
The Americans learning that Gen. Gage, who was in command of the British
forces in Boston, intended to fortify Bunker Hill, determined to
forestall his design, and for this purpose a detachment of 1000 men
under Col. Prescott was ordered on the night of June 16, 1775, to throw
up a breastwork on the hill. After a consultation, however, it was
decided to fortify instead another eminence which was nearer to Boston,
known as Breed’s Hill. During the night they worked with such activity
that by daybreak a strong redoubt was nearly completed. Upon its
discovery by the British on the morning of the 17th, they opened fire on
it from the ships in the harbor, and Gen. Gage sent about 3000 men under
Howe and Pigot to attack it. They landed under cover of the fire from
the guns, and setting fire to Charlestown, advanced to the attack. The
Americans awaited their approach in silence until the whites of their
eyes could be seen, then poured a deadly fire into their ranks, causing
them to retreat in disorder. They were rallied by Howe, and again
advanced over the same ground with a like result as on the first attack.
Clinton now arrived with reinforcements, and an attack was made on three
sides of the redoubt at once. The ammunition of the Americans being now
exhausted they met their assailants with clubbed muskets, but the
superiority of the British in numbers being so great, Col. Prescott
ordered a retreat. This was effected across Charlestown Neck, where they
were exposed to a galling fire from the ships in the harbor. During the
retreat Gen. Warren was killed, and the Bunker Hill monument erected to
commemorate this engagement now stands near the spot where he fell. The
British loss was over 1000 killed and wounded; the Americans lost less
than half that number.
=Bureaux.= See Military Departments throughout this work under
appropriate headings.
=Buren.= A town of Switzerland, canton of Berne. It was the scene of
several combats. The Spaniards under Gilles de Barlemont took
possession of it in 1575.
=Burford.= A town in the county of Oxford, England. It is celebrated for
a battle fought between Cuthred, king of the West Saxons, and Ethelbald,
king of the Mercians; and for a victory by Fairfax in 1649 over the army
of Charles I. at Edgehill, in its vicinity.
=Burganet=, or =Burgonet=. A kind of helmet used by the French.
=Burgos.= A city of Spain, capital of the new province of the same name,
was founded in 844; sacked by the French in 1808; in 1812 the castle was
four times unsuccessfully besieged by Wellington, who, however, took it
in the following year, when the French blew it up, as well as the
fortifications.
=Burguete.= A town of Navarre, Spain. Here the army of Charlemagne was
defeated in 778.
=Burgundy.= A large province in France, derives its name from the
Burgundians, a Gothic tribe who overran Gaul in 275, but were driven out
by the Emperor Probus; they returned in 287, and were defeated by
Maximin. In 413 they established a kingdom, comprising the present
Burgundy, large parts of Switzerland, with Alsace, Savoy, Provence,
etc., Gondicaire, their leader, the first king. It was conquered by the
Franks, 534. Annexed to France, 1477.
=Burhampoor.= A town of Hindostan, in the province of Bengal. It is one
of the military stations of the British government; and the cantonments,
consisting of a grand square inclosing a fine parade ground, command the
notice of the traveler. It was captured by the English troops under Col.
Stevenson in 1803.
=Burial Honors.= See FUNERAL HONORS.
=Burich.= A small town in the circle of Lower Rhine; its fortifications
were burned by the French in 1672.
=Burkersdorf.= A village of Austria, where a combat took place between
the Prussians and Austrians, July 21, 1762, in which the former were
victorious.
=Burley.= The butt end of a lance.
=Burlington Heights.= Here a fierce contest took place between the
British and the U. S. forces, June 6, 1813. The British carried the
heights.
=Burmah=, =Burma=, or =Birmah=. Also called the Burmese empire, or
kingdom of Ava, formerly the most extensive and powerful state in
Farther India. The most celebrated ruler of the country was Alompra, the
founder of the present dynasty, who reigned about the middle of the 18th
century. The Burmese became involved in a war with the English 1824-26,
which terminated in the curtailment of their power and the loss of
several provinces.
=Burning, Quickness of.= The relative quickness of two different powders
may be determined by burning a train laid in a circular or other groove
which returns into itself, one-half of the groove being filled with
each kind of powder, and fire communicated at one of the points of
meeting of the two trains; the relative quickness is readily deduced
from observation of the point at which the flames meet.
=Burnish.= In a military sense, is to give a peculiar lustre to a
gun-barrel or other part of a rifle by rubbing it with a piece of steel.
It is generally forbidden as injurious to the gun.
=Burque= (_Fr._). A kind of cuirass which was worn with the brigantine.
=Burr.= In gunnery, a round iron ring, which serves to rivet the end of
the bolt, so as to form a round head.
=Burrel-shot.= Small shot, nails, stones, pieces of old iron, etc., put
into cases to be discharged from any piece of ordnance. Very seldom
used.
=Bursting.= The simplest method of bursting open strong gates is, to
explode a bag of gunpowder containing 50 or 60 pounds suspended near the
middle of the gate upon a nail or gimlet, by means of a small piece of
port-fire inserted at the bottom, and well secured with twine.
=Busaco.= A hamlet in the province of Beira, Portugal. Here the British
under Wellington repulsed an attack of the French under Masséna,
September 27, 1810. The French lost about 4000 killed and wounded; the
English loss did not exceed 1300.
=Busby.= A military coiffure, or cap, or bear-skin; the French
_colbach_.
=Bushiere= (on the Persian Gulf). Attacked by sea by Sir H. Leeke, and
by land by Gen. Stalker, was taken December 10, 1856. The place proved
stronger than was expected, and was bravely defended.
=Bushing a Gun.= Inserting a piece of metal about an inch in diameter
(near the bottom of the bore) through the centre of which the vent has
been previously drilled. It is screwed in. The object of bushing a piece
is to prevent deterioration of the vent, or provide a new one, when this
has already occurred. In bronze pieces pure copper is always used in
bushing, as it is not so liable to run from heat as gun-metal. Only
rifled and bronze pieces are bushed.
=Bushwhackers.= This term was used during the civil war to designate a
class of men who claimed to be non-combatants in the presence of a
superior force, and who, to outward appearance, pursued their peaceful
avocations, but who did not hesitate, when an opportunity offered, to
slay stragglers, and pick off soldiers from ambush. When caught in the
commission of such acts they were treated with merciless severity.
=Buskins.= A kind of shoe, or half-boot, adapted to either foot,
formerly part of the Roman dress. They are now worn by some European
armies.
=Butin= (_Fr._). Booty or pillage. At the beginning of the French
monarchy, and for a long time after its establishment, a particular spot
was marked out by the prince or general, to which all persons belonging
to the victorious army were directed to bring every species of booty
that might have fallen into their hands. This booty was not divided, or
appropriated according to the will and pleasure of the prince or
general, but was thrown into different lots, and drawn for in common.
The soldiers who distributed these spoils were called _Butiniers_.
=Butler Projectile.= See PROJECTILE.
=Butrinto.= A fortified maritime town of European Turkey, opposite
Corfu. The town and fortress are of Venetian construction; taken by the
French from the Venetians in 1797.
=Butt.= In gunnery, is a solid earthen parapet, to fire against in the
proving of guns, or in practice.
=Butt=, or =Butt-end=. That extremity of a musket which rests against
the shoulder when the piece is brought up to a position of firing.
=Button.= In gunnery, is a part of the cascabel, in either a gun or
howitzer, and is the hind part of the piece, made round in the form of a
ball.
=Buttress.= A sustaining wall at right angles to the main wall, which it
is intended to strengthen.
=Buxar.= A town in Bengal near which, on October 23, 1764, Major,
afterwards Sir Hector, Munro (with 857 Europeans and 6215 Sepoys) gained
a great victory over the troops of the nabob of Oude, 40,000 in number;
6000 of these were killed, and 130 pieces of cannon taken.
=Byblos.= An ancient town of Egypt, on the Delta of the Nile. Here the
Athenians sustained a memorable siege against the Persians, 456 B.C.
=Byrnie.= Early English for body-armor.
=Byssa.= An ancient cannon for throwing stones.
=Byzantium.= See CONSTANTINOPLE.
C.
=Cabas= (_Fr._). A basket made of rushes, used in ancient Languedoc and
Rousillon, for the purpose of conveying stores and ammunition.
=Cabasset=, =Cabacet=, or =Capacète=. A kind of helmet, lighter than the
morion, terminating in a rounded top. It was also called _Cervelière_,
because it only covered the upper part of the head.
=Cabeira= (Asia Minor). Here Mithridates, king of Pontus, was defeated
by Lucullus, 71 B.C.
=Cabell Court-house.= See BARBOURSVILLE.
=Cabezon de la Sal.= A town of Spain, in the province of Valladolid. It
is celebrated as the scene of one of the first battles of the Peninsular
campaign, in which the Spaniards were signally defeated by the French.
=Caboched=, or =Cabossed=. A heraldic term from the old French word
_caboche_, “head.” When the head of an animal is borne without any part
of the neck, and exhibited full in face, it is said to be _caboched_.
=Cabrera.= One of the Balearic Islands, 10 miles south of Majorca.
Celebrated in the annals of war for the number of French prisoners who
were there decimated by hunger, disease, and other physical and mental
tortures.
=Cabul=, or =Cabool=. A city of Afghanistan, taken by Subuctajeen,
grandfather of Mohammed, founder of the Gaznevide dynasty, and by Nâdir
Shah in 1738. In 1809, the sovereign Shah Soojah was expelled by Futleh
Khan; and in 1818, Cabul came into the hands of Dost Mohammed, a clever
and ambitious chieftain. In 1839, the British restored Shah Soojah; but
in November, 1841, a dreadful outbreak took place. The British civil
officer, Sir William McNaughten, was massacred, and the British
commenced a most disastrous retreat. Of about 3849 soldiers, and about
12,000 camp-followers, only one European, Dr. Dryden, and four or five
natives escaped. In the same year (September 16), General, afterwards
Sir George, Pollock retook the town, and rescued Lady Sale and many of
the prisoners. After destroying many public buildings he left Cabul,
October 12, 1842.
=Cabule= (_Fr._). A machine of war, used during the 12th century to
throw stones, etc.
=Cache.= A hidden reservoir of provision (to secure it from bears) in
Arctic travel. Also, a deposit of dispatches, etc.
=Cadence.= A uniform time and pace in marching, indispensable to the
correct movements of bodies of troops.
=Cadency, Marks of.= In heraldry, are marks on the shields of younger
members of families, by which they are distinguished from the elder and
from each other.
=Cadet, Military= (Fr. _cadet_, “younger,” “junior”). Is a youth
studying for the military service in a school established for military
training, such as the Military Academy at West Point, N. Y., the Royal
Military Academy at Woolwich, England, the Polytechnic School at Paris,
etc. (See MILITARY ACADEMIES.) There are also medical and engineer
cadets, who are youths undergoing special instruction for the public
service in the several professions implied by their names.
=Cadetship.= The rank or commission of a cadet; as, to get a cadetship.
=Cadiz= (anc. _Gades_). A fortified maritime city of Spain, in the
province of the same name. The Carthaginians became masters of Cadiz
during the first Punic war, but the Romans obtained possession of it in
206 B.C. It was taken and pillaged by the Earl of Essex in 1596, and was
blockaded in 1656 by Admiral Blake, who captured two rich galleons. It
was besieged by the French from February, 1810, until August, 1812.
Captured by the Duc d’Angoulême, October 3, 1823, and held till 1828;
declared a free port in 1829.
=Cadore.= A town of Venice, 22 miles northeast from Belluno. This place
stands on the Piave, and is distinguished as the birthplace of Titian.
In 1797 the French obtained a victory over the Austrians near this town.
=Caen.= A city of France, in Normandy. A place of importance before 912,
when it became the capital of the possessions of the Normans, under whom
it flourished. It was taken by the English in 1346 and 1417; but was
finally recovered by the French, July 1, 1450. Here were buried William
the Conqueror (1087) and his queen (1083).
=Caernarvon.= A town in North Wales. In the castle (founded in 1283 or
1284) Edward II. was born, April 25, 1284; and the town was chartered by
Edward I. in the same year. The town suffered by the civil war of
Charles, but was finally retained for the Parliament.
=Caffa=, =Kaffa=, or =Theodosia=. A town in European Russia, in the
Crimea, at the end of a large bay on the northern shore of the Black
Sea. In 1770 the Russians took this place by assault, and in 1774 it was
ceded with the rest of the Crimea to the khan of Tartary, who made it
his residence.
=Caffraria=, and =Caffre War=. See KAFFRARIA.
=Cahors.= A town of France, capital of the department of Lot. It is
supposed to have been the capital of the _Cadurca_, before the conquest
of Gaul. It was captured by assault in 1580, by Henry IV.
=Caic.= See CAIQUE.
=Caiffa.= See KAIFFA.
=Cai-fong.= In China, capital of Honan, on the right bank of the
Hoang-ho. It was besieged by 100,000 rebels in 1642. The commander of
the relieving forces, in order to drown the enemy, broke down the
embankments of the river. It is said all the besiegers and 300,000 of
the citizens perished.
=Cairo=, or =Grand Cairo=. The modern capital of Egypt, partially built
by the Saracens in 969; it is surrounded by stone walls which are
surmounted with antique battlements; taken by the Turks from the
Egyptian sultans, 1517; taken by the French under Napoleon Bonaparte;
they entered the city July 23, 1798; captured by the British and Turks,
when 6000 French capitulated, June 27, 1801; massacre of the Mamelukes,
March 1, 1811.
=Caisson.= In gunnery, is a carriage used for conveying ammunition for a
field battery. It is a four-wheeled carriage, consisting of two parts,
one of which is a limber similar to that of a gun-carriage, and
connected in a similar way by a wooden stock and lunette. On the
axle-body of the rear part, and parallel to the stock, are placed three
rails upon which are fastened two ammunition-boxes, one behind the
other, and similar to the one on the limber; so that the caisson has
three ammunition-boxes, which will seat nine cannoneers. The interior
compartments of the ammunition-boxes vary according to the nature of the
ammunition with which they are loaded. In the rear of the last box is
placed a spare wheel-axle of iron, with a chain and toggle at the end of
it. On the rear end of the middle rail is placed a carriage-hook similar
to a pintle-hook, to which the lunette of a gun-carriage whose limber
has become disabled may be attached, and the gun carried off the field.
The caisson has the same turning capacity and mobility as the
gun-carriage, so that it can follow the piece in all its manœuvres, if
necessary. It also carries a spare wheel, spare pole, etc. See ORDNANCE,
CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.
=Cake-powder.= See GUNPOWDER.
=Caking.= To prevent powder caking, the barrels should be taken outside
the magazine and rolled on boards.
=Calabozo.= A town of Venezuela, South America; it was captured by
Bolivar, 1820.
=Calabria= (anc. _Messapia_). A region of Southern Italy; it was
conquered by the Romans 266 B.C. It formed part of the kingdom of the
Ostrogoths under Theodoric, 493; was reconquered (for the Eastern
empire) by Belisarius, 536; subdued by the Lombards and joined the duchy
of Benevento, 572. After various changes, it was conquered by Robert
Guiscard, the Norman, 1058.
=Calabuss.= An early kind of light musket with a wheel-lock. Bourne
mentions it in 1578.
=Calagurris= (now _Calahorra_, Spain). A town of the Vascones and a
Roman municipium in Hispania Tarraconensis, near the Iberus (Ebro),
memorable for its adherence to Sertorius and for its siege by Pompey and
his generals (78 B.C.), in the course of which mothers killed and salted
their children.
=Calais.= A fortified seaport town of France, department of
Pas-de-Calais, on the Strait of Dover. The town and harbor are defended
by a castle and several forts, and can be rendered inaccessible by land
by flooding the adjacent ground, which is low and marshy. It was taken
by Edward III. after a year’s siege in August, 1347; retaken by the Duke
of Guise, January, 1558. It was taken by the Spaniards, April, 1596;
restored, 1598. Louis XVIII. landed here in 1814, after his exile.
=Calasiries=, or =Calosires=. One of the two divisions (the other being
the Hermotybii) of the warrior-caste of Egypt. Their greatest strength
was 250,000 men, and their chief abode in the western part of the Delta.
They formed the king’s body-guard.
=Calatafimi.= A town of Sicily, province of Trapani. Here, in May, 1860,
Garibaldi defeated the royalist troops under Gen. Landi.
=Calatañazor.= A small town of Spain in Old Castile. Here Al-Mansoor
gained a great victory over the Christians in 1001.
=Calatayud.= A town of Spain, province of Saragossa. It was captured
from the Moors by Alfonso of Aragon in 1118; taken from the descendants
of Alfonso by the king of Castile in 1362.
=Calatrava, The Order of.= Was founded in 1158 by Sancho III. of
Castile. For a long period the war against the Moors was carried on
almost entirely by the knights of Calatrava. The knights bear a cross
gules, fleur-de-lised with green, etc.
=Calcans.= The bucklers of the Turks were so called during the Middle
Ages.
=Calcinato.= A town of Italy, on the river Chiese. The Duke of Vendôme
here defeated the Austrians under Count de Reventlau in 1706.
=Calcium-light.= A brilliant light produced by projecting the
oxyhydrogen flame upon a surface of lime. Called also the
Drummond-light.
=Calcutta.= Capital of Bengal and British India; the first settlement of
the English here was made in 1689. The town was attacked and taken by an
army of 70,000 horse and foot and 400 elephants (146 of the British were
crammed into the “Black-Hole prison,” a dungeon about 16 feet square,
from whence 23 only came forth alive next day), June 20, 1756; it was
retaken by Clive, January 2, 1757.
=Caldiero.= A village of Northern Italy. Here, just before the battle of
Arcola, the French under Napoleon I. were repulsed by the Austrians
under Alvinzi in 1796, and in 1805 were beaten under Masséna by the
Archduke Charles.
=Caledonia.= The name given by the Romans to that part of Britain north
of the Wall of Antoninus, and afterwards applied to the whole of the
country now known as Scotland. The inhabitants were called Caledonii
until about the beginning of the 4th century, when they began to be
spoken of as Picts and Scots. In 84 they were defeated under their chief
Galgacus by the Roman general Agricola, and a great part of the country
was overrun by the Romans, who formed many encampments there; but the
country was never reduced to a Roman province.
=Caliano.= A town of the Tyrol, Austria, on the left bank of the Adige.
Here the Venetians were defeated by the Austrians in 1487.
=Caliber=, or =Calibre=. From the Latin _qua librâ_, “what pound,”
applied first to the weight of a bullet, then to the diameter, which
determined the diameter of the gun, now signifies the diameter of the
bore of a cannon or any fire-arm, and is expressed in inches or
fractional parts of an inch, as a 15-inch gun; a Springfield rifle,
caliber .45. Cannon are sometimes also designated by the weight of metal
which they throw, as a 24-pounder.
=Caliber-rule.= A gunner’s calipers; having two scales, to determine the
weight of a ball from its diameter, and conversely.
=Calicut= (now _Kolikod_). A town in Southwestern India; the first
Indian port visited by Vasco de Gama, May 20, 1498. It was seized by
Hyder Ali, 1766, and taken by the English, 1790.
=California= (from the Spanish _Caliente Fornalla_, “hot furnace,” in
allusion to the climate). Was discovered by Cortez in 1537; others say
Cabrillo in 1542; and visited by Sir Francis Drake, who named it New
Albion in 1579. The Spaniards established missionary and military
stations in California, 1698; it became subject to Mexico in 1823;
became independent in 1836; occupied by the army of the United States in
1846; ceded to the United States, 1848; admitted into the Union as a
sovereign State, 1850.
=Caligæ.= A kind of half-boots worn by the Roman soldiers. These
soldiers were sometimes called _Caligati_.