of Rome. It was founded by the Phœnicians, and was one of the latest
settlements made by them on the African coast of the Mediterranean,
about the middle of the 9th century B.C. No record of the early history
of Carthage has been preserved. First alliance of Carthaginians and
Romans, 509 B.C.; the Carthaginians in Sicily were defeated at Himera by
Gelo, 480 B.C.; they took Agrigentum, 406 B.C., and were defeated by
Agathocles, 310 B.C. The first Punic war began (which lasted
twenty-three years) in 264 B.C., and ended in 241 B.C. Hamilcar Barcas
was sent into Spain, and took with him his son, the famous Hannibal, 237
B.C. Hannibal conquered Spain as far as the Iberus, 219 B.C. The second
Punic war began (which lasted seventeen years) in 218 B.C., and ended in
201 B.C. The third Punic war commenced 149 or 150 B.C.; Carthage taken
and burned by order of the senate, 146 B.C. A colony settled at Carthage
by C. Gracchus, 122 B.C.; its rebuilding planned by Julius Cæsar, 46
B.C., and executed by his successors; it was taken by Genseric the
Vandal in 439; retaken by Belisarius, 533; taken and destroyed by
Hassan, the Saracenic governor of Egypt, 698.
=Carthage.= The capital of Jasper Co., Mo., on Spring River. Near here,
on July 5, 1861, an engagement took place between some of Gen. Lyon’s
troops under Col. Sigel, and a superior force of Confederates under Gen.
Rains and Col Parsons. The Union loss was 13 killed and 21 wounded.
=Carthoun.= The ancient cannon royal, carrying a 66-pound ball, with a
point-blank range of 185 paces, and an extreme one of about 2000. It was
12 feet long and of 8¹⁄₂ inches diameter of bore.
=Cartouch.= A roll or case of paper, etc., holding a charge for a
fire-arm.
=Cartouch.= In gunnery, a case of wood, about 3 inches thick at the
bottom, bound about with marline, holding about 400 musket-balls,
besides 8 or 10 iron balls of a pound each, to be discharged from a
howitzer, for the defense of a pass, etc. It also implies an article
made of leather, to sling over the shoulder of the gunner, who therein
carries the ammunition from the tumbril for the service of the
artillery, when at exercise in the field.
=Cart-piece.= An early battering cannon mounted on a peculiar cart.
=Cartridge.= _For cannon_, is the powder charge and its case. The case
is a cylindrical bag of flannel, wildbore, or serge, in which the charge
is placed. The mouth is closed by tying with twine, forming the _choke_,
which is always turned towards the muzzle when the gun is charged. For
chambered pieces the mouth of the cartridge-bag is closed with a
_cartridge-block_ to give it a proper form. For some services the
cartridge is attached to the projectile, in others it is carried
separately. See ORDNANCE, AMMUNITION FOR.
For _small-arms_, is the complete charge when the powder and lead are in
the same case; if separate, it applies only to the powder and its case.
A case containing powder only is called a _blank cartridge_.
Cartridge-cases for military small-arms were formerly made of paper. In
loading the gun the case was torn and the powder and ball put in
separately. By using an inflammable paper the cartridge was afterwards
used entire, especially in pistols and breech-loaders. Paper cases made
very strong and reinforced by metallic heads are still much used in
breech-loading shot-guns. Linen or cloth cases were also used at one
period.
The introduction of breech-loaders into the military service has led to
the universal adoption of _metallic cartridges_. The cases are cylinders
of copper or brass, closed at the breech end, and holding both powder
and bullet, the latter being retained in the case by a slight crimp. A
small quantity of fulminate in the base inflames the powder upon being
struck by the firing-pin. England is behind all other nations in the use
of the _Boxer cartridge_, the case of which is made by a _wrapping_ of
thin sheet-brass. In the manufacture of metallic cartridges the United
States leads the world. Millions were supplied the Turks in their late
war with Russia by the Winchester Arms Company, of New Haven, Conn.
Metallic cartridge are _reloading_ and _single fire_. _Reloading_
cartridges have an external primer, which can be renewed for successive
loadings. The _single fire_ have the fulminate inside the base, and
cannot readily be reloaded. The copper cartridges for the U. S. service
rifle, made at Frankford Arsenal, Pa., are of this latter class.
=Cartridge-bag.= See CARTRIDGE.
=Cartridge-bags.= See ORDNANCE, AMMUNITION FOR, AMMUNITION FOR FIELD
SERVICE.
=Cartridge-belt.= A belt for carrying small-arm cartridges. A form
extensively used in the Western United States, called the
_prairie-belt_, has a number of leather or canvas loops sewed on the
outside in which the cartridges are stuck.
=Cartridge-block.= See ORDNANCE, AMMUNITION FOR, STRAPPED AMMUNITION.
=Cartridge, Bottle.= A metallic cartridge, so called from its shape. It
contains a larger charge than the ordinary cylindrical cartridge for the
same caliber. The cartridge used in the Martini-Henry is of this shape.
=Cartridge-box.= A leathern case, with cells for cartridges, which are
protected by a flap of leather. This box is suspended by a leathern
strap, which passes over the left shoulder and under the right arm of
the wearer, or is suspended from the waist-belt, as in the U. S.
service.
=Cartridge, Buck-and-ball.= A cartridge containing a round musket-ball
and 3 buckshot, formerly much used in smooth-bore muskets.
=Cartridge, Buckshot.= Containing a charge of buckshot. Formerly used in
muskets, but now obsolete for military purposes.
=Cartridge, Centre Primed.= A metallic cartridge in which the fulminate
is placed in the centre of the cartridge head or base.
=Cartridge, Multi-ball.= A metallic cartridge recently proposed by Capt.
E. M. Wright, U. S. Ordnance Corps, in which two or more bullets or
pieces of lead are substituted for the ordinary bullet, with the idea of
doing more execution at short ranges.
=Cartridge-paper.= A stout paper formerly used in making military
cartridges.
=Cartridge, Reloading.= See CARTRIDGE.
=Cartridge, Rim-fire.= A metallic cartridge in which the fulminate is
placed in the rim surrounding the head. This rim being struck at any
point, explodes the powder. Formerly much used in pistols and magazine
guns. These cartridges are not _reloading_.
=Cartridge, Single-fire.= See CARTRIDGE.
=Casale=, or =Casal=. A town of Piedmont, the capital of a province of
the same name, on the river Po. Here the French defeated the Spaniards
in 1640. In May, 1859, an Austrian reconnoitring party, who had advanced
from Vercelli, were here repulsed by the Sardinian Bersaglieri
(riflemen).
=Casal Nova.= A village in Spain, where a corps of Lord Wellington’s
army had an affair with the French troops under Marshal Masséna, during
their retreat from Portugal on March 14, 1811.
=Cascabel.= In gunnery, is the projection in rear of the breech, and is
composed of the _knob_, the _neck_, and the _fillet_. It is used to
facilitate the handling of the piece in mounting and dismounting it, and
moving it when off its carriage.
=Cascans.= In fortification, are holes in the form of wells, serving as
entrances to galleries, or giving vent to the enemy’s mines.
=Case-hardening.= The process of converting the surface of iron into
steel. Formerly much used in making small-arms. The parts to be
hardened, such as the _hammer_, _tumbler_, etc., were inclosed in an
airtight iron box, filled with charcoal, bones, particles of horn, or
other carbonizing substance. The box and its contents were then
submitted to prolonged heat. The process is that of incomplete
cementation (which see).
=Casemate.= Was originally a loop-holed gallery excavated in a bastion,
from which the garrison could fire on an enemy who had obtained
possession of the ditch without risk of loss to themselves. The term was
afterwards applied to a bomb-proof vault in a fortress, which is
designed for the protection of the garrison, without direct reference to
the annoyance of the enemy. A casemated battery consists of such a vault
or vaults, with openings for the guns.
=Casemate Carriage.= A gun-carriage used in casemates. See ORDNANCE,
CARRIAGES FOR.
=Casemate Gun.= A gun mounted in a casemate.
=Casemates Nouvelles= (_Fr._). Arched batteries which are constructed
under all the openings of revetments or ramparts. The different forts of
Cherbourg are defended by these casemates; the works erected around
Dover Castle come likewise under this description; the works at Fort
Columbus, N. Y., are erected on the same principle.
=Casemate Truck.= Consists of a stout frame of wood mounted upon three
barbette traverse wheels. The front wheel is pivoted so as to change
direction. It is used to move cannon and heavy weights through posterns
and along casemate galleries.
=Casernes.= In fortification, are buildings for the soldiers of the
garrison to live in; generally erected between the houses of fortified
towns and the rampart. In a general acceptation, casernes signify
barracks.
=Case-shot.= In the U. S. service, a case-shot is a hollow cast-iron
projectile filled with musket-balls. The projectile has thinner walls
than the ordinary shell. To fill it a tube is inserted in the fuze-hole,
the balls are introduced, and melted sulphur or rosin is poured in to
fill up the interstices and keep the balls in position. When this has
solidified the tube is withdrawn, leaving a vacant space for a small
bursting charge. This description answers for the two kinds used,--the
spherical case for the 12-pounder smooth-bore and the oblong case for
rifle guns. Case-shot should be burst in the air a short distance in
front of the troops fired upon. Time-fuzes are, therefore, used with
both; the Bormann-fuze for the former, and the paper fuze for the
latter. In Europe this ammunition is called _shrapnel_, from the
inventor. There the term case-shot is applied to what is called in the
United States _canister_,--that is, a thin case filled with bullets,
used for short range without fuzes, the case being disrupted in the gun.
=Cashier.= To dismiss from the service with ignominy. An officer thus
dismissed is understood to be excluded from the service thereafter. A
dismissed officer may be restored; a cashiered officer is deemed
unworthy of the indulgence.
=Cashmere.= A province of Northern India; was subdued by the Mohammedans
in the 16th century; by the Afghans in 1752; by the Sikhs in 1819; and
ceded to the British in 1846, who gave it to the Maharajah Gholab-Singh,
with a nominal sovereignty.
=Casing.= The cast-iron case of converted guns (which see).
=Casks, Raft of.= See RAFT OF CASKS.
=Casque=, or =Cask=. A piece of defensive armor, to cover and protect
the head and neck in battle; a helmet.
=Cassano.= A town of Lombardy, 16 miles from Milan, on the river Adda.
In 1259, Eccelino Romana, chief of the Ghibelines, was here defeated and
killed. In 1705 the French under the Duke of Vendôme gained a victory
over the Imperialists, commanded by Prince Eugène; and in 1799, Suwarrow
inflicted a defeat on the French under Moreau.
=Cassel.= A city of Germany, 90 miles northeast from
Frankfort-on-the-Main. It was the capital of Westphalia under Napoleon
I.; besieged by the allies in 1761; taken by the allies November 1,
1762; captured by the Russians in September, 1813.
=Cassel.= A town of France, department of the North. On April 11, 1677,
the Marshal de Luxemburg near here defeated the Prince of Orange, who
lost 4000 dead and 3000 prisoners. The French occupied Cassel, June 19,
1707.
=Casse-tête= (_Fr._). A mace or war-club, made of very hard wood, used
formerly in savage warfare.
=Cassine.= A small house, especially in the open country; applied also
to a house standing alone, where soldiers may lie hid, or may take a
position.
=Cas, St.= A village on the coast of France, in the department Côte du
Nord. Here, in 1758, a landing of the British under Lord Cavendish was
repulsed, and 100 years afterwards a column was inaugurated to
commemorate the event.
=Castalla.= A town of Spain, 24 miles northwest of Alicante. The
Spaniards under O’Donnell were here defeated by the French under Delort,
August 21, 1812.
=Casteggio.= A town of Northern Italy, in the division of Alessandria.
On June 9, 1800, the battle of Montebello was gained by the French under
Lannes over the Austrians in the neighborhood of this place. On May 20,
1859, another engagement was fought here between the Austrians under
Count Stadion and the French and Sardinian troops, in which the latter
were victorious.
=Castel-a-Mare.= A seaport town of Sicily. Richelieu defeated the
Spanish fleet here in 1648; and in 1799 a battle was fought between the
French under Marshal Macdonald and the allied English and Neapolitans.
=Castel Fidardo.= Near Ancona, Central Italy. Near here Gen. Lamoricière
and the papal army of 11,000 men were totally defeated by the Sardinian
general Cialdini, September 18, 1860. Lamoricière with a few horsemen
fled to Ancona, then besieged; on September 29 he and the garrison
surrendered.
=Castellan.= A governor or constable of a castle.
=Castellated.= Adorned with turrets and battlements, like a castle.
=Castellation.= The act of fortifying a house and rendering it a castle.
Now obsolete.
=Castelnaudary.= A town of France, department of Aude. It suffered
greatly in the wars of the Middle Ages, and under its walls the Duke of
Montmorency was made prisoner by the royal troops in 1632.
=Castiglione.= A fortified town of Lombardy, 22 miles northwest from
Mantua. Here, in 1796, the French under Augereau gained a decisive
victory over the Austrians. The French commander was afterwards made, on
account of this battle, Duc de Castiglione. In 1859 the battle of
Solferino also occurred in its neighborhood.
=Castillejos.= In Northern Africa; here, in January, 1860, was fought
the first decisive action of the war between Spain and Morocco. Gen.
Prim, after a vigorous resistance, repulsed the Moors under Muley Abbas,
and advanced towards Tetuan.
=Castillon.= A town of France, in the department of Gironde. It is
celebrated as the scene of the battle between the forces of Henry VI. of
England and Charles VII. of France, in July, 1453, in which the English
met with a signal defeat, their leader, the Earl of Shrewsbury, and his
son being slain.
=Casting.= The rejection of horses deemed unfit for further cavalry use.
=Casting Cannon.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF.
=Cast Iron.= See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.
=Castle.= A name given to a building constructed as a dwelling, as well
as for the purpose of repelling attack. The name is especially given to
buildings of this kind constructed in Europe in the Middle Ages, and
which were generally surrounded by a moat, foss, or ditch.
=Castlebar.= A town of Ireland. French troops under Humbert landed at
Killala, and, assisted by Irish insurgents here, compelled the king’s
troops under Lake to retreat, August 27, 1798; but were compelled to
surrender at Ballinamuck.
=Castlecomer.= A town of Ireland; in the rebellion of 1798 this town was
attacked by the rebels, and nearly destroyed by fire.
=Castle-guard.= The guard which defends a castle.
=Castles.= In heraldry, castles are often given as charges in the
shields of persons who have reduced them, or been the first to mount
their walls in an assault.
=Cast-metal Gun.= See ORDNANCE, CAST-METAL CANNON.
=Castrametation.= Is the art of laying out camps, and of placing the
troops so that the different arms of the service shall afford support to
each other in the best manner.
=Cast Steel.= See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.
=Casualties.= In the military service, is a word which includes all
losses in numerical strength of officers by death, dismissal, or
resignation, and of enlisted men by death, desertion, or discharge; also
all losses in fighting strength caused by wounds.
=Casus Belli.= A Latin phrase used with reference to any event, or
complication between sovereign powers, which gives rise to a declaration
of war.
=Catafalco.= In ancient military architecture, a scaffold of timber,
decorated with sculpture, paintings, etc., for supporting the coffin of
a deceased hero during the funeral solemnity.
=Catalans.= The inhabitants of Catalonia, Spain. Their language,
costume, and habits are quite distinct from those of the rest of their
countrymen. In energy, industry, and intelligence they greatly surpass
the rest of the Spaniards. They were considered brave warriors.
=Catalaunian Plain.= The ancient name of the wide plain surrounding
Châlons-sur-Marne, in the old province of Campagne, France, celebrated
as the field of battle where the West Goths, and the forces under the
Roman general Aetius, gained a great victory over Attila in 451. A wild
tradition tells that three days after the great fight, the ghosts of the
fallen myriads appeared on the plain, and renewed the conflict.
=Catalonia.= An old province of Western Spain, was settled by the Goths
and Alani about 409; conquered by the Saracens, 712; recovered by Pepin
and Charlemagne; united with Aragon in 1137. It formed part of the
Spanish marches and the territory of the Count of Barcelona.
=Catania= (anc. _Catana_). A town near Mount Etna, Sicily. The ancient
city was founded by the Phœnicians or Greeks, and was nearly as old as
Rome. It was taken by the Athenian general Nicias about 413 B.C., and
was an important city under the Romans. In August, 1802, the town was
held by Garibaldi and his volunteers, in opposition to the Italian
government. He was captured on August 29.
=Cataphract.= The old Roman term for a horseman in complete armor.
=Cataphracta.= In the ancient military art, a piece of heavy defensive
armor, formed of cloth or leather, fortified with iron scales or links,
wherewith sometimes only the breast, sometimes the whole body, and
sometimes the horse too, was covered.
=Catapult= (Lat. _catapulta_). An engine of war used by the ancients,
somewhat resembling a cross-bow. In the catapult a string or rope,
suddenly freed from great tension, gave a powerful impulse to an arrow
placed in a groove. There were great catapults, fixed upon a scaffold
with wheels, which were used in sieges, and small ones, carried in the
hand, which were employed in the field.
=Cataract.= A portcullis.
=Catawba Indians.= A tribe of aborigines who formerly inhabited the
Carolinas. A remnant still exists on a reservation on the Catawba River.
See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Cateau Cambresis.= In Northern France, where on April 2 and 3, 1559,
peace was concluded between Henry II. of France, Philip II. of Spain,
and Elizabeth of England. France ceded Savoy, Corsica, and nearly 200
forts in Italy and the Low Countries to Philip.
=Caterva.= In ancient military writings, a term used in speaking of the
Gaulish or Celtiberian armies, denoting a body of 6000 armed men. The
word is also used to denote a party of soldiers in disarray; in
opposition to _cohort_ or _turma_, which signify in good order.
=Cat-o’-nine-tails.= An instrument of punishment formerly used to flog
offenders in the army, consisting of nine pieces of line or cord
fastened to a piece of thick rope, and having three knots at intervals.
=Cattaro.= A fortified town of Dalmatia, Austria, at the bottom of the
Gulf of Cattaro. This town was captured by the British in 1813, and till
1814 belonged successively to Austria and France.
=Catti.= An ancient German tribe, attacked but not subdued by the
Romans; absorbed by the Franks in the 3d century.
=Caudine Forks.= Two narrow mountain-gorges or defiles near the town of
Caudium, in ancient Samnium. They are celebrated in connection with a
humiliating disaster which the Roman army suffered in 321 B.C.
=Caution.= An explanation given previous to the word of command, by
which soldiers are called to attention, that they may execute any given
movement with unanimity and correctness.
=Cavalcade.= In military history, implies a pompous procession of
horsemen, equipages, etc., by way of parade, to grace a triumph, public
entry, or the like.
=Cavalier.= Originally meant any horse-soldier, but in English history
is the name given to the party which adhered to King Charles I., in
opposition to the Roundheads, or friends of the Parliament.
=Cavalier.= In fortification, is a defense-work constructed on the
terre-plein, or level ground of a bastion. It rises to a height varying
from 8 to 12 feet above the rampart, and has a parapet about 6 feet
high. Its uses are to command any rising ground held by the enemy within
cannon-shot, and to guard the curtain, or plain wall between two
bastions, from being enfiladed. A cavalier battery--used in siege
operations--is a battery of which the terre-plein, or platform of earth
on which the gun stands, is above the ordinary level of the ground.
=Cavalot.= An obsolete cannon carrying a ball weighing one pound.
=Cavalry.= That part of a military force which consists of troops that
serve on horseback. In European armies cavalry are generally classed as
heavy, medium, and light,--cuirassiers and dragoons, lancers, hussars,
etc. In the U. S. service all mounted soldiers are simply called
cavalry.
=Caveating.= In fencing, implies a motion whereby a person in an instant
brings his sword, which was presented to one side of his adversary, to
the opposite side.
=Cavesson.= A sort of nose-band of leather or iron, which is put on the
nose of a horse, to assist in breaking or training him.
=Cavin.= In military affairs, implies a natural hollow, sufficiently
capacious to lodge a body of troops, and facilitate their approach to a
place. If it be within musket-shot, it is a place of arms ready made,
and serves for opening the trenches, free from the enemy’s shot.
=Cavriana.= A village of Northern Italy. The tower of this place formed
one of the principal positions of the centre of the Austrian army, from
which it was driven by the Franco-Sardinian forces, under Napoleon III.
and Victor Emmanuel, at the battle of Solferino, June 24, 1859.
=Cawnpoor=, or =Cawnpore=. A town of Hindostan, on the right bank of the
Ganges. It is an important British military station. It was garrisoned
during the mutiny in June, 1857, by native troops under Sir Hugh
Wheeler; these troops broke out into revolt. Nana Sahib, who had long
lived on friendly terms with the British, joined the rebels; he took
Cawnpoor, June 26, after a three weeks’ siege, and in spite of a treaty,
massacred great numbers of the British, without respect to age or sex,
in the most cruel manner. Gen. Havelock defeated Nana Sahib July 16, at
Futtehpore, and retook Cawnpoor, July 17. Sir Colin Campbell defeated
the rebels here on December 6, following.
=Cayenne.= French Guiana, South America; settled by the French, 1604-35.
It afterwards came successively into the hands of the English (1654),
French, and Dutch. The last were expelled by the French in 1677. Cayenne
was taken by the British, January 12, 1809, but was restored to the
French in 1814.
=Cedar Creek.= In Northern Virginia. While encamped on this creek on the
morning of October 19, 1864, the army of Gen. Sheridan was suddenly
attacked before daylight by the Confederate troops under Gen. Early, its
left flank turned, and the whole line driven back in confusion about 4
miles, with the loss of 24 pieces of artillery. Gen. Sheridan, who was
at Winchester on his return from Washington, on hearing of this
disaster, hastened to the scene of action, reformed his corps, and
awaited the attack of the enemy, which was made and handsomely repulsed
about 1 P.M. About 3 P.M. Sheridan attacked the enemy and completely
routed him, recovering his own artillery and capturing 30 pieces
besides, thus converting into a brilliant victory what threatened to be
a great disaster. About 2000 prisoners and 300 wagons and ambulances
fell into Sheridan’s hands, and many of his own men who had been taken
prisoners in the morning were recovered.
=Cedar Mountain.= A sugar-loaf eminence about 2 miles west of Mitchell’s
Station, Culpeper Co., Va. On August 9, 1862, a sanguinary conflict took
place here between the Confederate forces under Gens. Jackson and Ewell,
and part of Gen. Pope’s army under Gen. Banks, night putting an end to
the contest. The Federals being largely outnumbered, suffered severely,
and fell back about a mile, but without disorder. Their loss was about
1500, 300 of whom were taken prisoners. A considerable quantity of
ammunition, stores, etc., also fell into the hands of the Confederates.
=Celeres.= The life-guards which attended Romulus in the infancy of
Rome, were so called. They were laid aside by Numa Pompilius. Celeres
were properly distinguished from other troops, by being lightly armed
and acting always on foot.
=Cells.= Places of solitary confinement in which soldiers are placed, as
punishment for serious crimes.