Rouen. Here a battle took place October 10, 1198, between the French and
English, in which the former were completely defeated. Richard I., who
commanded the English, gave as the “parole,” or watch-word of the day,
_Dieu et mon droit_ (God and my right), and ever since the expression
has been the motto to the royal arms of England.
=Gistes.= Pieces of wood which are made use of in the construction of
platforms to batteries, and upon which the madriers or broad planks are
placed.
=Gitschin.= A walled town of Bohemia, about 50 miles northeast of
Prague. It was captured by the Prussians after a severe conflict with
the Austrians, June 29, 1866. Near Gitschin, the same evening, the
crown-prince of Prussia was victor in another engagement.
=Giurgevo.= A town and river-port of Wallachia, opposite Rustchuk, and
about 40 miles southwest from Bucharest, of which it is the port. In
1773 the Turks were defeated here by the Russians, who took it in 1811,
and again in 1829, when its defenses were leveled with the ground. In
1854 the Russians were defeated in its neighborhood by the Turks.
=Givet.= A fortified town of France, in the department of Ardennes, on
the Belgian frontier. This place was fortified by Vauban; the chief
defensive works are Charlemont, the citadel, and the forts Notre Dame
and St. Hilaire.
=Glabrio.= A family name of the _Acilia gens_ at Rome. The Acilii
Glabriones were plebeian, and first appear on the consular annals in 191
B.C., from which time the name frequently occurs to a late period of the
empire. M. Acilius Glabrio, the most distinguished of the family, became
consul in 191 B.C. In that year Rome declared war against Antiochus the
Great, king of Syria. Glabrio was sent against him, and with the aid of
his ally, Philip II., king of Macedonia, he speedily reduced to
obedience the whole district between the Cambunian mountain-chain and
Mount Œta. Antiochus, alarmed at Glabrio’s progress, intrenched himself
strongly at Thermopylæ; but, although his Ætolian allies occupied the
passes of Mount Œta, the Romans broke through his outposts, and cut to
pieces or dispersed his army. Glabrio was engaged in the siege of
Amphissa, when his successor, L. Cornelius Scipio, arrived from Rome and
relieved him from command. He was unanimously granted a triumph on his
return to Rome.
=Glacis.= A slope of earth, usually turfed, which inclines from the
covered way towards the country. Its object is to bring assailants, as
they approach, into a conspicuous line of fire from the parapet of the
fortress, and also to mask the general works of the place.
=Gladiators.= Were men who fought with swords in the amphitheatre and
other places for the amusement of the Roman people. They are said to
have been first exhibited by the Etruscans, and to have had their origin
from the custom of killing slaves and captives at the funeral pyres of
the deceased. The first exhibition of gladiators at Rome occurred in 264
B.C. They were at first confined to public funerals, but afterwards
fought at the funerals of most persons of consequence. Combats of
gladiators were also exhibited at entertainments. They consisted either
of captives, slaves, and condemned malefactors, or of free-born
citizens who fought voluntarily. But it was in the amphitheatre that
the combats of gladiators most frequently took place. Notice of the
exhibition being given beforehand, thousands flocked to witness the
spectacle. When a gladiator was vanquished by his antagonist, his fate
depended upon the people, who by a sign indicated whether they wished
him to be put to death or saved. Shows of gladiators were abolished by
Constantine, but appear, notwithstanding, to have been generally
exhibited till the time of Honorius, by whom they were finally
suppressed.
=Gladsmuir.= A parish in Scotland, in the county of Haddington, in which
the battle of Gladsmuir, or Prestonpans, was fought.
=Glaire.= A broadsword or a falchion fixed on a pike.
=Glais, Militaire= (_Fr._). A military compliment which was paid to the
remains of a deceased general. It consisted in a discharge of ordnance.
It also signifies the funeral procession of a sovereign.
=Glaive.= Sword; a large blade fixed on the end of a pole, whose edge
was on the outside curve; a light lance with a long sharp-pointed head.
Also a knight, fully armed, with his squire. A kind of sword worn by
peers in France in full dress.
=Glaize.= A kind of halbert, so called by the Saxons.
=Glanders.= A contagious and very destructive disease of the mucous
membrane in horses, characterized by a constant discharge of sticky
matter from the nose and an enlargement and induration of the glands
beneath and within the lower jaw.
=Glarus.= A canton in the northeast of Switzerland. In the earliest
times Glarus was reckoned sometimes as a part of Rhœtia, sometimes as a
part of Swabia, and was peopled by German settlers. After various
changes it passed into the possession of the dukes of Austria, but
ultimately secured its independence by the victories of Nafels in 1352
and 1388, when it joined the Swiss Confederation.
=Glastonbury.= A town of England, in Somersetshire, 25 miles from the
city of Bath. It was anciently called Avalonia, or the Isle of Avalon,
and no person whatever, not even a bishop or prince, was allowed to
enter without leave from the abbot, to whom this power was granted by
Canute the Dane. There were 61 abbots of Glastonbury, who sat among the
barons in Parliament, and governed it successively for nearly 600 years.
Richard Withing, the last, was condemned at Wells for refusing to
surrender his abbey to King Henry VIII., and acknowledge his supremacy,
and carried, with two of his monks, on a hurdle, to Tor Hill, a bleak
hill close to the town, where he was hanged in his robes.
=Glatz.= A town of Prussia, capital of Glatz district; built on both
sides of the Neisse, and is strongly fortified. This place surrendered
to the Prussians in 1742, and was taken by the Austrians in 1759, but
restored at the peace of 1763. It was taken by Würtemberg and Bavarian
troops in 1807. The celebrated Baron Trenek was confined in its
fortress, but made his escape by leaping from the walls.
=Glave.= See GLAIVE.
=Glazing Powder.= See GUNPOWDER.
=Glencoe.= A valley of Scotland, in Argyleshire, noted for the military
execution of its unsuspecting inhabitants, the Macdonalds, by a party of
English soldiers, in 1692, in consequence of an order signed by William
III. in council for that purpose, and issued contrary to the faith of a
royal proclamation. Many of the inhabitants had been in arms for James
II. during his attempts to recover the crown of England.
=Glendale, Battle of.= Also known as the battle of Frazier’s Farm, and
White Oak Swamp, and Charles City Cross-roads, Virginia, one of the
“seven days’ contests,” was fought June 30, 1862, between the Army of
the Potomac under Gen. McClellan, on its retreat towards the James
River, and the Confederate forces under Gen. Longstreet. The battle
commenced in the afternoon, and continued with fury well into the night,
the Confederate loss being about 2000 men, and the Union loss about
1500. By next morning McClellan had his whole army in position on
Malvern Hill, and communication with the James River was secured.
=Glissade= (_Fr._). A term formerly applied to the forward or backward
movement of the pike.
=Globe Sight.= A form of front sight used specially on target rifles. It
consists of a pin with a small ball on the end of it, or a disk with a
hole in it. For protection it is set in a tube open at both ends.
=Gloire= (_Fr._). An artificial firework which resembles a large sun.
=Glorious Virgin=, or =St. Mary the Glorious, Order of the=. An order of
knighthood in Venice, founded by Bartholomew of Vicenza in 1262. This
institution was ecclesiastical as well as military; its objects were the
protection of widows and orphans, and the furtherance of the peace of
Italy. The badge was a purple cross between certain stars, and the
costume a white surcoat on a russet cloak. An order of knighthood of St.
Mary the Glorious also existed in Rome in the 17th century, whose
purpose was the suppression of the Barbary corsairs who infested the
Mediterranean.
=Glory, Military.= Honor, reputation, and fame acquired by military
achievements. That precarious splendor which plays around the brows of a
warrior, and has been collected by hard service, extraordinary genius,
and unblemished integrity; but which may desert the greatest hero
through one unfortunate failure, occasioned by the fatality of human
imperfection.
=Gloucester.= A city and the capital of a county of the same name in
England. It became a Roman station under the name of _Colonia Glevium_,
and an important town in Mercia under the Saxons, by whom it was called
_Glean-Ceaster_,--whence its present name. Here the celebrated single
combat between Edmund Ironsides and Canute is said to have taken place.
It was repeatedly visited by William I.; afforded a refuge and support
to Queen Matilda in her contest with Stephen; saw Henry III. crowned,
and Parliaments held under Richard II. and Henry IV., and sided
successfully with the Parliament in the civil war against Charles I.
=Gloucestershire.= A county of England, which, previous to the Roman
invasion, was inhabited by a tribe called the Dobuni; and after that
event, the county, or the greater part of it, was included in the
province named _Flavia Cæsarienes_. From the earliest of the Danish
invasions down to the battle of Tewkesbury, in 1471, and to the civil
wars between the crown and Parliament, Gloucestershire has been the
scene of many and disastrous encounters. There are traces of British,
Saxon, and Danish works in the county.
=Glove.= A cover for the hand, or for the hand and wrist, with a
separate sheath for each finger. _To throw the glove_, an old expression
which formerly meant to challenge to single combat.
=Glückstadt.= A town of the German empire, capital of the duchy of
Holstein, on the Elbe, 32 miles below Hamburg. It was founded in 1620 by
Christian IV. of Denmark, and fortified. During the Thirty Years’ War,
it successfully withstood three sieges; its fortifications were
demolished in 1815.
=Glycerine, Nitro-.= See EXPLOSIVES.
=Glyoxiline.= See EXPLOSIVES.
=Go.= The verb “to go” is variously used in a military sense; as, to
march in a hostile or warlike manner. _To go off_ implies to depart from
any post. _To go on_ is to make an attack. _To go over_ is to revolt.
_To go out_, to go upon any expedition, etc. It was likewise frequently
used to signify the act of fighting a duel; as, he went out with so and
so.
=Goa.= A town of Hindostan, on the Malabar coast. It was formerly the
capital of the Portuguese dominions in India. This place was taken by
the Portuguese under Albuquerque in 1510; and by the English April 2,
1756.
=Gobille= (_Fr._). A small copper ball, a quarter of an inch in
diameter, several of which are put into a revolving cask for the purpose
of more intimately incorporating the ingredients of powder, carcass, and
rocket composition.
=Gobisson=, or =Gambasson= (_Fr._). A quilted and padded dress worn
under the habergeon.
=Godesberg.= A village of Rhenish Prussia, on the left bank of the
Rhine, 4 miles south of Bonn. In 1582, Gebhard, the deposed archbishop,
took refuge here, and intrusted the castle to a Dutch garrison. It was,
however, soon after taken possession of by his successor, on which
occasion it sustained much injury. During the Thirty Years’ War it was
alternately in the possession of the Swedes and the Imperialists, and
was finally almost demolished by the French.
=Godolo.= A market-town in Hungary. It was near here that the combined
armies of Austria under Prince Windischgrätz and Count Jellachich were
defeated in two bloody battles by the Hungarians under Görgei. On the
eve of victory, Governor Kossuth held a conference with the generals
Görgei, Klapka, and Damjanich for laying down the principles of the
famous declaration of independence, issued April 14, 1849. It was this
declaration which served the emperor of Russia as a pretext for the
invasion of Hungary.
=Gohud.= A fortified town of Hindostan, in the territory of Gwalior, or
possessions of the Scindia family. This place was taken from Bheem Singh
by the Mahrattas about 1761. When this nation lost the battle of
Paniput, the rannah of Gohud attempted to shake off their yoke, but was
conquered by Ragoonauth Row in 1766, and compelled to continue
tributary. On a subsequent rupture Gohud was taken by Scindia in 1784.
Relinquished to Scindia by a treaty with Great Britain subsequent to
1804.
=Goito.= A small town in Lombardy, 15 miles northwest from Mantua. In
1630 this place was carried by assault by the Imperialists, who entered
Mantua on the same night, and took it by surprise. During the War of the
Spanish Succession in 1701, it was alternately captured by the allies
and the Imperialists; and in 1796 the French took it, but were expelled,
after a brief tenure, by the Austrians. In 1814, a severe engagement
took place here between the Austrian and Italian troops; and during the
war of independence in 1848, it became the theatre of two other battles
between the same powers, to which it owes its modern celebrity.
=Goladar=, or =Goldar=. An East Indian term signifying a store-keeper,
or store-house keeper.
=Golandaazee=, or =Golandauzee=. The Indian term of an artilleryman.
=Golconda.= A town of Hindostan, strongly fortified by nature and art,
standing on a hill 5 miles northwest from Hyderabad. It was once noted
for its diamonds. Golconda was once the capital of an extensive kingdom
which arose on the dissolution of the Bhamenee dynasty, and was governed
by native Hindoo princes; but being taken by Aurungzebe by treachery in
1687, after a siege of seven months, the whole territory became
incorporated with the empire of Delhi.
=Goldberg.= A town in Prussian Silesia, on an affluent of the Oder, 12
miles southwest from Liegnitz. The French were defeated by the Prussians
near this place in 1813.
=Gold Coast Corps.= A corps in the British service formed of drilled
Africans, and officered from the West India regiments. It is kept up for
the purpose of protecting the possessions of Sierra Leone and Gambia.
=Gold Stick.= A title given to the captain of the gentlemen-at-arms, or
body-guard of the British sovereign, and to colonels of the Life Guards.
When either of the regiments of Life Guards is given to an officer, he
is presented by the sovereign with the gold stick. The colonels of the
two regiments are in attendance on the sovereign alternately month and
month. The one thus on duty is called _gold stick in waiting_; and all
orders relating to the Life Guards are transmitted through him. See
SILVER STICK.
=Golden Fleece.= A celebrated order of knighthood in Austria and Spain,
founded by Philip III., duke of Burgundy and the Netherlands, at Bruges,
January 10, 1429. The order was instituted for the protection of the
Roman Catholic Church, and ranks next after the order of the Garter. The
insignia of the Austrian order are a golden fleece hanging from a gold
and blue enameled flint-stone emitting flame, and borne in its turn by a
ray of fire. On the enameled obverse is inscribed _Pretium laborum non
vile_. The Spanish decoration differs slightly from the Austrian.
=Golden Horde.= A name given to the Mongolian Tartars, who established
an empire in what is now Southeast Russia about 1224, their ruler being
Batou, grandson of Genghis Khan. They invaded Russia, and made Alexander
Newski grand duke in 1252. At the battle of Bielawisch, in 1481, they
were crushed by Ivan III. and the Nogay Tartars.
=Gollette= (_Fr._). A shirt of mail formerly worn by foot-soldiers.
=Gonfalon=, or =Gonfanon=. An ensign or standard; colors.
=Gonfalonier.= A Turkish general and standard-keeper who always precedes
the grand seignor during war.
=Gong.= An Indian and Chinese instrument of percussion, made of a
mixture of metals, which produces a very loud, piercing sound on being
struck by a wooden mallet. It is used by the Chinese as an instrument of
martial music.
=Gong Wallas.= Militia in India; so called from _gong_, a village, and
_wallas_, a man.
=Goniometer.= A general name for angle-measuring instruments.
=Good-conduct Pay.= Given in the British service as a stimulus to
soldiers to conduct themselves with propriety. Soldiers who have not
figured in the defaulters’ book are entitled to extra pay, which goes on
increasing at intervals upon the same condition of “good conduct.” To
mark the soldiers so distinguished, badges are given them in the form of
rings of white lace, worn on the right arm. The receipt of good-conduct
pay uninterruptedly for some years influences the amount of pension.
=Goojerat.= A village in the Punjab, India, the scene of the last stand
made by the Sikh army against the British under Lord Gough, in 1849. In
this action the Sikhs lost 53 guns, and their army of 60,000 men was
entirely broken up and dispersed. The whole of the Punjab then fell
under the British yoke.
=Gordian Knot.= It is said to have been made of the thongs that served
as harness to the wagon of Gordius, a husbandman, afterwards king of
Phrygia. Whosoever loosed this knot, the ends of which were not
discoverable, the oracle declared should be ruler of Persia. Alexander
the Great cut away the knot with his sword until he found the ends of
it, and thus, in a military sense at least, interpreted the oracle, 330
B.C.
=Goree.= A town and small island, or rather rock, off the coast of
Africa, a little more than a mile from Cape Verd. This island was first
occupied by the Dutch, and afterwards taken by the French, to whom it
was finally ceded by the treaty of Nimeguen, 1678. It is now the bulwark
of the possessions of the French in Africa. Goree was taken by the
British in 1758, 1779, 1800, and 1804.
=Gorey.= A town in the southeast of Ireland. Near here the king’s troops
under Col. Walpole were defeated, and their leader slain by the Irish
rebels, June 4, 1798.
=Gorge.= The entrance into any piece of a fortification, which consists
of the distance or space between the inner extremities of the two faces;
as, between the faces of a half-moon, redoubt, bastion, redan, lunette,
etc.
=Gorge, Demi-.= See DEMI-GORGE.
=Gorge of a Bastion.= In fortification, is usually an open space between
the extremities of the flanks of the bastion. The larger this gorge is,
the better is the defense; for when the ruined bastion is about to fall
by siege into the hands of the enemy, the defenders can construct
defensive works or dig small ditches in the gorge of the abandoned
bastion. Such resistance sometimes drives the besiegers to the necessity
of battering in breach the curtain.
=Gorge of Mountains.= Is the passage, more or less compressed, between
two mountains, which is used as a passage-way into valleys. Gorges are
important military points. If they lead to an intrenched camp, it is
necessary to fortify them, and there post grand guards; these positions
are the principal theatres for affairs of posts.
=Gorged.= In heraldry, when an animal is represented with a crown round
its neck, it is said to be gorged.
=Gorgerin= (_Fr._). In ancient times, that part of the armor which
covered the neck of a man. Hence our word _gorget_.
=Gorget= (Ital. _gorgietta_, from _gorga_, a throat). That part of
ancient armor which defended the neck. Also a crescent-shaped ornament
formerly worn by military officers on the breast.
=Gorgons.= In military antiquity, a warlike female nation of Lybia, in
Africa, who had frequent quarrels with another nation of the same sex,
called _Amazons_.
=Gothard, St.= The pass of St. Gothard is one of the best and most
frequented routes across the Alps. On the northern slope is the
celebrated Devil’s Bridge across the Ruess. The French and Russians had
several combats here in 1799.
=Gothland.= An island in the Baltic Sea. It was conquered by the
Teutonic knights, 1397-98; given up to the Danes, 1524; to Sweden, 1645;
conquered by the Danes, 1677, and restored to Sweden, 1679.
=Goths.= A warlike nation that inhabited the country between the
Caspian, Pontus, Euxine, and Baltic Seas. They entered Mœsia, took
Philippopolis, massacring thousands of its inhabitants; defeated and
killed the emperor Decius, 251; but were defeated by Claudius, 320,000
being slain. Aurelian ceded Dacia to them in 272; but they long troubled
the empire. After the destruction of the Roman empire by the Heruli, the
_Ostrogoths_, under Theodoric, became masters of the greater part of
Italy, where they retained their dominion till 553, when they were
finally conquered by Narses, Justinian’s general. The _Visigoths_
settled in Spain, and founded a kingdom, which continued until the
country was subdued by the Saracens.
=Gotthard, St.= Near the river Raab, Hungary. Here the Turks under the
grand vizier Kupriuli were totally defeated by the Imperialists and
their allies, commanded by Montecuculli, August 1, 1664. Peace followed
this great victory.
=Goudrons= (_Fr._). Small fascines, or fagots, which are well steeped in
wax, pitch, and glue, and then are lighted for the purpose of setting
fire to beams, planks, traverses, galleries, pontons, etc. They are
likewise used in various shapes and ways, to convey light into the
ditches, or upon the ramparts.
=Goujat= (_Fr._). A soldier’s boy. It likewise signifies an ignorant,
good-for-nothing fellow.
=Gourdin= (_Fr._). A flat stick, two fingers in breadth, which was used
by the French to punish galley-slaves.
=Government.= The Constitution of the United States provides that
Congress shall make rules for the government and regulation of armies.
By government is understood not only the body of fundamental laws of a
state, but also the body of persons charged with the management of the
executive power of a country; direction, power or authority which rules
a community; administration; rule; management. Government of the
military is that branch of the code which embraces the creation and
regulation of the military hierarchy, or the gradual distribution of
inferior authority. The power of making rules of government is that of
_supreme command_, and from this living principle proceed the
localization of troops, their organization and distribution; rules for
rewards and punishments; and generally, all rules of government and
_regulation_ whatsoever, which the legislature may judge necessary to
maintain an efficient and well-disciplined army. All authority over the
land forces of the United States must, therefore, be derived from
Congress. For, although the President is the commander-in-chief, yet his
functions, as such, must be regulated by Congress, under the 17th clause
of Sec. 8 of the Constitution, as well as under the general authority of
Congress to make rules for the government and regulation of the land
forces. The President cannot be divested of power which Congress may
assign to any inferior military commander, because the authority of the
greater includes that of the less. But all the authority over the land
and naval forces, save the _appointment_ of the commander-in-chief,
rests with Congress, and no authority can be exercised not delegated by
Congress, except such as may be fairly deduced from powers given for the
effective discharge of the duties annexed to his office.
=Government’s Island.= See ROCK ISLAND.
=Governor.= An officer placed by royal commission in the military
command of a fortress, not only over the garrison but over the
inhabitants. In time of war it is an office of great responsibility, and
at all times requires considerable experience and military information.
Also, in the United States, one who is invested with supreme authority
in a State.