half south of the City Hall. It belongs to the United States, and is
strongly fortified by Fort Columbus, Castle Williams, and a battery
commanding the entrance to Buttermilk Channel, the channel which
separates the island from Brooklyn. The ordnance department has a depot
here. It is now the headquarters of the military division of the
Atlantic.
=Gowrie Conspiracy.= One of the most singular events in the history of
Scotland took place in August, 1600. John Ruthven, earl of Gowrie, and
others entered into a conspiracy to possess themselves of the king’s
(James VI.) person, to convey him to England and to administer the
government in the interest of the Presbyterian leaders at home. They
succeeded in enticing the king to the Gowrie House at Perth, and after
they had held him as a prisoner were almost successful in dismissing his
attendants without exciting suspicion; but the king crying out for
assistance his voice was instantly recognized; his attendants hastened
to the rescue, and quickly dispatched the earl and his brother
Alexander.
=Grade.= Synonymous with rank; peculiarly applicable to the different
ranks among officers, beginning from an ensign to the commander-in-chief
of an army.
=Gradivus.= A surname of Mars (which see).
=Grain.= See FORAGE.
=Grainoir=, or =Grénoir= (_Fr._). A term used in the French artillery to
signify a sort of sieve, in which there are small round holes for moist
powder to be passed through, in order to make the grains perfectly
round.
=Gran.= A town of Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube, 25 miles
northwest of Pesth. It is one of the oldest towns of Hungary, was
formerly fortified, and has undergone assaults and sieges almost without
number.
=Granada.= A city of Southern Spain, founded by the Moors in the 8th
century. It formed at first part of the kingdom of Cordova. In 1236,
Mohammed-al-Hamar made it the capital of his new kingdom of Granada,
which was subjugated by the “great captain,” Gonsalvo de Cordova, in
1492. Granada was taken by Marshal Soult in 1810, and held till 1812.
=Granada, New.= The name formerly given to the republic now known as the
United States of Colombia (which see).
=Grand.= This word is frequently used, both in French and English, to
indicate superiority of position, force, or display; as _grand master_,
_grand army_, _grand march_, _grand parade_, etc.
=Grand Division.= A battalion or regiment being told off by two
companies to each division, is said to be told off in grand divisions;
hence, grand-division firing is when the battalion fires by two
companies at the same time, and is commanded by one officer only.
=Grand Guard.= The main guard of an army; the guard covering the army or
camp from an attack by the enemy; other guards are called _interior
guards_.
=Grand Master.= The title of the head of the military orders, the
Hospitallers, the Templars, and the Teutonic knights.
=Grand Master of Cross-bows.= The _personnel_ of the French artillery
was for a long time prior to 1420 retained, together with the engineers,
under the general direction of an officer who was titled “grand master
of cross-bows.” In 1420 the master-general of artillery was made
independent of this officer.
=Grand Rounds.= See ROUNDS.
=Grand Tactics.= See TACTICS.
=Granicus.= A river in Northwestern Asia Minor, near which, on May 22,
334 B.C., Alexander the Great signally defeated the Persians. The
Macedonian troops (30,000 foot and 5000 horse) crossed the Granicus in
the face of the Persian army (600,000 foot and 20,000 horse). Sardis
capitulated, Miletus and Halicarnassus were taken by storm, and other
great towns submitted to the conqueror.
=Granson=, or =Grandson=. A town of Switzerland, canton of Valid, on the
southwest shore of the Lake of Neufchâtel, 20 miles north of Lausanne.
Near it the Burgundians under Charles the Rash were defeated by the
Swiss with great loss, March 8, 1476.
=Granville.= A fortified seaport of France, in the department of La
Manche, on a rocky peninsula 12 miles northwest from Avranches. In 1695
this place was burned by the English, and in 1793 it was besieged by the
Vendeans.
=Grape-shot.= A certain number of iron balls, usually nine, put together
by means of two cast-iron plates, two rings, and one pin and nut. Each
plate has on the inside three beds for the shot, of a depth equal to
half the thickness of the plate and of the form of a spherical segment,
the curvature of which is the same as that of the shot. An iron pin
riveted to the bottom iron plate passes through the centre and also
through the top plate, where the whole is secured by a nut and screw. In
the United States the use of these shot for field-pieces has been
discontinued, canister answering the purpose. (See CANISTER-SHOT.) In
the old pattern, the balls were placed in tiers around an iron pin
attached to an iron tampion at the bottom, put into a canvas bag, and
then quilted around with a strong cord.
=Grapple.= To seize; to contend in close fight; to attach one’s self as
if by a grapple, as in wrestling; hence to _grapple with_, to enter into
contest with, resolutely and courageously.
=Grappling.= A laying fast hold of; also, that by which anything is
seized and held.
=Grasp.= The handle of a sword, and of an oar. Also, the small part of
the stock of a musket.
=Grass-cutters.= Followers of cavalry regiments in India, whose duty it
is to go forth and collect green forage for the horses.
=Grassin= (_Fr._). An ancient name for militia composed of light troops.
=Gratification.= In a general acceptation of the term, this word meant,
among the French, certain rewards which generals gave to the troops,
after a severe engagement, in testimony of their valor and good conduct.
These rewards were distributed according to rank. This custom was
prevalent in the most ancient times. By gratification was likewise meant
the accumulation of a certain sum, which was deposited for the specific
purpose of burying a deceased soldier. This term also meant a certain
allowance in money allotted to prisoners of war.
=Gratuity.= An allowance to officers of the British service in the
Indian army, varying with their rank. This and other allowances, such as
batta, tentage, etc., had been granted for the purpose of augmenting an
officer’s emoluments in India, without giving him a claim to a higher
rate of net paper when on furlough in England. Gratuities are allowed to
officers in the French service at the beginning of a campaign.
=Gravelines.= A small fortified town and seaport of France, in the
department of Nord, 12 miles southwest of Dunkirk. Here Count d’Egmont
obtained a victory over the French army commanded by Marshal de Thermes
in 1558. Ten years later, it was taken by Louis XIV., who had it
fortified by Vauban.
=Gravelotte, Battle of.= Also called the battle of Rézonville, the
bloodiest battle of the Franco-German war, took place August 18, 1870.
It was gained by the German armies, commanded by the king in person,
after twelve hours’ hard fighting. The most desperate struggle took
place on the slopes over Gravelotte, which the Germans gained by
nightfall, after repeated charges, the fortune of the day being long in
suspense. But the right of the French had been outflanked, they fell
back fighting to the last, and retired under cover of Metz. The French
are said to have lost 19,000, including officers and men, besides a
large number of prisoners; and the Germans, 25,000.
=Graveurs= (_Fr._). Persons employed and paid by the founders of cannon
for repairing damaged pieces of artillery. Some individual, however, was
distinguished by the name of _graveur de l’artillerie_ (engraver to the
artillery), and was permitted by the grand master of the ordnance to
exhibit over his shop door the arms of the royal artillery.
=Gravimetric Density of Gunpowder.= Is the weight of a measured
quantity.
=Gravity.= Is the tendency of all bodies towards the centre of the
earth. The force of gravity is in the inverse proportion to the square
of the body’s distance from the centre of the earth. The specific
gravity of a body is the ratio of the weight of a body to that of an
equal volume of some other body assumed as a standard, usually pure
distilled water at a certain temperature for solids and liquids, and air
for gases.
=Graze.= The point at which a shot strikes and rebounds from earth or
water. _Grazing-fire_, that which sweeps close to the surface it
defends.
=Great Britain.= See BRITAIN, GREAT.
=Great-coat.= A soldier’s overcoat is so called.
=Great Fortification.= One of the divisions of the first systems of
Vauban. It consists in a fortification whose exterior side is from 185
to 260 toises, or from 370 to 520 yards, and is seldom adopted but
towards a river or a marsh.
=Great Radius.= In fortification, the whole oblique radius.
=Greaves.= Were a kind of armor for the legs, worn both by the Greek and
Roman soldiers; the latter having adopted them from the former. They
were made of brass, copper, tin, or other metals. The sides were closed
about the ankles with buttons of gold, silver, etc. This kind of
defensive armor was at first peculiar to the Grecians. The Etruscans had
them, apparently of rough hides, fastened behind by a single ligature
near the middle of the calf; these subsequently gave way to buskins.
Servius Tullius introduced the Etruscan greaves among the Romans; but
from the time of the republic the word _ochrea_ applied to the laced-up
boots, which succeeded them.
=Greece=, or =Hellas, Kingdom of=. The ancient Græcia, a maritime
country in the southeast of Europe. In the early ages the Greeks were
governed by monarchs; but the monarchical power gradually decreased, and
the love of liberty led to the establishment of the republican form of
government. No part of Greece, except Macedonia, remained in the hands
of an absolute sovereign. The expedition of the Argonauts first, and, in
the succeeding age, the wars of Thebes and Troy, gave opportunity to
their warriors, who afterwards ranked as heroes and demigods, to display
their valor in the field of battle. The spirit of Greece, however, was
crushed by the Romans; and in 1718 she became a Turkish province. In
1821 the ancient spirit seemed to have revived in the modern Greeks, and
they determined to be free. The struggle was severe and protracted; but,
by the interference of the great European powers, the Turks were forced
to acknowledge Greece an independent state in 1829.
=Greek Fire.= A combustible composition (now unknown, but thought to
have been principally naphtha), thrown from engines said to have been
invented by Callinicus, an ingenious engineer of Heliopolis, in Syria,
in the 7th century, in order to destroy the Saracens’ ships, which was
effected by the general of the fleet of Constantine, Pogonatus, and
30,000 men were killed. A so-called “Greek fire,” probably a solution of
phosphorus in bisulphide of carbon, was employed at the siege of
Charleston, U. S., in September, 1863. Greek fire, as now understood, is
simply a solid, highly combustible composition, consisting of sulphur
and phosphorus dissolved in the bisulphide of carbon, to which
occasionally some mineral oil is added, with the view of increasing its
incendiary powers. When the liquid is thrown on any surface exposed to
the air the solvent evaporates, leaving a film of the phosphorus or
sulphide of phosphorus, which then inflames spontaneously. The proper
mode of extinguishing such a fire is to throw damp sand, ashes, sawdust,
or lime, wet sacking or carpeting; in short, any material which will
exclude the air from the fire. No attempt should be made to remove the
covering for some time after the flame has been extinguished. The place
should afterwards be thoroughly washed by a powerful jet of water forced
upon it.
=Greener’s Bullet.= One of the first attempts to make a bullet take the
grooves by the expanding action of the powder was by Mr. Greener, an
English gunsmith, in 1836. He used a conical pewter wedge, which was
driven into a cavity in the base of the bullet by the powder and forced
the outer walls of the bullet into the grooves.
=Grenada.= An island in the West Indies belonging to the Windward group.
It was discovered by Columbus in the year 1498. It was originally
settled by the French, but was taken by the British in 1762, to whom it
was confirmed by the peace of Paris in 1763.
=Grenade.= In gunnery, is a shell thrown from the hand, or in barrels
from mortars of large caliber, and ignited as other shells by means of a
fuze. There are hand-grenades and rampart-grenades; old 6-pounder
spherical-case may be used for the former, and shells of any caliber for
the latter. Grenades are useful in the defense of works, the smaller,
thrown by hand into the head of a sap, trenches, covered way, or upon
the besiegers mounting a breach; the larger kinds are rolled over the
parapet in a trough. Hand-grenades are intended to be used against the
enemy when he has reached such parts of the defenses (the bottom of the
ditch for example) as are not covered by the guns, or the muskets of the
infantry posted on the banquettes. After the enemy has passed the abatis
and jumped into the ditch, hand-grenades will be used; and then if he
mounts the parapet, he must be met there with the bayonet. _Ketchum’s
hand-grenade_ is a small oblong percussion shell which explodes on
striking the object.
=Grenadier.= Originally a soldier who was employed in throwing
hand-grenades, but in some modern armies a member of the first company
of every battalion of foot, in which the tallest and finest men of the
regiment are placed.
=Grenadier Guards.= The first regiment of foot guards in the British
Household Brigade of Guards, and generally considered the finest corps
in the army. It comprises 2697 officers and men, divided into three
battalions. The officers of this fashionable corps are usually from the
families of the nobility, or more distinguished landed gentry. The 1st
Foot Guards, under which name the regiment was originally known, was
first raised in 1660. The Grenadier Guards distinguished themselves in
the Peninsula, at Waterloo, and in the Crimea.
=Grenadiers Auxiliaries= (_Fr._). Auxiliary grenadiers. During a siege,
and when a place was closely invested, a certain number of grenadiers
were chosen out of the battalions belonging to the trenches, for the
purpose of making head against the besieged, whenever they might risk a
sally, or assault the works. It was the peculiar duty of these men to
stand forward on every occasion, to set fire to the gabions attached to
the batteries, and to crush every attempt which might be made by the
garrison to annoy the men that were posted in the trenches, etc.
=Grenadiers, Horse.= Called by the French _grenadiers volans_, or flying
grenadiers, are such as are mounted on horseback, but fight both on foot
and on horseback. They were first established in France by Louis XIV. in
1676, and formed in squadrons.
=Grenado.= The ancient term for a live shell.
=Grenoble.= A fortified town of France, in the department of the Isère.
The town is surrounded with fortifications, and the heights which
command the town are also fortified. This was the first place which
openly received Napoleon I. on his escape from Elba, in 1815.
=Gribeauval’s System of Artillery.= About 1765 various improvements were
introduced into European artillery by Gen. Gribeauval. He separated
_field_ from _siege_ artillery, lightened and shortened field-guns and
diminished the charges. He adopted elevating screws and tangent scales,
strengthened the carriages, and introduced neater uniformity in the
dimensions, enabling spare parts to be carried for repairs.
=Grices.= In heraldry, are young wild boars.
=Griffe= (_Fr._). Means literally a claw; but in a military sense, as
accepted by the French, it signifies an iron instrument which is made
like a hook, and is used by miners to pick out the small stones that are
incorporated with cement, etc.
=Griffin.= A fabulous animal, usually represented in heraldry with the
body and hind legs of a lion, and the beak, wings, and claws of an
eagle.
=Griffin Gun.= A name sometimes given to the 3-inch rifle used in the
U. S. field service from its inventor, Mr. Griffin, of the Phœnixville
Iron-Works, Pa., where the gun was made.
=Grip.= The handle of a sword.
=Grisons.= The largest of all the cantons of Switzerland. The country
was anciently inhabited by the Rhætii; it was conquered by the Roman
emperor Constantius in the 4th century, and his camp (_Curia_, _Chur_,
or _Coire_, the name of the present capital) was planted on the Rhine.
In the 10th century the country of the Grisons was added to the German
empire, and remained till 1268 subject to the Swabian dukes. With the
decay of the imperial authority it came to be oppressed by a numerous
nobility, the ruins of whose castles still crown the heights. Against
them the people began, in the end of the 14th century, to form leagues
in the different valleys. In 1472, these separate unions entered into a
general confederation, which then formed an alliance with the Swiss
cantons, but it was not till 1803 that it was admitted into the Swiss
Confederation as the fifteenth canton. Grisons was overrun by the French
in 1798 and 1799.
=Grochow.= Near Prague, a suburb of Warsaw. Here took place a desperate
conflict between the Poles and Russians, February 19-20, 1831, the
former remaining masters of the field of battle. The Russians shortly
after retreated, having been foiled in their attempt to take Warsaw.
They are said to have lost 7000 men, and the Poles 2000.
=Grognard= (_Fr._). Grumbler; an old soldier of the French empire was so
called.
=Groma= (_Fr._). A Roman measuring-rod, 20 feet long, used for setting
off distances in a camp.
=Grommet.= Consists of a ring of rope-yarn, with two pieces of strong
twine tied across at right angles to each other. Grommets are used as
wads for cannon. The size of the ring is the full diameter of the bore
of the piece, in order that it may fit tight, and stop the windage. They
increase the accuracy of fire, and are to be preferred when the object
of the wad is merely to retain the projectile in its place, as in firing
at a depression. They stop the windage best when placed behind the
projectile.
=Groom.= One of several officers of the English royal household, chiefly
in the lord chamberlain’s department; as the groom of the chamber; groom
of the stole, or robes.
=Groom-porter.= An officer in the household of the king of England, who
succeeded the master of revels, and gave directions as to sports.
=Grooved Ball.= See PROJECTILE.
=Grooved Bullet.= See BULLET.
=Grooves.= Spiral grooves or “rifles” cut into the surface of the bore
of fire-arms, have the effect of communicating a rotary motion to a
projectile around an axis coincident with its flight. This motion
increases the range of the projectile, and also corrects one of the
causes of deviation by distributing it uniformly around the line of
flight. There are two kinds of twist used,--uniform and increasing.
Increasing twists are supposed to give greater accuracy, and are well
adapted to expanding projectiles which have but short bearing in the
grooves. They are also used for stud projectiles. The uniform twist is
generally applicable and has many advantages. In small-arms at the
present time the bullet used has such a long bearing in the grooves that
an increasing twist is not desirable. The ordinary twist is
right-handed, giving a _drift_ to the right. The _gras_, the official
arm of France, has a left-handed twist. In regard to number and form of
grooves authorities differ. The polygroove (or many small grooves)
system has given very accurate results, especially in breech-loading
cannon. It is in great favor on the continent of Europe. The French
system, also used in a modified form in Woolwich and Elswick guns,
consists of a few deep grooves in which the studs of the projectile
move. The objection to this system is the weakening of the gun and the
great strain when fired. For expanding projectiles, experiment shows
that broad and shallow grooves with a moderate twist give range,
endurance, accuracy of fire, and facility in loading and cleaning the
bores. The proper twist to be given to the grooves depends on the
length, diameter, and initial velocity of the projectile used; the most
suitable twist is best determined by experiment. Other things being
equal, the longer the projectile the more rapid the rotation necessary
to steady it; the greater the diameter the less rapid the rotation. As
the initial velocity is increased, the rotation must be increased. The
farther forward the centre of inertia of the projectile, the less the
tendency to tumble. The tendency in modern small-arms is to shorten the
twist on account of large charges and long bullets. Grooved bullets are
best suited to broad shallow grooves; patched bullets to a greater
number of sharp-edged grooves.
=Gros= (_Fr._). A body of soldiers; a detachment. The French frequently
say, _Un gros de cavalerie_, a body of cavalry; _un gros d’infanterie_,
a body of infantry.
=Gros Ventres Indians.= A tribe of aborigines living in Dakota and
Montana. They received their name Gros Ventres, “Big Bellies,” from the
Canadian _voyageurs_ of the Hudson Bay Company. They are peaceably
disposed, and are mostly located at Fort Berthold agency, Dakota, and at
Fort Peck, Montana. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Groton.= A village of New London Co., Conn., on the east side of Thames
River, opposite New London. It is famous as being the scene of the
massacre perpetrated by British troops under Arnold. Old Fort Griswold,
commanded by the brave Ledyard, who was barbarously slain with his own
sword after he had surrendered, is still standing on Groton Heights; and
a granite obelisk has been erected to commemorate the patriotism of
those who perished.
=Ground.= In a military sense, the field or place of action. _To take
ground_; a battalion or company is said to take ground when it extends
in any given direction. This term is likewise used in dueling; as, they
_took their ground_ at eight or ten paces from each other.
=Ground Arms.= An old word of command, on which the soldiers laid down
their arms upon the ground.
=Ground-work.= See FOUNDATION.
=Grynia=, or =Grynium=. A very ancient fortified city on the coast of
the Sinus Elaiticus, in the south of Mysia. Parmenio, the general of
Alexander, destroyed the city and sold the inhabitants as slaves, after
which the place seems to have decayed.
=Guadaloupe.= An island in the West Indies, and one of the largest and
most valuable of the Leeward group. This island was first discovered by
Columbus. It was taken possession of by the French in 1635, who drove
the natives into the mountains. In 1759 it was taken by a British
squadron, and was restored to France at the peace of 1763. It was again
taken by the British in 1794; but was retaken by the French in 1795. In
1810 the British once more took possession of it, and in 1814 restored
it to the French, to whom it now belongs.
=Guad-el-ras.= In Northwestern Africa. Here the Spaniards signally
defeated the Moors, March 23, 1860, after a severe conflict, in which
Gen. Prim manifested great bravery, for which he was ennobled.
=Guanches.= The original inhabitants of the Canary Islands, who were
supposed to have come from the adjoining coast of Africa. In the 15th
century many of these people fell in opposing the Spanish invasion; many
were sold by the conquerors as slaves, and many conformed to the Roman
Catholic faith, and intermarried with the Spaniards; so that all trace
of them as a distinct race is lost. They were celebrated for their tall
stature, and were styled by Humboldt the Patagonians of the Old World.
=Guarantee Association, The British.= An association which, for a small
percentage, undertakes to vouch for the prudence and fidelity of such
public officers (military) as paymasters, ordnance store-keepers,
commissaries, staff-officers of pensions, barrack-masters, etc. The
government accepts the guarantee of this particular office in preference
to that offered by private individuals.
=Guard.= A body of men whose duty it is to secure an army or place from
being surprised by an enemy. In garrison the guards are relieved every
day. _On guard_ is being engaged on guard duty.
=Guard, Advanced.= See ADVANCED GUARD.