an enemy.
=Hold-all.= A portable case for holding small articles required by
soldiers, marines, etc.
=Holland.= A kingdom in Northwest Europe, the chief part of the Northern
Netherlands, composed of land rescued from the sea, and defended by
immense dykes. It was inhabited by the Batavi in the time of Cæsar, who
made a league with them. It became part of Gallia Belgica, and
afterwards of the kingdom of Austria. From the 10th to the 15th century
it was governed by counts under the German emperors. It was conquered by
the French in 1795, and subsequently brought into the condition of a
province of France under Napoleon; the emperor’s brother, Louis, being
created king of Holland. It was delivered from the French yoke in 1813.
See NETHERLANDS.
=Hollow Projectile.= Shell, case-shot, etc. See PROJECTILES, etc.
=Hollow Square.= The form in which a body of foot is drawn up with an
empty space in the middle for the colors, drums, baggage, etc. A body of
troops formed into a square to resist the charge of cavalry on critical
occasions.
=Hollow Tower.= A rounding made of the remainder of two brisures, to
join the curtain to the orillon, where the small shot are placed, that
they may not be so much exposed to the view of the enemy.
=Hollow Way.= Any pass or road, both sides of which are commanded by
heights.
=Holstein.= An extensive duchy of Germany, formerly a dependency of
Denmark. The king of Denmark had originally a seat at the German Diet on
account of his Holstein possessions, but in 1806, on the formation of
the Confederation of the Rhine, this privilege was lost; but in 1815 he
was admitted into the Germanic Confederation. In 1848 this duchy, with
Schleswig, attempted to gain its independence; but, after some severe
fighting, it was reduced to obedience in 1850. In 1863 the struggle was
renewed; and, under the pretext of separating this duchy, together with
that of Schleswig, from Denmark, and of annexing it to the Germanic
Confederation, an allied Austrian and Prussian army invaded the country
and drove out the Danes, after a short but desperate struggle. It was
annexed to Prussia after the Prussian-Austrian war (1866), and now forms
a part of the North German Confederation.
=Holsters.= Leathern cases for pistols, affixed to the pommel of the
saddle. They are frequently covered with wool or fur, to prevent injury
to the rider in the event of his being thrown forward upon them. They
are also worn on a belt.
=Holstered.= Bearing holsters; as, a holstered steed.
=Holy Alliance.= A league formed after the fall of Napoleon by the
sovereigns of Russia, Austria, and Prussia, nominally to regulate the
relations of the states of Christendom by the principles of Christian
charity, but really to preserve the power and influence of the existing
dynasties. Most of the other European rulers acceded to it, and the
treaty was made public February 2, 1816. A special article of the treaty
excluded forever the members of the Bonaparte family from any European
throne. But after the secession of England and France the alliance
became practically obsolete.
=Holy Ghost, Order of the.= A Roman Catholic order consisting of
hospital knights, which was founded in the 12th century, and ceased to
exist as a knightly order in 1700.
=Holy Island=, or =Lindisfarne=. An island off the coast of
Northumberland, 8 miles southeast from Berwick-on-Tweed, and is
connected with the mainland by a narrow isthmus or neck of sand. On the
south of the island lies the town, and near it are the ruins of an old
abbey which the Danes destroyed in 900.
=Holy League.= A name applied to several combinations of sovereigns or
princes of Europe for warlike or defensive purposes. The first was
organized in 1510 by the pope, Venice and Spain against Louis XII. of
France. But the most important of all was _the holy league_, so called
by way of eminence, which was organized at Perrone in 1576, and lasted
till 1593, to prevent the accession of Henry IV. of France to the
throne.
=Holy Sepulchre, Knights of the.= An order of knighthood instituted
probably by Pope Alexander VI., for the guardianship of the Holy
Sepulchre, and the relief and protection of pilgrims. The pope was
originally the grand master, but he subsequently ceded his rights to the
Guardian Father of the Holy Sepulchre. The knights must, by the rules of
the order, be all of noble descent; they were bound to hear mass daily,
to fight, to live, and to die for the Christian faith, etc. In return
for these duties, the knights had the most unusual and extraordinary
privileges conferred on them; they were exempt from taxation, could
marry, and yet possess church property, legitimize bastards, cut down
and bury the bodies of criminals who had been hanged. On the recapture
of Jerusalem by the Turks, the knights retired to Italy, and settled at
Perugia. After a temporary union with the Hospitallers, the order was
reconstructed in 1814 both in France and in Poland, and is still in
existence within a very small circle of knights elected by the Guardian
Father from the most respectable pilgrims who come to Jerusalem.
=Holy Wars.= See CRUSADE.
=Homelden.= In Northumberland, England, where the Scots, headed by the
Earl of Douglas, were defeated by the Percies (among them Hotspur),
September 14, 1402.
=Home-service.= Consists in military operations and arrangements for the
immediate defense of our own country, should it be threatened by
invasion, or by domestic broils or insurrections.
=Homme d’Armes= (_Fr._). A military phrase among the French, signifying
a gentleman or cavalier who belonged to one of the old companies, was
armed _cap-a-pie_, and always fought on horseback. In ancient times,
every man of this description was accompanied by two horsemen
independent of his servants. One of the mounted attendants was armed
with a cross-bow, and the other with a common bow or battle-axe; so that
100 _hommes d’armes_ composed a body of 300 horse. It was a species of
cavalry which existed from the reign of Louis XI. until the reign of
Henry II.
=Honduras.= A republican state of the confederation of Central America;
being bounded north by the Caribbean Sea and Bay of Honduras, southeast
by the Mosquito Territory and Nicaragua, south by San Salvador and the
Bay of Conchagua, on the Pacific, and west by Guatemala.
=Honeycomb.= A defect in guns resembling the cells of wax in which the
bee stores her honey. These flaws in the metal arise either from
careless or imperfect casting, or from long disuse of a gun and exposure
to damp. A honeycombed gun is liable to burst in firing.
=Hong-Kong.= An island off the coast of China; was taken by Capt.
Elliott, August 23, 1839, and ceded to Great Britain, January 20, 1841.
=Honi Soit Qui Mal y Pense= (_Fr._). See GARTER, ORDER OF THE.
=Honor.= In a general acceptation may be properly called a consciousness
of worth and virtue in the individual, and a lively desire to preserve
the reputation of virtue. As a term, it is variously used in military
life. As a quality of the mind, it cannot be too much encouraged or too
much cultivated among military men of all ranks and descriptions. The
possession of it is a guarantee for good conduct, a bond of fidelity,
and a certain barrier against military corruption. Men are excited to
deeds of valor and enterprise by a sense of honor, who would otherwise
remain inactive, or only perform the mere drudgery of service. This term
may likewise be considered as esteem, reputation, the glory which is
attached by mankind to talents and virtues.
=Honor, Affair of.= A transaction connected with a duel, or a challenge
to fight a duel; a duel itself.
=Honor, Court of.= Is a species of board of inquiry, which has not only
the power of ascertaining the degree of guilt which may be attached to
misconduct, but of pronouncing an opinion which may or may not entail
ignominy upon the guilty persons. See COURT OF HONOR.
=Honor, Debt of.= An obligation which among honorable men, especially
officers, is more binding than those engagements or contracts that are
guaranteed by law. The reason is manifest.
=Honor, Point of.= A nice discrimination in matters affecting one’s
honor. A delicacy of feeling, which is generally acquired by education,
and strengthened by intercourse with men of strict integrity and good
conduct. It is likewise very frequently the offspring of peculiar
habits, received notions, and established etiquettes; also, a minute
distinction; a punctilio.
=Honor, Signatures upon.= Are instruments, such as declarations of
officers on vouchers for allowances, pay, etc., that are guaranteed by
the names of individuals, without oath.
=Honor, Word of.= A promise or engagement that is made or entered into
by word of mouth, the breach of which entails disgrace upon the
violator. _To die upon the bed of honor_, is a term particularly applied
to military men, who die in battle fighting in their country’s cause.
=Honors of War.= A compliment granted on capitulation to a garrison
which has made a gallant defense. The exact nature of the honors
accorded have varied in different ages and on different occasions.
Ordinarily they are as follows: The garrison marches out through the gap
in the breach, if there is one, with arms and personal baggage. The
drums beat, the colors fly, officers carry their swords drawn, and the
men their bayonets fixed. A certain number of guns--ordinarily
two--accompany the force, and formerly the gunners carried lighted
matches. On reaching the glacis the garrison--unless it is one of the
stipulations that it is to join the main army--forms up and grounds
arms, only the officers retaining their swords, and is marched off under
escort.
=Honvéd.= The name given in Hungary under the earlier kings to the
national champions. With the disappearance of these, the word too
disappeared; but in the summer of 1848 it was revived, and applied first
to those Hungarian volunteers dispatched to the south against the
Servians, and subsequently, when the war with Austria really commenced,
to the whole patriotic army. Still, in common parlance, the term honvéd
is used only with reference to the Hungarian infantry.
=Hood= (Sp. _tapadera_). A leather cover for the stirrup of a saddle.
=Hooghly.= A town of Bengal, and the capital of a district of the same
name, situated on the west hank of the Hooghly River, 27 miles north
from Calcutta. This place is supposed to have been founded by the
Portuguese about 1538, and after their expulsion in 1632 by the Mogul
troops, it became the imperial port of the Mogul empire. In 1757 it was
taken by the British; it was retaken shortly after by Surajah Dowlah,
but ultimately fell, after a few months, into the hands of the British
under Lord Clive.
=Hooks.= Pieces of bent iron fixed to the transom plates of a
field-carriage are so called. They serve to fix the bricoles or ropes
for drawing it occasionally backwards or forwards.
=Hookum.= An Indian word, signifying order or command.
=Hookummaumeh.= In India, signifies a letter of instructions, or the
paper that contains orders.
=Hoplital= (Fr. _hoplites_). Foot-soldiers among the Greeks, who bore
heavy armor, and engaged with broad shields and long spears. These took
precedence of all other foot-soldiers.
=Horde.= A wandering troop or gang; especially a clan or tribe of a
nomadic people possessing no fixed habitations, but migrating from place
to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, or the like cause.
=Hordearium.= The money which the Romans gave their cavalry for the
sustenance of their horses.
=Horion= (_Fr._). A term which formerly signified a helmet, and which in
the vulgar acceptation of it now, among the French, means a blow upon
the head.
=Horizon= (Gr. _orizo_, I bound or terminate). In astronomy and
geography, is the plane of the great circle of the sphere, dividing the
visible from the invisible hemisphere. The horizon is either _sensible_
or _rational_. The sensible horizon is a plane which is a tangent to the
earth’s surface at the place of the spectator, extended on all sides
till it is bounded by the sky; the rational horizon is a plane parallel
to the former, but passing through the centre of the earth. Both the
sensible and rational horizon are relative terms, and change with every
change of the spectator’s position on the surface of the earth; in all
cases they are perpendicular to the direction of gravity.
=Horizontal Fire.= The fire of guns and howitzers under low angles of
elevation.
=Horizontal Plane.= That which is parallel to the horizon; a plane
tangent to the surface of the earth, at the place.
=Horizontal Range.= In gunnery, is the distance to which a piece of
ordnance will project a ball on a horizontal plane. Supposing no
resistance from the atmosphere, the greatest range would be when the
piece is elevated at an angle of 45°; and in all other positions the
horizontal range would be as the sine of twice the angle of elevation.
In a resisting medium the maximum horizontal range requires the
elevation to be less than 45°. It is found by experience that, with the
ordinary velocity, a cannon-shot ranges the farthest when the elevation
of the piece is about 30°.
=Hornwork.= A kind of work in advance of a fortification, akin to a
crown-work, but consisting of only one curtain and two half-bastions.
=Hors de Combat.= A French military phrase, signifying that an
individual or body of men are so completely beaten as not to be able to
maintain the field of battle. _Mettre hors de combat_, to drive your
opponent before you; to press him so closely that he cannot make a stand
against you; to put him out of the lists of contests. To be wounded or
incapable of individual effort, is also being _hors de combat_.
=Horse.= A military term for a body of cavalry.
=Horse Artillery.= Is that portion of the artillery which usually serves
with cavalry, and in which the cannoneers are mounted on horseback, to
enable them to conform with the rapid movements of that arm of the
service. Possessing, from their lighter construction and mounted
detachments, much greater locomotive powers than other field-batteries,
they are especially adapted for following the rapid evolutions of
cavalry, for sudden attacks upon particular points, and for supporting
the advance, or covering the retreat of an army.
=Horse, Associated.= A body of cavalry so called in the days of
Cromwell. At the famous battle of Naseby (June 14, 1645), which decided
the fate of Charles I., the Associated Horse were posted in the rear of
the right wing of the Republican army, and formed a part of the reserve.
Cromwell commanded the cavalry on the right of the whole, and the
Associated Horse were under his immediate orders.
=Horse, Cavalry and Artillery.= Horses generally make in a minute, at
ordinary pace, 120 steps, and they cover 110 yards; at a trot, 180
steps, covering 220 yards; and at a gallop, 100 steps or strides,
covering 352 yards; from which it would appear that the length of the
stride at the ordinary pace is about 0.917 yard, and that the velocity
corresponds to about 1.74 yards per second; and at a trot the stride is
about 1.28 yards and the speed about 3.68 yards per second; and at a
gallop the stride is about 3.52 yards, with a speed of about 5.87 yards
per second. A good horse carrying a weight of 225 pounds, can travel,
without over-exertion, 25 miles in a day of from seven to eight hours;
his speed in this case would be between 1.75 and 1.53 yards per second.
The weight of an average-sized horse is about from 900 to 1350 pounds.
The age of the horse is determined by the appearance of the teeth, which
vary according to the number of years the animal has attained, and may
be easily understood by a slight attention to the subject; the number,
quality, and size of the teeth indicating the respective ages. The lower
front teeth or nippers are those by which the age of a colt is usually
determined. At two years old these teeth will be complete; that is to
say, the colt will have a full set, six in number, of milch-teeth.
Between two and three years old the two centre teeth are displaced, and
two permanent teeth succeed them, easily distinguished from colt’s teeth
by being broader, larger, and having a dark cavity in the centre of the
upper surface. At three years old the colt will have in the lower jaw
two permanent and four colt’s teeth; between the third and fourth year
the next pair of incisor teeth will be shed, and permanent teeth succeed
them. At four years old there will be four permanent teeth in the
centre, and two colt’s teeth at each corner of the lower jaw. Between
the fourth and fifth year the last remaining colt’s nipper, or corner
tooth, will be cast; and, if a horse or gelding, the tushes, four in
number, will show themselves, two in the upper and two in the lower jaw.
At five years old the horse will have a full or complete set of
permanent teeth in the upper and lower jaws; for the same change that
takes place in the lower is developed in the upper jaw also. The colt at
this age takes the name of horse, and is supposed to be equal to all the
laborious duties expected from him. Although we can no longer judge of
his age by the shifting or shedding of his teeth, we can form a
tolerably correct conclusion from other appearances of them. At six
years old the dark oval-shaped mark in the centre of the two front
nippers, usually called by horsemen “the bean,” will be nearly or quite
worn away; the tushes higher and stronger, and the cavities of the
interior part of the tooth more filled; the two corner nippers level
with the others, and equally developed. At seven years old the marks in
the second pair of nippers are filled up, and the tushes become more
round externally and internally. At eight years old the marks in the
corner nippers are worn out, and the tushes more round and blunt. From
this age the animal is said to be, in horse phraseology, “past
knowledge”; and although a tolerably correct opinion may be formed for
many years to come by the appearance of the upper jaw and other
prognostics, still they cannot be implicitly relied on. It often occurs
at a much earlier period that the best judges of age are deceived by the
untimely structural alteration of the teeth, produced by mechanical or
pathological causes, such as crib-biting, biting the rack or manger,
eating hard food, etc. Horses used for cavalry in the United States are
selected with regard to climate, the American horse east of the Rocky
Mountains, and what is known as the Mexican or _bronco_, west of the
Rocky Mountains; the power of endurance of the latter being much more
than that of the former, they are better adapted to the rugged, arid
country that an American cavalry soldier has to travel over on the
western frontier. For artillery large, strong American horses are used.
A horse occupies a space in the ranks of a front of 40 inches, a depth
of 10 feet; in a stall, from 3¹⁄₂ to 4¹⁄₂ feet front; at picket 3 feet
by 9. Cavalry horses usually charge at the rate of 24 miles per hour, or
one mile in 2¹⁄₂ minutes. See PACK AND DRAUGHT HORSES.
=Horse Guards.= The name was applied to a large public office in
Whitehall, London, appropriated to the departments under the
general-commanding-in-chief, and guarded by a squadron of Horse Guards.
In 1871 the headquarters were removed to Pall Mall.
=Horse Guards, Royal= (Oxford Blues). Is the third heavy cavalry
regiment of the Household Brigade (English). The regiment was raised in
1661 from the remnants of the disbanded army of the late Commonwealth.
It took part in Marlborough’s campaigns; served under the Duke of
Wellington in the Peninsula and at Waterloo, and has always been
considered one of the finest heavy cavalry corps in the world.
=Horseman.= A mounted soldier.
=Horsemanship.= The act or art of riding, and of training and managing
horses; manege.
=Horse-power.= A measure for the quantity of work of which an engine or
motor is capable in a given time. It is 33,000 foot-pounds in one
minute.
=Horse-shoe.= In fortification, is a small round or oval work, with a
parapet; generally made in a ditch, or marsh.
=Horse-tail.= A Turkish standard. Commanders are distinguished by the
number of horse-tails carried before them, or planted in front of their
tents. Thus, the sultan has seven, the grand vizier five, and the pashas
three, two, or one.
=Hospital.= A place appointed for the sick and wounded men, provided
with physicians, surgeons, nurses, servants, medicines, beds, etc.
=Hospital, Field.= Is the staff and apparatus for the surgical treatment
of the wounded in the field, and the locality assigned for the resort of
the latter to obtain it. In the United States there is a hospital at
every military post, under the superintendence of the army medical
department.
=Hospital, Regimental.= In Great Britain, each regiment has a hospital
for the reception of the sick belonging to it. This hospital is under
the immediate care of the regimental surgeon, who is subordinate to the
general medical board.
=Hospital Steward.= In the U. S. service, is a non-commissioned officer
of the general staff, whose duty consists in making up prescriptions,
administering medicines, and in a general supervision of the sick, under
the instructions of an army medical officer.
=Hospital Tent.= A large tent used for hospital purposes. See TENT.
=Hospitallers.= A celebrated brotherhood founded at various times and in
different countries for the care of the sick in hospitals. The vow to
devote themselves to this work of mercy is, in all these brotherhoods,
superadded to the ordinary vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience,
which are common to all the religious orders in the Roman Catholic
Church. One of the earliest recorded instances of a hospital served by
such a brotherhood is that of Constance, in the 13th century. See SAINT
JOHN OF JERUSALEM and TEUTONIC KNIGHTS.
=Hospodar.= A title borne by the governors of Wallachia and Moldavia,
under the Turks. Although nominated by the porte, they possessed
absolute power within their own dominions. By the treaty of Adrianople
in 1829, the principalities were placed under Russian protection, and
from that time till the treaty of Paris in 1856, the hospodars were
virtually the nominees of Russia.
=Host.= An army; any large body of men assembled together in arms.
=Hostages.= Are persons given in pledge for the performance of
conditions. When a town capitulates, victors and vanquished usually give
into the custody, one of the other, several officers, as pledges that
each party will duly carry out the terms stipulated. When the terms are
fulfilled, the hostages are exchanged; but if the terms be evaded, the
opposite side holds the right to put to death, or otherwise punish, the
hostages in its possession; of late years the practice is going out of
use.
=Hostile.= Belonging to an enemy; appropriate to an enemy; showing
ill-will and malevolence, or a desire to thwart and injure; occupied by
an enemy or a hostile people; inimical; unfriendly; as, a hostile force,
hostile country, etc.
=Hostilities.= A rupture between the natives of different countries. The
first hostile act that is committed by either party is considered the
commencement of hostilities. Between nations, the first act of hostility
presupposes a declaration of war.
=Hosting.= An encounter; a battle. A muster or review. This term is now
obsolete.