prosecutor upon every general court-martial for the trial of officers
and soldiers accused of a breach of the Articles of War, general
regulations, or any conduct prejudicial to good order and discipline. He
is appointed by the officer authorized to assemble a general
court-martial, and must be relieved by the same authority. His duties
are various and important (see De Hart’s “Military Law,” Benét on
“Courts-Martial,” and Scott’s “Analytical Digest of Military Law,” on
duties, etc., of judge-advocate); he must be present at the court for
which he is appointed, not only to record all its proceedings, but also
in order to impart validity to its jurisdiction. He advises the court on
points of law, of custom, and of form, and invites their attention to
any deviation therefrom. If any question of law arises out of the
proceedings, and he is called upon for his opinion, he is bound to give
it. It is his duty to take care that the accused does not suffer from a
want of knowledge of the law, or from a deficiency of experience or
ability to solicit from witnesses, or develop by the testimony on the
trial, a full statement of the facts of the case as hearing on the
defense. If the court, or a member thereof, should deviate from the
letter of the law, or assume a power at variance with it, the
judge-advocate is bound to point out the error, which should become a
part of the record. It is now admitted that the custom of appointing
persons from civil life to officiate as judge-advocate is clearly
objectionable. It creates a ministerial officer without legal
responsibilities, and necessarily commits to his hands high interests of
the government, and to some extent the rights and reputation of
individuals, to be treated and observed without any stronger guaranty of
fidelity than his own sense or impression of moral obligation. In the
important duties of the judge-advocate as recorder, adviser, and
prosecutor, the utmost deference to the dignity of the court should be
apparent; a delicate courtesy and modest demeanor should be
characteristic of his address, while his argument may be replete with
all the vigor and energy which knowledge imparts and which truth
demands.
=Judge-Advocate-General.= Of the British forces is stationed in London,
and is regarded as a civil officer, and is paid from the civil
department. The office is generally held by an experienced barrister, to
whom all proceedings of courts-martial are referred for remarks as to
legality and regularity. In the United States he is a staff-officer with
the rank of brigadier-general, who receives, revises, and causes to be
recorded the proceedings of all courts-martial, courts of inquiry, and
military commissions, and has charge of the records of the bureau of
military justice.
=Judge-Advocates, Corps of.= In the United States, consists of four
general staff-officers with the rank of major, who are usually assigned
to duty at the headquarters of geographical divisions and departments,
and may be detailed as judge-advocates of military courts.
=Judge-Martial=, or =Advocate-General=. In former years was the supreme
judge in martial law, as to the jurisdiction and powers of military
courts in the British system.
=Junior.= One having a lower rank. When the grade is the same, the one
having the more recent commission or warrant.
=Junk-wads.= Are used for proving cannon. _Wad-molds_ for each
caliber--consisting of two cast-iron cylinders of different diameters
set in oak, or of two strong pieces, strapped with iron, and joined by a
hinge--are employed in their manufacture. The junk, after having been
picked, is compressed by being beaten in the smaller mold with a _maul_
and _cylindrical drift_--the latter nearly of the size of the
mold--until it assumes the requisite dimensions; it is then taken out by
raising the upper part of the mold, and closely wrapped with rope-yarn
passed over it in the direction of the axis of the cylinder, and
fastened by a few turns around the middle of the wad. It is then placed
in the large mold, and again beaten with the maul and drift until its
diameter is increased to that of the mold; when it is taken out and its
diameter verified by a wooden gauge corresponding to the large
shot-gauge of the caliber.
=Jupon=, or =Just-au-Corps=. A surcoat. The name jupon is chiefly
applied to the short tight form of that military garment in use in the
14th century. It was a sleeveless jacket or overcoat, composed of
several thicknesses of material sewed through, and faced with silk or
velvet, upon which were embroidered the arms of the wearer. It fitted
closely to the body, and, descending below the hips, terminated in an
enriched border of various patterns.
=Jurisdiction.= Legal authority; extent of power. All sutlers and
retainers to the camp, and all persons whatsoever serving with the
armies of the United States in the field, though not enlisted soldiers,
are to be subject to orders, according to the rules and discipline of
war. To decide exactly where the boundary-line runs between civil and
military jurisdiction as to the civilians attached to an army is
difficult; but it is quite evident that they are within military
jurisdiction, as provided for in the Articles of War, when their
treachery, defection, or insubordination might endanger or embarrass the
army to which they belong in its operations against what is known in
military phrase as “an enemy.” Probably the fact that troops are found
in a region of country chiefly inhabited by Indians, and remote from the
exercise of civil authority, may enter into the description of “an army
in the field.” Persons who attach themselves to an army going upon an
expedition against hostile Indians may be understood as agreeing that
they will submit themselves for the time being to military control. All
officers, conductors, gunners, matrosses, drivers, or other persons
whatsoever receiving pay or hire in the service of the artillery or
corps of engineers of the United States, shall be subject to be tried by
courts-martial. The officers and soldiers of any troops, whether militia
or others, being mustered and in pay of the United States, shall, at all
times and in all places, when joined, or acting in conjunction with the
regular forces of the United States, be governed by the Rules and
Articles of War, and shall be subject to be tried by courts-martial in
like manner with the officers and soldiers in the regular forces; save
only that such courts-martial shall be composed entirely of militia
officers. No officer, non-commissioned officer, soldier, or follower of
the army shall be tried the second time for the same offense. No person
shall be liable to be tried and punished by a general court-martial for
any offense which shall appear to have been committed more than two
years before the issuing of the order for such trial, unless the person
by reason of having absented himself, or some other manifest impediment,
shall not have been amenable to justice within that period. No garrison
or regimental court-martial shall have the power to try capital cases,
or commissioned officers; neither shall they inflict a fine exceeding
one month’s pay, nor imprison, nor put to hard labor any
non-commissioned officer or soldier, for a longer time than one month.
=Just.= See JOUST.
=Justice, Military.= That species of justice which prevails in the army,
and which is administered by military tribunals in accordance with the
Articles of War. In Prussia justice is frequently obtained through what
is known as the court of honor. See COURT OF HONOR, COURT-MARTIAL; also,
APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 29, 30, and 72 to 105.
=Justice, Military, Bureau of.= In the United States consists of one
judge-advocate-general, with the rank, pay, etc., of brigadier-general.
See JUDGE-ADVOCATE-GENERAL.
=Juterbogk.= A small town of Prussia, in the province of Brandenburg. In
the vicinity is the field of Dennewitz, where the Prussians defeated the
French, September 6, 1813. See DENNEWITZ.
=Jutland.= The only considerable peninsula of Europe that points
directly north, forms a portion of the kingdom of Denmark, and comprises
the province of North Jutland. South Jutland was taken by the allies in
1813, and restored in 1814. In historical times, the Jutes took part in
the expedition of the Saxons to England. As allies of the Saxons, they
waged war with Charlemagne, and under the name of Normans (Northmen),
frequently desolated the coasts of Germany and France.
=Juzail.= A heavy rifle used by the Afghans.
K.
=Kabbade= (_Fr._). Military clothing of the modern Greeks; Roman
_sagum_.
=Kabyles.= An aboriginal African people, inhabiting the mountains of the
Atlas. They are an independent race, who mainly exist by plundering the
people of the plains. They are divided into numerous tribes, each of
which has its distinctive name, with the prefix _Beni_ before it. See
BENI-ABBES, BENI-ACHOUR, etc.
=Kaffa.= See CAFFA.
=Kaffraria.= An extensive country in Southern Africa, extending from the
north of Cape Colony to the south of Guinea. The English war with the
natives of the country began in 1798, and continued with intermissions
until March, 1853. The Kaffirs, headed by Mokanna, a prophet, attacked
Grahamstown, but were repulsed with much slaughter in 1819; again
defeated in 1828, 1831, and 1834. After a series of engagements, they
were attacked by Governor-General Cathcart, and completely defeated,
December 20, 1852, and peace was restored in the following March.
=Kagosima.= A town of Japan, which was bombarded by the English in 1863,
in retaliation for the murder of one of their subjects.
=Kahlenberg.= A hill in Austria, on the Danube, a little northwest of
Vienna. On its side the army of Sobieski arrived to the rescue of
Vienna, when besieged by the Turks in 1683.
=Kaiffa.= A seaport town of Syria, situated on the south side of the Bay
of Acre. It was captured by the French in 1799.
=Kainardji.= In Bulgaria; here a treaty was signed, 1774, between the
Turks and Russians, which opened the Black Sea, and gave Crimea to the
latter.
=Kaiser= (from Lat. _Cæsar_). The German word for emperor, which has
been so extensively known and used in every language since the year
1871, when William, king of Prussia, was crowned at Versailles, France,
as emperor of Germany. Thus was revived the old Teutonic appellation of
kaiser, which applied formerly, and especially in the Middle Ages, to
the German emperors, who inherited this title from the Roman Cæsars,
themselves succeeded by Charlemagne, who is considered by the Germans as
the first emperor of the Vaterland, as William is the latest one.
=Kaiserslautern.= A fortified town of the palatinate of the Rhine, which
belongs to Bavaria, 33 miles west from Spires. It was the scene of much
hard fighting between the French and Germans in 1792 and 1793.
=Kak Towda= (_Ind._). A term applied in the East Indies to the fine mold
used in making butts for archery practice.
=Kalafat.= A town of Wallachia, situated on the left bank of the Danube,
nearly opposite Widdin. It is strongly fortified, and commands the
approach to the Danube. The battle of Citate was fought here on January
6, 1854, and three following days, between the Turks under Omar Pasha
and the Russians under Gortschakoff.
=Kalai= (_Fr._). A Turkish fortress; more particularly applied to
stockades.
=Kalisch=, or =Kalice=. A town of Poland, belonging to Russia, and
situated on the frontier of the Prussian territory. The Swedes were
defeated by the Poles in its vicinity in 1706; another battle was fought
here between the Russians and Saxons in 1813.
=Kalispels=, or =Calispels=. See PEND D’OREILLES.
=Kalmar=, or =Calmar=. A fortified town of Sweden, and the capital of a
province, on the sound or strait of the same name, in the Baltic,
opposite the island of Oland. In 1397, the treaty of Kalmar, by which
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were united, was signed here.
=Kalmucks=, or =Calmucks=. Called by the Tartars _Khalimick_
(“renegades”), the largest of the Mongolian peoples, inhabiting large
regions of the Chinese, and also Russian dominions. They are divided
into four tribes: the Choshots, ruled by descendants of Genghis Khan;
the Soongars, in the 17th and the 18th centuries the masters of the
other races; oppressed by the Chinese, they migrated in great numbers,
in 1758, to Russia, but returned in 1770 to Soongaria; the Derbets, who
dwell in the valleys of the Don and Ili; the Torgots, formerly united
with the Soongars. The Kalmucks are a nomad, predatory, and warlike
race, and pass the greater part of their lives in the saddle.
=Kalsa Cutcherry= (_Ind._). The room of business, where matters
pertaining to the army are transacted, and all matters of litigation on
that branch of service are determined.
=Kaluga.= Chief town of the government of the same name in Russia, on
the right bank of the Oka. From the 14th to the 18th century, its
stronghold was a great protection against the invasions of the
Lithuanians, the Tartars of the Great Horde, and especially against the
Crimean Tartars. It is at present the residence of Schamyl, the
Circassian chief.
=Kalunga Fort.= In the East Indies; it was attacked unsuccessfully by
the company’s forces, and Gen. Gillespie killed, October 31, 1814; and
again unsuccessfully on November 25. It was evacuated by the Nepaulese,
November 30, same year.
=Kaminietz.= A town of Russian Poland, situated on the river Smotriza,
and the capital of the government of Podolia. The fortifications of this
place were razed in 1812, but have since been rebuilt.
=Kamtschatka.= A peninsula on the east coast of Asia; was discovered by
Morosco, a Cossack chief, and was taken possession of by Russia in 1697.
=Kanauts.= A term used in India to designate the walls of a canvas tent.
=Kangiar.= A Turkish sabre, the blade of which is bent contrary to other
swords, generally ornamented with diamonds and other precious stones.
=Kansas.= One of the States of the United States, the thirty-fourth in
order of admission. It lies between 37° and 40° N. lat., and between
25th meridian of long. and the western boundary of the State of
Missouri, and is, geographically, the central State of the Union. It was
organized as a Territory in 1854, and admitted into the Union January
29, 1861; and though it remained loyal during the civil war, yet many of
its inhabitants took the field for the Confederate cause.
=Kapigi-Bachi.= Officer in charge of the gates of the sultan’s palace; a
warrior.
=Kaponier.= See CAPONIERE.
=Karauls.= Military posts; sultan’s body-guards.
=Karki-Mesrac.= A Turkish lance.
=Karmathians.= So called from Abu Said Al-Jenabia, surnamed Al-Karmata,
a Mohammedan sect which sprang up in the 9th century, and was originally
a branch of the Ismailis. The sect was very powerful for a time. They
conquered Arabia, Persia, and Syria, which they ruled with a despotic
power, and their armies gained great victories of those of the caliphs.
In 928 they threatened Bagdad, and in 930, under their leader, Abu
Takir, entered Mecca, which was full of pilgrims, when a massacre of the
most fearful description ensued, desecrated the holy places, and carried
away the supreme palladium, the black stone, which was only restored to
Mecca at an immense ransom after twenty years. From that time their
power declined, and after the 11th century they are not mentioned in
history, although some traces of them still exist at Hasa, their former
stronghold.
=Karrack.= See CARRACK.
=Kars.= A fortified town of Asiatic Turkey, in the province of Armenia,
situated on a table-land between 6000 and 7000 feet above the level of
the sea. In 1828 it was taken from the Turks by the Russians under
Paskievitsch. In 1855, its fortifications having been strengthened, it
sustained a long siege by the Russians. Their attempt at taking it by
storm (September 29) failed, but it was compelled by famine to
surrender, November 30. Kars again surrendered to the Russians in 1877,
having been captured by storming in a night attack,--one of the most
brilliant feats of arms in the annals of history.
=Kaschau.= A town of Hungary; is situated in the beautiful valley of the
Hernad, 130 miles northeast from Pesth. Two battles were fought near
Kaschau during the Hungarian revolution, both of which the Austrians
gained.
=Kaskaskia Indians.= A tribe which formerly inhabited Illinois, but are
now located with other tribes on the Quapaw agency, Indian Territory.
See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Kastamouni=, or =Costambone=. A town in Anatolia, Asia Minor. It stands
in a dreary hollow, from which rises a solitary rock surmounted by a
fortress in ruins. During the Greek empire, the fortress was in
possession of the Comneni. It was taken by Bajazet, retaken by Timour,
and lastly, conquered by Mohammed I.
=Katan.= A Japanese sword, otherwise _cattan_.
=Katsbach=, or =Katzbach=. A river in Prussia, in the province of
Silesia, near which Gen. Blücher defeated the French under Macdonald and
Ney, August 26, 1813. He received the title of Prince of Wahlstatt, the
name of a neighboring village.
=Kátsena.= A town of Central Africa, in the empire of Sokoto. In 1807
the conquering Fúlbes assailed it, and a war was commenced, which lasted
for upwards of seven years. The capture of the town was achieved only
through its destruction.
=Kavass.= In Turkey, an armed constable; also a government servant or
courier.
=Kazan.= A town of Russia, capital of the government, and ancient
capital of the kingdom of the same name; is situated on the river
Kazanka, 4 miles from the north bank of the Volga. It was founded in
1257 by a Tartar tribe, and after various vicissitudes, was made the
capital of an independent kingdom of the khan of the Golden Horde, which
flourished in the 15th century. In 1552 the Russians, under Ivan the
Terrible, carried the town after a bloody siege, and put an end to the
existence of the kingdom.
=Kecherklechi.= Are guards attached to the person of the king of Persia;
they are armed with a musket of an extraordinary size and caliber. They
were raised and formed into a regular corps about the middle of the 18th
century.
=Keechies.= A small tribe of Indians residing with others on the Wichita
Agency, Indian Territory. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Keen.= Sharp; having a fine cutting edge; as, a keen blade.
=Keep.= To maintain hold upon; not to let go of; not to lose; to retain;
as, if we lose the field, we cannot keep the town.
=Keep.= In ancient military history, a kind of strong tower, which was
built in the centre of a castle or fort, to which the besieged
retreated, and made their last efforts of defense. In the Norman keeps
there appear to have been three stories, the lowest for stores, the
second for a guard-room, and the upper, or _solarium_, for the family.
The keep was similar to what the classical ancients called the citadel,
or inner fort,--a term generally applied to modern fortification on the
continent. _King’s Keep_, a fort built by King Henry II. in the inner
part of Dover Castle is so called.
=Keep Off.= To deter an enemy from approaching close to the lines or
fortifications, by inducing him to suspect a superior force, an
ambuscade, or a mine, or by openly galling his advanced posts in such a
manner as to beat him in detail. Infantry may keep off cavalry by hot
firing, or by a bristling hedge of bayonets, when in square.
=Keep On.= To go forward; to proceed; to continue to advance; as, to
keep on advancing into the enemy’s country.
=Keep Up.= In military movements, is to preserve that regular pace by
which a line or column on a march, or in manœuvring, advances towards
any given point without any chasms or fluctuations. When a regiment
marches by files, it is almost impossible for the rear to keep up. On
this account, divisions, sub-divisions, and even sections, are best
calculated to preserve a regular depth and continuity of march. Keep up
likewise signifies to attend to the interior management and discipline
of a corps, so as to prevent the least deviation from established rules
and regulations. Thus commanding officers are said to keep up good order
and discipline, who, whether present or absent, provide against the
least insubordination, etc. To _keep up a heavy fire_, is to play heavy
ordnance against a fortified place, or body of men, by a calm and
well-directed succession of shot. The term is equally applicable to a
steady fire of musketry.
=Kehl.= A town of Germany, on the Rhine, opposite Strasburg. It is of
great importance in a military sense, and was fortified by the French
engineer Vauban in the year 1688. This place has often been besieged and
taken. It was obstinately defended against the Austrians, who took it in
1797. It was taken by the French the following year, and retained by
them till 1814.
=Kelat.= A town and strong fortress of Afghanistan, 72 miles northeast
from Candahar. It was held by the British till their evacuation of the
country in 1842.
=Kelat.= The capital of Beloochistan, India, standing on a hill 6000
feet above the level of the sea. In 1840 this place was taken by the
English general Nott, but in the following year the British finally
withdrew from it.
=Kelso.= A town in Scotland, in the county of Roxburgh, situated at the
confluence of the Tweed and the Teviot. An old abbey, now in ruins, is
the chief object of interest in Kelso. It was founded by David I. in
1128, and was destroyed in 1560, after having sustained great injury at
the hands of the English in 1522 and 1545. Kelso is often mentioned in
the histories of the border wars.
=Kemmendine.= A post of the Burmese empire, near Rangoon, memorable for
the various contests between the British forces and the natives in 1824.
=Kenaians.= A numerous tribe of Indians residing in Alaska. They derive
their name from the peninsula of Kenai, and are peaceable and
self-supporting.
=Kenilworth.= A small town of Warwickshire, England. The only interest
of the place centres in its ruined castle, which stands on a rocky and
commanding eminence; it was founded by Geoffrey de Clinton, lord
chamberlain to Henry I. It was granted by Henry III. to Simon do
Montfort, earl of Leicester, and became the chief rallying-point of the
insurgents who sided with that noble. After his death it held out for
six months against the royal forces. The castle of Kenilworth was
dismantled by Oliver Cromwell.
=Kent.= A maritime county of England, forming the southeastern angle of
the kingdom, and approaching nearer to the continent than any other part
of the kingdom. It was in this county that the Romans first landed when
they invaded Britain. It was then inhabited by the Cantii. Kent was the
first kingdom of the Heptarchy established by the Saxons in Britain.
=Kentucky.= One of the Central States of the Mississippi Valley, and the
second admitted into the confederacy after the Revolution. It was
formerly included in the territory of Virginia, to which it belonged
till 1792. Its name, signifying “the dark and bloody ground,” is
suggestive of its early history, it being the scene of many bloody
conflicts between the settlers and Indians, and also the grand
battle-ground of the Indians themselves. The most important battle
between the Indians and whites took place near Blue Lick Springs, August
19, 1782, the latter numbering 182, and the former about three times
that number. After a desperate engagement the Kentuckians were totally
routed, with a loss of 60 killed and wounded. The celebrated Col. Boone
bore a part and lost a son in this engagement. In the war of 1812
Kentucky was largely and effectively represented, as also in the Mexican
war. In the civil war the State at first declared a strict neutrality;
but as this condition could not be maintained, after stormy and exciting
discussions in its councils, it declared for the Union in November,
1861. As the population was almost equally divided in its sympathy,
Kentuckians were to be found fighting in the ranks of both contending
armies. The State was the theatre of several hotly contested actions
during the civil war, and suffered considerably during that trying
period.
=Kerana.= A long trumpet, similar in shape and size to the
speaking-trumpet. The Persians use it whenever they wish to make any
extraordinary noise, and they frequently blow it with hautboys,
kettle-drums, and other instruments, at retreat or sunset, and two hours
after midnight.
=Kerman=, or =Sirjan=. The capital of a province of the same name in
Persia, situated about 360 miles southeast from Ispahan. In 1794, after
a brave defense, this city was taken by Aga Mohammed Khan, and given up
to plunder for three successive months. It has never recovered from the
effects of this great disaster.
=Kern= (Ir. _cearn_). A soldier. The Irish infantry were formerly
distinguished by this appellation. The men in those days were armed with
a sword and a dart or javelin, which was tied to a small cord, so that
after they had thrown it at the enemy they could instantly recover it,
and use it in any way they thought proper. The javelin was called
_skene_, which is also the Irish for a _knife_.