Taurida, on the coast of the Crimea. It was colonized in 500 B.C. by the
Milesians, and about 50 B.C. it became part of the Roman empire; and in
375 A.D. it fell into the hands of the Huns. In 1280 it was occupied by
the Genoese, who were driven out by the Turks in 1473. It was seized by
the Russians in 1771, and formally ceded to them in 1774. In May, 1855,
it was taken by the allied French and English during the Crimean war, on
which occasion it was ruthlessly plundered by the soldiery.
=Ket’s Rebellion.= A revolt which occurred in England in July, 1549,
instigated by William Ket, a tanner, of Norfolk. He demanded the
abolition of inclosures and the dismissal of evil counselors. The
insurgents amounted to 20,000 men, but were quickly defeated by the Earl
of Warwick, whose troops killed more than 200 of the insurgents.
=Kettle-drum.= A drum formed by stretching vellum over the circular edge
of a hemispherical vessel of brass or copper. This instrument, which
gives forth a sharp, ringing sound, is used in Europe by regiments of
cavalry and horse-artillery in lieu of the ordinary cylindrical drum,
which would, from its shape, be inconvenient on horseback. Kettle-drums
are not used in the U. S. military service.
=Kettle-drum Cart.= A four-wheel carriage drawn by four horses, which
was used exclusively by the British artillery as a pageant. The ordnance
flag was painted on the fore part, and the drummer, with two
kettle-drums, was seated, as in a chair of state, on the back part. This
cart, which is finely engraved and richly gilt, has not been in the
field since 1743, when the king was present. It is at present kept in
the Tower of London.
=Kettle-drummer.= One who plays on a kettle-drum.
=Kettle-hat.= A cap of iron worn by knights in the Middle Ages.
=Key.= In artillery carriages, is a bolt used to secure cap squares and
for analogous purposes.
=Key of a Position or Country.= A point the possession of which gives
the control of that position or country.
=Key-chain.= A chain attached to the key to prevent it from being lost.
=Key-plates.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.
=Keyserlicks=, or =Imperialists=. The Austrian troops are frequently
called so. The term was indeed common among the British soldiers, when
they did duty with the Austrians, and invaded France in 1794.
=Khaibar.= A town of Arabia, the capital of an independent Jewish
territory, 110 miles north from Medina. In 628 it was taken by Mohammed,
who had received from a Jewess of the town the poisoned egg which
ultimately cost him his life.
=Khan.= A title of Mongolian or Tartar sovereigns and lords. A _khanate_
is a principality. _Khagan_ means “khan of khans,” but has seldom been
applied. The word khan is probably of the same origin as king.
=Khedive.= A title, said to signify a position inferior to an absolute
sovereign, but superior to a mere viceroy, which was given to the
viceroy of Egypt, Ismail Pasha, by the sultan of Turkey in 1867.
=Kheet= (_Ind._). A fortified city, which is 4 or more coss, or 8
English miles, in length and breadth, and which does not exceed 8 coss,
or 16 English miles.
=Khelat.= A hill fortress of considerable strength in the territory of
Afghanistan, which was gallantly captured by the British troops in 1839.
=Kherson.= An ancient Dorian colony, which came under the sway of the
great Mithridates about 120 B.C., and afterwards of that of Rome in 30.
It continued important, and its possession was long disputed by the
Russians and Greeks. It was taken by Vladimir, grand duke of Russia, in
988. The city was destroyed by the Lithuanians; and the Turks found it
deserted when they took possession of the Crimea in 1475.
=Khiva= (anc. _Chorasmia_), =Khaurezm=, =Kharasm=, or =Urgunge=. A
khanate of Turkestan, in Central Asia. In ancient times it was nominally
subject to the Selucidæ; subsequently it formed part of the kingdoms of
Bactria, Parthia, Persia, and the Caliphate, and became an independent
monarchy in 1092 under a Seljuk dynasty. The Khivans, or as they were
then called, the Khaurezmians, after conquering the whole of Persia and
Afghanistan, were obliged to succumb to the Moguls, under Genghis Khan,
in 1221. In 1370 it came into the hands of Timur. Timur’s descendants
were subdued in 1511 by Shahy Beg, chief of the Uzbeks, a Turkish tribe,
and his successors still rule over Khiva. In 1717, Peter the Great
attempted to conquer it, but his army was totally defeated; the attempt
was renewed in 1839 by the czar Nicholas, with the same result; the
greater part of the Russian army perished in the desert. From 1873 to
1875, however, it was continually invaded by the armies of Russia, who
in the latter year occupied a portion of the principality, which is now
ruled by the Russian government under the name of the Trans-Caspian
Territory.
=Khodadaud Sircar= (_Ind._). The government or ruler blessed or beloved
of God; it was a title assumed by Tippoo Sahib, the sovereign of the
kingdom of Mysore, who fell in defense of his capital, Seringanatam,
when it was stormed, May 4, 1799, by the British forces under
Lieut.-Gen. Harris.
=Khoi.= A walled town of Persia, province of Azerbijan, on a tributary
of the Khar. In the plain of Khoi, Shah Ismael signally defeated the
Turks under Selim I. in 1514.
=Khurd-Cabul.= A village of Afghanistan, situated 16 miles southeast of
Cabul. Here, in 1841, the British troops retreating from Cabul to
Jelalabad became totally disorganized, and were murdered without
resistance by the Afghans; and here, in 1842, Gen. Pollock encamped
after the decisive defeat of the Afghans at Terzeen.
=Khyber Pass.= The most practicable of all the openings through the
Khyber Mountains, is the only one by which cannon can be conveyed
between the plain of Peshawur, on the right bank of the upper Indus, and
the plain of Jelalabad, in Northern Afghanistan. It is 30 miles in
length, being here and there merely a narrow ravine between almost
perpendicular rocks of at least 600 feet in height. It may be said to
have been the key of the adjacent regions in either direction from the
days of Alexander the Great to the Afghan wars of 1839-42. Here a
British army, on its retreat from Cabul in January, 1842, was absolutely
annihilated.
=Kibee.= A flaw produced in the bore of a gun by a shot striking against
it.
=Kick.= To recoil;--said of a musket, piece of ordnance, and the like.
=Kickapoos.= A tribe of Indians who formerly lived on the Wisconsin
River, and were for a long time hostile to the white settlers, but after
Wayne’s victory over the tribes in Ohio in 1794 submitted, and concluded
a treaty of peace in 1795. In 1811 and 1812, however, they again renewed
hostilities, and attacked Fort Harrison in the latter year. Being
repulsed, they surprised and murdered 20 persons at the mouth of White
River. For this and similar atrocities they were punished by the burning
of some of their villages. After a desultory warfare, treaties of peace
were again concluded with them, and after the treaty of 1819 they sold
their lands and moved beyond the Mississippi River. A few settled down
to agriculture, and their descendants now exhibit considerable
indications of civilization; but the greater number roamed over the
country committing depredations. Some of them are now settled on the
Kansas agency, Kansas, and others on the Sac and Fox agency, in Indian
Territory. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Kidnapper.= Parties were formerly so called, who by improper means
decoyed the unwary into the army.
=Kiel.= Chief town of Holstein, a seaport, and a member of the Hanseatic
League in 1300. By a treaty between Great Britain, Sweden, and Denmark,
signed here January 14, 1814, Norway was ceded to Sweden. An
extraordinary assembly of the revolted provinces, Schleswig and
Holstein, met here September 9, 1850. By the convention of Gastein
between Austria and Prussia, August 14, 1865, the former was to govern
Holstein, but Kiel to be held by Prussia as a German federal port. This
was annulled in 1866 by the issue of the war.
=Kiev=, or =Kief.= The chief town of the government of that name, on
the west bank of the Dnieper; is one of the oldest of the Russian towns,
and was formerly the capital. In 864 it was taken from the Khazars by
two Norman chiefs, companions of Ruric, and conquered from them by Oleg,
Ruric’s successor, who made it his capital. It was nearly destroyed by
Batu, khan of Kiptchak. In the 14th century it was seized by Gedimin,
grand duke of Lithuania, and annexed to Poland in 1569, but in 1686 was
restored to Russia.
=Kilcullen.= In Kildare, Ireland. Here a large body of the insurgent
Irish defeated the British forces commanded by Gen. Dundas, May 23,
1798. The general in a subsequent engagement overthrew the rebels near
Kilcullen bridge, when 300 were slain.
=Kildare.= A county of Ireland, in the province of Leinster. The
insurrection in Ireland which swelled into the rebellion, commenced in
Kildare, May 23, 1798. On that night Lieut. Gifford of Dublin, and a
number of other gentlemen, were murdered by the insurgents. This
rebellion was quelled in 1799.
=Kilkenny.= Capital of a county of the same name in Ireland, on the
Nore. After a siege the town surrendered to Cromwell, March 28, 1650, on
honorable terms.
=Killa= (_Ind._). A castle, fort, or fortress.
=Killadar.= The governor, or commandant of a fort in India.
=Killala.= A small seaport town of Ireland, in the county of Mayo. It
was invaded by a French force landing from three frigates, under Gen.
Humbert, August 22, 1798. The invaders were joined by the Irish
insurgents, and the battles of Castlebar and Colooney followed; and the
French were defeated at Ballinamuck, September 8 of the same year.
=Killaloe.= A town of Ireland, in the county Clare, 12 miles northeast
of Limerick. This town was long the royal seat of the O’Briens; and at
Kincora, about a mile to the north, are pointed out some remains of the
residence. At Killaloe, in 1691, Gen. Sarsfield intercepted the
artillery of William III. on its way to Limerick.
=Killese.= The groove in a cross-bow.
=Killiecrankie.= A famous pass through the Grampian Mountains, in
Perthshire, Scotland, 15 miles northwest of Dunkeld. At the northwest
extremity of this pass a battle was fought in 1689, between the
revolutionary army under Gen. Mackay, and the royalists under J. C.
Graham of Claverhouse, viscount Dundee, in which the former was
defeated.
=Kilmainham Hospital.= An asylum in Dublin, Ireland, for aged and
disabled soldiers. It was founded by Arthur, earl of Granard,
marshal-general of the army in Ireland, 1675. The appointments to this
place are in the gift of the commander-in-chief of the army, who selects
them from the old half-pay officers. The expense of the institution to
the country is £8000 per annum.
=Kilmallock.= A town of Ireland, in the county Limerick. It was
invested by the Irish forces in 1598, but the siege was raised by the
Duke of Ormond. There was much fighting done here in 1641 and 1642.
Kilmallock police barrack was attacked by 200 armed Fenians on March 5,
1867; the barrack was defended for three hours by 14 police constables,
who finally drove off the Fenians, with loss, by a sally.
=Kilsyth.= A village of Scotland, in Stirlingshire, 13 miles southwest
from Stirling. Montrose gained a victory over the Covenanters, commanded
by Gen. Baillie, near Kilsyth in 1637.
=Kinburn.= A fort at the confluence of the rivers Bug and Dnieper, which
was taken by the English and French, October 17, 1855. Three floating
French batteries, on the principle of horizontal shell-firing, said to
be the invention of the emperor, were very effective. On October 18, the
Russians blew up Oczakoff, a fort opposite.
=Kindle.= In a military sense, to kindle is to excite to arms; to excite
military ardor.
=Kineton.= A town of England, in Warwickshire, 11 miles southeast from
Warwick, in the vicinity of which the famous battle of Edgehill was
fought between the royalist and Parliamentary armies in 1642.
=Kinghorn.= A small burgh of Scotland, in the county of Fife, situated
on the Frith of Forth. In early Scottish history it was a place of
importance. Here Macbeth is said to have routed the Northmen.
=King-of-Arms=, or =King-at-Arms=. The principal herald of England was
at first designated king of the heralds, a title exchanged for
king-of-arms about the reign of Henry IV. There are four kings-of-arms
in England, named respectively Garter, Clarencieux, Norrov, and Bath;
but the first three only are members of the College of Arms. Scotland
has a heraldic officer called Lyon king-of-arms, or Lord Lyon
king-at-arms. Ireland has one king-of-arms, named Ulster. See HERALD.
=King’s Mountain.= A range of mountains in North and South Carolina,
about 16 miles from north to south, with several spurs spreading
laterally. About a mile and a half south of the North Carolina line, in
this range, on October 7, 1780, the British forces about 1100 strong,
under Lieut.-Col. Ferguson, were surprised and attacked by the American
militia under Cols. Cleaveland, Shelby, and Campbell, and, after an
obstinate and bloody contest, their leader being among the slain, the
British were made prisoners.
=Kingsland.= A parish of England, in Herefordshire, 4 miles west from
Leominster. The battle of Mortimer’s Cross, which fixed Edward IV. on
the throne, was fought here in 1461.
=Kingston.= A city in Ulster Co., N. Y., 90 miles north of New York
City. It was burnt by a British force under Sir Henry Clinton, October
7, 1777; it was afterwards rebuilt and incorporated as a village in
1805.
=Kingston.= A village and township of Luzerne Co., Pa. In this township
the massacre of Wyoming took place, on July 3, 1778. See WYOMING VALLEY.
=Kingston-upon-Thames.= A town in Surrey, England, on the Thames, 10
miles southwest of London. The first armed force of the Parliamentary
army assembled in this town, and here the last attempt in favor of
Charles I. was made.
=Kinsale.= A town of Ireland, in the county of Cork. This place was
taken by the Spaniards in 1601, and in 1608 King James II. landed here.
=Kioge.= A seaport of Denmark, near Copenhagen, where the Danes in 1807
were signally defeated by the British.
=Kiowas.= A warlike and powerful tribe of Indians, who formerly roamed
over Kansas, Colorado, and Northern Texas, robbing and murdering
settlers. They are now located, to the number of about 2000, with the
Comanches, on a reservation in Indian Territory. In 1870, in violation
of the terms of their treaty, they made a raid into Texas, where they
killed several people. For this two of their principal chiefs, Satantá
and Big Tree, were sentenced to be hung; but their sentence was commuted
to imprisonment for life, and they were subsequently pardoned. Of late
years they have been peaceable.
=Kiptchak=, or =Kipchak=. A term which, in the Middle Ages, designated
that vast territory stretching north of the Caspian Sea, from the Don to
Turkestan, and occupied by the Kumans and Polovises. This tract formed
one of the four empires into which the huge dominion of Genghis Khan was
divided, and was the portion of his eldest son Jûjy, under whose son and
successor, Batû Khan, it became the terror of Western Europe, and held
Russia in iron subjection from 1236 till 1362. Batû also conquered
Bulgaria, and invaded Hungary, Austria, and Eastern Germany, but made no
permanent conquests in this direction. This extensive empire was
dismembered towards the end of the 15th century, and gave rise to the
khanates of Kazan, Astrakhan, and Crim-Tartary. The Mongols of Kiptchak
were also known as the Golden Horde.
=Kirkee.= A village of Hindostan, near Poona, in the Deccan, memorable
for a battle fought there in 1817 between the Anglo-Indian forces and
the Mahrattas, who, although greatly superior in number, were compelled
to retreat with severe loss.
=Kisselbaches.= Soldiers are so called in India.
=Kissingen.= A town of Bavaria, on the Saale, 30 miles north-northeast
of Würzburg. It was taken by storm on July 10, 1866, after a severe
engagement between the Bavarians and Prussians, in which the latter were
victorious.
=Kit.= A small wooden pail or bucket, wherewith boats are bailed out.
=Kit.= In military language, the equipment in necessaries, such as
shirts, boots, brushes, etc., of a soldier, but not applicable to his
uniform, arms, or accoutrements.
=Kitchen.= The building or room used by soldiers for cooking purposes.
=Klagenfurth=, or =Clagenfurt=. A town of Austria, the capital of the
duchy of Carinthia, on the Glan. In 1809 the French entered this place,
and destroyed the fortifications which surrounded it.
=Klamaths=, or =Clamets=. A tribe of Northern California Indians, who
lived in Southern Oregon and Northern California, near Klamath Lake, and
on Klamath and Rogue Rivers. They are generally peaceable, and number
about 700. They are now located on a reservation, and have an agency in
Southern Oregon known by their name.
=Klicket.= A small gate in a palisade for the purpose of sallying forth.
=Kliketats=, or =Kliktats=. A tribe of Indians who resided in Washington
Territory, in the country between the Cascade Range and the Columbia
River, north of the Dalles. They were reduced to complete subjection in
1855, and are now located with kindred tribes to the number of about
4000, on the Yakima reservation, Washington Territory.
=Klinket.= A term used in fortification, signifying a small postern or
gate in a palisade.
=Knapsack.= A bag of canvas or skin, containing a soldier’s necessaries,
and worn suspended by straps between his shoulders. Those used in the
British army are ordinarily of black painted canvas, but a new sort of
knapsack, called the valise equipment, has been issued to some
regiments. Some other nations, as the Swiss, make them of thick
goat-skin, dressed with the hair on.
=Knight.= From the Saxon _cniht_, a servant or attendant, was originally
a man-at-arms bound to the performance of certain duties, among others
to attend his sovereign or feudal superior on horseback in time of war.
The institution of knighthood, as conferred by investiture, and with
certain oaths and ceremonies, arose gradually throughout Europe as an
adjunct of the feudal system. The character of the knight was at once
military and religious; the defense of the Holy Sepulchre and the
protection of pilgrims being the objects to which, in early times of the
institution, he especially devoted himself The system of knight-service
introduced into England by William the Conqueror empowered the king, or
even a superior lord who was a subject, to compel every holder of a
certain extent of land, called a knight’s fee, to become a member of the
knightly order; his investiture being accounted proof that he possessed
the requisite knightly arms, and was sufficiently trained in their use.
After the long war between France and England, it became the practice
for the sovereign to receive money compensations from subjects who were
unwilling to receive knighthood, a system out of which grew a series of
grievances, leading eventually to the total abolition of knight-service
in the reign of Charles II. Since the abolition of knight-service,
knighthood has been conferred, without any regard to property, as a mark
of the sovereign’s esteem, or a reward for services of any kind, civil
or military. The ceremonies practiced in conferring knighthood have
varied at different periods. In general, some religious ceremonies were
performed, the sword and spurs were bound on the candidate; after which
a blow was dealt him on the cheek or shoulder, as the last affront which
he was to receive unrequited. He then took an oath to protect the
distressed, maintain right against might, and never by word or deed to
stain his character as a knight and a Christian. A knight might be
degraded for the infringement of any part of his oath, in which case his
spurs were chopped off with a hatchet, his sword was broken, his
escutcheon reversed, and some religious observances were added, during
which each piece of armor was taken off in succession, and cast from the
recreant knight. For the different orders of knighthood, see separate
articles, under their appropriate headings, in this work.
=Knight, To.= To dub or create a knight, which in modern times is done
by the sovereign, who gives the person kneeling a blow with a sword, and
says, “Rise, Sir ----.”
=Knight Baronet=, or =Baronet=. A dignity or degree of honor next below
a baron and above a knight, having precedency of all orders of knights
except those of the garter, and being the only knighthood that is
hereditary. The order was founded by James I. in 1611, and is given by
patent. The word, however, in the sense of _lesser_ baron, was in use
long before the time of James I.
=Knightage.= The body of knights taken collectively.
=Knight-bachelor.= One of the lowest order of knights, who were expected
to remain unmarried until they had gained some renown by their
achievements.
=Knight-banneret.= A knight who carried a banner, who possessed fiefs to
a greater amount than the knight-bachelor, and who was obliged to serve
in war with a greater number of attendants. He was created by the
sovereign in person on the field of battle.
=Knight-errant.= A wandering knight; a knight who traveled in search of
adventures, for the purpose of exhibiting military skill, prowess, and
generosity.
=Knight-errantry.= The practice of wandering in quest of adventures; the
manners of wandering knights; a quixotic or romantic adventure or
scheme.
=Knight-erratic.= Pertaining to knight-errantry.
=Knighthood.= Originally a military distinction, came, in the 16th
century, to be occasionally conferred on civilians, as a reward for
valuable services rendered to the crown or community. The first civil
knight in England was Sir William Walworth, lord mayor of London, who
won that distinction by slaying the rebel Wat Tyler in presence of the
king. In recent times, it has been bestowed at least as often on
scholars, lawyers, artists, or citizens, as on soldiers, and in many
cases for no weightier service than carrying a congratulatory address to
court.
=Knighthood.= The character, dignity, or condition of a knight.
=Knightliness.= Duties of a knight.
=Knightly.= Pertaining to a knight; becoming a knight; as, a knightly
combat.
=Knights, Military.= An institution of military knights at Windsor,
England, formerly called “Poor Knights,” which owes its origin to Edward
III., and is a provision for a limited number of old officers. These
officers consist of a governor and 12 knights on the upper foundation,
and 5 on the lower, together 18, and are composed of officers selected
from every grade, from a colonel to a subaltern, chiefly veterans, or on
half-pay. They are allowed three rooms each in Windsor Palace, and 2
shillings per diem for their sustenance, besides other small allowances.
=Knights of St. George.= See GARTER, ORDER OF THE.
=Knights Templar.= See TEMPLAR, KNIGHTS.
=Knight-service.= A tenure of lands held by knights on condition of
performing military service. It was abolished in the time of Charles II.
of England.
=Knob of a Cascabel.= See CASCABEL.
=Knot.= A twist or loop in a rope or cord, so made that the motion of
one piece of the line over the other shall be stopped. The knot owes its
power of passive resistance to the friction of the rope. The three
elementary knots, which every one should know, are the _timber-hitch_,
the _bow-line_, and the _clove-hitch_.
The virtues of the _timber-hitch_ are, that, so long as the strain upon
it is kept up, it will never give; when the strain is taken off, it is
cast loose immediately.
The _bow-line_ makes a knot difficult to undo; with it the ends of two
strings are tied together, or a loop made at the end of a single piece
of string. For slip nooses, use the bowline to make the draw-loop.
The _clove-hitch_ binds with excessive force, and by it, and it alone,
can a weight be hung to a smooth pole, as to a tent-pole. A kind of
double clove-hitch is generally used, but the simple one suffices, and
is more easily recollected.