west-northwest of Dresden, near the Prussian border, in a large and
fertile plain. The Elster, the Pleisze, and the Parthe flow through or
past the city, and unite about 3 miles below it. The city sprung up at
the junction of the Pleisze and the Parthe, and is first mentioned as a
town in 1015. It gradually increased in prosperity and importance. The
famous _Leipsic Conference_ between Luther, Eck, and Carlstadt, in 1519,
greatly tended to the promotion of the Reformation. It suffered greatly
in the Thirty Years’ War, in which it was five times besieged and taken,
and again in the Seven Years’ War; and although the commercial changes
connected with the French revolution at first affected it very
favorably, yet it suffered not a little amidst the terrible struggle of
the years 1812 and 1813, when it was alternately in possession of the
French and of the allies. The immediate neighborhood of Leipsic has
been the scene of two battles of great importance in the history of
Germany and of Europe,--the battle of Leipsic, or of Breitenfeld (see
BREITENFELD), on September 7, 1631, and the great battle called the
_Battle of the Nations_, which continued for three days, October 16-18,
1813. The latter was one of the most bloody and decisive of those which
effected the deliverance of Europe from French domination. The troops
under Napoleon in this battle amounted to about 180,000 men, and those
of the allies, commanded by Prince Schwarzenberg, Marshal Blücher, and
Bernadotte, crown-prince of Sweden, to almost 300,000. About 2000 pieces
of artillery were brought to the field. The loss of the French was
reckoned at about 38,000 killed and wounded, and 30,000 prisoners; that
of the allies to about 48,000. The victory of the allies was complete;
the French being compelled to evacuate Leipsic, and to retreat.
=Leith.= A town of Scotland, 2 miles northeast from Edinburgh, of which
it is the seaport. It was burned in 1541 by an English fleet, and in
1549 it was occupied by French troops, who came to the assistance of
Mary of Guise.
=Leleges.= An ancient race which inhabited Greece before the Hellenes,
and are mentioned along with the Pelasgians as the most ancient
inhabitants. They were a warlike and migratory race, and piracy was
their chief occupation. The Leleges must be regarded as a branch of the
great Indo-Germanic race, who became incorporated with the Hellenes, and
thus ceased to exist as an independent people.
=Length of Cannon.= Is the distance from the rear of the base-ring to
the face of the piece, and the _extreme length_ is from the rear of the
cascabel to the face.
=Lengthen.= To extend in length; to make longer; to elongate; as, to
lengthen a line of troops. _To lengthen the step_, to take more than the
prescribed pace.
=Lenni-Lenape.= See DELAWARES.
=Lens.= A parish and town of France, in the department Pas-de-Calais, 9
miles from Arras. A battle was fought here in 1648, between the Spanish
forces and those of the Prince of Condé, in which the latter gained the
victory.
=Lentini= (Lat. _Leontini_). A city of Sicily, situated between Syracuse
and Catania. In 427 B.C., the Lentinians applied to the Athenians for
support against Syracuse; they were sent twenty ships, under the command
of Laches and Charœades. In 215 B.C., they raised their standard of open
war against Rome; but Marcellus hastened to attack the city, and made
himself master of it without difficulty. Under the Roman government it
was restored to the position of an independent town.
=Leon.= A province of Spain, subdivided into the smaller provinces of
Salamanca, Zumor, and Leon. The kingdom of Leon was erected in 746, by
Alfonso the Catholic, out of the provinces he had wrested from the
Saracens and the older kingdom of Asturias, and in 1230 it was
permanently united to Castile. During the Peninsular war it suffered
greatly.
=Lepanto= (anc. _Naupactus_). Called by the Greek peasants Epakto, a
seaport town of Greece, 12 miles northeast from Patras. The name
Naupactus is said to have originated with the Heraclidæ, who are
reported to have there built the fleet with which they invaded the
Peloponnesus. After the Persian war it fell into the possession of the
Athenians, who settled it with the expatriated Messenians. The Athenians
made it their chief military station in Western Greece during the
Peloponnesian war. At its close Lepanto was taken by the Locrians, and
afterwards passed in succession through the hands of the Etolians,
Macedonians, Achæans, and Romans. In 1475 it was invested by the Turks,
who, after the loss of 30,000 men in four months, were forced to raise
the siege. Within the Gulf of Lepanto, in 1571, was fought the great
naval engagement between the Ottomans and the Christian powers of the
Mediterranean, under Don John of Austria, in which the former lost about
200 galleys and 20,000 men.
=Lerida.= A town of Spain, in Catalonia, on the Segre, 80 miles
northwest from Barcelona. In 1707 this place was stormed by the French,
and in 1810 it was again taken by French troops under Suchet.
=Lesse= (_Fr._). A machine covered with raw hides, used as a mantelet by
the ancient Greeks for different purposes.
=Let Off, To.= To discharge; to let fly, as an arrow; or fire the charge
of, as a gun.
=Letter Stamp.= See INSPECTION OF CANNON.
=Letters Patent.= The written instrument by which a government grants to
an inventor the exclusive right and use of his invention for a term of
years.
=Lettre de Cachet= (_Fr._). An infamous state paper, which existed
before the French revolution, which was sealed, and the person upon whom
it was served carried into confinement without ever seeing the authority
by which he was hurried off in so peremptory a manner, or being tried
afterwards for any specific offense. It was always written by the king,
countersigned by one of his principal secretaries of state, and sealed
with the royal signet.
=Lettre de Passe= (_Fr._). A paper which was formerly signed by the
kings of France, authorizing an officer to exchange from one regiment
into another.
=Leuctra.= A village of Bœotia, situated between Thespia and Platæa, in
the territory of the former, celebrated as the scene of the great battle
between the Spartans, commanded by Cleombrotus, and the Thebans, under
Epaminondas, in which the former were defeated, and the supremacy of
Sparta finally overthrown.
=Leuthen.= A village of Prussia, in Lower Silesia, 9 miles west of
Breslau. It is celebrated for the victory won there December 6, 1757, by
Frederick the Great, with 33,000 men, over the Austrians under Prince
Charles of Lorraine at the head of 92,000.
=Levee en Masse= (_Fr._). A general rising of the people of any country,
either for the purpose of self-defense, or to answer the intention of
its governing powers.
=Level.= In mining, is a horizontal passage or gallery.
=Level, Gunner’s.= Sec GUNNER’S LEVEL.
=Level, Horizontal.= Free from obstructions or declivities.
=Level, James’s.= An instrument to find the highest points of the breech
and muzzle of a cannon, when the carriage-wheels stand on uneven ground.
_Plumb-level_, one in which the horizontal arm is placed in true
position by means of a plummet or plumb-line, to which it is at right
angles. _Spirit-level_, one in which the adjustment to the horizon
depends on the position of a bubble, or small vacant space, in the upper
side of a glass tube, which is slightly curved and nearly filled with
alcohol or ether. _Surveyor’s level_, or _leveling instrument_, a
telescope with a spirit-level attached, and with suitable screws, etc.,
for accurate adjustment, the whole mounted on a tripod for use in
leveling.
=Levellers.= A fanatical party in Germany, headed by Muncer and Storck
in the 16th century, who taught that all distinctions of rank were
usurpations on the rights of mankind. At the head of 40,000 men Muncer
commanded the sovereign princes of Germany and the magistrates of cities
to resign their authority; and on his march his followers ravaged the
country. The landgrave of Hesse at last defeated him; 7000 of the
enthusiasts fell in battle, and the rest fled; their leader was taken
and beheaded at Mulhausen in 1525. The English “Levellers,” powerful in
Parliament in 1647, were put down by Cromwell in 1649, and their leader,
Lilburn, imprisoned.
=Lever-jack.= See IMPLEMENTS.
=Levet.= A blast of a trumpet,--probably that by which soldiers are
called in the morning. This term is obsolete.
=Levy= (Fr. _levée_). Is the compulsory raising of a body of troops from
any specified class in the community for purposes of general defense or
offense. When a country is in danger of instant invasion, a _levée en
masse_ is sometimes made,--_i.e._, every man capable of bearing arms is
required to contribute in person towards the common defense. On less
urgent occasions, the levy may be restricted to a class, as to men
between eighteen and forty years of age. At other times, a levy of so
many thousand men of a certain age is decreed, and the districts
concerned draw them by lot from among their eligible male population. In
armies sustained by volunteering, the levy, which is a remnant of
barbarous times, is unnecessary; but the system was frequently resorted
to in France before the enactment of the conscription laws. In 1862-64
there were great levies in the United States of America; and in any
country where great danger is apparent, and volunteers are not
sufficiently numerous, recourse must at all times be had to a levy of
the people. This term is also applied to the assessment of taxes, tolls,
or contributions.
=Levy.= To raise or collect troops or funds by a levy. The word has also
other meanings; as, to _levy_ war, to make war, to begin hostilities; to
_levy_ a siege, to desist from, to raise the siege. In this latter sense
it is nearly obsolete.
=Lewes.= A town of England, in Sussex, on the Ouse, 7 miles northeast
from Brighton. Near this town, in 1264, Henry III. was defeated by Simon
de Montfort, and imprisoned in the castle.
=Lewis.= A device for lifting stones, consisting of two wedge-shaped
pieces of iron, which are inserted butt foremost into a dovetail mortise
in the stone, and keyed by inserting a piece between them. All three are
then shackled to the lifting-chain by a bolt passing through them.
=Lexington.= A township of Middlesex Co., Mass., 11 miles northwest from
Boston. The first battle in the war between Great Britain and her
revolted colonies in North America was fought here on April 19, 1775,
and ended disastrously for the British.
=Lexington.= A village of Lafayette township, Mo., on the right bank of
the Missouri River. In September, 1861, a body of Federal troops under
Col. Mulligan were here captured by the Confederate general Price. The
town was retaken by the Federals in October following. In October, 1864,
an indecisive engagement took place here between the armies of Gens.
Price and Blunt.
=Leydan= (anc. _Lugdunum Batavorum_). An important city of the
Netherlands, in the province of South Holland, on the Old Rhine, 6 miles
from its outlet in the North Sea. It was once a strong fortress, and the
siege which it sustained from the Spaniards in 1573-74 made it famous.
For seven weeks there was no bread within its walls, but the burghers
still resisted, though the hunger became almost unbearable. At last the
Prince of Orange came to their rescue. The dykes were opened, and the
waters, which drowned a great number of the besiegers, carried a fleet
of 200 boats loaded with provisions to the city. As a reward for the
valor the city evinced during this siege, the Prince of Orange founded a
university here.
=Liburnia.= In ancient times was a portion of Northern Illyricum, in the
neighborhood of the Sinus Flanaticus, now the present Croatia and
Dalmatia. It was inhabited by the Pelasgic race, who were daring seamen
and noted pirates. Their privateers, with large lateen-sails, were for
centuries the terror of the seas, and during the second Macedonian war
the Romans adopted them.
=Libyans.= The name formerly given to the inhabitants of the northern
portion of Africa, with the exception of the delta of the Nile. They
fell under the sway of the Romans, and subsequently relapsed into
barbarism.
=Licorne.= See HOWITZER.
=Lictor.= A Roman officer who bore an axe and fasces as insignia of his
office. His duty was to attend the chief magistrates when they appeared
in public, to clear the way and enforce respect for them. In addition,
he performed constabulary duties.
=Lid=, or =Roof=. See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR.
=Lide= (_Fr._). A warlike machine which was formerly used to throw large
stones against a fortified place, or upon an enemy.
=Lie.= To be situated; to occupy a fixed place; as, the troops lie
encamped at Washington. _To lie in ambush_, to be posted in such a
manner as to be able to surprise your enemy, should he presume to
advance without having previously cleared the woods, hedges, etc. _To
lie in wait_, to take a position unobserved by the enemy, and to remain
under arms, in the expectation of suddenly falling upon his flanks or
rear. _To lie under cover_, to be under the protection of a battery, or
to be sheltered by a wood, etc. _To lie under arms_, to remain in a
state ready for action.
=Liebenau.= A town of Bohemia. Here was fought the first action of the
Seven Weeks’ War, June 26, 1866, when the Austrians were compelled to
retreat by the Prussians under Gen. von Horne.
=Liegnitz.= A town of Prussian Silesia, at the conflux of the Katzbach,
the Schwarzwasser, and the Neisse, 35 miles northwest from Breslau. The
Austrian army was totally defeated before Liegnitz in 1760 by the
Prussians under the command of Frederick the Great.
=Lieutenancy.= The office or commission of a lieutenant.
=Lieutenant.= From the French, _lieu tenant_, “holding the place,” in a
general sense is an officer performing the duties of his superior. The
rank was abolished by Charles IX. in the French army, and re-established
by Henry IV. In company organizations the lieutenant comes next after
the captain, and supplies his place during temporary absence. There are
two grades of lieutenants, first and second. A lieutenant in the navy is
an officer ranking with a captain in the army, holding rank above a
master and below a lieutenant-commander.
=Lieutenant de la Colonelle= (_Fr._). The second officer, or what was
formerly styled the captain-lieutenant of the colonel’s company of every
infantry regiment in France.
=Lieutenant du Roi= (_Fr._). During the monarchy of France there was a
deputy governor in every fortified place, or strong town, who commanded
in the absence of the governor, and was a check upon his conduct when
present. This person was called _lieutenant du roi_. _Lieutenants des
Gardes Françoises et Suisses_; lieutenants belonging to the French and
Swiss guards. During the existence of the monarchy in France they bore
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, and took precedence of all captains.
_Lieutenants Provinciaux d’Artillerie_ were certain officers belonging
to the old French service, and immediately attached to the artillery,
who bore the title or name of the particular province in which they were
stationed. Several of these lieutenants, who had military employment
under the board of ordnance, received the rank of lieutenant-general in
the army from the king, and could rise to the most exalted stations in
common with other officers.
=Lieutenant-Colonel.= His rank corresponds with that of commanders in
the navy. See COLONEL, LIEUTENANT-.
=Lieutenant-General.= His rank is equivalent to that of a vice-admiral.
See GENERAL, LIEUTENANT-.
=Life-guard.= A guard of the life or person; a guard that attends the
person of a prince, or other high officer or dignitary; a body-guard.
See GUARDS.
=Light Battery.= A mounted battery of field-guns.
=Light Bobs.= In the British service, a familiar term used for the light
infantry.
=Light Horse.= All mounted soldiers that are lightly armed and accoutred
for active and desultory service, may be considered under this term.
Thus light dragoons, hussars, mounted riflemen, etc., are strictly
speaking light horse.
=Light Infantry.= A body of armed men selected and trained for rapid
evolutions; often employed to cover and assist other troops. See
INFANTRY, LIGHT.
=Light Infantry Company.= In the British service, a company of active,
strong men, carefully selected from the rest of the regiment. It always
occupies its place on the left of the battalion until called for. When
the call sounds, the light company orders arms and unfixes bayonets
without word of command, and remains in readiness to move.
=Light Marching Order.= A soldier paraded with arms, ammunition,
canteen, and haversack, is said to be in light marching order.
=Light Troops.= By this term is generally meant all troops which are
lightly accoutred for detached service.
=Light, Velocity of.= It has been proven by astronomers that light
travels through space with the prodigious, though finite, velocity of
192,500, or nearly 200,000 miles in a second of time, and consequently
would pass round the earth in the eighth part of a second. It is also
proved, by the phenomena of aberration, that the light of the sun,
planets, and all the fixed stars, travels with the same velocity.
=Light-armed.= Not heavily armed, or armed with _light_ weapons; as,
light troops; a troop of light horse. See INFANTRY, LIGHT-ARMED.
=Light-ball.= See PYROTECHNY.
=Light-barrel.= See PYROTECHNY.
=Ligny.= A village in Belgium, in the province of Namur, about 10 miles
northeast of Charleroi, famous on account of the battle fought here by
the French under Napoleon, and the Prussians under Blücher, June 16,
1815, in which the latter was defeated.
=Liguria.= In ancient geography, a region of Northern Italy, the land of
the Ligurians It is first mentioned by the early Greek authors as
extending as far westward as the mouths of the Rhone, while according to
Polybius, its eastern boundary was Pisæ, and its northern the country of
the Arretines. The Ligurians, so often praised by ancient authors for
their hardihood and bravery, are generally understood to be those on the
south side of the Apennines exclusively. In the time of Strabo these
eked out the scanty produce of their stony and sterile soil by hunting
and feeding flocks, and thus fostered that vigor of frame and ferocity
of disposition which long rendered them the indomitable foes and
plunderers of the Romans. They were renowned as slingers and light
infantry in the armies of the Carthaginians, and afterwards in those of
the Romans. They were conquered by the Romans in 125 B.C. Liguria formed
the first point of the Roman province of Gaul; in 1797, in consequence
of the conquests of Bonaparte, it was formed into the republic of
Liguria.
=Limber.= To attach to the limbers; as, to limber the gun; to limber up.
=Limber-chest.= The ammunition-chest placed on the limber of
field-pieces.
=Limbers.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR.
=Limenarque= (_Fr._). An office of distinction, which existed in the
Roman empire. The persons invested with it were directed to watch the
frontiers of the empire, and they commanded the troops that were
employed upon that service.
=Limerick.= A city of Ireland, chief town of a county of the same name,
situated on the Shannon, about 60 miles from its mouth, and 106 miles
south-southwest of Dublin. It has always been deemed a place of
importance. It was taken by the English in 1174; in 1651 it was taken by
Ireton, the son-in-law of Cromwell; in 1690 it was unsuccessfully
besieged by King William III. in person; in 1691 it surrendered to Gen.
Ginkel, afterwards earl of Athlone. Before the Conquest it was the seat
of the kings of Thomond.
=Limitary.= A guard or superintendent, placed at the confines or
boundaries of any kingdom or state.
=Limitation of Time of Prosecution.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 103.
=Limites Romani.= The name of a continuous series of fortifications,
consisting of castles, walls, earthen ramparts, and the like, which the
Romans erected along the Rhine and the Danube, to protect their
possessions from the attacks of the Germans.
=Limits.= In a military sense, is that which bounds or confines; as, the
limits of a sentinel’s post; the limits of a garrison. An officer in
arrest may have his limits extended.
=Limoges.= A town of France, in the department of the Upper Vienne, on
the Vienne. It was besieged and taken by the English in 1370.
=Limonite.= An iron ore (which see).
=Lincelles.= In Northern France, where the allied English and Dutch
armies defeated the French, August 18, 1793.
=Linch-pin.= A pin through the end of an axle-arm of an artillery
carriage to keep the wheel on. A hook attached to the head of the pin
and embracing the axle-arm prevents the pin from being jolted out.
=Linch-pin Washer.= A ring against which the linch pin rubs.
=Lincoln= (anc. _Lindum Colonia_). A city of England, the capital of
Lincolnshire, on the Witham. It was at the period of the Conquest rich
and populous. It was taken several times by Saxons and Danes. Without
Newport-gate, upon Lincoln plain, was fought the battle between the
partisans of the empress Maud, commanded by the Earl of Gloucester, and
the army of Stephen, in which the king was defeated and taken prisoner,
February 2, 1141. Lincoln was the scene of important operations during
the civil wars in the reign of King John; and here the party of the
Dauphin was completely overthrown by the Earl of Pembroke during the
minority of Henry III. During the great civil war the royalists obtained
possession of the city, but it was stormed by the Parliamentary army
under the Earl of Manchester, May 5, 1644.
=Linden-tree.= The wood used in artificial fireworks, etc.
=Lindisfarne.= See HOLY ISLAND.
=Line.= Various opinions have been given as to what portion of the
military establishment should constitute the _line_ of the army, and in
the absence of legislation, which should settle the question, it will
continue to be a subject of controversy, and some difficulty has arisen
from the vague and uncertain meaning of the words “line of the army,”
which neither in the English service nor in the United States have a
well-defined meaning. The opinion that the words are intended to
distinguish the regular army from the militia, or discriminate between
officers by brevet and those by ordinary commissions, as understood by
some, would seem to be erroneous. Though the words “line of the army”
may sometimes be used in a different sense, the opinion prevails that in
the 122d Article of War they are used to designate those officers of the
army who do not belong to the staff, in contradistinction to those who
do. It is now generally conceded that the law contemplates that the
fighting portion of the army; as cavalry, artillery, infantry, and
engineers, or that part of the service organized or subdivided into
units for command, as well as the commanders thereof, constitutes the
“line of the army.” The four arms of the service above mentioned form
the principal part of a mobilized army, and as they are always formed
into a line of battle to resist the attack of an enemy, or to make an
attack, they are generally known as the “line of the army,” or “troops
of the line,” to distinguish them from other bodies of men who form
parts of an army.
=Line.= In the British service, the regular infantry of an army, as
distinguished from militia, volunteer corps, artillery, cavalry, etc.
=Line.= In tactics, a body of men in either one or two ranks; generally
a body of troops drawn up with an extended front. _To line_, is to place
troops in line (see ALIGN); thus, _to line_ hedges or walls, is to place
troops behind them. _To form the line_, in land tactics, is to arrange
the troops in order of battle, or battle array. _To break the line_, to
change the direction from that of a straight line, in order to obtain a
cross-fire, and for other purposes. _To line a street or road_, is to
draw up any number of men on each side of the street or road, and to
face them inwards. This is frequently practiced on days of ceremony,
when some distinguished person is received with military honors on his
way through places where troops are stationed. This is the usage also in
funerals, when the corps under arms form a line facing inwards.
=Line.= In fencing, an imaginary line opposite to the fencer, wherein
the shoulders, right arm, and the sword should always be found, and
wherein are also to be placed the two feet at the distance of 18 inches
apart. In which sense a man is said to be in his _line_, or to go out of
his line, etc.
=Line.= A cord or rope; as, a picket line, side lines (which see).
=Line, Horizontal.= A line parallel to the plane of the horizon; as, any
line in the level surface of a plane.
=Line, Inclined.= Is a line which is oblique to the plane of the
horizon.
=Line, Magistral.= See MAGISTRAL LINE.
=Line, Oblique.= A straight line which is neither parallel nor
perpendicular to another line; also a line of troops posted or marching
obliquely.
=Line of Battle.= The position of troops drawn up in their usual order
without any determined manœuvre.
=Line of Counter-approach.= A sort of trench which the besieged make,
and push forward from the glacis, for the purpose of counteracting the
enemy’s works.
=Line of Defense.= See DEFENSE, LINE OF.
=Line of Demarcation.= A line which is drawn by consent, to ascertain
the limits of lands or territories belonging to different powers.