permanent quarters, but were liable to be sent not only from one end of
Great Britain to another, but to the most distant of her possessions
abroad. Although the word _marching_ is insensibly confounded with those
of _line_ and _regulars_, it was originally meant to convey something
more than a mere liability to be ordered upon any service; for by
marching the regular troops from one town to another, the inhabitants,
who from time immemorial have been jealous of a standing army, lost
their antipathy to real soldiers, by the occasional absence of regular
troops. At present the English guards, infantry, etc., may be considered
more or less as marching regiments. The marines and volunteers have
stationary quarters.
=Marcomanni.= A powerful confederacy of ancient Germans, who were
resident, as their name imports, on the borders. They are first
mentioned in history by Cæsar, and seem at that time to have dwelt upon
the banks of the Rhine. From Tacitus and several others we learn that
they soon afterwards moved westward, under their king Maroboduus, drove
the Boii out of Bohemia, and settled in that country. After organizing a
government, Maroboduus formed a league with the neighboring tribes, for
the purpose of defending Germany against the Romans. He was thus enabled
to muster 70,000 disciplined soldiers, and to conclude an honorable
treaty with the emperor Tiberius in 6 A.D. In 17 he was defeated by the
Cherusci, and in two years afterwards he was expelled from his throne by
the Goth Catualda, and forced to seek refuge in Italy. The same fate
soon afterwards befell his dethroner and successor, and the Marcomanni
once more came under the sway of native kings. After this they gradually
extended their dominions, until they had reached the Danube, and had
provoked the jealousy of the Romans in the time of Domitian. Then began
hostilities between the Romans and the Marcomanni, which led to the
protracted struggle of the Marcomannic war, during the reign of Marcus
Aurelius, but was finally quelled by the peace of Commodus, in 180.
Favored, however, by the feeble rule of Commodus, they continued their
predatory inroads into the Roman provinces of Noricum and Rhætia, and
ventured sometimes as far as the defiles of the Alps. In 270, in the
reign of Aurelian, they pushed forward into Italy, and penetrated even
to Ancona, spreading consternation around them. After this period they
disappear gradually, and are mentioned for the last time among the
hordes of Attila.
=Marcouf, St.= Two small islands of France, in the department Manche,
and which protect the roadstead off Cape La Hogue. They were taken by
the British in 1795, but restored to France at the peace of Amiens.
=Maréchal= (_Fr._). Major-general.
=Maréchal de Bataille= (_Fr._). A military rank which once existed in
France, but was suppressed before the revolution, or rather confined to
the body-guards. An officer belonging to that corps received it as an
honorary title. Its original functions, etc., with respect to general
service, sunk in the appointments of _maréchal de camp_ and
major-general. It was first created by Louis XIII. _Maréchal-général
des logis de la cavalerie_, this appointment took place under Charles
IX. in 1594. He had the chief direction of everything which related to
the French cavalry. _Maréchal des logis pour les vivres_, a person
belonging to the quartermaster-general’s department was so called in the
old French service.
=Maréchal de Camp= (_Fr._). A military rank which existed during the
French monarchy. The person invested with it was a general officer, and
ranked next to a lieutenant-general. It was his duty to see the army
properly disposed of in camp or quarters, to be present at all the
movements that were made; to be the first to mount his charger, and the
last to quit him. He commanded the left in all attacks. The appointment
under this distinction was first created by Henry IV. in 1598.
=Maréchal-Général des Camps et Armées du Roi= (_Fr._). A post of high
dignity and trust, which during the French monarchy was annexed to the
rank of _maréchal de France_. Military writers differ with respect to
the privileges, etc., which belonged to this appointment; it is,
however, generally acknowledged that the general officer who held it was
intrusted with the whole management of a siege, being subordinate only
to the constable, or to any other _maréchal de France_, who was his
senior in appointment.
=Maréchal-Général des Logis de l’Armée= (_Fr._). This appointment,
which existed during the old French government, and has since been
replaced by the _chef de l’état-major_, corresponds with that of
quartermaster-general in the British service.
=Maréchaussées de France= (_Fr._). A species of military police which
formerly existed in France. During the French monarchy there were 31
companies of _maréchaussées à cheval_, or mounted policemen. These
companies first formed for the purpose of preserving public
tranquillity, and were distributed in the different provinces of the
kingdom. This useful body of men was first formed under Philip I. in
1060; they were afterwards suppressed, and again re-established in 1720,
as constituting a part of the gendarmerie of France. There were other
companies of _maréchaussées_, who were particularly distinguished from
the 31 above mentioned; such, for instance, as that of the constables,
called the gendarmerie.
=Marengo.= A village of Italy, in Piedmont, near the Bormida, 2 miles
southeast from Alessandria. Here the French army, commanded by
Bonaparte, attacked the Austrians, June 14, 1800; his army was
retreating, when the arrival of Gen. Dessaix turned the fortunes of the
day. The slaughter on both sides was dreadful. By this victory Bonaparte
gained 12 strong fortresses, and became master of Italy.
=Margarita.= An island in the Caribbean Sea lies off the coast of
Venezuela, of which republic it forms a province. This island was first
visited by Columbus in 1498, and has in more recent times (1816) been
the scene of a bloody warfare between the revolutionists and the Spanish
troops under Gen. Murillo, in which the latter were defeated.
=Margrave.= A German nobleman corresponding in rank to the English
marquis. _Margravine_ is the wife of a margrave.
=Margum=, or =Margus=. A fortified place in Mœsia Superior, west of
Viminacium, situated on the river Margus (now _Morava_), at its
confluence with the Danube. Here Diocletian gained a decisive victory
over Carinus.
=Maricopa Indians.= A tribe of aborigines, numbering about 400, who are
located with the Pimas on a reservation on the Gila River, Arizona,
about 180 miles above its mouth. They are peaceable, and follow
agricultural pursuits.
=Marienbourg.= A fortified town of Belgium, situated in the province of
Namur. This place was occupied by the French from 1659 till 1815.
=Marignano= (now _Malegnano_). A village of Northern Italy, near Milan.
Three battles have been fought near here: (1) Francis I. of France
defeated the Duke of Milan and the Swiss, September 13-14, 1515; above
20,000 men were slain; this conflict has been called the “battle of the
giants.” (2) Near here was fought the battle of Pavia. (See PAVIA.) (3)
After the battle of Magenta, June 4, 1859, the Austrians intrenched
themselves at Malegnano. Marshal Baraguay d’Hilliers with 16,000 men was
sent to dislodge them, which he did, on June 8, with a loss of about 850
killed and wounded. The Austrians suffered severely.
=Marine.= A soldier serving on ship-board; a sea-soldier; one of a body
of troops trained to do duty on vessels of war.
=Marine Fortification.= This kind of fortification differs from land
fortification in that the approaches of the enemy which are to be
resisted take place on the level of the sea, so that he can come near
without having to overcome the dangerous slope of the glacis. The combat
is simply one between two powerful batteries, and the question to be
decided is, whether the ship or the fort will first be placed _hors de
combat_; the ship having ordinarily the largest number of guns, while
the fort has more solid battlements, and its fewer guns of great caliber
can be fired with a steadiness unattainable on so shifting a base as the
ocean. Under these circumstances, the less relief a sea-fortress has the
better, the less likely is it to be hit from shipping. Its walls are
usually built perpendicular, or nearly so. The magazines and quarters
for the men are bomb-proof, as also are the casemates, from which the
guns are usually fired, although sometimes, as in the martello tower,
the gun is worked on top of the structure. Sea fortifications may be of
various importance, the simplest being the battery consisting of a mere
parapet formed in a cliff or on a hill, and mounted with guns to command
the sea; these are generally built in such concealed situations, that
it is hoped the hostile ship will not perceive them until they actually
open fire. These are numerous all around the British coast. Next greater
in importance is the martello tower (which see). More powerful still are
the breach-forts, such as those which on either shore defend the
entrance to Portsmouth harbor, England. These are constructed of the
most solid masonry, and armed with guns of the heaviest caliber,
sweeping the very surface of the sea so as to strike an approaching ship
between wind and water. The guns are usually in bomb-proof casemates,
and the fort is often defended on the land side, if the coast be level;
if, however, higher ground be behind, this would be useless, and then
the sea-front alone is defensible. Most terrible of all sea-forts,
however, are the completely isolated forts with perpendicular faces and
two and three tiers of heavy guns. Such are the tremendous batteries
which render Cronstadt almost unapproachable, and by which Spithead and
Plymouth Sound, England, are now being fortified. These forts are
generally large, with all the requisites for a garrison to maintain
itself; against them wooden ships stand no chance, and in the American
civil war, Fort Sumter, at Charleston, has shown itself no mean
antagonist for ironsides. In the new forts, as Spithead, etc., iron is
to be employed as the facing, in plates of such vast thickness and
weight that it is supposed no ship can ever possess any comparable
power; and as they are to be armed with guns the smallest of which will
probably be 300-pounders, it is expected that they will be able to
destroy any fleet that could be sent against them. At the present day,
the value of sea fortifications is disputed, as iron-plated vessels may
pass them with impunity, unless the artillery in the fort be so heavy as
to destroy the armor of the ships. In the long run, however, it is
apparent that the fort can command the greater power; for its armor may
be of any thickness, while that of the ship must be limited by her
floating powers, and on the other hand, the limit to the size of
artillery must be sooner reached in a ship than in a solid and
stationary fortress.
=Marines, Corps of.= In the U. S. service is a body of troops who serve
at the different naval stations, and on board ships of war. The men are
drilled in all respects as infantry, and therefore, when on shore, are
ordinary land forces. On board ship, their ordinary functions are as
sharpshooters in time of action, and at other times to furnish sentries
for guarding the stores, gangways, etc.; and they are useful as
exercising a good control over the less rigidly disciplined sailors.
They are also instructed as guns’ crews, and when not on guard, are
subject to the orders of the naval officers in the same manner as the
seamen. The corps was first established in the United States in 1775,
and was permanently organized by act of Congress in 1798. By this act,
marines were made liable to do duty at the call of the President in any
of the forts or posts of the United States, and were placed on the
footing of infantry soldiers, as far as regards pay and allowances. When
detached for duty with the army, marines are subject to the Articles of
War; at all other times they are subject to the laws and regulations for
the government of the navy. The corps numbers about 2000 men commanded
by a colonel. The corps has undergone many changes in respect of
numbers, equipment, drill, and methods of recruiting since its
organization, and was never in a better state of discipline and
efficiency than now. No man is enlisted who is unable to read and write,
under 5 feet 6 inches high, or over thirty-five years of age. It is
organized into battalions for duty on shore, and into “guards,” or
companies, for service afloat, each having its proper complement of
officers, non-commissioned officers, musicians, and privates, and is
considered an indispensable auxiliary to the navy. Civilians between
twenty and twenty-five years of age are eligible at present to
appointment as lieutenants in line of promotion, and are stationed at
the head-quarters of the corps in Washington for their preliminary
instruction. In the British service, besides the infantry, there is a
division of marine artillery. In rank, marine officers correspond with
army officers of the same grade, according to seniority; they are
usually appointed from civil life.
=Maritime.= Bordering on, or situated near, the ocean; connected with
the sea by site, interest, or power.
=Mark.= That toward which a missile is directed; a thing aimed at; what
one seeks to hit or reach.
=Mark, St., Knights of.= An order of knighthood which formerly existed
in the republic of Venice, under the protection of St. Mark the
Evangelist.
=Mark Time.= To mark time is to move each leg alternately in quick or
ordinary time, without gaining ground. This is frequently practiced when
a front file or column has opened too much, in order to afford the rear
an opportunity of getting up; and sometimes to let the head of a column
disengage itself, or a body of troops file by, etc.
=Marker.= The soldier who forms the pivot of a wheeling column, or marks
the direction of an alignment. Also, the one who records the number of
hits and misses made by soldiers at target practice.
=Marks, Inspection.= Are certain marks cut on cannon to show the number
of the gun, the name of the founder, name of inspector, weight of the
piece, etc. Condemned shot are also marked. See INSPECTION OF
PROJECTILES.
=Marksman.= One who is skillful to hit a mark; one who shoots well.
=Marksmanship.= The skill of a marksman.
=Marlins.= Are tarred white skeins or long wreaths or lines of untwisted
hemp, dipped in pitch or tar, with which cables and other ropes are
wrapped round, to prevent their fretting and rubbing in the blocks or
pulleys through which they pass. The same serves in artillery upon ropes
used for rigging gins, usually put up in small parcels called skeins.
=Maron= (_Fr._). A piece of brass or copper, about the size of a crown,
on which the hours for going the rounds were marked in the old French
service. Several of these were put into a small bag, and deposited in
the hands of the major of the regiment, out of which they were regularly
drawn by the sergeants of companies, for the officers belonging to them.
The hours and half hours were engraved on each maron. These pieces were
numbered one, two, etc., to correspond with the several periods of the
night; so that the officer, for instance, who was to go to the 10
o’clock rounds, had as many marons marked ten as there were posts or
guard-houses which he was directed to visit. Thus on reaching the first,
after having given the _mot_, or watch-word, to the corporal, he
delivers into his hands the maron marked one. These marons being pierced
in the middle are successively strung by the different corporals upon a
piece of wire, from which they slide into a box called _boite aux
rondes_, or box belonging to the rounds. This box is carried next
morning to the major, who keeps the key; and who on opening it can
easily ascertain whether the rounds have been regularly gone by counting
the different marons, and seeing them successively strung.
=Maroons.= A name given to runaway negroes in Jamaica. When the island
was conquered from the Spaniards a number of their negroes fled to the
hills and became very troublesome to the colonists. A war of eight
years’ duration ensued, when the Maroons capitulated on being permitted
to retain their free settlements, about 1730. In 1795 they again took
arms, but they were speedily suppressed.
=Marquee=, or =Markee=. An outer fly, or roof-cloth of a tent; also, a
large field-tent.
=Marquis=, or =Marquess=. The degree of nobility which in the peerage of
England ranks next to a duke. Marquises were originally commanders on
the borders or frontiers of countries, or on the sea-coast, which they
were bound to protect. In England, the title of marquis was used in this
sense as early as the reign of Henry III., when there were marquises or
lords-marchers of the borders of Scotland and Wales; and the foreign
equivalent of _markgraf_ was common on the continent.
=Marrons.= In pyrotechny, are small paper shells filled with grained
powder and primed with short pieces of quick-match. They form part of
the _decorations_ of signal-rockets.
=Marrucini.= A brave and warlike people in Italy of the Sabellian race,
occupying a narrow slip of country along the right bank of the river
Atermus. Along with the Marsi, Peligni, and other Sabellian tribes, they
fought against Rome; and, together with them, they submitted to the
Romans, 304 B.C., and concluded a peace with the republic.
=Marsacii.= A people in Gallia Belgica, on one of the islands formed by
the Rhine, which first became known to the Romans through the war with
Civilis.
=Marsaglia.= Near Turin, in Italy. A battle took place here on September
24, 1693, in which Catinat defeated Prince Eugène and the Duke of Savoy.
This battle and place are memorable for being the first at which
bayonets were used at the ends of muskets, and to this the French owed
the victory.
=Marsala= (Arab. _Marsa Alla_, “the port of God”). A maritime town of
Sicily, in the province of Trapani, about 19 miles south-southwest of
the port of Trapani. Marsala has recently acquired historic interest as
the point where Garibaldi, eluding the vigilance of the Neapolitan
fleet, landed with his heroic _thousand_, and began the romantic
campaign which terminated the kingdom of the two Sicilies so
ignominiously.
=Marseillaise.= The name by which the grand song of the first French
revolution is known. The circumstances which led to its composition are
as follows. In the beginning of 1792, when a column of volunteers was
about to leave Strasburg, the mayor of the city, who gave a banquet on
the occasion, asked an officer of artillery, named Rouget de Lisle, to
compose a song in their honor. His request was complied with, and the
result was the Marseillaise,--both verse and music being the work of one
night. De Lisle entitled the piece “_Chant de Guerre de l’Armée du
Rhin_.” Next day it was sung with that rapturous enthusiasm that only
Frenchmen can exhibit, and instead of 600 volunteers, 1000 marched out
of Strasburg. Soon from the whole army of the North resounded the
thrilling and fiery words, _Aux armes! Aux armes!_ Nevertheless, the
song was still unknown in Paris, and was first introduced there by
Barbaroux, when he summoned the youth of Marseilles to the capital in
July, 1792. It was received with transports by the Parisians,
who--ignorant of its real authorship--named it “_Hymne des
Marseillais_,” which name it has borne ever since.
=Marseilles= (anc. _Massilia_). A city in the south of France, the
capital of the department of the Mouths-of-the-Rhone, situated on the
Mediterranean Sea. It was founded by the Phocæans about 600 B.C.; was an
ally of Rome, 218 B.C.; taken by Julius Cæsar after a long siege, 49
B.C.; by Euric the Visigoth, 470; sacked by the Saracens, 839; united to
the crown of France, 1482. Marseilles opposed the revolutionary
government, and was reduced August 23, 1793.
=Marshal= (Fr. _maréchal_). A term which originally meant a groom or
manager of the horse, though eventually the king’s marshal became one of
the principal officers of state in England. The royal farrier rose in
dignity with the increasing importance of the _chevalerie_, till he
became conjointly with the constable the judge in the _Curiæ Martiales_,
or courts of chivalry. When the king headed his army in feudal times,
the assembled troops were inspected by the constable and marshal, who
fixed the spot for the encampment of each noble, and examined the
number, arms, and condition of his retainers. With these duties was
naturally combined the regulation of all matters connected with armorial
bearing standards, and ensigns. The constable’s functions were virtually
abolished in the time of Henry VIII., and the marshal became thenceforth
the sole judge in questions of honor and arms. (See EARL MARSHAL.) In
France, the highest military officer is called a marshal, a dignity
which originated early in the 13th century. There was at first only one
_maréchal de France_, and there were but two till the time of James I.
Their number afterwards became unlimited. Originally, the marshal was
the esquire of the king, and commanded the vanguard in war; in later
times, the command became supreme, and the rank of the highest military
importance. See FIELD-MARSHAL.
=Marshal.= To dispose in order; to arrange in a suitable manner; as, to
marshal troops or an army.
=Marshal of Scotland, Earl.= An officer who had command of the cavalry
under the constable. This office was held by the family of Keith, but
forfeited by rebellion in 1715.
=Marshal, Provost-.= See PROVOST-MARSHAL.
=Marshaler= (written also _marshaller_). One who marshals.
=Marshaling of Arms.= In heraldry, is the combining of different coats
of arms in one escutcheon, for the purpose of indicating family alliance
or office.
=Marsi.= A brave people of Southern Italy, who, after several contests,
yielded to the Romans about 301 B.C. During the civil wars they and
their allies rebelled, having demanded and been refused the rights of
Roman citizenship, 91 B.C. After many successes and reverses, they sued
for and obtained peace and the rights they required, 87 B.C. The Marsi
being _Socii_ of the Romans, this was called the Social war.
=Marsilly Carriage.= A naval gun-carriage having but one set of trucks,
one of the transoms resting directly on the deck. It is used in the
U. S. navy for mounting the 9-inch Dahlgren in broadside.
=Marston Moor.= Near the city of York, England. The Scots and
Parliamentary army were besieging York, when Prince Rupert, joined by
the Marquis of Newcastle, determined to raise the siege. Both sides drew
up on Marston Moor, July 2, 1644, and the contest was long undecided.
Rupert, commanding the right wing of the royalists, was opposed by
Oliver Cromwell, at the head of troops disciplined by himself. Cromwell
was victorious; he drove his opponents off the field, followed the
vanquished, returned to a second engagement and a second victory. The
prince’s artillery was taken and the royalists never recovered the blow.
=Marta=, or =Martha Santa=. A town of New Granada, South America,
capital of a province of the same name in the department of Magdalena.
It was repeatedly sacked by pirates during the 16th and 17th centuries;
and in 1672 was completely pillaged by a French and an English vessel.
It suffered much from the attacks of the Indians during the
revolutionary war, and does not appear to have regained its former
importance.
=Marteau d’Armes= (_Fr._). An offensive weapon, so called from its
resemblance to a hammer.
=Martel-de-fer.= A hammer and pick conjoined, used by horse-soldiers in
the Middle Ages to break and destroy armor.