sharp edges instead of points.
=Mattress.= A quilted bed; a bed stuffed with hair, moss, or other soft
material, and quilted. Mattresses are much used by officers on
campaigns.
=Mattucashlash.= An ancient Scotch weapon sometimes called armpit
dagger, which was worn under the armpit, ready to be used on coming to
close quarters. This, with a broad sword and shield, completely armed
the Highlanders.
=Maubenge.= A town of France, in the department of Nord, situated on the
Sambre, not far from the frontiers of Belgium. The town is well
fortified, the defenses being by the famous Vauban. The town traces its
origin back to the 7th century, and being situated near the frontier,
has been an object of great contention. It has been taken no less than
ten times since the 15th century, and finally by the allies in 1815.
=Maul.= A heavy beater, or hammer, usually shod with iron, used in
driving piles, etc.
=Mauritania=, or =Mauretania=. The ancient name of the northwestern part
of Africa, corresponding in its limits to the present sultanate of
Morocco and the western portion of Algeria. It derived its name from its
inhabitants, the Mauri (Moors). The country was conquered by the Romans,
who founded many colonies in it, and in 49 B.C. Julius Cæsar appointed
Bogudes and Bocchoris joint kings of Mauritania. In 429 the Vandal king
Genseric, at the invitation of Count Boniface, crossed the Straits of
Gades, and Mauritania, with other African provinces, fell into the hands
of the barbarian conquerors. Belisarius destroyed the kingdom of the
Vandals, and Mauritania again became a Roman province under an Eastern
exarch. In 698, when the Arabs made the final conquest of Africa, the
Moors adopted the religion, name, and origin of their conquerors, and
sunk back into their more congenial state of Mohammedan savages.
=Mauritius=, or =The Isle of France=. An island in the Indian Ocean,
lying about 500 miles east from Madagascar, and forming a colony of
Great Britain. This island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1505, and
in 1598 it was taken by the Dutch. In 1810 it came into the possession
of the English.
=Mauser Gun.= Is the army service breech-loading rifle used since 1874
by the German infantry. It was invented in 1871, and derives its name
from Mauser, a gunsmith of Würtemberg, who modified and greatly improved
it. Its advantages over the needle-gun, the weapon used in the
Franco-German war, are numerous. It is lighter, weighing about two
pounds less, and carrying a heavier charge of powder and a lighter ball,
is of longer range, being effective at 1300 yards; the manner of loading
it is simpler, and it can be fired with greater rapidity.
=Maximum Charge.= See CHARGE.
=Maya.= A gorge in the Pyrenees, between Bidassoa and Nivelle, the scene
of an action in July, 1813, in which the French were worsted by the
English, under Gen. Stewart.
=Mayaguez.= A town and port of the island of Porto Rico. An adventurer
named Ducondray took this town in 1822, and made an attempt to establish
an independent republic.
=Maynard’s Primer.= Consisted of a coil of paper tape containing small
charges of percussion-powder placed at certain intervals. The coil was
placed in a circular cavity on the outside of the lock-plate. The
cocking of the piece, by unwinding the coil, brought successive charges
over the nipple, when they were exploded by the fall of the hammer.
=Maynard’s Rifle.= One of the first, if not the first rifle in which a
metallic cartridge was used. It was described in an official report to
the U. S. Chief of Ordnance in 1856. This, as well as the _primer_
mentioned above, was the invention of Dr. E. Maynard. This rifle in
improved form is still in the market.
=Meal Powder.= See GUNPOWDER.
=Measure.= To compute or ascertain the extent, quantity, dimensions, or
capacity of, by a certain rule or standard.
=Measure of Velocity.= In projectiles and mechanics, is the space passed
over by a moving body in any given time. The space therefore must be
divided into as many equal parts as the time is conceived to be divided
into: the quantity of space answering to such portion of time is the
measure of the velocity.
=Measures.= For powder are cylindrical copper vessels of various sizes
for determining the charges of shells, cannon, etc.
=Meaux.= A town of France, in the department of the Seine-et-Marne, 23
miles northeast from Paris. After a siege of several months, this place
was taken by the English in 1520.
=Mecca.= A city of Arabia, capital of the province of Hejaz, and of the
district Belud-el-Haram. This was the birthplace of Mohammed, and the
cradle of the Mussulman creed. In 1804 and 1807, it was taken by the
Wahabees, and in 1818, by Ibrahim Pasha.
=Mechanical Manœuvres.= The application of the mechanical powers in
mounting, dismounting, shifting, and transporting artillery.
=Mechanical Powers.= Certain simple machines, such us the lever and its
modifications, the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane with
its modifications, the screw, and the wedge, which convert a small force
acting through a great space into a great force acting through a small
space, or _vice versa_, and are used separately or in combination.
=Mechanics.= That science, or branch of applied mathematics, which
treats of motion, and develops the effects of powers or moving forces,
so far as they are applied to machines.
=Mechanicsville.= In Henrico Co., Va. Near here, on the left bank of the
Chickahominy, on the east side of Beaver Dam Creek, a battle was fought
on June 26, 1862, between the Confederate forces, under Gen. Lee, and
the Federal troops, under Gen. McClellan, in which the former were
compelled to retreat with great loss. The fight was mainly sustained on
the Federal side by the brigades of Gens. Reynolds and Seymour, and
lasted about seven hours, during the greater part of which time the
Federal artillery kept up a destructive fire on the enemy as they
essayed to charge the lines, each successive attempt only ending in
renewed disaster. Their loss was said to be about 3000, while that of
the Federals did not exceed 300.
=Mechlin=, or =Malines=. A town of Belgium, in the province of Antwerp,
situated on the Dyle. It was founded in the 6th century; destroyed by
the Normans in 884; sacked by the Spaniards, 1572; taken by the Prince
of Orange, 1578, and by the English, 1580; frequently captured in the
17th and 18th centuries, partaking in the evil fortunes of the country.
=Mecklenburg.= Formerly a principality in Lower Saxony, now
independent as the two grand duchies of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and
Mecklenburg-Strelitz. The house of Mecklenburg claims to be descended
from Genseric the Vandal, who ravaged the Western empire in the 5th
century, and died, 477. During the Thirty Years’ War, Mecklenburg was
conquered by Wallenstein, who became its duke, 1628; it was restored to
its own duke, 1630. After several changes, the government was settled in
1701 as it now exists in the two branches of Schwerin and Strelitz. In
1815 the dukes were made grand dukes, and they joined the new North
German Confederation by treaty, August 21, 1866.
=Medal.= Is a piece of metal in the form of a coin, struck to
commemorate some remarkable event, or in honor of some distinguished
person, but having no place in the currency. Medals belong to two
periods, ancient and modern, separated by a wide interval. To the former
belong those pieces issued in ancient Rome, known as _medallions_, and
made of gold, silver, or copper. They are generally supposed to have
been struck on occasions similar to those on which medals are coined in
modern times, on the accession of an emperor, on the achievement of an
important victory, or as specimens of workmanship. Modern medals date
from the 14th century, but few were struck prior to the 15th. In more
recent times, it has become customary to confer medals as marks of
distinction for eminent worth or noble conduct, but more particularly
for naval or military services. Such medals of honor are seldom of
great intrinsic value, their worth depending on the associations
connected with them. During the Revolutionary war Congress conferred
these marks of honor on several military and naval heroes, who
distinguished themselves by their valor or achievements during that
eventful period. In the U. S. service, at present, bronze medals of
honor are conferred on enlisted men in the army, navy, and marine corps
for gallantry in action, or extraordinary heroism in the line of their
duties. In the English military service, similar medals are granted.
They are generally of silver, and have ribbons attached, with clasps or
small bars, each of which bears the name of a particular engagement.
Good-service medals of silver are also distributed among meritorious
soldiers, sailors, and marines.
=Medals of Honor.= See MEDALS.
=Medeah=, or =Medeyah=. A fortified town of Algeria, 40 miles southwest
from Algiers. This town was taken by the French in 1820.
=Media.= In ancient times, the name of the northwestern part of Iran,
which was bounded by the Caspian Sea on the north, Persia on the south,
Parthia on the east, and Assyria on the west. The Medians were in
language, religion, and manners very nearly allied to the Persians.
After they had shaken off the yoke of the Assyrians, their tribes united
about 708 B.C., chose Dejoces for their chief, and made Ecbatana their
capital. His son Phraortes, or Arphaxad, subdued the Persians. Cyaxares,
the son of Phraortes, in alliance with Nabopolassar, king of Babylon,
overthrew the Assyrian empire about 604 B.C., spread the terror of his
arms as far as Egypt and the farthest bounds of Asia Minor, and
vanquished the brigand hordes of Scythia, who had carried their ravages
as far as Syria. He was succeeded by his son Astyage, who was deposed
(560 B.C.) by his own grandson Cyrus, king of Persia; and from this time
the two nations are spoken of as one people. After the death of
Alexander the Great (324 B.C.), the northwest portion of Media became a
separate kingdom, and existed till the time of Augustus; the other
portion, under the name of _Great Media_, forming a part of the Syrian
monarchy. Media was on several occasions separated from Persia. In 152
B.C., Mithridates I. took Great Media from the Syrians, and annexed it
to the Parthian empire, and about 36 B.C., it had a king of its own,
named Artavasdes, against whom Mark Antony made war. Under the Sassanian
dynasty, the whole of Media was united to Persia. It became, during the
14th and 15th centuries, the stronghold of the Turkoman tribes. In early
times the Medes were a warlike race, and were distinguished for their
skill with the bow. They were also celebrated for their horsemanship,
and it was from them that the Persians adopted this and other favorite
exercises and acquirements. In subsequent times, they appear to have
become effeminated by luxury.
=Mediator.= Any state or power which interferes to adjust a quarrel
between any two or more powers, is called a mediator.
=Medical Department.= This department of an army, next to the
commissariat, is the most important of all the non-combatant sections.
The surgical treatment of the wounded in actual fighting, and still more
the combat with disease engendered by crowding, unhealthy stations, and
the reckless habits of the soldiery, necessitate a large medical staff;
for, on an average of the whole army, it is found that the rate of
sickness is at least quadruple that for the civil population. In the
British army every battalion, when at home or in the temperate zone, has
a surgeon and an assistant-surgeon; when in India or the tropics,
another assistant-surgeon is added. The medical department is governed
by a director-general, who is a member of the War Office, and has charge
of the surgical, medical, and sanitary arrangements of the army. In the
United States every military post has at least one medical officer and
sometimes two, as the nature of the climate or the strength of the
command demands, all of whom are under the command of a surgeon-general,
who ranks as brigadier-general, and is permanently established at
Washington, D. C. He has full control over everything that pertains to
the medical department of the army. Officers of the medical department
are assistant-surgeons, with the rank of first lieutenants of cavalry
the first five years of their service thereafter, till promoted to the
grade of surgeon, when they receive the rank, pay, and emoluments of
captain.
=Medical Director.= In the U. S. service, an officer who is placed on
duty at the headquarters of a military geographical division or
department, and who, under the supervision of the surgeon-general, has
control of the medical department within the limits of the command in
which he is serving.
=Medical School.= At Netley, England, an institution is established for
the technical education of medical officers for the British and Indian
military service. Candidates are examined competitively in the ordinary
subjects of professional knowledge; and, passing satisfactorily through
that ordeal, are then required to attend for six months at the Military
Medical School. As the school is attached to the Royal Victoria
Hospital, which is the great invalid depot for the whole army, the
students have ample opportunity of seeing theory exemplified in
practice.
=Medical Staff.= This branch of the British army is under the control of
an experienced officer, stationed at headquarters, under the
denomination of “director-general.” Immediately under his command are a
number of inspectors-general, deputy inspectors-general, and a corps of
staff-surgeons. The locality of all the officers subordinate to the
director-general is determined by the force to which they may be
attached. All the regimental surgeons and assistant-surgeons make their
reports to and consult the staff-officer who is placed in their
district. The director-general is paid from the civil department of the
government. A deputy inspector-general of hospitals must have served
five years at home, or three years abroad in this rank, before he shall
be eligible to the highest rank of inspector-general.
The _medical board_ consists of three or four medical officers, who may
be convened by an order through the Secretary of War, for the inspection
of wounded officers, in order to secure them a provision for life,
according to the regulations regarding pensions, etc.
=Medicine-chest.= Is composed of all sorts of medicines necessary for a
campaign, together with such chirurgical instruments as are useful,
fitted up in chests and portable. The army is supplied with these at the
expense of the government.
=Medina.= Or more fully, Medinat Al Nabi (City of the Prophet), the
holiest city throughout Mohammedanism next to Mecca, and second capital
and stronghold of Hedjaz in Western Arabia. In this city Mohammed was
protected when he fled from Mecca, September 13, 622, others say July
15, 622. (See HEGIRA.) Medina was taken by the Wahabees in 1804; retaken
by the pasha of Egypt in 1818.
=Medina de Rio Seco.= A town of Spain, 25 miles northwest of Valladolid,
on the Seguillo, an affluent of the Douro. Here Bessières defeated the
Spaniards, July 15, 1808.
=Medjidie.= A Turkish order, instituted in 1852, and conferred after the
Crimean campaign, to a considerable extent, on British officers. It has
five classes; and the decoration, which differs in size for the
different classes, is a silver sun of seven triple rays, with the device
of the crescent and star alternating with the rays. On a circle of red
enamel, in the centre of the decoration, is the legend in Turkish, whose
signification is “zeal, honor, and loyalty,” and the date 1268, the
Mohammedan year corresponding to 1852; the sultan’s name is inscribed on
a gold field within this circle. The first three classes suspend the
badge round the neck from a red ribbon having green borders, and the
fourth and fifth classes wear it attached to a similar ribbon on the
left breast. A star, in design closely resembling the badge, is worn on
the left breast by the first class, and on the right breast by the
second class.
=Meeanee=, or =Miyani=. A village in Sinde, Hindostan, on the Indus, 6
miles north of Hyderabad, is celebrated as the scene of a great battle
between Sir Charles Napier and the ameers of Sinde, February 17, 1843.
Sir Charles’s force, composed partly of Europeans, and partly of
natives, amounted to only 2800 men; that of his foes to 22,000, yet the
latter were totally routed, losing in killed and wounded 5000, while Sir
Charles’s loss was only 256. The result of this victory was the conquest
and annexation of Sinde.
=Meer Bukshy.= In the East Indies, a chief paymaster.
=Meer Tozuk.= In the East Indies, a marshal whose business is to
preserve order in a procession or line of march, and to report
absentees.
=Meerut=, =Merut=, or =Mirut=. The chief town of a district of the same
name in British India, on the Kali Nuddi, about 42 miles northeast from
Delhi. Here on May 10, 1857, the native troops revolted, shooting their
own European officers, and massacring the European inmates without
respect to age or sex.
=Megalopolis= (now _Sinano_, or _Sinanu_). The most recent, but the most
important of the cities of Arcadia, was founded on the advice of
Epaminondas, after the battle of Leuctra, 371 B.C., and was formed out
of the inhabitants of 38 villages. It was situated near the frontiers of
Messenia, on the river Helisson. It was for a time subject to the
Macedonians, but soon after the death of Alexander the Great, it was
governed by a series of native tyrants, the last of whom united the city
to the Achæan League, 234 B.C. It became, in consequence, opposed to
Sparta, and was taken by Cleomenes, who destroyed a great part of the
city, 222. After the battle of Sellasia in the following year it was
restored by Philopœmen.
=Megara.= An ancient city of Greece, capital of the territory Megaris,
was situated 8 stadia (1 mile) from the sea, opposite the island of
Salamis, about 26 miles from Athens and 31 miles from Corinth. In
461-445 B.C. the Athenians had possession of the country, but it
subsequently became annexed to Attica, and Megaris formed one of the
four ancient divisions of Attica. It was next conquered by the Dorians,
and was for a time subject to Corinth; but it finally asserted its
independence, and rapidly became a wealthy and powerful city. The
government was originally an aristocracy, as in most of the Doric
cities; but Theagenes, one of the common people, put himself at the head
of the popular party, and obtained the supreme power about 620 B.C.
Theagenes was afterward expelled, and a democratical form of government
established. After the Persian wars, Megara was for some time at war
with Corinth, and was thus led to form an alliance with Athens, and to
receive an Athenian garrison in the city, 461; but they were expelled in
441. The city was taken and its walls destroyed by Demetrius
Poliorcetes; it was again taken by the Romans under Q. Metellus; and in
the time of Augustus it had ceased to be a place of importance.
=Meggheteriarque= (_Fr._). The commanding officer of a body of men; who
formerly did duty at Constantinople, and were called _Heteriennes_,
being composed of soldiers who were enlisted in the allied nations.
=Mehadpore=, =Mehidpoor=, =Mahedpore=, or =Maheidpoor=. A town of
Hindostan, Gwalior dominions, 22 miles north of Odjein. Here Sir Thomas
Hislop and Sir John Malcolm defeated the Mahrattas under Holkar,
December 21, 1817.
=Meigs Gun.= See MAGAZINE GUNS.
=Melanippus.= The name of four Trojan warriors, who fought valiantly in
the wars of their native country.
=Melazzo= (West Sicily). Here Garibaldi, on July 20-21, 1860, defeated
the Neapolitans under Gen. Bosco, who lost about 600 men; Garibaldi’s
loss being 167. The latter entered Messina; and on July 30 a convention
was signed by which it was settled that the Neapolitan troops were to
quit Sicily. They held the citadel of Messina till March 13, 1861.
=Mêlée= (_Fr._). A military term, which is used among the French to
express the hurry and confusion of a battle. Mêlée corresponds with the
English expression “thick of the fight.”
=Melegnano.= See MARIGNANO.
=Melfi.= A town of Naples, province of Basilicata (Potenza), 75 miles
east-northeast of Naples, and 34 south of Foggia. It was formerly the
capital of the Norman possessions in Southern Italy, and was defended by
walls, now in a ruinous condition, and by an ancient Norman castle. The
town was taken, and 18,000 of its inhabitants massacred by the French,
under Lautrec de Foix, in 1528.
=Meloria=, or =Melora=. A small island in the Mediterranean, off the
coast of Tuscany, 4 miles west of Leghorn. Near Meloria the Pisan fleet
defeated the Genoese in 1241, capturing many bishops going with much
treasure to a council. The total destruction of the Pisan fleet on
August 6, 1284, by the Genoese near the same place, after a most
sanguinary conflict, was considered to be the just punishment of
impiety.
=Melos= (now _Milo_). One of the Cyclades in the Ægean Sea, colonized by
the Spartans about 1116 B.C.; it was captured during the Peloponnesian
war, after a seven months’ siege, by the Athenians, who massacred all
the men and sold the women and children as slaves, 416 B.C.
=Melrose.= A village at the foot of the Eildon Hills, on the south bank
of the Tweed. It is famous for the ruins of its noble abbey founded by
King David I. in 1136, its original pile having been destroyed during
the Wars of the Succession. Melrose was burned by Kenneth, king of
Scots, in 839.
=Melton-Mowbray.= A town of England, in Leicestershire, situated at the
confluence of the Wreak and Eye. It is remarkable as the scene of a
defeat of the Parliamentary troops by the royalists in 1644.
=Melun.= An ancient town of France, capital of the department of
Seine-et-Marne, 28 miles southeast from Paris. It was the _Melodunum_ of
the Romans; was taken by Clovis in 494; was stormed five times during
the 9th century by the Northmen, and fell into the hands of the English
after a siege of six months in 1419, and was held by them for ten years.
=Members.= Officers are so called who are detailed by orders to sit on
general or garrison courts-martial.
=Members, Supernumerary.= In case supernumerary members are detailed for
a court-martial, they are sworn, and it is right that they should sit
and be present at all deliberations even when the court is cleared, in
order to be prepared to take the place of any absent member. Until then
they have no voice.
=Memel.= A town and seaport of East Prussia, on the small river Dange,
adjacent to the Cürische Haff, 74 miles northeast from Königsberg. It is
strongly fortified. It was taken by Teutonic knights about 1328.
=Memmingen.= A town of Bavaria, circle of Swabia, situated on a
tributary of the Iller. It is noted as the scene of a victory gained by
the French under Moreau over the Austrians, May 10, 1800.
=Memoir.= Is the title given by military officers to those plans which
they offer to their government or commanders on subjects relating to war
or military economy.
=Memoirs.= In military literature, a species of history, written by
persons who had some share in the transactions they relate, answering in
some measure to what the Romans call _commentarii_, “commentaries.”
Hence Cæsar’s Commentaries, or the memoirs of his campaigns.
=Memorial.= An address to the government on any matter of public
service.
=Memphis.= A celebrated Egyptian city, situated in the Delta, or Lower
Egypt. During the attempts of the native rulers to throw off the Persian
rule, Memphis was an important strategic point. Ochus inflicted severe
injury on this town, having plundered the temples and thrown down the
walls after he had driven out Nectanebus. Ptolemy VIII. destroyed the
city. It fell with the rest of Egypt under the Roman rule, and
afterwards was conquered by Amru Ben Abas (639-40).