During the civil war, it fell into the hands of the Union forces, after
a short naval fight, June 6, 1862, and in 1864, Gen. Forrest made a raid
upon it, capturing a great number of prisoners.
=Men, Battalion.= All the soldiers belonging to the different companies
of an infantry regiment were so called, except those of the two flank
companies.
=Men, Camp-color.= Soldiers under the immediate command and direction of
the quartermaster of a regiment. Their business is to assist in marking
out the lines of an encampment, etc.; to carry the camp colors to the
field on days of exercise, and fix them occasionally for the purpose of
enabling the troops to take up correct points in marching, etc. So that
in this respect they frequently, indeed almost always, act as guides, or
what the French call _jalonneurs_. They are likewise employed in the
trenches, and in all fatigue duties.
=Menace.= A hostile threat. Menacing words used in the presence of a
court-martial are punishable in accordance with Article of War 86. See
APPENDIX.
=Menai Strait= (between the Welsh coast and the isle of Anglesey).
Suetonius Paulinus, when he invaded Anglesey, transported his troops
across this strait in flat-bottomed boats, while the cavalry swam over
on horseback, and attacked the Druids in their last retreat. Their
horrid practice of sacrificing their captives, and the opposition he met
with so incensed the Roman general, that he gave the Britons no quarter,
throwing all that escaped from that battle into fires which they had
prepared for the destruction of himself and his army in 61.
=Menapii.= A powerful people in the north of Gallia Belgica, who
originally dwelt on both banks of the Rhine, but were afterwards driven
out of their possessions on the right bank by the Usipetes and
Tenchteri, and inhabited only the left bank near its mouth, and west of
the Mosa.
=Mendavia.= A town of Spain, province of Navarre, 37 miles southwest
from Pamplona. Cæsar Borgia, the infamous son of Pope Alexander VI., was
killed here in a skirmish in 1507.
=Mende.= A town of France, capital of an arrondissement of the same
name, on the left bank of the Lot. This town was fortified in 1151; it
suffered much in the civil wars of the Reformation, and was taken no
less than seven times.
=Menehould, St.= A town of France, in the department of the Marne,
situated on the Aisne, 26 miles northeast of Chalons; it was taken by
Louis XIV. in 1653.
=Menin.= A fortified town of Belgium, province of West Flanders, on the
Lys, 31 miles southwest of Ghent. It has undergone a great number of
sieges, and in the 17th and 18th centuries was frequently taken by the
French.
=Menomonees.= A tribe of Indians, of Algonkin stock. They number about
1500, are partially civilized, and reside on a reservation near Green
Bay, Wis.
=Men’s-harness.= See IMPLEMENTS.
=Mensuration.= That branch of applied geometry which gives rules for
finding the length of lines, the areas of surfaces, or the volumes of
solids, from certain simple data of lines and angles. Every military
officer should be acquainted with mensuration.
=Mentana.= A small village, 13 miles from Rome. Here Garibaldi and his
volunteers, numbering between 3000 and 4000, after having intrenched his
positions at Monterotondo and Mentana on their march towards Tivoli, on
November 3, 1867, were totally defeated by the papal and French troops,
under Gens. Kanzler and Polhès, after a severe conflict, in which Gen.
Failly said “the Chassepot rifles did wonders.” There were about 5000
men on each side, but the Garibaldians were very badly armed. The loss
of the papal and French troops was about 200 killed and wounded; that
of Garibaldi about 800. Garibaldi crossed the Italian frontier, and was
arrested at Correse, and eventually sent to Caprera.
=Mentonniere= (_Fr._). Chin-piece; chin-strap; chin-piece of a helmet is
so called.
=Mentz= (Ger. _Mainz_, Fr. _Mayence_, anc. _Moguntiacum_). A city of
Germany, in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the left bank of the
Rhine. Mentz was founded by the Romans in the 2d century, and in 406 was
destroyed by the Vandals; but after lying in ruins for some centuries it
was restored by Charlemagne, and attained great prosperity after the
time of Bonifacius. In the Thirty Years’ War, it was taken by the
Swedes, and in 1688 by the French, but was restored at the subsequent
peace. At the end of 1792, it surrendered to the French. Next year it
was taken by the Austrians. By the peace of Lunéville, concluded in
1801, it was formally ceded to France, and in 1815 it was assigned to
Hesse-Darmstadt. The town is strongly fortified, and is one of the
strongest places in Europe, serving as a defense for Germany on the side
of France. On the other side of the Rhine stands the suburb of Castel,
which is also fortified.
=Mequinenza.= A town and port of Spain, on the Ebro, in the province of
Huesca, Aragon, 64 miles southeast from Huesca. It is defended by a
fortress, which was taken by the French in 1810.
=Mercara.= A town and fortress in the south of India. It was built by
Hyder Ali in 1773, after he had conquered the country. Tippoo Sahib gave
it up to the rajah of Coorg in 1792. It was taken possession of by the
British in 1834.
=Mercenaries.= Soldiers serving for pay in a foreign service.
=Mercia.= One of the largest of the seven kingdoms of the Heptarchy
(which see). It comprised the counties from the Thames to Yorkshire, and
is said to have been founded by Crida in 585. Three-quarters of a
century later, Mercia was conquered for a time by Northumbria; but it
recovered its independence, which it retained until Egbert subdued it,
when it was included in the kingdom of Wessex.
=Merida.= A town of Spain, province of Estremadura, on the Guadiana, 35
miles east from Badajos. It was built by the Romans; taken by the Moors
in 713; taken from them in 1229; taken by the French, January, 1811.
Near this town, at Arroyas Molinos, the British army under Gen.
(afterwards Lord) Hill defeated the French under Gen. Girard, after a
severe engagement, October 28, 1811. The British took Merida from the
French in 1812, Gen. Hill leading the combined forces of English and
Spanish troops.
=Merionethshire.= The most southern county of North Wales, situated at
the middle of the Welsh coast. Here Owen Gwynedd defeated Henry II., and
brave Glyndwr rose in arms at the call of friendship and patriotism to
resist the usurper of the throne of gentle Henry, and the enslaver of
his loved Wales. Tradition and records tell of bloody deeds done here in
those and later days by freebooters, daring and cruel.
=Merit.= To earn by active service, or by any valuable performance; to
have a right to claim as reward; to deserve. Also, the quality or
relation of deserving well or ill.
=Merit, Certificate of.= In the U. S. army a certificate which is given
by the President, upon the recommendation of commanding officers, to
enlisted men who have distinguished themselves in the service. The
holder of each certificate is entitled to $2 per month.
=Merit, Order of.= A military distinction given to officers or soldiers
for some signal service, the badge of which is generally expressive of
the service. Such was the medal, or order of merit, presented by the
Austrian emperor to the officers of the 15th British Light Dragoons for
their bravery in the affair of Villers en Couché in 1794.
=Meritorious.= Possessing merit or desert; deserving of reward or honor.
=Merkin.= A mop to clean a cannon. See MALKIN.
=Merlin.= A handspike.
=Merlon.= The mass of earth of the parapet between two embrasures,
generally from 15 to 18 feet in length. Also, the projection on the top
of a crenellated wall.
=Merovingians.= The first Frankish dynasty in Gaul. The name is derived
from Merwig, or Merovæus, who ruled about the middle of the 5th century,
having united a few tribes under his sway. His grandson, Clovis, or
Clodwig, greatly extended his dominions, and on his death divided his
kingdom among his four sons, one of whom, Chlotar, or Chlotaire I.,
reunited them under his own sway in 558. On his death, in 561, the
kingdom was again divided into four parts,--Aquitaine, Burgundy,
Neustria, and Austrasia. His grandson, Clotaire II., again united them
in 613; but after his death, in 628, two kingdoms, Neustria and
Austrasia, were formed, in both of which the Merovingian kings retained
a merely nominal power, the real power having passed into the hands of
the mayors of the palace. The dynasty of the Merovingians terminated
with the deposition of Childeric IV., in 752, and gave place to that of
the Carlovingians.
=Merseburg.= A town of Prussian Saxony, capital of a circle of the same
name, on the Saale. It was near this town that the emperor Henry the
Fowler gained his famous victory over the Hungarians in 934. Rudolf of
Swabia was here defeated and slain by Henry IV. in 1080.
=Mesolonghi.= See MISSOLONGHI.
=Mess.= The law is silent with regard to messes in the army. Executive
regulations have been made on the subject, but without law it is
impossible to put messes on a proper footing. In England, an allowance
is granted by the sovereign in aid of the expense of officers’ messes;
and every officer on appointment to a corps subscribes one month’s pay
to the mess-fund. All the officers of the corps mess together. (See
GUARD MESS.) In France, the several grades mess separately; lieutenants
and sub-lieutenants forming two tables, captains another, and
field-officers of different grades generally eating separately also.
Generals and colonels of the French service receive an allowance for
table expenses, not sufficient to keep open house, but enough to enable
them to entertain guests. In the British navy there are generally three
messes, namely, the ward-room mess, the gun-room mess, and the
engineers’ mess; in the U. S. navy there are two: the ward-room and
steerage messes. Enlisted soldiers and seamen, in the army and navy
respectively, mess together in tables comprising a certain number,
according to squads or rating; but this has no reference to the
technical meaning of messing as applied to officers, and is merely for
the purpose of economy of fuel and labor in the cooking of their
rations.
=Message.= Word sent; more especially a dispatch signaled or
telegraphed.
=Messenia.= A district in the southwest of the Peloponnesus. At an early
period after the Doric conquest, it rose to power and opulence. It is
chiefly noted for its two wars with Sparta, known as the Messenian Wars,
the first of which lasted from 743 to 724 B.C., and the second from 685
to 668 B.C. In both instances the Athenians were defeated, and in
consequence, a great part of them emigrated to Sicily, where they took
possession of Zancle, which then received the name of Messana, the
present Messina (which see).
=Messina.= A city in the northeast of the island of Sicily, situated on
a strait called the Faro di Messina, which separates Italy from
Calabria. It is 9 miles northwest from Reggio, in Calabria. The town is
entirely surrounded with walls and protected by detached forts and a
citadel, which stands on the neck of the curved promontory that forms
the harbor. It was seized by the Mamertini about 281 B.C. It belonged
for many ages to the Roman empire; was taken by the Saracens about 829.
Roger the Norman took it from them by surprise about 1072. It revolted
against Charles of Anjou, and was succored by Peter of Aragon, 1282;
revolted in favor of Louis XIV of France, 1676; the Spaniards punished
it severely, 1678; headquarters of British forces in Sicily prior to
1814; an insurrection took place here which was subdued September 7,
1848. Garibaldi entered Messina after his victory at Malazzo, July
20-21, 1860; the citadel surrendered to Cialdini, March 13, 1861.
=Mestre de Camp Général= (_Fr._). The next officer in rank, in the old
French cavalry service, to the colonel-general. This appointment was
created under Henry II. in 1552. _Mestre de camp général des dragoons_,
an appointment which first took place under Louis XIV. in 1684.
=Metal.= Broken stone, etc., used as a road cover.
=Metal.= In heraldry, the metals in use are gold and silver, known as
_or_ and _argent_. The field of the escutcheon and the charges which it
bears may be of metal as well as of color. It is a rule of blazon that
metal should not be placed on metal, or color on color.
=Metals for Cannon.= See ORDNANCE, METALS FOR.
=Metapontum=, or =Metapontium=. A city of Magna Græcia; was situated on
the Tarentine Gulf, 14 miles from Heraclea, and 24 from Tarentum. The
Metapontines assisted the Athenians in their Sicilian expedition (415
B.C.); they embraced the side of Pyrrhus in his war with the Romans, and
after its conclusion fell under the Roman yoke. When Hannibal invaded
Italy, the Metapontines after the battle of Cannæ were well disposed to
him; but, on account of a garrison of Romans, were unable openly to
desert to him till 212 B.C., when the city was occupied by a
Carthaginian garrison. When Hannibal was compelled to leave Italy he
removed, along with his own troops, the inhabitants of Metapontum; and
from that time the city disappears from history.
=Metaurus= (now _Metauro_). A river in Central Italy, where Hasdrubal,
brother of Hannibal, was defeated and slain, 207 B.C., when marching
with abundant reinforcements for the latter. The Romans were led by
Livius and Claudius Nero, the consuls. The latter commanded the head of
Hasdrubal to be thrown into his brother’s camp. This victory saved Rome.
=Meter=, or =Metre=. The French standard of linear measure, intended to
be the ten-millionth part of the earth’s quadrant, from the equator to
the pole. It is equal to 39.370 British, or 39.369 American inches.
=Methone= (_Modon_). An ancient city of Messenia; was situated on the
southwest coast. At the close of the second Messenian war it was given
by the victorious Lacedæmonians to the exiled Nauplians, but was
restored to its rightful owners by Epaminondas. An unsuccessful attack
was made upon Methone by the Athenians in 413 B.C. It was made a free
city by the emperor Trajan.
=Métier= (_Fr._). Literally means any calling or business. In a military
sense, it is peculiarly applicable to those nations which keep up large
standing armies, and make war their principal object and pursuit.
Chevalier Folard gives the following definition relative to the question
which is often discussed on the subject of war, namely, whether war be a
trade or a science. The English call it a profession. Folard, however,
distinguishes it in this manner: _La guerre est une métier pour les
ignorons, et une science pour les habiles gens_, “war in the
apprehension, and under the management of ignorant persons is certainly
a mere trade or business, but among able men it becomes an important
branch of science.”
=Metric System.= The French system of measures, founded upon the metre.
The system is decimal, and includes measures of length, area, volume,
and weight.
=Metulum.= The chief town of the Iapydes in Illyricum; was near the
frontier of Liburnia, and was situated on two peaks of a steep mountain.
Augustus nearly lost his life in reducing this place, the inhabitants of
which fought against him with desperate courage.
=Metz= (anc. _Divodurum_). A city and fortress of Alsace-Lorraine,
situated on the Moselle. It was the Roman _Divodurum_, or _Meti_,
capital of the Mediomatrici, a powerful Gaulish tribe (whose name it
took at a later date), and of the kingdom of Austrasia, or Metz, in the
6th century; but in 985, Otho II. made it a free imperial city, and
thereafter it was used by the German emperors as a barrier against
France. It was besieged by Charles VII. in 1444, and could only preserve
its freedom by the payment of 100,000 crowns. At length Henry II.
obtained possession of it in 1552; and although it was besieged by
Charles V. with an army of 100,000 men, his efforts were completely
baffled by the skill and energy of the Duke of Guise, and by the courage
and constancy of the townsmen; so that the French continued in
possession of the town till it, along with Toul and Verdun, was formally
secured to them by the peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the
Franco-German war (1870-71) the emperor Napoleon III. arrived at Metz,
and assumed the chief command, July 28, 1870. After the disastrous
defeats at Wörth and Forbach, August 6, the whole French army, except
the corps of MacMahon, De Failly, and Douay, was concentrated here,
August 10, 11, and by delay was hemmed in by the Germans. Marshal
Bazaine assumed the chief command on August 8, and on August 14 he was
attacked at Courcelles, a little east of Metz. On August 16, Bazaine
advanced from the fortress, but was attacked by the second army, under
command of Prince Frederick Charles, at Vionville, and was compelled to
retreat to Metz. But on August 17, Bazaine massed his troops for a
decisive conflict, and on August 18 he gave battle at Gravelotte (which
see), but was compelled to retreat again, and was shut up in the city.
Prince Frederick Charles now surrounded the city, and then began one of
the greatest sieges of history. After many brilliant sallies Bazaine was
compelled to surrender, October 27, on account of starvation and
sickness, with an army including 3 marshals, 66 generals, 173,000 men,
including the imperial guard, 400 pieces of artillery, 100
mitrailleuses, and 53 eagles and standards; and on October 29 the
Germans entered Metz. All the army that surrendered was compelled to go
to Germany as prisoners of war. In May, 1871, Metz was ceded to the
German empire by the peace of Frankfort, and its fortifications greatly
strengthened.
=Meurtrières= (_Fr._), Small loop-holes, sufficiently large to admit the
barrel of a rifle or musket, through which soldiers may fire, under
cover, against an enemy. They likewise mean the cavities that are made
in the walls of a fortified town or place.
=Mexico.= A federal republic of North America, next to the United
States. It was conquered by the Spaniards under Cortez in 1521, and
remained as a Spanish dependency for 300 years; and after a long
struggle with the mother-country, which commenced in 1810, it shook off
the Spanish yoke in 1821, and declared its independence. In 1824 the
country was declared a federal republic, with a constitution similar to
that of the United States, and its independence was acknowledged by
Spain in 1836. About this time Texas, which was then the most
northeastern of the Mexican states, withdrew from the federal league and
became an independent republic. The Mexican general, Santa Anna, was
sent to reduce them to subjection, but he was defeated and taken
prisoner by the Texans. In 1845, Texas was annexed to the United States
and admitted into the Union as a State. This led to a war between Mexico
and the United States, by which the former lost all her northern
provinces, consisting of Utah, California, and New Mexico, which were
ceded to the United States in 1848. From this time the history of Mexico
consists, for the most part, of a long series of insurrections,
revolutions, and political changes, which followed each other in rapid
succession. Santa Anna, who had been driven into exile shortly after his
disgrace in Texas, was recalled and made dictator in 1853. He was
succeeded in power by Gens. Carera, Alveraz, Comonfort, and Zulagoa.
When the last named was made dictator in 1858, Benito Juarez, the Indian
statesman, was declared constitutional president by the liberal party; a
civil war ensued, anarchy and confusion reigned supreme in the country;
but Juarez, taking advantage of the dissensions between Zulagoa and
Miramon, the leaders of two opposite sections of the party that was
hostile to his government, at last gained the ascendency, and entered
the capital as president of the Mexican republic in January, 1861. In
the same year, in consequence of the enormities practiced by Juarez and
his partisans, and the outrages committed on European merchants resident
in the country, the governments of England, France, and Spain formed a
triple alliance, and sent an expedition to Mexico to demand satisfaction
for the injuries inflicted on the subjects of their respective
countries, and to endeavor to bring about a more settled state of
affairs. Vera Cruz was occupied by the allied forces, and this event was
followed soon after by the convention of Soledad, signed in February,
1862, in which the government of Juarez engaged to comply with the
requisitions of the allies. But the French government disapproved of the
convention, and although the forces of England and Spain were withdrawn
in compliance with its terms, Napoleon III. determined to advance on the
capital, with the view of effecting the overthrow of Juarez and placing
the government of the country on a settled basis. The French troops
were, however, delayed for some months before Puebla, which capitulated
on May 18, 1863, and entered Mexico on the 8th of the following month,
amid the acclamations of the people, who had become weary of the
intestine strife that had so long convulsed the land, and which had been
produced by the jealousy and rivalry of the party leaders who had
aspired to the direction of the government. This event was followed by
the proclamation of the empire and the nomination of Maximilian, the
brother of the present emperor of Austria, as the first emperor of
Mexico under the new régime. The republican leaders were violently
opposed to this measure, and Maximilian by his severity towards them
alienated the affections of many of his original supporters. At length,
on the withdrawal of the French troops at the demand of the United
States, the republicans advanced into Central Mexico. Maximilian with a
Mexican force vainly attempted to oppose them, and was captured and shot
at Queretaro, June 19, 1867.
=Mézières.= An ancient and well-built town of France, the capital of the
department of Ardennes, situated on a peninsula formed by the Meuse. In
1520, the Chevalier Bayard successfully defended this place against
40,000 Spaniards under the Count of Nassau, and in 1815 it held out for
two months against the Prussians, but was at length obliged to
capitulate.
=Miami Indians.= A tribe of aborigines, of Algonkin stock, who formerly
resided in Ohio and Indiana. In the war of 1812, they fought against the
United States as allies of the British. In 1846 the majority of the
tribe removed to Kansas, on a reservation in which State a remnant still
resides.