the Minyæ, was situated near the western shore of Lake Copaic, on a hill
which overlooked the windings of the Cephissus. Its original inhabitants
are said to have been Thessalian emigrants, and its name was derived
from Orchomenus, one of the kings of the Minyans. Homer compares its
treasures to those of Egyptian Thebes, and tells us that it sent 30
ships to the Trojan war. Some time after this event it became a member
of the Bœotian confederacy. During the Persian war, like the other towns
of Bœotia, it abandoned the national cause. Its government was
thoroughly aristocratic, and after the Peloponnesian war, when Thebes
became a democracy, Orchomenus took part with Sparta, and shared in its
first triumph over Thebes; but the victory of Epaminondas at Leuctra
(371 B.C.) placed it at the mercy of the Thebans, who soon after
destroyed it by fire, and sold its inhabitants as slaves. It was again
rebuilt during the Phocian war, but was a second time destroyed in the
reign of Philip of Macedon, who, however, once more rebuilt it; but it
never again became prominent in history. The site is now occupied by the
modern village of Skripú.
=Orchomenus.= An ancient city of Arcadia, stood in a plain surrounded by
hills, which separated its territory from that of Mantinea on the south
and those of Pheneus and Stymphalus on the north. Its founder is said to
have been Orchumenus, the son of Lycaon, and several of its kings are
said to have spread their rule over all Arcadia. During the
Peloponnesian war, when its acropolis had fallen into ruins, and its
last king, Pisistratus, had been murdered by an oligarchical faction,
Orchomenus began to decline. About 367 B.C. three of its tributary towns
were depopulated to furnish inhabitants to the newly-founded city of
Megalopolis; in 313 B.C. it was taken by the Macedonian general
Cassander; and ever afterwards it continued to be bandied about between
different belligerent powers. At the time of Pausanias it was still
inhabited, and at the present day its ruins are seen near the village of
Kalpáki.
=Order.= This term, considered in its relation to the army, embraces
divers subjects. It gives an idea of harmony in the accomplishment of
duties; a classification of corps or men; injunctions emanating from
authority; measures which regulate service, and many tactical details.
In tactics, the natural order is when troops coming upon ordinary ground
are ranged in line of battle by the prescribed tactical means, and when
they are formed in column, right in front. The _oblique order_ is
contradistinguished from the parallel, and in general means every
tactical combination, the aim of which is to produce an effect upon two
points of an enemy’s line by bringing a superior force to bear down on
these two points. Such combinations constitute the _oblique order_,
whatever manœuvres may be used to accomplish the object. The _parallel
order_ operates, on the contrary, against the whole front of an enemy.
Turenne and Condé fought habitually in parallel order, although they
sometimes made a skillful use of oblique attacks. Guibert well says that
a contiguous and regular parallel order can be of no use in war.
=Order Arms.= A word of command directing that the musket be brought
down to the right side of the soldier, the butt resting on the ground.
=Order, Beating.= In the British service, is an authority given to an
individual empowering him to raise men by beat of drum for any
particular regiment, or for general service. It consists of a warrant
which is signed by the secretary at war, or issued in his name by the
adjutant-general.
=Order Book.= Every company in the service has such a book, in which
orders are written for the information of officers and men. Order books
are also kept at all military headquarters.
=Order, Close.= In tactics, comprehends space of about one-half pace
between ranks.
=Order, Entire.= When applied to rank, means a straight line composed of
half-files.
=Order, Extended.= Is preparatory to rank entire, and is frequently
practiced in light infantry manœuvres. It comprehends the opening of
files of a battalion or company standing two deep, so as to have just
space enough for one man between each two. The battalion or company,
after it has obtained all its relative distances and been halted, is
fronted, and each rear rank man springs into the vacancy when the word
of command is given.
=Order of Alcantara.= A Spanish military order. It was established by
Ferdinand II., king of Leon and Castile, in 1170. The knights wore a
green cross upon their garments. See ALCANTARA.
=Order of Amaranth.= An order of military knighthood, instituted in
Sweden by Queen Christina in 1645, at the close of an annual feast
celebrated in that country, and called _wirtschaft_. Their device was
the cipher of _amarante_, composed of two A’s, the one erect, the other
inverted, and interwoven together; the whole inclosed by a laurel crown,
with the motto, _Dolce nella memoria_.
=Order of Argonauts of St. Nicholas.= Was the name of a military order
instituted by Charles III., king of Naples, in 1382, for the advancement
of navigation, or, as some authors say, merely for preserving amity
among the nobles. They wore a collar of shells inclosed in a silver
crescent, from which hung a ship with the device, _Non credo tempori_.
=Order of Battle.= The arrangement or disposition of the different
component parts of an army in one or more lines, according to the nature
of the ground, for the purpose of engaging an enemy by giving or
receiving an attack, or in order to be reviewed, etc.
=Order of Battle, Concave.= If the attack is made simultaneously on both
wings, and the centre is refused, it is plain that the attacking army
will assume a line of battle which will be concave towards the enemy’s
line.
=Order of Battle, Convex.= If the attack is made in the centre of the
enemy’s line, refusing both wings, the general direction of the line of
battle of the attacking army will be convex towards the enemy’s line,
and the term “_convex order of battle_” is applied to it. Other orders
of battle are named by military writers. Their names will generally
describe the direction of the hostile lines of battle and the particular
formation adopted by the attacking army.
=Order of Battle, Oblique.= An arrangement of an army for battle with
one wing advanced beyond the other, or a movement which brings the line
in contact with an enemy’s flank; in general, any combination which
brings a preponderating force upon any point of the enemy’s line. See
ORDER.
=Order of Calatrava.= See CALATRAVA, ORDER OF.
=Order of Knights of St. Stephen.= Instituted in 1561, by Cosmo, duke of
Florence. They wear a red cross with a border of gold.
=Order of Knights of the Band.= Instituted by Alphonso, king of Spain,
in 1268. Their name proceeded from the knights wearing a red scarf, or
lace of silk, the breadth of 3 inches, which hung on their left
shoulder.
=Order of Knights of the Bath.= A military order in Great Britain,
deriving its name from the ceremony of bathing, which was performed at
the initiation of the knights. The earliest authentic instance of this
ceremony was at the coronation of Henry IV. (1399). The last occasion on
which this ceremony was used was the coronation of Charles II., in 1660,
after which the order fell into oblivion until it was revived by George
I., in 1725. It is now the second in rank among the orders of England,
the order of the Garter being the highest. The order of the Bath
comprises three classes: first class, Knights Grand Cross (K.G.C.), the
number of whom is limited to 50 military men and 25 civilians, besides
the royal family; second class, Knights Commanders (K.C.B.), = 102
military and 50 civil; these and the first have the title of Sir; third
class, Companions (C.B.), = 525 military and 200 civil.
=Order of Knights of the Redemption.= Instituted in the kingdom of
Aragon by King James, who conquered the island of Majorca, in 1212.
Their garments are white, with a black cross thereon.
=Order of Knights Templar.= See TEMPLAR, KNIGHTS.
=Order of Maria Theresa.= This order was instituted in June, 1757, by
the empress queen of Hungary. In 1765 an intermediate class, styled
knights commanders, was added to the two classes that originally
composed the order.
=Order of Merit.= Instituted by Frederick III., king of Prussia, as a
reward to those officers whose behavior deserved some marks of
distinction. The ensign of this order is a golden star of eight rays,
enameled with blue, which is worn appendant to a black ribbon edged with
silver. The motto is _Pour le merite_.
=Order of Mount Carmel.= Instituted by Henry IV. in 1608.
=Order of St. Alexander Newski.= Or the Red Ribbon, which was instituted
by Peter I., emperor of Russia; but the czarina Catherine I. conferred
it in 1725.
=Order of St. Hubert.= See HUBERT, ST., ORDER OF.
=Order of St. James.= See JAMES OF THE SWORD, ST.
=Order of St. Lazarus.= See LAZARUS.
=Order of St. Louis.= See LOUIS.
=Order of St. Mark.= See MARK, ST., KNIGHTS OF.
=Order of St. Michael.= Instituted in 1469 by Louis XII. in honor of the
important services done to France by that archangel at the siege of
Orleans, where he is supposed to have appeared at the head of the French
troops, disputing the passage of a bridge, and to have repulsed the
attack of the English, whose affairs ever after declined in that
kingdom. The order is a rich collar, with the image of that saint
pendent thereto; with the inscription, _Immensi tremor oceani_.
=Order of St. Michael and St. George.= This order of knighthood, founded
for the Ionian Isles and Malta, April 27, 1818, was reorganized in
March, 1869, in order to admit servants of the crown of England
connected with the colonies.
=Order of St. Patrick.= See PATRICK, ST., ORDER OF.
=Order of Teutonic Knights.= Established towards the close of the 12th
century, and thus called, as chiefly consisting of Germans, anciently
called Teutons.
=Order of the Annunciation.= See ANNUNCIADA.
=Order of the Bear.= See BEAR, ORDER OF.
=Order of the Black Eagle.= See EAGLE, BLACK.
=Order of the Crescent.= See CRESCENT.
=Order of the Golden Fleece.= See GOLDEN FLEECE, ORDER OF THE.
=Order of the Golden Stole.= A Venetian military order, so called from a
golden stole, which those knights wore over their shoulder, reaching to
the knee both before and behind, a palm and a half broad. None are
raised to this order but patricians, or noble Venetians. It is uncertain
when this order was instituted.
=Order of the Holy Ghost.= See HOLY GHOST, ORDER OF THE.
=Order of the Knights of the Garter.= See GARTER, ORDER OF THE.
=Order of the Knights of Malta.= See ST. JOHN OF JERUSALEM.
=Order of the Knights of St. Jago.= Instituted by the king Ramico of
Spain, in commemoration of a victory obtained against the Moors, 1030.
Their ensign is a red cross in the form of a sword.
=Order of the Seraphim.= See SERAPHIM, ORDER OF THE.
=Order of the Sword.= See SWORD, ORDER OF THE.
=Order of the White Eagle.= See WHITE EAGLE, ORDER OF THE.
=Order, Open.= In tactics, comprehends an interval of about 3 yards
between each rank.
=Order, Parade.= When a regiment of horse or foot, a troop, or company,
is drawn up with the ranks open and the officers in front, it is said to
be in _parade order_.
=Orderlies.= Non-commissioned officers and soldiers appointed to wait
upon generals and other officers, to communicate orders and carry
messages.
=Orderlies, Standing.= Are soldiers who permanently perform orderly
duty.
=Orderly Book.= A book for the sergeants to insert the orders which are
issued from time to time.
=Orderly Drum.= The drummer that beats the orders, and gives notice of
the hour for messing, etc., is so called.
=Orderly Officer.= The officer of the day; especially the officer of the
day about an army headquarters in the field.
=Orderly Room.= A room in the barracks, used as the office of a company.
=Orderly Sergeant.= The first sergeant of a company is so called in the
U. S. army.
=Orders.= Are the instructions, injunctions, or commands issued by
superior officers. The orders of commanders of armies, divisions,
brigades, regiments, are denominated orders of such army, division,
etc., and are either general or special. They are numbered, general and
special in separate series, each beginning with the year. In Great
Britain and other European countries, and in the United States, orders
generally take the designation of the headquarters from which they are
issued.
=Orders, General.= Are orders that are issued to announce the hours for
roll-calls and duties; the number and kind of orderlies, and the time
when they shall be relieved; police regulations, and the prohibitions
required by circumstances and localities; returns to be made and their
forms; laws and regulations for the army; promotions and appointments;
eulogies or censures to corps or individuals, and generally, whatever
may be important to make known to the whole command.
=Orders, Military.= Companies of knights, instituted by kings and
princes either for defense of the faith, or to confer marks of honor on
their military subjects. See KNIGHTS, and names of orders under
appropriate headings.
=Orders, Regimental.= Are such orders and instructions as grow out of
general or special orders from superior authority, or proceed
immediately from the commanding officer of a regiment.
=Orders, Special.= Are such as do not concern the troops generally, and
need not be published to the whole command; such as those that relate to
the march of some particular corps, the detaching of individuals, the
granting requests, etc.
=Orders, Standing.= Are certain general rules and instructions, which
are to be invariably followed, and are not subject to the temporary
intervention of rank. Of this description are those orders which the
permanent commander may judge fit to have inserted in the order books,
and which are not to be altered by the temporary commander.
=Ordinaire= (_Fr._). The soldiers’ mess is so called among the French.
=Ordinary of Arms.= In heraldry, an index or dictionary of armorial
coats, arranged, not according to names, like an armory, but according
to the leading charges in the respective shields, so as to enable any
one conversant with heraldic language, on seeing a shield of arms, to
tell to whom it belonged.
=Ordinary Time.= In the U. S. army is quick time, which is 110 steps, or
86 yards in one minute, or 2 miles 1613 yards in an hour.
=Ordnance.= A general name for all kinds of weapons employed in war, and
the appliances necessary for their use. Under the general term ordnance
and ordnance stores are included all guns, howitzers, mortars, rockets,
and projectiles of every description, the explosives used in warfare,
all gun-carriages, limbers, caissons, mortar-beds, battery-wagons, and
traveling-forges with their equipments, and all other apparatus and
machines required for the service and manœuvres of artillery at sieges
or in the field; together with the materials for their construction,
preservation, and repair. Also all small-arms, side-arms, and
accoutrements for artillery, cavalry, and infantry, all ammunition for
cannon and small-arms; and all stores of expenditures for the service of
the various arms, materials for the construction and repair of ordnance
buildings, utensils and stores for laboratories, including standing
weights, gauges, and measures, and all other tools and utensils required
for the performance of ordnance duty. Harness and horse equipments are
also furnished by the ordnance department. This general application of
the word is not the purport of the present article; it is its special
signification as used by the artillery with which we have to do.
Technically speaking, ordnance is a term applied to all heavy fire-arms
which are discharged from carriages.
_History._--Although the battering-rams and the engines for projecting
missiles employed by the ancients and during the Middle Ages are
regarded as artillery, yet the military weapons in use before the
invention of fire-arms cannot fairly come under this designation. At
what exact date cannon were first used is not known, but guns called
“Crakys of War” were employed by Edward III. against the Scots in 1327,
by the French at the siege of Puy Guillaume in 1338, and by Edward III.
at Crécy, and at Calais in 1346. The first cannon, or _bombards_, were
clumsy, wider at the mouth than at the chamber, and made of iron bars
hooped together with iron rings. Ancient cannon were also made of wood
wound with rope or wire, and in some instances were even occasionally
constructed of leather. The balls fired from these bombards were first
made of stone, which was afterwards superseded by iron. In the 15th
century various kinds were known by the names of cannon, bombards,
culverins, serpentines, etc. Bombards of great length and power were
employed by Louis XI. during his Flemish campaign in 1477, some with
stone balls and some with iron. About this time cannon began to be made
of cast iron instead of hooped bars; and bronze or brass as material
began to be used as well as iron, and projectiles were also made of cast
iron instead of stone. The introduction of cast-iron projectiles led to
the invention of _culverins_, which corresponded very nearly in
construction and appearance to the guns of the present day; these were
in some instances made of enormous lengths from the erroneous idea that
the range increased with the length of the piece. A remarkable gun of
this description still exists at Dover, England, familiarly known as
“Queen Anne’s pocket-piece;” while it carries a ball weighing only 18
pounds, it is more than 28 feet in length. From the earliest days of
artillery there existed short-chambered pieces, which projected stone
balls under great angles of elevation; and in 1478 hollow projectiles
filled with powder began to be employed; but it is probable that the
accidents which accompanied their use caused them to be abandoned for
the time. In 1634, however, this difficulty was overcome, and these
pieces were introduced into the French service, forming the class of
cannon now known as mortars. Early attempts were also made to throw
hollow projectiles from culverins and other long guns, but great
difficulties were experienced in loading them, and the accidents to
which they were liable caused them to be abandoned. Subsequently,
however, the Dutch artillerists reduced their length so that the
projectile could be inserted in its place by hand, and thus improved
these cannon rapidly came into use under the name of howitzers, from the
German _Haubitz_. A short cannon of large caliber for naval service was
invented by Mr. Gascoigne in 1799, and called a _carronade_, after the
Carron Iron-Works, Scotland, where it was first made. It was not for
many years after hollow projectiles had been used that it was
accidentally discovered that the firing of the gun-charge could be
relied upon to light the fuze. Prior to this a long fuze lighted from
the outside had been used. The difficulties and danger incurred in
loading long guns with hollow projectiles delayed their application to
shell-firing, and it was not until 1812 that they were used for firing
both solid shot and shell at low angles. In this year a gun of this
class, which was invented by Col. Bomford, Chief of Ordnance, U.S.A.,
was adopted by the United States, and a number of these guns were used
in the war with England, 1812-15. About 1814 this invention of Col.
Bomford’s was improved upon by himself, and the gun thus improved was
called a _columbiad_. The columbiad gave way about 1859 to the gun
invented by Gen. Rodman. (See RODMAN GUN.) The dimensions of the
columbiads were first taken to Europe by a young French officer, and
thus fell into the hands of Gen. Paixhans, who introduced them, with
certain modifications, into the French service about 1822. They were by
this means first made known to the rest of Europe by the name of
_Paixhan gun_, and small calibers were afterwards used in the U. S.
service under that name. Cannon up to this time were constructed on the
smooth-bore principle; the rifle principle, although employed by the
Russians in 1615, by the Prussians in 1661, and by the Germans in 1696,
had not been brought into general use on account of its imperfectness.
From 1696 to 1833 many attempts were made to rifle cannon with more or
less success; but although the firing of smooth-bore guns was as
aberrant as that of smooth-bore muskets, and from greater range even
more so, yet, since the gunners were safe from musketry fire at 200
yards, and the cannon could be directed against masses of men with
tolerable certainty up to three times that distance, there was no
special inducement to improve their powers. But the introduction of
rifled small-arms changed the relative advantages; for a rifled
small-arm might pick off the gunners of a smooth-bore cannon before
their weapon could come into effective play. The Crimean war set
inventors vigorously to work, and many admirable guns have resulted from
their attempts, the great difficulty of the day being to decide which is
most effective. Rifled guns have nearly superseded smooth-bored cannon,
except in the United States, which still gives the preference to the
latter.
=Ordnance, Modern, History of.= Heavy modern ordnance dates properly
from the casting of the great Rodman smooth-bores in the United States.
To the impetus thus given may be ascribed the origin of the powerful
guns of the present day. In Rodman’s study of gunpowder and the
improvements introduced by him lay the germ of all subsequent progress
in ordnance. His most important invention, _perforated cake powder_, was
transplanted bodily to the continent of Europe, where, under the name of
_prismatic powder_, it has been used ever since. So perfect is the
theory of this powder that invention and science toiling over the
subject for twenty years has produced nothing better. Since the first
half of the decade--1860-70--the United States has fallen behind the
nations of Europe in the power of her armament. Having been committed by
her two great inventors, Rodman and Dahlgren, to cast-iron smooth-bores,
which were fabricated in great numbers, her attitude has been that of
Micawber,--waiting for something to turn up. England occupies the other
extreme,--of all the powers she has ventured the greatest sums upon the
theories of her gun-makers. Her private manufacturers have received such
encouragement at home or abroad that they are now able to supply the
whole world. Their only great rival on the continent is Krupp, who finds
his market principally in Germany, Russia, and Turkey.