shores of Lake Erie. They subsequently moved to Kansas, and in 1870
settled in Indian Territory, where they now prosper. They are well
advanced in civilization. A number of this tribe settled in Canada,
where their descendants may yet be found; some are also settled on Lake
Michigan with the Chippewas.
=Otterburn= (or Chevy Chase), =Battle of=. Was fought in August, 1388; a
fight which Froissart declares to have been the bravest and most
chivalrous which was fought in his day. According to the ballad (named
Chevy Chase) Percy vowed that he would enter Scotland and take his
pleasure for three days in the woods of his rival, and slay the deer
therein at will. Douglas, when he heard the vaunt, exclaimed, “Tell him
he will find one day more than enough.” Accordingly, at the time of the
hay harvest, Percy, with stag-hounds and archers, passed into the
domains of his foe, and slew a “hundred fallow deer and harts of grice.”
When the English had hastily cooked their game and were about to retire,
Earl Douglas, clad in armor and heading his Scottish spears, came on the
scene. Haughty challenge and defiance passed between the potentates, and
the battle joined. In the centre of the fray the two leaders met. “Yield
thee, Percy!” cried Douglas. “I will yield to no Scot that was ever born
of a woman!” cried Percy. During this colloquy, an English arrow struck
Douglas to the heart. “Fight on, my merry men!” cried he, as he died.
Percy, with all the chivalrous feeling of his race, took the dead man by
the hand, and vowed that he would have given all his lands to save him,
for a braver knight never fell by such a chance. Sir Hugh Montgomery
having seen the fall of Douglas, clapped spurs to his horse, dashed on
Percy, and struck his spear through his body, a long cloth-yard and
more. Although the leaders on both sides had fallen, the battle, which
had begun at break of day, continued till the ringing of the
curfew-bell. Scotsmen and Englishmen claim the victory. When the battle
ended, representatives of every noble family on either side of the
border lay on the bloody greensward.
=Oude=, or =Oudh=. A province of British India, separated on the north
from Nepaul by the lower ranges of the Himalaya, whence it gradually
slopes to the Ganges, which forms its boundary on the south and
southwest. The people of this province are of a decidedly warlike
disposition; they mainly supply the famous (or infamous) Sepoys of the
Bengal army. Oude is believed by Sanscrit scholars to be the ancient
Kosala, the oldest seat of civilization in India. The country was
conquered by a Mohammedan army in 1195, and made a province of the Mogul
empire. In 1753 the vizier of Oude, Saffdar Jung, rebelled against his
imperial master, Ahmed Shah, and forced the latter to make the
governorship hereditary in his family. When the mutiny of 1857 broke
out, Oude became one of the great centres of rebellion. The country was
subdued by the British.
=Oudenarde= (Fr. _Audenarde_). A town of Belgium, in East Flanders, 14
miles southwest from Ghent. The town was taken by the French, aided by
an English force, in 1658; it was again besieged in 1674 by the
stadtholder William (III. of England) of Orange; and in 1706 it was
taken by Marlborough. An attempt made by the French to retake it brought
on the famous battle of Oudenarde, one of Marlborough’s most celebrated
victories, which was gained on July 11, 1708, with the aid of Prince
Eugène, over a French army under the Duke of Burgundy and Marshal
Villars. After this battle the French king made offers of peace, which
were not accepted.
=Oulart= (Southeast Ireland). Here 5000 Irish insurgents attacked the
king’s troops in small number, May 27, 1798. The North Cork militia,
after great feats of bravery, were cut to pieces, 5 men only escaping.
=Ourique.= A town of Portugal, province of Alemtijo, 30 miles southwest
of Beja. Hero Alfonso, count or duke of Portugal, is said to have
encountered and signally defeated five Saracen kings and a prodigious
army of Moors, July 25, 1139, and to have been hailed king on the spot.
Lisbon, the capital, was taken, and he soon after was here crowned as
the first king, the Moorish dominion being overthrown.
=Outbar.= To shut out by fortification.
=Outbrave.= To excel in bravery or boldness; to defy.
=Outfit.= In the British service, is the necessaries, uniform, etc.,
which an officer provides when he is gazetted to a regiment, or as
proceeding to India. No allowance is made for an outfit, excepting in
case of officers first promoted from the ranks, when £100 is granted to
infantry and £150 to cavalry officers.
=Outflank.= To go beyond on the flank or side; to get the better of, as
by extending one’s lines beyond or around that of one’s enemy.
=Outgeneral.= To exceed in generalship; to gain advantage over by
superior military skill.
=Outguard.= A guard at a distance from the main body of an army; or a
guard at the farthest distance; hence, anything for defense placed at a
distance from the thing to be defended.
=Outline=, or =Tracing=. Is the succession of lines that show the figure
of the works, and indicate the direction in which the defensive masses
are laid out, in order to obtain a proper defense.
=Outlyers.= In the British service, formerly this term applied to men
who were permitted to work, on condition that the whole of their pay was
left in the hands of their captain for the time they were so employed.
This sum the officer appropriated to his own use, to enable him to
increase his pay and to keep a handsome table when he mounted guard. It
was also a common practice to place on the muster-rolls the names of
officers’ children, and instances have occurred of girls receiving men’s
pay as outlyers.
=Outlying.= Lying or being at a distance from the main body; as,
outlying pickets. Also, being on the exterior or frontier.
=Outmanœuvre.= To surpass in manœuvring.
=Outmarch.= To march faster than; to march so as to leave behind; as,
the horse outmarched the foot.
=Outnumber.= To exceed in number; as, the French were outnumbered.
=Outpart.= At a distance from the main body.
=Out-pensioner.= A pensioner attached to a hospital, as Greenwich or
Chelsea, England, who has liberty to live where he pleases.
=Outpost.= A post or station without the limits of a camp, or at a
distance from the main body of an army. The troops placed at such a
station.
=Outposts.= The term, _outposts_, is used at the present time to
designate the particular detachments of troops and the method of
arranging them, by means of which an army when in bivouac, in camp, or
in cantonment, is protected _from surprise_ by an enemy.
=Outrank.= To take the precedence of, or be superior to, in rank; to
rank.
=Out-sentry.= A sentry who guards the entrance or approach to a place;
an outguard.
=Outside.= In fencing, that part which is to the right of the line of
defense.
=Outside Guard.= A guard used with the broadsword and sabre, to defend
the outside of the position.
=Outwall.= The exterior wall of a building or fortress.
=Outward Face.= A word of command for troops to face to the right and
left from their centre.
=Outwing, To.= To extend the flanks of an army or line in action, so as
to gain an advantageous position against the right or left wing of an
enemy.
=Outworks.= In fortification, are minor defenses constructed beyond the
main body of a work, for the purpose of keeping the enemy at a distance,
or commanding certain salient points which it is undesirable that he
should occupy. Such works are ravelins, lunettes, hornworks,
crown-works, demi-lunes, tenailles, etc. They occur in certain necessary
order, as a ravelin before the curtain and tenaille, a hornwork before a
ravelin, and so on.
=Ovation.= See TRIUMPH.
=Ovens.= Are always provided in garrisons, so that the troops may bake
their own bread. A large saving of flour is thus made, which is the most
considerable element of the post fund. A brick oven large enough to bake
500 rations can be constructed in less than twenty-four hours. The
cylindrical form is greatly to be preferred, as it is more easily made
and requires less material than the ordinary forms. The want of brick
for the arch and fireplace of ovens may be supplied in the field by two
gabions of semicircular or semi-elliptical form. They are placed one
above the other on the flat side, and form a cradle. The interior and
exterior is plastered with clay, which must penetrate the interstices of
the basket-work. The front and back parts are shut in the same manner,
or with sods. The cradle is then covered with earth to retain the heat;
and in order that the superincumbent weight may not cause it to give
way, withes are attached to the top of the basket-work, passed
vertically through the embankment, and then fastened to the longitudinal
beam of a wooden horse straddled against the exterior curve. Ovens may
also be made of wood or earth. To construct rapidly an earthen oven, dig
a slope with a step, and on its prolongation dig the length of the oven
in a trench separated from the step by a mass of earth, to be pierced
later as the mouth of the oven. Then dig laterally portions of an
elliptical arch so as to make the arch a given breadth. This work
finished, pierce the mouth, and cover the trench with from three to five
sods as arch stones, leaving a chimney-place at the bottom. Ovens for
from 100 to 250 rations may be thus made. In some European armies they
have very convenient portable ovens.
=Over.= Above in place, position, or authority; as, he was placed in
command over Lord Monkton.
=Overcharge.= An excessive charge, as of a gun.
=Overcharge.= To fill with too much powder and ball, as a gun.
=Overcharged Mine.= A mine whose crater is wider at top than it is deep.
=Overlap.= Is to overspread any preceding object. In marching by echelon
for the purpose of forming upon any given point, but particularly in
wheeling from column into line, troops may lose their relative distances
by not taking ground enough; when this occurs, the rear division,
company, or section, unavoidably crowds upon its preceding one, and is
then said to overlap.
=Overmarch.= To fatigue or wear out by too much marching.
=Overmatch.= To be too powerful for; to conquer; to subdue; to suppress
by superior force. Also, one superior in power; one able to overcome.
=Overpower.= To vanquish by force; to subdue; to defeat.
=Overrun.= In a military sense, to ravage, to lay waste. A country which
is harassed by incursions is said to be overrun.
=Overseer.= An officer in the ordnance department, who superintends the
artificers in the construction of works, etc. He is also called a
superintendent.
=Overshoot.= To shoot beyond the mark.
=Overslaugh.= To hinder or stop; as, by an overslaugh or unexpected
impediment; as, to overslaugh a military officer, that is, to hinder or
stop his promotion or employment by the appointment of another to his
rank or duties.
=Overthrow.= Total defeat; discomfiture; rout.
=Overturn.= To overthrow; to conquer.
=Oviedo.= A town of Spain, capital of the province of the same name, 55
miles north-northwest of Leon. This city was twice plundered of its
ecclesiastical and other treasures during the war of independence, first
by Soult, and subsequently by Bonnet.
=Own, King’s= or =Queen’s=. A term which has been attached to some
British regiments since the revolution in 1688. Thus the 4th Foot, which
landed with William III., was called the 4th King’s Own.
=Owyhee=, or =Hawaii=. An island in the North Pacific Ocean, the most
eastern, and by far the largest of the Sandwich Islands. It was on this
island that the celebrated Capt. Cook fell a sacrifice to a
misunderstanding, or sudden impulse of revenge on the part of the
natives, on Sunday, February 14, 1779.
=Ox.= See BULLOCK.
=Oxford.= An ancient and famous city in England, the chief town of the
county of Oxford, 55 miles west-northwest from London. The townsmen
closed their gates against William the Conqueror, who stormed the town
in 1067, and gave it to one of his followers, Robert d’Oyley, who built
a castle here to overawe the disaffected Saxons. The paction that
terminated the strife between Stephen and Henry II. was drawn up at
Oxford. During the great civil war of the 17th century, it was for a
while the headquarters of the royalist forces, and was conspicuous for
its adherence to the cause of Charles I.
=Oxford Blues.= See HORSE GUARDS, ROYAL.
P.
=Pace= (Lat. _passus_). In its modern acceptation, is the distance, when
the legs are extended in walking, between the heel of one foot and that
of the other. Among disciplined men the pace becomes one of constant
length, and as such is of the utmost value in determining military
movements, the relative distances of corps and men being fixed by the
number of paces marched, and so on. The pace varies in different
countries; in the United States it is 28 inches direct step, and 33
double step; in Great Britain 30 inches direct step, and 33 double step.
With the Romans the pace had a different signification; the single
extension of the legs was not with them a pace (_passus_), but a step
(_gradus_); their pace being the interval between the mark of a heel and
the next mark of the same heel, or a double step. This pace was
equivalent to 4.84 English feet.
=Pack and Draught Animals.= All animals which are used as beasts of
burden and of draught, and all artillery horses are considered under
this head. Taking the usual effect of a man’s daily labor as unity, a
horse can carry a load on a horizontal plane 4.8 to 6.1 times, and a
mule, 7.6 times greater than a man. Taking a man with a wheel-barrow as
unity, a horse in a four-wheel wagon can draw 17.5, and in a cart, 24.3,
and a mule in a cart, 23.3 times greater burden. On account of the
peculiar build of a mule he is a superior pack-animal to the horse.
There are from 91 to 130 draught horses required for a field-battery;
for siege-train about 1900 (see SIEGE-TRAIN); and 8 for a siege-gun. The
load allotted to a light artillery horse is 700 pounds; to a heavy field
artillery horse, 800 pounds; and to a siege artillery horse, 1000
pounds, including weight of carriages. It is less than that drawn by a
horse of commerce, in consequence of bad roads, bad forage, rapid
movements, and forced marches. A team of four horses can draw, with
useful effect, including the weight of carriage, 2400 pounds; six
horses, 3000 pounds; eight horses, 3600 pounds; and twelve horses, 4800
pounds. It is usual to estimate the weight of a carriage exceeding 1200
pounds as part of the load. A pack-horse can carry 250 to 300 pounds 20
miles a day; and a draught horse, 1600 pounds 23 miles a day, weight of
carriage included. Usually a horse can draw seven times as much as he
can carry. An ordinary march is about 15 miles at 2¹⁄₂ miles per hour
for six hours; this must depend upon the condition of the horses, state
of the roads, and various other circumstances. Horses starting fresh,
and resting after their work, may, on tolerable roads, perform 2 miles
in half an hour; 4 miles in one and a half hours; 8 in four, and 16 in
ten hours. The daily allowance of water for a horse is four gallons. For
the daily ration of forage supplied to animals in the U. S. service, see
FORAGE. An army requires to be accompanied by several thousand
pack-animals, sometimes horses, but preferably mules; and in Asia,
commonly camels, or even elephants. In battle, the immediate reserves of
small-arm ammunition are borne in the rear of divisions by pack-animals;
the heavy reserves being in wagons between the army and its base of
operations.
_Buffalo._--An animal of the ox tribe, very important and useful to man.
It is a native of the East Indies, where it has long been domesticated,
and from which it was carried to Egypt and the south of Europe. It was
introduced into Italy about the close of the 6th century A.D., is now
very generally used as a beast of draught and of burden in that country,
as it is also in India; it is also used in the latter country by the
military as a beast of burden.
_Bullock._--This beast is admirable for slow draught, especially over
rough roads, or through forests, or other places where there are no
roads at all. Bullocks stand fire better than any other animals, and
used to be employed in India for draught in field-batteries. They must
not be hurried; their ordinary pace is from 2 to 2¹⁄₂ miles an hour. If
used over hard roads, they require shoeing. They want but little care,
and thrive well on poor food. They attain their prime at six years, age
to be known by annular swelling on horns, allowing three years for first
ring, and one for each of the others. They are used in many parts of
India as pack-animals, when they carry a load of 200 pounds.
_Camels._--These animals are used in East India from three to sixteen
years of age; about 7 feet high (to top of hump), about 8 feet long from
nose to tail; pace about 2 miles an hour, kept up steadily for the
longest marches; load for work on service about 400 to 450 pounds. They
thrive well upon leaves of trees, and can go without water longer than
any other animal. During temporary halts the laden camel can kneel down
and rest. They are admirably adapted for carrying long articles, such as
scaling-ladders, pontons, etc. The camel is at home in the desert and
works well in the plains of India; it is unsuited for hilly countries.
After rain in clay soil, and over rocks and stony places, they split up
and are consequently useless there. They are good for fording rivers
that are deep but not rapid, and where the bottom of the river is
shifting sand, the passage of a number of camels over it renders it hard
and firm. The average weight of the camel is about 1170 pounds.
_Elephant._--A gigantic animal of the order _Proboscidea_, is the
largest and heaviest of existing quadrupeds, and is celebrated for
sagacity and docility. The ancient Carthaginians and other nations
employed elephants in war, not only as beasts of burden but as
combatants. These animals formed part of the army which Hannibal led
across the Alps, and they are said to have decided the victory at the
battle of Trebia. For a long period the elephant was as important an arm
of war as the artillery of modern nations. Seleucus is said to have had
more than 100 elephants at the battle of Ipsus. The elephant is the king
of beasts of burden, becoming fit for work at twenty years of age, and
lasting well to fifty and even sixty years of age. The load for steady
work varies from 1680 to 2240 pounds exclusive of the pad; pace from 3
to 3¹⁄₂ miles an hour; when laden can keep up well with infantry in
their daily marches; full grown his height is from 10 feet to 11 feet;
is most tractable in disposition, is invaluable during marches in
countries flooded by rain for extricating carts, guns, and wagons that
have stuck in the mud. They are now used in India for the draught of
guns in siege-trains; before such guns are taken under fire it is
necessary to have the elephants taken out and replaced by bullocks, as
the former cannot be made to stand fire. The average weight of an
elephant in India is about 6600 pounds. They are often used in hilly
countries to carry mountain guns on their back.
_Lama_, or _Llama_.--Is a most useful South American quadruped of the
family _Camelidæ_. It was in general use as a beast of burden on the
Peruvian Andes at the time of the Spanish conquest, and was the only
beast of burden used by the natives of America before the horse and ass
were introduced by Europeans. From the peculiar formation of its feet it
can walk securely on slopes too rough and steep for any other animal.
The burden carried by the lama should not exceed 125 pounds, and its
rate of traveling is about 12 to 15 miles per day.
_Mule._--This is an excellent draught animal and almost rivals the horse
for general military purposes. Their common load, including weight of
pack-saddle, is from 200 to 250 pounds; height varies from 13 to 16
hands. They will eat almost anything, and require less careful
management than the horse; the mule from the male ass and the mare is
the best; their voices take after the sire. The real value of the mule
is felt most strongly in mountainous countries.
=Packer.= A man whose duty it is to place and adjust the loads of
pack-animals and to take charge of them upon the march. As packing
requires long training and experience, packers are usually hired when
needed.
=Packing.= Is the act of making up and adjusting the load of a
pack-animal. It may be considered one of the arts.
=Pack-mule.= Mule used for carrying a pack.
=Pack-saddles= (Sp. _aparejos_). Are variously fitted, according to the
objects to be carried; some for provisions or ammunition; others for
carrying wounded men, tents, and, in mountain warfare, even small
cannon. The one in general use in the U. S. army (called _aparejo_) is 4
feet 9 inches long by 2 feet wide.
To “set up” an aparejo.--Prepare straight, smooth sticks, from ¹⁄₂ to 1
inch in diameter (wild-rose stems are the best, but any tough elastic
wood will answer), and the coarsest grass that can be obtained. The
grass should be cut green, free from flower-stalks, and dried slowly in
the shade. Place the aparejo upside-down; take four sticks 1 inch in
diameter, cut them to fit tightly, two in the width and two in the
length; place one in each end, and one in each side of the compartment.
Then place sticks ¹⁄₂ to ³⁄₄ of an inch in diameter, cut to fit tightly,
lengthwise of the compartment at intervals of 2 inches. Shake the grass
thoroughly, and place layer after layer on the sticks without displacing
them, until the compartment is as full as it can be stuffed with the
hand. Great care is necessary to insure an equal distribution of the
grass in the compartment. The corners are stuffed as hard as possible, a
sharp stick being used for the purpose. When the aparejo is stuffed, it
should be put on the mule for which it is intended, and the crupper
adjusted.
An _aparejo cincha_ is canvas, 72 inches long and 20 wide, folded so as
to bring the edges in the centre of the cincha. A semicircle of strong
leather pierced with two holes is stitched on one end, and two loops of
strong leather on the other.
The _latigo strap_ is strong bridle leather, 72 inches long, 1¹⁄₂ inches
wide at one end and tapering to ¹⁄₂ inch at the other. The wide end has
holes punched in it. The aparejo cincha and latigo strap are used to
tighten the aparejo.
Under the aparejo is placed a saddle-blanket, and a corona, or upper
saddle-blanket; the latter is made by stitching two or three folds of
old blanket or other woolen cloth together. It is the same size as the
saddle-blanket and used over it.
The _hammer-cloth_ is made of matting or canvas, of a size to exactly
cover the aparejo. Two pieces of hard wood 20 inches long, 2 inches
wide, 1¹⁄₂ inches thick, flat on one side, round on the other, and
beveled to an edge at the ends, are placed 6 inches from the ends of the
cloth. They have leather caps stitched over their ends. The hammer-cloth
is used over the aparejo and under the aparejo cincha.
The _sling-rope_ is of half-inch rope, 16 feet long.
The _lash-rope_ is of one and a fourth inch hemp rope, 32 to 36 feet
long; one end spliced to the cincha ring, the other end served.
The _cincha_ is strong canvas, 33 inches long by 11 inches wide; two
rectangular pieces of strong leather 8 inches long by 5¹⁄₂ inches wide
are stitched on one end, one on either side; in one of these pieces of
leather there is a slit through which a hard-wood hook is passed and
firmly fastened with a leather thong. There is a ring 3 inches in
diameter securely stitched in the other end of the cincha.
There is also a pack-cover made of canvas, 5 feet square; and a blind
made of leather, with strings and loop of the same material. The aparejo
when securely placed on the pack-animal is a very serviceable
pack-saddle, and cannot readily be displaced.
=Pack-train.= A number of loaded pack-animals with their drivers.
Pack-trains are employed in mountainous countries or regions impassable
for vehicles to carry supplies for armies. The mule is more generally
serviceable in this work than the horse.