canvas or india-rubber blankets, may be used either as boats or pontons.
The small capacity of the wagon-body requires such pontons to be placed
more closely to compensate for it.
=Ponton-train.= See PONTONS, BRIDGE EQUIPAGE.
=Pontus.= An ancient kingdom in the northeast of Asia Minor, which
derived its name from its being on the _Pontus Euxinus_ (Black Sea),
extending from the river Colchis in the east to the river Halys in the
west. In early times, its various parts were designated after the tribes
which inhabited them. The most important of those tribes are,--the
Leucosyri, Tibareni, Chalybes, Mosynœci, Heptacometæ, Drilæ, Bechires,
Byzeres, Colchi, Macrones, Mares, Taochi, and Phasiani. From the middle
of the 7th century B.C., many of those tribes inhabiting the coast rose
to great power and opulence, spreading Greek culture and civilization
around them; while many of those of the interior were extremely savage
and wild. According to tradition, it was conquered by Ninus, founder of
the Assyrian empire; and it was certainly under the Persian dominion
after the time of Cyrus the Great. In the reign of Artaxerxes II.,
Ariobarzanes conquered several of the Pontian tribes, and laid the
foundation of an independent kingdom. Mithridates II. succeeded him 337
B.C., who by availing himself of the disputes of the successors of
Alexander, considerably enlarged his dominions. Under Mithridates VI.,
from 120 to 63 B.C., the kingdom of Pontus rose to its highest dignity.
In his war with the Romans his kingdom was dismembered by Pompey in 65
B.C., who annexed the western part of the nation, and gave the remainder
to the native chiefs. In 63 A.D. Pontus was made a Roman province, and
in the changes which transpired under Constantine the province was
divided into two parts.
=Pontvalent.= A kind of light bridge, used in sieges, for surprising a
post or outwork which has but a narrow moat; a flying bridge.
=Poor Knights of Windsor.= See KNIGHTS, MILITARY.
=Port Royal.= In Beaufort Co., S. C., noted as one of the earliest
settlements made by the Spaniards within the present limits of the
United States, and for important events during the war of the Rebellion.
=Portable Forge.= A light and compact blacksmith’s forge, with bellows,
etc., that may be moved from place to place; used frequently in the
quartermaster’s department.
=Portate.= In heraldry, borne not erect, but athwart an escutcheon; as,
a portate cross.
=Portcullis.= Is an assemblage of several large pieces of wood, joined
across one another like a harrow, and each pointed with iron at the
bottom. They are sometimes suspended over the gateway of old fortified
towns and castles, ready to be let down in the case of surprise, when
the gates cannot be shut.
=Portcullis.= In heraldry, the portcullis is represented with rings at
its uppermost angles, from which chains depend on either side. It was a
badge of the Beaufort family, and borne in virtue of their Beaufort
descent by their Tudor sovereigns. Portcullis is the title of one of the
pursuviants belonging to the English College of Arms, whose office was
instituted by Henry VII.
=Port-fire.= See LABORATORY STORES.
=Portfolio.= A portable case for keeping loose papers in. Hence, also,
the office and functions of a minister of state or member of the
cabinet; as, to receive the portfolio of war.
=Portglave.= An ancient name for a sword-bearer.
=Portland Isle.= An island off the coast of Dorset, England, which was
fortified before 1142.
=Porto= (or =Puerto=) =Bello=. A seaport town of South America, on the
north coast of the Isthmus of Darien.
=Porto Novo.= A seaport of British India, in the Presidency of Madras,
at the mouth of the Vellaur. It suffered severely in the wars of the
British government against Mysore, and fell into a state of decay. At
Porto Novo, Hyder Ali, with an immensely superior army, was totally
defeated by the British under Sir Eyre Coote in 1791.
=Porto Rico.= A Spanish possession, one of the group of West India
Islands called the Great Antilles. Porto Rico was invaded in 1509 by
Spaniards from Hayti, and the natives were soon exterminated by them.
Towards the end of the 17th century the island was captured by the
British, but was abandoned by them soon afterwards. In 1820 a revolution
took place in Porto Rico, which was finally put down in 1823.
=Portugal= (anc. _Lusitania_). A kingdom in the southwest of Europe,
forming the western part of the Spanish peninsula. After nine years’
struggle, under Viriathes, a brave and able leader, the Lusitanians
submitted to the Roman arms about 137 B.C. In the 5th century the Suevi,
Vandals, and Visigoths became possessors of the country. In the
beginning of the 8th century Portugal shared the fate of Spain, and was
overrun by the Moors. After a long struggle, during which many battles
were fought, and many illustrious deeds achieved, the Portuguese
monarchy was formally established by the Cortes at Lamego in 1143, with
Alfonso I. (of the Burgundian house) as king. The immediate successors
of Alfonso I. were engaged in many severe struggles with the clergy, who
were always ready to combine against the sovereign; but on the whole,
the dignity of the kingdom was well maintained by the representatives of
this family, who are, moreover, distinguished as the promoters and
upholders of the maritime glory of Portugal. Alfonso, surnamed “the
Brave,” ascended the throne in 1325, and his reign was almost wholly
occupied in wars with the Castilians and the Moslems. With his grandson,
Ferdinand I., the legitimate branch of the Burgundian house became
extinct in 1383. During the reign of John II., the Azores, Madeira, Cape
de Verde, and other islands were seized. The discovery of Brazil and the
settlements made there and on the western coast of India increased the
maritime power and fame of Portugal, which were further extended under
John III., who ascended the throne in 1521, and during whose reign the
Inquisition was introduced. At this period Portugal ranked as one of the
most powerful monarchies in Europe. Sebastian (grandson of John III.),
urged by the Jesuits, entered upon a fatal expedition to Africa against
the infidels. The defeat of the Portuguese, and the capture and death of
their young king at the battle of Alcazar in 1578, and the extinction of
the old Burgundian line in 1580, plunged the country into difficulties
and misfortunes of every kind. Philip II. of Spain succeeded in securing
to himself the crown of Portugal, and annexing the Portuguese kingdom to
the Spanish monarchy. This event proved disastrous in the extreme to
Portugal, involving it in all the ruinous wars of Spain in the Low
Countries and in Germany, the greater part of the expenses of which it
bore; while the Dutch, in retaliation for Spanish aggression at home,
attacked the Portuguese settlements in Brazil, and almost completely
deprived them of their possessions in the Indian Archipelago. In 1640,
after a forced union of 160 years, Portugal was freed, by a bold and
successful conspiracy of the nobles, from all connection with Spain, and
the Duke de Braganza placed on the throne, under the title of John IV.
The war with Spain, which was the natural result of this act, terminated
in 1668, when by the treaty of Lisbon, the independence of Portugal was
formally recognized by the Spanish government. For the next hundred
years, Portugal vegetated in a state of inglorious apathy. It was
invaded by the French in 1807,--a measure which gave rise to the
Peninsular war. The victory of Vimeira, gained by the combined English
and Portuguese army in 1808, freed the land from its French assailants.
A revolution broke out in Lisbon in 1820. In 1832, Dom Pedro raised a
fleet and made a landing at Oporto. Admiral Napier in the mean while
operated on the coast of Algarve successfully in favor of the young
queen Doña Maria de Gloria, whose cause, by these victories and the
support of an alliance with the great powers, finally proved victorious.
Doña Maria made her entry into Lisbon in 1833; and in the following year
Dom Miguel (who had disputed the throne) signed the convention of Evora,
by which he renounced all pretensions to the throne. During the reign of
Doña Maria insurrections and counter-insurrections were of frequent
occurrence, the troops were not to be depended on in moments of
emergency; guerrilla bands scoured the country at will, and openly
defied the queen’s authority. An armed intervention of the great powers
in 1847 produced a partial abatement of the national disorders; but the
queen’s partiality for her unpopular ministers, Count Thomar and his
brother Cabral, led to the insurrection which, without bloodshed, made
the national idol, the Marquis de Saldanha, _de facto_ military dictator
of Portugal. The eldest son of the queen ascended the throne in 1853, as
Pedro V., under the regency of the king-consort his father. The latter
used his power discreetly, and the financial disorders were partially
adjusted, and since that period the general condition of the nation is
more promising.
=Positions, Military.= The sites occupied by armies, either for the
purpose of covering and defending certain tracts of country, or
preparatory to the commencement of offensive operations against an
enemy. A position is considered as advantageously chosen when it is on
elevated ground; when it is not commanded by eminences within the range
of artillery; and when, from the existence of natural obstacles, as
rivers or marshes, on the wings, it is incapable of being turned,--that
is, the enemy cannot, without making an extensive movement, get to the
rear of the army by which the position is occupied. In the event of such
points of support being wanting, the position, whether it be a plain or
an eminence, should have its flanks protected by villages, or by
redoubts raised for the purpose. A village, or even a single building,
on the ground occupied by the army, may become the key of the position;
and as, not unfrequently, on the preservation of this point depends the
field of battle, such point should be well supported by troops and
artillery. The highest point of ground, particularly if near the lines
of operation, may also constitute the key, and is usually strengthened
by one or more redoubts. Artillery should always be placed where it can
act with the most effect; and when the ground occupied by an army
presents alternately salient and retired points along the front of the
line, the batteries should be placed at such points. Infantry may occupy
any kind of ground, but should, if possible, always form a close line.
It is usually placed between the batteries; and if exposed to a distant
cannonade, the troops may be drawn up in a trench, the earth from which
will serve to cover them without preventing them from marching out in
line to meet the enemy. Cavalry must be posted on a level plain, over
which it may advance with regularity when a charge is to be made; if
compelled to act on broken ground, it is formed in small detachments
behind the infantry, through whose intervals it may pass at proper
opportunities. The power of readily appreciating the character of ground
for military purposes is what is called by foreign writers the military
_coup d’œil_; and this can only be acquired by a profound knowledge of
military tactics of war, joined to much experience in the practice of
executing military surveys, and of contemplating the appearance of
ground from all possible points of view.
=Posse Comitatus.= A sheriff or marshal, for the purpose of keeping the
peace and pursuing felons, may command all the people of his county
above fifteen years old to attend him, which is called the _posse
comitatus_, or “power of the county.”--_Blackstone._
=Possession.= To take possession, is the act of occupying any post,
camp, fortress, etc., which might facilitate the operations of an army,
or which previously belonged to the enemy.
=Post.= Any sort of ground, fortified or not, where a body of men can be
in a condition of resisting the enemy.
_Advance post_, a spot of ground seized by a party to secure their
front, and the post behind them.
_Post_ is also the walk or position of a sentinel.
=Post.= In the British service, a bugle-sound. The first post is the
bugling which precedes the tattoo; the last post that which follows it.
Also, the piece of ground to which a sentinel’s walk is limited; any
place or office assigned to a soldier or body of soldiers on duty.
=Post, Abandoning a.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 42.
=Post, Advantageous.= Every situation is so called which an enemy
occupies in such a manner that not only mere force of arms, but great
military skill, and many stratagems, are required to dislodge him.
=Post of Honor.= The advanced guard is a post of honor; the right of the
two lines is the post of honor, and is generally given to the eldest
corps; the left is the next post, and given to the next eldest, and so
on. But the laws of military discipline forbid an inconvenient
accordance with this practice, as the circumstances of the case may
require a very different arrangement, which it would be wanton to
oppose.
=Post, Sleeping Upon.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 39.
=Post, To.= In a military sense, means to station; as, to post a
sentinel. _To be posted_, in military tactics signifies to be formed
ready for action. Thus, when troops are brought up in column, and
ordered to deploy, it frequently happens that some part of the line is
refused, in order to flank an enemy, or to cover a weak position; the
part that is aligned is said to be posted. To be posted also means, in a
familiar sense, to be publicly announced as an infamous or degraded
character. Hence, to post a man as a coward is to stick his name up in a
conspicuous place, and to accuse him of want of spirit, etc.
=Postern=, or =Sally-port=. Is a passage usually vaulted, and
constructed under the rampart, to afford a communication from the
interior into the ditch. The passages from the covered way into the
country are likewise called sally-ports, as they afford free egress and
ingress to troops engaged in making a sally or sortie.
=Post-traders.= Traders are allowed in the American army at the rate of
one to each military camp or post, who have the exclusive privilege to
trade upon the military reserve to which they are appointed, and no
other person will be allowed to trade or sell goods by sample or
otherwise, within the limits of the reserve, except producers of fresh
fruit and vegetables, by permission of the post commander. Post-traders
are selected for the appointment by a council of administration,
consisting of the three senior officers, next to the commanding officer,
on duty at the post, and upon the recommendation of these officers,
approved by the post commander, are appointed by the Secretary of War.
The trader is authorized to keep on hand for sales to the troops,
articles of wholesome food, such clothing as soldiers may be permitted
to purchase, tobacco, blacking, etc., the prices to be regulated by the
council of administration. At remote military posts in the United
States, traders are authorized to keep on hand the necessary supplies
for sales to miners, settlers, and emigrants. See CANTEEN, and SUTLER.
=Pot.= The paper cylinder forming the head of a signal-rocket and
containing the decorations. To diminish the resistance of the air the
pot is surmounted by a paper cone.
=Pot, Stink-.= See STINK-POT.
=Potence= (_Fr._). Troops are ranged _en potence_ by breaking a straight
line, and throwing a certain proportion of it, either forward or
backward, from the right or left, according to circumstances, for the
purpose of securing that line. An army may be posted _en potence_ by
means of a village, a river, or a wood.
=Potent Counter-potent.= In heraldry, one of the heraldic furs, in which
the field is filled with crutch-shaped figures alternately of metal and
color, those of opposite tinctures being placed base against base, and
point against point. The metal and colors are understood to be argent
and azure, unless they be specifically blazoned otherwise. Potent
counter-potent is sometimes blazoned Vairycuppy.
=Potent, Cross.= In heraldry, a cross crutch-shaped at each extremity.
It is also called a Jerusalem cross, from its occurrence in the insignia
of the Christian kingdom of Jerusalem, which are, argent a cross potent
between four crosslets or. This coat is remarkable as being a departure
from the usual heraldic rule which prohibits the placing of metal upon
metal.
=Potentee.= A heraldic line of division which takes the form of the
outline of a succession of crutch-shaped figures.
=Potgun.= Formerly a short, wide cannon, formed like a pot.
=Potidæa.= A town in Macedonia, on the narrow isthmus of the peninsula
Pallene, was a strongly fortified place, and one of considerable
importance. It was a colony of the Corinthians, and was founded before
the Persian wars. It afterwards became tributary to Athens, and its
revolt from the latter city in 432 B.C. was one of the immediate causes
of the Peloponnesian war. It was taken by the Athenians in 429, after a
siege of more than two years, its inhabitants expelled, and their place
supplied by Athenian colonists. In 356 it was taken by Philip of
Macedon, who destroyed the city, and sold the inhabitants into slavery.
Cassander, however, built a new city on the same site, to which he gave
the name of _Cassandria_, and which he peopled with the remains of the
old population, and the inhabitants of the surrounding towns. It was
taken and plundered by the Huns, but was restored by Justinian.
=Potomac.= A river of the United States, formed by two branches, which
rise in the Alleghany Mountains, and unite 20 miles southeast of
Cumberland, Md., from which point the river flows in a generally
southeasterly course, 400 miles, and falls into Chesapeake Bay, where it
is 6 to 8 miles broad, 75 miles from the ocean. Line-of-battle ships
ascend to Washington, 120 miles from its mouth. The Potomac forms the
greater part of the boundary between Virginia and Maryland. During the
civil war, both Federal and Confederate armies crossed several times the
fords of the Upper Potomac, and severe actions were fought upon its
banks. The largest army of the Union was named after it.
=Pottawatomies.= A tribe of Indians of Algonkin stock, who formerly
occupied a great part of Michigan, where a few still remain. They fought
against the settlers in the Pontiac war, and against the Americans in
the war of the Revolution; and were allies of the British in the war of
1812, soon after which they removed to Kansas, where they now reside in
a partial state of civilization, only about 500 of what is known as the
Prairie band being located on a reservation.
=Pouch.= A case of strong leather, lined with tin divisions, for the
purpose of carrying a soldier’s ammunition. It is covered by a flap to
preserve the cartridges from wet. The leather cases containing primers,
lanyard, etc., in field and heavy artillery, and those containing a
gunner’s level, vent-punch, gimlet, etc., in heavy artillery, are also
called pouches.
=Pounder.= The term used in describing the force of a cannon employed in
firing solid shot; as, a 9-pounder field-gun, a 300-pounder Armstrong,
etc.
=Powder.= See GUNPOWDER.
=Powder-cart.= A two-wheeled carriage covered with an angular roof of
boards. To prevent the powder from getting damp, a tarred canvas is put
over the roof; and on each side are lockers to hold shot, in proportion
to the quantity of powder.
=Powdered=, or =Semée=. In heraldry, strewn with an indefinite number of
small charges.
=Powder-magazine.= See MAGAZINE.
=Powder-measure.= See IMPLEMENTS.
=Powder-mill.= See MILL, GUNPOWDER-.
=Power.= In military affairs as well as in all others, is knowledge--of
human passions--of arms--of distance--of the skill and numbers of an
enemy. To be in the _power_ of an enemy, is to have taken up,
injudiciously, such a position as to expose you to a defeat whenever the
enemy may think proper to attack you.
=Powerful.= Full of power; capable of producing great effects of any
kind; as, a powerful army or navy.
=Powldron.= In heraldry, that part of armor which covers the shoulders.
=Powwow.= A priest or conjurer among the North American Indians. Also
conjurations performed for the cure of diseases and other purposes,
attended with great noise and confusion, and often with dancing.
=Poynado.= A poniard was formerly so called.
=Pozzuoli.= A city of Southern Italy, at the east of the Bay of Naples.
It is first mentioned in history during the second Punic war, when it
was surrounded by strong walls. In 214 B.C. it repulsed Hannibal, and
subsequently became a place of importance. It was destroyed by Alaric,
Genseric, and Totila. It was afterwards rebuilt by the Byzantine Greeks,
but being exposed to new devastations, to earthquakes, and volcanic
eruptions, it sank into decay.
=Practicable.= A word frequently used in military matters to express the
possible accomplishment of any object. Hence, a practicable breach.
=Practice, To.= In a military sense, to go through the manual and
platoon exercises, or through the various manœuvres, etc., for the
purpose of becoming thoroughly master of military movements. Practice is
likewise used to signify the act of effecting or executing any military
operation.
=Præliares.= Among the Romans, fighting days, on which they thought it
lawful to engage in acts of hostility; for during the time of some
particular feasts, they reckoned it a piece of impiety to raise, march,
or exercise men for war, or to encounter the enemy, unless first
attacked.
=Prætorians.= Was, during the Roman republic, a select cohort that
attended the prætor or commander of an army. They frequently decided the
fate of battles. After the overthrow of the republic, Augustus formed
them into nine cohorts, and fixed their station in the capital as
body-guards. They became, in short, under the emperors, what “the
guards” are to the monarchies of Europe. They, in addition to their
military duties, frequently had the charge of state prisoners, and often
acted the part of executioners. They were all picked men, chosen for the
most part from Italy. Their power increased greatly under the empire
until they frequently determined the fate of an emperor. Diocletian
reduced their number, and Constantine disbanded them.
=Prætorium.= See PRETORIUM.
=Praga.= A town of Poland, on the Vistula, opposite to Warsaw, with
which it communicates by a bridge of boats. In 1794 the Polish
insurgents took refuge here, and it was stormed by Suwarrow, and given
up to pillage and massacre, when about 20,000 were slain. In 1830 the
Grand Duke Constantine of Russia was forced to retreat from this town
with his troops, at the beginning of the Polish revolution in that year,
which unfortunately proved unsuccessful.
=Prague.= A city of Austria, the capital of Bohemia, situated on the
Moldau. Prague was conquered and almost destroyed by the Hussites in
1424; but after the subsequent defeat and submission of the Hussites,
the city was rebuilt. In the Thirty Years’ War it suffered severely, and
in 1620 the battle was fought at the White Mountain, near the city, in
which Frederick V. (the “Winter King”), son-in-law of James I. of
England, was completely defeated, and compelled to renounce his assumed
crown, and to give up the town into the power of the emperor of Austria.
Swedes and Imperialists successively gained possession of it during the
war; and a century later, during the Seven Years’ War, it again fell
into the hands of different victors, being compelled, in 1744, to
capitulate to Frederick the Great of Prussia; but he was obliged to
abandon it the same year. In 1757 the king of Prussia again besieged it,
but his efforts to reduce it proved ineffectual. In 1848 it was
bombarded, the inhabitants having risen against the Austrian government,
when great cruelties were perpetrated by the Austrian troops. A treaty
of peace between Austria and Prussia was signed at Prague, August 23,
1866.