engagements, or by lot or conscription. The Greek and Roman levies were
the result of a rigid system of conscription. The Visigoths practiced a
general conscription; poverty, old age, and sickness, were the only
reasons admitted for exemption. “Subsequently” (says Hallam), “the
feudal military tenures had superseded that earlier system of public
defense, which called upon every man, and especially upon every
land-holder, to protect his country. The relations of a vassal came in
place of those of a subject and a citizen. This was the revolution of
the 9th century. In the 12th and 13th another innovation rather more
gradually prevailed, and marks the third period in the military history
of Europe. Mercenary troops were substituted for the feudal militia.
These military adventurers played a more remarkable part in Italy than
in France, though not a little troublesome to the latter country.” A
necessary effect of the formation of mercenaries was the centralization
of authority. Money became the sinews of war. The invention of fire-arms
caused it to be acknowledged that skill was no less essential for
warlike operations than strength and valor. Towards the end of the
Middle Ages, the power of princes was calculated by the number and
quality of paid troops they could support. France first set the example
of keeping troops in peace. Charles VII., foreseeing the danger of
invasion, authorized the assemblage of armed mercenaries called
_compagnies d’ordonnance_. Louis XI. dismissed these troops but enrolled
new ones, composed of French, Swiss, and Scotch. Under Charles VIII.,
Germans were admitted in the French army, and the highest and most
illustrious nobles of France regarded it as an honor to serve in the
_gens d’armes_. Moral qualifications not being exacted for admission to
the ranks, the restraints of a barbarous discipline became necessary,
and this discipline divided widely the soldier from the people. The
French revolution overturned this system. “Now” (says Decker) “mercenary
troops have completely disappeared from continental Europe. England only
now raises armies by the system of _recruiters_. The last wars of Europe
have been wars of the people, and have been fought by nationalities.
After peace armies remain national, for their elements are taken from
the people by legal liberations. The institution of conscription is
evidently the most important of modern times. Among other advantages, it
has bridged the otherwise impassable gulf between the citizen and
soldier, who, children of the same family, are now united in defense of
their country. Permanent armies have ceased to be the personal guard of
kings, but their sympathies are always with the people, and their just
title is that of skillful warriors maintained as a nucleus for the
instruction of their countrymen in the highest school of art.”
=Raise a Blockade, To.= To remove or break up a blockade, either by
withdrawing the ships or forces employed in enforcing it, or by driving
them away or dispersing them.
=Raise a Purchase, To.= To dispose instruments or machines in such a
manner as to exert any mechanical force required.
=Raise a Siege, To.= To relinquish an attempt to take a place by
besieging it, or to cause the attempt to be relinquished.
=Rajah=, or =Raja=. A hereditary prince among the Hindus belonging to
the warrior caste, or the Kshattriya. In later times it became a title
given by the British government to Hindus of rank, and is now not
uncommonly assumed by the zemindars, or land-holders; the title of
Maharajah, or “great Rajah,” being in these days generally reserved to
the more or less independent native princes.
=Rajpoots=, or =Rajputs=. Is the name of various tribes in India which
are of Aryan origin, and either descended from the old royal races of
the Hindus, or from their Kshattriya, or warrior caste. They attained a
high degree of power and renown just before the Mohammedan conquests in
the 12th century. In 1193 and 1194 the Rajpoot chiefs sustained more
than one defeat at the hands of the Mohammedans, and were deprived of
all their possessions except the regions they now occupy. They came
under the protection of the English, from about the beginning of this
century, when the Rajpoots proved unable to defend their country against
the Mahrattas.
=Rake.= To enfilade; to fire in a direction with the length of; as, to
rake the enemy’s ranks.
=Rally.= To bring back to order troops that may have been dispersed, or
have retreated in a panic.
=Rally.= To come into orderly arrangement; to renew order, as troops
scattered or put to flight; to assemble; to unite.
=Ram.= To push home the charge of a gun; also, the corresponding word of
command.
=Ram, Battering-.= See BATTERING-RAM.
=Ram Home, To.= To drive home the ammunition in a gun.
=Ramillies.= A village of Brabant, Belgium, 28 miles southeast of
Brussels, is memorable as the place near which one of the most important
battles of the War of the Spanish Succession was fought, May 23, 1706.
In this conflict the French forces were under the command of Marshal de
Villeroy and the elector of Bavaria, while the Duke of Marlborough led
the troops of the allies. Villeroy, after a battle of three hours and a
half, was defeated, with the loss of all his cannon, the whole of his
baggage, and 13,000 men in killed and wounded. The great result of this
victory was that the French were compelled to give up the whole of the
Spanish Netherlands. About 4000 of the allies were slain in the
engagement.
=Rammer.= See IMPLEMENTS, and INSPECTION OF CANNON.
=Rammer-head.= See IMPLEMENTS, and INSPECTION OF CANNON.
=Ramnuggur.= A walled town of the Punjab, on the Chenaub, 62 miles
northwest of Lahore. Here the Sikh army was defeated by the British,
October, 1848.
=Ramp.= An oblique or sloping interior road to mount the terre-plein of
the rampart.
=Rampant= (_Fr._, literally, “raging”). In heraldry, an epithet applied
to a lion or other beast of prey when placed erect on the two hind-legs,
with only one of the fore-legs elevated, the head being seen in profile.
When the face is turned toward the spectator, the attitude is called
_rampant gardant_, and when the head is turned backwards, _rampant
regardant_. A lion _counter-rampant_ is one rampant towards the
sinister, instead of towards the dexter, the usual attitude. Two lions
rampant contrariwise in saltire, are sometimes also said to be
_counter-rampant_.
=Rampart.= To fortify with ramparts.
=Rampart-grenades.= Grenades used to defend a rampart. Shells of large
size may be used, being rolled down the parapet. See GRENADE.
=Rampart-gun.= A large gun fitted for rampart use, and not used for
field purposes.
=Ramparts.= In fortification, are broad embankments or masses of earth
which surround fortified places. A rampart forms the _enceinte_, or body
of the place, and on its exterior edge the parapet is placed, while
towards the place it is terminated by the interior slope of the rampart,
on which _ramps_ are made for the easy ascent of the troops and
material. See BULWARK.
=Rampier.= The same as rampart.
=Rampire.= The same as rampart,--seldom used except in poetry.
=Ramps.= Are inclined planes of earth serving as a means of
communication between two levels. A ramp for a field-gun is 8 feet wide,
and for short distances it has a slope of one-fourth to one-sixth. When
the distance is long the slope is increased to as much as one-twelfth.
=Ramrod.= The rod of iron formerly used in loading a piece to drive home
a charge; but now used to clean the rifle.
=Ram’s Horns.= In fortification, a kind of low works made in the ditch
of a circular arc, which serves instead of tenailles.
=Rancheros= (from the Spanish _rancho_, “comradeship”). Is the name
given in Mexico to a mixed breed of Spanish and Indian blood, who
inhabit the country, and may almost be said to live in the saddle from
their youth; are splendid riders and hunters, and form the bravest part
of the Mexican army,--its irregular cavalry. The importance of their
services was seen in the wars between Mexico and the United States. The
rancheros are lank in frame, with brown, weather-stained faces and
muscular limbs, hardy, temperate, and always ready for the boldest
enterprises.
=Rancon= (_Fr._). The name of an old weapon, consisting of a long stake
with a sharp iron point at one end, and two blades or wings bent
backwards, and extremely keen.
=Random.= Distance to which a missile is thrown or projected; range;
reach; as, the farthest random of a missile weapon.
=Random Shot.= A shot not directed or aimed towards any particular
object, or when the piece is elevated at an angle of 45° upon a level
plane.
=Range.= In artillery, is the horizontal distance from the muzzle of the
piece to the first graze of the projectile. The extreme range is the
distance from the muzzle to where the projectile finally rests. The
range of a projectile may be extended without increasing the charge of
powder, in the modes, viz.: 1st, by raising the piece to a higher level;
2d, by giving its axis greater elevation; 3d, by _eccentric_
projectiles. Experiments have shown that if the centre of gravity be
placed directly above the centre of figure, the range is greatly
increased. The range increases with the angle of fire up to a certain
limit, beyond which it diminishes. The greatest range in _vacuo_ is at
an angle of 45°. A mortar is usually fired at an angle of 45°, and the
charge is varied according to the range required. Mortars are sometimes
fired at an angle of 60°, when the battery is situated very near the
object assailed, and it is desired that the shells may fall upon the
magazines of the besieged. It is evident that the higher projectiles are
thrown, the greater the velocity they acquire in falling; besides, they
strike the object more directly and with increased violence.
Stone-mortars were sometimes fired at an angle of 75°, that, in falling
from a great height, the stone might have the maximum force of
percussion. Grenades should be thrown from mortars at an angle of 33°;
otherwise they will be buried in the earth, and their fragments will not
be sufficiently destructive. For tables of ranges, see Roberts’s
“Hand-book of Artillery.”
=Range, Point-blank.= See POINT-BLANK RANGE.
=Range-finder.= An instrument for determining ranges. There are several
different principles which may be used. The distance may be measured,
1st, by the visual angle subtended by objects of known height; 2d, by
the velocity of sound; 3d, the instrument may furnish a base-line in
itself and solve a triangle in which the base and two adjacent angles
are given. The term is also applied to instruments used to solve a
triangle, the base of which is obtained by outside means. Range-finders
constructed on the visual angle principle have been known for many
years. _Boulanger’s_ instrument uses the 2d principle. It consists of a
glass tube closed at both ends filled with a liquid in which a small
umbrella-shaped piece of metal is submerged. The tube is held vertically
in the hand, the metal slowly sinks to the bottom. When the flash of the
enemy’s gun is seen, the tube is inverted and the metal moves towards
the other end. When the sound is heard, the tube is brought to the
horizontal. The distance through which the piece of metal has moved
gives the range by means of a scale on the side of the tube. _Berdan’s
range-finder_ is an expensive instrument using the 3d principle. It is
mounted on a wagon, and intended to accompany either foot-troops or
artillery. It has found great favor in Germany. _Nolan’s range-finder_
consists of an instrument for automatically solving triangles. A similar
thing was devised about 1870 by two American officers, Maj. Morgan of
the 4th Artillery, and Capt. Lorain of the 3d Artillery. The most
ingenious, complete range-finder has been proposed by Lieut. Gordon of
the 4th Artillery. He uses two fixed angles and a variable base-line
supplied by the instrument itself. The principal parts of Nolan’s
range-finder are: Two instruments for measuring angles, one tape-line,
and one reckoning cylinder. Each of the two instruments consist of two
telescopes, which lie crosswise one above the other under an angle of
about 90°; the smaller of the two has a long arm, with a vernier at one
end; to the other a sector is fastened, which is divided up into
degrees. By means of a screw, an angle of about 20° can be described by
the upper or smaller telescope. The reckoning cylinder consists of a
solid body and two rotating rings. The lower ring and the lower edge of
the body are divided into 100 equal parts. On the upper ring are the
logarithms of the figures, and on the upper edge of the body are the
logarithms of the signs, from 6″ up to 2° 15′.
To find the range, the instruments on their tripods are arranged at the
end of the assumed base-line, which is perpendicular to the range; or
the instruments may be attached to the right and left guns of a battery.
The long telescopes are turned toward the object whose distance is to be
found; the smaller ones upon each other, and the cross-threads of each
made to cover the cross-lines on the leather disk through which each
small telescope points. The coincidence obtained by directing the longer
telescope on the object, the two angles at the base are determined; the
base-line being measured, one side and two angles of the triangle are
obtained. With this data recourse is then had to the reckoning cylinder.
The arrow marked “band” is set on the figure that corresponds with the
distance between the instruments or base-line,--say 34 yards; then set
the arrow on the lower ring on the figure corresponding with the angle
found through the instrument,--say 18°; then find the figure for the
number of degrees of the other angle,--say 42° on the lower ring. Just
above that is the figure 60 on the other division of the lower ring;
coinciding with this on the lower edge of the upper ring is the
distance, 1320 yards. The bases used are from 30 to 40 yards for a range
of 2000 yards and over.
_Watkins’s range-finder_ and _Gautier’s telemeter_ are instruments which
require a measured base-line. See TELEMETER.
=Ranger.= One of a body of mounted troops, who were formerly armed with
short muskets, and who ranged over the country around, and often fought
on foot.
=Ranging.= The disposal of troops in proper order for an engagement,
manœuvres, or march, etc.
=Rank.= Range of subordination, degree of authority. The relative
situations which officers hold with respect to each other, or to
military things in general. Questions as to the positive or relative
rank of officers may often be of the greatest importance at law, in
consequence of the rule, that every person who justifies his own acts on
the ground of obedience to superior authority must establish, by clear
evidence, the sufficiency of the authority on which he so relies. There
may also be many occasions on which the propriety of an officer’s
assumption of command, or his exercise of particular functions, or his
right to share with a particular class of officers in prize-money,
bounties, grants, and other allowances, may depend on the correctness of
the view taken by himself or others of his rights to a specific rank or
command; and an error in this respect may expose him to personal loss
and damage in suits before the civil tribunals. The regulation of
military rank is vested absolutely in Congress, which confers or varies
it at pleasure. The will of Congress in this respect is signified by the
creation of different grades of rank; by making rules of appointment and
promotion; by other rules of government and regulation; or is by fair
deduction to be inferred from the nature of the functions assigned to
each officer; for every man who is intrusted with an employment is
presumed to be invested with all the powers necessary for the effective
discharge of the duties annexed to his office. Rank and grade are
synonymous, and in their military acceptation indicate rights, powers,
and duties, determined by laws, creating the different degrees of rank,
and specifying fixed forms for passing from grade to grade and when rank
in one body shall give command in another body; and also when rank in
the army at large shall not be exercised. Rank is a right of which an
officer cannot be deprived, except through forms prescribed by law. When
an officer is on duty, the rank itself indicates his relative position
to other officers of the body in which it is created. It is not,
however, a perpetual right to exercise command, because the President
may, under the 62d article of war, at any time relieve an officer from
duty; or an officer may be so relieved by arrest duly made according to
law; or by inability to perform duty from sickness, or by being placed
by competent authority on some other duty. But whenever an officer is on
duty his rank indicates his command.
=Rank.= A line of soldiers; a row of troops reckoned from side to side,
or in breadth;--opposed to _file_. _The ranks_, the order of common
soldiers; as, to reduce a non-commissioned officer to the ranks. _To
fill the ranks_, to supply the whole number, or a competent number. _To
take rank of_, to enjoy precedence over, or to have the right of taking
a higher place than.
=Rank and File.= The body of soldiers constituting the mass of the army,
and including corporals and privates. In a more extended sense, it
includes sergeants also, excepting the non-commissioned staff.
=Rank, Brevet.= See BREVET.
=Rank, Double.= A rank composed of front and rear files.
=Rank, Honorary.= That which merely gives a title and precedence,
without any command being attached to that rank.
=Rank, Insignia of.= Are badges or distinguishing marks of office of
honor. In the army of the United States the rank of officers is
determined by the insignia on the epaulettes and shoulder-straps, and is
as follows:
“For the general commanding the army, two gold-embroidered stars of five
rays, one on each side equidistant between the centre and the outer edge
of the strap, and a gold-embroidered shield in the centre. For the
lieutenant-general, three silver-embroidered stars of five rays, one
star on the centre of the strap, and one on each side equidistant
between the centre and outer edge of the strap; the centre star to be
the largest. For the major-generals, two silver-embroidered stars, the
centre of each star to be one inch from the outer edge of the gold
embroidery on the outer ends of the straps, both stars of the same size.
For a brigadier-general, the same as for a major-general, except that
there will be but one star instead of two. For a colonel, the same as
for a major-general, omitting the stars and introducing a
silver-embroidered eagle; cloth of the strap as follows: for the general
staff and staff corps--dark blue; artillery--scarlet; infantry--light or
sky-blue; cavalry--yellow. For a lieutenant-colonel, the same as for a
colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing a
silver-embroidered leaf at each end. For a major, the same as for a
colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing a
gold-embroidered leaf at each end. For a captain, the same as for a
colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing at each
end two gold-embroidered bars. For a first lieutenant, the same as for a
colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle, and introducing at each
end one gold-embroidered bar. For a second lieutenant, the same as for a
colonel, according to corps, omitting the eagle. For a brevet second
lieutenant, the same as for a second lieutenant.”
=Rank, Local.= See LOCAL RANK.
=Rank, Relative.= See RELATIVE RANK.
=Rank, Single.= A rank of single files.
=Rank, Substantive.= Is genuine rank, with all the command and
authority, as well as precedence, attaching to the title. For instance,
a regimental major possesses the substantive rank of major, while a
captain and brevet major is only a substantive captain. It may be
briefly described as being the reverse of brevet rank.
=Ranker.= One who ranks, or disposes in ranks; and one who arranges.
=Ransack.= To plunder; to pillage completely; to ravage; as, to ransack
a city.
=Ransom of Prisoners.= A prisoner of war, being a public enemy, is the
prisoner of the government, and not of the captor. No ransom can be paid
by a prisoner of war to his individual captor, or to any officer in
command. The government alone releases captives, according to rules
prescribed by itself.
=Rapier.= Is said to have had distinct meanings at different times, and
in ancient fencing to have been a long cutting broadsword; but for the
last century, at least, the rapier has been a light, highly-tempered,
edgeless, thrusting weapon, finely pointed and about 3 feet in length.
At present, it is worn only on occasions of court ceremonial, and
answers no other purpose than to incommode the wearer. In war a rapier
could never have been of any service.
=Rapine.= The act of plundering; the seizing and carrying away of things
by force; spoliation; pillage; plunder. Violence; force; also, to
plunder.
=Rappahannock.= A river of Virginia, formed by the union of the North
Fork and the Rapidan, 40 miles above Fredericksburg. On the Rappahannock
and the Rapidan occurred some of the most sanguinary battles of the war
of Secession, at Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, and the Wilderness.
=Rapparee.= A wild Irish plunderer, so called from his being generally
armed with a _rapary_, or half-pike. The term was in common use in the
17th century.
=Rappel.= The beat of the drum to call soldiers to arms.
=Rarefaction.= The extension of the parts of a gas, by which it is made
to take up more room than it did before.
=Rasaldar.= In the East Indies, the name applied to the commander of
_rasallah_, which is 10,000 armed horsemen.
=Rasante.= A French term, applied to a style of fortification in which
the command of the works over each other, and over the country, is kept
very low, in order that the shot may more effectually sweep or graze the
ground before them.
=Ras-el-Kyma.= A fortress in the Persian Gulf, and formerly the
principal stronghold of the Joasmee pirates. This fortress was destroyed
and the pirates thoroughly subdued by an English force under Sir W. Kier
Grant in 1817.
=Rasgrad=, or =Hesarorad=. A town of Turkey in Europe, in Bulgaria, and
about 215 miles northwest from Constantinople. The Turks were defeated
here by the Russians in 1810.
=Rassova.= A fortified town of Turkey in Europe, on the right bank of
the Danube, 38 miles east by north of Silistria. Rassova was occupied
by the Russians for a short time in 1854.
=Rastadt=, =Radstadt=, or =Rastall=. A fortified town of the grand duchy
of Baden, on the Murg, not far from its confluence with the Rhine. The
peace of 1714, which put an end to the War of the Spanish Succession,
was signed in the palace by Prince Eugène and Marshal Villars. A
congress was held here in 1797-99, to negotiate a peace between France
and the empire, after which the French ambassadors, Roberjot and
Bonnier, were murdered on their return, only a short distance from the
town. At Rastadt the insurrection in Baden in 1849 first broke out; and
the insurgents, after a three weeks’ siege, were obliged to surrender at
discretion to the Prussians.
=Ratchet-post.= A cast-iron post at the head of large Rodman guns to
serve as a fulcrum for the bar used in elevating the gun. See FULCRUM.
=Ratchet-wheel.= A wheel with pointed and angular teeth, against which a
ratchet abuts, used either for converting a reciprocating into a
rotatory motion on the shaft to which it is fixed, or for admitting of
its motion in one direction only.
=Rate of March.= See HORSES, PACK AND DRAUGHT HORSES, and QUICK TIME.
=Rathenow=, or =Rathenau=. A town of Prussia, in the province of
Brandenburg, 45 miles west of Berlin. A victory was gained here in 1675
by the troops of Brandenburg under the elector Frederick William, over
the Swedes.
=Rathlin, Island of.= An island off the north coast of Ireland, 3 miles
northwest of Fairhead. It was the scene of more than one struggle in the
Danish wars, and it afforded shelter, after his defeat in Scotland, to
Robert Bruce. In 1558, the Scottish colony which then inhabited the
island was attacked by the lord-deputy Sussex, and expelled from it with
much slaughter.
=Rathmines.= A suburb of Dublin, on its south side, 1¹⁄₂ miles south of
Dublin Castle. It is the site of a battle-field, where Col. Jones,
governor of Dublin Castle, making a sally out, routed the Marquis of
Ormond, killed 4000 men, and took 2517 prisoners, with their cannon,
baggage, and ammunition, August 2, 1649.
=Ration.= A portion or fixed allowance of provisions, drink, and forage,
assigned to a soldier in the army, or a sailor in the navy, for his
daily subsistence, and for the subsistence of horses, etc.
The soldier’s ration in Europe is as follows:
AUSTRIA.
_Peace Ration._
Bread 31. ounces.
Meat without bone 6.6 „
Suet .62 ounce.
Vegetables 2.48 ounces.
Salt .6 ounce.
22.37 ounces anhydrous food.
_War Ration._
Fresh pork 6.5 ounces.
Or salt pork 6. „
Or fresh beef 6. „
Or bacon 6. „
Butter .14 ounce.
Biscuit 3.5 ounces.
Flour 25.2 „
Fresh vegetables 2.1 „
Beans 1.5 ounce.
Beer and wine variable.
38.6 ounces anhydrous food.
ENGLAND.
In the home service the soldier receives from the government:
Bread 1 pound.
Meat ³⁄₄ „
The soldier buys
Potatoes 16. ounces.
Other vegetables 8. „
Milk 3.25 „
Sugar 1.33 ounce.
Salt .25 „
Coffee .33 „
The whole being equivalent to 23.4 ounces of anhydrous food.
In time of war the ration is varied according to location, climate, and
kind of service.
FRANCE.
During peace the soldier buys from the government his ration, paying 43
out of the 48 centimes which he receives per day, except in Paris, where
he pays 51 out of 58 centimes. Meat is furnished 35 per cent. below
market rates.
Munition bread 26.5 ounces.
White bread 8.8 „
Meat 10.6 „
Vegetables, green 3.5 „
Beans 1.1 ounce.
Salt and pepper .43 „
If meat is salt beef 8.8 ounces.
If meat is salt pork 7. „
Biscuit in lieu of bread 19.4 „
Being equal to 24 ounces of anhydrous food.
_War Ration._
Meat without bone 8.4 ounces.
Bread 35.3 „
Or biscuit 26.5 „
Beans 2.12 „
Salt .5 ounce.
Sugar .7 „
Coffee .6 „
Or in lieu of coffee, wine 9. ounces.
Or brandy 2.2 „
Being 24.56 ounces of anhydrous food.
PRUSSIA.
About one-half the daily pay is retained by the government for the
soldier’s food.
_Peace Ration._