=Subdivision.= The parts of a regiment on parade distinguished by a
second division. Thus, a company divided forms two subdivisions.
=Subdue.= To bring under; to conquer by force or the exertion of
superior power, and bring into permanent subjection; to reduce under
dominion. To overpower so as to disable from further resistance; to
crush.
=Subdur.= In the East Indies signifies a chief.
=Subjugate.= To subdue and bring under the yoke of power or dominion; to
conquer by force, and compel to submit to the government or absolute
control of another.
=Sub-Lieutenant.= In the British service, is the lowest commissioned
rank in infantry and cavalry.
=Subordinary=, or =Subordinate Ordinary=. In heraldry, a name given to a
certain class of charges mostly formed of straight or curved lines.
Heralds vary a little in their enumeration, but the following are
generally held to come within this category: the Bordure, the Orle, the
Tressure, the Flanche, the Pile, the Pall, the Quarter, the Canton, the
Gyron, the Fret, the Inescutcheon, the Lozenge, the Fusil, and the
Mascle. Some heraldic writers account the Pile an ordinary, and the
diminutives of the ordinaries are sometimes ranked as subordinaries.
=Subordination.= A perfect submission to the orders of superiors; a
perfect dependence, regulated by the rights and duties of every military
man, from the soldier to the general. Subordination should show the
spirit of the chief in all the members; and this single idea, which is
manifest to the dullest apprehension, suffices to show its importance.
Without subordination it is impossible that a corps can support itself;
that its motions can be directed, order established, or the service
carried on. In effect, it is subordination that gives a soul and harmony
to the service; it adds strength to authority, and merit to obedience;
and while it secures the efficacy of command, reflects honor upon its
execution. It is subordination which prevents every disorder, and
procures every advantage to an army.
=Subsidy.= A stipulated sum of money, paid by one prince to another in
pursuance of a treaty of alliance for offensive or defensive war.
_Subsidiary troops_, are the troops of a nation assisting those of
another, for a given sum or subsidy.
=Subsist.= To support with provisions; to feed; to maintain.
=Subsistence.= This word may be divided into two sorts, namely, that
species of subsistence which is found in an adjacent country, such as
forage, and frequently corn; and that which is provided at a distance,
and regularly supplied by means of a well-conducted commissary. The
latter consists chiefly of meat, bread, etc. To these may be added wood
or coals, and straw; which are always wanted in an army.
=Subsistence Department.= A department which provides subsistence stores
for the army, either by contract or purchase. The U. S. subsistence
department consists of 1 brigadier-general, 2 colonels, 3
lieutenant-colonels, 8 majors, and 12 captains. See COMMISSARIAT.
=Substitute, Military.= In nations where conscription is resorted to for
the supply of soldiers for the army, the lot often falls on those
unwilling to serve in person. In such a case, the state agrees to accept
the services of a substitute,--that is, of a person of equally good
physique. Unless the levy be very extensive, or the term of military
service very long, substitutes are readily found among military men who
have already served their prescribed period. Of course, the substitute
must be paid for the risk he runs. His price depends, like all other
salable articles, on the demand and supply.
=Succeedant.= In heraldry, succeeding one another, following.
=Success of Arms.= The good luck, or fortune, which attends military
operations, and upon which the fate of a nation frequently depends.
Success is indispensable to the reputation of a general. It often
hallows rash and unauthorized measures.
=Succession of Rank.= Relative gradation according to the dates of
commission.
=Succession Wars.= These wars were of frequent occurrence in Europe,
between the middle of the 17th and the middle of the 18th centuries, on
the occasion of the failure of a sovereign house. The most important of
these was that of the Orleans succession to the Palatinate (1686-97),
closed by the peace of Ryswick; of the Spanish succession (1700-13),
which was distinguished by the achievements of the Duke of Marlborough
and the Earl of Peterborough, and their unprofitable results, arose on
the question whether an Austrian prince or a French prince should
succeed to the throne of Spain; of the Polish succession (1733-38),
closed by the peace of Vienna; of the Austrian succession (1740-48); and
of the Bavarian succession (1777-79), called, in ridicule, the Potato
war. Of these, the second and fourth were by far the most important.
=Successive Pontons.= See PONTONS.
=Sudbury.= A town in Middlesex Co., Mass., 20 miles west by north from
Boston. A battle was fought here on April 18, 1776, in which Capt. S.
Wadsworth and two-thirds of his men were killed by the Indians, in King
Philip’s war.
=Suessiones=, or =Suessones=. A powerful people in Gallia Belgica, who
were reckoned the bravest of all the Belgic Gauls after the Bellovaci,
and who could bring 50,000 men into the field in Cæsar’s time. Their
king Divitiacus, shortly before Cæsar’s arrival in the country, was
reckoned the most powerful chief in all Gaul, and had extended his
sovereignty even over Britain. The Suessiones dwelt in an extensive and
fertile country east of the Bellovaci, south of the Veromandui, and west
of the Remi. They possessed twelve towns, of which the capital was
Noviodunum, subsequently Augusta Suessonum, or Suessones.
=Suevi.= One of the greatest and most powerful races of Germany, or,
more properly speaking, the collective name of a great number of German
tribes, who were grouped together on account of their migratory mode of
life, and spoken of in opposition to the more settled tribes, who went
under the general name of Ingævones. The Suevi are described by all the
ancient writers as occupying the greater half of all Germany; but the
accounts vary respecting the part of the country which they inhabited.
At a later time the collective name of the Suevi gradually disappeared.
In the second half of the 2d century, however, we again find a people
called Suevi, dwelling between the mouth of the Main and the Black
Forest, whose name is still preserved in the modern Suabia; but this
people was only a body of bold adventurers from various German tribes,
who assumed the celebrated name of the Suevi in consequence of their not
possessing any distinguishing appellation.
=Suisses= (_Fr._). The Swiss soldiers who were in the pay of France
previous to August 10, 1792, were generally so called. It was also a
general term to signify stipendiary troops.
=Suliots.= A people in and around the valley of Acheron, the southern
corner of the pashalic of Janina (_Epirus_), in Turkey in Europe, are a
mixed race, being partly of Hellenic and partly of Albanian origin. They
are the descendants of a number of families who fled from the Turkish
oppressors to the mountains of Suli (whence they derive their name)
during the 17th century. In this obscure corner of the Turkish empire
they prospered, and towards the close of the 18th century numbered 560
families. For about fifteen years they heroically resisted the
encroachments of Ali Pasha of Janina upon their independence, the very
women taking part in the strife. Vanquished in 1803, they retreated to
Parga, and afterwards to the Ionian Islands, where they remained till
1820, when their old oppressor, Ali Pasha, finding himself hard pressed
by the Turks, invoked their aid. Eager to return to their cherished
home, they accepted his terms, and under Marcos Bozzaris maintained a
long and desperate conflict with the Turks, but were ultimately forced
again to flee from their country, and take refuge to the number of 3000
in Cephalonia, though a large remnant preferred to skulk in the
neighboring mountains. Though, after this, they took an active and
glorious part in the war of Greek independence, their country was not
included by the treaty of 1829 within the Greek boundary-line, but many
of them, as Bozzaris (son of Marcos) and Tzavellas, have since been
raised to important political offices in the new kingdom of Greece.
=Sulphur.= A simple mineral substance, of a yellow color, brittle,
insoluble in water, easily fusible and inflammable;--called also
_brimstone_,--that is, _burn-stone_, from its great combustibility. It
burns with a blue flame and a peculiar suffocating odor. It is an
ingredient of gunpowder (which see).
=Sultan=, or =Sultaun=. An Arabic word signifying the “mighty man,” and
evidently closely connected with the Hebrew word _shalal_, “to rule,” is
in the East an ordinary title of Mohammedan princes. It is given, _par
excellence_, to the supreme head of the Ottoman empire. It is applied in
Egypt to the ruler of that country, and is also retained by the heir of
the former reigning line of the Crim-Tartars. _Sultana_ is the title of
the wife of a sultan.
=Sumatra.= The most westerly of the Sunda Islands, lies southwest of the
Malay peninsula, from which it is separated by the Strait of Malacca.
When the Portuguese landed here, in 1509, they found that the ancient
Malay kingdom of Menangcabau had been dissolved; but there was a
powerful monarch ruling over Acheen, who endeavored to exclude the
strangers from his country. In 1575, the Portuguese shipping in the
harbor of Acheen was destroyed by the natives, and in 1582, an attempt
which they made to gain possession of the town proved quite
unsuccessful. In 1600, the Dutch established a factory at Pulo Chinko,
on the west coast. The kingdom of Acheen had by this time begun to
decline in power, being distracted by internal wars and discords: The
Dutch rapidly increased the number of their factories and settlements,
founding one at Padang in 1649, at Palembang in 1664. The English
followed the Dutch in this island, and founded a colony at Bencoolen in
1685. In 1811, the Dutch settlements in the East Indies fell into the
hands of the British, but were restored to the Dutch by the peace of
1816. A singular war which took place in Sumatra led to a material
extension of the Dutch possession. It was occasioned by a religious sect
called Padries. About 1815 a society of this sect was formed for the
purpose of spreading their doctrines and practices by force; and this
speedily roused resistance and opposition. The Malays and Battas made
common cause against the Padries, and for a long time a fierce struggle
was carried on, which devastated Menangcabau and the neighboring
regions. At length, with the assistance of the Dutch, the sect was
entirely put down. The indirect results of this war were the annexation
of Menangcabau to the Dutch possessions in 1835, and the opening up to
them of the Batta country, from which foreigners had previously been
excluded. In 1865, an expedition was sent to force the king of Asahan,
one of the small states on the northeast coast, to submit to the Dutch
authority. In 1871 these settlements were sold to Great Britain.
=Summon.= To call upon to surrender; as, to summon a fort.
=Summons.= A call or invitation to surrender.
=Sumpit.= An arrow blown from the _sumpitan_ in Borneo. The sumpitan is
about 7 feet long; the arrow has been driven with some force at 130
yards. Some suppose it to be poison.
=Sumter, Fort.= See FORT SUMTER.
=Suncion, Treaty of.= Between Gen. Urquiza, director of the Argentine
Confederation, and C. A. Lopez, president of the republic of Paraguay,
recognizing the independence of Paraguay, July 15, 1852.
=Superannuated.= Incapacitated for service, either from age or
infirmity, and placed on a pension.
=Supercharge.= In heraldry, a bearing or figure placed upon another.
=Superintendent.= One who has the oversight and charge of something,
with the power of direction; as the superintendent of recruiting
service; superintendent of national cemeteries, etc.
=Superior Officer.= Any officer of higher rank, or who has priority in
the same rank, by the date of his commission, etc.
=Superior Slope.= The upper surface of a parapet.
=Supernumerary.= Officers or men in excess of the establishment, but
borne on the rolls of the corps till absorbed. _Supernumeraries_, or
_supernumerary rank_, also signifies the officers and non-commissioned
officers in the infantry, cavalry, etc., who are not included among rank
and file, and stand in the third rank on parade, when the troops are
drawn up in double ranks.
=Supersede.= Is to deprive an officer of rank and pay for any offense or
neglect, or to place one officer over the head of another, who may or
may not be more deserving.
=Supply.= Relief of want; making up deficiencies. A fresh supply of
troops, ammunition, etc. _To supply_, to make up deficiencies. To aid;
to assist; to relieve with something wanted. To fill any room made
vacant. Thus, covering sergeants supply the places of officers when they
step out of the ranks, or are killed in action.
=Support.= To aid, to assist; it likewise signifies to preserve
untarnished; as, to support the ancient character of a corps. _Well
supported_, is well aided or assisted. It likewise signifies well kept
up; as, a well supported fire from the batteries; a well supported fire
of musketry.
=Support Arms.= Is to hold the musket vertically on the left shoulder,
supported by having the hammer rest on the left forearm, which is passed
across the breast.
=Supporters.= In heraldry, figures placed on each side of an armorial
shield, as it were to support it. They seem to have been, in their
origin, a purely decorative invention of mediæval seal-engravers, often,
however, bearing allusion to the arms or descent of the bearer; but in
the course of time their use came to be regulated by authority, and they
were considered indicative that the bearer was the head of a family of
eminence or distinction. The most usual supporters are animals, real or
fabulous; but men in armor are also frequent, and savages, or naked men,
often represented with clubs, and wreathed about the head and middle.
There are occasional instances of inanimate supporters. On early seals,
a single supporter is not unfrequent, and instances are particularly
common of the escutcheon being placed on the breast of an eagle
displayed. The common rule, however, has been to have a supporter on
each side of the shield. The dexter supporter is very often repeated on
the sinister side; but the two supporters are in many cases different;
when the bearer represents two different families, it is not unusual for
a supporter to be adopted from the achievement of each.
=Suppress.= To overpower and crush; to subdue; to put down; to quell; to
destroy; as, the troops suppressed the rebellion.
=Surat.= A large but declining city of British India, 150 miles north of
the city of Bombay, on the south shore of the Tapti, and 8 miles from
its mouth in the Gulf of Cambay. Surat was sacked in 1512 by the
Portuguese soon after their arrival in India. In 1612 an English force
arrived here in two vessels, under the command of Capt. Best, who
defeated the Portuguese, and obtained a _firman_ from the Mogul emperor,
authorizing the residence of a British minister, and established a
factory. An attack of the Mahratta chief Sivajee on the British factory
was defeated by Sir George Oxenden, 1664. The English were again
attacked in 1670 and 1702, and often subsequently. The East India
Company, in 1759, fitted out an armament which dispossessed the admiral
of the castle (the Great Mogul had here an officer who was styled his
admiral); and, soon after, the possession of this castle was confirmed
to them by the court of Delhi. Surat was vested in the British by treaty
in 1800 and 1803.
=Surcingle.= A belt, band, or girth, which passes over a saddle, or over
anything laid on a horse’s back, to bind it fast.
=Surcoat.= A short coat worn over the other garments; especially the
long and flowing drapery of knights, anterior to the introduction of
plate-armor, and which was frequently emblazoned with the arms of a
family.
=Surface.= In fortification, that part of the side which is terminated
by the flank prolonged, and the angle of the nearest bastion; the double
of this line with the curtain is equal to the exterior side.
=Surgeon.= A staff-officer of the medical department. He has the rank of
major, but “shall not in virtue of such rank be entitled to command in
the line or other staff departments of the army.”
=Surgeon-General.= The chief of the medical department, with the rank of
brigadier-general, but subject to the same restriction of command as
other officers of the medical department.
=Surgeons, Acting Assistant-= (Contract). In the U. S. army, are
physicians employed from civil life, at a certain compensation, to
perform the duties required of commissioned medical officers, when the
number of the latter is insufficient. While they have no rank they still
have the allowances of an assistant-surgeon (first lieutenant). A
physician so employed cannot displace a commissioned officer by choice
of quarters; but to obviate being displaced by a commissioned officer,
the commanding officer of a post may assign him an allowance of first
lieutenant’s quarters near the hospital, under the provisions
authorizing the commanding officer to assign quarters to officers
convenient to their troops. Acting assistant-surgeons are entitled to
the same protection and respectful conduct from enlisted men as
commissioned officers are, so far as relates to their duties as
surgeons. A contract physician in the army is regarded as a
“quasi-officer.”
=Surgery, Military.= Restricted to its rigorous signification, military
surgery is the surgical practice in armies; but in its broad and
ordinary acceptation embraces many other branches of art comprehending
the practice of medicine, sanitary precautions, hospital administration,
ambulances, etc. The military surgeon must not only be a skillful
physician and surgeon, but he must have a constitution sufficiently
strong to resist the fatigues of war, and all inclemencies of weather; a
solid judgment and a generous activity in giving prompt assistance to
the wounded without distinction of rank or grade, and without even
excluding enemies. He must have the courage to face dangers without the
power, in all cases, of combating them; he must have great coolness in
order to act and operate in the most difficult positions, whether amidst
the movement of troops, the shock of arms, the cries of the wounded when
crowded together, in a charge, in a retreat, in intrenchments, under the
ramparts of a besieged place, or at a breach. He must have inventive
ingenuity which will supply the wants of the wounded in extreme cases,
and a compassionate heart, with strength of will which will inspire
confidence in those with whom he is brought so closely in contact. The
military surgeon, with his flying ambulance, throws himself into the
field of battle, through the mêlée, under the fire of the enemy, runs
the risk of being taken prisoner, being wounded, or being killed, and is
worthy of all the honors that should be bestowed on bravery and skill in
the performance of his high functions. Additional grades, as
hospital-surgeons, surgeons of divisions, surgeons-in-chief, and
inspector-generals of hospitals, etc., are required for every army in
the field.
=Surinam=, or =Dutch Guiana=. A Dutch colony in South America, situated
between English and French Guiana. The factories established here by the
English in 1640, were occupied by the Portuguese in 1643; by the Dutch,
1654; captured by the English in 1804; and restored to the Dutch in
1814.
=Surmounted.= In heraldry, a term used to indicate that one charge is to
be placed over another of different color or metal, which may
respectively be blazoned: _sable_, a pile argent surmounted by a chevron
gules; and, _argent_, a cross gules surmounted by another or.
=Surprise.= In war, to fall on an enemy unexpectedly, in marching
through narrow and difficult passes, when one part of an army has
passed, and is not able to come at once to the succor of the other; as
in the passage of woods, rivers, inclosures, etc. A place is surprised
by drains, casements, or the issues of rivers or canals; by encumbering
the bridge or gate, or by wagons meeting and stopping each other; or by
sending soldiers into the place, under pretense of being deserters, who,
on entering, _surprise_ the guard, being sustained by troops at hand in
ambush, to whom they give entrance, and thereby seize the place.
Military history abounds with instances of successful surprises.
=Surrender.= To lay down your arms, and give yourself up as a prisoner
of war. Also, the act of giving up, as the surrender of a town or
garrison.
=Surrey.= One of the smallest of the English counties, has the Thames
for its northern boundary, Berkshire and Hampshire on the west, Sussex
on the south, and Kent on the east. Before the Roman era, Surrey formed
a portion of the dominions of a Celtic tribe, named by Ptolemy the
_Regni_, and after the Roman conquest was merged into the province of
Britannica Prima, though, for many years, it retained its native
princes, or _subreguli_. Eventually it was swallowed up in the
territory of the South Saxons, and reduced by Kenulf, king of Wessex,
about 760, into that progressive kingdom which Alfred brought into
constitutional harmony and national completeness. From the period of the
Norman conquest, Surrey can claim no separate annals. At Kingston,
Surrey, in 1642, took place the first military movement of the great
civil war; a body of royalists unsuccessfully attempting to seize upon
its magazine of arms. And there, on July 7, 1648, Lord Francis Villiers
(Dryden’s “Zimri”), met his death in the skirmish which closed the
famous struggle.
=Surround.= In sieges, to invest; in tactics, to outflank and cut off
the means of retreating.
=Surrounded.= Inclosed; invested. A town is said to be surrounded when
its principal outlets are blocked up; and an army, when its flanks are
turned, and its retreat cut off.
=Surtout= (_Fr._). In fortification, is the elevation of the parapet of
a work at the angles to protect from enfilade fire.
=Survey, Boards of.= See BOARDS OF SURVEY.
=Susa= (in the Old Testament _Shushan_; ruins at _Shus_). The winter
residence of the Persian kings, stood in the district Cissia of the
province of Susiana, on the eastern bank of the river Choaspes. It was
conquered by Antigonus in 315 B.C. It was once more attacked by Molo in
his rebellion against Antiochus the Great; and during the Arabian
conquest of Persia it held out bravely for a long time, defended by
Hormuzan.
=Suspend.= To delay, to protract; hence, to suspend hostilities. It is
likewise used to express the act of temporarily depriving an officer of
rank and pay, in consequence of some offense. See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF
WAR, 101.
=Suspension of Arms.= A short truce which contending parties agree upon,
in order to bury their dead without danger or molestation, to wait for
succors, or to receive instructions from a superior authority.
_Suspension of hostilities_, to cease attacking one another.