artillery, as adopted by a nation at any particular epoch. The American
systems of field and siege artillery are chiefly derived from those of
France. The principal qualities sought to be observed in establishing a
system of artillery are, simplicity, mobility, and power. The first
system adopted in France was about the middle of the 16th century, at
which time the various guns of the French artillery were reduced to six.
The weights of the balls corresponding to these calibers ranging from
33¹⁄₄ to ³⁄₄ pounds. This range of calibers was thought to be necessary,
for the reason that it required guns of large caliber to destroy
resisting objects, while guns of small caliber were necessary to keep up
with the movement of troops. Each of the five principal calibers was
mounted on a different carriage, and the ammunition, stores, and tools
were carried on different store-carts. Three kinds of powder were used,
viz.: large-grain, small-grain, and priming, which were carried in
barrels of three sizes. The axle-trees, which were of wood, varied for
the different wheels, as well as for the different guns. The
gun-carriages were without limbers, and had only two wheels, the shafts
being attached to the trails, which often dragged along the ground. No
spare wheels were used, except for pieces of large caliber; and for
facility of transportation these were put on an axle-tree, so as to form
a carriage. With the exception of replacing injured wheels, all repairs
were made on the spot, from the resources of the country, and no spare
articles were carried with the train. There was no established charge of
powder for the guns; although a weight equal to that of the shot was
generally used. Such was the character of the artillery which
accompanied the French armies up to the middle of the 17th century. In
the reign of Louis XIV., the calibers of cannon were gradually changed
by the introduction of several foreign pieces. There were 48-, 32-, 24-,
16-, 12-, 8-, and 4-pounders; and those of the same caliber varied in
weight, length, and shape. Uniformity existed in general in each
district commanded by a lieutenant-general of artillery, but the cannon
of one district differed from another. Each district had (for the six
kinds of cannon) six carriages, with different wheels, and three kinds
of limbers, with different wheels, making nine patterns of wheels,
without counting those for the platform-wagons used to transport heavy
guns, the ammunition-carts, the trucks, and the wagons for small stores
and tools. Spare carriages were carried into the field, but those of one
district would not fit the guns of another. There was but one kind of
powder, and this was carried in barrels. The charge was usually
two-thirds the weight of the projectile, roughly measured. Besides this,
the powder often varied in strength according to the district from which
it came.
_Valière’s System._--In 1735, Gen. Valière abolished the 32-pounder, as
being heavy and useless, and gave uniformity to the five remaining
calibers. Towards the end of the 18th century, mortars, or Dutch
howitzers, were sometimes attached to the field-trains; for the latter,
a small charge, and caliber of 8 inches, were adopted. There were also
light 4-pounder guns attached to each regiment. Up to that time an army
always carried with it heavy guns (24-pounders), and light guns
(4-pounders), which were combined in the same park. Valière established
a system of uniformity for cannon throughout France; but such was not
the case with the carriages and wagons used with them. Great exactness
was not then sought for, and there existed as many plans for
constructing gun-carriages as there were arsenals of construction. The
axle-trees were of wood, the limbers were very low, and the horses were
attached in single file.
_Gribeauval’s System._--In 1765, Gen. Gribeauval founded a new system,
by separating the field from the siege artillery. He diminished the
charge of field-guns from a half to a third the weight of the shot, but
as he diminished the windage of the projectile at the same time, he was
enabled to shorten them and render them lighter, without sensibly
diminishing their range. Field artillery then consisted of 12-, 8-, and
4-pounder guns, to which was added a 6-inch howitzer, still retaining a
small charge, but larger in proportion to that before used. For draught,
the horses were disposed in double files, which was much more favorable
to rapid gaits. Iron axle-trees, higher limbers, and traveling
trunnion-holes rendered the draught easier. The adoption of cartridges,
elevating screws, and tangent scales, increased the rapidity and
regularity of the fire. Stronger carriages were made for the lighter
guns, and the different parts of all were made with more care, and
strengthened with ironwork. Uniformity was established in all the new
constructions, by compelling all the arsenals to make every part of the
carriages, wagons, and limbers according to certain fixed dimensions. By
this exact correspondence of all the parts of a carriage, spare parts
could be carried into the field ready made, to refit. Thus an equipment
was obtained which could be easily repaired, and could be moved with a
facility hitherto unknown. In order to reduce the number of spare
articles necessary for repairs, Gribeauval gave, as far as practicable,
the same dimensions to those things which were of the same nature. The
excellence of this system was tested in the wars of the French republic
and empire, in which it played an important part. In 1827, the system of
Gribeauval was changed by introducing the 24- and 32-pounder howitzers,
lengthened to correspond with the 8- and 12-pounder guns, and abolishing
the 4-pounder gun and 6-inch howitzer. Afterwards some important
improvements were made in the carriages, chiefly copied from the English
system; the number for all field-cannon was reduced to two, the wheels
of the carriage and limber were made of the same size; the weight of
the limber was reduced, and an ammunition-chest placed on it; the method
of connecting the carriage and limber was simplified, and the operations
of limbering and unlimbering greatly facilitated; and the two flasks
which formed the trail were replaced by a single piece called the
_stock_, which arrangement allowed the new pieces to turn in a smaller
space than that required by the old ones.
_Louis Napoleon’s System._--In 1850, Louis Napoleon, emperor of the
French, caused a series of experiments to be made at the principal
artillery schools of France to test the merits of a new system of field
artillery proposed by himself. The principal idea involved in this
system was, to substitute a single gun of medium weight and caliber,
capable of firing shot and shells, for the 8- and 12-pounder guns, and
24- and 32-pounder howitzers, then in use. The caliber selected was the
12-pounder. The favorable results of all these experiments, and the
simplicity of the system, led to the adoption of this, the Napoleon gun,
as it is sometimes called, into the French service; and others of
similar principle were introduced into various European services, and
also into our own. As this piece unites the properties of gun and
howitzer, it is called _canon-obusier_, or gun-howitzer.
At no time since the discovery of gunpowder have such important
improvements been made in fire-arms as within the past few years. These
improvements may be summed up as follows, viz.: (1) Improvement in the
quality of cast iron, and the consequent increase in the caliber of
sea-coast cannon. In 1820, the heaviest gun mounted in the United States
on sea-coast batteries was the 24-pounder; at present the heaviest is a
20-inch gun, carrying a shell weighing 1080 pounds. (2) The use of
wrought and chilled iron and steel as a material for fortress carriages,
and for covering ships of war. (3) The extensive introduction of shells
in sea-coast defenses and naval warfare; and spherical case-shot into
the field service. (4) The introduction of rifling for both small-arms
and cannon. (5) The successful application of the breech-loading
principle to cannon and small-arms of every description, and the great
improvement made of late in steel, as well as the power to manipulate
masses sufficiently large for the construction of the immense cannon now
employed in naval warfare and for sea-coast defense.
=Szegedin.= The second largest town in Hungary, situated on the right
bank of the Theiss. Szegedin is fortified, and here, on August 3, 1849,
the Austrians defeated the Hungarians.
T.
=Tab.= The arming of an archer’s gauntlet or glove.
=Tabard.= A military garment in general use in the latter half of the
15th, and beginning of the 16th century, which succeeded the _jupon_ and
_cyclas_. It fitted closely to the body, was open at the sides, had wide
sleeves or flaps reaching to the elbow, and displayed the armorial
ensigns of the wearer on the back and front, as well as on the sleeves.
About the middle of the 16th century the tabard ceased to be used except
by the officers-of-arms, who have down to the present time continued to
wear tabards embroidered with the arms of the sovereign.
=Table-money.= In the British army and navy, is an allowance sometimes
made to officers over and above their pay, for table expenses.
=Tablette.= Is a flat coping-stone, generally 2 feet wide and 8 inches
thick, placed at the top of the revetment of the escarp, for the purpose
of protecting the masonry from the effects of the weather, and also to
serve as an obstacle to the besiegers when applying the scaling-ladders.
It is always considered a matter of importance that the tablette should
be concealed from the enemy’s view, as he would otherwise be able to
direct his artillery against it; therefore, the escarp of all the works
inclosed within the covered way is submitted at least 6 inches to the
crest of the glacis.
=Tabor.= A fortified town of Bohemia, 48 miles south-southeast of
Prague. Its castle was originally built in 774, destroyed in 1268, but
restored in 1420, when the Hussites under Ziska took possession of the
town.
=Taborite.= A Roman soldier armed with a double-edged axe.
=Tabors= (_Fr._). Intrenchment of baggage for defense against cavalry.
=Tabour.= A small drum, played with one stick, in combination with a
fife. It was formerly used in war, but has now given place to the
kettle-drum.
=Tabriz=, or =Tabreez= (written also _Tauris_ and _Tebriz_). A city of
North Persia, capital of the province of Azerbaijan. It was taken and
sacked by Timur in 1392, and was soon after seized by the Turkomans,
from whom it was taken by the Persians in 1500. It has been several
times in the hands of the Turks, but was finally taken from them by
Nadir Shah in 1730.
=Tactician.= One versed in tactics.
=Tactics, Grand.= See TACTICS, MILITARY.
=Tactics, Military.= Is the science and art of disposing military
forces in order for battle, and performing military evolutions in the
presence of an enemy. It is divided into _grand tactics_, or the tactics
of battle, and _elementary tactics_, or the tactics of instruction.
Tactics is the strategy of the battle-field; the science of manœuvring
and combining those military units which drill, discipline, and the
regimental system have brought to the perfection of machines. It was
admirably described by Napoleon as _the art of being the
stronger_,--that is, of bringing an overwhelming force to bear on any
given point, whatever may be the relative strength of the entire armies
opposed. The earliest records of battles are those of mere single
combats, in which the chiefs, fighting either on foot or in chariots,
performed great deeds; and the commonalty, who apparently were without
discipline, were held in profound contempt. With the growth of democracy
arose the organization of the _phalanx_ (which see), the advance of
which was irresistible, and its firmness equally so, if charged in
front. It, however, changed front with great difficulty; was much
deranged by broken ground, and failed entirely in pursuit, or if
attacked in flank. Far lighter and more mobile was the Roman _legion_.
(See LEGION.) Among Roman tactics was also the admirable intrenchment,
which they scarcely ever omitted as an additional source of strength for
their position. “Events reproduce themselves in cycles;” and with the
decay of Roman civilization came again the mail-clad heroes and
cavaliers--mounted this time on horses--who monopolized the honors of
battle, while the undisciplined footmen had an undue share of the
dangers. Later in the feudal period, this disparity between knight and
footman was diminished by the employment of bodies of archers, whose
shafts carried instant death. The adoption of gunpowder for small-arms
altogether neutralized the superiority of the armored knight. This
change brought infantry into the front place in battle, and threw
cavalry into the status of an auxiliary. The French revolutionary wars
tended much to the development of artillery as a field-weapon, and
Napoleon employed this terrible weapon to its fullest extent, a practice
followed by the best modern generals, who never risk a man where a
cannon-ball can do the work. Frederick the Great was considered an
innovator for fighting with infantry four deep. During the French war,
the formation of three deep became general, and still obtains in several
European armies. Before the battle of Waterloo, the British leaders had
acquired sufficient confidence in their troops to marshal them in a
double line. It is doubtful whether the advance in arms of precision
will not soon necessitate the formation in a single line, or even in a
single line in open order. We will now notice briefly a few of the more
important principles, as our space will not permit us to go into that
intricate science, modern tactics. As to _the art of being stronger_,
which is undoubtedly the highest recommendation in a general, we may
cite the example of the battle of Rivoli. In 1796, Napoleon was
besieging Mantua with a small force, while a very much smaller army of
observation watched the Austrians. The Austrian commander had collected
at Trent a force powerful enough to crush completely the French army,
with which he was marching south. Parallel with his course lay the Lake
of Garda, and to prevent the enemy escaping up one side as he marched
down the other, the Austrian leader divided his army into two powerful
corps, and marched one down each side of the lake. The instant the young
French general knew of this division he abandoned the siege of Mantua,
collected every available man, and marched against one body of the
enemy. Though far inferior on the whole, he was thus superior at the
point of attack, and the victory of Rivoli decided virtually the whole
campaign. This corresponded in principle with Napoleon’s general plan in
battle. He formed his attack into column, tried to break through the
centre of the enemy’s line; and if he succeeded, then doubled back to
one side, so as to concentrate the whole of his own force against
one-half of the enemy’s, which was usually routed before the other half
of the line could come up to the rescue.
Taken collectively, the tactics of the three arms may thus be
summarized: The infantry form the line of battle, and probably decide
the day by a general advance over the enemy’s ground. The cavalry seek
to break the opposing infantry by frequent charges in front, or on any
flank which may be left exposed. If a part of the line wavers, a charge
of horse should complete the disarray. When the rout commences, the
cavalry should turn it by furious onslaught into utter discomfiture. The
province of the artillery is to cannonade any portion of the line where
men are massed, or where a charge is about to be made; to demoralize
cavalry, and generally to carry destruction wherever it can best
disconcert the enemy. Adverting now very briefly to the tactics of the
several arms individually, we have--
_Infantry._--This force has four formations,--skirmishers, line, column,
and square. The skirmishers precede and flank an advancing line or
column, picking off the enemy, whose masses offer good mark, while their
own extended order gives them comparative impunity. If resistance be
encountered in force, the skirmishers retreat behind their massed
supports. The line is a double or treble line of men, firing or
charging. For musketry purposes, it is the most formidable formation,
and is the favorite English tactic in every case where the officers can
depend on the steadiness of their men. For bursting through a line, the
deep column is the most effective. It is the favorite French formation,
and during the revolutionary and Napoleonic wars, the British and
Russians alone succeeded in resisting it. The column is the best
formation on a march; and the line, when in actual collision with the
enemy. The formation in _echelon_ to a great extent combines these
advantages.
_Cavalry._--The function of heavy cavalry is limited to the charge in
line. The light cavalry form in small sections, to scour the country,
collect supplies, and cut off stragglers.
_Artillery._--No distinct tactics exist for this arm beyond the fact
that a concentrated fire is vastly the most effective, and that the
artillery should always have a support of infantry at hand, to protect
it from a sudden incursion of hostile cavalry.
_Tactics of position_ depend on the moral energy of the
commander-in-chief. Few would dare, as Cæsar did, an invasion in which
there was no retreat if defeated. It is a military maxim not to fight
with the rear on a river, unless many bridges be provided for retreat,
in case of disaster. A convex front is better than a concave front,
because internal communication is more easy. The flank should be
protected by cavalry, or preferably by natural obstacles. In battle, a
long march from one position to another, which exposes the flank to the
enemy, is a fatal error. By such, the French won Austerlitz, and lost
Talavera. In a pursuit, a parallel line is better than the immediate
route the retreating enemy has taken, as supplies will be more readily
procured, and he may by celerity be attacked in flank. This was
strikingly exemplified in the Russian pursuit of Napoleon’s army
retreating from Moscow.
=Tae-pings=, or =Tai-pings=. The name given to the Chinese rebels who
made their appearance in 1850, and desolated some of the best provinces
of China. Peking was taken by the English and French on October 12,
1860. Its capture was followed by the ratification of the treaty of
Tien-tsin, which, granting important privileges to European merchants,
made it the direct interest of the English, French, and American
governments to re-establish order in China. The repulse of the rebels at
Shanghai in August, 1860, had been followed by several engagements
between them and the imperialists, in which they were defeated. Ward, an
American, who had taken service under the emperor, and who showed a
remarkable talent for organizing irregular troops, had wrought a
wonderful improvement in the imperialist army, and he was the chief
means of their success. In the beginning of 1862, the Tae-pings again
advanced on Shanghai, and were twice defeated. In the autumn of the same
year, Ward was killed; Ward’s force was handed over to an English
officer, and took the name of Gordon’s brigade. Gordon’s brigade
rendered essential service to the imperial government. The rebels were
defeated in upwards of sixteen engagements; and in 1864, almost every
important city was taken from them. The conduct of the imperial
authorities at Su-chow, where a horrible massacre took place, led to the
withdrawal of the English military force; but the rebellion had been
effectually checked. Toward the end of 1864, the Tae-pings, however,
still offered an opposition to the imperialists in Kiang-tsu, all the
more formidable in consequence of the prevalence of brigandage and
insurrectionary movements in parts of the empire not affected by the
Tae-ping rebellion. In January, 1865, the Mohammedan Tartars of
Songaria, on the Siberian frontier, assisted by the free Kirghis tribes,
took the town of Tarbagatai, and afterwards Kouldja. In the following
June, a still more serious insurrection broke out in China proper, that
of the Nien-fei, or rebels of the north, whose special object was to
overturn the reigning dynasty. One body of them, in the beginning of
1866, caused serious alarm in Hankow, and would have attacked the
European settlement but for the arrival of some English gunboats. It is
believed that the last embers of the Tae-ping rebellion were trodden out
in February, 1866, when from 30,000 to 50,000 rebels were routed by the
imperial army at Kia-ying-chou in Kwan-tung. The victorious general then
set out to attack the Nien-fei, or northern rebels, at Hankow, and the
imperial troops were several times defeated by them in 1867; but late in
1868, their operations became unimportant.
=Taganrog.= A town of Russia in Europe, in the government of
Ekaterinoslav, near the northwest extremity of the Sea of Azov, 172
miles northeast from Kertch. The town was bombarded by a fleet of French
and British gunboats in 1855.
=Tagliacozzo.= A town of Southern Italy, in the Aleruzzi Mountains,
where on August 23, 1268, Charles of Anjou, the usurping king of Naples,
defeated and made prisoner the rightful monarch, young Conradin, who had
been invited into Italy by the Ghibelline party; their opponents, the
Guelphs, or papal party, supporting Charles.
=Tagliamento.= A river in Lombardy, Northern Italy, near which the
Austrians, under the Archduke Charles, were defeated by Bonaparte, March
16, 1797.
=Tail of the Trenches.= The post where the besiegers begin to break
ground, and cover themselves from the fire of the place, in advancing
the lines of approach.
=Taishes.= Armor for the thighs.
=Take.= To lay hold of; to seize. To obtain possession of by force or
artifice; to capture; to make prisoner. To attack; to seize; as, to
take an army, a city, or a ship. _To take aim_, to direct the eye or
weapon; to aim. _To take arms_, to commence war or hostilities. _To take
advantage of_, to avail one’s self of any peculiar event or opening,
whereby an army may be overcome. _To take ground to the right or left_,
is to extend a line, or to move troops in either of those directions.
_To take down_, is to commit to paper that which is spoken by another.
_To take on_, an expression in familiar use among soldiers that have
enlisted for a limited period, to signify an extension of service by
re-enlisting. _To take the field_, is to encamp, to commence the
operations of a campaign. _To take up_, to seize; to catch; to arrest;
as, to take up a deserter. _To take up quarters_, to occupy locally; to
go into cantonments, barracks, etc.; to become stationary for more or
less time. _To take up the gauntlet_, is to accept a challenge.
=Takel= (_Anglo-Saxon_). The arrows which used to be supplied to the
fleet.
=Talavera de la Reyna.= A town of Spain in New Castile, in the modern
province of Toledo, on the Tagus, 75 miles southwest from Madrid. Here
on July 27 and 28, 1809, Sir Arthur Wellesley, with 19,000 English and
German troops, and about 34,000 Spaniards, who, however, with very
trifling exceptions, were not engaged, defeated upwards of 50,000
veteran French troops under Joseph Bonaparte and Marshals Jourdan and
Victor.
=Talk.= Among the Indians of North America, a public conference, as
respecting peace or war, negotiation, and the like; or an official
verbal communication made from them to another nation or its agents, or
made to them by the same.
=Talus.= The old word in fortification for a slope.
=Tambour.= In fortification, is a small work, usually a timber stockade,
about 6 feet high, and loop-holed. Its object is to defend a gateway,
the road into a village, or to afford flanking fire on a bridge, etc.
The tambour on the covered way is the traverse which closes an entrance
from the glacis.
=Tampion=, or =Tompion=. The wooden plug placed in the mouth of a piece
of ordnance to preserve it from dust and damp. In naval gunnery, the
tampion is the wooden bottom for a charge of grape-shot.
=Tam-tam= (Hind. _tom-tom_). A drum used by the Hindoos, made of an
alloy of copper and tin, and very sonorous.
=Tanagra= (now _Grimadha_, or _Grimada_). A celebrated town of Bœotia,
on the left bank of the Asopus, 200 stadia from Platææ, in the district
Tanagræa. Being near the frontiers of Attica, it was frequently exposed
to the attacks of the Athenians; near it the Spartans defeated the
Athenians, 457 B.C., but were defeated by them in 426, when Agis II.
headed the Spartans, and Nicias the Athenians.
=Tang.= The tang of the breech of a musket, is the projecting part by
which the barrel is secured to the stock. Also, that part of a
sword-blade to which the hilt is riveted.
=Tangent Scale.= In gunnery, a brass plate, the lower edge of which is
cut to fit the base-ring or base-line of the piece, and the upper edge
cut into notches for each one-fourth degree elevation. It is used in
pointing, by placing the lower edge on the base-ring, or base-line, with
the radius of the notch corresponding with the highest point of the
base-ring or line; and sighting over the centre of the notch; and the
highest point of the muzzle, or top of the muzzle-sight.
=Tangier.= A seaport of Morocco, on a small bay or inlet of the Strait
of Gibraltar. Tangier was taken by the Portuguese in 1471, and ceded to
the English in 1662, and held by them for twenty-two years. It was
bombarded by the French in 1844.