Thistle, whose duties consist in attendance on the sovereign and knights
when assembled in chapter, and at other solemnities of the order. The
rod from which the title is taken is of green enamel, 3 feet in length,
ornamented with gold, having on the top a unicorn of silver, holding
before him an escutcheon charged with the cross of St. Andrew.
=Usipetes=, or =Usipii=. A German people, who, being driven out of their
abodes by the Suevi, crossed the Rhine and penetrated into Gaul; but
they were defeated by Cæsar, and compelled to recross the river. They
were now received by the Sygambri, and allowed to dwell on the northern
bank of the Lippe; but we afterwards find them south of the Lippe; still
later they became lost under the general name of Alemanni.
=Utah.= A Territory of the United States, which is bounded on the north
by Idaho and Wyoming, east by Colorado, south by Arizona, and west by
Nevada. Utah is an immense basin, from 4000 to 6000 feet above the level
of the sea, surrounded by mountains, which at some points reach the
altitude of 8000 to 13,000 feet. Utah was acquired by the United States
from Mexico by the treaty of 1848, and was erected into a Territory in
1850. There have been serious difficulties between the U. S. government
and the Mormons, who first arrived in the Great Salt Lake Valley in
1847. A terrible massacre of settlers took place at Mountain Meadows,
Utah, by Indians, who it is said were instigated to commit the terrible
atrocity by the Mormons. In order to put an end to all the disturbances
in Utah, the President dispatched, in 1857, an expedition against
Brigham Young, who was treated as an open rebel. Owing to the
inclemency of the weather and other causes, the expedition did not
arrive in Utah until May, 1858, when the governor, Cumming, reported to
the President that Brigham Young had given up all hopes of resistance.
The Territory has remained quiet ever since.
=Utahs=, or =Utes=. A tribe of North American Indians, who inhabit Utah,
Nevada, part of Colorado, and New Mexico. They are at present peaceable,
but do not engage in agriculture. See INDIANS AND THEIR AGENCIES.
=Utensil.= That which is used; an implement; an instrument; especially,
an instrument or vessel used in a kitchen, or in domestic use. Utensils
for camp and garrison are styled camp and garrison equipage, and are
furnished by the quartermaster’s department.
=Utica= (ruins at _Bow-Shater_). The greatest city of ancient Africa,
supposed to be older than Carthage. Like others of the very ancient
Phœnician colonies in the territory of Carthage, Utica maintained a
comparative independence, even during the height of the Punic power, and
was rather the ally of Carthage than her subject. It stood on the shore
of the northern part of the Carthaginian Gulf, a little west of the
mouth of the Bagrades, and 27 Roman miles northwest of Carthage; but its
site is now inland in consequence of the changes effected by the
Bagrades in the coast-line. In the third Punic war, Utica took part with
the Romans against Carthage, and was rewarded with the greatest part of
the Carthaginian territory. It afterwards became renowned to all future
time as the scene of the last stand made by the Pompeian party against
Cæsar, and of the glorious, though mistaken, self-sacrifice of the
younger Cato. It fell into the hands of the Vandals in 439; but its
final destruction is due to the Saracens, who twice captured the town.
=Utrecht= (the Roman _Trajectum ad Rhenum_). A town of Holland, capital
of a province of the same name, on the old Rhine. The union of the Seven
United Provinces began here in 1579. The treaty of Utrecht, which
terminated the wars of Queen Anne, was signed by the ministers of Great
Britain and France, and all the other allies, except the ministers of
the empire, April 11, 1713. This treaty secured the Protestant
succession in England, the separation of the French and Spanish crowns,
the destruction of Dunkirk, the enlargement of the British colonies and
plantations in America, and a full satisfaction for the claims of the
allies. Utrecht surrendered to the Prussians May 9, 1787; was acquired
by the French January 18, 1795, and restored at the peace.
=Uxii.= A warlike people, of predatory habits, who had their strongholds
in Mount Parachoathras, on the northern border of Persia, in the
district called Uxia, but who also extended over a considerable tract of
country in Media.
V.
=Vacancy.= The state of an office or commission to which no one is
appointed.
=Vacant Companies.= Companies to the permanent command of which no
person is appointed for the time being.
=Vacate.= To annul; to make void; to deprive of force; to make of no
authority or validity; as, to vacate a commission.
=Vacca=, =Vaga=, or =Vaba= (now _Beja_). A city of Zeugitana, in
Northern Africa, on the borders of Numidia, a good day’s journey south
of Utica. It was destroyed by Metellus in the Jugurthine war, but was
restored and colonized by the Romans. Its fortifications were renewed by
Justinian, who named it Theodorias, in honor of his wife.
=Vadimonis Lacus= (now _Lago di Bassano_). A small lake of Etruria. It
is celebrated in history for the defeat of the Etruscans in two great
battles, first by the dictator Papirius Cursor in 309 B.C., from the
effects of which the Etruscans never recovered; and again in 283, when
the allied forces of the Etruscans and Gauls were routed by the consul
Cornelius Dolabella.
=Værfvade.= The standing army of Sweden, recruited by voluntary
enlistment. They receive pay, and serve from three to six years. They
form the foot- and horse-guards, the artillery and engineers.
=Vair.= In heraldry, tinctures are either of metal, color strictly so
called, or fur. The furs were originally but two,--ermine and vair. Vair
is said to have been taken from the fur of a squirrel, bluish-gray on
the back, and white on the belly, is expressed by blue and white
shields, or bells in horizontal rows, the bases of the white resting on
the bases of the blue. If the vair is of any other colors than white and
blue, they must be specified. Various modifications of these furs were
afterwards introduced, among others: _counter-vair_, or vair with the
bells of one tincture placed base to base, and _potent counter-potent_,
vair with crutch-shaped figures instead of bells.
=Vaivode= (_Fr._). An old Sclavonian word, which signifies prince or
general. This title was formerly given to the sovereign princes of
Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania.
=Valais= (Ger. _Wallis_). A frontier canton of Switzerland, bounded on
the north by the cantons of Vaud and Bern, and on the south by Italy. At
the period of the struggle of the Swiss with the Duke of Burgundy, the
Upper Valais took possession of the Lower Valais, and reduced it to the
position of a vassal state; and in this condition it remained until
1798, the period of the French conquest, when the distinction was set
aside.
=Valdivia.= A town of Chili, capital of the province of the same name,
on the river Valdivia, or Calle, 210 miles south from Concepcion. It was
founded in 1551 by the conqueror Pedro de Valdivia. In 1590 it was taken
and plundered by the Araucanians, the native inhabitants of the country.
=Valencia= (anc. _Valentia_). An ancient city of Spain, capital of the
ancient kingdom and modern province of the same name, on the Turia,
about 2 miles from the sea, and 190 miles east-southeast from Madrid.
Valencia is a very ancient city. It was destroyed by Pompey, and rebuilt
by Sertorius. It was taken by the Goths in 413, from whom it was
captured by the Moors in 714. From the Moorish sway it was rescued in
1094 by the Cid, from whom it is sometimes called _Valentia del Cid_.
The Moors once more got possession of it in 1101, but were compelled
finally to relinquish it in 1238. It was taken by the Earl of
Peterborough in 1705, but submitted to the Bourbons after the
unfortunate battle of Almanza, in 1707. It resisted the attempts made on
it by Marshal Moncey, but was taken from the Spaniards with a garrison
of more than 16,000 men, and immense stores, by the French under Suchet,
January 9, 1812; and held by them till 1813.
=Valenciennes.= A fortified town of France, in the department of the
North, 27 miles southeast from Lille, at the confluence of the Rhonelle
and the Scheldt. The town is defended by a citadel constructed by
Vauban. The city was besieged from May 23 to July 28, 1793, when the
French garrison surrendered to the allied English and Austrian armies,
under the Duke of York. It was retaken by the French, August 27-30,
1794; on capitulation, the garrison and 1100 emigrants were made
prisoners, with immense stores.
=Valenciennes.= See LABORATORY STORES.
=Valenza= (anc. _Valentia Valentinum Forum_). A city of Northern Italy,
on an elevated plain on the right bank of the Po, 8 miles north of
Alessandria. It is a very ancient town, belonged to the Liguri, and was
conquered by Marcus Fulvius, the proconsul. In 1635 it was besieged for
fifty days by the armies of France, Savoy, and Parma, and taken. In 1707
it came into the possession of Victor Amadeus II., Duke of Savoy; in
1805 the French destroyed its gates and fortifications; and in 1815,
after the fall of Napoleon’s empire, it reverted to the king of
Sardinia.
=Valetta=, or =La Valetta=. An important city and capital of the island
of Malta, on the northeast side of which it is situated. The town and
harbors are defended by a series of fortifications of great strength.
They are mostly hewn out of the solid rock, and, mounted with the most
powerful artillery, are considered impregnable. The city was founded by
La Valette, grand master of the Knights of St. John, in 1566. Its
history is identical with that of Malta (which see).
=Valetudinarium.= An infirmary or hospital for the sick. Among the
Romans, _valetudinarium_, or hospital, was only established in time of
war, when their armies marched beyond the boundaries of the republic.
=Valiant.= Personally brave, fearless of danger in war, etc.
=Valladolid.= A famous city of Spain, capital of the province of the
same name, on the left bank of the Pisuerga, 150 miles northwest from
Madrid. It is the Roman _Pincia_ and the Moorish _Belad Walid_; was
recovered for the Christians by Ordogno II., the first king of Leon,
914-23. It was captured from the French by the English, June 4, 1813.
=Vallary Crown.= A crown bestowed by the ancient Romans as an honorary
reward on the soldier who first surmounted the outworks, and broke into
the enemy’s camp. It is in form a circle of gold with palisades
attached. The crown vallary occasionally occurs as a heraldic bearing.
=Valls.= A town of Spain, in the province of Tarragona, 9 miles north
from Tarragona. The French here defeated the Spaniards in 1809, and
afterwards sacked the town; but they suffered a defeat themselves near
the same place, in 1811, by some Spanish troops under Sarsfield.
=Vallum.= Among the Romans, the parapet which fortified their
encampments. It consisted of two parts,--the _agger_ and the _sudes_;
the agger was the earth thrown up from the vallum, and the sudes were a
sort of wooden stakes to secure and strengthen it. _Vallus_ was the name
of the stake which served as a palisade in the Roman intrenchment. Every
soldier carried one of these _valli_, and on some occasions three or
four bound together like a fagot.
=Valmy.= A village of France, department of Marne, 20 miles northeast
from Chalons. This village is celebrated as the place where the
republican armies of France under Kellerman, in 1792, defeated for the
first time the allied armies under the Duke of Brunswick.
=Valor.= Strength of mind in regard to danger; that quality which
enables a man to encounter danger with firmness; personal bravery;
warlike courage; intrepidity; bravery.
=Valparaiso.= The principal seaport of Chili, South America, on the bay
of the same name, about 80 miles west-northwest of Santiago. The bay is
sheltered from all quarters except the north; and is defended by three
forts and a water-battery. Valparaiso was bombarded by the Spanish
fleet, March 31, 1866. Few lives were lost, but buildings and other
property, the value of which was estimated at from $9,000,000 to
$20,000,000, were destroyed.
=Valtelline=, or =Valtellina= (Northern Italy). A district near the
Rhætian Alps, seized by the Grison league in 1512, and ceded to it in
1530. At the instigation of Spain, the Catholics rose and massacred the
Protestants, July 19-21, 1620. After much contention between the French
and Austrians, the neutrality of the Valtelline was assured in 1639. It
was annexed to the Cisalpine republic in 1797; to Italy, 1807; to
Austria, 1814; to Italy, 1860.
=Vambrace.= In ancient armor, the piece designed to protect the arm
below the elbow.
=Vambraced= (Fr. _avant-bras_, “fore-arm”). A term applied to an arm
clothed in armor, as in the subjoined crest; a dexter embowed arm
vambraced proper, the gauntlet holding a sword below the hilt in bend
sinister, point downwards, argent, hilt and pommel or.
=Vamplate.= A round piece of iron on a tilting-spear, used to protect
the hand.
=Van.= The front of an army, the first line, or leading column.
=Vancouver’s Island.= Now, jointly with British Columbia, one of the
colonies of Great Britain, forms a part of British North America.
Settlements were made here by the English in 1781, which were seized by
the Spaniards in 1789, but restored. By a treaty between the British
government and that of the United States in 1846, this island was
secured to the former.
=Vandals= (_Vandalii_, or _Vindalii_). A confederacy of German nations,
probably of the great Suevic race, to which the Burgundiones, Gothones,
Gepidæ, and Rugii belonged. They dwelt originally on the northern coast
of Germany, but were afterward settled north of the Marcomanni, in the
Riesengebirge, which are hence called Vandalici Montes. They
subsequently appear for a short time in Dacia and Pannonia; but at the
beginning of the 5th century (409) they traversed Germany and Gaul, and
invaded Spain. In this country they subjugated the Alani, and founded a
powerful kingdom, the name of which is still preserved in Andalusia
(Vandalusia). In 429 they crossed over into Africa, under their king
Genseric, and conquered all the Roman dominions in that country.
Genseric subsequently invaded Italy, and took and plundered Rome in 455.
The Vandals continued masters of Africa till 535, when their kingdom was
destroyed by Belisarius, and annexed to the Byzantine empire.
=Van-foss.= In fortification, a ditch dug without the counterscarp, and
running all along the glacis, usually full of water.
=Vanguard.= That part of the army which marches in front.
=Vanquish.= To conquer; to overcome; to subdue in battle, as an enemy.
=Vant-bras.= Armor for the arm.
=Variation of the Needle.= Is the angle included between the true and
magnetic meridians of a place; the deviation of a magnetic needle from
the true north or south points of the horizon;--called also _declination
of the needle_.
=Varna.= An important fortified seaport of European Turkey, in Bulgaria,
on the northern side of a semicircular bay, an inlet of the Black Sea,
180 miles north-northwest from Constantinople. A great battle was fought
near this place, November 10, 1444, between the Turks under Amurath II.
and the Hungarians under their king Ladislaus, and John Hunniades. The
latter were defeated with great slaughter; the king was killed, and
Hunniades made prisoner. The Christians had previously broken the truce
for ten years, recently made at Szegedin. The emperor Nicholas of Russia
arrived before Varna, the headquarters of his army, then besieging the
place, August 5, 1828. The Turkish garrison made a vigorous attack on
the besiegers, August 7, and another on August 21, but were repulsed.
Varna surrendered, after a sanguinary conflict, to the Russian arms,
October 11, 1828. It was restored at the peace in 1829; its
fortifications were dismantled, but have since been restored. The allied
armies disembarked at Varna, May 29, 1854, and remained there till they
sailed for the Crimea, September 3, following. While at Varna they
suffered severely from cholera.
=Varveled.= In heraldry, when the leather thongs which tie on the bells
to the legs of hawks are borne flotant with rings at the end, the
bearing is termed _jessed_, _belled_, and _varveled_.
=Vascones.= A powerful people on the northern coast of Hispania
Tarraconensis, between the Iberus and the Pyrenees, in the modern
Navarre and Guipuzco. Their chief towns were Pompelon and Calagurris.
They were a brave people, and fought in battle bare-headed. Under the
empire they were regarded as skillful diviners and prophets. Their name
is still retained in that of the modern Basques.
=Vassy.= A town of France, in the department of the Upper Marne, 29
miles northwest from Chaumont. The massacre of the Protestants at this
place by the Duke of Guise on March 1, 1562, led to the civil wars which
desolated France to the end of the century.
=Vaud.= A canton which forms the western corner of Switzerland between
the Jura and the Bernese Alps. After having been successively held by
the Franks, kings of Burgundy, emperors of Germany, dukes of Zahringen,
and dukes of Savoy, it was conquered by the Bernese, January, 1536, and
annexed, 1554. Vaud was made independent in 1798, and joined the
Confederation in 1815.
=Vaunt-mure.= In fortification, a false wall; a work raised in front of
the main wall. This word is written also _vaimure_ and _vamure_.
=Vectis=, or =Vecta= (now _Isle of Wight_). An island off the southern
coast of Britain. It was conquered by Vespasian in the reign of
Claudius.
=Vedettes=, or =Videttes=. Mounted sentinels stationed at the outposts
of an army or encampment, and so posted at all the avenues and rising
grounds, that they can best observe the approach of an enemy, and
communicate by signal to their respective posts, as well as with each
other, when any danger is to be apprehended.
=Veii= (now _Isola Farnese_). One of the most ancient and powerful
cities of Etruria, situated on the river Crimera, about 12 miles from
Rome. It possessed a strongly-fortified citadel, built on a hill rising
precipitously from the deep glens which bound it, save at the single
point where a narrow ridge unites it to the city. The Veientes were
engaged in almost unceasing hostilities with Rome for more than three
centuries and a half, and we have records of fourteen distinct wars
between the two nations. Veii was at last taken by the dictator
Camillus, after a siege of ten years, 396 B.C. The city fell into his
hands, according to the common story, by means of a _cuniculus_, or
mine, which was carried by Camillus from the Roman camp under the city
into the citadel of Veii. The citizens were massacred or sold as slaves,
and the land confiscated.
=Vekilchares.= A word used among the Turks, which signifies the same as
_fourrier_ in the French and corresponds with quartermaster.
=Velez-Malaga.= A fortified town in the south of Spain, in the province
of Malaga, 16 miles east from the city of that name. The town was taken
from the Moors, by Ferdinand the Catholic, after a long siege.
=Velish.= A town of Russia in Europe, in the government of Vitepsk,
situated on the Dwina. This place, which was founded by the Russians in
1536, was taken by the Poles in 1580, but in 1772 it again reverted to
Russia.
=Velites.= In the Roman armies, the name of the light-armed troops, who
were first instituted during the second Punic war, and were remarkable
for their agility.
=Velletri= (anc. _Velitræ_). A town of the Papal States, in the Comarca,
and 21 miles southeast from Rome. The ancient _Velitræ_ was an important
Volscian city destroyed by the Romans, but afterwards rebuilt. In 1734,
Carlo Borbone, king of Naples, gained, near Velletri, a decisive victory
over the Austrians, which secured the kingdom of the two Sicilies to the
Spanish Bourbons.
=Vellore.= A town and fortress of British India, in the presidency of
Madras, situated on the river Palar, 80 miles southwest from Madras. It
is very strongly fortified. After the capture of Seringapatam, in 1799,
Vellore was fixed on for the place of confinement or residence of the
family of Tippoo Sahib. In July, 1806, a very serious mutiny took place
among the garrison, composed principally of native troops. It was
speedily suppressed by the gallant conduct of Col. Gillespie of the 19th
Dragoons.
=Velocimeter.= An instrument for obtaining initial velocity, invented by
Col. Benton, U. S. Ordnance Department. See CHRONOSCOPE.
=Velocity.= Is rate of motion; the relation of motion to time, measured
by the number of units of space passed over by the moving body in a unit
of time, usually the number of feet in a second. The velocity of a
projectile, at any point of its flight, is the space in _feet_ passed
over in a _second_ of time, with a continuous, uniform motion. _Initial
velocity_ is the velocity at the muzzle of the piece; _remaining
velocity_ is the velocity at any point of the flight; _terminal
velocity_ is the velocity with which it strikes its object; and _final
velocity_ of descent in air, is the uniform velocity with which a
projectile moves, when the resistance of the air becomes equal to the
accelerating force of gravity. The initial velocity of a projectile may
be determined by the principles of mechanics which govern the action of
the powder, the resistance of the projectile, etc., or by direct
experiment.
The instant that the charge of a fire-arm is converted into gas, it
exerts an expansive effort which acts to drive the projectile out of the
bore. If the gaseous mass be divided into elementary sections
perpendicular to its length, it will be seen that, in their efforts to
expand, each section has not only to overcome its own inertia, but the
inertia of the piece and projectile, as well as the inertia of the
sections which precede it. The tension of each section, therefore,
increases from the extremities of the charge to some intermediate point
where it is a maximum. The pressure on all sides of the section of
maximum density being equal, it will remain at rest, while all the
others will move in opposite directions, constantly pressing against the
projectile and piece, and accelerating their velocities. As the
projectile moves in the bore, the space in which the gases expand is
increased, while their density is diminished; it follows that the force
which sets a projectile in motion in a fire-arm varies from several
causes: (1st) It varies as the space behind the projectile increases, or
as the velocity regarded as a function of the time; (2d) It varies
throughout the column of gas for the same instant of time; and (3d) It
varies from the increasing quantities of gas developed in the successive
instants of the combustion of the powder. See INITIAL VELOCITY.
The motion of a body falling through the air will be accelerated by its
weight, and retarded by the buoyant effort of the air, and the
resistance which the air offers to motion. As the resistance of the air
increases more rapidly than the velocity, it follows that there is a
point where the retarding and accelerating forces will be equal, and
that beyond this the body will move with a uniform velocity, equal to
that which it had acquired down to this point. The buoyant effort of the
air is equal to the weight of the volume displaced, or
(_d_)
_P_(---);
(_D_)
in which _P_ is the weight and _D_ the density of the projectile, and
_d_ the density of the air. When the projectile meets with a resistance
equal to its weight, we shall have,
( _d_) ( _v_)
_P_(1 - ---) = _A_{p}R²v²_(1 + ---); (15)
( _D_) ( _r_)
in which the weight of the displaced air is transferred to the first
member of the equation. As the density of the air is very slight
compared to that of lead or iron, the materials of which projectiles are
made, _d_/_D_ may be neglected. Making this change, and substituting for
_P_, _⁴⁄₃_{p}R^{3}D_, the expression for the _final velocity_ reduces to
( _v_) _RD_
_v_²(1 + ---) = ⁴⁄₃-----. (16)
( _r_) _A_